You Are My Lover Friend (舍不得星星) is a friends-to-lovers story which should delight those who are into romance dramas. It has been quite some time since I watched a contemporary drama with this particular theme. Hence, I gave this a priority after bingeing on historical dramas for the last 2 months. It is entertaining in its own unique way but also has its boring patches that make me feel that the story is made longer than necessary at times. I will elaborate more on this in my review of You Are My Lover Friend below.
My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 30
Type: Romance
Aired: September 2024
Images Credit: WeTV Official Facebook
The Cast Of You Are My Lover Friend
- Steven Zhang Xin Cheng as Jiang Shi Yan
- Wang Yu Wen as Tang Yang
- Wu Jun Ting as Cheng Hui
- Luo Qiu Yun as Sheng Ni Na
- Guan Yue as Jiang Yan An
- Guo Yun Qi as Feng Wei Ran
- Rong Rong as Zhou Jing Yu
- Yang Kun as Yi Fang Ping
- Wu Hao Chen as Zhou Mo
- Qin Bo Kun as Gan Yi Ming
- Zhu Jin Tong as Chang Xin Yi
Main Characters
Jiang Shi Yan
Jiang Shi Yan is the CEO and co-founder of Yi Xiu which is a food live streaming and v-logging company. He is a confident and decisive CEO with a warm heart towards his friends. He is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations.
Tang Yang
Tang Yang is the youngest Deputy Director of the Credit Review Division of a Huai Shang Bank. She is a smart lady who knows her work with the senior management having high hopes on her. Tang Yang is a principled person who will stand her ground at work and not one who can be easily bullied.
Supporting Characters
Cheng Hui
Cheng Hui is a co-owner of Yi Xiu and one of Jiang Shi Yan’s business partners. He is in charge of the company’s IT matters. He is not a talker and has an eccentric personality. While he doesn’t like socializing, he can be direct as well as astute.
Sheng Ni Na
Ni Na is an actress and a live streamer with Yi Xiu.
Jiang Yan An
Yan An is Jiang Shi Yan’s cousin sister and married to Feng Wei Ran with whom she has a young son. They are a loving couple and has a blissful marriage.
Feng Wei Ran
Feng Wei Ran is one of Yi Xiu’s owners and Jiang Shi Yan’s business partner. He is in charge of the company’s finances and investors. Feng Wei Ran is a loving husband and father. He is also Jiang Shi Yan’s and Tang Yang’s ex-classmate and buddy.
Zhou Jing Yu
Zhou Jing Yu is Tang Yang’s mother. She was a teacher and is a good friend of Jiang Shi Yan’s mother.
Yi Fang Ping
Yi Fang Ping is Jiang Shi Yan’s mother. She is a single mother and used to be a fishmonger to raise her son. She is good friends with Tang Yang’s family.
Zhou Mo
Zhou Mo is Tang Yang’s senior and used to work in the same bank. He is now a senior executive at Jiu Jiang Group who is headed by a wealthy businesswoman named Wei Chang Qiu. Zhou Mo is an orphan who was brought up by his uncle’s family. His uncle is the President of Huai Shang Bank.
Gan Yi Ming
Gan Yi Ming is Tang Yang’s immediate superior. He is the Director of the Credit Review Division. Gan Yi Ming is a scheming and petty man who will try to pull down those whom he thinks are a threat to his position. He is also a subtle sexual harasser. Gan Yi Ming is married to Wei Chang Qiu.
Chang Xin Yi
Xin Yi is Jiang Shi Yan’s and Tang Yang’s ex-classmate. She was rumored to be Jiang Shi Yan’s girlfriend in the past.
Synopsis
Jiang Shi Yan and Tang Yang are best buddies since high school. They consider themselves as “brothers”. Even their families and close friends see them as nothing more than the best of friends as they have been buddies for so long. When Tang Yang returns home after a stint abroad, they resume their friendship just like before. They share with each other their daily lives and are extremely close.
