{
 "id": "epk8znzygt",
 "slug": "begin-again",
 "title": "Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱)",
 "updated": "2026-11-01",
 "topic_path": [
  {
   "id": "culture",
   "label": "Arts and culture",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance",
   "label": "Screen and stage",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen",
   "label": "Film and television",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.series",
   "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials",
   "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia",
   "label": "East Asian drama series",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials",
   "label": "East Asian web and streaming serials",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-symbols-to-co",
   "label": "Titles symbols to Co",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-symbols-to-co"
  }
 ],
 "geo": [
  {
   "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials",
   "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: East Asian web and streaming serials",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials",
   "path": [
    {
     "id": "geo.chn",
     "label": "China",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001",
     "label": "China · 2001 to 2020",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture",
     "label": "Arts and culture",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance",
     "label": "Screen and stage",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen",
     "label": "Film and television",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series",
     "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials",
     "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials",
     "label": "East Asian web and streaming serials",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "excerpt": "Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱) is a 2020 Mango TV Chinese urban romance drama, 35 episodes, directed by Xu Chi, starring Zhou Yutong and Gong Jun, adapted from Thai author Pitchaya Turdkwanchai's novel, about a contract marriage between a female CEO and a surgeon; distinct from a 2024 short drama of the same title.",
 "snippet": "Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱) is a 2020 Mango TV Chinese urban romance drama, 35 episodes, directed by Xu Chi, starring Zhou Yutong and Gong Jun, adapted from Thai author Pitchaya Turdkwanchai's novel, about a contract marriage between a female CEO and a surgeon; distinct from a 2024 short drama of the same title.",
 "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-symbols-to-co",
 "markdown": "# Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱)\n\n**Begin Again** (*从结婚开始恋爱*, Cong Jie Hun Kai Shi Lian Ai) is a 2020 Chinese urban romantic drama about a domineering female CEO of a home-furniture company who enters a one-year contract marriage with a gentle surgeon, and the two fall in love after the wedding.<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)</sup> It was directed by Xu Chi (徐驰), written by Chen Liwen and Jiang Yuehua, and led by Zhou Yutong and [Gong Jun](https://www.edgepedia.org/gong-jun).<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> The series premiered on Mango TV on October 29, 2020 and ran to December 5, 2020 in 35 episodes of about 45 minutes each.<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 从结婚开始恋爱 (Cong Jie Hun Kai Shi Lian Ai); alternate titles include 我们从结婚开始恋爱 and Dating After Marriage<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12256822/)</sup> |\n| Broadcast | Mango TV, October 29 to December 5, 2020; 35 episodes × 45 minutes<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://cdramarights.com/zh-CN/begin-again)</sup> |\n| Main cast | Zhou Yutong as Lu Fangning, Gong Jun as Ling Rui, with Jin Ze, Wu Mansi, and Li Siqi<sup>[2](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |\n| Basis | Adapted from the Thai novel by Ms. Pitchaya Turdkwanchai, published in Chinese as 《分期丈夫》 and elsewhere rendered as Samee Ngern phon (《这个平凡的男人》)<sup>[2](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2IzYxmkgc)</sup> |\n| Genre | Modern romance and comedy built on a contract marriage and \"marriage before love\" premise<sup>[5](https://cdramarights.com/zh-CN/begin-again)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)</sup> |\n| Viewership | Mango TV lists 2.20 billion total views for the 35 episodes; Baidu Baike reports 4.3 billion views across short-video platforms and the No. 1 Mango TV web drama of 2020<sup>[7](https://www.mgtv.com/h/336910/10176383.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |\n| Ratings | IMDb 7.3/10 (709 users); Rakuten Viki 9.3/10 (28,259 users); Douban 5.9/10 from 60,369 users as of March 18, 2024<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12256822/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.viki.com/tv/38913c-begin-again%3Flocale%3Des)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nLu Fangning (鹿方宁) is the general manager of Luming Group (鹿鸣集团), a large home-furniture company; she is wealthy, capable, and single as she nears thirty. Under pressure from her family, who tie her chance to develop a new home-brand inside the company to marriage and a child, she needs a husband quickly.<sup>[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2IzYxmkgc)</sup> The surgeon Ling Rui (凌睿), handsome, intelligent, and gentle, becomes her chosen candidate, and she pursues him by every means, including seduction.<sup>[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)</sup>\n\nMango TV's official synopsis frames the story as a one-year contractual marriage chosen under her father's coercion. After the wedding, Lu Fangning softens her domineering habits and lives a slow-paced life with Ling Rui, but when unexpected events occur she terminates the contract and disappears so as not to burden him. Six years later she returns with a child, and this time the gentle Dr. Ling takes the offensive to protect their happiness.<sup>[7](https://www.mgtv.com/h/336910/10176383.html)</sup> In the finale, Ling Rui's marriage proposal succeeds, and the supporting couple Lu Yiyao and Cai Siyu also become engaged.<sup>[9](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/YG0lXGVj/episode/dajieju)</sup>\n\n### Cast and characters\n\nZhou Yutong plays Lu Fangning, a cold, decisive \"domineering female CEO\" nicknamed Little CEO Lu (小鹿总), and Gong Jun plays Ling Rui, a rigorous surgeon who donates most of his salary to charity.<sup>[10](https://www.iq.com/album/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1-2020-lbspehgltt?lang=zh_cn)</sup> The supporting cast includes Jin Ze (Garvey Jin Ze), Wu Mansi, and [Li Siqi](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-siqi).