With tons of free time ever since school was let out due to coronavirus, I’ve been binging c-dramas left and right, watching anywhere from 2-6 episodes a day (oops!).

In case anyone’s exhausted my previous c-drama recommendations to kill off boredom, here’s 4 new modern c-dramas to watch (in no particular order)!

The World Owes Me a First Love (世界欠我一个初恋) – 10.0/10

My favorite c-drama EVER! Okay, obviously giving it a 10 was super biased, but this c-drama is SO cute and never fails to bring a smile to my face so personally, I think it is SO worthy of a 10. I’ve rewatched this c-drama completely twice, and some individual episodes multiple times. The drama follows an innocent and lucky Xing Yung, CEO Xia’s personal assistant, as she embarks on her journey to understand/discover love and dating as part of her boss’s conditions to become a game developer for a dating game. Definitely not your average office c-drama, I would describe it more as youthful office drama with strong coming-of-age and friendship themes involved. I also absolutely love the cute sound effects, which was just like the ones in Put Your Head On My Shoulder, since they add so much subtle humor and character! Obviously this drama can cliche or over-the-top at times, but it does preach a lot of important messages like final love does not need to be your first love to be special and that love should be genuine above all. Ultimately, it’s just an adorable c-drama that you can never go wrong watching!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5ZnsJdrfQ

Well-Intended Love (奈何BOSS要娶我) – 7.0/10

When I was watching Well-Intended Love, I just couldn’t stop watching (and yes, this was during finals week so maybe I also just wanted to procrastinate) and finished it within the entirely of finals week. This drama is veryy dramatic (to the point when its unrealistic at times) and has a lot of random plot twists, but overall I still found it engaging. Essentially, the storyline follows Xia Lin, an aspiring A-list actress, who enters a contract relationship with Ling Yizhou, a CEO of a large company, in order to undergo treatment for cancer. There’s a lot of controversy about this drama, especially since the male protagonist and antagonist(s?) are overly possessive at times and seems to not understand the ideas of boundaries very well, as sometimes their actions are just WAY out of line. However, I felt like this drama was still very entertaining, had a lot of sweet moments, and didn’t take it too seriously (WHICH YOU MUST KEEP IN MIND IF YOU DECIDE TO WATCH!!!).

Note: also just started watching Well Intended Love Season 2, which is kinda weird because instead of a continuation of season 1 it’s like an alternate universe with the pretty much the same characters…? Definitely not enjoying it as much though, and the characters don’t exactly appeal to me completely so I might drop it…we will see…

Trailer (S1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqGM2wgP5o

Trailer (S2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBmENw1P2qE

Please Love Me (拜托，请你爱我) – 7.5/10

Another one of those contract relationship/marriage c-dramas! The plot follows Pei Youyou, a lonely nail artist with a nonexistent family life, as she tries to make ends meet. One day, as she is going to a nail appointment, she gets into a car accident with her popular idol Yi Han at the wrong time and reluctantly enters a contractual relationship with him in order to save his reputation from plummeting. I liked this one a little more than Well-Intended Love, for the obvious character flaws that aren’t found in this drama. Also unlike Well-Intended Love, Youyou and Yi Han didn’t like each other at first (which is more realistic) so you could watch the satisfying process of the characters slowly growing and developing. I also really appreciate this side of female independence we see in Youyou, which can be hard to find in some c-dramas. Youyou doesn’t need or want to depend on a man in her life but is still fiercely loyal and supportive of Yi Han even though she didn’t want to enter this relationship. Most importantly, she is always there for him and willing to give him advice, but doesn’t give up her own ambitions for the sake of his.

Side Note: there is a giant Garfield plush in the story and it is TOO cute:)))

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiWY5-Cr-rc

Beautiful Time With You (时光与你都很甜) – 9.0/10

Finally, another high school c-drama after months of more mature adult-like ones!! The storyline in Beautiful Time with You follows an adorable student, Lin Xing Chen, through high school as she transfers into a new high school and becomes seatmates with the super-smart class president, Lu Yi Bai. Although Lin Xing Chen is very unlucky and keeps running into all sorts of situations, she is usually optimistic and never stays down for too long (which puzzles Lu Yi Bai)! There are so many powerful themes and life lessons, most notably living in the moment/youth, and I felt like I could really relate to the characters and friendships in the drama. Beautiful Time With You also reminds me of the high school drama A Love So Beautiful in terms of the main characters and the strong coming-of-age and friendship themes, although I’d argue that BTWY is a little more cliche and unfinished when compared to ALSB since it lasts only through high school with a college bonus episode while ALSB extends throughout young adulthood and brings more closure. However, I heard the screenwriters are making another season, which could really polish the drama’s potential and strengthen the ending, so I look forward to (potentially) season 2! But until S2 comes out, better watch this wholesome drama and get sucked up into Lin Xing Chen’s infectious happiness to brighten up your quarantine mood first!

PSA: BTWY also has the subtle but adorable sound effects!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du6OXcSsLI0

VIEWING

The World Owes Me a First Love is available on Viki with English subtitles, Well-Intended Love 1 (and 2) are on subbed on Netflix and Youtube, while Please Love Me and Beautiful Time With You are available on just Youtube (partially subbed and raw only).

So hurry up and pick a drama from this list or my previous recs to cure your quarantine boredom!

HAPPY C-DRAMA WATCHING!

