They turned one of my favorite Chinese novels into a drama! Which means it is time to share my love and convince you all to watch with me. Come check out my five reasons to watch Just one Smile is Very Alluring……also known as Love O2O.
#1 Two Fandoms in One Drama
Love 020 combines two popular addictions into one massive drama/gaming addict combo! I love how the writer and director have interwoven the computer gaming world and its relationships with the real world. So often people discount online relationships as being fake but I personally have several very close friends that began online. That makes this drama especially impressive since it shows this type of story in a positive light.
#2 The Supportive Besties!
All of the lead’s friends are so adorable! The three roommates of our perfectionist leading man, Xiao Nai, constantly make me laugh….. and sometimes gag when it comes to their love of stinky socks.
I ADORE Wei Wei’s best friend and roommate Er Xi. She is all that is bubbly andadorable. I also would be very interested to see this actress get her own chance at a leading lady role. She has this vivacious energy that is often missing in Chinese leading actresses. But for now, I will enjoy Er Xi’s super supportive, fangirling, sometimes stalking, brand of bestie.
#3 Romantic Stalking
One of my friends on social media commented that it is only stalking if you don’t think the guy is hot and likable…and a character in a drama of course. No truer words have ever been spoken. Which means I am 100% behind Xiao Nai’s stalking of his crush Wei Wei. There is just something so sweet about his showing up wherever she might be and Wei Wei just seeing the College’s #1 Prince. A hot guy who is an unthinkable boyfriend option.
Xiao Nai also won me over by always being so calm and collected until Wei Wei’s name is spoken. Then it is instantly all about her. I guess I am going to just be one of those hypocrite drama watchers who approves of stalking in certain instances.
#4 Beautiful Likable Leads
I ended up really enjoying the casting for this show when it comes to the leads. Being a great lover of the novel this drama is based off, I was truly worried that they would miscast the beautiful but brainy Wei Wei and aloof prince Xiao Nai. But after eight episodes, I am completely won over by our OTP (One True Pairing). They have great chemistry and are very likable. Also, Yang Yang (Xiao Nai) loosened up after a few episodes and I was able to see his charming side.
#5 It Just Makes Me Happy
One of the things I love best about this writer (Shan Shan Comes to Eat, You are My Sunshine) is that she manages to write romance without there being a ton of crazy drama. Not only that, but she somehow manages to make me just be happy basking in the burgeoning romance onscreen. There is no huge amnesia issues or parental discord. It is just a boy, a girl, and in this case, a video game, all coming together in one huge romantic smorgasbord. So come join in the happy feelz and check out Love O2O (A Smile is Very Alluring). You won’t be sad you did.
If you have thoughts about this drama, be sure to share them in the comments! I love talking about my addictions. Also if you are looking for more great Chinese dramas to check out, CLICK HERE for my other reviews …. all spoiler free.
Til next time,
Kmuse
I was surprised at how much I’m enjoying it too. Now if I could just snag my gaming nerd of a daughter to watch more with me . . . what she did see she liked.
Try reading the book after watching. It is one of my favorites and is just so sweet. Although it almost spot on used in the drama. The writer of the novel helped write the screen play so really true to the original work.
There are two or three names for the drama. Could you please tell me the title of the book and author? Thank you
Just one smile is very alluring is the title. Would have to hunt down the author when I am on my pc.
Thank you. If I know the full title I can find the author.
the series is called Love 020
Where can you read the novel and how many episodes is there in “Love 020”?
-sorry for my bad grammar.
There are 30 episodes in the drama. I had a friend who sent it all to me on my kindle. Here is an online translation project. You might find more by googling the title and Eng Translation. http://moonbunnycafe.com/just-one-smile-is-very-alluring/
Found an even better source. Try this one out. http://bookbychapters.com/translations/
I’m 10 episodes in and I’m hooked! Well I honestly was hooked after the first episodes. I’m going to read the book after the show, I have too! I’ll miss this couple too much once they aren’t on my screen anymore.
How do I find the book? I love the show so far and would love to read the book as well as see the movie. I would need English translation.
Here is a link to the translation http://bookbychapters.com/translations/
i was able to get Love 020 book in english. great read
I don’t game (because it gets in the way of my knitting) but I watch others who do and I was getting the lowdown about which parts of the on-screen are real or not. My source was not interested in the watching the show but he did think the graphics looked good.
Ok… you’ve convinced me! I hadn’t heard of either the novel or the show till I read you posts her! But I’m totally on board!
Yay. Let me know if you like it
I liked it, a whole-whole-whole lot! It is in my top favorite dramas of all time now!
