[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] About is Love 大约是爱

[Table122000]

Ep. 27:

Loved it! We get to see a jealous Wei Qing and I am always up for that. Serious chat between Wei Qing and Zhou Shi about the meaning of their relationship. I think Zhou Shi said she liked him as a man, but it was a bit unclear. Then we get scene of Wei Qing and the pretty dermatologist, which was great. Loved their conversation and liked that WQ was able to realize that there are other women/people who he is not allergic to, Zhou Shi is not the only one. With this knowledge, he was able to realize that he loves ZS for who she is as a person and not just because he can touch her without getting sick. WQ accepted his feelings for ZS.

 

Ep. 28-29:

Loved Bai Qin Jing these episodes! Her character is so smart (except how could she not know that her "online friend" was Ming Cheng?) 

The engagement was sudden for me, and semed a bit weird to be honest, but I just rolled with it. Fei Fei and Xiao Fei officially became a couple and shared a satisfying kiss at the hospital! Kudos to both actors for that lovely kiss scene. Loved that Fei Fei took charge of the  "rescue" of  Xiao Fei when he hurt his leg. When she shoved WQ aside so that she could carry XF-

Things between our main couple felt somewhat dragged out these 2 eps, but we did get to see Senior Campus Beauty get her comeuppance when WQ rejected her and used his illness to get rid of her. 

 

Ep. 30:

Kind of underwhelming end for our main couple, but I loved that all 3 couples got a happy ending and Wei Qing cured himself of his illness once he investigated his father's death and learned what happened that night, and then was able to come to terms with everything.  Liked that Zhou Shi kept her intelligence until the very end here. And we got a nice final kiss between our two leads. Some loose ends were not wrapped up, but you can't have everything I guess. 

 

Series Review:

 

Interesting characters and nice performances by an engaging young cast help to make this light, breezy watch a fun time. 3 cute couples each with a different love story, strong female friendships, a female lead who stands up for herself, along with her 2 awesome gal pal roommates are the strong points for me of this drama.  The second half was way better than the first half when the drama pulled away from the tropes and the cliches to allow some nice individual character development to occur and the story was much more interesting. Main female lead got a brain in the final 8 episodes, and I only wish she could have been that way for most of the drama.  I wish we could have had more development of the 2 side romances instead of some of the repetitive filler, but it is what it is.  Everyone was pretty to look at and gave a nice performance.  Loved the 3 couples and now want to see more of all the actors in other projects. (Yan Xi is my new crush!) Drama wasn't perfect, but I found it an addictive watch. Definitely a "binge watch" type of drama for when you want a nice, light rom com. 

 

 

[raziela]

On 3/11/2019 at 3:19 AM, Table122000 said:

 

The final episode was a little underwhelming for me too. It felt a bit rushed, even though the drama had plenty of time to wrap up everyone's storylines properly at 30 total episodes. Zhou Shi running away and refusing to confront Wei Qing once she arrived in America felt out of character. I also felt that the drama did not convey the passage of time very well, which added to my feeling that events were rushed along.  There were some things left unclear, such as did WQ really reconcile with his mother?  She left the hospital after the conversation with WQ where she told him she blamed him for "taking his father away from her and leading him to die in a foreign country". It was unclear to me whether she recognized her wrong way of thinking and was now ready to repair their relationship or not.  Also, did Xiao Fei ever really sincerely apologize to Wei Qing and confess all of the lies he told about  Wei Qing to Wei Qing's mother?  It was unclear to me if  the mother ever knew how Xiao Fei had wrongly accused WQ , that WQ was innocent all along.  Also, I thought Ms. Xue had been defeated in Ep. 26 when WQ had that showdown with her that said his mother would remain as director of the Yun Ma Galleries, but then she's back all of a sudden in the final episode. Did Zhou Shi ever say the words "I love you" to Wei Qing? He said he wanted an answer to his question when he returned from the USA, but did she ever actually say the words? or give a direct answer to his question?  I guess she agreed to be his girlfriend regardless. The final pool scene did feel random to me as well. I didn't get why the final conversation had to be in the water, but OK. 

Things that I liked about the final episode: I liked that each couple got a happy ending, and we had a nice final kiss scene between our main leads.  I liked that ZS was shown to still have  a normal intelligence when she figured out how to use Xiao Fei's contract to save Yun Ma Art. 

That's how I feel like the final episode just seemed to waste a lot of time for the OTP.  What was with the dumb shenanigans with ZS going all the way to the US to just follow him around and them not to interact.  Pointless!

