Guess Who I Am Review

I watched Guess Who I Am (猜猜我是谁) on a whim after discovering that it is a 24 episodes drama. Moreover, the leads are experienced actors who have acted in a few popular dramas in the past. My expectations were this is going to be a fun and romantic watch given the theme. It could have been explosive and delightful with deception in the main plot. I was ready to sit back and indulge myself but unfortunately, it falls a little short to me in a few ways. My Guess Who I Am review below will have all its pros and cons.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: March 2024
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of Guess Who I Am

• Zhang Yu Xi as Song Yao
• Wang Zi Qi as Qin Hao / Ji Cheng Chuan
• Ke Nai Yu as Song Ling Ren
• Han Dong Lin as Jiang Nan Xuan
• Wang Jia Yin as Shen Shuang Shuang
• Liu Zhe Hui as Gu Zi Jun
• Wang Qian Guo as Liang Jing Yi
• Zheng Yu as Ji Hong Lin
• Monica Mok as Chen Ya Qin
• Jiang Peng as Ji Cheng An
• Yang Chao Ran as Chen Jing Hui
• He Peng as Sheng Si Lin

Main Characters

Song Yao

Song Yao is a con-artist for hire. She takes up jobs that help clients to have an upper hand in cheating cases. Song Yao is a sassy and gutsy woman who is good at pretense and acting to get the job done. She has the power to make men hallucinate and desire her with her eyes. Her mother is an accident victim and has been in a coma for years.

Qin Hao / Ji Cheng Chuan

Qin Hao is a smart and strategic man who has taken on Ji Cheng Chuan’s identity for a personal agenda. He has just returned from abroad to get Ji Cheng Chuan’s inheritance and position as the CEO of Cheng Tian Group. Qin Hao can be cold and ruthless but has a fear of fire due to a childhood incident.

Supporting Characters

Song Ling Ren

Ling Ren is one of Qin Hao’s partners. They were schoolmates and she has feelings for him which she keeps to herself. Ling Ren is stoic and professional in her duties.

Jiang Nan Xuan

Nan Xuan is Qin Hao’s friend and partner in crime. He assists Qin Hao in carrying out their plans. He is more expressive and argumentative compared to Ling Ren.

Shen Shuang Shuang

Shuang Shuang is Song Yao’s friend and partner. She is good in gathering intelligence and playing a support role during missions. Shuang Shuang is an idol worshipper who is into a particular celebrity.

Gu Zi Jun

Zi Jun is Song Yao’s childhood friend and partner. He is a hacker and an expert in network technology with a love for online gaming.

Liang Jing Yi

Jing Yi is the only daughter of a tycoon and Ji Cheng Chuan’s childhood friend. She is in love with Qin Hao/Ji Cheng Chuan which makes her petty and jealous towards Song Yao.

Ji Hong Lin

Hong Lin is Ji Cheng Chuan’s father and Chairman of Cheng Tian Group. He is a cautious man with a suspicious mind. Cheng Tian Group’s interest is his main priority but the business was started by his late wife, Lin Shu, who was Ji Cheng Chuan’s mother.

Chen Ya Qin

Ya Qin is Hong Lin’s current wife. She is a scheming woman who wants her son, Cheng An, to inherit Cheng Tian Group.

Ji Cheng An

Cheng An is Hong Lin and Ya Qin’s son. He doesn’t have the brains and attitude to handle a business and would rather fool around. Cheng An is eyeing Jing Yi as marrying her would strengthen his position to inherit Cheng Tian Group.

Chen Jing Hui

Jing Hui is Ya Qin’s brother and Cheng An’s uncle. He works for Hong Lin and is wary of Qin Hao/Ji Cheng Chuan’s ability to wrest control of Cheng Tian Group from his nephew.

Sheng Si Lin

Si Lin is a comical man who is obsessed with Song Yao. He comes from a rich family and sees himself as some sort of a handsome godly idol. Basically, Si Lin is an idler who often leaves his brother exasperated over his antics.

