So I was reluctant to watch this despite hearing really great things about it as modern day c-dramas aren't really for me. Not sure what it is but I think I find them often too cheesy, King's Avatar is actually the only modern day c-drama I've been able to watch from start to finish without dropping. So you can see I don't usually watch these but decided to give this one a chance.
It's about an aerospace engineer (Yu Tu) and an actress (Qiao Jing Jing) that knew each other from high school but never got together and then only got to know each other more when they were 29/30 as pretty established in their careers. The reason they get together again is because of a mobile game that Jing Jing wants to get better at because of an endorsement deal and Yu Tu just happens to be amazing at the game so as a result he becomes her coach in the lead up to some public event where she has to play the game in front of people. They fall in love through that but that stuff aside, you can kind of guess the type of struggles they will face once they become an item, as on paper, they lead different lifestyles because of their jobs but over the course of this drama you see them become each other's inspiration to want to do better and follow their dreams. I was initially put off because of the gaming element (funny I say that because King's Avatar was allllll about the gaming and e-sports) BUT if you're reading this thinking the same, fear not, the gaming stuff only goes on for about half of the drama then eventually dies away as they get into a relationship.
What I liked about the drama
- Casting - Yang Yang and Dilraba were perfect for their roles as Yu Tu and Jing Jing IMO, you can't find a better looking pair for this drama if you're into eye candy and watch dramas for superficial reasons
like me. - Story - I actually really liked this story, of course, there were really cheesy moments that made me cringe a little but at the same time, I quite liked how it's unconventional in the sense that there's no third party bitch trying to break up the main couple, there's no secondary male involved, no love triangles, no other pairing, it's just simply about Yu Tu and Jing Jing. The story carries its own weight focusing on these two and the realistic struggles of working in two very different careers and how they still make time for each other to make it work.
- The matureness factor - so related to the above, this story is mature, it's not about two high schoolers falling in love, it's about two 30 year olds falling in love and you get to see things like how they think very deeply about each other and the relationship rather than just getting into it, you see real passion for each other, the longing and you even get BED SCENES. Yes guys, bed scenes (no nakedness unfortunately but you do get to see Yang Yang's back in one of the later episodes LOL). These two are real adults and even sleep over at each others' places before marriage (usually frowned upon in Chinese culture fyi) - I'm all here for it.
- Unnecessary / OTT intimacy - ok yes intimacy is expected in romance dramas to an extent so this may be a minor point but there was just a bit tooooo much random kissing in the second half of the drama, it was nice to see at the start but was a bit OTT towards the end.
- Yu Tu when he's 38 - maybe this is more about Yang Yang's acting but was it just me or was YY trying too hard in the last timeskip when he's 38? His dialogue sounded like he was constantly out of breath as if he's trying to play a character that looks 30 but has the voice of a 60 year old.
- The disappearance of the ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend - so earlier in the drama, maybe around episode 19-20 there's a scene with Yu Tu's ex-girlfriend and Jing Jing's ex-boyfriend where they basically both shut them down after they try come back but then we just don't ever see them again for the rest of the drama. I know I mentioned I liked the fact that there were no rivals or love triangles but just feels a bit odd for them to have made an appearance at the beginning and then disappeared for the rest of the drama. Even a scene to show that they eventually moved on would've been nice and more complete.
- The wedding - was underwhelming, I know it's supposed to be understated as they had a group wedding (I didn't even know those existed) but it felt so fragmented and insignificant as a scene, like you go from someone recognising Yu Tu and Jing Jing in the waiting room, to them running away to the actual place where the wedding is going to take place, to them imagining what it's going to be like, to them kissing and then they're married?
- The ending - personal opinion but would've loved to see if they had kids etc in maybe one last time skip. To me, it ended rather abruptly and randomly with the Search For God project having completed then Jing Jing saying she's proud of Yu Tu, then they walk away to the after party - drama ends. Perhaps the point is that Jing Jing supported Yu Tu all the way to him becoming a successful aerospace engineer and the completion of this project was due to Jing Jing cheering him on and not letting him give up.
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