“Fake It Till You Make It” is a 14 episodes Chinese modern romance drama lead by Elvira Cai and Elvis Han, a mature romance between two professionals dealing with issues in their workplaces and their romantic lives.
Xu Ziquan, an investment banker, and Tang Ying, a corporate lawyer, meet each other on a plane while going on their respective business trips; while interest sparks between the two, they don’t expect to encounter each other again. Once home, this is disproven: they also work in the same building and he is in fact acquainted with Lin Xin Zi, Tang Ying’s sister.
Despite their attraction, they decide to remain just friends. Her, scared away by his womanizer reputation, and him, not ready to commit after a previous relationship ended badly. Of course, as time passes, their “friendly” feelings deepen.
As a fan of the actor, I was very exited to watch his latest project, and was quite disappointed in finding out it would have been a shorter series than I was expecting. I had no need to be, being in not plot heavy, but more of a character driven story, 14 episodes were plenty to explore each character in details and their changing relationships.
I would rate it 8/10.
Let’s now move on to a more in-depth discussion (spoilers ahead).
The Characters
I have little to say about the singular characters, since I quite enjoyed all of them and I don’t have many complaints.
Tang Ying: I really liked her. She was more mature than the usual rom-com female leads, confident in herself but not overtly so, and with still her share of weaknesses. In particular, she seemed to have a sort of insecurity in being with Xu Ziquan, and I was quite afraid her jealousy one they got together would have caused some issues for them, but luckily it was solved quickly enough.
One part of her storyline that I did not appreciate was her 2 health scares in a row, I found it unnecessary: did she really need to be fearful of her health before realizing she should have cut down her work hours and enjoyed life more? If she had not felt sick, would she have not wanted to improve her life?
Xu Ziquan: I loved the character – and yes, I am biased, since I am a fan of the actor. A cool and collected guy on the outside, but very cute and childlike once he gets close to someone. A serial womanizer to the one that don’t know him, but the most loyal guy when in a relationship.
Not much to say, I just liked him.
Lin Xin Zi: The most interesting character for me, because of how much my opinion of her changed throughout the series: I could not stand her in the beginning, a very shallow girl looking for a rich guy that fits her of all requirements. She thought she had found him, but the relationship quickly turned toxic, and I really felt bad about her. And then she started to move on, and her plotline became my favourite, maturing as a person and finding love with her new roommate.
I thought she was the one character that really evolved: her priority changed. She does not need a rich partner to rely on, she is a woman with a good career, and she wants to find true love with a guy that likes her and treats her well, no matter how many material things he can give her. Fitting that she ends up with a guy younger than her, a poor musician that can offer her nothing financially, but makes her feel good when they are together.
The Romance
I loved the romance of the leads.
Xu Ziquan is a charismatic womanizer with commitment issues, while Tang Ying is a woman more focused on her career than her personal life. They are both confident individuals with equal power in the relationship, real partners that know what they want.
They meet on a flight, they talk, they flirt, they don’t think they are going to meet again. But they do, however, since neither of them is interested in a serious romantic relationship, they decide to become friends.
Nonetheless, the flirtatious conversations continue, and the boundaries between friendship and something more are continuously tested. The tension between them is the best part of the series: they both are catching feeling for each other, refusing to admit to it in fear of losing their friendship (and not feeling ready to be in a relationship).
I rooted for them to be together, but worried about the drama losing stream once they become a couple. Well, the worry is unwarranted. The actors have perfect chemistry, and just seeing them cuddling on a couch is entertaining.
The “Negatives”
Just a couple of complaints:
- The business talk is extensive, and I often found myself fast-forwarding their office scenes.
- There isn’t much of a plot, as the drama is more focuses on exploring the characters and their relations.
- Since there was only 14 episodes, it really felt like the in depth look at the supporting characters was stealing airtime that could have been used for more plot-heavy storylines for the main couple.
Overall, I really enjoyed “Fake It Till You Make It” for the slow building relationship between the main leads and Lin Xin Zi character growth.
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