To tell you guys the truth, the whole reason I checked out this show, was because I’m on a bit of a Wang An Yu kick, after enjoying him very well in Falling Into You (review here!).

I enjoyed him so much in that, that I felt sorry to say goodbye to his character, so when I heard from ABV, that his character in this show is similar, but different, and overall quite enjoyable, I couldn’t resist jumping right in.

This little show became my drama nightcap for a while, and I would say that it worked quite nicely, in that capacity.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Xia Linxi (Julia Xiang) is the top-scorer golden girl in her high school, and is every teacher’s and parent’s dream.

When Jiang Zhenghan (Wang An Yu), the troubled new transfer student, joins her class, Linxi, earnest to do her best as class president, can’t help getting involved in his life.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are a few things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. This is a simple story

This is mainly a story of growing up and young love, and the trajectories tend to be pretty simple, and any problems that our characters encounter, tend to be dealt with pretty simply too.

Knowing to expect that, helps.

2. The romance leans sweet rather than spicy

Perhaps it goes without saying, in a story like this, but the romance in this is very innocent, wholesome and sweet, and not at all in the spicy vein of things.

Managing your expectations around that is helpful, I think.

3. There are some annoying characters in our story world

ABV warned me about this, so let me pass on the warning; there are some pretty annoying characters in this story world.

Hang in there, because the annoying characters all eventually turn over a new leaf, and therefore naturally become less annoying.

STUFF I LIKED

Wang An Yu as Jiang Zhenghan

Wang An Yu was the whole reason that I checked out this show, so I’m happy to report that I enjoyed him very well as our male lead Jiang Zhenghan.

My inner shallow fangirl was very pleased that he looks great with the buzz cut, and gets to be a bit mysterious, smoldery and cool, particularly in our earlier episodes.

That’s a very different vibe than what he gets to show, in Falling Into You, and I got quite a thrill from seeing him play in a slightly different space.

That said, Zhenghan does grow out of his troubled ways, which is when his character starts to vibe a little more similarly to his character in Falling Into You.

Overall, Zhenghan turned out to be a likable, sympathetic character that I wanted to root for. 🥰

Julia Xiang as Xia Linxi

This was my introduction to Julia Xiang, and I thought she did nicely, as our female lead Linxi.

The main thing that struck me, watching her, is that she has a personal charm that very much reminds me of Jung So Min (whom I’m currently loving in Love Next Door – my episode 1-2 notes are here!)

I found Linxi charming as a character, and I liked that she’s smart and independent, yet also kind and empathetic, at the same time.

Zhenghan and Linxi together

I would say that any time the story focused on Zhenghan and Linxi together, I perked up. They really were the highlight of my watch.

I liked the way that Show builds their connection, from the time that they were barely acquaintances, to how they become friends, and then become.. special friends, before they finally become a couple.

It all feels nicely organic, in that way.

I also enjoyed the healthy couple dynamics on display, where each of them is always looking out for the other, and ready to support the other person, even if it means a personal sacrifice.

Sure, there are misunderstandings and disagreements along the way, but Show deals with these things quite quickly, generally speaking, and this relationship was overall very wholesome, healthy and sweet, I thought.

STUFF THAT WAS OK

Gu Xiaoman and Chen Yichuan [LIGHT SPOILERS]

We learn very quickly that Linxi’s bestie Xiaoman (Pan Mei Ye) has a longstanding crush on Linxi’s cousin Yichuan (Lin Lu), and this crush is quite inexplicable, really, because Yichuan is a very whiny character, who mostly only cares about his own grades and wellbeing.

I had to rationalize to myself, that the heart just wants what it wants, because there were many occasions when I wondered why Xiaoman continued to like Yichuan.

Thankfully, Yichuan eventually does settle into a more pleasant groove, as a character, and that’s also pretty much when I stopped feeling low-key annoyed with him all the time, which is why this pairing is in this section.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

Qin Yue as a character [SPOILERS]

Right from episode 1, Show introduces Qin Yue (Yuan Hao) as a character who has feelings for Linxi.

