She And Her Perfect Husband Review

She And Her Perfect Husband (爱的二八定律) is a much awaited Chinese drama for 2022. Its airing had been postponed a few times supposedly due to censorship issues. With Xu Kai and Yang Mi being the main leads, it is only natural that the drama will generate much interest as these 2 are big names in Chinese entertainment circles. However, I don’t think this production has managed to garner as high a rating as expected in China and it is easy to see why. Scroll down for my full She And Her Perfect Husband review below for more details.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Romance
Aired: November 2022
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of She And Her Perfect Husband

• Yang Mi as Qin Shi
• Xu Kai as Yang Hua
• Li Ze Feng as Tao Jun Hui
• Tang Jing Mei as Li Dai
• Wang Zi Xuan as Wu Fei
• Liu Lin as Tang Yi Hui
• Baby Zhang Bo Jia as Yao Yao
• Ma Wen Zhong as Lao Qin
• Gao Xin as Qin Wen Bin
• Wang Gong Liang as Qin Wen Yu
• Li Xiao Feng as Ren Mei Mei
• Yue Yao Li as Father Yang
• Fanny Wu Yu Fang as Mother Yang
• He Feng Tian as Cai Liang
• Ji Dong Ran as Gang Zi
• Xue Yu Bin as Wang Jie Sen
• Qu Gang as Qiu Jian Xiang

Main Characters

Qin Shi

Qin Shi is a senior family dispute lawyer at Cheng & Hui which is one of the top law firms in the country. She is 34 years old and highly ambitious. Qin Shi is career-driven and is a very capable lawyer. She is smart and a quick thinker. She is also a skilled negotiator and risk taker.

Yang Hua

Yang Hua is a reserved and stay at home kind of man. He is highly intelligent and trades stocks at home to pay for his monthly expenses. He is frugal and lives with his parents. Yang Hua is 28 years old and believes in living a simple life. Thus, getting a job is not worth the stress to him. He is direct and an unconventional thinker.

Supporting Characters

Tao Jun Hui

Tao Jun Hui is a senior corporate lawyer at a rival firm. He is capable and ambitious with a drive to succeed through his own hard work and talent. He is dating Wu Fei while Qin Shi is his ex-girlfriend.

Li Dai

Li Dai is Qin Shi’s rival at work. She is also a senior family dispute lawyer at Cheng & Hui. Li Dai has a bitchy attitude towards Qin Shi and vice-versa. However, they also know where to draw the line in their rivalry. Li Dai is ambitious, gossipy, and practical. She is also single.

Wu Fei

Wu Fei is a legal assistant in Cheng & Hui’s Family Dispute Department. She comes from a very wealthy family. Her father is the owner of a top PR firm in the city. Being the only child, she is pampered and protected. Wu Fei can be petty and jealous. She is deeply in love with her boyfriend, Tao Jun Hui.

Tang Yi Hui

Tang Yi Hui is the owner of Cheng & Hui together with her husband, Jin Cheng. They are both lawyers. She is very business-minded with an ambition to expand the law firm both domestically and internationally. Tang Yi Hui is a scheming woman who will take advantage of situations and make deals to benefit her firm at the expense of other parties including her employees.

Yao Yao

Yao Yao is a Butler Service Manager at Tian Hang Hotel. She is a responsible employee with a good track record. She is also a caring superior who looks after her subordinates. However, Yao Yao can be stubborn with strong principles. She is a single mother.

Lao Qin

Lao Qin is Qin Shi’s father. He used to be an opera troupe leader. Lao Qin is thrice married with 2 divorces. Qin Shi’s mother is his current wife and she doesn’t get along with his second ex-wife. Lao Qin’s 3 children are from 3 different women. Hence, the Qin family is a messy one.

Qin Wen Bin

Wen Bin is Qin Shi’s eldest stepbrother. His mother was his father’s first wife. Wen Bin is a calm and matured man who speaks reason. He gets along well with Qin Shi.

Qin Wen Yu

Wen Yu is Qin Shi’s second stepbrother and they often quarrel. His mother was his father’s second wife but they have long divorced. Wen Yu is an irresponsible man who likes to fool around despite being married. His wife is Mei Mei.

Ren Mei Mei

Mei Mei is Wen Yu’s wife as well as Qin Shi’s best friend from young. She runs the family business owned by her mother-in-law. She has a toxic relationship with her husband and they are always going through cycles of quarreling and reconciling.

Father Yang

Father Yang is Yang Hua’s father. He is the more understanding parent who can see things from his son’s point of view. He is always supportive of Yang Hua’s decision.

