I picked this show on a whim because I was looking for something to keep me busy. I have watched the odd cdrama here and there, and I had never watched one with this type of premise.

Personal thoughts:
I feel like the show does a great job of talking about fan culture and internet celebrities; in the age of online personalities and this dawn of cancelling, the show reflects much of the online environments surrounding these topics. ZGDX are e-sport athletes, something that otherwise would not exist without the internet and the rise of online gaming. They are revered by men and women alike and are celebs in their own rights. But there's an ugly side to this hero worship: the second someone slips up, they're hated, reviled, sent abuse and threats for making a mistake deemed worthy of admonishing, and the show takes painstaking measures to portray this type of behaviour and how often this type of outrage is soon forgotten and that the second that these boys have another victory in the bag after a loss that gained them hate, all these people who criticised them will be their biggest fans again.

Another aspect to the shows commentary is the presence of women in gaming; Tong Yao is young, pretty, girly and she's also the best gamer around. From the onset, the show isn't holding back on portraying exactly what women go through in this industry, with TY getting her first slew of hate in the first episode when she's told by guys that she's only there because she likes how ZGDX looks. It goes on and on; TY is only there to date boys, she's only there because she slept with one of the team members, she's only there because the team wants PC points, she's only there to look pretty, etc. And TY calls this behaviour out time and time again, she's the only girl in the competition and has to face a barrage of misogynistic comments thrown her way constantly, but she withstands it all the same.

And that's.... all I really have to say about the show. It isn't bad, it just doesn't stand out. The main actress must be relatively new to acting, because she didn't stand out in any shape or form. Her expressions were cute, but she always had this strange look of confusion on her all the time, sometimes followed by her pressing her lips together or giving a small smile. I can't even really say what her personality was, or if she even had one other than: "yes she's a girl. yes she's a gamer. yes they exist". I will say I like the fact that the show made TY as a girly girl rather than a total tomboy which would continue to perpetuate the idea that you have to be masculine in some shape and form to be a gamer. But TY was out here doing her make up and wearing cute skirts and shoes and lipstick while kicking ass.

The rest of the cast were the same, albeit they shone a bit more. I loved Xiao Rui and Xiao Pang, Jin Yang is the best friend anyone could ever ask for. The rest of the cast didn't really stand out. Lu Yue appeared as if he was going to be super important for like two episodes and then he was quite literally pushed to the side and all but forgotten about.

But we are here to talk about the one, the only, the star: Lu Sicheng. I've not seen anything Xu Kai has been in but I just might because he really carried this show. LS was cold without being cruel, aloof without being uncaring, he was honest without being brutal. He cared a lot about his team and his friends, but he was pragmatic, if something needed to be said and done, it would be so and he would do his best to minimise any hurt or damage that might occur. He embodied the stereotypical cold male lead without actually being one; you can see that he cares and some times he's just not the best at showing it. Plus, Xu Kai is so dreamy, awooga awooga, jaw drops to floor, eyes pop out of socket.

What I didn't like about the show:
There isn't much because this show really washed down easily and there's nothing to actually hate, but there are a few things that did make me roll my eyes a bit.
- The overused joke of TY being short. I mean, she's not THAT short, maybe everyone else is just freakishly tall? I'm five foot and a size 3 in shoe (we're the same size) and it just kept being overused ALL THE TIME. Like, at first it was funny because LS would be like "quiet small child" and call her shorty, but then it started getting... weird? Calling TY a child, calling her a little girl, saying she doesn't even look like an adult because of how short she is, essentially it was a lot of infantilisation. Like, a LOT. I don't even know if the show states how old LS is but I believe he's in his mid-/late-twenties as LY is 23 while TY is 21 at the start of the show. The age gap doesn't bother me at all, it's the constantly saying she looks like a child does.
- I'm holding off on making this an actual reason why I didn't like the show as I believe that it's a translator's error but my enjoyment of the show was ruined with the constant use of the r slur. I do think this was the fault of the translators because they even changed the subtitles for flashbacks in future episodes, but it just made me icky and soured my enjoyment of the show.
- "Where's the chemistry? Ion taste anything!" Xu Kai was probably hospitalised from back pains after being the sole carrier of the chemistry in this show. He gives clear cut reasons why he likes TY and there's a part where he quotes that he doesn't know where the love began, only that it's now deep. It's a wonder Xu Kai is so tall with the burden of having to carry the chemistry between him and Cheng Xiao weighing on his shoulders. There were cute moments and they were all initiated by him. Some times it doesn't even feel like TY even likes him, maybe it's a cdrama thing to forbid a woman being attracted to another man because god forbid a woman be sexually active.

Anyways to wrap it up:
Xu Kai, i'll pay for your medical bills and physiotherapy after carrying this entire show with your bare hands.