Only for Love (2023)

Dylan Wang is just soooooo swoony!

If for no other reason, everyone should watch this so that they can swoon over Dylan Wang every second he is on screen. OMG I just love love love love him so much. But there are other good reasons too.
I actually really enjoyed this show, I don't get why it gets so much hate. Yes, there is a lot of business talk (you can just skip) and some plotlines or characters personality traits and decisions are questionable, but that's part of the show's charm. I loved the three couples, I loved the friendship and family relationships, it was refreshing to see a rich family be so close-knit and so welcoming of the love interests of their young members, instead of the usual shananigans.
Above all, i really really really loved how much Shi Yan was devoted to his woman, he is exactly everything I love about a ML.
I also like FL a lot, she was intelligent, hard-working, had good core values. She could be a little spoiled, she definetly could have been more honest, but it all adds to that characters' arch.
The only character i didn't really care much for was the magazine boss who was very indecisive towards her boyfriend, but even that i can sort of get.
The OST was nice, the kiss scenes were crazy hot, I could rewatch those a thousand times. Andddd... bonus... horses! If there are scenes with horses, it's perfect because it's my favourite animal.

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Just Look at the Leads Visual

The plot was just bad. They do a great job at writing the leads background job etc. but suck at writing character development. I still cant believe that Shu Yi get away with all the things she did to Shi Yan with that lousy apology. They drag the plot for like 4 episode and without any important thing happening beside the sides character relationship which i dont really care. Shu Yi BFF shan shan was just awful at giving advice, and although Shu Yi is really good at her job she just not ready for relationship i guess and instead show us a development of it they only show of how bad she is at it over and over again. when her mom keep matchmaking her she not even explaining things throughfully and it pissed me off lol. Shi yan at first also not being rational with all his doing by not giving shu yi any explanation of not accepting the draft she made. Its a shame bcs i know the actors in this is good at acting but the script is not. kinda waste my time watching all 36 episode because of it. The Leads visual was what made me finish this drama.

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This is your average CEO sits in his office for 30 episodes. The show does not look as good as it portrays. There were several scenes that made me very mad because of how the characters acted and the show itself is pretty boring. It's all about companies having problems and the main leads trying to fix it.

Shi Yan's personality makes me mad. I just can't stand his arrogant person. He thinks that he everyone's deal and is super self centered. I understand that he is a CEO but not everything comes to you. Zheng Shuyi is the complete opposite, when Shi Yan and Shuyi are dating, I feel like it's Shuyi who does all the work in their relationship. It just feels like Shi Yan doesn't care and he puts in no effort at all.

The side casts are not really any better. Shan Shan makes me really mad, it's like she loves Guan Ji, but idk there like toys to each other to play around with. She doesn't care about his feelings at all and pretends she doesn't want him or love when she does everything she can to meet up with him.

This show took me almost half a year to finish because it was just boring and I didn't want to continue to watch it. If it wasn't because the main leads were Bai Lu and Wang Hedi, I would have dropped it a long time ago.

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Takes the cold executive trope too far for too long

8.5/10 is my rating.This is a 2023 Chinese romantic drama with 36, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

As a reporter Zheng Shu Yi (Bai Lui) has a specialized and unique writing angle as a writer for a financial news publication. She is highly capable and career driven and her goal is to get enough headline articles that she can pursue digital platforming the publications to pull her magazine into the modern era. When the opportunity arises to land an exclusive with a young CEO who is rising in the financial investment world, it is the perfect chance to get a headline. Everyone is curious to know more about the cold but exceptional Shi-Yan (Dylan Wang). In fact Shu Yi’s arch rival, who is equally ambitious, is so determined to land the interview she even cheats in an attempt to get the exclusive. But Shi-Yan was more intrigued by Shu-Yi’s outline than her rivals so she still lands the interview. Once in his realm, Shu Yi decides she likes the handsome Shi Yan for more than just an interview subject, Can the determined journalist melt the heart of the cold young CEO?

Review

If you like the cold chief executive officer (CEO) trope then this is definitely a solid addition to that category. Overall I liked it. I recommend it for anyone that is fans of either lead or supporting actors as they all act their roles very well. If you like cold executives, romance and/or want a slice of the financial reporting or technological investment realms, you would find this interesting. There were some aspects that were not really interesting to me and some frustrating slow spots. It is not one I would rewatch in the immediate future, with so many choices available. I found the length of time he was “cold” and the parts about financial investments, tedious.

