Amazing I've seen this show recced several times and I was planning on checking it out as soon as, but having tried to watch Love Me, If You Dare several times it was not a priority (I might be a minority in terms of preferring this to LMIYD, but this show really grabbed me. Sure... Huo Wallace is better looking than Wang Kai but WK is his own kind of hella sexy and HW's Sherlock-esque character really grated on me as I'm a massive fan of BBC Sherlock and I couldn't help but compare) Then I stumbled into the VERY enthusiastic recap page for this show on dr-myri's blog (who did such a great job recapping Eternal Love) I trust those ladies so why not? I started at ep1 and I was all...'Ok cool good-looking bad-ass in the house this is interesting' then as soon as Xu Xu appeared I was 'Yusss! Alternative/Atypical/equally bad ass female lead! I am all over this!' I thought Xu Xu was a little cutie from the get go (the hair cut took some getting used to though), so unlike most FL. She was this teeny tiny robotic ball of smarts. She was uncanny, enough to make people uncomfortable, blunt, a little arrogant (I laughed when she straight up admitted she thought normal rules don't really apply to her as she's a genius) with a lot of mannerisms and attributes one expects of a male character, I even loved the way she talked, the low intonation and the matter of fact way she speaks (This whole feminine whine 'aegyo' thing annoys the hell out of me) I actually initially thought the snail referred to the ML but quickly realised it was her and this was her story, I could not be any happier. I absolutely adore Xu Xu. I couldn't wait to see her meet Cool Bad Ass ML and honestly from their first meeting it was all gloves off love. Kudos to Wang Ziwen for her portrayal, she did an amazing job. The other side of the equation Ji Bai (played ably by the swoon worthy WK) is the Popular Big Brother type. Upstanding, personable, smart, accomplished and a natural leader. He was what I wished more ML could be...actually reasonable and logical! Although the drama did not delve so much on his past (aside from what was relevant to the case) you can tell that through hard work and natural talent he has risen to his position as the undisputed best in the police force with the support of all his friends, coworkers and superiors. He's the embodiment of a lion fiercely protecting his pride. His chemistry with Xu Xu was amazing (I loved the fact that the way they filmed make it seem like he can just fold her up and put her in his pocket but the dialogue really emphasise how equal they are and can be) Scenes of him picking her up by the scruff and her nonchalantly ignoring this just make me happy. Romance fans have to live off this and other subtleties, like the amount of eye contact and mind reading as the romance was not the focus of this drama at all. The story overall was great, suspenseful and nail biting with enough twists and turns and tangled up connections that I was glad I was reading the reccap/analysis to help me keep it all straight in my head. Other characters like Yao Meng (I love the fact that she is another atypical female character, beautiful and strong and fully protective and supportive of her female police sisters. She had a beautiful friendship with Xu Xu. None of this bitchy second FL nonsense that's prevalent in almost all dramas) and Wei Han (the bromance is strong in this one) was amazing too. The Villains were chilling and reprehensible (Jesus, the Po and Xu Xu stand off was nail bitingly good and lets not forget to mention Bloody Brother Lu) Everyone did an amazing job portraying their characters The drama flowed amazingly well, the scenery, the framework and innovative shots and editing made me feel several times like I was watching a movie. The OST throughout was subtle and really fitted the story (there were as lot of tense scenes that had little to no background music and I felt that it specially heightened the tension and made it better) I loved both the opening credits (first C Drama opening with little to no spoilers) but adore the animated lion/snail scenes more. Also got to mention the Cold Opens in every episode, really put viewers off balance and makes you pay attention. Whoever edited this drama has a real sense of timing and flow. Worth a rewatch? YES! I'm actually in the midst of rewatching as there's just too many subtle awe inspiring scenes I missed the first time round. In conclusion, absolutely worth a watch. The romance in this is all about the subtleties, and not the focus. This is not your typical 'lust-at-first-sight' or even the 'hate to love' drama cliche. It's more the mature meeting of minds and I applaud it. You can really tell when they connect and when they start supporting and guiding each other to their mutual feelings (being more personable ML realises it first). The story and overall mystery is what drives this drama and I'm glad that they focused on it because it was very well done. To those romance fans like myself, read the novel this was based on. I read it after watching this and it satisfied my thirst for more romance for this OTP. Its being fan translated and is available through Novel Updates. You won't regret it. It is too sexy for words and as you read you won't be able to picture anyone else but Wang Kai and Wang Ziwen as Ji Bai and Xu Xu.