Love’s Ambition Review

Love ‘s Ambition (许我耀眼) came on air without much promotion and fanfare. It’s a big disappointment to Zhao Lu Si’s fans who have stood solidly beside her as she battles depression and ongoing dispute with her management agency. But despite all the problems that she is facing, the drama still attracted lots of eyeballs. Her popularity remains high and the drama naturally gains with her being the lead actress. Coupled with William Chan who has his own fan base, this production was already highly anticipated by fans since filming began. But is it all hyped up or is it really a great drama to watch? Follow my Love’s Ambition review below for more.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 32
Type: Modern romance
Aired: September 2025
Images Credit: WeTV Official Facebook

The Cast Of Love’s Ambition

• Rosy Zhao Lu Si as Xu Yan / Qiao Yan
• William Chan Wai Ting as Shen Hao Ming
• Wan Peng as Qiao Lin
• Daddi Tang Xiao Tian as Yu Yi Ming
• Guan Zi Jing as Lin Tao
• Zhong Ya Ting as Fang Lei
• Wang Yi Yao as Sun Si Wei
• Wu Mian as Xu Chang Hui
• Feng Hui as Qiao Jian Bin
• Liu Min as Wang Ya Zhen
• Xu Ya Jun as Shen Jin Song
• Wen Zheng Rong as Yu Lan
• Fu Bo Han as Shen Hao Chen
• Ge Si as Qu Ming Cheng
• Fan Shi Qi as Jiang Liang

Main Characters

Xu Yan / Qiao Yan

Xu Yan is a planner in a media company whereby her job is mainly to assist an anchor host for a program. She is smart, highly ambitious, and resourceful. Her dream is to be a news anchor and make it in a big city so that she could give her beloved grandmother a better life.

Shen Hao Ming

Hao Ming is the Vice President of Jinda Group which is a construction conglomerate. He is viewed as the designated heir of Jinda Group as the Shen family is the largest shareholder. He is a businessman through and through with high ambitions. Hao Ming is smart, observant, and strategic. Chen Lin and Han Wei Ping is his personal assistant and legal officer respectively.

Supporting Characters

Qiao Lin

Qiao Lin is Xu Yan’s elder sister. She is a cosmetics sales assistant in their hometown. Qiao Lin is hot-tempered and impulsive. But she is a nice person at heart. She is also the favored daughter of the family.

Yu Yi Ming

Yi Ming is an orthopedic doctor in the city’s hospital. Xu Yan was his crush back in college. Yi Ming is a gentle and helpful man.

Lin Tao

Lin Tao is Qiao Lin’s fiancee. He is a bank officer. Lin Tao is a dense fellow who doesn’t seem to be able to catch subtleties and accept no for an answer.

Fang Lei

Fang Lei has just returned from abroad and is working as an investment analyst in Jinda Group. Their families are friends. Hence, Fang Lei has known Hao Ming since young and is infatuated with him.

Sun Si Wei

Si Wei is Xu Yan’s direct boss. She is an anchor host who likes to throw her weight around. Si Wei is a harsh and arrogant person.

Xu Chang Hui

Chang Hui is Xu Yan’s paternal grandmother. Xu Yan grew up with her and subsequently took her grandmother’s surname. Grandma Xu lives in the countryside. She is a kind and understanding old woman.

Qiao Jian Bin & Wang Ya Zhen

The couple is Qiao Lin and Xu Yan’s parents. They operate a barber shop in a small town and are poor working class people. Mr. and Mrs. Qiao tend to shower more attention towards their elder daughter. This causes Xu Yan to have an estranged relationship with them.

Shen Jin Song & Yu Lan

They are Hao Ming’s parents. Shen Jin Song is the founder and Chairman of Jinda Group. They are a fairly close-knit family. But Chairman Shen doesn’t believe in giving Hao Ming an easy path in the company. Mrs. Shen is a typical ultra rich woman who cares about face and reputation in the upper class society. She is a tough woman to please.

Shen Hao Chen

Hao Chen is Hao Ming’s younger brother. They have a very large age gap between them but have a very close relationship. He is a typical boy from a rich family with his arrogant and tantrum-throwing attitude. But Hao Chen just craves for his family’s attention and has a sensitive heart.