Standing at a mere 4 feet and 11 inches, I’m usually the shortest person in my classes (and usually AT LEAST a head shorter than most my friends). While I used to be overly sensitive about my height (more like lack of height) throughout middle school and the beginning of high school, I have gotten used to and even embraced my identity of mostly likely forever being a super smol human :)))). Here are some things that tall + normal-sized people just may never be able to understand or get away with.

STRUGGLES

1. Finding Clothes That Fit

Okay, not just a short person problem, but being an extreme (like being super tall or short) makes shopping even worse since basically clothes are geared towards the average person, not a short or tall person. My clothes are usually the smallest size I can find, but may still too long if not completely too big. I have to cuff my jeans (jeans are already ‘short’ though) while my leggings & sweats are always scrunched up at the bottoms. Loose pants are not the mood as they have to be hemmed or I will step and trip over them. Tops are also usually too long, so I have gotten used to half-tucking most shirts or buying crop tops. Buying dresses, especially long ones, is also a nightmare. When I was little, I used to joke about being shorter than long dresses. 10 years later…unfortunately this is still true :((

2. Restaurant Portions are Too Big

There are probably some short people out there who can manage to eat large or normal amounts of food (possibly due to intense exercise or other factors) but most short people like me will tend to eat less food than their taller counterparts in order to feel full. Since restaurant portions are usually geared to the AVERAGE person and larger, they will be too big for some short people to finish on their own. This leads to the problem of always having leftovers, which can be good or bad. On one hand, if the food is good, you get to have another delicious meal with minimal effort. However, if you made a mistake of ordering a bad dish, you are either stuck with eating the same food for another meal or the guilt throwing the food away (just think of all the starving people in this world, and here you are, wasting your food).

The solution? Sharing is caring. When eating out with my family & friends, we always order less and share dishes to save money) and sample more food.

3. Buffets + All-You-Can-Eat = No

Yeah…when you can’t even finish most restaurant entrees usually costing $10 – $20, paying more money to have unlimited food that you can’t even eat enough to get your money’s worth kinda sucks. It’s like those wishing ponds where you throw you loose change for a wish: spending the money is good in theory but it is actually kinda pointless, saving your cash will allow you to invest in better ways. That’s not to say you should never go to buffets, get sushi, k-bbq, or hotpot but you should avoid going too often and make sure to have lots of mental preparation to stuff yourself to the max.

Hack: for buffets, skip the cheap stuff and soft drinks (aka cheap carbonated sugar water) for the expensive seafood like King Crab and lobster. That’s where the money’s at.

4. High Shelves + Cabinets

Do I even need to elaborate??? The short population and I are just not tall enough to reach many things and ask for the gracious help of our taller friends :))

5. Getting Lost in Crowds

Tall people have no problem finding each other in crowded hallways, streets, or concerts since they just need to look around and then they see each other. Meanwhile, short people just get buried in the crowds of people (and eye-level backpacks?). I’m sure many of my friends can vouch for times when they are walking with me in hallways and somehow I just disappear and they can’t find me (hint: I’m probably stuck between strangers and backpacks, trying to find my way out). It’s especially bad in the crowded hallways leading up to the fieldhouse/large cafe, where I usually get lost at least once per week.

STRENGTHS

1. More (cheaper) Options for Clothing and Shoes!

Most short people tend to have smaller feet, which may be able to fit into kids’ shoe sizes. Normally, I’m a women’s 6, which is around a kid’s 4.5. For some brands, they may make similar shoes for adults and kids, but the kid’s size is usually cheaper, so you can usually save $10-$20. Similarly for clothing, I usually can fit into a women’s XS and maybe S, but also a kid’s L (but also XL & M depending on the brand). Although shopping in the kid’s section is also cheaper, please note that it does requires more time sorting out acceptable clothes (not too kiddie) and also sacrificing a little bit of your dignity.

 

2. Oversize Sweatshirts

Since the smallest size for sweatshirts is an S and they usually run big anyways, most sweatshirts on short people are oversized anyways. It’s gotten to a point when I’m surprised if I find a sweatshirt that is small enough so that it ISN’T oversized.

3. Kid’s Meals

There’s no shame and judgment when getting a kid’s meal when you literally are the size of a kid and look like a kid. Meanwhile, when you are a tall person getting a kid’s meal, you’re bound to get a few funny looks.

4. Kid’s Buffet/Pricing

Although buffets are expensive, they can suddenly become worth it for a short person, that is if you and your family are willing to say a little white lie about your age in order to get the cheaper kid’s pricing. You might remember Sweet Tomatoes, a buffet-style restaurant that closed a few years ago. Well, my parents used to pretend that my sister and I were still under 12 to get the $19.99 family meal deal, even after I turned 14 and she turned 13! I was extremely sad when they closed, but this trick still works.

5. Wide Availability of Shade

It’s a hot day and you’re burning up. What do you do? Tall people are taller, so, unfortunately, they are stuck with the brunt of the burning sunlight. However, all short people need to do is to stand on the right side of a taller person and guess what, you have your own personal sun blocker! Unlike a tree, they can also move with you and continue to block the sun for you as you move, as long as you ask nicely. In addition to blocking sunlight, tall people also have multiple uses as rain and snow blockers.

To all the short people out there, get yourself some tall friends that also serve as shade, rain, and snow blockers!

 

Maybe being 4’11” isn’t exactly ideal, but there are still benefits of being overly short. And on the plus side, at least I’m still growing at the slow 0.25 inch per year rate. I will never grow to be tall, but 5 ft is reachable. Moral of the story: be happy with what you have and you will be happier!

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