Almost Lover Review

I almost gave Almost Lover (谁都知道我爱你) a miss because the gist of the story didn’t really interest me. But the dramas that I wanted to watch were still being slowly uploaded including She And Her Perfect Husband. So, I could only pick one that has been recently completed and this one came up on the list. Well, I don’t really regret spending my time on it but it is certainly not a drama that would make you crave for more. Once it comes to an end, you will be glad that it is over. In fact, some may even drop it halfway through. Scroll down for my Almost Lover review for my opinion on this modern romance drama.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 36
Type: Romance
Aired: October 2022
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of Almost Lover

• Victoria Song Qian as He Xiao Ran
• Timmy Xu Wei Zhou as Xiao Shang Qi
• Chen He Yi as Sui Ming Wei
• Gao Rui Fei Er as Li Hui
• Gong Wan Yi as Chen Fei Er
• Gao Ren as Zhao Ming Xuan
• Ren Bin as Xiao Xian
• Zheng Xiao Ning as Xiao Zhen Yun
• Fan Wei as Tang Yan

Main Characters

He Xiao Ran

Xiao Ran is a radio talk show host at a local broadcasting station. She comes from the city but chooses to settle in a smaller town of Wusu. She has been in love with a good friend since high school but is scarred by his perceived rejection. Xiao Ran has loving parents and is warm and sincere to those close to her. She is hardworking and has a dream of becoming a war correspondent.

Xiao Shang Qi

Shang Qi has just returned from abroad and is tasked to turn around a hotel in Wusu which has been forcibly offloaded to his family’s company, Yunlan, in lieu of payment by Deju Group. Yunlan is a hotel management company which manages hotels for the owners and Deju Group is its biggest client. Shang Qi is a smart man with good foresight in business matters. He is sensitive and caring but has a strained relationship with his family due to a past incident.

Supporting Characters

Sui Ming Wei

Sui Ming Wei is Xiao Ran’s co-worker and good friend. He is also Li Hui’s best friend from schooldays. Sui Ming Wei is a very loyal and supportive companion to both women although he can also be jealous and petty. He has secret feelings for Xiao Ran. His family runs a fragrance factory.

Li Hui

Similar to Su Ming Wei, Li Hui is also Xiao Ran’s co-worker and best friend. She has talent in music and writes songs in her free time. Li Hui can be stubborn and persistent once she sets her mind to it. She has a singer-songwriter boyfriend who never really cares about her.

Chen Fei Er

Fei Er is Xiao Ran and Shang Qi’s close friend during their high school and university days. Shang Qi used to have feelings for her. Fei Er is a schemer who would sacrifice love for status and money. She comes from a working class family with parents that treat her poorly and bias towards her brother. Ming Xuan is her husband-to-be.

Zhao Ming Xuan

Ming Xuan is the head of Deju Group which is majority owned by his family. Deju Group is a hotel developer and owner. Hence, Shang Qi’s family company is dependent on Deju Group which is their biggest client. Ming Xuan, Xiao Xian, and Shang Qi grew up together as their parents are friends and business associates. Ming Xuan is a coldhearted bully and a scheming man with bad intentions. Fei Er is his fiancee.

Xiao Xian

Xiao Xian is Shang Qi’s elder brother. He has a crippled leg due to a past incident when he was young. He manages Yunlan together with his father. Xiao Xian is a cautious man who would rather humble himself than take the risk of offending Ming Xuan and Deju Group. He also has a distant relationship with Shang Qi.

Xiao Zhen Yun

Xiao Zhen Yun is Xiao Xian and Shang Qi’s father. He is a single dad as his wife died early. He established Yunlan and built it up to be a respectable hotel operator. Xiao Zhen Yun is much closer to his elder son, Xiao Xian, who helps him to manage Yunlan. However, he has a strained relationship with Shang Qi who doesn’t like to be controlled.

Tang Yan

Tang Yan is Li Hui’s boyfriend. He is a singer-cum-songwriter. He is an absentee boyfriend who often takes Li Hui for granted.

Synopsis

Xiao Ran and Shang Qi were good friends during their student days. She was secretly in love with him since high school and throughout university. An error in uploading a video clip led to a public confession during their graduation party. But Shang Qi left the party in a hurry due to an emergency without noticing the confession. Shang Qi is traumatized by the embarrassment and humiliation as she thought she has been publicly rejected. She moved to a smaller town and started work as a radio talk show host in a local broadcasting station when it has always been her dream to be a war correspondent.