Qu Ming Cheng

Qu Ming Cheng is a board member of Jinda Group. He is one of the founding members of the company and has been working for Chairman Shen for decades. But he also runs a company called Situo behind the scenes. Steve is his assistant.

Jiang Liang

Jiang Liang is one of the partners of a capital venture firm called Yuanhuang who is run by his sister, Jiang Yun. He is a playboy but has a knack for numbers beneath his playful exterior.

Synopsis

Xu Yan works in a media company. She meets Hao Ming in an effort to get him to agree to an interview. Hao Ming is a rich second generation whose family is the largest shareholder of a construction conglomerate. He is a senior executive in the conglomerate and seems like a great catch with his wealth, status, and looks. Both of Xu Yan and Hao Ming fall in love with each other and plan to get married.

However, Hao Ming’s mother wants someone who is of equal standing to be her daughter-in-law. This leads Xu Yan to construct an elaborate deception to fool her future husband and in-laws that she comes from an intellectual family with her parents being professors abroad. In actual fact, she has an estranged relationship with her parents who merely run a barber shop in a small town.

While the money is enticing, Xu Yan also genuinely loves Hao Ming. He is the perfect husband who seems to dote on her. She feels blissful with him but her deception is also taking a toll on her nerves as she runs the risk of being exposed by those who know her from the past. She wants to confess to Hao Ming but he always has a way to make her stop. Is he really the perfect husband or is everything merely an illusion?

Love’s Ambition Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Love’s Ambition has a happy ending. Xu Yan successfully leads her start-up business, Yan Studio, to be a reputable and well-known cultural fashion brand together with Qiao Lin and her 2 friends. This is after overcoming a few obstacles typical for a start-up. Hao Ming manages to expose Qu Ming Cheng as a criminal for colluding with other companies to rig a government land bidding exercise. Qu Ming Cheng is his father’s comrade in the company but has been bitter for having to work under him after so many years. So, he quietly starts buying the company’s stocks in order to oust Hao Ming’s father as chairman of the board. He is subsequently arrested together with his assistant, Steve.

As a result, Hao Ming’s father resumes his position as chairman and Hao Ming regains his seat as a board member. He has also successfully bid for the government land and would be responsible for the development of the project. He has roped in Xu Yan earlier to work together on a proposal to convince the board members to support the project. Xu Yan’s experience in the cultural aspects of business gained from her start-up is utilized to inject cultural elements into Hao Ming’s project.

The drama ends with a signing ceremony between Jinda Group and Yan Studio which is represented by Hao Ming and Xu Yan respectively. Yan Studio will be a key attraction in the upcoming development to be spearheaded by Jinda Group.

Is There A Breakup?

Hao Ming’s Secret

Xu Yan and Hao Ming got married in Episode 6. She begins to feel that their relationship is turning cold in Episode 13. This is partly due to her guilt for her deception which Hao Ming has inadvertently stopped her from confessing the truth. At the same time, Hao Ming seems to be spending a lot of time away from home presumably with Fang Lei. Both of them have a lot of secrets to hide.

After Hao Ming made used of Fang Lei to obtain her father’s support for a project, she turns around and rats on him to Xu Yan in Episode 13. Fang Lei triumphantly reveals to Xu Yan that she has been deceived by her perfect husband as Hao Chen is not his brother but his son with Fang Yu. As Hao Ming and Fang Yu were still very young then and had a child out of wedlock, his parents passed off Hao Chen as their son instead to cover up the shame. Not too long after, Fan Yu died in a diving accident and the matter got buried.

Moreover, Hao Ming married Xu Yan not because he loves her but because of her job in a media company. So, her rise to be a program host is partly engineered by him to give her legitimacy to approach various people for interviews. This indirectly opens the doors for him to target potential business associates and investors through Xu Yan. When Xu Yan confronts Hao Ming about it in Episode 14, she learns that he already knew of her deception all along. To him, each of them is just in the relationship for mutual benefit despite Xu Yan confessing that she does love him although she also benefitted from his wealth and status.

Divorce

Hao Ming wants Xu Yan to continue playing the role of the perfect wife to help him achieve his career goals. But when Xu Yan’s grandmother falls sick and lands in hospital, Xu Yan makes the decision to end all the lies once and for all in Episode 15. She demands a divorce from Hao Ming and resigns from her job in the media company after rumors of the divorce swirl. She also tells her parents-in-law of her deception and apologizes to them before leaving the Shen family.

