Something Just Like This Review

Many people start watching Something Just Like This (青春创世纪) with the expectation that it is a romance-heavy drama. It is not. Hence, some will ultimately end up dropping it midway through. While it is not that bad overall, it is inevitable that there will be viewers who will find it boring because this is a drama that focuses on business rivalry in detail. I will try to summarize what this drama is and is not in the Something Just Like This review below including the nature of the romance between the 2 leads.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 47
Type: Business
Aired: November 2020
Images Credit: iQIYI

The Cast Of Something Just Like This

Johnny Huang Jing Yu as Duan Ran
Wu Jin Yan as Qian Xi Xi
Lulu Xuan Lu as Zhang Jia Yun
David Liang Da Wei as Chen Lang
Cao Yu Chen as Jiang Zhe Yang
Xu Li as Ou Yang Mei Xuan
Zhao Luo Ran as Su Su
Wang Mao Lei as Yu Shi
Nan Shi as Qi Yuan Yuan
Joy Wang Jia Yu as Wu Ge Ge
Dong Si Yi as Bai Si Yu / Yuan Bao
Ma Qian Qian as Ke Le
Sha Bao Liang as Qian Jin
Cao Wei Yu as Duan Sheng Yun / Duan Senior
Zhao Ning Yu as Shen Jiang Tao
Tumenbayaer as Shen Ding Ding
Kong Xiao Ming as Mr. Wu

Main Characters

Duan Ran

Duan Ran is a cocky guy with smart business sense. He likes to think big and is used to spending money as he comes from a rich family who runs an upmarket shopping mall called QE.

Qian Xi Xi

Xi Xi is an e-commerce live streamer promoting clothes for sale at Rui Live. She is independent and driven but soft-hearted. She can also be hot-tempered. Xi Xi and Duan Ran grew up together and she is his foster sister. His parents took her in when she became an orphan after the death of her mother.

Zhang Jia Yun

Jia Yun is a shop assistant at a boutique. She is also Xi Xi’s best friend. Jia Yun prefers a stress-free life and has no interest in becoming a live streamer despite Xi Xi’s encouragement. Her plan is to further her studies abroad. Jia Yun and Chen Lang are old friends as they come from the same village.

Chen Lang

Chen Lang is the minority shareholder and CEO of Rui Live which is a live e-commerce streaming platform that employs streamers to promote clothes of various brands. He is an ambitious man who will not hesitate to use underhanded tactics to bring down rivals and further his own agenda. He has an axe to grind with Duan Ran’s father who is Rui Live’s major shareholder through QE. Chen Lang also has feelings for Jia Yun.

Supporting Characters

Jiang Zhe Yang

Zhe Yang is a celebrity with lots of fans. He is a humble and caring man despite his idol status. However, his life is controlled by his mother who tends to disagree with his agent on his projects and career direction. Zhe Yang and Xi Xi were classmates when they were in primary school and he gradually develops feelings for her.

Ou Yang Mei Xuan

Ou Yang is Zhe Yang’s agent. She is a very capable woman and has Zhe Yang’s total trust. However, she doesn’t see eye-to-eye with his mother. Ou Yang is also Duan Ran’s ex-girlfriend. They were together while studying abroad but split up when her parents disapproved of their relationship. Ou Yang is 6 years older than Duan Ran.

Su Su

Su Su is in charge of IT matters at Rui Live. She is also Xi Xi’s loyal friend at work. Su Su is single and her mother often arranges blind dates for her to find a potential marriage partner.

Yu Shi

Yu Shi is Rui Live’s finance executive. He was sent from QE to work at Rui Live after the takeover. Yu Shi is a timid and soft-spoken man.

Qi Yuan Yuan

Yuan Yuan is the top streamer at Rui Live with the most sales and followers. However, her ambition is to become an actress rather than a streamer. Her assistant is Zhang Bin who also has feelings for her.

Wu Ge Ge

Wu Ge Ge is an unknown clothes designer who operates a street stall with Lao Mao. She is talented but lacks self-confidence and exposure with a rather reserved personality.

Bai Si Yu / Yuan Bao

Yuan Bao is a chubby young woman who loves to eat. She is into coffee production and has her own recipe. Yuan Bao is also Xi Xi’s tenant.