Mother Yang

Mother Yang is Yang Hua’s mother. She is always pressuring her son to date and get married rather than staying at home all the time. She is the domineering one in the household and disapproves of Yang Hua’s relationship with Qin Shi.

Cai Liang

Cai Liang is Yang Hua’s best friend from university. He is a talkative man who is also Yang Hua’s love advisor. Cai Liang is a bank manager in charge of product sales.

Gang Zi

Gang Zi is a private investigator and Tao Jun Hui’s friend. He will collect evidence and do the legwork for Tao Jun Hui’s legal cases.

Wang Jie Sen

Wang Jie Sen is a fund manager working for a well-known investor, Hu Ping. He is a cunning and sleazy man. He is also Yang Hua’s ex-colleague and they shared the same mentor.

Qiu Jian Xiang

Qiu Jian Xiang is an established player in the securities market. He is respected and enjoys a high status in the industry. Yang Hua and Wang Jie Sen were his proteges.

Synopsis

Cheng & Hui is a prestigious law firm in the country. However, it has a gender bias in its recruitment and promotion policies. The unwritten rule is women should be married with pregnancy and kids already out of the way before they are considered as suitable candidates to be partners. Qin Shi was brought into Cheng & Hui by her mentor who started the lie that she is married with a kid. Given the prevailing discriminatory policies, the ambitious Qin Shi continues the lie for more than 2 years.

Qin Shi spins the tale that her husband is a successful investment analyst working abroad and a perfect spouse. She randomly picks a guy named Yang Hua from the social media. However, Yang Hua is a single and jobless man in the same city who is pressured by his mother to find a girlfriend. Coincidentally, his mother sets him up on a blind date with Li Dai who is Qin Shi’s rival at work. Fortunately, Yang Hua is intercepted by Qin Shi before he could meet Li Dai during an office function.

As Qin Shi needs Yang Hua to pretend to be her husband while he wants to be free from his mother’s nagging, they strike up an agreement to be a fake married couple. But the feelings get real when they start to admire each other’s qualities. At the same time, Qin Shi is constantly facing threats that her lie will be exposed at work.

She And Her Perfect Husband Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

She and Her Perfect Husband has a happy ending. After having quit Cheng & Hui in Episode 39, Qin Shi works as an independent lawyer. Together with Li Dai, they take on a class action sexual harassment case for Yao Yao and her colleagues. In Episode 40, Yao Yao returns to Australia with her son and gives Qin Shi the impression that Yang Hua is coming along with her. She advises Yang Hua that making Qin Shi jealous is the only way to force her to confront her own feelings for him. Qin Shi did try to rush to the airport to look for Yang Hua but assumes that she is too late.

7 months later, Qin Shi and Li Dai win the sexual harassment suit and become famous. Tang Yi Hui and her husband try to recruit her back to the firm as a senior partner as there is a big market for sexual harassment cases. They have changed the firm’s policy towards promotion for women and other benefits. She declines but will cooperate as partners on a case-by-case basis.

Mei Mei gives birth to a baby and reconciles with Wen Yu who is now a changed man. Tao Jun Hui is transferred to head another division of Cheng & Hui. Wu Fei reappears to be his legal assistant. Yang Hua is now the righthand man for a well-known investor. He moves next door to Qin Shi and they are happy to see each other again for a reconciliation.

When Did The Couple Get Together?

Qin Shi and Yang Hua are doing fine as a fake couple until Li Dai comes to know about it. After Li Dai warns Qin Shi not to fight for promotion with her fake marriage in Episode 15, Yang Hua suggests that they register their marriage for real to solve the problem. So, Yang Hua and Qin Shi agree on a 3-year marriage contract with a prenuptial agreement in Episode 16. But he denies having feelings for her when she asks him about his willingness to get married since he has nothing much to gain from the arrangement.

The couple got their marriage registered in Episode 18. They are interested in each other but dare not cross the boundaries. Yang Hua says I love you to Qin Shi over the phone while drunk at the end of Episode 18. She kisses him while he is sleeping off the hangover in Episode 19. Yang Hua and Qin Shi have their wedding banquet in Episode 21 as demanded by their families. They slept together after she got tipsy and then emotional after reading her mother’s letter to her. The next morning, Yang Hua confesses his feelings to Qin Shi. They start a real relationship but with an understanding that they will still divorce as agreed.

Qin Shi and Yang Hua deepen their relationship in Episode 25 after they talked it over following a misunderstanding stemming from Yang Hua’s jealousy towards Tao Jun Hui.

Who Knows About The Fake Marriage?