Synopsis

Qin Hao is impersonating Ji Cheng Chuan who had died when he was a kid. Ji Cheng Chuan died in a gas explosion in his home together with his mother, Lin Shu. Qin Hao wants to investigate what happened in the past and getting into Cheng Tian Group is the best way to do so. Cheng Tian Group was owned by Lin Shu who had left a will for Ji Cheng Chuan to assume the position of CEO. But Qin Hao will need to prove his identity and present the pendant which was given by Lin Shu to Ji Cheng Chuan years ago.

Qin Hao pretends he has the pendant while secretly working hard to look for it. His investigation shows the pendant is now in the possession of Song Yao who has no idea about it. In the meantime, Qin Hao’s rival is trying to steal the pendant from him to deny him his inheritance and hires Song Yao to do the job. So, Qin Hao and Song Yao end up trying to deceive each other to get their hands on the pendant. Things become complicated when they start developing feelings for each other amidst all the deception and are forced to work together to prevent their cover from being blown off.

Guess Who I Am Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Guess Who I Am has a happy ending. There is a witness who saw Jing Hui and the killer who worked for him, Fifteen, at the crime scene before the fire started. He has a recording of it and has agreed to meet Qin Hao. But Fifteen kills himself together with the witness in Episode 23 in order to protect Jing Hui. However, the witness was cautious and had slipped the recording into someone else’s pocket before he was taken away by Fifteen. The man who got hold of the recording turns out to be Song Yao’s enemy. But she manages to convince him to give it to her so that Jing Hui can be arrested in Episode 24.

Thereafter, Qin Hao becomes the new Chairman of Cheng Tian Group. His father is slowly recovering from the accident in Episode 20. He was on his way to meet the witness when Fifteen tried to kill him. Cheng An is starting to be serious in his work under Qin Hao. Nan Xuan confesses to Shuang Shuang and they become a couple. Zi Jun proposes to Ling Ren when he thought that she wants to marry him. Qin Hao tells Song Yao that he wants to be with her forever while they are on a date. The story ends with Si Lin calling them to get ready for their next mission.

The scene then switches back to the present with Song Yao, the author, sending off her manuscript to Lu Yu. Her story earns her both compliments as well as criticisms from readers. The publisher is willing to sign her on but improvements are needed. Lu Yu then gets a new editor to assist Song Yao and he turns out to be Qin Hao.

When Did The Leads Get Together?

Qin Hao announces that he has married Song Yao in Episode 7. This is because Hong Lin is trying to pair him up with Jing Yi who was Ji Cheng Chuan’s childhood friend. Jing Yi is interested in him and hence, he needs to limit contact with her to minimize the risk of having his cover blown. Qin Hao then has to force Song Yao to marry him. He threatens to report her for the contract that she has signed with Jing Hui to steal the pendant. This leaves her with no choice but to register the marriage.

In Episode 8, Hong Lin becomes suspicious of their relationship which prompts Qin Hao to get Song Yao to move in with him. She agrees to his request as she thinks it will give her the opportunity to steal back her contract that he is using to ensure her compliance. She moves to his place in Episode 9. They sign a 1-year marriage contract after he told her that he was at the scene when Ji Cheng Chuan died and his impersonation is not for money.

The couple have their wedding reception in Episode 12 but it ends prematurely due to Song Yao’s mother’s critical condition in the hospital. But the event brings them closer together. They cooperate in Episode 14 after Song Yao learns from Qin Hao that the person who knocked down her mother is the same person who started the fire. They realize that they have fallen for each other in Episode 16 with Qin Yao preparing for a confession. However, Song Yao is hesitant about their relationship until they are kidnapped and nearly lost their lives in Episode 17. Qin Hao finally confesses to Song Yao and they become a real couple in Episode 18.

Is There Any Breakup?

There is no breakup after Song Yao and Qin Hao got together. But he fakes his death in Episode 21 in order to keep Song Yao safe from Jing Hui. Jing Hui had used Song Yao’s safety to threaten Qin Yao into leaving Cheng Tian Group and giving up on his inheritance. But Song Yao catches a glimpse of Qin Hao in Episode 22 when her mission to entrap Jing Hui and the killer get exposed. She suspects Si Lin to be helping Qin Hao when Si Lin turns up to save her. Song Yao then forces Si Lin to reveal Qin Hao’s whereabouts and the couple reunites in Episode 23.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

Ling Ren is also in love with Qin Hao but it is unrequited. She lets go of him after a few encounters with Zi Jun and seeing the blossoming relationship between Song Yao and Qin Hao in Episode 12.