Ke Le

Ke Le is a new streamer who has just joined Rui Live. She is an ambitious young woman who wants to climb the rankings by all means. Her best friend and fellow streamer is Xiao Huang Ya.

Qian Jin

Qian Jin is Xi Xi’s father. He has just returned from abroad but Xi Xi hates him for abandoning the family.

Duan Sheng Yun / Duan Senior

Duan Senior is Duan Ran’s father and Chairman of QE’s board of directors. He is a visionary businessman who prefers a win-win solution than senseless rivalry. He is rational and calm when faced with challenges. Duan Senior and his wife are also Xi Xi’s foster parents.

Shen Jiang Tao / Director Shen

Director Shen is Duan Senior’s old friend and fellow business partner at QE. He is also close to Duan Ran and Xi Xi since he watched them grow up as an old family friend.

Shen Ding Ding

Ding Ding is Chen Lang’s backer and investor in Cloud Live which is established to bring down Rui Live. His aim is to defeat Duan Ran whom he hates.

Mr. Wu

Mr. Wu is the CEO of Pineapple Xpress which is a clothing brand. He has no loyalty towards any streaming company but is only interested in getting the best returns for his brand name.

Synopsis

Xi Xi and Duan Ran were childhood friends living in the same neighborhood. She came from a broken family and ended up as an orphan when her mother died in an accident. Duan Ran’s parents took her in and raised her like their own daughter. Hence, Xi Xi and Duan Ran grew up under the same roof.

More than 10 years later, Xi Xi is now a live streamer at Rui Live while Duan Ran has just returned from abroad after completing his post-graduate studies. Rui Live was started by Chen Lang but was bought over by QE after running into difficulties. Duan Senior drove a hard bargain and Chen Lang was reduced to a minority shareholder. With Duan Ran’s return, Chen Lang feels that his CEO position in Rui Live might be in jeopardy and it hastens his plan to abandon the company to start a rival platform called Cloud Live.

Xi Xi is unwilling to give up on Rui Live. Together with Duan Ran, they try to revive and build up the company. This starts a bitter rivalry between them and Chen Lang who stops at nothing to try to kill off Rui Live together with his investor. At the same time, Xi Xi and Duan Ran are always bickering which is how they have always been since they were young. But they also obviously have feelings for each other which they try to hide due to their unique relationship.

Something Just Like This Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Something Just Like This has a happy ending with Duan Ran proposing to Xi Xi which she accepts. Their parents also finally accept their decision to be together and give their blessings. Duan Ran and Xi Xi return to manage Rui Live after Ding Ding gives it up to return abroad. He messes up an important live event for QE which Duan Ran helps to solve. Ding Ding feels he has been defeated by Duan Ran again and chooses to leave.

With Duan Ran’s help, QE’s directors agree to his proposal for a live streaming cooperation with Rui Live and Cloud Live for their physical stores to take advantage of the popularity of online shopping. While Rui Live and Cloud Live remain as competitors, it is now a healthy rivalry between Duan Ran and Chen Lang as they have become friends.

What Makes Chen Lang Change?

Chen Lang comes from a poor family. He wants to succeed badly and feels no one would back him up if he fails unlike Duan Ran who has his rich father to rely on. Hence, he will play dirty when he needs to defeat a business rival. When he abandons Rui Live to start Could Live, Duan Senior offers to give him more shares to persuade him to stay which he rejects.

At Cloud Live, he starts undermining Rui Live with questionable tactics while being encouraged to do so by Ding Ding who is also his investor. Jia Yun couldn’t stand it anymore to see him going down the wrong path and reports Cloud Live’s immoral business practices to the authorities with the evidence that she has gathered. This caused Cloud Live’s business to be suspended for 3 months. All the clients and streamers abandon the company. Ding Ding also sells off his shares which are quietly picked up by Duan Senior.

Jia Yun then arranges for Chen Lang to meet Duan Senior who gives him a leg up when he is at the bottom. Chen Lang realizes his mistakes especially when Jia Yun has been expressing her disappointment in him along the way and then helps him to see things from a different perspective.

Did Chen Lang And Jia Yun End Up Together?

No, Jia Yun decides to go abroad to further her studies as she has wanted all along. She knows Chen Lang loves her but feels she will be a burden to him and it is better that they are apart. They remain as good friends. On the other hand, Chen Lang only loves her and is prepared to wait no matter how long it takes.

