This is an easy to watch romance series, spanning over 40 episodes, revolving around 3 couples with criss-crossed path in their career in medical, law enforcement & media. Maybe less of the latter.
The main couple is Xing Ke Lei (portrayed by Bai Jing Ting of Reset), a special force team captain and Mi Ka (portrayed by Ma Si Chun), a medical doctor. Their first encounter is full of suspense & thrill, as Mi Ka is caught in the fire-storm of a robbery in a jewellery shop. It ends with Xing Ke Lei swooping in to save her where she was caught with a hand grenade. A grateful Mi Ka sends her thanks, but not knowing who is her saviour. The couple next meets at a training for medical doctors whereby Xing Ke Lei is the trainer. Even at the onset, he is already aware that he has encountered Mi Ka earlier, he keeps it under wrap. The two clashes with misunderstanding, but slowly gets to know each other better. Xing Ke Lei is smitten with the positive & sunny Mi Ka, while Mi Ka finds a empathetic person within Xing Ke Lei.
The 2nd couple is the unlikely pairing of Shu Wen Bo, who is a subordinate of Xing Ke Lei in the special task force and Ruan Qing Xia, a modern & slightly aggresive media reporter. The pairing is a little unconventional, whereby Qing Xia is the pursuer, with Shu Wen Bo being the shy and almost daft guy. Qing Xia is smitten with Shu Wen Bo early on, but keeps facing challenges in her pursuit due to Shu Wen Bo’s insecurity.
The last couple focuses on the older pairing for Xing Ke Lei’s sister – Xing Ke Yao and Shao Yu Han, a doctor mentoring Mi Ka. Xing Ke Yao is an independent woman, who is tasked with taking care of the family business, running around & globe-trotting. The couple was previously in a relationship during their university days, but fell off due to family commitments, exacerbated with their pride, ego and lack of communication. In their subsequent reunion, there are still sparkles & chemistry, and both parties care deeply about each other.
The story follows quite a standard chronology for such romance series. The first encounter with plenty of interactions at the training academy, sparking chemistry and misunderstanding. Then a crisis providing a bonding opportunity, in this case an earthquake rescue operations combining medical assistance & law enforcement. Another crisis mainly from misunderstanding from family commitment, the 2 sisters who creates a lot of rumours for the main couple, testing their trust in each other. The final test in long distance relationship for the couple when Mi Ka is offerred training overseas. In each of the challenges, the journey strengthens the couple’s relationship.
I do like the relationship for Xing Ke Lei and Mi Ka, open, trusting & positive. Unfortunately, I did not feel much of the real chemistry between the couple. And at the back of my mind, I kept thinking for a special task force personnel – Xing Ke Lei is so skinny! It is Shu Wen Bo who actually comes across as more reflective of how special law enforce would look like. It also puzzles me how much time a special task force personnel will have – regardless of how busy things are. But I do appreciate the attractions that Bai Jing Ting exudes, although I did not think he will fit the special task force well. It was lucky that he puts on more clothings during the filming as it would be quite apparent he is too skinny for the role. And I noticed that he has a penchant for running, as the series show him running quite a bit (as did the other series, of which I can’t recall now).
The love triangle of Shu Wen Bo – Ruan Qing Xia – Lu Feng is interesting, but lacks chemistry. Frankly, I am not so clear what Qing Xia sees in Wen Bo. He is an honest guy, but a girl such as Ruan Qing Xia would be so demanding. I see lots of conflicts in their journey, although this is not really explored.
As for the last couple – I find their journey a little cheesy, and probably lacks communication the most. It is totally not cool not to discuss their relationship. The subsequent journey shows them still in love, but still not communicating and still ends up together. A bit of a puzzle to me.
Conclusion : 6/10
Is this a great romance series? Maybe not. If you are looking for an easy watch, without needing to think too much, the series provide good entertainment to pass the weekend. Nothing too serious, nothing too memorable.
Cheng's Musings 