3 years later, Shang Qi came back from abroad and ended up in the same town to manage a hotel belonging to his family business. He fell in love with Xiao Ran and they began dating. Trouble starts when Shang Qi’s first love, Fei Er, turns up and begins to intrude into their lives. To make matters worse, Fei Er’s husband-to-be is Shang Qi’s business adversary.

This complex web of relationships which is tied to the survival of Shang Qi’s family company frustrates Xiao Ran due to Fei Er’s presence. Will they be able to overcome all the obstacles in their way and make up for the missed opportunity in the past?

Almost Lover Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Almost Lover has a happy ending. Shang Qi proposes to Xiao Ran in Episode 35 and she accepts. But their marriage is put on hold when she decides to take up the opportunity to be a war correspondent for the TV station in Episode 36. Shang Qi supports her decision as he knows it is her dream despite his initial disagreement. 8 months later, Shang Qi returns home and the couple register their marriage then.

When Did The Couple Start Dating?

Shang Qi readily admits to Xiao Ran that he loves her in Episode 6 but she couldn’t hear his confession. Sui Ming Wei purposely vrooms his motorcycle to sabotage Shang Qi’s effort. So, Shang Qi confesses to Xiao Ran once again in Episode 6 and they get together as a couple then. They plan to move in together in Episode 7 and eventually do so in Episode 9.

Is There Any Breakup?

Shang Qi and Xiao Ran separated in Episode 18. Xiao Ran is fed up with Fei Er’s presence in their lives and feels that she will always be a burden to them due to their past friendship. Although Xiao Ran knows Shang Qi’s love for her is sincere, she feels uneasy over Fei Er’s intrusion and his sense of responsibility towards Fei Er who was his crush during their student days. Hence, Xiao Ran returns to Wusu to get away from it all.

While Shang Qi promises to join Xiao Ran back in Wusu, he fails to live up to his promise when his father suddenly dies in Episode 19. With his father’s death being highly suspicious and the family business in crisis, Shang Qi has to remain in Hupu. But he doesn’t know to break the news to Xiao Ran as it would only cause her unnecessary worry. Thus, Xiao Ran feels abandoned and moves out of their shared home in Wusu in Episode 20. Shang Qi eventually asks for a breakup in Episode 21 due to all the problems that he has to handle.

The couple reconcile in Episode 35. Shang Qi pursues Xiao Ran again after the villain has been arrested and his family business is back on track. She rejects his pursuit initially but her heart softens after hearing him calling out her name in his sleep which was accidentally recorded in her pen recorder. She could feel his pain when he was at his lowest ebb.

Love Triangle

Shang Qi, Xiao Ran, and Fei Er were good friends from high school to university. While Xiao Ran secretly loved Shang Qi, he had feelings for Fei Er instead. However, Fei Er kept stringing Shang Qi along without giving him an answer as she waited for someone more qualified to turn up. Shang Qi came to his senses and left Fei Er when he saw her trying to impress the richer Ming Xuan. This backstory is revealed in Episode 10 and 12.

Although Fei Er is due to marry Ming Xuan, she is envious when she finds out that Shang Qi and Xiao Ran have become a very loving couple. She regrets giving up the more caring Shang Qi for Ming Xuan. Hence, she tries to sow doubts in Xiao Ran about Shang Qi’s feelings to drive a wedge between the lovers. When this fails, Fei Er tells Shang Qi directly of her regret with the hope of getting his love in Episode 17. Shang Qi turns her down and does so again in Episode 20 by reiterating his love for Xiao Ran.

Fei Er then decides to return to Ming Xuan until the latter kicks her out in Episode 27. She gathers some evidence of Ming Xuan’s wrongdoing and goes to look for Shang Qi. Fei Er offers to give Shang Qi the evidence in exchange for a chance to be with him. He rejects her again.

Shang Qi’s Past

Shang Qi has always been made to bear the guilt of causing his brother to become crippled in one leg. He fell into the waters during a sea trip when he was 8 years old. His brother jumped in to save him and injured his leg. As a result of the incident, Shang Qi’s relationship with his father and brother became distant. This is revealed in Episode 6.

While everyone assumed it was Shang Qi’s playfulness that resulted in the accident, the real cause of his fall is Ming Xuan’s doing. When a wave hit their boat and the 3 boys swayed due to the impact, Ming Xuan saw an opportunity and pushed Shang Qi. Hence, Shang Qi fell into the sea. Ming Xuan did so because he hates Shang Qi the most. His father always compared him to the brighter Shang Qi when they were young and would scold him for being inadequate. Even Ming Xuan’s mother had to bear the brunt of his father’s anger when he failed to catch up with Shang Qi’s talent.

