To Ship Someone 📖✍️

Title: To Ship Someone (#ZhuZhengting 🥰)

Episodes/ Watch Period: 24/ ( May 31st  – June 13th) 

Rating: Okay 

Summary: A pessimistic writer, Ji Shu, who is quite popular and well known as the epitome of a BE writer in novels meets an optimistic drama/film planner Song Yan Qi who wants to adapt one of his novels into a drama. The only problem is while Song Yanqi wants to assure that the novels ending will be happy, Ji Shu can only accept bad endings. Things take for a crazy turn when the two are somehow sucked into Ji Shu's novel. While "living" in the novel, the 2 have a go at trying to rewrite the script and develop a bond. It's a battle between a HE and BE but who will succeed? 

Main Cast: 

Zhu Zhengting (THEO) - Ji Shu

Lu Yu Xiao -  Song Yan Qi

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 

    It's not a bad start but you can definitely tell its a low budget drama. Zhu Zhengting is a very handsome guy but for some odd reason, he looks so tired and sleepy all the time with this makeup. And not to mention, the baggy suits. Some have been fine but some look oversized. Lu Yuxiao's makeup is simple but it accentuates her looks. She's very cute. The story line isn't anything new but it's quite straight forward. The leads are doing ok so far and I'm loving ZZT as a melancholic person. I'm use to his silly quirks on variety shows so this is a new thing to look forward too. The character of FL, Song Yan Qi, is fine for now. She definitely represents fangirls like us but sometimes it seems a bit overboard with her optimism. I'm all for shipping CP's too, but the storyline we know of the CP in the novel has nothing to make me understand her shipping. They seem so bland.  Some of the cliche's are setting in but I do like their chemistry. It's not no sparks flying yet but they match. I'll most likely be making it to the end as I'm excited to see Zhu Zhengting finally leading a drama. And from some spoilers I peaked at... chemistry does get better! Will be patiently waiting for those subs. 

(Chemistry definitely got better!)

FINAL REVIEW:

    Loved it more than what I was expecting. I was kind of hesitant and the first few episodes almost scared me away. Luckily, I stuck through to the end. I want more Zhu Zhengting in contemporary romance dramas! 😍😍. Being a huge fan of his from Idol Producer, I was so excited to see him in a romance drama as the Male lead. There is definitely room for improvements but I couldn’t believe that it was really him playing the melancholic, pessimistic guy who had no interests in others. I’m so used to friendly, smiley Zhengting. Not to mention, those sweet scenes. Omg! 😆 He did so well in all aspects of this character. It wasn’t awkward to watch. So proud of my mans! 👏 Lu Yu Xiao did well too. It’s my first time watching her and although her character was cringey at times, she played Song Yanqi naturally. I mean are you really a drama watcher if you can’t relate with her as a CP shipper? 😂 And she’s so pretty. Make up and styling was a mess in the beginning but as the show progressed it got slightly better for both leads. The simple makeup on FL helped bring out her natural beauty. Zhu Zhengting became less sick/tired looking.

Their chemistry is definitely what kept me going. I’ll admit, I cheated and peeked at the later episodes early on and couldn’t help but binge to get to the sweet moments. It was worth the wait! By the middle of the show, I was shipping them as hard as the characters in the alternate universe. LOL! Once he indirectly confessed, I was on board! He did a read through the line’s kind of thing but we all know… that just makes things more confusing. 🙄 Luckily, there were other things going on that it wasn’t heavily focused on to make for an annoying plot point. The best part I liked is the development of Male lead. We instantly noticed when his feelings for FL changed and it was a nice sail from there. The straight forwardness of the show helped me to take a liking of the leads easier. There were no major misunderstandings except towards the end but it was a typical cheesy trope, I was just laughing the whole time. But let’s just say he owes her a lot for making her go through that experience. 😅They make for a sweet, cute, hilarious duo. They’ve definitely found refuge in each other and if that doesn’t call for a good wrap up in romance world, I don’t know what would.
            The overall storyline was a meh but it got the job done. A few loose ends and unexplained plot points but the idea was decent. The villain’s motive was the same old, same old trope. Jealousy. But for all he did, that was bit too over the top for the excuse. They were stretching it a bit thin. All other side characters were fine. I just couldn’t get past the character of Yu Le, the ML in the novel Song Yanqi was shipping. I don’t know if it was the character or actual actor but he had a poker face the whole time and killed the vibe. He must’ve been the most awkward to watch. And the alternate universe concept was a good idea but execution was weak. Everything of the villain was ehhh… I just find it endearing that they lived in the alternate universe developing real relationships with the novel characters.
            Overall, I had a good ride with this one. When a pessimist meets an optimist, who knows what we’d be in store for. Fortunately, this drama was able to balance these 2 out and pull us in to adore them. I’d definitely re watch for the sweet moments. Would I recommend? I’m bias towards Zhengting but the story was decent enough to get me through. I’d say go for it! Certainly, a hidden gem. I’m still with drawing but I’m satisfied with the show. Here’s to our pessimistic-optimistic novelist couple! ❤️

(Look how cute they are! ❤️)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Favorite Episode/ Moment: The confession scene in Ep.17. He really got vulnerable with her, shared all the baggage he held and didn’t make her feel pressured to be with him. Literally the proudest moment I felt for Ji Shu who we initially met as a pessimist. It was too endearing. 🥲

(*swoon* 😍)