One & Only was better in terms of story. This is better for romantic moments between the leads. In one and only we all knew and saw the love between the two, but they never really got to take it a step forward. They were always confined by their positions in life and their responsibilities. So, Forever & Ever is a good sequel for their story, however the 30 episodes are a bit much.

The one thing that went wrong with the story is that apart from the leads, it has a completely different cast of character. None of them came back to life, I wish her cousin and the general had gotten a second chance as well. Having the crown prince reincarnate would also have been a better antagonist compared to a pain-in-the-ass mother/mother-in-law and shady brother. It would have made the story more interesting. (I read on MDL that Mei Xing is supposed to be the crown prince and Wen Xin princess Xing Hua, but their story arc wasn't all that good) But at least, this time around he chose to let go of his crush on the FL and decided to look at Wen Xin but again that was doomed as well.

The ML's step mother is kinda weird. If you have to take out your frustrations on someone your son is the better candidate, he is the one who went against your wishes and married someone you didn't want him to. She could be less of a controlling harpy and stereotypical mother-in-law as well as step-mother. She has been outright rude to Shi Yi since the first moment they met. I am not a fan of decisions she makes coddling her son when he led to the death of her daughter, how on the earth she could forgive him. Either Shi Yi Or Zhou Sheng Chen would have ended up dead if they hadn't dragged along his punishment for so long.

The prequel had a more powerful impact, but I liked this one for its uniqueness as well. The relationship between the two and their marriage is something that we can all hope for. The easy camaraderie and care for each other was so good to watch.