The quality of web dramas has been steadily improving in the past few years. After Princess Agents ended, I needed to find something that would get rid memories of this disappointing series. I went on Douban (a Chinese entertainment review website) and found this series --- I remembered my suite mate watching this a year ago and so I started it.

I never watch horror movies, so I was reluctant to watch this when my suite mate first told me about it. But after watching the first episode of season 1, I realized even though it was about ghosts and souls, it focused more on topics like humanity, meaning of life, sins, and regrets.

There were a few episodes that gave me the creeps especially this one episode that I found disturbing yet intriguing at the same time. However, most of the episodes were touching and thought-provoking to watch.

Only three out of the five are in the recurring cast^

Synopsis:
Xia Dongqing was ostracized by others at the orphanage because he claimed he could see ghosts with his eyes. He doesn't have any close friends and to support his living, he applied for a part-time position at a convenient store. While working there, he befriends Wang Xiaoya after helping her soul return to her body and Zhao Li, who is his boss and also a soul transporter in the underworld. Xia Dongqing begins to experience interesting encounters and slowly finds out the truth behind his identity and the eyes that he has.


So far, I've finished both Season 1 and 2. Looking forward to finish Season 3.

The Cast:

You know this is not an idol drama when the main lead doesn't have 100 layers of foundation to perfect his skin complexion and conceal his blemishes. And I love the fact that the crew didn't focus on making the cast look stylish. It makes the character Xia Dongqing more believable and relatable.

Definitely a talented actor compared to idol actors nowadays. This series allows him to test his acting skills by giving him opportunities to portray various roles. The genre itself has body-switching and ghosts taking over bodies so it has a legit reason for Dongqing to have a sudden personality change.

Because of this series, I want to catch Legend of the Condor Heroes 2017 (which I heard he is one of the watching point besides female lead Huang Rong played by Li Yitong). Even though he is not the main lead, he plays a major role and I want to check out his acting.








You know an actress has a beautiful face when she can rock that hairstyle^

She reminds me of Michelle Yim in Moonlight Resonance. Anyways, her hairstyle changes in the seasons 2 & 3 and this is how she really looks like:

We get introduce to her character since the first episode of season 1. I thought she plays a mortal character that frequents the convenient store because she has a crush on Dongqing. But she doesn't just play a love interest, she also has a part in the secret behind Dongqing's identity. She is actually an immortal from Heaven and she is sent to ensure the Underworld keeps its promise on a contract between the Underworld and the Heaven.

My Thoughts:

1. This is always an intriguing genre because it is an unknown subject that we as humans try to understand. And it is this particular unclearness that allows writers to challenge their creativity to the fullest. Each episode or two focuses on a mini story (or a ghost or type of mythical creature) but the major backstory is never forgotten and the way it is weaved into each episode is an example of excellent storytelling. From each episode, you learn something new about Dongqing's identity and you become a step closer to the truth.

2. I like how some of the stories allow me to reflect on our lives and learn to appreciate our loved ones. It is only living this way that you will not regret when something unfortunate happens. A few episodes made me shed a some tears while some just made my day.

3. The series has some deep quotes - it is difficult to not have its meaning lost in translation but here are a few quotes I like:

神，生于人性，死于人心
God, born from human nature, die from human's heart

她们宁可做一时的女王，不愿一世平庸
She rather be a temporary queen than an eternal average woman 

欲求不得才会觉得苦，正是因为这些苦闷，所以偶尔的甜才会让人更觉得美好
Because we can't desire it, we feel pain, and it's because of this pain that the occasional sweetness make us see that life is beautiful

最好不相见，免得我牵念，最好不相知，免得我相思
Better to not meet, so I won't miss you
Better to not know, so I won't yearn for you

4. I like how various situations can happen such as switching bodies or a ghost taking over Dongqing's body because this lets us see the versatility of an actor. Because of this series, I want to check out Prince Liu's other series like Legend of the Condor Heroes 2017. He plays a huge part in the series and I heard rave reviews on this remake so might really consider it!

5. Everything is covered and explained --- there are not much loose threads (compared to Princess Agents). Unlike cop series, the back story behind Dongqing's life is intriguing because as I mentioned before, this genre can produce plot lines that no viewers can easily guess.

Episodes/Stories I liked:

1. First episode: This is the episode that introduced us to the three main leads. Wang Xiaoya meets Xia Dongqing at the convenient store where he works in. He realizes from his boss Zhao Li that Wang Xiaoya saved a child from being run over by a car and was reported to have died. In reality, she is actually still in a coma and her soul got detached from her body. So Dongqing helps her soul returns to her body and from that day on, she becomes a frequent customer at the convenient store.

2. Undercover Ghost Cop: An undercover cop is killed by a triad boss. However, he still has an unfulfilled wish so he doesn't want to be reincarnated. He seeks Dongqing's help in mending his relationship with his father who is also a cop. His father viewed him as a disgrace for leaving the police academy and joining a crime organization. It is very touching to witness how his father realizes that his son's dream to become a police never changed. After following the cop's instructions, Dongqing locates the evidence to convict the triad boss.