Li Dai comes to know about Qin Shi and Yang Hua’s fake marriage when Yang Hua’s mother contacted her. This is because Li Dai is seeking compensation from the matchmaking agency for introducing Yang Hua to her whom she thinks is already married. The matchmaking agency is in turn suing Yang Hua’s mother for supposedly lying about her son’s marital status. Thus, Yang Hua’s mother ends up contacting Li Dai and the whole scam marriage comes to the latter’s knowledge.

Li Dai then confronts Qin Shi about it in Episode 15. She has no intention to expose Qin Shi’s lie but wants her to withdraw from competing for the promotion to be a partner. Li Dai only wants a fair competition as rivals but is no longer a threat when she quits the firm in Episode 19.

Tao Jun Hui knows Yang Hua’s work history of being a top level funds manager is fake in Episode 30 through Gang Zi who did the investigation on Wu Fei’s instructions. He learns the truth when he confronts Qin Shi about it in Episode 32. Wang Jie Sen also knows Yang Hua’s past and tries to blackmail Qin Shi into having a fling with him in Episode 31. But Qin Shi turns the tables on him by exposing his cheating to his secret lover, He Dong Na, in Episode 32.

When Did The Firm Discover The Lie?

Wu Fei has a copy of the marriage contract when she secretly accesses Qin Shi’s laptop. She lets Tang Yi Hui know about it in Episode 35 in retaliation for Tao Jun Hui’s continued interest towards Qin Shi. Tang Yi Hui tests Qin Shi by pretending to promote her to be a partner. Once Qin Shi signs the contract, she would be liable for deception. Qin Shi didn’t sign it and comes clean after getting a warning by Tao Jun Hui. She apologizes to Tang Yi Hui who demotes her back to the Family Dispute Department to be a legal assistant.

Qin Shi eventually quits Cheng & Hui in Episode 39. She is ordered by Tang Yi Hui to get Yao Yao to drop a sexual harassment case against a senior manager of a hotel. This is because Tang Yi Hui wants to seal the deal to be the hotel’s legal counsel in a merger. Qin Shi is given the ultimatum to do as instructed or leave. She chooses to leave and set up shop as an independent lawyer.

Is There A Breakup?

Yes, Yang Hua asks for a divorce in Episode 36. This is after he witnesses a tipsy Tao Jun Hui confessing his feelings to Qin Shi. While she rejects Tao Jun Hui, she couldn’t bring herself to explain why she remains married to Yang Hua. She doesn’t want to admit that she loves him. Hence, Yang Hua questions Qin Shi’s idea of marriage. He doesn’t want her to use marriage as a shield to her problems and to escape from reality.

In other words, Yang Hua doesn’t want Qin Shi to live a lie as their relationship started with lie as the foundation. He also feels that Qin Shi needs time and space to figure out what she wants.

Is There A Love Triangle?

Tao Jun Hui still has feelings for Qin Shi all along although he is angry initially because he thought she had cheated on him. But he suppresses his feelings since she is already married. However, he finds out that the marriage is a fake one in Episode 32. A drunk Tao Jun Hui could no longer control himself and confesses his love to Qin Shi in Episode 36 but gets rejected.

In Episode 39, Tao Jun Hui finds out that Qin Shi and Yang Hua have divorced. He immediately asks her to marry him but she says no. Her reason is marriage is not for her and she hasn’t found it in her heart when she will be ready for one. Qin Shi also advises Tao Jun Hui that Wu Fei is a more suitable partner for him that she is .

As for Yang Hua, Yao Yao is his ex-girlfriend. They bump into each other again in Episode 31. They broke up when he insisted on going to Canada to work for Qiu Jian Xiang. Furthermore, Yang Hua is thought to be an ideal partner for Qiu Jian Xiang’s daughter. However, they have both moved on following the break up. Yao Yao already has a son although divorced. In Episode 38, she tells Yang Hua that it was good that they broke up because she wouldn’t know how to cherish someone back then with her stubborn personality and low self-esteem.

Yang Hua also makes it clear that he only loves Qin Shi. Yao Yao only gives the impression to Qin Shi that Yang Hua is still interested in her to force Qin Shi to open up her heart to him.

Yang Hua’s Past

Part of Yang Hua’s past is revealed in Episode 26 when he and Cai Liang tell Qin Shi about their student days. Yang Hua was a top student and together with Cai Liang were involved in a stock trading simulation competition while in university. Qiu Jian Xiang, a well-known figure in the securities industry, noticed Yang Hua’s talent and recruited him to be his protege. He brought Yang Hua to Canada to work in his fund management company.