Ming Xuan was disappointed at first for failing to kill Shang Qi but became happy when the Xiao family became estranged from each other as a result. He purposely tells Shang Qi’s father who is recovering from a heart attack this information to cause his death in Episode 19. Ming Xuan also reveals the same to Shang Qi in Episode 26 to provoke and warn him that he could make Shang Qi lose the people he cares about.

What Happened To Ming Xuan?

Ming Xuan is arrested in Episode 31. He illegally constructs substandard buildings and divert the funds to feed his gambling habit. Shang Qi’s father had been quietly negotiating to buy Qingshan Nursing Home before he died. This is because the property was developed by Ming Xuan’s company as a hotel but was quickly sold cheaply after completion to a nursing home operator. The substandard buildings of the property is the evidence needed to expose Ming Xuan’s crime.

However, Ming Xuan got wind of Shang Qi’s plan to complete the purchase of the nursing home after the death of his father. He quickly bought it over and had it demolished to hide his bad deed. However, by coincidence, Ming Xuan’s ex-CFO’s mother is a resident of the nursing home. The ex-CFO wanted out of any further illegal schemes after handling the Qingshan project. Ming Xuan ordered him to be killed to silence him.

The ex-CFO knew of the danger beforehand and had hid the evidence of Ming Xuan’s crimes in a locket which he gave to his mother as a gift. His mother then passed the locket to Shang Qi and Xiao Ran who use the evidence to nail Ming Xuan.

Second Couple

Li Hui and Sui Ming Wei start off as good friends from school days. They have never thought of each other in a romantic way. Li Hui already has a singer-songwriter boyfriend named Tang Yan. But Tang Yan is always not around and takes Li Hui for granted. When he cheated on her, Li Hui finally had enough and breaks up with him in Episode 11.

As for Sui Ming Wei, he is in love with Xiao Ran since they first met as colleagues. He plans a confession in Episode 6 but Xiao Ran fails to see it. She only finds out in Episode 7 but Sui Ming Wei brushes it off and they remain as good friends. He confesses to her again in Episode 25 to get closure and let go of his feelings for her. He knows she only has Shang Qi in her heart.

During their heartbreaks, Li Hui and Sui Ming Wei are always there for each other. Li Hui is the first to realize that she feels something more than friendship when she is moved by Sui Ming Wei’s effort to promote her songs to recording companies. She impulsive gives him a kiss in Episode 34 and confesses her feelings. But Sui Ming Wei is not ready to change the nature of their relationship and rejects her.

The couple separated when Li Hui decides to travel around and perform her songs. Sui Ming Wei misses her but is too timid to look for her until Xiao Ran encourages him to do so. He finally goes to see Li Hui and reunites with her in Episode 36.

Third Couple

The third couple is Fei Er and Lin Zong. Fei Er has a bitter childhood and horrible family members who are only interested in her money. Hence, she is cynical about love and sees it as something that could be traded. That is why she ends up with Ming Xuan although he treats her badly and she knows that she is only a trophy in his rivalry against Shang Qi.

When Ming Xuan discards her in Episode 27, she goes to see Shang Qi in his hotel and meets Lin Zong. It is Lin Zong who slowly makes her feel loved and warmth. Fei Er learns love can be sincere without the need to scheme through Lin Zong and his son. She changes to be a better person and even apologizes to Xiao Ran for past mistakes in Episode 30. She starts work at Jifeng Hotel in Episode 32 to get back on her feet.

Lin Zong stands up for Fei Er who is bullied by her family in Episode 34. She is touched and he hints of his feelings for her then. But Fei Er is self-conscious about her past and decides to resign from the hotel in Episode 36. 8 months later, they meet again. Fei Er is now a business development manager for an advertising firm. She explains to Lin Zong that she left because she wanted to prove to herself that she can make it on her own rather than relying on one man and then another. Lin Zong is happy to accept Fei Er as she is and they get together as a couple.

Almost Lover Review – Lost Potential

Almost Lover has a lot of potential as a romance drama but sadly, it falters midway through due to cliches. Perhaps the way the story is told is not compelling enough for viewers to really empathize with the protagonists. So, it is not surprising that some have given it a low rating in their reviews. To me, it is not a rare gem but neither is it unlikeable. There are certain aspects which are refreshing but there are also the inevitable cliches that leave a big stain in the story. I think when you hit these cliches, they will become the deciding factor whether you have the wherewithal to finish the drama that you started.

To be clear, Almost Lover is not a rom-com. It is serious romance with characters in their mid-20’s. It is not as melodramatic as Here To Heart and it covers more topics that include multiple couples, friendship, family, and business rivalry. In fact, it is the business rivalry with a villain that was more interesting to me than the romance. Some would prefer less business matters in a romance drama which is understandable. But because the romance started to go downhill for me after 10 episodes or so, the business side of things became my new focus.

