THE SHORT VERDICT:

A warm, comforting slice-of-life coming-of-age story that’s just very solidly done.

The plot of this story isn’t that inventive or different compared to other shows in this genre, but it’s the writing and execution that really makes it pop for me.

The writing nudges our characters and relationships forward in such organic ways that all the character and relationship growth feels natural, believable and completely earned. Extra brownie points to Show for ensuring that our OTP prioritizes communication, as a general rule.

Guan Xiao Tong and Li Yun Rui are both excellent in this, though I have to admit that my soft spot is for Li Yun Rui, whom I found super appealing as our male lead Xing Wu.

Even though the ending is a touch weaker than I would have liked, I still think of this show fondly. 🥰

THE LONG VERDICT:

I knew from the get-go, that this show would be one that I would enjoy.

I mean, it basically has my name all over it:

It’s light, easy, warm; it’s set in a quaint rural locale; it’s about a city girl meeting a country boy; it features Li Yun Rui looking unreasonably striking with platinum blonde hair.

Seriously, what’s not to love? 😁

In a nutshell, this one’s basically a c-version of Hometown Cha Cha Cha (review here!) – just make it a youth, coming-of-age drama instead.

If you enjoy any of those elements – and especially if you enjoy all 3 of those things, like me – then I think you’re very likely to enjoy this one too.

A NOTE ON THIS REVIEW

This review is a curated, condensed retrospective of my experience watching the show.

If you’d like to experience the drama alongside me, episode by episode, you might enjoy checking out my episode notes on Patreon here. They capture my unfolding reactions as the story develops – it’ll feel like we watched this show together. 🥰

These notes are EXCLUSIVE to Patreon, and are a complete and different experience than my public reviews.

If memberships aren’t your thing, individual episode note sets are available for purchase too. ❤️

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album, in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review.

Overall, I found the music very enjoyable and pleasant. Most of the tracks lean cheerful and breezy, in keeping with Show’s general tone.

I have to confess, though, that the song that really managed to get under my skin, is Track 6, Time Zone, for it’s wistful-poignant, sweet heartachey vibes.

Show uses it to great effect during its angstier portions, and I found this song playing unbidden on loop in my brain at all times of the day, triggering the related sweet achey heart-feels alongside.

I could still listen to this one all day. 🥹❤️

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are a few things that I think might be useful to keep in mind, if you want to maximize your chances of enjoying your watch:

1. Think slice-of-life

If you’re looking for a story with big plot points, you might find this one rather too slow for you.

However, I think that the slice-of-life approach works really well here, so if you’re able to tune your expectations towards that, you might find this very rewarding.

2. The romance is a slow-burn

In line with Show’s slice-of-life approach, the central OTP romance is an appropriate slow-burn.

Our OTP gets closer through multiple small interactions rather than via a few big events, and I really enjoyed how organic that made their relationship feel.

Adjusting your expectations around this would be helpful, I think.

3. Angst tend to be short-lived

Our story world isn’t free from angst, but when it does rear its head, it tends to be resolved relatively quickly.

STUFF I LIKED

Show’s slice-of-life feel

I genuinely enjoyed spending time in this drama world with these characters.

It helped all the established relationships and burgeoning connections to really pop, to my eyes, and it especially helped the burgeoning connection between our OTP pop.

Within just a few episodes, I felt very nicely engaged and settled into this drama world, like I was the invisible +1 resident in this small, charming seaside town. 🥰

The small town community vibes

Show isn’t too aggressive about this, but through various story beats, we get to see the warmth of the small town community.

Whenever there was a plot event where our characters needed help or support, I found it very heartwarming and wholesome to see the community come together to provide whatever assistance is needed.

The easy generosity with which that assistance is offered, is the thing that seals the community warmth as one of the highlights of my watch.

Show’s not always predictable

One of the things (in my head, anyway) about these types of slice-of-life small-town coming-of-age stories, is that there usually aren’t that many narrative surprises.

Meaning, I mostly feel like I can predict the larger beats, because that’s just how most of these stories go?