However, their over-familiarity with each other and the comfort of being friends since high school make it hard for them to admit their feelings for one another. Tang Yang’s reluctance to change the nature of their relationship and their fear of losing each other’s friendship also cause them to be wary of crossing that red line. But as it becomes harder and harder to suppress their feelings, will they have the courage to change their friendship to a romance?
You Are My Lover Friend Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)
You Are My Lover Friend has a happy ending. After more than 6 months of dating, Tang Yang’s and Jiang Shi Yan’s mother are starting to buy stuff in preparation for their wedding. Jiang Shi Yan’s mother also wants him to start looking for a house to buy together with Tang Yang. To push them to get married, both the mothers pretend to want to organize a grand wedding with as many guests as possible. This is to scare them to take their own steps to plan for a wedding. In the end, Tang Yang and Jiang Shi Yan surprise everyone by streaming their wedding from a holiday location to family and friends back home instead.
The drama ends with a flashback. Several schoolgirls were discussing about a schoolmate who was reprimanded for dating. They were also talking about Tang Yang and Jiang Shi Yan being a couple. Unbeknownst to them, Jiang Shi Yan was nearby and overheard their conversation. Fearing that Tang Yang could be punished due to their closeness, he quickly made them sworn siblings instead which was how their “brotherhood” came into being and why they were stuck being friends.
When Did The Leads Get Together?
The nature of their relationship starts changing in Episode 14. This is after Jiang Shi Yan tried to kiss Tang Yang while they were fooling around and he was hugging her. However, a noise interrupted them and Tang Yang pushed him away. Things then become awkward between them. This prompts Tang Yang to tell Jiang Shi Yan that she wants their friendship to remain as before but he is also the most important person in her life. This leaves Jiang Shi Yan confused over her meaning.
In Episode 17, they talk about their past and feelings. Tang Yang says that she has got used to their closeness but is unsure about the type of feelings that they have for each other. Thus, they should just let things progress naturally as they slowly move towards a romance. When Jiang Shi Yan sends Tang Yang home, he holds her hand and wants to kiss her goodnight but is interrupted by a neighbor. They have become more or less a couple after their talk.
A girl rumored to be Jiang Shi Yan’s ex-girlfriend appeared in Episode 18 which makes Tang Yang unhappy and jealous. She admits so to Jiang Shi Yan during a drunken tirade. In Episode 22, they start holding hands and address each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. They have their first kiss in Episode 24.
When Did Others Find Out About Their Romance?
Jiang Shi Yan and Tang Yang hold hands in front of Feng Wei Ran in Episode 27 after he laughed at someone’s suggestion that they may be lovers. Feng Wei Ran is shocked that Jiang Shi Yan and Tang Yang are actually dating and goes back to tell his wife about it.
In Episode 28, Tang Yang’s mother asks her to go on a few blind dates that she has arranged. So, Tang Yang informs her mother that she is now dating Jiang Shi Yan. However, her mother doesn’t believe her as she thinks Tang Yang is pretending so to avoid the blind dates. Jiang Shi Yan’s mother also doesn’t believe the tale when Tang Yang’s mother relates the exchange to her. But both the mothers catch Jiang Shi Yan and Tang Yang in bed together when they turn up at Tang Yang’s apartment unannounced in Episode 28. They are shocked that their kids are actually together but delighted.
Is There A Love Triangle?
There is no love triangle in You Are My Lover Friend. Friends see Zhou Mo as a good match for Tang Yang as he is her senior. This makes Jiang Shi Yan jealous but Tang Yang has no interest in him. When Zhou Mo tries to bribe her to help him to approve his employer’s loan in Episode 10, she immediately draws a line with him and drops him as a friend.
Xin Yi returns from abroad for a business trip and re-connects with Jiang Shi Yan in Episode 18. There were rumors that they were together at one stage and their friends still think that they make a compatible couple. Xin Yi is now an investment lawyer and is hoping to acquire Yi Xiu as a client. But Jiang Shi Yan turns her down. She also knows that Jiang Shi Yan is still carrying a torch for Tang Yang.