Spoilers

I think they take the cold executive trope a bit too far in this one. He is not just cold to her but I think his behavior borders on abusive. When she is trying to connect with him, if she doesn’t say exactly what he wants her to say, when and how he wants her to say it, he walks away or kicks her out. He says he does not like to talk business on his personal time and will shut her down even if she is doing it as a common interest to carry the conversation. And that would be one thing, but he seems to break the “do not mix business and personal” any time he feels like it. He doesn’t even say what she did that he didn’t like, he just shuts her out emotionally and often literally. His friends and family even find him difficult to deal with.

Usually by three fourths of the way through the series, the ice cube CEO has thawed and is now all warm and fuzzy, at least to the main girl. In his case, other than the briefest thaw before getting break up mad at her, he remained cold until the last few episodes. Which, to me, was entirely too long.

Okay so she approached him originally to get the story. So what? She is a reporter it is what she does. But she was using him to get back at the cheaters? I felt like they decided to twist it that way later because that was not a motivation she revealed in any of her abundant internal dialogues early on. But still, he should not have been so hung up on why she approached him originally, but where they went from there. I thought the level of cold shoulder she got from that was over the top. Then several commented later that he let her off easy. She was so heart broken she landed in the hospital multiple times, that is not letting anyone off easy. And I dd nit think she did anything so horrible to him to deserve his cold shoulder, yet again, anyway. Supposedly he still loved her but had no problem seeing how he was completely devastating her emotionally.

The second guy in this I thought was her perfect match. He noticed when she was sad and did everything to cheer her up. He let her talk work whenever, and even helped her find new opportunities. Through his actions and words he indicated how wonderful he thought she was. He was smart, handsome, successful and extremely kind to the main girl. She was happy and laughed a lot when she was with 2nd guy, so of course she liked the absolute opposite guy. I was disappointed he did not at least get someone else wonderful.

Other reviewers said her best friend gave her terrible advice and, early on, I disagreed. She gave great advice on how to catch his interest. But I found they were right later when she was advising on how to save her relationship. Continue to lie and deceive him until he is so in love with you he easily forgives? Main girl should have known better. In the book on being petty and holding a grudge (pretending such thing exists) there would be a picture of him. They never explained what made him so he assumed the worst in relationships but that definitely characterizes his reactions. Deceiving him was absolutely the worst thing with him and anyone that knew him well would know that. So the friend’s advice was so far from right with him. It was frustrating she kept following the friend’s advice and kept hiding things. Main girl should have known him well enough by then to know he would not forgive being deceived easily.

I found all of the “business talk” boring. Financial investment in technological companies just was not that intriguing. Reporting was more interesting but all the investment speak was a yawn fest. And it just made the main guy look less capable.

The side couples’ romances were all super heart warming and they spent just the right amount of time on them. I thought the triple wedding idea was great.

I know people love when the couples spend seconds to minutes just gazing at each other but it is not my favorite. I have never seen anyone do that in real life.

#OnlyForLove

#DylanWang

#BaiLiu

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Light Heart Drama to watch for the Leads

I like this drama and of course Bai Lu's is always and will play the funny employee (comedic role) this is about the third drama she's in that she dates a CEO. I would like for her to pick different dramas with different roles in the future. Her acting is best suited for other roles that we have past seen in the last couple of years. I kind of didn't like how they wrote her character. But I'm watching it for Dylan. Dylan's acting has improved little by little. I'm glad that we get to see him play a CEO and his character is the cool type. Like what they say "perfect man." They have about the one of the best on screen chemistry.

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This series could have been so much better but was unfortunately disappointing

This series could have been so much better but was unfortunately disappointing. Very long, drawn out and slow paced...... I personally do not understand why it was produced this way but it must be due to the screenwriter, as the Producer has produced a number of very good shows such as Mysterious Lotus Casebook. It could have been done in at least 24 episodes to have a better flow and keep the viewer wanting more. I wanted to skip / fast forward at times but watched with eng subs so it wasn't doable.

The actors did a good job and Bai Lu and Dylan Wang did not disappoint. Their chemistry was on point and affection believable. The side couples also did well and their storyline was better than the Main couple's. The main couple's storyline was at times clouded by clichés and downright childish misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Story had flaws and its too tedious to go through everything.

Ost wasn't memorable

Production and Visual FX : 8

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Great chemistry between couples

Many people criticize Only For Love because of the constant miscommunication between Zheng Shuyi (Bailu) and Shi Yan (Dylan Wang). In my honest opinion, however, that doesn't really matter, because the storyline itself is great!

