A slow burn story that combines slice-of-life with mystery, some interesting symbolism, a little bit of fan service but one that is overall not very exciting.

Truthfully, I only watched this drama because it's cast and director are the same as "The Confidence". It's set in the same city, only a short while later and although it's not nearly as dark or a thriller, it does share similarities beyond it's casting choices.
I'll split this review in two parts, one is a comparison to "The Confidence" and all the references I pick up on along the way. The other is a review on just this drama as a stand alone.

Part I: "Unexpected Falling" (spoiler warning)

Ruan Zhen Zhen is a reserved person, who is used to living a quiet life as a housewife. She has a slightly depressed aura around her, although she can see beauty in the small things. She is resilient and I liked that she fought most of her battles quietly and evaluated what is worth her time vs. what is not. Some of the symbolism I mentioned above are her habits around food and beverages. For example, she really loves a certain type of cake from a specific bakery. Or whenever she is upset about something she'll drink a whole glass of water, soup or coffee in one go. Because her husband left her with so much debt, she also learns to live very frugal and works as a dishwasher at a restaurant. I liked that they actually showed where she saved on money vs where she spent it all the while trying to investigate her late husband's debt and dealing with people who are trying to bury his secrets with him.

Up until EP14 I found the story to be moving super slow and not a single question I had was answered, and although it found a better flow later on, this is where I accepted it's just a very slow burn story and that the questions I had in the first episode weren't going to be answered until the finale. Thinking about it, if this was a true story, the timeline in which all these events occur, is probably be closer to reality than an action drama with the same plot.
I skipped the "bad guys" in the office, simply because watching paint dry would be more interesting, but other than that it was interesting enough to keep watching, even for someone who is a serial dropper. Although the script and directing has some flaws, and more so is underwhelming, as a slow burn story with complicated feelings involved, it's watchable. Especially if you like the leading actors because they really work their magic here.
One random thing I loved: Her apartment!

What I disliked:
Conflicts between multiple supporting characters were either not resolved or just brushed over by the end. I was having a good time trash talking the ML with viki live comments, but as a romantic interest he was questionable. He not only lied and patronized the FL, but the amount of times he made a move on her when she had already rejected him was really off-putting. I liked that she called him out on his BS and her reaction in general, but yeah, he could have been less of a creep at times. The drama only has a slight romance tag but I think there was just enough focus on it.
What I mainly disliked was how long everything took. I'm still unsure what they were really after, yeah there was talk about "the thing", they're looking for "the thing", but what does it actually contain? A client list? - yeah, but what clients? and what did he do so wrong to these clients? Also did he really die in an accident or was he killed? A lot of questions left unanswered or at least partially.
I also could have done with less supporting characters, yeah they came and went - never overstayed their welcome but their stories also kind of went nowhere... this is probably because I watched "The Confidence" right before, but I expected a bit more action and drive.
The actual debt lawsuit was also handled mostly off-screen and despite the ML being her lawyer and her having court dates, I believe the total amount of time of her spending in court or talking to someone involved in the lawsuit amounts to less half an hour. Most of the story is about her trying to find out where the 40 million are and just how much her husband hid from her. All while the ML pretends to be her old schoolmate who wants to help her as a lawyer but in reality he's also trying to find "the thing".

Part II: "The Confidence vs. Unexpected Falling" (spoiler warning)

Peng Guan Ying once again plays a man with a hidden identity. Although he doesn't share the same sociopathic tendencies, he's controlling and forcefully kissing the FL more than once. To say he's a good person is a stretch but besides his lack of respect for consent, he's not really dangerous either. As always Peng Guan Ying is handsome af, so yeah, I was happy - but I found the acting and chemistry of both actors to be better in the "The Confidence" due to the script and direction being much better and more exciting.

Some less obvious parallels:
- 12 actors star in both dramas, one even has the same character name (A'Gang)
- The FL drives a red car in both dramas, and she has the same pink bunny ears alarm clock on her bedside table
- The ML finds the FL's surveillance camera, which is placed next to a red decor lighthouse. Which is identical to the blue decor lighthouse that the ML used to spy on the FL in "The Confidence".
- early on the ML wears glasses, once he stops wearing them, his personality and style become a bit more like FSX.
- in both dramas the ML likes boats and spends time by the port
- at some point the leads have a cat-and-mouse game that involves her putting on a play in front of him, this happens in both dramas but it's much more extended and detailed in "The Confidence".

Direct references:
- in the episode where the FL discovers ML's true identity and suggests they work together, a team member of his is seen watching "The Confidence" on a laptop. She says "finally they're working together", as a scene plays where Ke Ying talks to Xiao Wu.
- The ML is at an antique store and sees the helmet and armour his character owned in "The Confidence". He looks at it for a while, picks up THE anchor chain necklace and puts it on the armour. Later in the drama he returns to the antique store with the FL and they both look at it, he asks her if she likes it, she doesn't clarify but states that she finds it interesting. They linger for a bit and then leave.

I was very happy with all the parallels, especially because it's not a sequel or spin-off. Obviously the production team knows the viewers wanted some more, so they gave us a little bit of fan service and included some easter eggs here and there. I probably missed some but these were all I picked up on.
I do think they wasted an opportunity though, when it came to the casting of the FL's husband. He remained faceless for the entire drama, with only his voice and outline being shown in an earlier episode. At one point a character even looks at a picture of him, however that picture is not revealed to the audience. Part of me thinks they actually had an actor but for some reason had to cut it out and another part of me thinks it was on purpose. Whatever it was it was a wasted opportunity to have either Xiao Wu or Yang Yuze be a guest star at the end to play husband in a flashback. All they really needed was one scene and it would have been the perfect last surprise.

As a follow up to "The Confidence" I don't regret watching this at all despite it being mid overall. I got what I wanted and I'm 100% down to watch these two (and the team) in another drama.