At first, Tang Yang is unhappy about the rumors and believes that Xin Yi must be Jiang Shi Yan’s dream girl. But Jiang Shi Yan explains that she is not after Tang Yan got drunk due to her unhappiness. Xin Yi also tells Tang Yang that there is nothing between her and Jiang Shi Yan in Episode 19. Instead, Tang Yang is the one who is always in Jiang Shi Yan’s mind. Xin Yi then encourages Jiang Shi Yan to pursue Tang Yang rather than wait forever before flying off.
Zhou Mo’s Secret
It is revealed in Episode 25 that Zhou Mo’s girlfriend was Xu Shan Shan who had died a few years earlier. Tang Yang discovers that Shan Shan was the officer who reviewed some suspicious loans involving Jiu Jiang group in the past in Episode 27. However, Tang Yang has no idea who Shan Shan might be. After further investigations, Tang Yang reports the past irregularities to the management in Episode 29. A police report is made and Wei Chang Qiu becomes a suspect. Gan Yi Ming is arrested while trying to escape as he had helped his wife to obtain and cover up those suspicious loans.
Zhou Mo then contacts Tang Yang and asks her to meet him at Shan Shan’s grave. He has abducted Wei Chang Qiu and locks her up in a cold storage facility. He joined Jiu Jiang Group to work for Wei Chang Qiu as he wanted to find our what happened to Shan Shan and to plot his revenge. Shan Shan found out about the suspicious loans but didn’t know how to report it as she and Zhou Mo were dating then. Zhou Mo’s uncle was the bank’s President and was against their relationship. He sent Shan Shan to a remote branch to stop them from dating.
At the same time, Wei Chang Qiu sent people to assault Shan Shan and recorded her ordeal to scare her into silence. Shan Shan ended up committing suicide with all the pressure. Zhou Mo blamed himself for being too busy to notice Shan Shan’s situation. Hence, he is willing to break the law to avenge Shan Shan’s death and is arrested for his crime.
Second Couple
Cheng Hui and Ni Na get closer together in Episode 24 with a dinner date and have an agreement to meet again later. When Ni Na’s social media account is hacked and fake photos of her are circulated, Cheng Hui quietly ives her encouragement to handle the backlash in Episode 26. Later, she also opens up to him about her life as an actress and the constraints that she has to face as a celebrity. Cheng Hui simply tells her to be herself and do whatever makes her happy.
Ni Na learns that it was Cheng Hui who helped her behind the scenes to clear her reputation over the fake photos in Episode 29. So, she asks him why he kept it from her. His reply indicates that he has feelings for her and he would say it if she is willing to hear it. They end up as a couple 6 months later in Episode 30.
You Are My Lover Friend Review – A Slow Drift From Friends To Lovers
Most romance dramas will have the enemies-to-lovers trope. You Are My Lover Friend takes a different tack and the whole drama sees a friends-to-lovers progression instead. Basically, the boy and the girl have friendzoned each other back in high school. Why he needed to do so will be revealed later on in the drama and the flashback to this will be presented at the end of the last episode. This is neatly done to me as it ties back nicely to the beginning of the drama whereby the protagonists are introduced to the viewers as friends.
In fact, they are not only friends but best buddies to the extent of being”brothers”. Once you understand this context, then the whole story will make sense as to why they remain friends for so long with the guy not daring to make a move. It helps to mitigate the continuous going-nowhere kind of situation where their relationship is concerned. In other words, it is a very slow process to see them take the leap from friends to lovers.
Hence, you will enjoy You Are My Lover Friend if you like this theme and the leads’ interactions. The whole drama is about them. While there are 2 other couples in the story, their relationships don’t take up much screen time. Therefore, some may find this boring because there is really nothing much going on throughout the 30 episodes.
Daily Life Kind Of Storytelling
If you take away all the uneventful happenings in the story, you can probably cut You Are My Lover Friend to a very short production like The Best Day Of My Life which only has 14 episodes. Thus, you can see the potential boredom there when dramas like these are stretched to 30 episodes. You Are My Lover Friend doesn’t explore too deeply into the leads’ careers and the obstacles they face at work. Yes, work is part of the plot in the drama but it is not given prominence compared to the leads’ time together unlike As Beautiful As You which talks in depth about the struggles of a career-minded woman apart from just romance.
