Unforgettable Love C Drama Review

Unforgettable Love (贺先生的恋恋不忘) is one of those rom-coms that you watch when you crave for that fluff and sugary feel. I was attracted to this drama because of the female lead who looked very familiar. That was when I realized that she is also the lead in The Sleepless Princess. I enjoyed that drama and decided to give her latest rom-com a try. Frankly speaking, I was not expecting too much here as this type of rom-coms are commonly full of cliches. My Unforgettable Love review below will reveal my take on this drama and whether it passes the sweetness test.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance, Contract Marriage
Aired: July 2021
Images Credit: MGTV

The Cast Of Unforgettable Love 2021

• Miles Wei Zhe Ming as He Qiao Yan
• Hu Yi Xuan as Qin Yi Yue
• Lennon Sun Si Cheng as He Wei Fei / Xiao Bao
• Jerry Yu Yi Jie as Wen Gu
• Sheng Hui Zi as Yang Ruo Wei 
• Wu Chen Xu as Ning Fang
• Shi Qing Yan as Lin Wei
• Zhang Rui Jia as Ms. He Jia Qin
• Lu Yong as Chairman Wen

Main Characters

He Qiao Yan

Qiao Yan is the CEO of He Shi Group. He is a very rational and orderly man who sees everything in terms of analytics and numbers. He leads a monotonous life that revolves around work and his young son.

Qin Yi Yue

Yi Yue is a child psychologist at Ya De Hospital. She is good at what she does and loves her job. She is a positive and cheerful woman who is not easily affected by others. But Yi Yue can also be very disorganized. She has loving parents who are always anxious about her love life.

He Wei Fei / Xiao Bao

Xiao Bao is Qiao Yan’s adorable son. He is a special needs kid with PTSD following a horrible accident 5 years earlier. Xiao Bao refuses to speak and relies on cards to communicate with others. He is also wary of strangers.

Supporting Characters

Wen Gu

Wen Gu is Qiao Yan’s good friend. He comes from a rich family and his father runs a conglomerate. Wen Gu is a playboy who is never serious about work.

Yang Ruo Wei 

Ruo Wei is Yi Yue’s best friend and flat mate. She is also an administrator in Ya De Hospital. Ruo Wei is a confident and smart woman.

Ning Fang

Ning Fang is also a psychologist and Yi Yue’s senior at university. He loves Yi Yue and genuinely cares about her happiness.

Lin Wei

Lin Wei is a fashion designer but signs on to help Qiao Yan in his marketing department. The Lin and He families are friends. Lin Wei and Qiao Yan grew up together and there is family pressure for them to get married due to business interests.

Ms. He Jia Qin

Ms. He is Qiao Yan’s paternal aunt. She is a stern-looking woman who is constantly pressuring Qiao Yan to marry Lin Wei.

Chairman Wen

Chairman Wen is Wen Gu’s father. He is exasperated over his son’s playful behavior and looking for ways to change him.

Synopsis

Qiao Yan is a single father with a special needs son, Xiao Bao. He is the CEO of his family’s company and constantly busy at work. Xiao Bao is a smart and mischievous kid but refuses to talk ever since he got into a car accident a few years earlier. He also dislikes strangers and needs to maintain distance with others. Qiao Yan loves Xiao Bao but his strict and over-protective parenting style does not always work with the boy.

Yi Yue is a child psychologist and bumps into Xiao Bao by accident. The boy surprisingly takes a liking for her and regards her as his mother. As Qiao Yan needs a child psychologist for his son and wants to provide him with love for him to recover, he tries to convince Yi Yue to take up the job to be his fake wife. Yi Yue ends up signing the contract to repay Qiao Yan when she thought she lost the costly wedding ring he gave her.

Yi Yue and Qiao Yan didn’t like each other initially. But they gradually develop feelings for each other. Qiao Yan’s aunt objects to the relationship and pressures him to marry Lin Wei.

Unforgettable Love Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Unforgettable Love has a happy ending. The last scene shows Qiao Yan and Yi Yue’s wedding. When the bride throws the bouquet, it lands on Ning Fang with Lin Wei showing up to imply that they will become a couple.

Ning Fang and Lin Wei become close when he helped her with her anxiety disorder. Lin Wei was brought up to put the family business first and face is important. She ended up with anxiety due to her mother’s pressure. In the end, Lin Wei chooses to go back to fashion designing and has a fallout with her mother. Ning Fang offers her shelter and encouragement while she advises him to move on from Yi Yue.

Wen Gu and Ruo Wei also end up together. Ruo Wei has a positive influence on Wen Gu as he changed to be a responsible executive in his family’s business. He is also willing to give up everything for her when his father tested him out due to his playboy history.

When Did Yi Yue And Qiao Yan Get Together?

Yi Yue and Qiao Yan officially become a couple in Episode 18. He offers her a new contract with the option to be with him forever. She accepts and they kiss to signify that they are now in a real relationship.

Is There Any Breakup?

Yi Yue asks for a breakup in Episode 20 because she found out from Qiao Yan’s aunt that Qiao Yan has lost his memory after the accident that killed his brother and sister-in-law. She decides to leave him because her presence could jog his memory about what happened that night which would be detrimental to his mental health.

They reconcile in Episode 23 when Qiao Yan fears he will lose Yi Yue to Ning Fang who is preparing to confess his feelings to her.

