Review of As Beautiful As You / 你比星光美丽

Lately, I’ve been watching quite a few Asian dramas. I used to just focus on Korean dramas, as you can probably notice if you’re a more frequent reader of my blog, but as I entered a period where I wanted to focus more on my blog and its business side of things, I knew I wanted to diversify the kinds of content I was watching.

That’s how I first branched out into more Asian content. I was watching Turkish, Spanish, Chinese, and Thai dramas for a hot minute, all of which will end up being reviewed on this blog eventually! I have such a massive backlog of content to get through right now; this post is even scheduled months in advance.

Ironically, when I watch Chinese dramas, I tend to watch a single actor’s entire filmography before I move onto the next actor. This time I was going through a Xu Kai phase after watching Falling Into Your Smile, which I did not care for really, and that’s when I saw As Beautiful As You had come out recently (at the time).

So I opened up my Viki account every day and scheduled myself to watch an episode or two a day. As someone with some minor commitment issues, Chinese dramas are a little more difficult for me to get through, so I have to space out when I’m watching them or I get very burned out.

I finished the drama after about a month. Let’s get into the review before I start rambling too much though—I do have a tendency to do that!

After starting her own company, a disgruntled former worker falls for her supportive ex-CEO.

Our main character in this series is Ji Xing. She’s such a dedicated worker, and has been a solid employee at her workplace: an IT firm that’s considered one of the best in China. However, when something happens at her workplace that’s pretty upsetting, Ji Xing decides to quit.

Her game plan at the moment is to start her own company, as she’s been blacklisted from being hired at other places due to a clause in her employment contract. She recruits some others to help her out on this journey, and they hit the ground running.

One of her biggest pillars of support and mentorship is going to actually be her former CEO: Han Ting. Han Ting noticed her in the distance in the workplace, and he also notices the problems she has with her fiance. Her fiance, a wealthier man that’s prominent in local society, has a snobby family that looks down on Ji Xing and her family because of their lower social status.

With Han Ting’s help though, her business starts to take off. They upgrade offices and are able to support each other, finally having enough money to properly pay each employee when the holidays come up. It wasn’t easy getting there though, as they had to work hard and long every night.

But as we see throughout the course of the show, this isn’t the cleanest industry to be in. There are potential hostile takeovers, and even Ji Xing begins questioning Han Ting and his intent at one point. I wouldn’t call her naive as a businesswoman, but there are some moments where she should have known better.

There’s also a romance brewing between Han Ting and Ji Xing throughout the show. It’s obvious he feels something for her early on the show, and it’s not pity as he sees her situation. They do start dating, and there is a happy ending, but it is also a bit bold to date your competitor.

Another romantic contender does show up around halfway in the series, just as Ji Xing is more established in her company and career. He’s also working in the industry, but I honestly don’t think of him as a serious second male lead. He kind of just exists in the context of this show and its story.

Overall Thoughts

For me, this is just an okay show. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot, and it literally reminded me of the Xu Kai drama I had watched before this: Best Choice Ever. Xu Kai kind of just plays the same exact character in both shows.

That said, I didn’t hate it either. It was just an okay show. The characters aren’t too memorable, nor do they stand out among the many dramas I’ve watched recently. I do like the aspect of the female lead being a strong independent woman, although the male lead does help her out.

I’d say go watch if it you’re interested. Maybe not if the plot doesn’t appeal to you; I feel like there are so many dramas that are very similar.

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