Only for Love

The shows is a little but cheesy and predictable, but it is still a very cute to watch. I was looking for a kdrama to watch, and stumbled upon a trailer for this chinese drama. Dylan Wang seemed like a very handsome lead, so I gave it a try...and was not disappointed. I hope he will have more romantic roles in the future. He is strikingly handsome and has a very attractive voice. There's something very sexy about his gaze. He reminded me of Song Kang in Nevertheless. The actors had good chemistry, which is always important with romance genre. The supporting actors were also enjoyable to watch.

I see haters are already at work trying to malign this drama. Not just here, I'm seeing hate videos on Youtube too. Unfortunately, this happens in the world of Chinese dramas where producers are blackmailed into paying up, otherwise their dramas are defamed on social media. Apparently, the producer of this drama did not give in to blackmail, thus flaws were invented or those that are common in cdramas and would largely be ignored were exaggerated with this drama. The attacks got propagated to other sites including international ones.

But don't let haters keep you from enjoying this delightful rom-com.

Only For Love is about a beautiful and smart but rather quirky reporter, Zheng Shuyi (Bai Lu), and a hotshot mysterious young CEO, Shi Yan (Dylan Wang), who requests to be interviewed by Shuyi to publicize the vision of his venture capital company to help startups achieve their full potential. Shuyi has just caught her boyfriend cheating on her with a girl she mistook for Shi Yan's niece. Her boyfriend breaks up with her for the girl who promised to help him with his career. With her pride shaken, Shuyi decides to flirt with Shi Yan, seemingly to get back at her ex-boyfriend and to allow her to conduct a series of interviews with the much sought after bachelor CEO. Their constant meetings lead to romance. But what would Shi Yan feel when he knows the truth about Shuyi's reasons for pursuing him?

Shuyi is not the usual type of female lead in Chinese dramas. She is brilliant when it comes to work. But outside of it, she is somewhat clueless. Self-centered and shameless too. Her clumsy pursuit of Shi Yan is hilarious, showing how out of character she is at playing a seductress. But is it all play-acting? Might this seductress have fallen in love with her prey?

Shi Yan is being hailed on social media as the Chinese Mr. Darcy with his reserved and stoic demeanor as well as the dashing figure he cuts especially in a riding outfit. But he's also got a charm all his own. When he smirks at Shu Yi's clumsy attempts at seduction or when he looks at her with all the affection and sexual tension he oftentimes has a hard time keeping under wraps, your heart wouldn't be able to help dancing with excitement.

There might be some cultural challenges that could impact a non-Chinese viewer's understanding of the drama. For example, the joke about the cake in Shi Yan's uncle's dinner feast started with Shuyi mischievously texting "making love' to her ex-boyfriend's query about what she was doing. But when she noticed Shi Yan watching her composing the text, she changed her text to "making cake". The misunderstanding arose due to some texts not being subtitled. In addition, it seems "eat cake" has some sexual connotation in Chinese culture. So if you don't understand something in the story, try to join social media discussions and ask away.

All in all, this drama is pleasing to the eye and is quite entertaining. It starts off lighthearted but the characters turn out to be more than typical rom-com characters. These are multi-dimensional characters who are not all good but also not all bad. In short, they are human. Dissecting the characters and what makes them tick is fundamental to enjoying this delightful drama.

(Updated 12/04/2023 to add information about hate reviews)

A lot of ppl said this storyline is a mess and too slow but if we compare this types of story with reality, it is suit the best with reality bc I never seen anyone develop their love with each other so fast ( example, in the most of Cdrama The fl and ml is just too fast so it doesnt feel real). So base on my opinion their love development is just like us in real life, moreover i can feel the chemistry from fl&ml, also the love is mature. Even though the quality of some scene of this drama is not good enough for me but i still enjoying it. Bonus for pretty female lead and hot handsome male lead and the supporting actors is fun to watch.

This drama is so bad that is good?

Let me explain.

Even though sometimes you get a sense of what the writers are trying to do and the direction they tried to take, the script makes absolutely no sense. You spend the whole series speculating the intention of the characters or if there's any real plot at all because nothing really happens for most of the drama.

The series is at least 15 episodes too long and the secondary plot of technology is the most boring thing I have tried to watch in my life, I literally disconnected the whole time.

But then you watch Dylan Wang and Bai Lu together and magic happens in front of you and somehow you forget everything else about the show. You find yourself smiling, trying to guess what the hell is going to happen with this couple, admiring their electrifying chemistry and wondering when their next kiss will be and for how long... Their characters suck? YES, there are a hot mes, (again the script is terrible) But they are really good together, and specially Bai Lu's performance is spectacular.

I have watched all Dylan Wang's dramas and I know he can act better than here (Unchained Love, The Rational Love or Love Between Fairy and Devil as an example) so I blame the stiffness and coldness of his character. ( last few episodes his acting is completely different than the beginning)

Secondary couples were also great to watch as well and in general as a group of friends. It was very enjoyable, great chemistry overall. Special mention to the character development of the couple of the niece Qin Shi Yue and the Teacher Yu You ( played by Shen Yu Jie and Wei Zhe Ming) that arc was actually great to watch.

Would I recommend this series? No if you are looking for something of quality with a good script and great characters. But if you are looking for a bit of a trash tv with an amazing chemistry to spend a cozy night at home this is the one for you.

By the way, soundtrack is actually great and it surprised me! Great music.

Only for love is the best ...dylan and bai lu has a lot of chemistry...they are the best..their acting felt so real and made me believe in love again..dylan and bailu did a great job....o love them so much ....they look so cute together..i don't know why some people think that dylan's acting wasn't good ...he did the character in a very elegant way ...the way he expresses the whole character...i just fall in love with the character shi yan.. .the show was written in a beautiful way..and was done beautifully...it satisfies me ...this love show is the best of all other love shows....i definitely want a season 2...i will wait for it.....