I kept this review free of plot spoilers, but there may be some spoilers in terms of character traits and development. Depends what you consider as a spoiler, so read at your own discretion.

Romantic comedies are very rare on my watchlist. I am not sure if that is the reason why this drama is so fresh for me, or is it because this drama is truly unique on its own. Every drama has to follow some sort of typical storyline progression and add in tropes, and this drama is no exception to that, but it feels like this drama puts a unique twist to every “typical” trope in a storyline. It draws me in because while I can guess where the trope will lead us, it surprises me by taking a slight deviation off the path before returning back on the main road again. This is so hard to describe, so it’s just something that you have to watch on your own to know what I mean. This makes all of the tropes that do appear less trope-y and much more acceptable, enjoyable, fresh to watch. For this reason I have mad respect towards the production team for adding uniqueness into something that could’ve been just a typical formulated rom-com. They could have handled a scene one way, but because they handled it this other way, it transcended the scene.

I am a huge fan of dramas where the audience can really see that the production team paid attention to small details. Sometimes it really is the littlest of things that make a single scene complete. There are so many moments like this in the drama where a single expression, a single line, or a single gesture, all made the scene much more complete for me. These acute details add depth and warmth to the drama overall. At one point I remember thinking to myself, there has to be someone in the production team that has a deep understanding of psychology and human interactions to be able to create something like this that speaks so much to the audience.

Not only does this drama address fine details well, it also address big picture themes very well. The stark power contrast between Lu Zhaoxi and Ye Shilan is very obvious right from the start, but the drama does not shy away from this. Instead, this theme is accentuated throughout the drama, and both leads are not afraid to address this elephant in the room. The drama also boldly portrays changes in power in characters, such as stepping down from a higher position due to one’s wrongdoings. A major insecurity that Ye Shilan’s has in her relationship with Lu Zhaoxi is the fact that she is not as well off than he is, and she is not afraid to point that out. On the other hand, Lu Zhaoxi is also very accepting of this insecurity and lets her know that he is accepting and understanding.

Ye Shilan also has a very realistic purpose in life, and she is strong enough to continue pursuing this purpose despite her hardships in doing so. Her purpose also stems from a realistic family background, which also heavily influenced her career and personality. Despite having a rich boyfriend, she does not ask of him to contribute anything, and would rather reach her goal on her own. This isn’t necessarily good or bad, it’s just realistic and shows she is an independent character. Lu Zhaoxi also respects her decision and does not pressure her with his wealth. He offered to lend her money, but did not make any decisions on his own before asking her input. What I really like about Lu Zhaoxi’s character is that he knows he comes from a wealthy family, and he acknowledges his privileges. He is very grateful of his background and uses what he has to manage the hospital to the best of his ability. He is a very humble and down to earth character despite his background.

Lu Zhaoxi and Ye Shilan have tons of respect, admiration, empathy, and love (among much more) towards each other, which makes their relationship so organic and fun to watch. The two are very different characters, Lu Zhaoxi being much more optimistic and sunshine-y and Ye Shilan more pessimistic and withdrawn, they complement each other very well. I really enjoyed watching the push/pull dynamics during the majority of the drama, and I respect that the production team took the time to portray this part of their relationship, instead of rushing to push them together. This does make this relationship much more realistic, because in real life there is indeed a lot of uncertainty between two people that make them hesitate to confess their feelings for one another. I also liked that both of them in their heart knew that they liked each other, and the other person liked them, but both were scared that there was a small chance that they could be wrong. It just felt very real to me. The confession scene was very relaxing and peaceful to watch. It did not need the grand gestures and lengthy speeches. It felt very real and fitting for them. As someone who has a personality similar to Ye Shilan, I really appreciated the way Lu Zhaoxi maturely handled the confession scene and I felt the patience that he had with her knowing that she is someone who needed the time to think and respond. Although on the surface it may appear that Lu Zhaoxi seems to know how to respond to everything in a perfect manner, as if he was speaking from script, I thought it really fit his character well. His character is naturally a very charming person who knows how to talk, so his “perfect” responses were perfect for his character. He is also a very empathetic person, as I can see from his body language when he interacts with everyone, he would turn his body towards them, maintain eye contact, and use his facial expressions to respond. I guess I can say he is a good listener and a good speaker — very rare. I know it can be a hit or miss for some audiences that Lu Zhaoxi seems to be too perfect as a character, that it seems a bit unrealistic. But to me, these perfect characters are pretty rare to find, so when one does appear, I cherish them!

Lastly I wanted to just comment that the BGM of this drama is just pure genius. The production team played with the music and sound effects so perfectly. The “HO! HA!” one is pure gold. I also like that at times they would completely pause the BGM at comedic moments for a few seconds to let the joke pass before restarting it. I’ve never encountered such usage of BGM before in other dramas and moments like that really added so much more to the scene.

I impulsively wrote this review before the drama even finished airing because I just couldn’t contain my love for it anymore. Who knows if the drama will end up with a poor ending or not, because anything can happen, but with the way it is going so far I think it should do fine. Anyway, hope this doesn’t come around to slap me in the face when the drama does end (:

Edit after completing the drama:
I loved the way the drama switches the roles between the guy and girl in a relationship that one would stereotypically think of. There are examples of this throughout the drama, but was especially obvious in the last few episodes. I also loved seeing Ye Shilan's growth throughout and how she's turned into almost a completely different person, except not really, she's just become a better version of herself with the help of Lu Zhaoxi. But just like he said, he's not her savior, she is her own savior, he was just cheering for her on the sidelines. Sometimes one just needs such a drama that brings so much positive energy and does it in a way that appears real. I love the message that this story brings to us, we can all really learn from it.