I liked the novel, it was rather simple but sweet with mostly pleasant characters and an OTP to root for. Not sure how it all translates to the small screen, sometimes this kind of stories become overly saccharine and cutesy in their live action format. I’ll give it a go at some point.
I totally agree with you. I’m so surprised at how much I like this. It really makes me smile when I watch it. I’m curious about reading the novel, but I don’t read Chinese. Is it available in English translation?
If you Google the original title and English translation, there are several places which are translating it.
Ir is available with English subtitles in DramaFever.
you can watch it on drama fever with complete english translations. btw do you have any idea if the game they played is a real game?
I am also currently watching this drama and also loving it!I wonder what made a Kdrama lover watch a Cdrama?
I started watching random shows from other countries a few years ago and fell in love with several cdramas. I now always check out the new ones along with my kdramas
I am surprised at how much I am enjoying this one! My husband walked in during one of the transitions from the reality characters to a video game scene and he was like WHAT IN GODS NAME are you watching?! It made me laugh because I realized its not in the vein of what I usually watch, but its so cute and addictive! Cdramas sometimes irk me because of how cutesy the female characters act, but I really like Brainy Wei Wei. Glad to hear it is a novel I can go look up!
haha I assume my husband would have a similar reaction.
“I do not need another drama to watch. I do not need another drama to watch.” /presses play on Love 020 and settles in to get comfortable. Thanks Amber! 😉
Hahaha. I usually have the opposite problem… “Hm. I am watching 18 shows. Let me add in one more.”
I’m caught up on this and so far I just ADORE it!!! I love to find the occasional drama that doesn’t get so caught up in dramaland tropes that it loses it’s original character and quirkiness. This is looking to be as wonderful for me as Bromance was (you won’t tell the rest of the Bromance-mania fans out there, will you? 🙂 ).
I haven’t read the book yet, but I do have it in my sights. I think it would be better for me not to know how it ends (it’s SO hard to be good!!!).
Would also suggest watching Shan Shan Goes to Eat (Boss and Me). Same author and it has that same wonderful romance without all the angst as Love O2O
I’ve seen it. I was unaware it was the same author. I really liked it too! It was one of the only times I wasn’t appalled at 30+ episodes! I really loved the casting for that one too.
Boss & me character does appear on Love 020 tho. I’m a crazy fan of Gu Man( the author)
Donde puede ver este drama ademas de dramafever?
Ya que me gusto pero ya no esta subtitulado en español y ahora todo esta en premium …
Porfavor
You can try kissasian or dramacool. Not sure if they have it subbed in Spanish though. Maybe watch Youtube for it to pop up.
I have read the novel and I liked it before. I now have to watch this drama adaptation. Thank you for the recommendation! 🙂
I read the novel too and been waiting for these to air since early this year. It stick to novel and did justice to my imagination. Wee~ love this drama. Most recommended..
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I had this nice balance worked out for my drama watching and along comes Love 020 and Yang Yang and now everything’s gone askew! Only caught up on Ghost (because it was the last episodes) and Moonlight (because Bogummie!).
Smiley Xiao Nai is so much better than stoic Da Shen and……….I need help!
It is always hard when you fall for a Cdrama because the episodes come out so fast. At least with Kdramas you only have 2 episodes per show a week and can schedule them in. Have fun watching!
I am a huge KDrama fan, but after “My Amazing Boyfriend” this is my second CDrama and I am really impressed.
This drama particularly keeps me just wanting more.. And I just can’t get enough of it…!! I agree to all of your points and I would also add that the fact that the plot moves around so many things at once and not just only the typical we-can’t-be-together type of story; makes the whole thing really refreshing!
Be sure to check out the drama Shan Shan comes to Eat (also called Boss & Me) when you want to try another Cdrama. By the same author and has that same romantic feel without all the usual we cant be together tropes. It is really good.
Thanks for the suggestion sweetheart ❤️ I’ll be sure to add it to my queue!!!
I was so excited when I heard that they were going to make one of my favorite cnovels into a cdrama– and it doesn’t disappoint!! The otp and the rest of the cast is spot on!!! And omgeeeeee yang yang is just LOVE!!! And it’s so nice to see a heroine that is strong brainy and beautiful. But then again she’s written this way in the novel one of the reasons why I loved it sooooooooo much!!!
This is my first cdrama and I like it, but I have a doubt, are their voices real? Or is it dubbed? It just sound strange.
