I'm a huge fan of Zhao Lu Si and Li Hong Yi, so seeing them work together was an absolute delight. Those two were literally the saving grace of this series. But even then, I feel like they were somewhat underutilized.
For example, it's well known that Zhao Lu Si excels at quirky humor, bringing loads of authentic, refreshing expressions and life to her roles. This translated well in the first four episodes, but eventually things became so somber and serious that nothing could distract the viewer from the terrible storytelling and constantly unraveling plot-like having Chun Hua get kidnapped every few episodes just to move the story along.
Though I loved the interactions between Chun Hua and Shangguan Qiu Yue, their screen time together was extremely brief for most of the series, and their chemistry didn't develop until well past the 20-episode mark. I was honestly confused most of the time since June Wu as Xiao Bai seemed more like the main ML, while Li Hong Yi was positioned more as the secondary ML. The way June Wu portrayed Xiao Bai was extremely wooden and unenjoyable to watch. Even when Xiao Bai began to fall for Chun Hua, there was no spark in their interactions, making those scenes a bit cringe.
So basically, the viewer is starved of Chun Hua and Shangguan Qiu Yue screen time while being given ample amounts of lackluster Chun Hua and Xiao Bai scenes.
To make matters worse, most of the 40 episodes are padded with storylines and relationships we care nothing about (such as the one between Qin Liu Feng and Leng Ning).
Then there's the cherry on top of this mess: the ending. I honestly thought it would conclude similarly to how the story began, but this time with the FL emerging from the pod (after dying from poisoning) and possibly encountering the second ML emerging from a pod as well, perhaps explaining to her how he ended up dying in the fantasy world. This would have provided perfect closure as they meet for the first time in true reality. But no, the writers decided to deliver the most convoluted, confusing, unsatisfactory ending they could think of-because why not?
The only thing that saved this series was watching Li Hong Yi randomly plant what must have been more than 20 kisses on Zhao Lu Si throughout the entire series. It was so amusing that I thought someone should create a drinking game based on just that.
Anyway, I gave it a 6/10 rather than a 7/10 because although it's watchable, 40 episodes is way too long. I'm sure quite a few people gave up on this series due to just that. The rest of us who really stuck in there to the end... had a huge cream pie thrown right at our faces, and must now go to bed crying over hours wasted.
