#zlh

day 5: Deer

Our beautiful Chang Heng with his hot glue armor. I decided to try him out wearing his deer horns because honestly we need more men with handles.

Sweet fluffy romance with an un-bumpy plot and airy cinematography

This turned out to be one of the coziest and comfiest slice-of-life romantic stories I've ever seen. Usually, I'm not a fan of the genre, but since I've unlocked Zhang Linghe, I decided to see what he's been up to, and ended up getting sucked into this cute little modern cdrama about romance and romance only, framed by the everyday lives of the main leads with some challenges they face, while slowly being drawn towards each other.

The cinematography is airy, breathy, and filled with light - especially during spring and summer, you can practically feel the scenes breathing with fresh air, with all those falling petals and beautiful sunrises. The lighting is superb throughout the show - the close-ups with Zhang Linghe's singature Stares of Longing, the leads' beautiful faces, the intimacy, the smittenness with each other, the embarrassment of trying to catch a glance when the other one notices, the tenderness, and the absolute romance of it all - it's just pure delight (if you're in a mood for something like this).

I've grown tired of plotty plots, and both my heart and my mental state were craving something ordinary-esque - about usual people going about their days, meeting each other, and slowly (mutually) falling in love. It was a well-balanced mix of tragic backstories, day-to-day challenges, career growth, friendships and family, but most importantly - meeting the right person at the right time that enriches one's life unimaginably.

Mind you, this is sweet-sweet, like you probably won't get cavities from watching the leads, but they get very close :D Which, it so happened, was exactly what I needed right now. The story is pretty straightforward, following the FL, who's a tired manager at a big hotel dealing with a toxic relationship on the verge of breakup, and a lonely, yet dashing, Doctor of Chinese medicine, who starts treating her insomnia and falls for her almost immediately. He's part warmth, part sass, and part plotting to get the FL's attention with some cute shenanigans :3

It's a story about warmth, healing, letting go of the past, and opening to something (or someone) new. It's also low-key about following your dreams and your own path in life, when you're not defined by the people you love or your family (and ideally, they will support you no matter what). The story is a bit idealistic (everyone is just so nice apart from the lousy ex), and unfolds gradually from the meet-cute up till the marriage, so we get the whole package (which, in this instance, feels quite natural in the world created by the show).

wdym you are just gonna talk to her like normal, text her and even let her into your house 😭😭

my man fight back! just because you are a loser in love doesn't mean you have to show her that you are a loser in love 😭😭