Hi Flower (2017)

Living with Debt or Guilt

Being warned by earlier reviews not to waste my time on Hi Flower/Ugly Girl Hai Ru Hua I still couldn't resist watching this series. I like the actors, both played in Ten Miles Of Peach Blossom, I love romcoms about student life, and I don't mind if the story gets darker as long as I can relate to the characters. Just like watching Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo. This k-drama started very light, but before I knew it, I could only watch it with a tissue box at hand. Still I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Synopsis
Hi Flower is a romcom/drama about growing pains at campus and living with debt, or guilt. Female lead Lu Ruhua (Zhu Xudan) suffers from heavy debts of her family and high medical bills due to the heart disease of her twin brother. Eager to earn every penny she can get she's a jack-of-all-trades, selling all kind of services at her university "except for my body". One day she encounters the male lead, wealthy heir Wen Chu (Lai Yi) who immediately clashes with her because of her materialistic attitude. Eventually his hate turns into love. Still their budding relationship is full of misunderstandings and unlucky events. Will they find happiness together, or do they have to live separately, feeling guilty for the rest of their life?

The good
I know there are a lot of complaints about the characters. The female lead is too much of a saint...the male lead is immature, self centered...the girls are either highly naive or mean...the boys are lazy, a bunch of users. Yes, agreed to all that, but isn't this picture quite realistic too? Naturally we like to see kick-ass heroines, relatable boyfriends, understanding parents and such, but my experience is this takes a long haul in real life, with obstacles and unruliness along the way, and the end not yet in sight. I found myself drawn into the story, it had a nice flow as well. Also I loved the chemistry between the actors.

The Bad
This drama contains a lot of clichés like in Boys over Flowers. There's this poor, hard working girl, troubled by the debt of her family, she's loved and admired by several men, and she likes this rich, arrogant boy, against all odds, despite of his antagonistic family. Moreover the light and funny events in the first season change into angsty, tear jerking moments in the second.

Still...if you like a student life romcom blended with melodrama this is for you. The ending isn't all that bad.

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