One of the best BL leads out there !!!

This is the first BL I couldn't resist watching weekly. I usually wait for the whole thing to drop before binging the shit out of it, but this was different, and the reason being the actors.

Now let's talk about what I liked the most :

Honestly, it was about damn time for Aaron Lai to get the lead in a BL where he can show off all his talent. After History My Hero... well let's just say that wasn't his best work. Apart from being eye candy, he has a big range of emotions as an actor, and he knew how to play the role of Jin Yu Zhen in a way that makes you feel for the character. Over all, 10/10 for his acting.
Hank Wang (who I discovered for the first time in this series) was equally as talented. Whenever he smiles tho *-*... that smile of his is still hunting my dreams... in a good way. Jokes aside, also eye candy, and also really good with his facial expressions. I'll definitely be on the lookout for his future projects, I'm sure he's gonna have lots of them because of this gig.

Now for the chemistry between them both... 10/10. Nothing to say, just perfect. Whether it's a fight, cute or intimate scene, they both gave it their all, and both did awesome, to the point where sometimes watching them feels like I'm somehow intruding on their private life, I'm sure many of us felt that at some point with them or other BL couples (honorable mention : Tutor and Fight "Why R U?").

As for the side couple... the only two words that come up in my mind when trying to describe them are "cute" and "fluffy". Their scenes brought warmth to my cold heart, and made me all fuzzy inside UwU. Now I don't know about the whole proposal thing at the end, it seemed a bit rushed (but I guess they needed an excuse to include the title in the series lol); but even that moment was hella cute, despite being a bit random.

Ok so Yi Zi Tong (played by Deyn Li) was a very detestable character at first, with his smug face and that smile that makes you wanna brake his face, but to be honest, and altho a lot of you won't agree with this, he really did come around at the end. His motives were good at the end of the day, and yeah you might think that he was delusional for thinking that the world revolves around him, but he came back, after leaving seven years ago without saying a word, to get closure not only for Jin Yu, but I think also for himself. How many ex boyfriends you know do that ? Most Exs in BL are toxic, mean for no reason, and overall cinge worthy. After all, the only reason why Jin Yu confessed is because he was scared of loosing LeiLei to his ex. The actor did a great job in miss leading us into thinking that he was back make trouble, but all's well that ends well, and him coming coming back was important for Jin Yu to get over his past, and for the main couple as a whole to take the next step.

The story, I must say, had a lot of potential. The plot of the Singlehood Rule lost its point for me tho at some point in the series. It was just something convenient that was there to keep the lead couple from being together until the last episode. And talking about the last episode, they couldn't have ended it in a better way. And for all those who say that they dragged the kiss for too long, just remember that ATOATS (which is considered one of the best BLs of the year) also had their first kiss in the last episode, yet nobody was complaining. I agree that the pace could have used a bit more work, but the conclusion was very satisfactory for me (not to mention the hot scene was truly.... just 0_0, so freaking hot).

All and all, a great BL that was fresh, cute, and very well portrayed by the actors. I would 100% recommend it, and for me as far as raking goes, it's up there with the History series.

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Bittersweet

I really wish i could give this drama a perfect score, but the ending gave me chronic depression, so this is my rating for what it's worth.

Also I've never written a review here before, but I feel the urge to talk about this drama and give you guys my insights.

I'll start by the things i like the most :

Both Wayne Song (Xiang Hao Ting) and Huang Juan Zhi (Yu Xi Gu) did a remarkable job. Whether it's a sad, funny or sexy scene, I have to say they both delivered. I think the casting was perfect. In my opinion, no one can sell that sweet, kind hearted, naive, innocent and broken feel more than Juan. When he's actually happy, his smile felt so genuine and from the heart. The way he looked at Xiang Hao Ting when he punched him after he made him miss his exam literally sent shivers down my spine. You can see the sadness, despair and hurt in his eyes. A face that'll make the worst kind of people feel guilty (which is what they were actually going for, hence why they lingered on that shot). All and all, that kid can act.

