In case you were wondering, my soft spot for Wang An Yu is still very much alive and well; I find him so expressive and I love his warm screen presence a whole lot. 😍😍

Which is why, after watching him in Falling Into You and Forever Love (reviews here and here!), I just had to add this show to my list as well.

And yes, I did end up enjoying this one very well too. 🥰

If you like sports-themed stories &/or romances, this one is worth a look, I do think. 🥲

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Shen Zhengyi (Song Zu Er), an aspiring short-track speed skater, butts heads with top figure skater Shao Beisheng (Wang An Yu), but soon, due to unforeseen circumstances, she finds herself in a contract relationship with him.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

1. The romance is kind of a slow burn

I find that with sports-themed romances, we often have the first half of the show focusing more on the sports, and then the romance starts to take up more screen time in the second half.

I’d say this is true for this show too, so managing your expectations around that, is helpful.

2. You don’t need to know anything about skating to enjoy this one

I personally didn’t know anything about skating coming into this one, and still found myself nicely engaged by the skating stuff.

That said, if you are an expert skater, I don’t know if this drama would stand up to proper scrutiny in the skating department.

However, Show does boast a bit of an extended cameo by real-life short-track speed skater, Wang Meng, who is the most decorated Chinese Winter Olympic athlete ever. That’s some kind of credibility, yes? 😁

STUFF I LIKED

The skating stuff

I don’t actually know anything about skating, to be honest, and I really enjoyed the skating part of our story.

I thought the choreography of both the figure skating and the short track speed skating was well done, in that it drew me in as a viewer, and I felt engaged with what was going on, on the ice.

I also felt that the team dynamics stuff was interesting, and I enjoyed watching the team learn how to work together.

Wang An Yu as Shao Beisheng

Heh. I signed up for this show primarily for Wang An Yu, and he did not disappoint.

This was my first time watching him play a high-flying, rather vain sort of character, and I did get a kick out of it.

I think it worked for me, because Wang An Yu is very expressive, and I felt that even when Beisheng was at his most vain and annoying, Wang An Yu managed to also layer on a bit of hapless dork about him, which worked to soften him up for me, as a character.

Of course, Show works to peel back Beisheng’s layers over the course of our story, and I thought that worked really well with Wang An Yu’s natural charm.

In short, I ended up liking Beisheng a lot as a character, and a lot of it had to do with the way Wang An Yu played him. 🥰

Song Zu Er as Shen Zhengyi

I thought Song Zu Er did a really nice job of portraying Zhengyi, as a character.

Zhengyi starts our story being mostly brash and determined, with lots of short track speed skating potential, but very little finesse.

The way Zhengyi plays her, like an ungainly young foal armed with nothing but lots of energy and an unflagging spirit, worked really well, I felt.

I enjoyed watching Zhengyi work to overcome her shortcomings, and grow into her potential, to become the champion we all know she’s destined to be. 🥲

Beisheng and Zhengyi

Like I mentioned earlier, this loveline is on the slow-burn side of things, and that really worked well for me.

I liked the chemistry between Wang An Yu and Song Zu Er; it always felt warm and sparky, even when our would-be OTP was in their bickering stage, where they viewed each other as enemies.

[VERY MILD SPOILERS]

I found the contract relationship silly but fun, and I loved the idea of Beisheng falling first – and then, falling harder. 🤭

The fact that Zhengyi was largely clueless that Beisheng had any kind of real romantic feelings for her, just made it funnier.

Through it all, I enjoyed watching the two of them becoming closer, and coming to truly care about each other, even while their relationship was technically strictly platonic.

I also liked that they could help each other on the skating front, since skating is such a big passion for them both.

[END SPOILERS]

Overall, this OTP relationship didn’t set my heart on fire, but it definitely warmed my heart and made me smile, and that’s really not bad, yes?

Miao Pu as Zhuang Yue

I found myself enjoying Zhuang Yue very much, first as a coach, and then, as a character.

As a coach, I really liked Zhuang Yue’s vibe; I found her fierce, but caring, and I found her air of authority very believable. As in, I could believe that she was a coach who knew what she was talking about, and was a force to be reckoned with.

I thought that worked really well, in the skating context of our story.