However, this show does make some story moves that I didn’t predict, and I found that quite pleasantly surprising, ie, it felt like these moments added a sense of freshness to my watch experience.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, I was really quite surprised that Qing Ye (Guan Xiao Tong) ends up going back to Beijing, before coming back to Zhazhating.

I’d somehow had it in my head that she would just end up extending her stay in Zhazhating, without having to leave.

Another example is how Shu Han (Jenny Zeng) is a lot less dramatic and a lot more down-to-earth as a character than I’d originally expected, given that she’s someone who’s harbored feelings for Xing Wu (Li Yun Rui) for a long time.

[END SPOILER]

Characterization feels realistic

Overall, our characters felt like real people to me, and I do think that one of the key reasons for that, is that character change happens gradually over time.

Things aren’t magicked away with plot conveniences, and instead, our characters evolve through multiple small beats.

I appreciated this and found it realistic.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, I found it pretty true to life, that Xing Wu doesn’t change his mind about going back to school so quickly nor easily.

After all, he’s sunk roots into this new way of life and has been doing pretty well for himself, in gaining respect, credibility and opportunity, while providing for his family, plus

Plus, it is always daunting to choose to go back to something that you’ve left behind for so long.

While some viewers might get impatient for Xing Wu to hurry up and change his mind already, I found Show’s manner of chipping away at Xing Wu’s resolve, such that I could feel the firmness of Xing Wu’s decision soften, bit by little bit, much more realistic.

[END SPOILER]

The way even side characters come alive

One thing that I found really impressive, is the way even the side characters grew on me over time.

That’s testament to Show’s deft hand, at bringing this story world to life. 🥲

For example, Teacher Zhu (Liu Tian Zuo) is a pretty small supporting character, but about halfway through my watch, I realized with a start, that I’d grown really fond of him.

[SPOILER ALERT]

While watching Teacher Zhu be so gentle and good-natured in helping Lan Fang (Gao Lu) talk to his ex-wife about the settlement money, even though it’s literally not his problem to solve, I suddenly found him to be very appealing as a potential partner for Lan Fang.

I suddenly found myself totally shipping them, no lie.

Part of it was that I felt that Teacher Zhu’s steady patience and gentleness would be really good for Lan Fang, and that the two of them would make a ridiculously cute couple. 😍

But part of it was also that I just wanted Teacher Zhu not to be lonely anymore, y’know?

I think that’s the kicker here: Show managed to make me care about Teacher Zhu in a very real way, despite him not being a central character. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

When the writing leans uneven

Occasionally, I did feel like the writing leaned a little clunky.

This wasn’t enough to spoil my watch, but I did feel, at those times, that the writing was less than elegant.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, the whole thing with Lan Fang trying to offer eyebrow-tattooing services without being properly trained, which turns into A Whole Thing, with the customer, Xiao Lian, kicking up a storm of a fuss and taking it to the police station – and Gran (Nina Paw) suffering a fall and fracturing her leg while pleading with Xiao Lian to not wreck the salon.

It’s A LOT, and narratively, I really did feel like these were events that were created just to increase the financial pressure on Xing Wu.

[END SPOILER]

It felt a little heavy-handed and clumsy to me, but it did achieve the goal it set out to reach, and I consider these types of beats more like little bumps in the road rather than things that actually derailed my watch.

When the execution is a bit cringey

Once in a while, I did feel like certain beats landed as cringey, and found myself wincing a bit, from the secondhand embarrassment of it all.

[MINOR SPOILER]

I’m thinking of the entire highlight reel of Qing Ye coaching her fellow students at the English Corner and her hosting of those very unnaturally smiley foreign guests at around the mid-point of our story.

I’d also include the drunk scenes of both our leads in this category.

I found it all a bit hard to watch, can’t lie. 😅

[END SPOILER]

Some logic gaps [SPOILER]

There’s one logic gap that I couldn’t help but pick up on, and that is that we’d started our story with two beds in Xing Wu’s room, which Qing Ye had shared with him.

