I’ve been struggling with how to review this drama because I both rather enjoyed it but also have major qualms with the drama. This is another book that I read back in 2022 and quite enjoyed it even though the amnesia trope was a little overdone in the book. I only remember the basic strokes of the plot but I do think it’s because I read the book that it’s coloring my review of the drama. 

The Truman-Show-esque nature in the beginning of the drama is an interesting one as Cui Xing Zhou’s group tries to uncover her secrets while her old faction can’t understand why she disappeared for so long. This cat and mouse game was a fun one to watch because everyone was racking their brains to figure out the mystery of Liu Mian Tang. We should have followed more of her story though. I believe the drama cut significant amounts of her backstory and subsequent interactions with many key characters in order to fit the needs of the drama but I really wish we got more of Liu Mian Tang. The drama also seems very flat. Major events occur either off screen or extremely rapidly and then we’re placed into a new status quo that then takes a little while to get used to.

What I liked

• Wang Chu Ran as Liu Mian Tang: I personally prefer Wang Chu Ran when she’s in period costume and this drama just proves my point. She is effortlessly at ease and extremely beautiful in her period costumes. She is able to pull off the updo hairstyle, which not many can boast. Wang Chu Ran also embodies both the sweet and caring devoted wife Liu Mian Tang but also bold and daring businesswoman Liu Mian Tang. I vastly preferred her scenes in this drama compared to most of the other characters, especially when she turns her facial expressions on a dime. It’s great! Speaking of, the ladies in the drama really do the heavy lifting. 

• The focus stays squarely on the main couple: After the first 6 episodes, I paused and thought, wow, here’s a drama that puts the main couple at the forefront. They take up the vast majority of screentime even though they might not always be together. We follow each of them as they head off on their daily lives but it’s always in the context of the two of them. Sure, there’s some side characters but it’s just a sprinkle. Is it sad that this is refreshing? In other dramas, the side characters take center stage for many episodes and then I’m left wondering what drama I’m actually watching (cough The Princess Royal).

• Zhao Quan and He Zhen: These two are hilarious when they’re on screen and I personally enjoyed their cute moments more than the main couple. I honestly can’t remember if they end up together, but regardless, it’s fun watching them banter and subconsciously support each other even when He Zhen’s entire family is completely despicable in pushing this pairing. 
• Mama Li!: This is a side character that is shines the spotlight in many scenes. She has her own little catchphrase where she exclaims “作孽” which essentially means ”this is a sin”. In the beginning, this was more in a reaction to the fact that she’s under orders to lie to Liu Mian Tang and doesn’t want to but she uses it more and more for all the small things in life. What’s even more funny is when Liu Mian Tang comments on this little catchphrase of hers. 

What Could Have Been Better

• Zhang Wan Yi: Zhang Wan Yi has been “one to watch” for a while as he turned heads in last year’s A Long Way Home and 2021’s Awakening Age but he’s decided to cash in on period romance dramas. Yes, he’s handsome but his acting is a little too stiff in this drama. Whenever he’s acting, it both looks and sounds like he’s responding to lines rather than being immersed in the moment. It’s often that another character would be talking and Zhang Wan Yi would go into a trance that’s like a screen loading and then suddenly come back to life when it’s his turn to respond. When he’s speaking, he then uses an odd cadence to pronounce his words that makes him sound like he’s orating a speech rather than actually speaking lines. Just compare his cadence to that of Zhang Chi (the actor for Zhao Quan) and you can hear the big difference. 
• It should be Liu Mian Tang’s story: This is my biggest gripe with this drama. This is supposed to be Liu Mian Tang’s story. She’s the one who is able to create a successful business despite moving to a new location and succeeds with little help from others. She’s sweet, daring, compassionate, but will also not forgive. The book is HER story but in the drama we mainly see the events in the context of Cui Xing Zhou’s eyes and reactions to her actions. He is off dictating how well or not she lives her life in the golden cage that he’s create for her. The drama makes him the main character. He falls in love with what he imagines as her and I totally commended Liu Mian Tang for calling him out on this in a later episode. I began enjoying the drama once it shifted its focus on Liu Mian Tang because she’s the one who made something out of nothing. I couldn’t care less about Cui Xing Zhou’s whole family drama because it wasn’t unique. 
• Lack of Chemistry between the main couple: The above two points then drive to another big problem. There’s a lack of chemistry between the main couple and I put that squarely on Zhang Wan Yi.  Wang Chu Ran is trying her hardest to make the chemistry work but, oof, it’s just not reciprocated by Zhang Wan Yi. Even after he falls in love with her, he’s still pretty stiff and awkward around her even in body movement. Zhang Wan Yi is older than Wang Chu Ran but the entire time, I was like…why does it feel like an older woman trying to dote on a younger man and it doesn’t work? It’s as though Zhang Wan Yi doesn’t know how to act “in love” but what he believes being “in love” should look like
• Chang Hua Sen as Zi Yu: Chang Hua Sen is now a regal young man in this drama, a big turn from his role as Li Tong Guang in A Journey to Love, but boy is he a bad actor. He’s so wooden that there’s literally no emotion emanating from him throughout the drama. He didn’t have a change in demeanor or facial expression when he heard of Liu Mian Tang’s return or when she called him out on the truth of several events. Hey, at least he doesn’t have much screen time and is handsome enough to look at. 

Stray Observations:

The drama loosely follows the events of the book up until episode 16. The drama then had to take a very PG turn compared to the events of the book. I was quite intrigued to see whether the screenwriters would include the more intimate elements into the drama but alas, we’ve only gotten one kiss (so far). 

This is a drama produced by Jaywalk Media and sure enough, there’s several actors / actresses in the cast from the company Yuan Yu Xuan and Lai Yi. I’m surprised they didn’t get some of their bigger names attached to the show such as Zhang Yun Long, instead choosing to go with the leads of Zhang Wan Yi and Wang Chu Ran.

To be continued!

Cathy