Jing Yi keeps driving a wedge between Qin Hao and Song Yao as she wants the man for herself. But her efforts to paint a negative picture of Song Yao as being flirtatious and money-minded keep failing as Qin Hao refuses to entertain her. Her badmouthing of Song Yao earns a stern rebuke from Qin Hao in Episode 17. Jing Yi fades away thereafter after being ordered by her father to go abroad for further studies.

Si Lin keeps pursuing Song Yao despite her lack of interest. He overhears Shuang Shuang’s conversation with Song Yao and learns that the latter’s marriage to Qin Hao is fake in Episode 11. Thus, he continues to chase her and keeps thinking of ways to “rescue” Song Yao from the marriage. Si Lin even gets involved in a rescue operation to find Song Yao after she has been kidnapped. This prompts Song Yao to tell Si Lin that it is her eyes which cause him to desire her in Episode 17. After learning her secret and how she could affect him by just looking into her eyes, they end up being good friends instead.

When Did Qin Hao’s Impersonation Get Exposed?

Song Yao already knew Qin Hao is an imposter in Episode 5 after he stole the pendant to prove his identity as Ji Cheng Chuan from her. But there is a plot twist in Episode 20 when it is revealed that he is actually Ji Cheng Chuan. The killer working for Jing Hui sets ablaze the hospital room with Song Yao and her mother being trapped inside. Qin Hao braves the fire to rescue Song Yao and her mother but falls unconscious from the explosion.

In his unconscious state, his mind travels back to the fire incident in his past. The boy who died was actually his good friend, Qin Hao. Ji Cheng Chuan was hiding in the cupboard and witnessed the deaths and subsequent explosions. As a result, he suffered from PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and memory loss. He assumed himself to be Qin Hao. Qin Hao’s uncle, Qin Tian, took pity on him. He adopted Ji Cheng Chuan and brought him up abroad as Qin Hao.

After Ji Cheng Chuan regained his memory, he didn’t want to tell Song Yao about it as his identity has caused her and her mother to be innocent victims. Song Yao realizes Qin Hao is Ji Cheng Chuan in Episode 21 when she returns to the fire scene and finds Ji Cheng Chuan’s watch in the cupboard. This tells her that the boy hiding in the cupboard was not Qin Hao but Ji Cheng Chuan.

What Happened To Song Yao’s Eyes?

Song Yao loses her power to make rich men fall for her with her eyes in Episode 20. This is because foreign objects got embedded in her eyes during a fire in her mother’s hospital room and surgery is required to remove them. Her super power is lost after the surgery.

Side Couples

Ling Ren is miserable and gets drunk in Episode 11 when Qin Hao is going to marry Song Yao. She ends up calling Zi Jun to get her from the bar. Ling Ren begins to feel that Zi Jun is different and actually cares about her likes and dislikes which no one has done before. Zi Jun waits for Ling Ren to finish work on Christmas eve to her surprise in Episode 18. They begin dating and the relationship becomes serious after Zi Jun kissed her in Episode 19.

Guess Who I Am Review – Contract Marriage Drama

I thought contract marriage C-dramas have more or less run its course as there is only so much recycled plots that viewers can take. So, I do think that Guess Who I Am is a risky venture. You will need something really extraordinary for this theme to succeed given all the similar storylines in the past. To be fair, Guess Who I Am is a little different from previous offerings as it has included an element of deception in its plot. Together with all the jazziness, this has a good start to it. Unfortunately, that deception and thriller vibes don’t last long and this is where things start to falter and return to the typical contract marriage trope.

Basically, this is a story within a story kind of drama. It starts off with an author writing a story that could match the requirements of the publisher and it will end with the completion of the manuscript. What happens in between is the author’s story. Sounds familiar? Yes, you would have seen this same start and finish in past dramas including the more recent Story Of Kunning Palace. This is the overly recycled bit that you will have to put up with although it should be understandable if you are familiar with Chinese dramas and the censorship issues.