Afterwards, when Xing Wu converts the room to be fully Qing Ye’s space, I can’t help thinking that they could’ve just brought Xing Wu’s bed downstairs, instead of joining the two beds to make one big bed for Qing Ye, and having Xing Wu sleep on a makeshift bed with no proper mattress on it.

But details, schmetails. I guess we needed a reason for Qing Ye to sell her clothes to buy Xing Wu a mattress, eh? 😁

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The thing with Wu Lao Er

In a warm, cozy drama world like this, I found the existence of Wu Lao Er as a character quite jarring.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Not only is he written to steal Qing Ye’s laptop, eventually he even attempts to break into the bathroom while she’s showering, with the intent to assault her. Ack.

It’s true that in both cases, Xing Wu manages to save the day, and Qing Ye remains unharmed, BUT STILL.

I mean, PTSD much?? 🙈 I would much rather have had Show keep this a lot milder, not just for my comfort, but for Qing Ye’s mental health.

[END SPOILER]

This was not my favorite narrative decision in our story by far.

SPOTLIGHT ON CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS

Li Yun Rui as Xing Wu

My friends. I really, really liked Li Yun Rui as Xing Wu. 😍

I mean, yes, he basically has no business looking that striking with that careless mop of platinum blonde hair, but more than that, I couldn’t help but grow very, very fond of Xing Wu, the further I got into my watch.

It’s cool that he’s a fast learner who’s skilled at just about everything.

More than that, though, he’s just such a good-hearted, kind person, who consistently loves quietly and generously through his actions.

I couldn’t help but want good things for him, and a brighter future than he thought was within his reach. 🥹

[SPOILER ALERT]

Can’t lie; Xing Wu literally became my favorite character in this show – even though I liked everyone else too.

What drew me to him most was how steadfast, hardworking and self-sacrificing he is. Well, that, and his striking handsomeness with that platinum blond hair, and his, uh, very strong-looking arms didn’t hurt either, ahem. 🤩🤭

More importantly though! He’s someone who has essentially trained himself to put his family’s needs ahead of his own dreams, and I found that both admirable and heartbreaking.

He’s the kind of person who acts first and talks later.

When there’s a problem, his instinct is to solve it. When someone needs help, he helps. In fact, that’s the exact thing he’s doing when we first meet him – he’s helping to retrieve Teacher Zhu’s stolen mobile phone.

When Qing Ye is in trouble, his protective antennae immediately go up. When Lan Fang needs money, he figures something out. When Qing Ye needs something, he quietly finds a way to provide it.

Watching him consistently put the needs of the people who matter to him above his own, was very moving to me. 🥲

I loved his resilience, the way he carried burdens without complaint, and how he showed love through actions rather than words.

His devotion, whether in rebuilding Xuan Island, knitting Gran’s scarf, or simply filling a hot water bottle for Qing Ye, made me melt.

He isn’t perfect — sometimes too restrained, sometimes frustratingly cautious — but that restraint was part of what made him so real and poignant to me. 🥲

I really appreciated getting to see him slowly return to his own dreams, and gather the courage and determination to finally also prioritize those dreams.

The thing that strikes me most about this, is that he doesn’t make the pivot to prioritize his own dreams above everything and everyone else.

Rather, he finally puts his own dreams on the same level as his priorities for the people whom he loves – and then goes about systematically achieving these accumulated goals, one by one, until he’s achieved them all. 🥲

Our Xing Wu might not be a person of very many words, but his love is so clear, in his actions – and I couldn’t help but love him for that. ❤️

[END SPOILER]

Guan Xiao Tong as Qing Ye

This was my introduction to Guan Xiao Tong, and I think she’s perfectly cast as Qing Ye, our girl from the big city, here in our small town to pass the time, while some troublesome family issues get sorted out back home.

To my eyes, she manages to toe the line nicely, between feeling uncomfortable and actually being disdainful.

