Everyone Loves Me

I watched the lead actor in this one (Lin Yi) in Put Your Head on My Shoulder and quite liked him in it, so when I saw he was in Everyone Loves Me, I thought I'd give it a try. It's a similar kind of set up -- enemies to lovers. But going both ways. 

So, in this one, the female lead, Yue Qian Ling (actress Zhou Ye), is a digital artist and works as an intern on an otome game while she finishes up her degree. Gu Xun (Lin Yi) is a game designer (programmer/idea guy?) who is known as an aloof dude. Qian Ling is enamored with Gu Xun, but he really has never paid any attention to her...

Which isn't totally true. They're actually in a FPS gaming group together, but there they go under the avatars "Campus Hunk" and "Sticky Dough Twist". They also even play at the same arcade and are often vying against each other for first place. Gu Xun is very interested in Sticky Dough Twist, not knowing it's Qian Ling. While gaming, she's talented, harsh, and tells it like it is. When she asks for advice on how to get her crush to like her, he gives her advice to act like a timid, weak "I need saving" kind of girl, which is nothing at all like she's like.

But she tries it. But it of course backfires because she's trying the "naive" girl shtick on HIM and he hates those kind of girls. 

Here is where I gotta say this show isn't as good as Put Your Head on My Shoulder. She's (for the first 6 episodes) trying SO hard to re-make herself into what she thinks he wants and is SO forgiving when he's a total ass to her. It's painful. And, I mean, I get why he gets annoyed at her, because anyone with a brain would be annoyed by her. But he is a total ass. As a viewer, I was getting mad at both of them--her for trying to hard to completely change herself just for a guy that treats her like garbage and him for just being a jerk.

After episode 6 I was thinking that I'd just give it up. But I thought I'd at least check some reviews to see if it improves (especially after I realised it had over 20 episodes, even if they are just 40ish minutes instead of an hour). And the couple of reviews I clicked on seemed to note the same dragging issue BUT they all said episode 7 is where it picks up. 

So I figured I'd give it another couple and watched episode 7 and 8. It does improve. Basically, she confesses as Qian Ling and he rejects her in a very public way. That FINALLY FFS snaps her out of it and she vows to have nothing else to do with him. But, in the same episode, when she's venting to her online gaming group that night, he figures out that she's Sticky Dough Twist. So now the tables have been turned. 

He's trying to apologise and explain himself and she's having none of it -- and finally acting like herself instead of a meek idiot girl.

Though I still have reservations as some of the reviews also talk about the increase in Chinese censorship and how that's led to a very lacklustre story (particular in the actual romance part). So I think I will probably continue watching it BUT I don't have super high expectations and I very very seriously doubt I'll like it more than PYHOMS. I may, honestly, just stick it out until they actually get together and then see if I want to stick around after that. It does remind me why I usually stick to the Korean stuff over the Chinese stuff, though I really would like to get better at Chinese.

Though, to be fair, I don't think it's the actors in this case--it's more the writing/plot.

Oh, and I forgot the second lead couple. The dude is one of Gu Xun's friends/co-worker and the girl is his very socially anxious assistant. I mean, it's actually painful to watch her. Other than for "plot reasons" I have no idea why he wouldn't have either fired her or reassigned her to a role where she doesn't have to talk to people. She can work if she doesn't have to actually, you know, communicate or talk to others. Things kinda essential to an executive assistant...

Lastly, I'll mention the game stuff -- I'm adjacent to programmers / otome knowledge / game design enough that I was interested in that side of the plot as well. Some of it is kinda realistic, but other bits really aren't (unless Chinese dev shops are totally different). But I think that's somewhat for the drama and office politics.

Oh. And the title is stupid. 

Edit: Hm. Ok. I've made it through episode 16 but I'm really kind of annoyed. One, they'd all be fired. They all act so inappropriately. It's like they are 12 year olds, the lot of them, including some of the 'older' bosses. And he's STILL not confessed his feelings and now she's more or less back to liking him. I dunno. I'm feeling very waffle-y about it.

Edit: ...so, it's now month's later. I think I need to just admit that I'm not gonna finish this one.