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Childhood friends reunite and butt heads in office rom com
Motivated by the death of her father, Jiang Jun applies for a job at investment banking firm MH only to find that her childhood friend /frenemy Yuan Shuai is already working there. He initially doesn’t want her there and tries to sabotage her chances of working at MH, but later changes his mind. Will their relationship turn into something more?
Opinion:
Office drama with an investment banking investigative twist in that the two leads are often working on cases together, checking out companies on behalf of the firm and making decisions accordingly. Later, there is the tension of what happened to her father’s company. There is a second male lead who works at rival investment banking firm and a best female friend character with her own secondary romance plot (involving a handsome but bland Riley Wang).
Note: I initially wrote this review after only 12 episodes and recently updated to reflect changing opinion after getting to ep 26.
Likes:
* Jiang Jun is a plucky female character who may be a little naive and sweet compared to her colleagues but still strong and deeply principled. You can’t help rooting for her as she tries to make it in a male dominated industry (only 20% of bankers are female).
* Gradual reveal of character personalities and backstories is well done. Even Bai Lu’s fellow trainees get a bit of development and second male lead has a backstory that makes you want to learn more. I also like that most of the characters in the investment banking world are edgy — characters that you’re not entirely sure you like but that feel real and complicated . Makes this different from your typical office drama with all fluffy characters
* Investigating different companies keeps the story fresh and brings in new mysteries to solve, which creates opportunities for the two main leads to cooperate and grow outside the romantic relationship. Two early cases involve a pharmaceutical company and an entertainment company, both with shady CEOs. In the second half of the drama there is a bigger case that gets personal for the characters and really hooks you in.
* Gorgeous cast. Seriously, everyone is ridiculously good looking (Leo Luo, Kido Gao, Riley Wang, Bai Lu, etc). I also like the chemistry between the two main leads. I initially couldn’t stand his jerky, controlling ways in ep 1 but he’d won me over by the time I finished watching the available episodes, in part because female lead stood her ground and he acknowledged her strength and began to change his ways. Both characters show signs of development which is a plus, and I really like how much the main lead obviously cares deeply for Jiang Jun even if he sucks at showing it directly to her
* the relationship between the ML and FL is amazing once it gets started. I like that the drama doesn’t end right when they get together and that there is a larger storyline than just their relationship to keep you hooked in.
Dislikes:
*The drama starts with many cliches: heroine has a tear allergy so her life is threatened if she cries; there is an accidental kiss with the main male lead in ep 1 that was about as contrived as it gets; etc. I know this is par for the course in Cdrama land and it does get better. The show also periodically makes fun of itself by acknowledging the cliche which helps
* the male lead is initially WAY too controlling (tries to keep Jiang Jun from working at MH because he’s worried she can’t hack it and will cry, manipulates her housing situation so she ends up living across the hall from him) but luckily our female lead is undeterred and quickly proves she is stronger than he thinks. (Update: Many episodes later I have completely changed my opinion and now completely love the main lead and his relationship with the female lead. 1000% won over).
*secondary romance is my least favorite kind of storyline, involving a female character who seems to have no aspirations of her own other than chasing a guy who may not be that into her. Currently do not care about this storyline AT ALL and end up watching it on 2x speed to get through it faster. (Update: My feelings about the secondary relationship remain unchanged, unfortunately).
Verdict: Wonderful office romance. My favorite show on the air right now.
Opinion:
Office drama with an investment banking investigative twist in that the two leads are often working on cases together, checking out companies on behalf of the firm and making decisions accordingly. Later, there is the tension of what happened to her father’s company. There is a second male lead who works at rival investment banking firm and a best female friend character with her own secondary romance plot (involving a handsome but bland Riley Wang).
Note: I initially wrote this review after only 12 episodes and recently updated to reflect changing opinion after getting to ep 26.
Likes:
* Jiang Jun is a plucky female character who may be a little naive and sweet compared to her colleagues but still strong and deeply principled. You can’t help rooting for her as she tries to make it in a male dominated industry (only 20% of bankers are female).
* Gradual reveal of character personalities and backstories is well done. Even Bai Lu’s fellow trainees get a bit of development and second male lead has a backstory that makes you want to learn more. I also like that most of the characters in the investment banking world are edgy — characters that you’re not entirely sure you like but that feel real and complicated . Makes this different from your typical office drama with all fluffy characters
* Investigating different companies keeps the story fresh and brings in new mysteries to solve, which creates opportunities for the two main leads to cooperate and grow outside the romantic relationship. Two early cases involve a pharmaceutical company and an entertainment company, both with shady CEOs. In the second half of the drama there is a bigger case that gets personal for the characters and really hooks you in.
* Gorgeous cast. Seriously, everyone is ridiculously good looking (Leo Luo, Kido Gao, Riley Wang, Bai Lu, etc). I also like the chemistry between the two main leads. I initially couldn’t stand his jerky, controlling ways in ep 1 but he’d won me over by the time I finished watching the available episodes, in part because female lead stood her ground and he acknowledged her strength and began to change his ways. Both characters show signs of development which is a plus, and I really like how much the main lead obviously cares deeply for Jiang Jun even if he sucks at showing it directly to her
* the relationship between the ML and FL is amazing once it gets started. I like that the drama doesn’t end right when they get together and that there is a larger storyline than just their relationship to keep you hooked in.
Dislikes:
*The drama starts with many cliches: heroine has a tear allergy so her life is threatened if she cries; there is an accidental kiss with the main male lead in ep 1 that was about as contrived as it gets; etc. I know this is par for the course in Cdrama land and it does get better. The show also periodically makes fun of itself by acknowledging the cliche which helps
* the male lead is initially WAY too controlling (tries to keep Jiang Jun from working at MH because he’s worried she can’t hack it and will cry, manipulates her housing situation so she ends up living across the hall from him) but luckily our female lead is undeterred and quickly proves she is stronger than he thinks. (Update: Many episodes later I have completely changed my opinion and now completely love the main lead and his relationship with the female lead. 1000% won over).
*secondary romance is my least favorite kind of storyline, involving a female character who seems to have no aspirations of her own other than chasing a guy who may not be that into her. Currently do not care about this storyline AT ALL and end up watching it on 2x speed to get through it faster. (Update: My feelings about the secondary relationship remain unchanged, unfortunately).
Verdict: Wonderful office romance. My favorite show on the air right now.
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