While there are many times when I felt second-hand embarrassment (especially with FL), I really enjoyed this drama. The chemistry between ML and FL was amazing. Sure, the FL might be a bit proactive, but it builds up the story. The ML may be bossy, but we all have to admit that he played his role well.

The second couple (Qin Shiyue and Yu You) was also very sweet. Like the FL, Qin Shiyue may be a bit too proactive, and Yu You was fairly hesitant to be with her at first, but when the two do get together, the result is beautiful love. In order to see that, though, you'll have to dive deeper into the drama, and go through all the times that Yu You felt uncomfortable with Shiyue, but I'd say its fairly worth it.

Overall, IMO, this drama is great, flaws and all. Some people will hate it, others will love it, it's up to you to decide.

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Good Acting, Muddled Storyline

So, overall I liked this drama. It is definitely kinda campy and at times silly, but the main leads had good chemistry together and everyone did great with the acting. My biggest issues were the constant miscommunication and refusing to just talk honestly with each other, especially as the FL and ML's relationship developed. At one point as the FL asked for the 10th time if she should tell the truth, I was literally yelling at my computer "YES!"

I also felt that the motivations and emotions of the characters weren't shown very clearly. I was confused for most of the middle third of the show why the 2 of the 3 couples were acting the way they were. Which could definitely just be my own thick skull, but I found it wasnt until each character flat out explained why they were acting a fool that I finally understood.? I think if maybe they condensed the middle episodes in like half, it would have felt less frustrating, especially since one of my biggest pet peeves is when there's relationship drama just because characters aren't having a simple conversation with each other. And this drama dragged that out for a LOT longer than I think it needed to.

My other big issue was with Yu Yue and Qin Shi Yue. Their relationship felt very forced and honestly weird. Normally I don't have an issue with age gaps in a relationship, but they felt mismatched as a couple and more big brother/little sister-ish. I understand what the writers were going for, but I just didn't quite buy that relationship.

Overall, I think I would still rewatch it, and I did finish it in less than a week because it did have some really nice moments and aspects to it. I don't think it'll be one of my absolute favorite shows though.

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Typical CEO story, Nothing special

Pros: leads are really proactive in flirting, quick in seeing their interest for each other, not shy and embarrassed abt their romance as in they're not really hiding it, proudly shows the other, good side couples who were actually interesting, cutesy scenes were better than their intimate ones, i wanted the second male lead so bad, there were other women but he did not give the time of day at all and it was a really small part of the story,
Cons: their little breakup was really silly and not needed, I didn't really understand the reason and why they couldn't just talk to each other???, the progress of them getting back together was also weird, all their kissing scenes were kind of awkward (had her eyes open like a lot), for me personally it was not the greatest chemistry but so many loved it so might just be me,
a lot of business stuff which wasn't too bad but bored me near the middle-end,

I love the journalist as a female lead plot and I was going in expecting a lot as it was really popular. Their chemistry was nothing special to me, especially during the kiss scenes. The thing that disappointed me the most was their breakup. Their communication was so well leading up to that and the breakup was played out for an awkwardly boring long time. I liked the side couples a lot, their scenes were cute. My favorite was her coworker and his assistant, I wish they had more screen time. All the characters even the "bad ones" like her ex and his girlfriend were pretty interesting too. I wish they played more into when they all found out the girlfriend was lying. Watching that scene was lowkey pretty awkward to me, I wish there was like a better revenge. Even though I loved the second male lead, I thought his involvement in the story was also out of nowhere and felt off the rest of the show. When he first showed up, I expected him to be a small side part but he ended appearing up so much (not complaining). Overall, I genuinely was interested and enjoyed it throughout. I think it's just a classic cold CEO story. I rated it 8/10 right after I finished but writing the review 2 days later, I forgot a lot about the story already and would give it a solid 7.5.

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I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this despite its (many) flaws! Despite all the nonsensical and frustrating aspects, I was still eagerly awaiting each new episode.

I wouldn't consider myself a Bai Lu fan, but she was just so playful and charming when her character Shu Yi was flirting shamelessly with Dylan Wang's Shi Yan. Dylan Wang felt miscast because he didn't pull off the CEO aura and his expressions were sometimes lacking, but he does have a pretty face and he looked good with Bai Lu.

But I had too many issues with the plot and characters. Shu Yi was (supposedly) an intelligent, insightful, and hardworking journalist, but it seemed like 100% of her work was focused on Shi Yan and his company, and when it was time to get serious about her relationship with Shi Yan, she totally failed at communicating. Even after her friend Yu You explained how her actions were coming across, she still didn't change her behavior! It was like she was too used to being the center of attention and spoiled by others to understand how to communicate and apologize.

