★★★★☆
The 2019 Chinese drama starring Zhao Lu-Si
as Bei Er-Duo, Riley Wang as Ye Shu-Wei, Yuan Hao as Yu Sheng, and Gratitude
Dai as Tang Li. Directed by Xu Can-Shan and written by Shi Xiao-Zha, adapted
from the web novel of the same title. 24 episodes at 45 minutes apiece.
Brief summary: Bei Er-Duo is a busy girl
with only one thing on her mind: pursuing her dream career as a voice actor in
Japan. Her best friend Tang Li hands her an offer she can’t refuse when she is
persuaded to join the cast of a reality TV dating show. There’s just one catch
to winning the reward money… she has to pretend to date Ye Shu-Wei, the quiet,
icy violinist and designer. They must maintain the charade until the end of the
season for the pay-out. In doing so, they spend a lot of time together and Bei
Er-Duo learns that Shu-Wei isn’t as cold-hearted as his demeanor makes him out
to be. How long will this last until their pretending turns into genuine
affection?
In a single word, this drama is CUTE! It’s
a good starter drama, especially for individuals who might be looking for a
transition between Korean dramas and Chinese dramas. At only 24 episodes long,
it’s 18 hours of a simple love story between realistic characters. The drama’s
only weakness is the abrupt ending. The story ends too shortly after the
characters’ reunion— there’s not much a recovery.
A significant element of the drama is the
characters finding their own happiness, which might not have been in ways we
expected. In episode 14, Bei Er-Duo says “Happiness is up to each individual.”
Tang Li’s decision in episodes 21 and 22 embody her statement as she lets go of
her misery over Yu Sheng and chooses a drastic alternative.
In another scene, Ye Shu-Wei says
“To pull the heartstrings, you first need to give” (ep 12). The alluring bait
about contract-relationship themed dramas is that we know the characters are
going to have to work at their relationship. We don’t expect Prince Charming,
but we look forward to a realistic process between the two characters (even if
the situations are hardly realistic!). Ye Shu-Wei’s line implies that sharing your
world with that someone, making necessary sacrifices and compromises, will feed that
relationship more effectively than sugary words and ballads.
This drama also showed a great respect for
character individuality. All the characters were wonderful, but they proved to
be resistant to the directions I would have pushed them! And yes, I’m directly
referring to Tang Li and Yu Sheng. They were the side couple we were all hoping
to see developed into a happy relationship. We hoped to see a lot of things
between the two of them… Maybe they deserve a fanfic that will push them
together like how we wanted!
The union of the main couple can be
described in just two words: nerd fest! Finally, main characters we can relate
to on a personal level! Quiet music nerd meets enthusiastic anime nerd (just
short of otaku). These days everyone is a nerd over something, but it’s nice to
see it represented in drama. We can understand a character better when he or
she bears practical similarities or personality parallels to ourselves. In this
drama, the characters are just realistic enough that we are not surprised by
the choices they make but we keep watching because we want to know how things
will turn out for them. Ye Shu-Wei is the exception—no one drives a Tesla at 27
and still has money to spare!
These realistic characters help keep the
drama flowing in smooth transitions. The show is cute without the
characteristic heartbreak that leaves us in shambles right before it picks up
at the end. Because it’s not much of an emotional rollercoaster, I can
recommend this drama to so many more people who would not have touched it
otherwise!
I found the use of the violin beautiful in
the progress of the drama. Granted, I would have liked it better if the casting
crew picked a male lead that actually knew how to play, but the violin remained
a constant symbol of Ye Shu-Wei’s affection. As Ye Shu-Wei shares his music
with Bei Er-Duo, he’s also sharing his work, dream, and world. When Bei Er-Duo
prepares to leave for Japan, Ye Shu-Wei gives her two charms to take with her.
He gives her the bridge of a violin on a necklace and some shavings of his
carpentry in a key chain. For as much as his work means to him, these charms
might as well be pieces of himself that he sends with her.
Although I understand the development
between Yu Sheng and Tang Li leading to where it did, the ending was the other
source of disappointment. The drama ended too quickly after Er-Duo and
Shu-Wei’s reunion! There wasn’t any recovery period, nothing more after that
“You’re my dream” and Er-Duo’s oh-look-my-boyfriend-is-actually-behind-me
moment. They deserved at least five more minutes.
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