What’s Different

Almost Lover has a few things that move away from the usual. For one, the male lead is not the typical domineering rich CEO or alpha male that you often find in romance dramas such as Dine With Love and My Girlfriend Is An Alien S2. He is faithful, caring, and respectful. Secondly, the protagonists start dating very early in the drama. This is a departure from the usual whereby the main couple will only get together around the halfway mark. The early dating stage means you will automatically foresee trouble ahead. I was bracing for it because there won’t be any story left to tell if everything remains smooth-sailing.

Finally, the screenwriter has devoted 4 to 5 episodes to wrap the story up after the villain is caught. Often, dramas will end with the villain being defeated or hardships overcome in the last 1 to 2 episodes. As a result, some productions do indeed end up with a rushed or simplistic ending such as Light Chaser Rescue and My Deepest Dream. So, the lengthy lead up to Almost Lover’s conclusion is unusual although whether that screen time has been effectively used to give us a memorable ending for the romance is another matter altogether.

Where Almost Lover Falters (Spoilers Alert!)

As mentioned, the ending isn’t one that would make you remember it as a great drama. It is not persuasive enough to feel moved when the girl changes her mind and accepts back the guy and agrees to marry him. Perhaps the plot itself doesn’t make you feel too invested in the couple after their breakup and the various problems they had. To make matters worse, the trigger to get back together is rather flimsy and the guy jumping into the lake to try to “save” the girl is silly when he doesn’t know how to swim.

In the last episode, they also try to cram in the fulfillment of the girl’s dream to be a war correspondent which necessitates the postponing of her marriage. The motive is just to show that the guy is supportive of his girl’s dream but it ends up being rather superficial.

But the biggest stain to this drama to me is the cliche excuse for the breakup – I’m doing it for your own good but I’m not telling you. I don’t know how many times we have seen that in a romance drama in one way or another from Because Of Love to Fall In Love 2021. The male protagonist in Almost Lover asks for a breakup due to family and business problems and he doesn’t want his beloved to get drawn into the complexities. Basically, the guy fails to open up and communicate when that could have easily solved the issues between them.

I think that is why the romance doesn’t have that feel good factor and satisfaction of seeing the couple together. Something is just off and when it reaches the end, you will just feel glad that it is over and done with.

Chemistry

Both Timmy Xu and Victoria Song are no strangers in C drama world. As Shang Qi, Timmy Xu is dashing and gentle. He gives off the feeling of a down-to-earth guy who totally adores his girl through his eyes and facial expressions. Victoria Song’s portrayal of Xiao Ran is a little exaggerated at times and the character turns out to be rather rough-edged. I don’t know if that is how the character is supposed to be written but you will be able to see pouts, long faces, and antagonism when things don’t go her way with her boyfriend.

The 2 leads are presentable together and there is a certain amount of chemistry to make the pairing work. But I don’t get a sense of passion and flammable chemistry between them to push the romance up a higher level. In fact, I find Victoria Song to have better chemistry with the much younger Song Wei Long in Find Yourself. Similarly, Timmy Xu matches Jing Tian very well in City Of Streamer and their chemistry really drives the romance despite the minimal amount of sweet moments between them in that drama.

Basically, the chemistry between Timmy Xu and Victoria Song in Almost Lover is just enough to make the drama watchable but nowhere near sizzling for me to replay their scenes together.

My Verdict

You will find the main characters in Almost Lover to have their own motivations and flaws due to their life experiences. Each has their own story to tell from the past which influences their present decisions. The result is you may relate better with one but not the other. Hence, you may understand the male protagonist’s point of view but not the female’s and vice-versa. When that happens, there is a tendency to drop the drama halfway through because you can’t stand either one of the character’s actions.

Therefore, I think the watchability of this drama really depends on your ability to see from both characters’ point of view. The guy has his past trauma while the girl has her insecurities. After all, it is a serious romance drama and both partners’ decisions and behaviors must make sense to you for it to be worth your while. This is unlike more lighthearted romance such as Falling Into You and Mr. Bad whereby you are in it mainly for the fluff and sweetness. For a serious romance, the story must be able to move you deeply and touch the core of your emotions to be truly unforgettable. Unfortunately, Almost Lover is not at that level.

So, for this Almost Lover review, I would rate it 7/10. It is not unwatchable and yet, you are not missing anything special if you skip it. The multiple couples might help to keep you interested should you feel the main pair isn’t too captivating. Watch it if you don’t mind a lack of communication between the lovers and jealous third party cliches. Skip if you want a more fulfilling and positive romance.