autodach

Is this a good drama, objectively? No. Did I have a great time regardless? Hell yes!

Summary from Mydramalist: Jin Xiaobao, the son of the wealthiest man in the Jiangnan region, falls in love with icy, white-clothed beauty Huai’en due to an unexpected meeting. This young woman he sees as his future wife, however, seems to have aroused a lot of enmity. When he comes to the rescue of an injured Huai’en, who's tainted by an aphrodisiac, the true identity of this beauty is revealed.

Haphazard notes and thoughts under the cut:

• This drama is actual BL, thanks to being produced in Thailand! By my standards, it’s very tame – there’s kisses and fade-to-black sex scenes (not in that order, lol) – but the fact that it’s explicitly gay is very refreshing for a Chinese drama.

• The main couple: Bisexual King Jin Xiaobao is a delightfully air-headed and well-meaning person. He lives a pampered lifestyle with simple aspirations - his main goal in life seems to be spending time with various beauties, but he does have a sense of duty/chivalry. Not used to censoring himself, he’s very earnest and speaks his mind openly.
Zongzheng Huai’en is Jin Xiaobao’s foil: Cunning and manipulative, he hides his thoughts and intentions and doesn’t mind underhanded tactics. He’s also an unhinged maniac. His actor has great control of his facial expressions (which is as good as the acting here gets).
Initially, Huai’en uses Xiaobao to achieve his own ends, but we all know how these things go, hehe. He falls for Xiaobao entirely against his will, but he falls hard. Xiaobao is just immediately smitten. I kinda wish there was just a little more complexity to it from his side as well, but they’re cute. Xiaoboao does get a simple “growing up” personal arc, though.

• The supporting characters are fun, too. Both of the mains have two retainers each, their personalities befitting their masters’. The grumpy miracle doctor gets to be a side pairing with one of them.
Xiaobao’s parents are also important characters, and ended up more complex than I initially thought.

• The show’s tone is light and goofy. It’s not quite a parody, but pokes fun at and plays with lots of tropes. The underlying story could have worked with a more serious execution as well (if you add some subtlety and polish), which is always a good sign.
Xiaobao’s developing maturity arc has some genuinely good moments. Once he has grown, he cannot go back, and he knows this. He refuses to return to the person he used to be, even when it would be convenient and everyone wants him to. That he of all people is the one to strive ever forward would have been unthinkable at the beginning of his story.

• I actually loved this drama. It was mindless, cheesy fun that doesn’t overstay its welcome at 12 episodes. The story is 100% predictable and kinda stupid. The budget was low. It’s very obvious the creators knew exactly what they were aiming for, and in my opinion they did deliver. No need to reinvent the wheel - in the first episode, we immediately set the mood via crossdressing and sex pollen, and it’s super trope-y in general. Thankfully I’m not sensitive to second-hand embarrassment, because Xiaobao really is dumb, and Huai’en is smart only in comparison to him.

• One detail I appreciated was long hair actually (almost) getting in the way. The characters do little movements, like holding hair out of the way while sitting or lying down, that make it seems they’re used to the length.

• I’m adding the novel to my endless to-be-read list!