That made it a lot easier for me to like her as a character, even in our early episodes.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Qing Ye starts out as this rather sheltered urban princess who doesn’t understand Zhazhating or the realities of the life she’s landed in – which naturally leads to friction and conflict with the people around her.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that Qing Ye was never malicious, even at her most princessy, and in fact, I grew to admire her strength of character.

For example, she refuses Secretary Sun’s money even when she’s in a desperate situation because she doesn’t want to take advantage of someone’s kindness.

And when she’s bullied, she doesn’t simply collapse into damsel-in-distress mode; she fights back.

Then, when she sees that Lan Fang’s business is struggling, she immediately starts thinking about how she can help, and goes about creating an entire business plan in order to make her ideas into a reality for Lan Fang.

Honestly, it was a joy to see how she sinks roots in Zhazhating, where the place AND the people gradually become hers.

For me, that was a huge highlight of Qing Ye’s journey.

Even better than that, is the fact that through these experiences, she learns how to value life differently – and that is a truly profound lesson indeed. 🥰

[END SPOILER]

Xing Wu and Qing Ye

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this OTP relationship very much.

It’s true that they get off to a bit of a roughish start, as can be expected given their very different backgrounds.

What I really enjoy though, is that once Show establishes this tension between them, it systematically starts dismantling that misconception on both sides, by chipping away at it, bit by bit.

I found it very gratifying to see the two of them start to trust each other, and then become increasingly important to each other, over the course of our story.

I loved the organic slow-burn of it all, because it felt so natural and believable, and really made their connection pop, to my eyes.

My favorite thing in this show, is the fact that our writers consistently give our OTP time and space to have important conversations.

This made their eventual bond feel deep, earned and substantial, so much so that even though I did feel a little underwhelmed by the eventual skinship which felt awkward to my eyes, my fondness for this OTP remained unshaken. 🥰

[BROAD SPOILERS]

One of the big reasons I got so attached to this OTP is that their relationship felt reciprocal and transformative, rather than simply romantic.

There are very few grand gestures in their relationship; rather, their bond is built through small everyday beats where they demonstrate, again and again, that they care about each other.

Those things made me feel like they were slowly building a shared life before they ever officially became a couple.

Honestly, I kind of swooned at their restraint, because it made every concession (a hug, a lean on the shoulder, a kiss at the lighthouse) feel extra precious. 🥹

What moved me most was how they reshaped each other’s lives: Qing Ye helps Xing Wu return to his dreams, while Xing Wu helps Qing Ye see the world differently and value new things.

Their love isn’t just cute and sweet; it’s profoundly life‑changing – and that’s so romantic, in its own special way. ❤️

Here are some of my favorite OTP beats from the show.

If you’d like to experience the full journey alongside me, episode by episode — with plenty more OTP goodness like this — you can find my episode notes on Patreon here.

(Prefer not to join as a member? Individual episode note sets are available for purchase too. ❤️)

[SPOILER ALERT]

“My home is your home”

E5-8. I loveddd the fact that Xing Wu goes to Beijing to seek Qing Ye out – because he’s worried about her.

Honestly, if I were in Qing Ye’s shoes, Xing Wu appearing like that, with a safe umbrella in the midst of the pouring rain, while I was at my lowest point, he’d look like a literal guardian angel to me. 🥲

Of course, trust Xing Wu to wave it off as him fulfilling his part of the contract, even though the contract expires in 15 minutes – but to my eyes, Qing Ye’s completely onto the fact that he’s there because he cares.

And how swoony is it, when he tells her so assuringly, that she can go back to Zhazhating with him, and that his home would always be her home.

He’s a literal lifesaver at this point, and in her shoes, I’d want to hug him. (In gratitude, of course. 😁)

I thought it was meaningful that Xing Wu would go inside with her, to help her gather things that she wanted to bring with her, like that plant from her mom’s garden. It feels to me like he understands why this is so important to her.

And then I found it both cute and significant, that Qing Ye would get Xing Wu to eat all that ice cream with her – not because the ice cream was a treat, but because this was a gateway for him to have a taste of her world.