After leaving Hao Ming, Xu Yan starts from the bottom in the live-streaming industry. Hao Ming finds himself unexpectedly thinking about it. As he sees her struggling, he offers to support her monthly but she turns it down in Episode 17. She tells him that she just wants to start anew and that they should be strangers.

When Did They Reconcile?

Hao Ming finds himself falling for Xu Yan and being jealous of Jiang Liang who is her investor in her start-up business. So, he keeps stalling their divorce proceedings in Episode 21 to her exasperation. But his persistence and subtle support when her new business is in trouble makes her soften towards him. They can’t let go of each other and ends up sleeping together after getting drunk in Episode 26. They are about to get back together when a business rival tells Xu Yan that Hao Ming is just using her again to land a project with a foreign investor.

This makes Xu Yan wary of Hao Ming’s intentions. But she could feel his sincerity after they bump into each other in a cultural town. Hao Ming is doing his best to get back Xu Yan without antagonizing her. She also learns that he is not using her as she was told. They reconcile in Episode 28 after Hao Ming spoke his mind and confessed his love for her during a stage performance in the cultural town.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

Fang Lei

Fang Lei has been infatuated with Hao Ming from the very beginning. She tells Han Wei Ping that her heart belongs to Hao Ming in Episode 12 although Hao Ming and Xu Yan are already married in Episode 6. Fang Lei tries to seduce Hao Ming in Episode 13 but gets rejected. He has been acting warm towards her earlier because he needed her father’s support for a project. Once the contract has been signed, Hao Ming drops his pretense and becomes cold towards Fang Lei.

She then gets entangled with Han Wei Ping as the latter has been tasked by Hao Ming to keep an eye on her and they end up sleeping together in Episode 22. Fang Lei decides to move on after learning that Hao Ming and Xu Yan have reconciled in Episode 28. After all, he has never liked her.

Jiang Liang

Jiang Liang runs into Xu Yan while she is trying to get investors for her start-up in Episode 19. He gives her ideas and supports her as he finds her charming. He pursues her in Episode 22 but she tells him that he is only a terrific investment partner to her and doesn’t want any romantic entanglement with him. But Jiang Liang continues to be a loyal friend and supporter. He even offers to help her in his personal capacity to overcome a crisis in her company in Episode 24. But Jiang Liang graciously accepts Xu Yan’s decision to get back with Hao Ming in Episode 28. He tells her that he will always be her backer and wishes her happiness at the same time.

Hao Ming’s Past

In Episode 12, it is revealed that Hao Ming and Fang Lei’s elder sister, Fang Yu, were once lovers while they were studying abroad. But Fang Yu subsequently died in a diving accident. In Episode 13, Fang Lei tells Xu Yan that Hao Chen is Hao Ming and Fang Yu’s child out of spite.

After their divorce, Hao Ming opens up to Xu Yan about his relationship with Fang Yu in Episode 20. They had already broken up for 2 months when Fang Yu came to tell him that she was pregnant. She wanted to abort it but the doctor told her that she wouldn’t be able to conceive again. Hence, she decided to keep the baby and Hao Ming accompanied her until their son was born. Then, Fang Yu died and Fang Lei gave Hao Ming a paternity report that shows that Hao Chen is his son. Hao Ming decided to bring the boy back home. His parents thought it would affect the family and thus, Hao Chen was announced as their son instead.

Secret Exposed

In Episode 23, Han Wei Ping is revealed to be working for Jinda Group’s rival. We are also told that he is Qu Ming Cheng’s godson in Episode 28. Through Fang Lei’s drunken ramblings, he learns that her sister had a child before she died. Hence, the suspicion arises that Hao Chen is Hao Ming’s son. After he stole the paternity report from Hao Ming’s safe, Hao Chen’s paternity is exposed in Episode 29. This causes Jinda Group’s stock price to drop and Qu Ming Cheng could then acquire enough shares to replace Hao Ming’s father as chairman.

