Instead of devoting my time to translate SWAK novel (sorry readers!), I've been marathoning through a lighthearted, somewhat cheesy remake of Frog Prince called Waking Up Love. I actually attempted to watch this drama more than two times last year, before finally building enough motivation to finish it yesterday.
My first two attempts utterly ended in failure because I never got passed Episode 4. The storyline just didn't captivate my interest; the melodramatic stunts and overacting/annoyance of Tang Yan's character, Liu Xiaobei, were sometimes painful to watch. I only persisted and gave it one last try after reading about Roy Chiu and Tang Yan's dating rumors on Sina weibo. LOL. And the development of the story got somewhat more interesting after Episode 9.
(Regarding the dating rumors, Roy Qiu posted up a photo of himself in his race car on Sina weibo last week and sharp-eyed Chinese netizens noticed that he has
a photo of Tang Yan pinned up on his race car door. When news reporters asked him about it, he supposedly admitted that the photo was his "good luck charm" and he does have a "crush" on Tang
Yan, but they're not dating. That's it. THE END. LOL. I've actually heard about the Roy Chiu/Tang Yan's romantic rumors for a period of time already. I took it as rubbish if since there was no concrete evidence to support they have anything romantic going on off-screen...until the photo of Tang Yan.)
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| Don't they look good together? |
Despite the cliche plot devices and some mediocre acting, I must say some bits and pieces of this series are quite entertaining. Though I still wouldn't watch the whole thing without the power of "Fast-Fowarding." Another plus is an absolutely, STUNNINGLY HANDSOME Roy Qiu in his nicely tailored suits. I always heard about Roy Qiu, but never actually watched any of his series before Waking Up Love. I have an fellow Chinese FengMi Shipper buddy (she's married with a 3 year boy) who strongly recommended that I check out his dramas. After watching some random clips of Roy Chiu in police uniform in Unbeatable and his Waking Up Love's business attire, I think this guy is one of the best looking or pretty Chinese actors out there. I literally mean it when I wrote "pretty," particularly his eyes. They are one pair of memorizing eyes if he look intently at you. I found his facial features very delicate and refined, almost "feminine." LOL. These photos don't do Roy's justice. He looks better in action.
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| I have a uniform fetish. I just think most actors look really good in uniforms. |
I remember someone once asked me who is my ideal actor to play Mo Shaoqian. And even before I knew anything about Roy Qiu or knew anything about his acting, and before I watched Hawick's performance, I surprisingly chose Roy Qiu's face to stick to the Mo Shaoqian's character (though I also had Daniel Wu's face in mind). The girl I had in mind to play Tong Xue is a young talented and underrated actress named Shu Chang (she's the evil concubine in Gong 2).
Anyway, I totally dig the Tang Yan and Roy Qiu adorableness now after Waking Up Love. Even though I berated myself countless times after the FengMi shipping disaster and swear never to ship another celebrity couple, I can't help myself and maybe root for this couple for the fun of it. Of course, I'm definitely not invested in this couple as I was in FengMi or my obsession with SWAK. I just think they look cute and sweet together.