Why Is Duan Ran’s Mother Against Their Relationship?

Duan Ran’s mother is Aunt Zhou to Xi Xi. Aunt Zhou and Xi Xi’s mother were good friends. She was unhappy and felt a lot of pressure bringing up Duan Ran while her husband was always busy with work then. So, one day, Aunt Zhou insisted for Xi Xi’s mother to accompany her out for a drinking session. Both of them were drunk and Xi Xi’s mother got knocked by a car and died.

Aunt Zhou blamed herself. She felt guilty and took Xi Xi into her family. While she raised Xi Xi like her own daughter, Xi Xi is also a constant reminder of her pain and guilt. Aunt Zhou thought Xi Xi would grow up and leave the family eventually. She would then be free of the past. But Xi Xi’s relationship with Duan Ran scares her as she doesn’t know how to face Xi Xi.

Aunt Zhou slowly comes to terms with her past after Duan Ran arranges for her to see a psychologist. She is also persuaded by Xi Xi’s father and Duan Senior to give their children their blessings.

Why Ding Ding Hates Duan Ran?

Ding Ding is actually Director Shen’s son. He grew up together with Duan Ran. But Duan Ran always bullied and made fun of him when they were kids. Ding Ding is unable to put aside their childhood experiences and always thinking of defeating Duan Ran as revenge.

What Happened To Zhe Yang And Ou Yang?

Both Zhe Yang and Ou Yang confess to Xi Xi and Duan Ran respectively but get rejected. Xi Xi makes it clear to Zhe Yang that they could only be good friends and “brothers”.

Ou Yang also admits to Duan Ran that she still loves him. But Duan Ran tells her that he only has feelings for Xi Xi. Ou Yang then decides to quit Rui Live as the reason she joined the company is to win him back. Zhe Yang then convinces Ou Yang to renew their cooperation and become his agent again.

Yu Shi And Su Su

Yu Shi manages to woo Su Su after much effort but the latter demands a breakup after Yu Shi sided with Ding Ding in a leadership tussle for Rui Live. He is forced to do so as he owes the Shen family for helping his master. Ding Ding uses the help being given to Yu Shi’s master’s family as a threat to force him to do his bidding. Hence, Yu Shi has to delete evidence that incriminates Ding Ding as well as stealing Wu Ge Ge’s designs which cause Rui Live to be accused of plagiarism.

Yu Shi tries to make up for his mistake by quietly supporting Duan Ran and Xi Xi but get fired by Ding Ding as a result. Su Su decides to give Yu Shi another chance after he promises not to hide things from her but to be open about his troubles.

Something Just Like This Review – It’s Business!

Okay, Something Just Like This is not a romance drama. If you are expecting a love story that is sweet and fluffy like My Little Happiness and Perfect And Casual, you will be sorely disappointed. Does it have any romance at all? Yes, as can be seen from the clip above. But it is not the focus. It is also the slow-burn and subtle kind due to the unique relationship of the 2 main characters. Instead, the main bulk of the drama talks about business rivalry and how dirty tactics are used to undermine a competitor and the corresponding response to overcome the obstacles thrown at them.

A Little Boring But Refreshing Plot

I think whether you will like this drama or you don’t really depends on your appetite for business related stories. Personally, I find the plot refreshing because it takes a look at the live streaming e-commerce industry which is something new. After so many gaming-themed dramas such as Go Go Squid! and its sequel, Dt. Appledog’s Time, Something Just Like This offers another type of rivalry in a technological world.

However, I have to admit that 47 episodes is a stretch. Duan Ran and Xi Xi have to react as obstacle after obstacle come their way as they try to build Rui Live. The competition with Chen Lang becomes repetitive as a result. Perhaps the drama would have been more exciting to watch if they cut down on the countless attacks on Rui Live. If the storyline is tighter and more fast-paced, the boring stretches could have been eliminated.

As it is, you have to really enjoy the business side of things to appreciate this drama and the concept of no permanent friends or enemies in the business world. Thus, you will end up with cases of previous enemies and betrayers working together again once their interests re-align. It is very different from other dramas whereby the bad guys go to jail or is punished in some way. In Something Just Like This, everything can be forgiven once mutual benefits to be gained re-surfaced despite previous disagreements.

