All the reasons why you’ll fall in love with ‘Gank Your Heart’

We can’t seem to help it. Our love of The Untamed has sent us down a rabbit hole of Chinese dramas, and there are just so many to fall in love with. Gank Your Heart is our newest obsession. Featuring a love story between an e-sports gamer and a live streamer, the two somehow need to overcome the politics and drama of the gaming world to pursue their next big dreams.

The disastrous meeting between gamer Ji Xiang Kong (Wang Yibo) and streamer Qiu Ying (Wang Zi Xuan) belies new opportunities for the pair. Ji Xiang Kong’s good looks make him a hit with the fangirls, so when Qiu Ying meets him during an international competition, she jumps at the chance to interview him to boost her popularity. 

Unbeknownst to Qiu Ying, Ji Xiang Kong is dealing with reputation problems of his own, and Qiu Ying’s opportunistic use of Ji Xiang Kong backfires as she’s drawn into the complicated politics of the e-games world. Can their ill-fated beginning lead to romance? There are so many reasons to fall for Gank Your Heart, let us count the ways.

Wang Yibo as Ji Xiang Kong

We’re not going to lie. Wang Yibo is the reason we showed up for Gank Your Heart. After he completely stole our hearts in The Untamed, we had to see what was next for the pop star turned actor. His role as a genius e-gamer does not disappoint, and he even speaks a little English!

Known as the “battlefield fraudster”, as well as a bunch of other disparaging nicknames, Ji Xiang Kong an achievement-focused strategist in the e-games world. Handsome (It is Wang Yibo), with his own following of devoted female fans, Ji Xiang Kong’s desire to conquer the gaming world has somewhat unfairly gained him notoriety.  

Formerly a member of the Legends team and then transferred to VNG as the captain and conductor, Ji Xiang Kong eventually sets up his own Phoenix team, setting the stage for his star to rise again. 

Wang Yibo brings his acting credentials to the role and is just as convincing as a successful e-gamer as he is a brooding cultivator. Where Lan Wang Ji was strong and silent, Ji Xiang Kong never seems to stop chatting, so fans get to see a new side of the star.  We also got a taste of some of the real Wang Yibo, as some of his real-life loves were incorporated into his character of Ji Xiang Kong, like a shared love of motorcycles and e-gaming. Is there anything Wang Yibo can’t do?

Ji Xiang Kong and Qiu Ying have some serious chemistry

While this Gank Your Heart is definitely on the lighter side, the Ji Xiang Kong and Qui Ying do face challenges and misunderstandings. The overwhelming chemistry is sparked through their initial hatred, which slowly evolves into a relationship filled with mutual respect, where they work to help each other succeed. 

Gank Your Heart doesn’t shy away from Ji Xiang Kong and Qui Ying doing some serious flirting, either, which we were totally into. The two’s partnership manages to grow both their characters, moving both of them forward both personally and professionally, as well as toward one another in a way that got us all mushy inside.

Not to mention, the chemistry between the pair has moments where it’s laughably palpable, like Qui Ying’s reaction to seeing Ji Xiang Kong working out. We could watch that over and over again.

Bromances that we need in our lives

Paling only comparison to the real romance between Ji Xiang Kong and Qui Ying, the bromance love in Gank Your Heart is what makes it so addictive. 

Our first bromance love is undeniably between Ji Xiang Kong and Sun Zeyi. Sun Zeyi is the owner of an internet cafe, whose departure from the esports world is never truly explained. He takes on the role of mentor to Ji Xiang Kong after drama around Ji Xiang Kong has him seriously struggling. Sun Zeyi brings his vast knowledge of gaming to support Ji Xiang Kong’s resurgence as an e-gaming star, and formation of his own team.

But the bro love in Gank Your Heart doesn’t end there. Team Founders becomes Ji Xiang Kong’s new team, Team Phoenix’s mentors, solidifying themselves in legendary bromance status (it can still be a bromance if the team has a woman, right?). Team Founders shows some serious love for Team Phoenix as they guide them into greatness. A true bromance if we’ve ever seen one. 

We’re quitting our jobs and becoming gamers

Never before watching Gank Your Heart has competitive gaming looked more fun. The e-gaming world kept the show feeling action-packed, even though we may have wished for a quicker connection between Ji Xiang Kong and Qui Ying. We were all in on the adrenaline and action that the gaming scenes brought.

It didn’t take long for us to realize we’ve been missing out by not paying attention to the e-game world. Gank Your Heart’s gaming scenes brought some serious intensity, where we found ourselves completely tensed up watching the action-packed scenes. Left totally fired up by the action and the camaraderie shown through the teams and gaming community, we have a newfound appreciation for e-games.

Even better? Although there aren’t any women currently on the professional gaming teams, the original founding team in China had a girl in it. Both Qui Ying and Shu Wen (Wang Zi Yun) are gamers on Gank Your Heart, proving that women can be just as into gaming as men. 

Jump-off-the-couch inspiring

There is so much passion in Gank Your Heart, whether it be between characters or over the competitions, there is a lot to be excited about. 

There is so much going into the competitions: hard work, supportive teammates and mentors, and that huge underdog aspect that Team Phoenix needed to overcome made any victory so much sweeter. Combined with the intensity of the actual gaming scenes and then made even more heartwarming through Qui Ying and Ji Xiang Kong finally realizing what they mean to each other, we felt ready to burst. 

It’s rare that a show can bring out all the feels in such a positive way, and Gank Your Heart is our new go-to feel-good series.