Taiwanese BLs have a tendency towards fluff, and this show really tests how far they can go.
The one thing that amazes me most about this series is how they develop very real tension for possible danger or conflict -- and then turn it into more fluff. And they pull it off! It doesn't feel like contrived or forced.

The tl;dr:
Was it good?
YES! It managed to combine fluff, cheesy tropes and a character-centric love story into a sweet whole, without stereotyping Shaopeng's disability; and Jin Yun was excellent in his role as Jiang Shaopeng.
Did I like it?
Absolutely. It hit my sweet spot. It's one of the few shows I've watched and finished while it was on.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, but those who are allergic to tropes might want to steer clear.



The show's premise is already a trope in itself -- rich and useless heir meets hard-working young man -- and is reformed by it; antagonistic relatives try to sabotage the heir, controlling parents try to push heir to new heights, jealous fiancée plots devious schemes, sweet and goofy mother cheers from the sidelines.
And the episodes themselves are chock-full of classic tropes: We get the fall-and-catch, the fall-and-kiss, the tending-to-smallish wounds, the only-one-bed, the interrupted kiss, and more.

However, behind all these tropes, there is a beautiful love story between two men who learn to trust each other, who can finally let go of the masks they have worn around their closest family, who can rely on the unconditional love they have for each other.
In fact, I even think the screenwriter even used the tropes to their advantage: The writer managed to build up tension for possible danger, only to resolve that with impossibly sweet scenes between our main couple -- showing how much the two men are absorbed in each other's presence, so much so that they don't even notice most of the schemes around them -- or when they do, they don't care much.

One aspect of the show that does not rely on stereotypes or tropes is the way the script deals with Jiang Shaopeng's disability. The story doesn't focus on Shaopeng being deaf (unlike the 2024 Japanese "Hidamari Ga Kikoeru") -- we only get glimpses of the prejudice and the discrimination he faces, just enough to explain his actions. More important to the story is how he has dealt with it in the past -- and how he tried to carry that burden alone until Yang Zi Xiang fell in love with him.
Jin Yun is very convincing as Jiang Shaopeng -- his facial expressions, especially his eyes, are mesmerising in their intensity.
Raiden Lin as Yang Zi Xiang uses gestures with Jiang Shaopeng from the first minute he learns that Shaopeng is deaf -- Yang Zi Xiang is not only unprejudiced towards Jiang Shaopeng but also does not hesitate to adapt his own way of communicating to Shaopeng's needs.
I also love how the production team decided to give Shaopeng his own version of an inner monologue -- we don't hear a voice but see his thoughts in writing, and even in flashbacks, there's no sound, and the camera focuses on the mouths shaping sounds, the hands talking with sign-language or facial expressions.

In terms of acting, it's not just the leads who are convincing -- it's the whole cast. They manage to give even the most one-dimensional characters some depth.
Score could have been a bit less intrusive at times, but it did not distract from what's happening too much.

Overall, the script is well thought out. Only the subplot with the two women could have been shortened a bit -- the cousin's story was much more intriguing than the stereotypical "jealous ex/fiancée" one, and I think there is a lot to explore there. I also don't know why there always has to be a secondary couple -- although I liked the back-and-forth, there was not enough time to really develop their relationship beyond the superficially tropey "cool top teases puppy-like bottom", as is usually the case with shorter dramas.

Even with the above-mentioned flaws, this drama gives us a sweet, tropey love story with some depth, with good acting and overall solid pacing. I think I'll even rewatch it someday, when I need a pick-me-up.