After she’s spent so many weeks getting to know his world, this felt important and reciprocal. Finally, she’s inviting him into her world too. 🥲

“My heart aches for you”

E5-8. I find it utterly endearing that in her drunk state, the thing that Qing Ye most wants to do, is buy Xing Wu a big house. Aw!

The thing that makes my spine tingle (and Xing Wu’s spine too, of course), is when Qing Ye drunkenly tells him, “Because you work so hard. It pains me.”

The original dialogue, “因为你好辛苦. 我心疼你,” translates more literally as, “Because you suffer so much. My heart aches for you,” which lands as a lot more raw and poignant, don’t you think? 🥲

The gentle pause in Xing Wu’s gaze, makes me think that this is the first time he’s considered the possibility that Qing Ye might care about him, and this feels quietly momentous and precious.

“I’ll make sure you don’t regret it”

E5-8. I love that Qing Ye had gathered all her fancy clothes – the very ones that she and Xing Wu had lugged back from Beijing – so that she could sell them, in order to buy Xing Wu a proper mattress.

Awww! In the midst of the very real possibility of leaving Zhazhating, the thing that had grabbed Qing Ye’s attention, was the fact that Xing Wu’s been sleeping on a makeshift bed, so that she could have the upstairs room to herself?

That’s very thoughtful and caring, isn’t it?

I love the quirky fact that Xing Wu and Qing Ye get to ride home in the delivery truck together with the mattress that they’d bought; it feels like a very small town kind of detail to me.

And, I also very much enjoy the fact that Xing Wu and Qing Ye get some cozy alone time together, while riding with the mattress.

That happy look on Xing Wu’s face, that makes me think that he’s really holding it in so that he doesn’t actually burst from the wonder and joy of it all.

The way he asks her if she regrets not going back to Beijing; the way she answers that she’s adapted to life in Zhazhating and wants to make a good life from this starting point.

Most of all, the way Xing Wu says softly that he’ll make sure she doesn’t regret her choice – but demurs when she leans in because she didn’t hear him.

It’s all so cozy and quasi-domestic, and I love the glimmer of new beginnings that this all gives. 🥰

[END SPOILER]

Gao Lu as Li Lan Fang

Right away, I found Lan Fang likable despite her shortcomings, and I definitely credit Gao Lu, who plays her.

I mean, she’s loud-talking, vain, mahjong-obsessed and doesn’t really spend much time tending her hair salon, and she’s obviously taken in Qing Ye in order to try to clear her husband’s debts – and yet, I find her warmhearted and likable, and immediately so.

There’s just something about the way Gao Lu plays her, that makes her inner warmth and vulnerability peek through, that I really appreciate.

[SPOILER ALERT]

[END SPOILER]

Lan Fang and her friends

I found myself very touched by the strength of the friendship between Lan Fang and her two best friends, Yu Fen and Xi Xi.

Even though, when we first meet them, they appear to mostly spend their time gossiping over mahjong, the depth of their sisterly love really moved me.

When one of them is in trouble, the other two never hesitate to offer help, often with an unreasonable degree of generosity.

I found this really lovely and beautiful to witness. 🥰🥹

[SPOILER ALERT]

That scene where both Yu Fen and Shan Xi seek out Lan Fang, each bearing a plate of dumplings to feed her with, and a packet of money to press into her hands, made me choke up; it’s just so beautiful in its matter-of-fact, earthy way.

They’re both so generous and sincere in wanting to be there for Lan Fang and her family, and my heart resonates with Lan Fang’s tearful statement, that she’s just so blessed to have friends like them. 🥹🥰

[END SPOILER]

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Overall, it’s true that I had complaints and frustrations with how the finale was handled, but in the end, Show gave me enough warmth and emotional closure that I’m still leaving Zhazhating with a very full heart. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Warm, cozy and snug, kinda like a comfy blanket in drama form. 🥰

FINAL GRADE: B++

TRAILER:

MV:

THE EPISODE-BY-EPISODE EXPERIENCE

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