<sup>[2](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)</sup>\n\n## Production and approach\n\n**A first drama for its director.** Xu Chi had worked in film and television for more than a decade, and *Begin Again* was the first web drama he directed. By the time of a November 2020 interview, its play count had passed 700 million and it had repeatedly reached the Guduo top 10 across platforms.<sup>[11](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_10092906)</sup> He said the production took nearly a year.<sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>\n\nThe series deliberately reversed the usual sweet-romance formula: the domineering CEO is a woman whose assertiveness reads as masculine, while the male lead's gentleness reads as feminine. Xu Chi described this \"swapped scripts\" relationship reversal as the source of the show's novelty, and noted that its audience included a substantial share of male viewers, not only women.<sup>[11](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_10092906)</sup> The drama also avoided stock plot devices such as naive heroines and amnesia car crashes, presenting instead a mutual, openly declared courtship.<sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> Xu Chi has said the show is not a realist drama but a somewhat heightened idol drama in which the plot devices are exaggerated while the characters' emotions and logic remain true to life.<sup>[11](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_10092906)</sup>\n\n## Reception\n\nThe drama performed strongly commercially. During its run it was the most-watched title inside Mango TV and ranked in the top three on Baidu, Maoyan, Vlinkage, Guduo, Yunhe, and Datawin charts; it placed first among Mango TV web dramas of 2020 with 4.3 billion short-video-platform views, won a 2021 Mango Supermedia Golden Mango Award, and was nominated at the 2020 TV Drama Awards.<sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>\n\nCritical and user ratings tell a more divided story. In December 2020, entertainment outlets placed it among the highest-rated sweet-romance dramas of the second half of 2020 with a Douban score of 6.3 (later listed as 6.4 by other roundups).<sup>[12](https://girlstyle.com/my/article/63312/%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4-%E8%B1%86%E7%93%A3%E8%AF%84%E5%88%86-%E6%9C%80%E9%AB%98-10-%E9%83%A8%E7%94%9C%E5%AE%A0%E5%89%A7-%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1-%E6%8E%92%E7%AC%AC-10-%E5%86%A0%E5%86%9B-cp-%E5%85%AC%E8%AE%A4%E7%94%9C%E5%88%B0%E5%BF%83%E5%9D%8E%E5%8E%BB)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://popdaily.com/my/article/192104)</sup> By March 2024 the Douban score had settled at 5.9/10 from 60,369 users.<sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> English-language platforms rate it higher: IMDb at 7.3/10 and Rakuten Viki at 9.3/10.<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12256822/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.viki.com/tv/38913c-begin-again%3Flocale%3Des)</sup> A Chinese Web review quoted by Baidu Baike praised the series for reversing the \"domineering CEO\" trope, exploring women's inner lives, and presenting a model of independent womanhood that does not pander to men.<sup>[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>\n\n## Note on the title\nn\nThe title is shared by an unrelated 2024 Chinese short drama, also called *从结婚开始恋爱*, a 97-episode iQIYI series about CEO Lu Zeyan and Jiang Xiaoyou, who marry by agreement after mistaking each other at an arranged meeting.<sup>[14](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_21ozsa2ymsl.html)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [Begin Again, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Begin_Again)\n2. [Begin Again, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/begin-again-zhou-yutong-gong-jun/)\n3. [从结婚开始恋爱, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1/23804709?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n4. [Begin Again (TV Series 2020– ), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12256822/)\n5. [从结婚开始恋爱, C-DramaRights](https://cdramarights.com/zh-CN/begin-again)\n6. [《从结婚开始恋爱》独家专访, MangoTV 青春剧场, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2IzYxmkgc)\n7. [从结婚开始恋爱, 芒果TV](https://www.mgtv.com/h/336910/10176383.html)\n8. [Begin Again, Rakuten Viki](https://www.viki.com/tv/38913c-begin-again%3Flocale%3Des)\n9. [从结婚开始恋爱大结局, 电视猫](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/YG0lXGVj/episode/dajieju)\n10. [从结婚开始恋爱 (2020), iQ.com](https://www.iq.com/album/%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1-2020-lbspehgltt?lang=zh_cn)\n11. [专访《从结婚开始恋爱》导演徐驰, 澎湃新闻 (骨朵网络影视), 2020-11-22](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_10092906)\n12. [2020下半年最高豆瓣评分甜宠剧 TOP 10, GirlStyle MY](https://girlstyle.com/my/article/63312/%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4-%E8%B1%86%E7%93%A3%E8%AF%84%E5%88%86-%E6%9C%80%E9%AB%98-10-%E9%83%A8%E7%94%9C%E5%AE%A0%E5%89%A7-%E4%BB%8E%E7%BB%93%E5%A9%9A%E5%BC%80%E5%A7%8B%E6%81%8B%E7%88%B1-%E6%8E%92%E7%AC%AC-10-%E5%86%A0%E5%86%9B-cp-%E5%85%AC%E8%AE%A4%E7%94%9C%E5%88%B0%E5%BF%83%E5%9D%8E%E5%8E%BB)\n13. [盘点2020豆瓣评分陆剧, PopDaily](https://popdaily.com/my/article/192104)\n14. [从结婚开始恋爱 (2024 短剧), 爱奇艺](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_21ozsa2ymsl.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles symbols to Co*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
 "same_as": [],
 "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again",
 "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again.md",
 "license": {
  "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0",
  "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license",
  "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.",
  "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0"
 },
 "credit": "\"Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱)](https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again](https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
 "credit_html": "\"<a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again\">Begin Again (从结婚开始恋爱)</a>\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again\">https://www.edgepedia.org/begin-again</a>. <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\">Edgepedia Community License 1.0</a>.",
 "speakable": "Begin Again is a 2020 Mango TV Chinese urban romance drama, 35 episodes, directed by Xu Chi, starring Zhou Yutong and Gong Jun, adapted from Thai author Pitchaya Turdkwanchai's novel, about a contract marriage between a female CEO and a surgeon; distinct from a 2024 short drama of the same title."
}