5 Thoughts I Had While Watching ‘Make My Heart Smile,’ a Whimsical Chinese Drama

As is often the case with people who have messed up their sleep cycles, I opened Instagram Reels before going to bed and entered the seven-hour-long rabbit hole called Chinese drama.

A mini clip on the reels made me scroll through the comments to find the series name – make my heart smile, This was followed by a quick YouTube search where I found all 24 episodes of the show.

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My plan was simple – fast forward through an episode or two, laugh at how ridiculous it is and go to sleep with a peaceful mind. Frankly, this did not happen or I would not be writing this article.

Here are five disturbing but funny thoughts that came to my mind while watching the show that was such a ridiculous waste of time, yet I couldn’t stop watching it:

1.How does a student have endless money?

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The show is about the lives of young college students who build relationships and navigate life.

The main male, Gu Yan Luo, seems to have an endless pool of money as he lives in a huge bungalow, drives a fancy car and can afford to pay exorbitant amounts for a housekeeper and expensive gifts. He doesn’t even have a job and yet he can afford so many luxuries.

The show reveals that his mother is a business woman, but still, it was hard to see a college student living a life of luxury.

2.Why do women walk like penguins?

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The leading lady, Ye Wei Mian, is a fully grown woman who is good at her job (designing clothes), yet the show infantilizes her. Especially when Gu Yan Luo hires her as a housekeeper to help him earn money.

She doesn’t walk, purrs like a bunny and drags her feet like a penguin. It’s probably meant to be cute, but ends up sounding annoying.

3.Why is the woman so dumb and submissive?

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It was a constant thought during my binge-watching.

My eyes and brain started to hurt at the sight of this garbage can, but I kept waiting for the woman to regain some common sense and self-respect.

She may not see through her male friend’s attempts to flirt with her or her boyfriend’s subtle toxic traits. Instead, she simply bows to people’s wishes and desires without saying anything most of the time.

For a show releasing in 2021, it seems quite regressive.

4.Why can’t the boy be vulnerable with her?

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As we see in many Bollywood movies, this Chinese drama also had a male lead who shows his love for the lady.

Instead of appreciating her work, he finds fault with her and then smiles when she’s not looking, thereby betraying her real reaction.

Again, the show is slated to release in 2021. Can We Break Out of the Mean Boyfriend Trope?

5.Why can’t they kiss properly?

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I’m not sure if this happens with all Chinese shows and movies, but the main pair didn’t kiss properly!

The boy leans over and kisses the girl who stands like a marble statue, not at all.

It’s almost like kissing a wall, mirror or doll for practice. There’s zero passion at the moment because it’s just a man touching lips with a woman and stuck there in a weird way Chipkali,

Tell me again, how was this a romantic show?