3. Atonement: An old man is released from prison after being sentenced to 20 years for killing a young student to avenge his daughter's death. The young man that got killed never reincarnated and stayed behind in the mortal world. As the story goes on, we first learn from the young boy's soul that he liked a girl from his school. The girl gives him a letter one day to express that she likes him. But after that day, she begins ignoring him and because he is a person that cared about "face", he decides to punish her by attempting to sexually assault her, which tragically ended with her death. Her father finds him at his school and shoots him to death with his rifle to avenge her daughter's death. His soul explains to our main leads that he want to prevent the revenge cycle from continuing so he wants to stop his twin brother from avenging his own death.

We eventually find out (the same time our main leads find out) that the real story behind this tragic incident is that it is actually his twin brother who is the one that got rejected and accidentally killed the girl. Although his twin brother died for him, he still hasn't repent for his actions. He hates how his brother excelled in everything even getting the girl that he liked just because he was born a few minutes before he was.

The story ended on a happy note by punishing the antagonist and making him finally repent in the end.

4. Miracles: This episode is more light-hearted. It is about a writer who happens to walk past the same handsome man at the same crosswalk each day when she goes to work. When they finally decide to meet up again, he doesn't show up and she disappointedly stops writing her novel. Dongqing sees him and realizes that he did show up that day but she couldn't see him. I thought it is because he unfortunately died on that same day but instead it ended up with an interesting twist and a happy ending.

5. Arrival of Zhongyuan Festival: It is the time of the year when ghosts are let out from the underworld. I thought this episode would be scary but it ends up being enjoyable especially with the introduction to the character Ming Wang (which translates to King of the Underworld), who is the boss of the underworld. I also like how Ming Wang is a woman instead of a man.

Dongqing is sent off to the ghost market with a case of money to buy the iPhone 8, which iPhone, at the time of the series release, was only up to iPhone 5/6. What makes it even funnier is that Zhao Li called Steve Jobs evil for making the iPhone even more expensive in the underworld (at that time, Jobs died already). Dongqing meets a girl named Cha Cha and it is after a riot in the market that her identity as the King of the Underworld is revealed.

Zhao Li, on the other hand, can't go to the market because of the disappearance of the King of the Underworld and so every resources were used to locate her whereabouts.

6. Cold-Blooded: The episode started off with Dongqing and Zhao Li swapping their bodies, which is a "gift" the King of the Underworld bestowed to Dongqing. This leads them on an adventure to seek help from the mountain goddess. After helping them swap back, they agreed on helping this boy to locate his father's whereabouts. The mountain goddess couldn't find his body in the mines where he supposedly died.

This is an episode of few seconds fright and an entire episode of laughter and tears. The dead man visits his son and surprisingly he turns anything within his vicinity freezing cold so every time when Dongqing and Zhao Li converses with him, they have layers of blankets over them and urges him to stay a distance away from them.

The main episode focuses on finding out where his body is located and what happened ten years ago. It also explores the relationship between religion and humans.

7. Pink Rabbit: Many people can relate to this episode because many of you had a close stuffed animal friend when you were young. What happened to those little friends of yours?

The episode starts off with news of a serial killer on the loose. Women are encouraged to not linger on the streets by themselves at night. But Xiaoya, being the female lead, has to be different; while walking home, she befriends a man named Xiao Xin. Dongqing thinks he is a ghost who intends to harm Xiaoya (I also thought so too). But he is actually the soul from Xiaoya's pink rabbit plush when she was a child. After seeing her again at the convenient store, he followed her home and decided to protect her.

8. Ghost Wife: I am intrigued by reincarnation stories especially ones about couples that are destined to love each other over multiple lifetimes. This one has guest stars Ma Ke (Journey of Flower) and Yang Zi (Battle of Changsha).

9. Fugitive: There are two stories happening at the same time in this one episode. A part is about a man who died and doesn't want to be reincarnated as a mosquito so he escapes. The other part is about a soul catcher who has his own agenda. Because of his dialect and his flighty behavior, the man that escaped is so much fun to watch. I thought he will eventually turn into a soul with grievances especially with the soul catcher igniting his anger by making him believe his close friend betrayed him and also married his wife. It is very touching to see him find out the truth behind what happened after his death. He becomes a hero in his family and friend's circle and every year they all get together to commemorate him.

10. Secrets: This is a recent episode that I just finished and what makes this episode worth listing is the ending. A secret-sucking creature has been following this woman around because of a dark secret she has hidden in her heart. It is exciting to watch the main leads figure out her secret and it ends up being a twist within a twist.

The woman has been numbing herself with alcohol ever since the death of her managed artist/crush. She was supposed to die soon since she had chronic heart disease but they found an appropriate heart donor on the day she and her managed artist got into a car accident. It is revealed in the end that the heart belonged to her managed artist and that only after his soul revealed his secret (that he loved her) did the secret-sucker leave. However, as viewers, we find out in the end that she actually did have a dark secret of her own and the secret-sucker was preying on that. She didn't want to die alone so she cut off the brakes, which caused the tragic accident to happen.

Music: There is no opening theme but there are various ending themes and in Season 2, each of our main leads sang one. Didn't get into the music since the plot and acting were sufficient to capture my attention.