So I’ve been super addicted to Where the Mask Ends, shifting from an earlier addiction to The Lament of Autumn which got too stupid for me midway through to this much more intelligently plotted and still entertainingly makjang story. I’ve liked Tian Xi Wei in many a drama but this one turned my affection to love for her, and male lead Yan An absolutely nailed what was asked of him and will definitely level up. But I need to shoutout the very unexpected surprise find for me in second male lead/antagonist Dai Gao Zheng, a very well known male lead in the vertical mini-drama world for many years now toiling in that short form world and finally getting a meaty (pun intended) character here to chew on. And boy did he deliver, the hilarious plotting followed by inevitable beatdowns (physical ones) he kept getting in this drama was just so spot on funny and he was such a scene stealer all the time. The emphasis on his beefcake physique didn’t hurt lol and half the time I wanted him topless and getting beat at the same time for his insolence in thinking he can take down a woman with 100000% more brain cells than him who can play him like a fiddle all day every day. I hope he gets promoted to mainstream dramas even as the second male lead for awhile and let that natural charisma and acting talent grow, definitely someone I’ll keep an eye on.