It was delightful when Shi Yue came into the picture and I cackled every time she was trying to help Shi Yan or be his spy. It was nice to see a lovable rich girl for once, but my one complaint is that I didn't like how her romantic storyline was developed. She became a relentless, obsessed stalker after one extremely brief encounter?! I wish she'd been given room to grow and mature before a romance developed and I didn't like her love interest's sudden 360-degree turn either. I'm not saying they weren't cute together, I'm just saying I didn't like how the progression was written.

And then there's Guan Ji and Bi Ruo Shan, who had a setup I loved and so much chemistry! Friends with benefits who fall in love! I even understand why initially they would be hesitant to take a chance and open up their hearts, but they just looked depressed separately for far too long. Especially while Bi Ruo Shan was giving Shu Yi the worst advice on the planet. There were too other minor couples that were very pleasant though, which showed the writers WERE capable of writing mature relationships with good communication!

My last complaint is Yi Yang, whose entire character was unnecessary, or at least the romantic aspect was completely unnecessary. He literally came out of nowhere just to create opportunities for Shi Yan to get jealous??? The actor who plays him was great though and I'll be keeping an eye out for him.

It's been too long since I watched this so I probably had other complaints but this is what I remembered most clearly. But like I said, I still found this immensely entertaining and have no regrets about watching it.

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Watch this of course for Bai Lu & Dylan Wang. And I'm not disappointed. Haha... Yes, after read many review here, I realize this drama have many problem. But however I still really like the chemistry between Dylan & Bai Lu.

This drama tell story of 3 main couple & 4 side couple. And almost all of the relationship stories kinda unhealthy in their own way. The most healthy above 7 story maybe only 2, 1 main couple & 1 side couple...

1st couple. Our ML & FL
Shi Yan (SYa) and Shu Yi (SY). Start with the wrong foot, leading to misunderstanding & hiding the truth. Haha... Start with SY get closer to SYa with the purpose of her carrier & revenge against her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend, Yue Xing Zhou (XZ), broke up with her to be with niece of SYa. So with the mind to show off to XZ, SY get closser to SYa. Of course you can't forever hide the evil-smelling, soon or later we can smell it... And when SYa finally know about that 'little secret', SY not instantly confess & ask for forgiveness, but still try to hide it. The consequences between got caught & confess is so clear here.

2nd main couple. Guan Ji (GJ) and Bi Ruo Shan (RS)
The playboy & playgirl. Both have fair share of naughty & affraid of commitment. But GJ more honest to himself & his feeling. And in the end, he is the one that take the first step into the relationship.

3rd main couple Yu You (YY) and Qin Shi Yue (SYu)
Story of young woman and an older guy. The initiative SYu get block a few time by YY, that feel he is a little bit too old for SYu & think SYu at first chase him only for fun & nothing serious. But overtime YY finally feel a little bit missed when SYu suddenly dissappear from his daily life. That's when he finally realize his own feeling for SYu.

4th Yue Xingzhou and Qin Lezhi
The story of the EX. From the first their relationship already scream problem. The rich girl that proactive with someone boyfriend. And turn out in the end this rich girl still hide very dark & twisted secrets...

5th Guan Xiang Cheng and Tang Yi.
6th Shi Wenguang and Song Le Lan
The secret couple. Well this 2 couple basicly have the same story line. The couple that have reason to hide their relationship from the world. The diff only 1 is married & the other is not.

7th Chen Sheng and Kong Nan
The most healthy relationships in the whole groups. Meeting because of work & just get interested with each other & start the relationship. We don't get more from this couple...

Ok that's basically the introduction of our couple. Now the other ploblem that arise in the drama.
- Why in the first place GJ & RS must hide their relationship never really told. How come best friend that always share every problem suddenly so secretive about her own relationship. Even when RS struggles with her own feelings, she never once told SY about it...
- Yeah a little stupid advice that RS told SY about hiding the truth from SYa in the first place.
- The funny litte fact that man always ask for forgiveness. When SYa ask his assistant what he do if his GF angry, he can instantly answered. But how SY so confuse how to ask SYa forgiveness.... And how in the end YY give her direction where her mistake actually is....

What i like:
+ the chemistry between Bai Lu & Dylan Wang.
+ to see other character of Miles Wei. I usually watch him as arogant boss like SYa here, but in here I can see him as soft & gentle man.

Overall I still really like this drama.

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