The public exposure causes misery to the Shen family. Hao Chen becomes withdrawn at the lies and deception. Xu Yan and Hao Ming try their best to coax him out of his depression. They bring him to the countryside to get away from the reporters. Through Grandma Xu’s help, Hao Chen slowly comes out of his shell.

In Episode 32, Fang Lei informs Hao Ming and Xu Yan that Hao Chen isn’t his son. She feels guilty and regretful for causing her nephew so much misery. Her sister told her that she had a drunken one night stand with a guy she met at the bar after breaking up with Hao Ming. But she didn’t have any recollection of the man. After her sister died, Fang Lei gave Hao Ming a falsified paternity report that shows Hao Chen is his son. This is because she thought she has a chance to be with him through their shared connection to Hao Chen. Xu Yan and Hao Ming decide that Hao Chen will always be their son. Fang Lei agrees to keep it a secret as Hao Ming tears up the real paternity report into pieces.

Second Couple

Yi Ming had a crush on Xu Yan back in college but got rejected back then. At the same time, Qiao Lin actually has feelings for Yi Ming. After she broke up with Lin Tao and meets Yi Ming again, she tries to get close to him. They become good friends. Yi Ming starts to think that Qiao Lin is pretty awesome and tells Xu Yan so in Episode 16. He also assures Xu Yan that he has moved on from his previous crush on her.

Lin Tao wants to reconcile with Qiao Lin but she says no in Episode 18. Yi Ming tells Lin Tao that he likes Qiao Lin and hence, warns him to stop bothering her. Qiao Lin is surprised but thinks Yi Ming is just helping her to repel Lin Tao. However, Lin Tao refuses to give up until Qiao Lin tells him once again that they should go on their own paths in Episode 22. At the same time, she confesses her feelings to Yi Ming although she feels that he has many other potential suitors while she doesn’t match up to him in terms of status and education level. Yi Ming confesses to Qiao Lin a week later and they start dating in Episode 23.

Lin Tao pretends he has moved on and Xu Yan employs him to be her company’s accountant in Episode 25. He then uses a falsified financial statement of Yan Studio to blackmail Qiao Lin into reconciling with him in Episode 30. So, she briefly breaks up with Yi Ming to stall Lin Tao. In Episode 31, she tells Yi Ming what happened and gets back together with him after listening to Xu Yan’s advice. Together, they expose Lin Tao’s scheme. They also have their wedding shoot in Episode 32.

Love’s Ambition Review – Starts Out Well

I have to admit that Love’s Ambition started out quite well. You will be drawn into the story pretty quickly. The female protagonist grew up with her grandmother as her poor parents wanted to abandon her when she was a baby due to a congenital heart defect. Like the character in The First Frost, she was practically neglected during childhood. So, her relationship with her parents is almost non-existent. When she meets the perfect boyfriend who comes from a rich family, she has to set up an elaborate deception regarding her family background in order to gain his mother’s approval. All these is done within the first 5 episodes.

Thus, the context of her lies is speedily set up for viewers. You will sympathize with her or at least, understand why she needs to deceive everyone. Once the deception is in motion, that is also when the anticipation of being exposed for her lies starts. Therefore, the first dozen episodes will give you a feeling of dread of what is to come. You know she will definitely be outed. It is just a matter of when and how. This will keep you glued to the screen as the risk of her being exposed gets heightened with each passing incident.

The other nice surprise is the small plot twist when the truth emerges. This is not completely unexpected because the clues are there if you are paying attention. After all, a perfect partner is indeed too good to be true. Anyway, the problem starts when the deception is over and done with. That is when the drama loses a bit of its shine to me.

Back To A Typical Romance

While the first half of Love’s Ambition is good, the second half is only so-so except perhaps, the last few episodes that revolve around the male protagonist’s younger brother. As mentioned, once the truth emerges, the romance turns cliche and a little silly. Cliche in the sense that the couple has to pretend to be still lovey-dovey like those typical fake marriage rom-coms that litter the C-drama world. Not to forget the guy’s jealousy when another man starts to pursue our heroine. It is indeed all very predictable with no refreshing angle to continue on the excellent first half of the story.

It is also a little silly because the plot tries too hard to merge a romance into some kind of business dealing. In other words, our couple is playing pretend because a potential business partner considers a happy marriage a plus in evaluating candidates to cooperate with. So, the story starts to become unrealistic and uninspiring. I certainly don’t think rich businessmen with conglomerates would decide who they want to work with based on how much their potential partners love their wives!