However, I have to say that the office politics part of the story is impactful although it is kept short. I guess it offers a bit of drama into an otherwise pretty monotonous story. Essentially, what you are mainly watching is the leads’ companionship and dealings with each other on a daily basis. It has a slice-of-life kind of feel and you will see the leads doing everyday things together from holiday celebrations to helping each other out every now and then. In fact, you can turn this drama on in the background while you do other things and you can still easily follow the story.
Thus, whether you will enjoy this will depend very much on how your perceive the leading couple. If you like them and think they are totally compatible, their interactions will feel sweet. The drama will then be a pleasurable watch. But if you don’t really think this couple’s daily life has anything much to offer, then this could well be one big bore.
Little Angst
One of the big positives about You Are My Lover Friend that I enjoyed is the minimal toxicity in the story. You don’t have toxic parents that disapprove of their kids’ choice of partner. Neither do you have jealous third parties that make things difficult for our leads. It is satisfying to watch the mothers from both sides being good friends for a change as well. Basically, they are nice people who get along and have been friends for years. And both think their kids will never be lovers which help to provide a bit of fun to the romance.
In short, it is a very clean story that is easy to watch. It doesn’t have the darkness of Will Love In Spring or the messy love triangles of Men In Love. This is a kind of story that you can turn on and enjoy without worrying about quarrels, pettiness, and unnecessary misunderstandings.
On top of that, the flashbacks at the end of each episode give the story a bit more context and showcase why the protagonists could become so close to each other. All the flashbacks revolve around their schooldays. It is delightful at times to take a peek at their silliness as teenagers and what exactly happened when the characters bring up the past in their conversations.
Acting & Chemistry
I haven’t watched any of Steven Zhang’s recent drama until You Are My Lover Friend. His starring role in Go Ahead is the one that gives me a lasting impression of him and that was a few years back. In this recent drama, I like his portrayal of Jiang Shi Yan. It feels like the role fits him nicely without him needing to do too much to bring out the character’s positive traits. He can look at his co-star and you can sense his feelings for her.
Wang Yu Wen plays a smart and shrewd bank executive and I think she delivered where it matters. She gives the character a confident and independent personality that is noticeable from her portrayal. Anyway, she has much experience in romance dramas which include the very popular Once We Get Married and The Love You Give Me.
Both the actors have pretty good chemistry to be able to carry the drama to the end. I suppose they have to because without a sufficient amount of chemistry, this drama would most probably be a flop due to the nature of the storytelling and the slow progress to the romance. So, I think they do look natural as both friends and lovers in the drama. It is pleasing to watch them together whether they are serious or fooling around with each other which contributes to the overall enjoyment of the drama.
My Verdict – A Bit Of A Drag But Okay Overall
I believe that it is indeed hard to strike a right balance when you have a story like You Are My Lover Friend. If you quicken the romance, it will feel unrealistic as the protagonists jump from long-term buddies to lovers. If you take it slow which is closer to reality, the story will become a drag halfway through. This drama takes the latter path. Hence, I’m pretty sure some of us will find this boring given the romance’s slow pace. It is like watching the leads’ emotional journey as they slowly acknowledge their feelings for each other and take that giant leap to be lovers.
On the upside, the romance doesn’t feel forced. The slow pacing gives room for the couple’s relationship to progress naturally with time. On the downside, it is a pain to sit through all the near kisses and feelings that don’t get addressed with finality until we are about 20 episodes in. It is like watching them being friends but not exactly friends, and lovers but not exactly lovers. Basically, they are hovering in between these 2 phases for some time which is why the story becomes a drag.
So, for this You Are My Lover Friend review, I will give it a score of 7.5/10. It is not a really great romance but enjoyable enough without all the toxicities. It is also a realistic depiction of a best friends-to-lovers story, albeit slow which to some, is the right way to go. Apart from the lead couple, the other subplots are pretty underdeveloped and hence, the side couples are also reduced to fillers. So, if you are going to watch this, you will need to enjoy the leads’ interactions which take up the bulk of the drama to get value out of your time investment.
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