The main problem to me is the overall story itself has nothing new to offer because the thrill loses its momentum after a few episodes in. Perhaps it is trying to do too much by throwing a bit of everything into the mix which they did acknowledge in the self-criticism at the end.

Thrill Gone Too Soon

Personally, I feel that Guess Who I Am could have been made into a thriller with a bit of adjustment to the storyline. Even the title of the drama gives off such vibes. But alas, the identity and motive of the protagonists get unmasked very early on when both are trying to con the other. This is the most interesting part of the drama with all that flirting and deception but unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain that exhilaration.

Once the cover comes off, the story moves to the contractual relationship phase. The good thing is it is not overdone to the point that you start rolling your eyes but the bad thing is their relationship development from enemies to lovers is predictable. Throw in third-wheelers including a toxic one, a villain with his sidekick, childhood connection, and memory loss, you will get the feeling that they have copied these parts from different dramas and then cobbled them together. In other words, there is nothing new to be expected from this drama in terms of plot.

It is also a case of having a little bit of everything to make it seem like there is a lot going on in the story. But the effect is some parts will end up lacking in depth such as the side couples’ story. I guess they will have to make it simple to keep within a short 24 episodes.

Easy To Binge On But Silly

Overall, Guess Who I Am is a drama that is very easy to binge on. There are several reasons for this. First of all, some episodes are just 30 minutes long. When the episodes are short, it is simply easier to get through them. Secondly, it is light without much angst. There are toxic characters and villains but this is a relatively stress-free drama on the whole. Finally, the plot is a straightforward one. You can watch this at a faster speed or skip scenes when it gets monotonous and the storyline would still be clear and understandable. Hence, it is possible to complete this drama quickly and move on to the next one on your list.

Having said that though, this drama is kind of silly and littered with plot holes. You can’t treat this too seriously because there are things that don’t make sense in the story. With a female lead that has the super power to make wealthy men fall for her through her special eyes, goofiness is to be expected. It is amusing at times which is a plus but I’m not sure if most viewers will appreciate the humor or see it as stupid. So, I suppose you will have to watch and judge it for yourself.

Acting & Chemistry

This is not the first time Wang Zi Qi has played a CEO and his role isn’t that challenging in Guess Who I Am. He also acted as a CEO in Once We Get Married and its sequel, The Love You Give Me. He has that charisma to play this kind of character and thus, it is comfortable to watch him exerting his authority and leading the way.

Zhang Yu Xi is okay in her role as a sassy con artist. It is a fun character and her acting reflects that but that is about it from her in this drama. Basically, it isn’t a memorable performance from her which could be due to the nature of the script as well.

However, in terms of chemistry, both the leads are able to generate enough of it to keep the drama entertaining. There is flirting, bickering, and falling in love which provide lots of room for the leads to show off their ability to act as a couple. The chemistry is obvious but I can’t sense it to be overflowing either. Personally, I prefer Wang Zi Qi’s partnership with Wang Yu Wen in the 2 dramas mentioned above while Zhang Yu Xi also had stronger chemistry with Liu Xue Yi in Love At Night.

My Verdict – Just For Fun

Guess Who I Am has 2 aspects to it – a comedy and a serious side that involves investigation into a past incident. The investigation will gather momentum around the third quarter of the drama. However, there is no mystery as to who is the villain. This part is predictable and the plot is very simple. So, if you are looking for a good, solid plot, this is not the drama to watch. There is nothing realistic about the story from the female lead with magical eyes to the plot twist further down the road. But if you don’t mind pure entertainment with some hilarious scenes especially at the start, then this might serve the purpose.

The other reason to watch it would be because of the romance. There is a lot focus on the couple’s interactions and relationships including co-habitation just like in My Boss with initial bickering being part of the offering. Both parties have ulterior motives in approaching each other and this is where the fun lies and the anticipation of a romance is sown. It is also largely a positive relationship between them with communication, trust, and support being built up in a gradual manner as they spend more time together.

For this Guess Who I Am review, I think it would be apt to give it a score of 7/10. With nothing new to offer, this production really feels like a copy and paste from previous dramas of the same genre. It is fine for some laughs but it will not leave you wanting more. Hence, it is also unlikely to have much rewatch value.