The final random scene at the pool.  It's literally never mentioned before about that moment or day being soooo special to her but suddenly ZS is saying she goes there on the anniversary every year. And it just looked so awkward the whole conversation and kissing taking place in the public pool with everyone watching.

Like you said the situation with his mother was never really resolved. 

Also the awkward revelation of WQ having recovered from his allergy in the airport car park was so meh.  This was a huge part of the plot and we discover he is healed because he says an awkward hello to some random little girl, ZS hugs him...and then they go back to arguing about their relationship again.  He seemed to reach some kind of breakthrough about the scientific cause with the dermatologist lady he also wasn't allergic to but it seems like that didn't really mean anything.

Also they had a big kissing session in the hospital bed in episode 29 and then no discussion or reaction or anything. It was as it never happened!

I felt like the other two couples got better endings and scenes in this final episode than the central couple.

[raziela]

2 hours ago, Table122000 said:

Series Review:

 

Interesting characters and nice performances by an engaging young cast help to make this light, breezy watch a fun time. 3 cute couples each with a different love story, strong female friendships, a female lead who stands up for herself, along with her 2 awesome gal pal roommates are the strong points for me of this drama.  The second half was way better than the first half when the drama pulled away from the tropes and the cliches to allow some nice individual character development to occur and the story was much more interesting. Main female lead got a brain in the final 8 episodes, and I only wish she could have been that way for most of the drama.  I wish we could have had more development of the 2 side romances instead of some of the repetitive filler, but it is what it is.  Everyone was pretty to look at and gave a nice performance.  Loved the 3 couples and now want to see more of all the actors in other projects. (Yan Xi is my new crush!) Drama wasn't perfect, but I found it an addictive watch. Definitely a "binge watch" type of drama for when you want a nice, light rom com. 

 

Great summary review!  I totally agree with your thoughts.  It has been lots of fun waiting and watching the translated episodes with you all  @Table122000 @pad-hari @Jafstar @angelangie

[chdom]

Not mad at this show at all. WQ/ZS just too cute! Another one in the books. I’ll just take my OTP moments with me. 

[Table122000]

On 3/11/2019 at 11:39 PM, raziela said:

That's how I feel like the final episode just seemed to waste a lot of time for the OTP.  What was with the dumb shenanigans with ZS going all the way to the US to just follow him around and them not to interact.  Pointless!

The final random scene at the pool.  It's literally never mentioned before about that moment or day being soooo special to her but suddenly ZS is saying she goes there on the anniversary every year. And it just looked so awkward the whole conversation and kissing taking place in the public pool with everyone watching.

Like you said the situation with his mother was never really resolved. 

Also the awkward revelation of WQ having recovered from his allergy in the airport car park was so meh.  This was a huge part of the plot and we discover he is healed because he says an awkward hello to some random little girl, ZS hugs him...and then they go back to arguing about their relationship again.  He seemed to reach some kind of breakthrough about the scientific cause with the dermatologist lady he also wasn't allergic to but it seems like that didn't really mean anything.

Also they had a big kissing session in the hospital bed in episode 29 and then no discussion or reaction or anything. It was as it never happened!

I felt like the other two couples got better endings and scenes in this final episode than the central couple.

 

 

Exactly! I agree with you. The whole scene of ZS going to USA was a pointless waste of time for the OTP when there could have been some good dialogues if the writers had been better. Final pool scene: you nailed it-so awkward and random! I'll agree the revelation that he cured himself of his allergy was definitely too low key for such an important moment to the drama. The writers really messed up on the Wei Qing/Zhou Shi storyline for this final episode. Very disappointing. 

 

In regards to the scientific cause of the allergy:  I think the whole point of that scene was to show that even though WQ had this illness,  there were still certain people he was not allergic to and the reason he wasn't allergic to them was because they did not have the particular blood protein (or whatever it was). The writers were trying to make a plausible reason as to how he could be with other girls, and not just with ZS. Therefore Zhou Shi was not the only person he could touch and he did have options and he did have the chance for a relationship with other girls, starting with the pretty dermatologist. He could leave ZS and be with the dermatologist if he wanted to.  To me, this was the "breakthrough" you are mentioning. Wei Qing gains the knowledge that Zhou Shi is not his only option, his only hope, like he previously believed. He can be with other girls, like the pretty dermatologist.  He realizes that he loves Zhou Shi as a person and for who she is, not because she is the only one he can touch.  He is now able to accept his feelings for Zhou Shi and decides to pursue her.  The scientific cause was just to serve this plot point.  His allergy itself was stated to be psychosomatic from the very beginning by the psychologist treating him.  The cure for his illness always lay in Wei Qing resolving his psychological trauma, but it wasn't until he met Zhou Shi that Wei Qing felt comfortable enough or trusting enough to try and work through his issues and his trauma. He had been holding himself back before as evidenced by the fact the psychologist doctor said he had refused to try hypnosis for years after she first suggested it.  

