#Cai Wenjing

[xiaolanhua]

Tang Ying, do you want to build a world that belong to us?

Fake It Till You Make It 装腔启示录 (2023) Dir. by Li Mo – Episode 14

[chineseredcarpet]

Cai Wenjing for Hello Saturday

[decrescendo]

[ENGSUB] Zhang Xincheng and Cai Wenjing singing “紅豆/Red Beans”

I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH AND THEY BOTH SOUND GREAT

ZXC felt so bad when he realized that the version he decided to switch to was too high for CWJ 😂 CWJ was so gracious and good-humored about everything, though.

[xielianhua]

Cai Wenjing for a Guanzhu livestream

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | Fake It Till You Make It (2023)

This is the type of drama that I consider to be on a league of their own because it can’t be compared to other stories going around on streaming sites and cable tv. It was wonderful from beginning to end, with a cohesive narrative and characters whose development actually made sense when you take in consideration past decisions and present time dilemmas.

One of the things I loved the most about Fake It Till You Make It is that every supportive character that shows up, doesn't only exist in order to push the story forward for our leads, but each of them have a life of their own and we actually get to see it. We experience their lives as much as we experience what the leads are going through. That's honestly incredible to watch because it makes the world building infinite and the houses, work places, cafés and bars, and the streets feel lived in. Each of these people are the lead of their own life.

Because of this aspect, I had to take a slower pace than I usually binge watch such a short drama. The experiences and situations the characters find themselves in, personal or professional, felt at times incredibly real. Too real as I have been in those spaces before, so I could fully understand the frustrations of a personal relationship not working out, being look over by superiors at work or feeling like you are going nowhere in life, inevitably comparing yourself to others. Learning that to live freely means understanding each person has a different journey that can’t be compared with yours it's a difficult task. What works for you, may not be the right choice for others and viceversa. The diversity of paths life takes you can be confusing and I think Fake It Till You Make It managed to portrayed it perfectly.

My favourite thing about the drama was how the leads showed moments of growth in every single episode. Sometimes at a slower pace than otjer people and even each other. There are points where one of them is growing faster than the other, a few moments of decision to grow together or let go. Sometimes you outgrown your past and there’s no other way to go but forward. And other times looking back is the only way for you to grow. I loved it.

This is honestly a perfect drama that I can't recommend enough.

Rating: 10/10

[fyeahfandomtrash]

fake it till you make it thoughts

i'm terribly late to the party, but my youtube algorithm suddenly recommended this cdrama, and i was intrigued. for context, i've tried checking out different cdramas in the past, but something about the acting, the writing, the cinematography, didn't really grab my attention (there's something more to be said that as a mandarin speaker, i'm also way more selective about what i consider "good" dialogue that i don't rely on translated subtitles to understand, and i feel it harder to suspend my disbelief when i feel like the actors aren't speaking the way real people speak).

needless to say, i was really enamoured by our leads xu ziquan and tang ying, dealing with the struggles of being a small gear in the massive machine that's corporate culture, where their around-the-clock schmoozing with clients, their co-workers, their superiors, requires them to lose themselves for the sake of their careers. it's painfully real, and the way this series is shot almost like a documentary in some sequences definitely immerses the viewer more into this world. there is something to be said that their elite jobs and fat paychecks might be hard to empathize with, but their internal troubles are incredibly universal.

so i think it's even more brave, more romantic when these two make an active attempt to connect with each other, drop their masks, and fall in love.

i love a slow-burn romance when it's done well, and fitymi is emblematic of that. understanding why our characters act the way they do, their insecurities about love, their hesistancy to be honest, is key to sympathizing with our leads when they struggle through getting to that moment of confession. it becomes even more cathartic when we get to that ending in episode 9, when tang ying basically asks xu ziquan, "what are we?" the characters are mature, but they also lack experience in being in real relationships (heartbreaking in its own way, when we feel like we're being swallowed at work, in the vast city we live in, etc.), and the way they handle those "inadequacies" is incredibly grounded. they're not playing caricatures of archetypes. none of the characters in this show are, which is soo refreshing.

at its root, the couple is also supremely convincing with its chemistry between the leads. i could wax poetic about the physical intimacy these two share. the way they casually touch each other, the way xu ziquan looks at tang ying, it makes me feel some type of way! there's an almost voyeuristic quality to these conversations between these characters. xu ziquan and tang ying are so emotionally honest and vulnerable with each other during some truly breathtaking moments that i feel like i should give these two some privacy (it hurts more when these two take a couple of steps back, but it's unnervingly realistic).