All mainland China dramas are dubbed for voice consistency. There are so many dialects and accents across the region that they do this for a uniform sound
Actually,not all of them.Actors and actresses in mainland needs to be fluent in Mandarin(it is part of their training),and speaking dialects is a plus.In Love 2C2,Bei Weiwei is dubbed by another person, Yang Yang’s voice is original (or dubbed by himself)
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I read the novel in Chinese. The lines in the drama are almost 100% in line with the original except that the writer, Gu Man, who also wrote the screenplay elaborated certain scenes with greater details in order to fill 30 eps. Yang Yang is 100% Xia Nai, aka Da Shen. He is so spot on as Xia Nai that Chinese novel fans have been singing him praises to the moon and back. LOL….This guy, not kidding, just has that unbelievable knacks to precisely interpret a novel character he reprises, be it Rou Bai in Whirlwind Girl 1 or Zhang Zhihling in the Lost Tomb. And he’s only 24 years old. Before One Smile Is Very Alluring, Yang Yang has already been an IT boy in China showbiz thanks to his successful projects of WG 1 and tLT.
I’m glad international fans like this drama. In addition to Shan Shan comes to eat and OSIVA, Gu Man has another novel, My Sunshine, which was also adapted into a drama. My Sunshine was also a hit drama when it was aired and the main cast are both currently among the most popular Chinese actors.
Loving so much this ” Love020: just like the 2 romance drama “you are my sunshine” and “shan shan comes to eat” they were really awesome and fantastic… reallly love the writer .. keep going 🙂
I heard from one of the recappers that they used Yang Yang’s voice instead of dubbing… nice deep voice. He also sang a song for OST. I love the novel and now this drama and I don’t usually like cdramas. Swoon.
i just finished love o2o, boss n me, and you are my sunshine drama…any drama can be recommended to watch?….thx 😊
My Amazing Boyfriend, My Pig Lady, and Love Me If You Dare are all really good.
where can i find this drama in eng sub ??
It is subbed on Dramafever. It should be on most of the less legal streaming sites as week
I just finished watching it and I still can’t get over it! I just love the characters esp the main leads, (gosh, their chemistry on screen is so good,giving romantic thrills and butterflies in your stomach) and the flow of the story (it makes you feel young again just like when you first fell in love..lol!). Kudos to the writer for doing a great job! It’s one of the few dramas you ‘d like to watch over and over again! I’ve become a Yang yang fan now.
I’m just like you guys, I just fell in love with this drama. I was so tired of the usual K-Dramas, where there is the bad mom, bad dad, or bad grandfather, os bad girl or bad guy, who never let them be together and we never get to see true kisses os true feelings, that I needed some air, and them BOOM One smile is very alluring appeared on Kiss asian to me, and I got head over heels with this drama and the movie. I loved the drama so much that I spent whole three days of my vacation at home, just to finish it, and when it ended I was like: Oh my god, what I’m I gonna do now? So…I’m watching it again kkkkkk I will try to watch boss and me and see if I can get the same happinnes, but I think Love 020 will stay in my mind and heart as one the cuttest and worth drama i’ve seen.
I highly suggest Boss and Me. It had that same wonderfully romantic cracktastic quality that you found in Love o2o.
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Oh yes I’m nodding in agreement to the five reasons cited above, I wrote similar comments elsewhere that I got hooked to this Chinese drama through and through. I can’t get over it when it ended. I love the character-couple Wei Wei and Xiao Nai and the real stars Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang. I enjoyed every episode even the gaming portions and the business side of its development. The musical scoring was also awesome. The drama is among the best I have watched whether, Korean or other Asian dramas. It is a total package from love at first sight, to courtship to dating until marriage. So nice indeed and there’s no heavy drama and villains who make us sad or angry. So nice to get into the gaming world and reverse to reality. Even the supporting cast were good looking friends and parents.As to the way the woman responds to kisses, it’s no big deal to me. Asian women can be shy and self-conscious so they look like robots to some people. That’s still being sweet, in my opinion. So, congratulations to the producer, director, scriptwriter and all involved, for this romantic and wonderful drama.
… Hi, I am Eula Mae Jalotjot from Philippines.Let me share to you my reaction about this heart warming Drama (Love 020). I was lonely with my heart broken life that made me watch horror ,sci-fi,fantasy and other kinds of movies until I got bored with it that I felt like I have watched all movies on that movie site until I decided to search for movie with the name “Love”. I’m not ready to watch those kind of movie because of my situation but one movie catched my eyes because of its animated cover and so I watched “Love 020 The Movie” .
After watching that Movie, I felt so inlove again and decided to watch it again on youtube for a faster response.I searched for it and surprisingly what I have found was the Drama with 30 episodes. Right after I found it, I begun to watch. That was Yesterday afternoon and with my 3-4 hours sleep, I did feel dizzy and weak when I woke up this morning but it never hindered me for watching. At this moment I just finished watching all of the Episodes.