 

I had almost forgotten the WQ/ZS kiss in Ep. 29- yeah, what was that all about? What a waste of a potentially good scene.

 

Agree with you that both side couples got a much more satisfying ending than our main couple. 

 

On 3/11/2019 at 11:56 PM, raziela said:

Great summary review!  I totally agree with your thoughts.  It has been lots of fun waiting and watching the translated episodes with you all  @Table122000 @pad-hari @Jafstar @angelangie

 

Ditto! Thanks so much to everyone in the forum for all the discussion, insights, news, videos, etc. I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and analysis on this drama.

[raziela]

On 3/13/2019 at 4:01 PM, Table122000 said:

 

Exactly! I agree with you. The whole scene of ZS going to USA was a pointless waste of time for the OTP when there could have been some good dialogues if the writers had been better. Final pool scene: you nailed it-so awkward and random! I'll agree the revelation that he cured himself of his allery was definitely too low key for such an important moment to the drama. The writers really messed up on the Wei Qing/Zhou Shi storyline for this final episode. Very disappointing. 

 

In regards to the scientific cause of the allergy:  I think the whole point of that scene was to show that even though WQ had this illness,  there were still certain people he was not allergic to and the reason he wasn't allergic to them was because they did not have the particular blood protein (or whatever it was). The writers were trying to make a plausible reason as to how he could be with other girls, and not just with ZS. Therefore Zhou Shi was not the only person he could touch and he did have options and he did have the chance for a relationship with other girls, starting with the pretty dermatologist. He could leave ZS and be with the dermatologist if he wanted to.  To me, this was the "breakthrough" you are mentioning. Wei Qing gains the knowledge that Zhou Shi is not his only option, his only hope, like he previously believed. He can be with other girls, like the pretty dermatologist.  He realizes that he loves Zhou Shi as a person and for who she is, not because she is the only one he can touch.  He is now able to accept his feelings for Zhou Shi and decides to pursue her.  The scientific cause was just to serve this plot point.  His allergy itself was stated to be psychosomatic from the very beginning by the psychologist treating him.  The cure for his illness always lay in Wei Qing resolving his psychological trauma, but it wasn't until he met Zhou Shi that Wei Qing felt comfortable enough or trusting enough to try and work through his issues and his trauma. He had been holding himself back before as evidenced by the fact the psychologist doctor said he had refused to try hypnosis for years after she first suggested it.  

 

I had almost forgotten the WQ/ZS kiss in Ep. 29- yeah, what was that all about? What a waste of a potentially good scene.

 

Agree with you that both side couples got a much more satisfying ending than our main couple. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the scientific cause for the allergy. Your explanation makes sense.  I might have overthought the scientific explanation.  As you pointed out that wasn't the point of the scene.

 

It was disappointing to see them drop the ball for ZS and WQ in the final episode when they had done such a good job with developing them for most of the drama.  They could have just had the two of them being loved up for most of the spisode and we would have been happy rather than the disjointed half-baked mess we did get.

[Keroline]

Who are the singers of this drama opening and ending songs? 

[shizniz00]

just binged watch the entire series the weekend. love love wei qing. the mom made me so mad the entire series blaming him and hating him that the dad loved him more then her. smh. wish the ending was handled better. it didn't show him going to her asking how she got yun ma arts back showing that she got some business smarts.

[gladys57]

After being played out by a number of Kdramas lately, I only watch variety shows until I chanced upon a few video clips of this drama on Youtube. 

 

Now I understand why many Kdrama fans are also into Cdramas from some drama watching blogs. Very pleased to find a thread here about this awesome drama too. Waving to @pad-hari (1st met on 1% of Anything) & @selen4ever (Sunny again tomorrow) & a few other regular posters! 