In Episode 29, Yang Hua reveals to Qin Shi about his fall from a high-flying securities trader to a jobless man after meeting Wang Jie Sen at a function. Wang Jie Sen was also Qiu Jian Xiang’s protege but felt threatened by Yang Hua’s emergence. He was the one who set the trap and recommended a stock with good financials for their fund management company to invest in. Qiu Jian Xiang asked Yang Hua to do so. Yang Hua couldn’t find a reason to reject the instruction. But a month later, the company collapsed.

Wang Jie Sen laid the blame on him. Yang Hua quit in disgust against Qiu Jian Xiang’s instructions. As a result, Qiu Jian Xiang used his influence and standing to block Yang Hua from being hired by other fund managers. Yang Hua became jobless and fell into depression. He stayed at home for 4 years and only traded to earn his monthly expenses until he met Qin Shi. Qiu Jian Xiang is eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer while Wang Ji Sen is caught having an affair with his boss’ wife in Episode 32.

Tao Jun Hui And Wu Fei

Wu Fei finds out that Tao Jun Hui and Qin Shi were lovers in Episode 17 when somebody anonymously sends her an old clip. She is disappointed that he hid the truth from her until he tells all in Episode 18. Wu Fei then assumes Qin Shi must be a cheater as the latter only broke up with Tao Jun Hui 2 years ago while she claims to have a 2.5-year-old kid with Yang Hua. Hence, Wu Fei now hates Qin Shi and takes over her office with her father’s influence in Episode 19. Tao Jun Hui also joins the same legal firm with her recommendation to handle her father’s business legal affairs.

As Wu Fei comes from a rich family, Tao Jun Hui feels uncomfortable relying on her parents’ financial support and connections. His hidden feelings for Qin Shi is also another source of disagreement which she could sense from the photos given to her in Episode 25. They quarrel over it in Episode 29 and she knows he was with Qin Shi but lied about it in Episode 33. Wu Fei then asks Tao Jun Hui to leave Cheng & Hui to work for her father but he is reluctant.

They break up in Episode 34 when Tao Jun Hui is expecting Qin Shi to turn up at a reunion function but Wu Fei came instead. She is angered further when she finds out that Tao Jun Hui already knew about Qin Shi’s fake marriage earlier. Wu Fei quits Cheng & Hui in Episode 35 after being lectured by Qin Shi on her lack of ability and relying on her father for a senior position. Hence, Wu Fei and Tao Jun Hui didn’t see each other again until Episode 40 when she rejoins as his legal assistant.

What Happened To Li Dai?

Li Dai quits the legal firm in Episode 19 after Wu Fei ousted Qin Shi from her office. She feels it is a game she can’t win with the odds stack against unmarried women like her and the dirty office politics.

Li Dai reappears in Episode 24 to represent a client who is on opposing side to Qin Shi. She also represents Qiu Jian Xiang who was arrested for stocks manipulation and needs Yang Hua’s help in defending the accused in Episode 29. Because of the legal cases, Li Dai and Qin Shi still keep in touch and become friends thereafter. They undertake a case together to help Yao Yao after Qin Shi quit Cheng & Hui in Episode 39.

She And Her Perfect Husband Review – Not So Perfect Ending!

To me, She And Her Perfect Husband has a creative story for the most part despite the cliche contract marriage theme. I say most because that creativity falters once it reaches the last few episodes which I will explain below. But for three-quarters of the drama, it is interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, there is a gradual built up of when the fake marriage will get exposed. As the drama progresses, more and more people will find out about the lie and there is this increasing anticipation of when the heroine will be exposed.

Secondly, the lie is necessary for the protagonist to achieve her dream and ambition of breaking through the glass ceiling so that she can change the rules for female employees. The screenwriter did well here to show us all the hard work and talent of the protagonist. Hence, it is easy to relate to her struggles and the need to maintain the lie which is always at risk of being exposed by people around her.

Thirdly, the romance has depth and maturity to it. The couple didn’t simply fall in love based on some flimsy reasons. There are no falls and accidental kisses to spark off a romance which you will often see in contract marriage dramas. Instead, they fall in love because they appreciate each other’s inherent qualities. The guy admires the girl’s drive and courage to achieve her dream which he himself lacks. The girl sees in the guy sincerity and warmth which she craves for given the people she has to contend with at work.

Therefore, She And Her Perfect Husband is not a cookie-cutter style fake couple drama like Warm Meet You and Time To Fall In Love. There is originality to the story for the most part until you reach the last quarter.

