goodness me, what a delightful watch!

pros:
- wonderfully written characters who developed well as the episodes went on. there was a beautiful balance between romance and plot happenings.
- healthy relationship between the leads. it started off rocky with ZC’s very apparent daddy issues but I love how his character actually grew and matured while still maintaining a playful air! i love the trust and loyalty they had towards each other, with a sprinkle of healthy jealousy. it was so nice to watch <3
- the plot was actually good! i feel that often with cdramas, the romance and story can clash or be incompatible sometimes and i lose interest in one or the other after a bit but i enjoyed both in Moonlight! it was nice seeing some insight into the publishing world
- i loveeeee the beige/warm colour palette and aesthetics. so comforting :)
- the acting was great :D DYX has really nailed the loving gaze (reminds me of Mark Prin’s loving gazes haha) and his kisses are so good lol there were some bits from Esther’s side where i felt was a bit awkward? but overall, everyone did a good job.
- side characters were not jarring and i didn’t feel like they’re screentime was taking away from the leads’ storyline. well written once again!
- the natsume soseki references. ugh will never be soft for ‘the moon is beautiful tonight’ confessions.
- the ending was perfect! beautifully wrapped up :) love it when they end with them becoming a family and not just a wedding :D
- er gou. that’s it. that’s the tweet.

cons:
- i did skip Jiang yu cheng’s storyline and romance, it was so boring to me lol
- it got a *little* draggy near the middle before zhou chuan and chu li got together. they overused the interruption before the leads wanted to say smth trope and it got annoying after a point. nothing a good skip can’t solve though.
- sorry but zhou chuan’s style was horrendous LOL he’s meant 28 year old man they were dressing him like a 12 year old fortnite kids at times (what was with the hoodie + blazer/trench coat combo?!) esther’s styling was nice though.
- i am not a fan of babyish female leads and unfortunately chu li was just that. it took me at least 10 episodes to tolerate the baby voices, sounds, accent and mannerisms. while i still enjoyed her character in the end, i felt like her character could have done without it. it seems she always gets casted in these type of roles since her voice is very scratchy and squeaky and is so unpleasant to listen to when she wails. her acting is pretty good though so it didn’t ruin the drama for me in the end.

overall, a very smooth sailing drama and such a gem! i highly highly recommend it! 9/10