 

As an Art enthusiast, I'm loving this drama a lot and the main topic about allergy is interesting too. The cast is doing a great job (swooning over Yan Xi off course) and the setting in art galleries is a bonus. The chemistry between the OTP is off the chart & the OSTs are lovely to listen too! My biased against Cdramas immediately changed after this as I rewatched it again !

 

Best of all being an elderly Chinese who seldom use the language (we use English at home) even though I've learnt it years ago. I cant even read simple Chinese story books to my grandchildren and my daughter told me to stick to English when speaking to them as my tone isn't good enough. Heeee! I'm now re-learning  Chinese again in order to teach my grandchildren. 

 

[pad-hari]

2 hours ago, gladys57 said:

After being played out by a number of Kdramas lately, I only watch variety shows until I chanced upon a few video clips of this drama on Youtube. 

 

Now I understand why many Kdrama fans are also into Cdramas from some drama watching blogs. Very pleased to find a thread here about this awesome drama too. Waving to @pad-hari (1st met on 1% of Anything) & @selen4ever (Sunny again tomorrow) & a few other regular posters! 

 

As an Art enthusiast, I'm loving this drama a lot and the main topic about allergy is interesting too. The cast is doing a great job (swooning over Yan Xi off course) and the setting in art galleries is a bonus. The chemistry between the OTP is off the chart & the OSTs are lovely to listen too! My biased against Cdramas immediately changed after this as I rewatched it again !

 

Best of all being an elderly Chinese who seldom use the language (we use English at home) even though I've learnt it years ago. I cant even read simple Chinese story books to my grandchildren and my daughter told me to stick to English when speaking to them as my tone isn't good enough. Heeee! I'm now re-learning  Chinese again in order to teach my grandchildren. 

 

Hi there!!!!! LTNS.  glad u r in this thread and chose this gem of a drama.  Recently I have been watching many Chinese dramas and very rare k dramas.  I picked up Korean language to an extent and mandarin is a challenge for me.  So to pick up my Chinese knowledge I started watching c dramas.  But still its a challenge for me.  .  So I realised there are good beautiful dramas from mainland and this drama is supposed to be one.  Beautiful leads, excellent chemistry, nice story content and especially good ending in spite of usual Chinese dramas BE, all these made me watch this.  Have u finished watching this?  If so, let me know your thoughts.  There r so many more cute C dramas recently,  if u r a fan of mainland dramas I 'll recommend you some.  jaiyou!!!!

[rocat]

I think the translation of the Chinese title should be Perhaps Love or something along those lines. About is Love ... a very direct translation but so grammatically wrong. 

 

With that out of the way, I binge-watched this too! I didn’t skip an episode or fast forwarded any parts - it is a miracle! I love it!

 

I have been burnt many times by Cdramas that are aesthetically very pleasing but have roughly hewn layers of storytelling that despite my liking for the characters, I had to stop midway for fear of losing my senses ranting. Comparatively, this one is a gem. There are some very manufactured moments that made me bend over and cringe like an overcooked prawn but most of it I enjoyed very much.

 

The songs are written to match the story it seems - good prose/thoughts are simply put but yet contemplative and full of hope. Lovely. 

 

I like the art aspect of the story too but not much expounding was done other than comparing artistic appreciation vs commercial value. I do however like the focus of the Chinese character “ran” in the pieces of the art genius, using it to express his desire to find his sibling - the meaning behind art is understood/ appreciated by the likeminded.

 

i read that the viewership for this drama has surpassed 10mil? No wonder

[gladys57]

@pad-hariyes! I've watched this drama TWICE! I love everything about it ; the plot, friendship among the three roommates,  the sassy & strong minded Zhou Shi. Certain parts are quite cliche but what I like about Wei Qing is that he isn't TOO PUSHY. Yes, he was initially a JERK at the beginning but toned down a lot after realising that Zhou Shi is totally different from all the girls he'd met. He really became her good friend and only realised he was totally in love with her  after meeting with the sexy dermatologist. 

 

But I dont like the ending at all. How could Wei Qing kept Zhou Shi waiting for 6 long months when he missed her after not seeing her for 5 days? Then again he has already heard from ZS's roommate the Genius that ZS really loves him. Very disappointed with the very rushed ending. Missed seeing more of their reconcilatory scenes. But overall, it is really a GEM of a drama.

 

@rocat if you'd checked earlier posting, the viewvership had surpassed 10 billion, not 10 million!

