I never imagined that Xu Kai and Tan Song Yun would be in the same drama. But here we are.

Since the drama's poster was released, I had high hopes. Of course, because I trust in the acting quality of both of them.

When I saw the poster, I thought this drama would be a romantic comedy, like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. I assumed it would be just another office drama, full of cliché scenes between a boss and the employees. But I was completely wrong. This drama is truly different from what I had imagined.

For a drama, it’s quite detailed in discussing business and AI. In my opinion, if you're not interested in one of those topics, this drama may be hard to accept. The portion dedicated to business and AI takes up much of the duration, compared to the romance. However, since I’m interested in both, I can say that this drama is very informative.

As someone living in a Southeast Asian country, I would even add another genre, which is Sci-fi. The AI they created in the drama is so detailed and amazing that it feels like a fantasy. I can’t imagine something like that existing in my own country. China has truly advanced. At times, it felt like I was in a different time altogether.

Back to the drama, its pacing is quite slow. Especially in the first 15 episodes, there are many back-and-forth moments that can be frustrating. However, by episode 20, I couldn’t stop watching. Every episode sparked new curiosity. Many interesting characters in this drama are portrayed as antagonists. However, among all the antagonists, I dislike Wei Qiu Zi and Shao Yi Chen more than Zeng Di and Chang He.

The two main antagonists (Zeng Di and Chang He) have clear reasons for doing what they do. Neither of them asks to be seen as good people. But as for Wei Qiu Zi and Shao Yi Chen, they’re just two cowards, sticking together because they feel they can rely on each other. Shao Yi Chen is the most cowardly character I’ve ever seen in a Chinese drama. He refuses to move forward, always behind Ji Xing, who is constantly pushing ahead. Yi Chen only wants to live in his comfort zone, but he’s too cowardly to directly tell Ji Xing this. So when he finds a trivial mistake that could free him from blame, he immediately decides to break up with Ji Xing. It’s so cowardly. Ji Xing wasn’t the one absent during his lowest point; it was Yi Chen, who cowardly didn’t let Ji Xing see him at his lowest. What an annoying character.

Wei Qiu Zi is no different from Yi Chen. From the start, Qiu Zi never saw Yi Chen as Ji Xing's boyfriend. From the beginning, she targeted Yi Chen. As Ji Xing’s friend, she didn’t try to hold back her feelings at all. Honestly, I would avoid people like her in real life. That’s why she was there when Yi Chen was going through a tough time — because she tried to wedge herself into the relationship between Yi Chen and Ji Xing. And she got her moment. Honestly, Yi Chen and Qiu Zi are very well suited for each other. Thankfully, by the end of the episodes, they no longer appeared, so I could calm down when those two acted as if nothing had happened.

I can somewhat sympathize with Han Yuan’s character. She’s in an uncomfortable position. Though she’s the older sibling, she’s a woman. She’s also not as smart as her younger brother. She took care of Dong Yang while Han Ting was in Germany. Han Yuan is capable of leading Dong Yang. Unfortunately, Han Ting is also very capable of taking Dong Yang further. Understandably, Han Yuan lost direction at times because she was trying to maintain her presence. Thankfully, in the end, Ji Xing helped Han Yuan realize that she didn’t need to push Han Ting aside to keep her place in Dong Yang. After all, Han Yuan does have an important role there.

Ji Xing's character is very strong-willed. From the start, she had a very firm stance and determination. It’s no wonder someone like Yi Chen couldn’t match her. Even Han Ting was overwhelmed. But the reason why Han Ting endured and Yi Chen didn’t was that Han Ting never felt inferior to Ji Xing's strength. Instead, he wanted to become stronger too, so they could both improve together. On the other hand, Yi Chen felt inferior as Ji Xing grew stronger.

Previously, I had one favorite male character in Chinese dramas, Yu Tu from You Are My Glory. But now, that character has been replaced by Han Ting. I think someone like Han Ting couldn’t possibly exist in the real world. He’s the type of person who, when making a decision, will give 100% or even 200%. But he’s also very logical, he considers many factors, which makes him seem unreal. But if I met someone like Han Ting in real life, I’d probably chase after him haha.

When a huge argument happens between them, from Han Ting’s perspective, Ji Xing might seem selfish. She doesn’t know how much effort Han Ting has put in to protect her. But from Ji Xing’s point of view, what she did makes sense. Even though Han Ting is kind, intelligent, and logical, he never communicates his plans to Ji Xing. Ji Xing always felt like she was being told to "Just leave it to me," which wasn’t reassuring at all. Their relationship was built on a fragile foundation in the beginning. But fortunately, both Han Ting and Ji Xing didn’t give up trying to start over. Unlike at the start, when many people supported their relationship, now that they were getting back together, many people doubted them. But the two of them didn’t doubt at all.

Because they truly trusted each other. They communicated the right way, working hand in hand so that neither felt burdened or diminished. They truly valued each other's presence.

Honestly, the special episode of this drama left me feeling uncertain. I know, the end of a person’s life is like that. But still, when it was shown, it felt hard to accept. And yes, the scene where the camera focuses on Han Ting’s hand holding the forgiveness card made me cry. Earlier, Ji Xing had said that if Han Ting left first, she would be very angry. But in the end, Han Ting did leave first, and Ji Xing wasn’t angry because Han Ting used the forgiveness card.

My favorite scene in this drama was actually when Han Ting and Ji Xing had that huge argument. The scene was so intense, and the acting from Tan Song Yun and Xu Kai was amazing. I could feel Ji Xing’s anger and fear, but I also felt Han Ting’s frustration and annoyance. Xu Kai’s eyes conveyed those emotions so well.

This drama truly made me feel the ups and downs of a relationship. Overall, it might not be the best Chinese drama I’ve ever watched, but in terms of the experience while watching, this drama made me feel so many emotions. Especially when Han Ting decided to make Doctor Cloud’s data open-source. At that moment, I felt how wonderful it would be if something like that could happen in real life. Because, as we know, nowadays, data has become a tool for war between businesses and even nations. But in this drama, data was what brought them together. Dong Yang’s mission is truly noble, even the board of directors sarcastically commented that Han Ting turned Dong Yang into a charity organization.

Honestly, I might never feel the same way when watching another drama. Even though I rate this drama an 8.5, I enjoyed this drama, and I feel lucky to have watched it. This drama has become one of the most memorable ones for me.

PS: All the actors and actresses performed very well.