(no joke, i could write a whole essay on this scene of them feeding cats, except it's not really about them feeding cats; the subs are kinda wonky on youtube but the ~vibes~ are immaculate)

another thing that makes me love this couple is how after these two circle around each other (very exciting/enthralling to watch), their transition to a real, serious couple is realistic and not frustrating at all (their domesticity is so wholesome and still has me kicking my feet). romance isn't dead after the two get together, which is something that i feel not every drama can land. i'm convinced of why these two are drawn to each other, and why these two choose to stay together. that's a testament to phenomenal writing.

kudos to the entire team behind this gem of a show. if you're like me and could never get into a cdrama before, i highly recommend checking this out! this might finally be the one to get you on board.

p.s. if those friendships rings are product placement, that's by far the best use of product placement ever. because those rings are gorg and hold such a symbolic meaning

[k-airportstyle]

Cai Wenjing - June 24th 2023

[vanimeiy]

#CaiWenjing for the Magnolia Awards at the 28th Shanghai TV Festival

[ncmadsteve]

first he's a beautiful gentle flower, then he's regular tan jianci in hanfu

[xiaolanhua]

Fake It Till You Make It 装腔启示录 (2023) Dir. by Li Mo – Episode 4

[chineseredcarpet]

Cai Wenjing for Hunan TV & MGTV x TMALL’s Double 11 Surprise Night

[ruanbaijie]

CHENG YI + 💋 cheng yi on variety [2/?] @asiandramanet jan-feb creator bingo board ⎈ free choice full translation below the cut

dumping this here in case the subtitles were too tricky to follow please watch the actual video (18:21) with sound on and all it takes me out all the damn time

[1] Cheng Yi’s cards: Ultraman who went on a blind date and got stung by a bee and got sausage lips Cai Wenjing: (in terrible Cantonese accent) A man and a woman - what do their parents arrange for them to do together?

[2] CY: processing CWJ: When two people meet for the first time, a man and a woman He Jiong the host: already dying

[3] CY: still processing CWJ: If they get together, they are lovers HJ: still dying

[4] CY: (itCa) Sei… Sei… Sei… CWJ: anticipation CY: (itCa) How many characters are there?

[5] CWJ: (itCa) Two characters! CY: (itCa) Lovers. CWJ: (itCa) The step they have to take before becoming lovers

[6] CY: (itCa and with absolute fucking confidence) Friends! CWJ: literally hanging on by a thread at this point (itCa) They started as friends HJ: (in Mandarin) A verb. They go to a place to do what?

[7] CY: PROCESSING aha! (itCa and still with absolute fucking confidence) A park! CWJ: (itCa) Ok let’s not talk about that anymore HJ: cackling in absolute sadistic glee CWJ: (itCa) There’s a small kind of animal in the garden

[8] CWJ: (itCa) Like that. It’s a… Its body is like what you’re wearing. It’s yellow. Yellow, black, black, and it has a pair of wings

[9] CY: got it! (itCa and with the most fucking confidence known to mankind) Cow! (lit: yellow cow) CWJ: (itCa) There’s a tiny bug CY: still processing (itCa) Little yellow bug

[10] HJ: spits CWJ: (itCa) Not a little yellow bug. There’s a bug that might sting you and you will swell up CY: (itCa) Bee! HJ: (iM) That’s right! There’s progress, friends! “Bee.” There’s progress!

[11] Tan Jianci: completely enjoying this circus CY: secretly pleased CWJ: (itCa) Then what will the bee do to you? CY: (itCa) Sting me HJ: (iM) Ah that’s right, that’s right, that’s right

[12] CWJ: (itCa) It stings your mouth–oh no, no! Game rule: can’t say the character that appears on the card CWJ: (itCa) This area will… ooOOOOOoooo Show effects: kissing sounds CY: (itCa) A bee stings my mouth du du du

[13] TJC: having the absolute fucking time of his life HJ: (iM) Yes, yes, yes, what do you call lips that go “du du du”? CY: (itCa) Du du lips. Bee du du lips

[14] CY: rapid fire beings (itCa) Bee sausage. Bun! I think I got it (itCa) Bee sausage ah! Oh! A bee stings the lips of a sausage?