Xiao Bao’s Background

Xiao Bao is actually Qiao Yan’s nephew. His parents died in a car accident. Qiao Yan was the driver and the trauma as well as guilt made him lose his memory of what happened that night. Yi Yue happened to pass by the crash site and brought Xiao Bao to safety. That is why Qiao Yan’s last recollection is Yi Yue’s back before he passed out. It is also why Xiao Bao feels a connection with Yi Yue when he meets her again 5 years later.

Is Ms. He A Villain?

No, Qiao Yan’s aunt is not a bad person. Her only concern is that Qiao Yan may recall the accident which would not do him any good due to the extreme guilt. That is why she is against his relationship with Yi Yue who happened to be at the crash site. Ms. He has also been forced to give money to the family’s ex-driver, Zhang Cheng, because the latter threatens to reveal the truth to Qiao Yan.

What happened was the car brakes did not work and the truck that hit them was arranged by an enemy. Qiao Yan’s brother found out irregularities in the accounts of a company and the owner wanted him dead. He roped in Zhang Cheng to help him because Zhang Cheng’s brother owed him money. Zhang Cheng knew about the plan and called in sick on the night of the accident. So, Qiao Yan ended up being the driver for his elder brother and his family.

All these came to light when the real murderer kidnaps Yi Yue because he thought she and Qiao Yan are getting closer to the truth. Qiao Yan saves Yi Yue but gets into an accident during the car chase. He is not seriously hurt and the accident helps him to regain his memories.

Unforgettable Love Review

Unforgettable Love is a typical rom-com. It is fairy-tale like which means it is not that type of drama that you should overthink and use your brains to decipher the characters and their actions. It is meant to be stress-free and delightful as you watch rather than leaving a deep impression after it is over. So, if you are looking for something more serious with a slice-of-life feel such as You Are My Hero, Unforgettable Love would not belong in that category. Instead, it is for those who don’t mind tropes and crave for a fairy tale romance in their dramas.

Typical Emotionless CEO Plot

We have seen a cold CEO countless times in rom-coms from The Trick Of Life And Love to Dating In The Kitchen. Unforgettable Love is no different with a very rational and analytical CEO who kind of lacks EQ in his daily interactions with others. I guess if you are not bored yet with this type of recycled plot, this might be a pleasurable watch. And it is to a certain extent due to the presence of a young boy who steals the show and holds it together.

The main couple has a typical boss-employee relationship and a contract marriage because her expertise is needed to help the boy to recover from his PTSD. The only notable difference compared to other rom-coms is the single dad angle which is uncommon in Chinese dramas. It really depends on individual preference whether this will resonate with you but suffice to say that the boy carries the drama as he is simply adorable. I think without him, this rom-com woud fall flat as the couple’s romance is nothing extraordinary to begin with.

Leads’ Chemistry

I can’t say that the leads lack chemistry because they do have some sparks to give the romance a fluffy feel. But I prefer the pairing between Miles Wei and Xu Ruo Han in Perfect And Casual. With experience under his belt, Miles Wei’s portrayal as an emotionless and brainy male lead isn’t really a difficult task for him anymore. So, what will raise the bar is essentially the chemistry with his partner as the plot is nothing new. And the bar has been set pretty high in Perfect And Casual.

Similarly, Hu Yi Xuan has great chemistry with Zheng Ye Cheng in The Sleepless Princess. That couple has sweetness written all over it. I guess given the high standards set with their previous partners, there is a certain level of expectation when Miles Wei worked with Hu Yi Xuan in this rom-com. I can feel their chemistry but it is not so strong that it could carry the drama on its own. Perhaps their chemistry is being overshadowed by the cute Lennon Sun which takes away some of the attention from them.

Rushed Ending

Personally, I find that the last 2 episodes is a little rushed as the screenwriters try to end of the story. The male lead’s memory loss and the accident are reduced to a short dialogue to let viewers know what happened that night. I think the whole scene totals less than 5 minutes. It is a letdown because the story has been building up about the event since the very beginning and the outcome just feels detached from that buildup.

The problems of the second and third couple are also quickly tied up in the last 2 episodes. Their story development is lacking although understandable given that this is a 24-episode drama.

My Verdict – Cute Enough To Watch

I think viewers generally know what they are getting into when they choose to watch rom-coms like Unforgettable Love. They would not be plot-driven like Never Say Goodbye. Instead, these dramas are purely for entertainment with all the sugar and sweet toppings to maximize the delight while we binge on them. Unforgettable Love is one of these dramas and I think it is one of the better ones in terms of delight value so far into 2021.

As mentioned, the boy played a big part in increasing the delight and cuteness level of this rom-com. Just like in Begin Again, an adorable kid can easily melt viewers’ heart. Hence, I would say watch it not only for the main couple but also their young son. He is the reason why the 2 adults get together in the first place and eager for the female lead to be his mother.

I would give this Unforgettable Love review a score of 7/10. To me, it is watchable because of the kid. Don’t be too hung up about the plot and the actions of the characters. Otherwise, you will find it hard to enjoy the story especially the antics of the female lead who is supposedly a talented child psychologist. I won’t go so far as to say to leave your brains behind when you start watching but just be aware that Unforgettable Love is nothing more than the usual rom-com which aims to merely give you a sweet romance to savor over.