Acceptable But Imperfect Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

I think a lot of viewers have raised their displeasure at the way the story ended. It is indeed a pity to spoil a good story with a very average ending. Some have complained about the divorce in Episode 36 which comes about quite suddenly. Personally, I feel that the breakup is inevitable because the relationship started on a lie anyway and they always have this understanding that they could walk away.

What gets to me is the fall back on the typical make-her-jealous cliche to force Qin Shi to admit her love for Yang Hua. This is inconsistent with Yang Hua’s character who loves Qin Shi deeply. To have him listening to Yao Yao’s advice of making Qin Shi jealous is a turn off given his intelligence and sincere love for her. Furthermore, one of the reasons he broke up with Qin Shi is to allow her time and space to figure out what marriage means to her. Thus, to force her hand by making her jealous is just shallow to me given that she doesn’t believe in marriage due to her family background.

The last few scenes also feel rushed overall. There is a time lapse of 7 months before they reconcile for a happy ending. There is no explanation why Yang Hua feels she is ready for a relationship again when he moves into the apartment opposite hers. We are also not told what makes her ready and why apart from the fact that she misses him. We just have to accept that they have everything figured out after 7 months so the story can be quickly wrapped up on a sweet note.

Work Life Overshadows Romance

The female protagonist’s legal cases and office life do take up a substantial portion of the drama. Hence, She And Her Perfect Husband is not pure romance but there is a strong focus on Qin Shi’s career. Her work life overshadows the romance throughout the 40 episodes. While I find it interesting, I also suspect some might be bored with the legal cases and the ongoings in the law firm. In that sense, you cannot get onboard with the expectation that this is all about romance and fluff akin to Falling Into You and A Romance Of The Little Forest. It is not.

The sweet moments are there but limited. The main thrust of the couple’s love stems from their mutual trust and admiration of each other’s strengths. They grow to be better persons after having each other in their lives. Thus, the romance is the matured kind that doesn’t get exaggerated. Maybe that is why the romance seems to have taken a back seat to the female lead’s legal work instead.

Chemistry Is So-So

As far as acting is concerned, both Xu Kai and Yang Mi are experienced and skilled. Xu Kai portrays Yang Hua as introverted without much emotions. Yes, it does make the character a little too bland but I accept that that is how Yang Hua is written to be. Yang Mi’s character, Qin Shi, is strong and ambitious and these traits are evident in her portrayal. I think she did justice to the character and gives Qin Shi a kind of sassiness and impudence that is satisfying to watch.

As for their onscreen romance, this pairing is good to look at but the chemistry isn’t exactly earth-shattering. Having just watched Lighter And Princess, Xu Kai and Yang Mi just don’t have that same level of flaming chemistry as Arthur Chen and Zhang Jing Yi. Of course, the type of story is totally different and it is not fair to compare the 2 couples. But I just can’t sense the allure and charm required between Xu Kai and Yang Mi to leave me enchanted.

Perhaps the characters’ personality and the nature of their relationship which started off as fake will automatically temper down the intensity. As a result, the chemistry is somewhat hindered. Given the leads’ experience, they still did reasonably well with what they are given. So, the chemistry is there but just not to the level that will set off any alarms.

My Verdict – Good Enough To Watch

She And Her Perfect Husband is good enough to watch despite the not so satisfying last few episodes. At the very least, it is not full of cliches that plague many contract marriage dramas. The plot is well-thought out and executed for the most part save for the ending. It is interesting the way the web of relationships is formed in the plot involving a rival at work who could expose the protagonist’s lie.

There are annoying characters in the drama and you would wish the ending for a few of them to be harsher unlike You Are My Glory which has no villains. This is something that viewers will have to put up with as they are intricate to the story. But the male protagonist is not your typical hero. In most contract marriage dramas, the man would be a rich CEO or smart professional like in Once We Get Married and Hello Mr. Gu. But in this drama, the male lead is content being a househusband and leading a simple life with his reserved personality while the female is the career-minded one. This switch is what makes the plot refreshing and unique.

For this She And Her Perfect Husband review, I would give it a 7.5/10 score. I like it but a higher score isn’t justified for the less than perfect ending and a few obvious scene cuts. If you are a Yang Mi or Xu Kai fan, this is surely worth a try. But if you are in it for the romance, this may not satisfy everyone especially if you prefer an alpha male personality or more love focused. Apart from being a contract marriage, bear in mind that this is also an older woman and younger man romance although the age gap issue is not explored in the drama. So, watch it for the plot but don’t expect too much from the romance department.

==> She And Her perfect Husband is available on Amazon Prime (affiliate link)