This wasn’t the problem.

The problem was how clingy and obsessed Qin Yue became, after he realized that Linxi didn’t like him back, and worse, liked Zhenghan instead.

The way he clung on to false hope, and kept insisting that he knew Linxi better, because he’d grown up with her, was really trying on my nerves, and I didn’t like that much at all.

I was also aghast when Qin Yue agreed to some very shady stuff, when pressured by Xu Zhili (Xu Le Xiao) whom I’ll talk about next), which ended up hurting not just Zhenghan, but Linxi along with him.

I’m glad that he experiences a turnaround by the end stretch, but I found him distasteful enough, to put him in this section.

Xu Zhili as a character [SPOILERS]

I disliked Xu Zhili even more than I disliked Qin Yue, actually. He takes the crown for Most Unlikable Character in this drama world, I’d say.

I suppose Show needed an antagonist, but the way Xu Zhili sabotaged Zhenghan again and again, and got away with it, really floored me.

I was expecting that Qiuyan (Fan Zhen) would break up with him for being so shady and doing such oily, illegal things, and to her friends, no less, but instead, Qiuyan stays with him, because he’s still the perfect boyfriend to her. Like, excuse me?? 🤯

In the end, Show has Xu Zhili put in an embarrassing spot, and he eventually drops out of the computer programming industry, and becomes a wedding planner instead – thus offering wedding services to our OTP. 🤨

I didn’t like that, honestly.

I wanted Xu Zhili to be properly punished, because he’d literally committed crimes against Zhenghan, and I wanted Qiuyan to break up with him, because I felt she deserved better.

This was THE big thing on which I strongly disagreed with Show’s handling.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

I have to confess that my interest did flag somewhat, in the final stretch.

Basically, from the time the corporate stuff started coming into the picture, from the time Zhenghan started his internship, all the way to him starting his own company, it took up a lot of screen time and narrative real estate.

I understood that these challenges were to give our OTP and their friends stuff to work through, thus testing and proving their commitment and trust in one another.

However, it really did get rather tiresome after a while, particularly since Xu Zhili kept sabotaging Zhenghan, and then getting away with it, and then sabotaging him again.

It mystifies me that Xu Zhili doesn’t get properly punished as a character, honestly.

I was more forgiving of Show letting Qin Yue off the hook, because at least Qin Yue hadn’t been a willing party in the sabotage, and as Zhenghan says, it had been due to Qin Yue’s help, that Zhenghan had even managed to get into Jinghua University in the first place, which had been his promise to Linxi.

I wasn’t hot on the idea of Linxi leaving China for further studies in exchange for her mom’s (Zhang Yan Yan) investment in Zhenghan’s startup, but I’m mollified that Linxi decides that she does actually desire to take the opportunity, and not just because she’d made an agreement with Mom.

It’s a complete stretch that Zhenghan’s company grows to become so large and successful in such a short span of time, but I was pleased with the idea of Zhenghan being a young tech star, and so I was happy to suspend disbelief and just roll with it.

I liked that Zhenghan’s so unabashed about wanting to marry Linxi, the moment she returns to China, and I was all ready for the wedding – even though I found it perplexing that Xu Zhili had become a successful wedding specialist (yes, I can’t let this go 😅).

I was a little disappointed that the wedding was rushed because of a bug in their company’s system, but it does feel fitting to this OTP, that they’re so willing to let go of these frill-type things, and wholeheartedly focus on overcoming challenges, side by side.

With that glad sort of mindset in place, I can see these two being content together for the long haul, and that is heartwarming indeed. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

A little rough around the edges, but the winning OTP makes it worthwhile.

FINAL GRADE: B

TRAILER:

WHERE TO WATCH:

Show is available on YouTube, and Viki.

If you know of another platform that has it, please share in the comments!

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