From beginning to end, this drama stays true to romance and cute comedic moments. Angst is kept at the minimum and is resolved quickly. Also, it focuses almost entirely on the MC without those annoying side romances that, in my opinion, distracts from the MC and makes me push the fast forward button. So, let’s get into the details.

ML – he’s the typical arrogant, unemotional CEO. His one goal is to further his business, which, when we meet him, is acquiring the Marry Me brand from Alex, an Italian-Chinese designer. He’s got the whole thing planned out, right down to the necklace that Alex’s dead wife designed to play on the guy’s heartstrings. FL, however, appears on the scene and turns his plan and life upside down. The skirmishes between these two, as they try to one up each other, are amusing, but eventually, their skirmishes become love and the contractual marriage becomes a real one. Exposed to the warmth of FL's personality, ML’s ice begins to melt and finally breaks, warming him up nicely. His personality makes the transformation from cold CEO to cute and loving husband – which so unlike a lot of Chinese tsunderes who never quite lose their frost. His personality seems to change with his hairstyle. At work or when he’s dressed for business, his hair’s neatly brushed back. At home or at play with FL, his hair is on his forehead, giving him a warmer, more youthful appearance. I would have preferred him to be ruder to Ran Xi Wei (the delusional love rival). Because of their past friendship, he allows her to get away with her scheming a little too easily. This woman needs to receive consequences for her actions not slaps on the hand. He could have done a better job of protecting XiXi from this woman if he’d dealt out some consequences instead of quietly cleaning up the messes this psycho chick created. Don’t get me wrong – he never showed Xi Wei any encouragement and he did tell her to stop her antics – but more should have been done to stop this vindictive lunatic.

FL – she’s independent and clever as well as warm and sweet, a very likeable character…although her cutesy behavior with ML once they’re ‘in love’ does get a little annoying. I’m not a fan of the breathless, pouty, baby talk stuff. Does love suddenly cause women to start cooing like babies? Maybe men find this cute; I don’t. Just act like you always did! That’s what he fell in love with! And here’s a blessed change in drama tropes - her dream didn’t involve travel or study abroad! Finally, a dream that can be accomplish in the same location as ML. Yeah, she leaves for a refresher course, but it’s still in the same country and it’s only three months. That’s a dream I can approve of.

Love rivals? Yea, we’ got two.

Our Male Love Rival – His name is Mo Zi Xin, and he’s an absolute dream! I struggled with SML syndrome pretty bad. How I wish these dramas made two versions – one where ML gets the girl and one where SML gets the girl. There’s really no reason for FL to choose ML over Mo Zixin other than she was forced to be in his proximity nonstop because of the marriage contract. Both men are rich, successful, handsome and wonderful. (Just an aside – all those cons that were in ML’s column won’t be so loveable after a few years of marriage so any woman watching this drama, please don’t choose a man with so many ‘cons’ and no ‘pros’ in real life!) Mo Zixin’s eager yet shy expressions whenever he looks at FL makes a viewer want to swoon. I loved their backstory, and I thought to myself: ‘Damn, if only she hadn’t left the invitation in the car!’ or ‘If only Mo hadn’t been away getting that paint when she needed money.’ So, I guess in the end it was all a matter of timing. My poor baby!

Our Female Love Rival (Ran Xi Wei) – this is one obsessed chick. ML, even in the beginning, never treated her as anything but a friend and useful tool, a.k.a. eye candy on his arm at social events. Had he never met FL, yeah, he might have eventually married her because she was there, and it was his duty to marry. He certainly wouldn’t have married her for love. I honestly don’t know what Xi Wei thought she’d accomplish by making XiXi’s business venture more difficult, a.k.a. stealing models, spreading rumors, exposing diary entries, etc. If anything, these actions only strengthened MC’s relationship. And honestly, the gossip of FL being a gold-digger is just ridiculous, scriptwriter! Are you telling me that the people whispering about her never had those same ideas? There’s nothing shameless about wanting to become rich. And we all know that it was ML that forced the marriage – although at the time, psycho chick didn’t know that. Everything about this character was annoying. She constantly looked like she’d just come out of a rain storm with that flyaway hairstyle and smudged eye makeup. Also, she was costumed in outfits that looked like they were made from the same material as my Grandmother’s couch. That green plaid sandwich bag dress that barely covered her butt was the worst of all. Still, without this vindictive harpy, MC wouldn’t have had any obstacles to outcome so I guess she served her purpose.

I applaud the scriptwriter for making ML’s mother into the kind of Chinese parent that I like. At first, she appeared to be the typical control freak mom that promised trouble for our couple, but she turned out to be a good judge of character. After some initial sternness, she readily accepted FL and pledged her support. Grandma (ML’s, not FL’s) was a sweetie as well! FL’s mom was nice but her father and grandma were grafters. Nevertheless, these are kind of Chinese parents/family that I like – they accept and approve of their child’s love interest. They add warmth and humor to the overall plot.

Another trope that this drama rejected was the dingbat bestie…at least as far as FL goes. Xiaoya was upbeat and lively without being a dingbat. They also didn’t involve her in a romance, which was a blessing. C-dramas get too bogged down with side romances that distract from the MC. That being said, there is a side romance between ML’s guy bestie, Shang Ke, and Ruona. Thankfully, the director/scriptwriter didn’t focus too much on them. Shang Ke was the one playing the role of dingbat bestie – his character was just downright stupid, and I have no idea why a smart woman like Ruona would fall for this guy. He was like a not overly bright child. Enough said about that couple.

Once again, this is one of the best Chinese Rom-Coms I’ve watched, and I highly recommend it to viewers who like romantic fun without a lot of teeth gnashing or brick throwing at the TV. The plot isn’t overly complicated or filled with angst. Most of the scenes just involved MC falling in love with each other. They have some obstacles to get over (mostly one caused by psycho chick’s scheming) but misunderstandings are cleared up quickly and they move on to sweet romance. I highly recommend this drama!