[rocat]

21 hours ago, gladys57 said:

@pad-hariyes! I've watched this drama TWICE! I love everything about it ; the plot, friendship among the three roommates,  the sassy & strong minded Zhou Shi. Certain parts are quite cliche but what I like about Wei Qing is that he isn't TOO PUSHY. Yes, he was initially a JERK at the beginning but toned down a lot after realising that Zhou Shi is totally different from all the girls he'd met. He really became her good friend and only realised he was totally in love with her  after meeting with the sexy dermatologist. 

 

But I dont like the ending at all. How could Wei Qing kept Zhou Shi waiting for 6 long months when he missed her after not seeing her for 5 days? Then again he has already heard from ZS's roommate the Genius that ZS really loves him. Very disappointed with the very rushed ending. Missed seeing more of their reconcilatory scenes. But overall, it is really a GEM of a drama.

 

@rocat if you'd checked earlier posting, the viewvership had surpassed 10 billion, not 10 million!

 

@gladys57 I don’t much fancy the ending either for reasons you mentioned above, particularly the lapse in development between the time they were in the mountain resort and their union 6 mths later.

 

I thought feelings were amply clear for both WQ n ZS save for ego and stubbornness. I can understand her hesitation due to her desire to be treated like an equal cos WQ is indeed controlling and manipulative. So there were issues, gaps to be addressed- I can’t see how they bridged gaps in the end. They used time to brush that off so I found that wanting. 

 

But I do like how ZS summarized everything in the end with the kiss. They are both so nice to look at so I forgive! Heh.

 

@pad-hari if you have any good Cdrama recommendations, please do let me in on them too! Would love a good show! :) TIA!

[pad-hari]

On 4/14/2019 at 5:34 PM, rocat said:

.

 

@pad-hari if you have any good Cdrama recommendations, please do let me in on them too! Would love a good show! TIA!

Sorry for the late reply.  For now, I LL tell you 2 good ones, which is short and sugary sweet. In spoiler

Spoiler

1.well intended boss

2. I hear you/most beautiful thing(ML acting starts bad but gets better as show moves) 

Try these two.

 

[gladys57]

After watching this drama and a few other mainland Cdramas, I'm currently hooked on them. It has been an eye opener for me. 

 

Being a Chinese myself, I'm ashamed of myself for being baised against them after becoming a Kdrama addict in 2006. 

 

[pad-hari]

Wow!! Good news.  But I want the same OTP.  i luv them so much @angelangie

[Jafstar]

13 hours ago, angelangie said:

@Jafstar @pad-hari @gladys57 @raziela 

 

seems like they will have 大约是爱2  i seen they have the old OTP in the first clip after that it change to other lead

 

and then they change again lols  

 

dunno whether is it period, republic era or modern lols

WHAT?! A second season???! Oh my.
 I’m dead. @angelangie Thank you. You just gave me the best present of 2020. 
Is there a video preview yet?
 

Since I’ve been away from this forum for awhile, is everyone healthy and staying safe while amidst world conditions? 

 

 

[lovehuche]

I read on Dramapanda that it was April fools.

[raziela]

On 4/2/2020 at 6:11 AM, lovehuche said:

I read on Dramapanda that it was April fools.

Oh. What a random April Fool joke!

[Table122000]

On 4/1/2020 at 9:47 PM, Jafstar said:

WHAT?! A second season???! Oh my.
 I’m dead. @angelangie Thank you. You just gave me the best present of 2020. 
Is there a video preview yet?
 

Since I’ve been away from this forum for awhile, is everyone healthy and staying safe while amidst world conditions? 

 

 

 

The drama producers released a short teaser where they ask viewers which concept will be the plot for Season 2. So, we don't know what the plot will be, but it looks like the 3 couples will be returning. Here's the trailer:

https://mydramalist.com/58893-maybe-it-s-love/trailers/18169

 

Here's a whole bunch of clips about the Season 2 trailer, including BTS

https://v.qq.com/x/cover/mzc00200cgumtil/l0033enfw9h.html

 

On 4/2/2020 at 1:11 AM, lovehuche said:

I read on Dramapanda that it was April fools.

 

I also read the Dramapanda article. The article state that the drama producers release a teaser video on April Fool's day as a surprise. The video asks viewers to guess which concept they are filming and then also ask the viewers to vote in a poll which plot they like best. But the drama is confirmed for Season 2. That is not a joke. It is real. The teaser video was the official announcement.

http://www.dramapanda.com/2020/04/about-is-love-season-2-teases-three.html