I want to Thank and Congratulate the Team, Actors and Actresses, specially The Directors and Writers of this Drama (If they are seeing this).This is Indeed An Excellent Movie that Mends a Broken Heart and Inspires People’s lives. Thank you. I am hoping for the second Part of this Heart warming Drama.
To the Owner of this Blog,Thank you for your Intact support to This Movie/Drama. We are on the same side. You have my support.
Thank you and God bless Everyone.
Eula Mae Jalotjot
Philippines
You might want to check out the drama boss and me (also titled Shan Shan goes to eat). It is by the same writer and had that same romantic feel
Is there another film with the same title? I’ve watched this drama and love it so much. Then I browsing about the actress and actors of this drama, and just find another film with the same title but different actor. Angela Baby and Jin Bo Ran who played role in the movie with the same title with this drama, can u tell me about it? Bcause I’m curious and confuse at the same time
yes they released a movie with different actors as well. You can find our thoughts on it on the blog in our movie review section.
I just finished watching 020 over the holidays. I loved it! The characters and supporting cast were all unique and precious. In addition to the main story, which was great, I really enjoyed that they highlighted a relationship between Mr. Beauty and KO. It was a nice nod to diversity without being too obvious. Did anyone else see this, or was it my imagination?
OMG !!!! I’m new in the drama world especially in the chinese drama, the thing is I fell in love with this drama and I’m about to watch it over and over again until I can realize that something is wrong ahahah because it’s just simply perfect. I have no objection, no negative comments I’m loving it !! First of all, the acto Yang Yang playing this role is like he was born this way, then we have Wei Wei played by the beautiful zheng Shuang, honestly I thought they were dating in real life, they make a perfect pair, they are young, beautiful… But, the only part I’mm about to criticize was the Kissing honestly it was cute but Wei Wei could’ve put a little bit more enthusiasm, it was like she was surprised or maybe his breath wasn’t fresh (I read it on an article online). Anyway, the scene I really adored was at the end after their weeding, when he was dressing her up with the wedding dress before going to bed, OMG I was feeling every single emotion, it was breathtaking !!!
In love with this drama…. All it does is leava a smile on my face… I am in episode 14 and totally in love with it. It’s not like the typical love story which starts with a rich guy poor girl saga… I am hoping I will have wonderful time watching the rest of the episodes depending on the review 😊
I absolutely loved this drama, and you’ve done it justice with your list of reasons to watch it!
glad you liked the post. Have to share the love of good dramas to the masses 🙂
Ahaha I agree 😉
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I recently watched Love O2O. Hehe! I’m aware that I’m very late on this when dramaverse exploded way back in 2016 when it came out. I read tons of good reviews back then about how it’s light and non-angsty and and sweet and… Yang yang. Still, I refused and thought I won’t enjoy a Cdrama (stupid me) since I’m a huge Kdrama fan. Also, at the time, the transition to Cdramaverse seemed tedious and Kdramaverse offered a lot of good dramas that year.
I recently decided to give in (thanks Netflix) mainly because Kdramaverse has been dull for me and I wanted a light watch. One day, I saw the drama on Netflix (I only recently bought my subscription) and decided to click. I downloaded the first episode, watched it and found myself reaching for episode 2. I downloaded the next and still wanted more… By episode 3 I decided to just download the whole thing because damnnit I was enjoying it. I was smiling and giggling and swooning the whole time! Love O2O drama and OTP just took a comfortable spot in my top 5 faves of all time. This drama is everything I want. I’m so remorseful that I was not able to join the fangirling when it came out because I was being stupid. :'(
I am a huge fan of college drama and while I am not a gamer, I thoroughly enjoyed the gaming world in this. I am now reading the book as I go through each episode for a proper re-watch (I’ve been playing over and over my favorite scenes which are A LOT hehe). I may be years late but I enjoyed your review.
I am now on the hunt for other Cdramas and I took notes of your recommendations. Thank you! This drama made me into a Yang yang fan (He. Is. Damn. Swoony. and I was surprised to find out that he is actually goofy in real life!) and I have been watching some of his old works. I recently finished Once Upon a Time and read your review. The movie is not perfect. I actually expected it to be bad since the reception on the film seemed divided. However, I found myself enjoying it which was a pleasant surprise.
I’ve got your website on bookmark now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Asian dramas and movies.
I am glad you enjoyed Love O2O! If you are dipping your toe into Chinese dramas, you might consider the crazy addictive Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and Legend of Fu Yao. Another fun one is The Eternal Love and The Eternal Love 2. If you want something more serious, Rise of Phoenixes on Netflix is beautifully filmed with a strong female lead. Amber Kmuse and I (Kdrama Jen) tend to watch a lot of Chinese dramas, so feel free to message us for recommendations!
Best Wishes,
Kdrama Jen