Nevertheless, if romance is all that matters to you, Love’s Ambition is able to give you that sugary spike. The first dozen episodes have their sweet and romantic moments which showcase a perfect relationship. The second half is about getting back together which has its own brand of romantic feelings such as yearning and regret and a round of guy-chases-girl to get her back. I guess if you don’t expect too much in terms of plot, this drama should satisfy that romance craving.

Life Lessons

Personally, what is most attractive to me in Love’s Ambition is not really the romance but the life lessons. I think this part is well-executed which is why the drama touches a lot of viewers despite some weaknesses in the plot. In the first part, there is a lot of emphasis on maintaining appearances. People judge your importance based on your family background, the college you attend, and other similar metrics. This is a fact of life that we all can relate to which is why you will root for the female protagonist despite her deception.

But we also know that a life built on lies is hollow and can eat at your conscience. So, when the illusion of a perfect life is stripped away, it is also a welcomed change. Life could be more challenging and difficult but you are living it honestly. Thus, when the female protagonist summons up the courage to throw everything away to stop lying to herself and others, it is also satisfying to watch. She is growing and maturing on an emotional level. This character growth is yet another plus factor that makes me drawn to her story to continue watching.

The pacing picks up significantly towards the end and it can get angsty. The final piece of deceit is being exposed by the unscrupulous. It’s another life lesson that deception can come back to hurt you and your loved ones eventually. The business aspects are largely simplified with the drama’s best scenes reserved for the emotional side of things which the actors did well to portray.

Acting

The first time I watched Zhao Lu Si is in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose. Since then, she has grown and took on varied roles compared to the playful and youthful ones that defined her early acting career. As Xu Yan in Love’s Ambition, she delivers in all the scenes that require heavy emotions. It is not about the tears. It is the vulnerability, grace, courage, pain, and all the other emotions that Xu Yan experiences throughout her life. Zhao Lu Si could bring them to the fore so that we automatically feel for her. For instance, the scene whereby she removes her makeup sticks in my mind. There are no lines to be uttered but you can immediately get the message in that scene – wiping away an illusion that she has worked so hard to keep for so long.

William Chan is a great match for Zhao Lu Si here. His cold and calculative CEO persona is spot on. Of course, his matured but handsome looks help in that regard. But the actor also gives the character a human touch and not just arrogance and confidence. He softens Hao Ming’s rough edges with his smiles, glances, and passion for the woman he chooses to be his wife. Hao Ming is a character with layers. He is not a truly good man but neither is he a jerk. I think William Chan is able to balance these 2 facets of the character well.

I also have to mention Fu Bo Han here as his acting is impressive for his age. His rebellious attitude and emotional struggle is not easy to portray for someone so young. But then again, Fu Bo Han is no stranger to acting. In fact, he has cooperated with Zhao Lu Si before in The Story Of Pearl Girl and Who Rules The World.

My Verdict – Watch!

The romance in Love’s Ambition may not be compellingly written but the chemistry between the leads should make it good enough to give it a go. There is sufficient kisses and skinship to make things sweet and passionate which is important for a romance to sell. Ignore the implausibility of it all and you will be entertained. After all, romance dramas are usually there to give us the feel-good factor and a happily ever after.

Mixed in with the romance is the growth that the protagonists have to go through. What makes the drama different is the life lessons that accompany the story. This is what transforms Love’s Ambition from a typical romance drama to a more profound one. It is not the romance itself that stays with you, but the life lessons such as honesty, sincerity, and being true to yourself. The concepts are all very relatable as we all would have put on some level of appearances at some stage of our lives. This is probably why this drama hits differently despite the cliche romance in the second half.

For this Love’s Ambition review, I would give it a score of 8/10. The acting is good and the leads are in their element here. So, watch it for their acting apart from the chemistry. The bonus is Zhao Lu Si’s styling as you will get to see her in a wide array of fashionable clothes. You will also get hooked from the start with its fast pace and the tension of the deception being exposed. The middle is more mundane and typical of romance dramas but the pace and tension will increase towards the end to wrap things up. Overall, it should be worth your time to give it a go.

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