Great Chemistry

Johnny Huang and Wu Jin Yan do exhibit a high level of chemistry in their portrayals of Duan Ran and Xi Xi respectively. They are convincing as a couple and the back and forth as they bicker looks natural. It automatically gives viewers the feeling that they have known each other for a long time which simply fits the script. Both the leads also look confident in their roles. Wu Jin Yan is expressive as Xi Xi with her wide range of emotions as the character is not one who suppresses her feelings. Johnny Huang certainly has the aura of a cocky and confident Duan Ran.

The last time I have watched Lulu Xuan is in Well Dominated Love with Eden Zhao. She definitely has better chemistry with Eden Zhao than David Liang although to be fair, she doesn’t have much screen time with the latter to really build up on their relationship in this drama.

The Romance

I think I need to talk a bit more about the romance since this is what a lot of people would be looking forward to in the drama. To start off, you need to get past the fact that Duan Ran and Xi Xi were brought up together as siblings. Some will find this weird just like in Go Ahead whereby 2 boys and a girl grew up together as brothers and sister although they are not blood related in any way.

Personally, it didn’t bother me because Duan Ran and Xi Xi never really think of each other as siblings. They already have feelings for each other very early on but just don’t know how to confront them. Furthermore, Xi Xi was brought into the family when she was already a primary schoolgirl and she never felt that she really belonged there. She addresses Duan Ran’s parents as uncle and aunt.

Apart from that, Duan Ran and Xi Xi is a bickering couple. That has been the way since they were kids. So, you have to find this cute to be able to enjoy this couple’s romance. Luckily, it is not overdone to me and the great chemistry between the leads helps which is unlike the bickering couple in Midsummer Is Full Of Love.

Finally, the romance of the main couple is not the ‘in your face’ type with lots of kisses and romantic moments like Love Is Sweet. The feelings for each other is sometimes shown through the bickering (e.g. because of jealousy), quiet support, and simple cuddles. The love is more subtle and slow-moving. Hence, Duan Ran and Xi Xi only become a couple in Episode 23.

My Verdict – Not For Everyone

Something Just Like This is not for pure romance drama fans who like sweetness and hot sizzling passion. Neither does it qualify as a melodrama like Here To Heart. As mentioned, it is more business-focused like You Complete Me and Perfect Partner whereby the romance takes a backseat against business schemings and rivalry. The beginning is quite interesting but as the rivalry becomes never-ending, the drama starts to become a little repetitive. Thus, you may be very tempted to fast-forward some parts just to reach the end.

Xi Xi’s character is also not everyone’s cup of tea. She is too emotional as a company CEO and some might find her annoying. I’m fine with her as she has her reasons and she also grows as the drama progresses. Whether you will find Xi XI annoying or otherwise will depend on your preference for how matured and poised you want your female lead to be. Xi Xi is still young and green as an entrepreneur and hence, some level of immaturity is acceptable to me.

Something Just Like This vs Love Designer

So, which is better – Something Just Like This or Love Designer? Well, my take is Love Designer is more romance-heavy compared to Something Just Like This. The former revolves around fashion designing together with e-commerce and entrepreneurship. The couple in Love Designer is more lovey-dovey with plenty more kisses including passionate ones. The chemistry between Johnny Huang and Dilraba Dilmurat is also top-notch in that drama and you will find it hard to blink as you watch their sizzling scenes.

Hence, if you want more romance, then Love Designer will be a better option. The couple’s relationship is also more matured. But if you want more interesting business maneuverings and rivalry, then Something Just Like This will fulfill that need instead. It also doesn’t have poorly developed sub-plots and a less than inspiring second couple that plagued Love Designer.

Watch It For The Business Aspect

I will give a rating of 7/10 for this Something Just Like This review. Watch it for the refreshing theme on the live streaming industry and the entrepreneurial spirit of the younger generation in building a business in a technologically advanced world. Although there are boring stretches and 47 episodes seem a tad too long, I don’t find it a waste of time overall. But I’m the type who is open to various types of drama and it doesn’t necessarily have to be romance-centric.

So, the bottom line is don’t choose this drama if all you want is sweetness and fluffy romance. Something Just Like This will not be able to give you enough of that sugary feel. I also think it would resonate more with the older viewers who can relate better to the business side of things and the working world in general. Otherwise, it could be a boring drama to sit through as you watch the couple overcoming one challenge after another in building up a company.