[15] HJ: what the fuck is going on CWJ: what the fuck is going on x2 (itCa) Bee… gives up TJC: (iM) The lips of a sausage?!

[16] HJ: (iM) Your lips, your lips CY: (itCa) Oh! A bee stings the lips of a sausage and causes me to have du du lips? CWJ: K.O.

[17] Wang Hedi: losing his shit CWJ: (itCa) Then you will look very sexy lor! CY: embarrassed send help

[18] CY: (itCa) It’s too difficult, let’s change to another one CWJ: (itCa) We’ll guess this (card in his left hand). This is easy to guess. Pew pew pew! Pew pew pew! CY: (itCa) Ultraman! HJ: (iM) That’s right! Good!

[19] HJ: (iM) Now we’re just missing a verb. The verb in the front CWJ: (itCa) Just missing a word. Your daddy and mummy tell you to go and meet a girl today. With me… what do you call this action?

[20] CY: (itCa) Ultraman’s action? CWJ: (itCa) Not Ultraman!!!!!! HJ: dies in background CWJ: (itCa) Nothing to do with Ultraman anymore!!!!!! Yang Di: Aaahhhhhhh!!!!!! WHD: SHOOK

[21] TJC: (iM) Oh my god! I can watch a whole season of them playing this! CY: god save me CWJ: (itCa) There’s no more Ultraman now!

[22] TJC: can’t even sit in his fucking seat anymore CWJ: (itCa) Now it’s me and you. Then Daddy and Mummy tell me you are a handsome boy, that you are going to be my boyfriend CY: (itCa) Date? HJ: (iM) Before a date

[23] HJ: (iM) The first date CY: (itCa) Strangers? eyes sparkling with hope HJ: (iM) AhhHH yes–yes… The two strangers go to the park for a first date that was arrange by their parents. That’s called… CWJ: anticipation TJC: does he finally get it

[24] Show effects: tense piano music CY: (itCa and once more with ABSOLUTE fucking confidence) Park. HJ: K.O. of the century

[25] HJ: (iM) Can we get Cheng Yi to be a regular? Just to play this CY: SHY TJC: in proper Cantonese The second word is… Show effects: kissing sounds

[26] CY: (itCa) Kissing ah? They’re meeting for the first time and they’re already kissing ah? TJC, WHD: ABSOLUTELY FUCKING GONE HJ: choking goose INTENSIFIES

[27] CY: SHY (iM) I’m wrong, I… HJ: (iM) Blind date YD: (iM) Blind date! Blind date!

[iseo58]

Cai Wenjing in Ordos outfit

[romchat]

hey, this is unfashionably late praise, but i just wanted to say that I loved your analysis of the cinematography of fitymi ep 6 (i only recently binged the show in its entirety and was really blown away). perfectly verbalizes what we as an audience member understand implicitly. the composition of each frame in the show is done so well and intentionally, which is super refreshing!! after reading your post, i became even more cognizant of other ziquan/ying scenes and how the camera is used to build romance between the characters (in addition to the amazing writing and chemistry between han dongjun and cai wenjing). thank you for your lovely post!!

Aww, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the analysis.

I adored Fake It Till You Make It. Ziquan and Ying were hands down one of my favorite dramaland couples of 2023. Their scenes were realistic but quietly sexy-- I so appreciate shows that use banter as foreplay and the camera work just reinforced the sharp writing and great acting chemistry.

And that walk-up scene when Ziquan is gazing at Ying through the windows of her walk-up?

Absolute perfection.

[xielianhua]

Cai Wenjing

[bean-in-dice]

Yep I didn't see wrong the tops MLC boys are wearing in Hello Saturday are highly likely inspired by the famous pink robe!

Honestly I love that, it would be a shame otherwise, for those gorgeous designs to have been worn only once.

Tbf while the leaf pattern placement is the same plus the round collar and the color, the leaf shape itself is the one from one of Hello Saturday's other guzhuang sportswear, so this one may be actually the round collar and pink reproduction of that cross collar and black one. The similarity to WKX one could be a pure coincidence but hey, a girl can dream!

Also fun fact: The girl sitting between Shunxi and Yuning? She's Cai Wenjing, the friend Cheng Yi calls for the "Are you eating?" challenge heh. She worked with Cheng Yi for the modern day court drama Draw the Line.