[SPOILER ALERT]

At the same time, I also sympathized with her as a character, particularly in terms of her regret and loneliness, when it comes to the estranged relationship between her and her son, Beisheng.

I definitely rooted for the healing of this relationship, and even though I had a lot of affection for Beisheng, I found that, in rooting for this relationship to be restored, I somehow felt more for Zhuang Yue.

When mother and son get their reconciliation, my happiness and relief, was for Zhuang Yue, because it had been a burden that she’d been carrying, and with so much guilt and self-reproach, for so long. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK 

Lele and Qu Zhi

In principle, I thought the secondary loveline between Lele and Qu Zhi (Li Hao Fei and Fu Wei Lun) was a nice idea.

On the downside, I have to admit that I found anything to do with the Drama Club really stilted and try-hard.

Additionally, this relationship also tended to be on the comically exaggerated side of things, which I found kind of too OTT for my taste.

Overall, I’m glad that they found each other, but these are the reasons why I’ve got them in this neutral zone.

The thing between the Moms [SPOILERS]

It is admittedly kind of tropey that Beisheng’s mom and Zhengyi’s mom (Mercury Chen) have bad blood between them, from a big misunderstanding from many years ago, but I thought that Show handled it reasonably well.

I was relieved that this didn’t blow up into a big enough deal, to derail our story, and I appreciated Show’s attempt to chip away at Zhengyi’s mom’s emotional baggage in a piecemeal sort of fashion, instead of conveniently solving it in one big move.

Overall, not my favorite part of the story, but reasonably well-handled, such that it falls into the neutral zone for me.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

Xu Han as Xiao Han [VAGUE SPOILERS]

Omigosh, I cannot overstate how much I disliked Xiao Han as a character, you guys. 🙈

I found him so unprofessional as a coach, and so irresponsible as an adult, and so.. angsty and self-righteous about it all, that I often found myself wanting to slap him upside the head, to try to knock some sense into him.

It blew my mind how he was so busy pitying himself, that he failed to see how much damage he was doing to other people, especially the athletes under his charge.

Did not like. I would’ve been happy to have had him shipped off to Russia, just like they did with Xiao Qing, for a while. 😅

Xia Meng as Xiao Qing [BROAD SPOILERS]

I started out really liking Xiao Qing as a character, because she’d seemed so chill, and so cool and professional as well.

Unfortunately, that all changed the moment we learn that she does have feelings for Beisheng, and wants to win his heart.

After this, I felt like I was basically watching her psychologically unhinge, slowly but surely.

I wish we could have kept Xiao Qing likable and professional, instead of making her a crazy fool for “love.”

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

All in all, I’d say that Show’s ending doesn’t serve up any true surprises, but I would also say that this worked out to be a satisfying ending, from where I’m sitting.

I thought that Show did well in playing up the anticipation and drama around the skating stuff, with Luo Xiaoyi (Yuan Yu Xuan) swallowing her pride, and choosing to rejoin the team – and actually be open to any and all tactical arrangements that might be needed, in order to defeat Choi Eun-kyung.

What a huge step for her, and yet, Show manages to make it believable, in the way it’s been chipping away at her self-focus and her determination that she didn’t need the team in order to win.

After this, I thought the tension and drama around the Ice Sports Open was well-played.

I felt very much absorbed into the blow-by-blow action of it all, and I was thoroughly pleased at Zhengyi’s victory, which feels like such a great note on which to wrap up the skating side of our story.

It was all very emotional and stirring, and I ate it all up, quite eagerly.

Afterwards, I like that we wrap up our story with some couple time, with Beisheng and Zhengyi watching the meteor shower together, and making wishes for the future.

It feels true to character, that Zhengyi would tease Beisheng, and pretend that she’d wished for her own success in skating, when in reality, she’d really wished that he would always be by her side, no matter what the future might bring.

Aw. That’s sweet, and I do love the sweet, unhurried kisses that follow. 🥰

It makes me feel like these two funny, dorky lovebirds will be supporting each other, and cheering each other on, and being silly and laughing together, for a long time to come, in love and in life. 🥲

My heart; it’s satisfied. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Heartfelt and wholesome, and even a little bit stirring.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

WHERE TO WATCH:

Show is available on VIU, Viki, WeTV, and YouTube.

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