353. My Girlfriend 我不能恋爱的女朋友 (2019) Chinese

Timmy Xu, Bridgette Qiao, Zhou Yi Xuan, Wang Jia Ning

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A

This honestly wasn't amazing or anything, but I still really enjoyed watching it. Not quite sure why because the story was a mess. It was very typical and full of those classic tropes, such as him having a temper and her having a "curse" so she couldn't find love. Of course she also has narcolepsy so every time she gets rejected, or something super awkward or stressful happens, she falls asleep. Which of course makes them meet under the worse circumstances, so she ends up owing him money and he can trick her into being on his show. All of it very typical and fluffy. But it also had some weird things that made it not typical. Yeah, Chi Xin had a bad temper, but he wasn't the typical possessive or jealous guy. In fact, I really liked how he actually never chased after her the entire time but became, instead, a best friend or even best frenemy, since they fought all the time. I also loved that during their brief time of forced living situation, she accepted those terms because of a misconception that was caused by his one moment of jealousy, which led him to jump into a kiss cam moment in the opposite way he probably intended. Kiss cams are also apparently the new accidental kiss, they seem to be happening a lot in Chinese dramas lately.


One thing that confused me was the second male lead's motivations. For someone with his backstory, which we learn about way too late, he seemed really wishy washy. Also, they made him almost too chill. I like chill guys, but I just didn't understand his character. He'd be super clingy and possessive one minute and then just move on too fast the next. It was like his character was designed to me the typical male lead, but then he was also forced into the typical second male lead box. While the male lead was also a weird combo of both, since he had those power PD, short temper, and make it to save her in time traits, but then he was also a quietly support from behind and not actually try to steal her or claim her, but will let her do her thing even if he sacrifices himself type dude, most of which are second male lead traits. The best friend who will never be more than a best friend type. If fact, that might have caused me a lot of frustration near the end when they started pulling the near misses and self-sacrificing, and the episode was almost over and I wasn't having it type crap.

One of the things that really sold me, I guess were those relationships. It was a slow burn romance, but what it was even more was a good womance. Ding Xiao Rou had her two best friends who were willing to do anything for her. Sasa was a competent surgeon, bad-ass, and perfect bestie (the sort who will get revenge for you and also eat ice cream and stay up all night with you). Their friendship was so great because they supported each other in everything and never fought over men, even if the drama tried to make it a love triangle. The "love triangles" in this were very weird. But whatevs.

So even though the plot was all over the place and the evil peeps were so characterized and unnecessarily petty and evil, the main characters and developing relationships were fun, and it kept me coming back. I liked it, but then I also have loved Bridgette Qiao since the Ode to Joy days, so I was gonna watch it no matter what. It was enjoyable, but you did have to just go with us and suspend your disbelief. I did like how the only high stakes involved were with the villains, and even then it ended up being kinda chill and fluffy. A little bit of slice of life with a lot of fluffy romance tropes. I liked it.