Now to Wayne aka Xiang Hao Ting. I don't know where to start with this one. I usually hate that typical high school jock image, and let's be honest, asian dramas usually love to push that image to the extreme with their leads (not saying all of them do, so please put down your pens, just the majority). However, I just loved every aspect of Xiang Hao Ting character. Starting from the way he was nonchalant about someone getting close to his gf (altho he acted on that later, but that's beside the point), to the way he almost immediately accepted the fact that he's crushing on a guy, to when he properly broke up with his gf before starting to chase after Yu Xi Gu, all the way to how affectionate he was with him (even if he was a bit clumsy on how to approach him at the beginning, but I mean come on, we all would be if it turns out we like a different gender for the first time), and I can go on and on. His funny and giddy personality was not cringey at all, but rather light and very much heartfelt.

Gotta say tho, when it comes to sexy scenes, and altho this might be an unpopular opinion, the side couple stole the show for me personally. That sex scene in the bathroom... yeah felt like I shouldn't be watching that lol. But you can clearly feel the way they're craving for each other. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the sexy times between Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu, there are just some things I didn't really like, that I'm gonna point our later on. But all and all, one of the best chemistries I've seen in a while when it comes to sexy scenes.

Now for the story. Personally, I'm a sucker for the whole orphan nerdy kid who's fighting to stay afloat type of plot. They really did a great job with that, and each time Xiang Hao Ting would buy lunch for Yu Shi Gu, I could feel his discomfort at the idea of accepting something for free from someone. And even after they started dating, you can still slightly feel that discomfort in his eyes, so props for character continuity. The way the parents reacted to their son liking another boy was for me very unexpected. I don't know what I expected exactly, but the whole family seemed so dysfonctionnel in a good way, with the dad being playfully angry at his son, and the mom and sister being like "here we go again, what's new" and laughing it off, I at least expected the mom to be more accepting (even tho she was the most reasonable out of the two). The sister tho was for me the star of the family. Not only when it came to accepting her brother, but even before how she comforted him when he was doubting whither he was a good person, the way she likes to tease him, but always there to support him. Tbh, the whole brother-sister relationship from the start was very realistic and fun to watch.

Now I'm not one to pay a lot of attention to the music in shows, so all i gotta say is the soundtrack of the last episode was on point.

Let's get to the things i didn't like :

Well as you all expected, yes, I absolutely hated the ending. Well, hate is a strong word. I'll say that I despised it with passion.
Not the fact that is was a sad ending, just how it came out of nowhere, and how unnecessary it was.

Like I get the shock factor and all, but killing off such a beloved character was honestly plane rude from the writers. And just when he started to actually feel true happiness too. Generally when there's a character that suffered so much throughout his life, you'd expect a great payoff for him in the end, something to make you go like "oh, he totally deserves to be happy, he went through so much". But nope, at the end I was like "what the f*** was the point?".

The fact that they also never showed what actually happened, or the funeral, or how Xiang Hao Ting dealt with the loss at the beginning and went straight for a 6 years jump, all those things made the series unfulfilled.

And as a gay man myself, the ending for me was undeserving for both lead characters, and honestly made me think that it gave reason to all those people who say that a gay couple can never have a happy life. When I said that the series gave le chronic depression, I meant it (at least for the couple days after i watched it).

Now more specifically, when it comes to the sexy times, I didn't like how Xiang Hao Ting got upset because Yu Shi Gu didn't want to have full on sex with him at the beginning. Realistically speaking, and giving the personality of Yu Shi Gu and the fact that he's a virgin, I expected Xiang Hao Ting to be more understanding and to pressure him less. As a result, when Yu Shi Gu finally gave in during there vacation, I still felt that he didn't just to please Xiang Hao Ting, and not because he himself was ready. Don't get me wrong, the scene itself was great, but the payoff was less palpable, for me at least.

I also didn't like how some of the side stories remained unresolved. For example, the ex's best friend and the whole deal with the photo. Since she told him "a person who does something like this is not fit to be my friend", we never heard from him since.
Also on the same note, I could've sworn that one of the twins (the nice one) showed that he had feelings for Yu Shi Gu, just because of some shots where he would seem upset when Xiang Hao Ting came to see Yu Shi Gu in class, and the way he was defending him all the time. Maybe I've been reading too much into these scenes, but I know some of y'all saw the same thing and would agree with me.


Tbh, I can keep going with this review, there are still so many things I wanna talk about, specially regarding the side couple, but this is already getting too long. To summarize :
A good drama, great acting, great plot and pace, could've been perfect with a better ending.

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