[Chinese Drama] The healing rom-com "A Romance of the Little Forest" starring Zhang Binbin. However, there is one drawback...

I finished watching the final episode of "A Romance of the Little Forest" (Japanese title: 2-nin no Koi no Mori / English title: A Romance Of The Little Forest).

This was my first time watching a modern drama featuring popular actor Zhang Binbin (Zhang Binbin), and I feel like I'm about to fall head over heels into the fandom.

[Episode 1]

His character in the drama is a botanist. He loves nature and is unselfish and passionate about his research. He is deeply trusted by his colleagues and students. He is good at cooking and cleaning. At first glance, he seems cold and insensitive to others' feelings, but once he falls in love, he is devoted. Furthermore, his family is wealthy, and his parents don't say, "Marry someone we've arranged for you and take over the business!" but instead respect their son's work.

...In short, it was a drama that realistically portrayed such an otherworldly ideal, and I enjoyed the chemistry between the lead couple.

And the passionate performance by the female lead, Yu Shuxin (Yu Shuxin), was amazing.

At first, you might be annoyed by her anime-like voice and unnatural upward glances, but that is also part of her charm.

Her character in the drama is a smart woman who was treated as a "genius" in the countryside when she was young. She has a history of being bullied for her appearance, so she is always armed with makeup and fashion. She majored in ornithology and was seen as promising by her professor, but she spends her days working as a beauty influencer. She has a bit of a dark side, but she is a kind and warm-hearted character.

She hides her inferiority complex about her bare face from others and wears a mask of a "cheerful beauty". The process of the male lead being drawn to her true self beneath that "mask" is depicted with great care.

At 35 episodes in total, it's a bit long, and there is a "slump period" in the middle. But when I watched episodes 32 to 34, I thought, "Oh, I'm glad I watched this far!" because the euphoria of two people who cherish each other for who they are was overflowing.

In the second half of the story, you'll be won over by the natural smiles that escape from Zhang Binbin, who was expressionless in the first half.

However, there is one major drawback.

The story of the second sub-couple is surprisingly boring. And it's unnecessarily long.

After seeing the scene where the male sub-couple character uses a wheelchair to gain sympathy from his love interest, my disgust intensified, so I skipped all of their scenes. However, it didn't hinder my understanding of the story at all (I think, probably).

Even in the English and South American languages I can read, and when I put Chinese comments into Google Translate, there were a huge number of people who felt the same way.

I think it could have been 24 episodes if they had cut the sub-couple scenes... but even taking that into account, it was a wonderful drama.

The drama was uploaded one episode at a time on YouTube from Wednesday to Sunday nights. Now that it's over, I feel a bit of a void in my heart, like the sadness after a festival ends.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to be healed by the forest scenery and Zhang Binbin's gentle expressions and beauty. All episodes are currently available on the following YouTube channel. (With Chinese & English subtitles)

[Distribution]
Croton MEGA HIT Youtube Channel
Rakuten VIKI

Story ★★★★☆
Heart-fluttering ★★★★☆
Male Lead Charm ★★★★★
Sub-couple ☆☆☆☆☆