A Realistic Drama About Growing Up
This drama is not for those who were looking for a perfect and flawless ML. The ML grew up being loved by his parents and tolerated in the household. He is a reckless and opinionated character who will stand up for what he thinks is right. The character is realistic as for people like his age, they are hot-blooded. They will undergo numerous mistakes, embarrassing ones even. I would also like to add the friendship of the ML with his friends are amusing to watch, they did undergo trials too but the friendship still remains. The ML tried his best to be suitable for the FL despite his shortcomings. I like his persistence but just like we humans in reality, there are things that we need to give up for the people we love.Was this review helpful to you?
The cast are excellent, but the writer's need to reconsider their life choices.
Neo is excellent in this. To be fair the entire cast is actually excellent. It's a pity the story doesn't do them any justice.This is meant to be a upbeat coming of age story following a group of late teens into their early 20's in a factory town in Fucheng China.
Initially I loved the costume, music, cinematography, acting and everything. It's a blatant hommage to those 80's American coming of age stories, from everything like Pretty in Pink, Fast Time at Ridgemont High and Ferris Buellers Day Off, to Stand By Me and The Outsiders.
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BUT, and it's a big BUT...... it fails to really grapple with many of the questions it raises, and all the various issues are really just there to have something for our little gang of indomitably upbeat heroes(TM) to overcome.
There are some truly viscous, selfish and horrible human beings they cross and have to deal with, which is pretty realistic. Failing to be able to over come those arseholes and learning to cope with that failure, as well as all the inherent flaws in the system that lets said arseholes rise to the top, is a perfectly normal part of growing up...but this drama doesn't really know how to deal with the issues it raises in any satisfying manner.
The story just shrugs it's shoulders, says lesson learnt and then drags you onto the next arc. Bad guys are deal with in the most perfunctory manner, and even good guys get stitched up for the most half arsed reasons... and the story just expects you to accept this and move on without actually questioning whether or not it's really right or just even. It's just life and don't look too hard at this system lets keep moving, listen to the fluffy upbeat music again and away we go to the next arc....
This starts a bad cycle of shit happens, our little gang struggle to overcome it, but before anything gets really dealt with, in comes the upbeat music and bright sunshiney camera work and every things OK and ALL RIGHT again!...and in comes the next arc to repeat the cycle...
In fact it got so overwhelmingly jarring, that as much as I initially loved the music, it's just got TOO MUCH by the end.
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Spoiler warning below
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There are some definite character choices there that the writer made. Mostly I noticed it's the women who once again suffer for the sake of giving something for the men to angst over. The trope Women in Refridgerators exists for a reason...There is a minor character death at the end, but they can't count since no other characters in the drama apparently even notice or acknowledges this event. Which is a seriously dirty resolution for this particular character.
My recommendation is to watch only if you really like the actors. They do phenominally well with this. And it certainly gives them some meaty scenes to work with. However the plots starts sagging in the early teens and it only gets worse.
The music is a delight, the camera work is a delight, and the director definitely knows how to make Hou Ming Hao look incredibly good. In fact I'd almost go as far as to say the director has a crush on HMH given how inordinately handsome he always makes HMH look in every scene, even in comparison to Yang Cai Yu, let alone the rest of the cast.
It's just ...the ending would possibly not have felt so wrong, if I wasn't so annoyed about that death. The last 4 eps just jarred badly and the very end just ended up being insult to injury. They could have pulled it all off, but that would have required a reasonably competent writer.
The last 4 eps alone dropped this from a possible 8.5 to my current 6.5 I would have gone lower if I was judging on the writing alone.
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I am now officially Lu Xiaolu's Mom.
It's a journey about pure joy of adolescent turns into a harsh reality of growing up and maturing together. As a friend, as a lover, as a brother, as a sister, as an enemy.They're bound to be together and they will always be.
I can't really put up any words to describe this one cause of the realistic plot and emotions expressed by the actors and actresses. They got me speechless sometimes.
Youth is not always about being happy and free. It's about choices and plans. Therefore we can't always get what we want but no matter what happens, my heart will stay the same.
Lu Xiaolu as the ML has taught us a lot of things. He is a stubborn, kindhearted, and hardworking person who loves his family and friend so much.
Even if he's not as greenflag as other MLs, I love him from the deepest of my heart. He has my whole heart. Let me watch him grow older I will never be bored. It's such a pride to watch him changing from a playful teenager into a grown man with mustache on his face. Gosh I will miss him very much.
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Like Reply 1998... but not quite
Mixed feelings about this one.I watched it after Love in the Clouds with Hou Minghao and wanted to see more of his work.
At first, it felt like Reply 1998 - youthful, nostalgic, and bittersweet. The leads’ chemistry was great… but from episode one, when Lu Xiaoxiao loses his chance at the entrance exam, I immediately sensed some Shonda Rhimes–style drama coming.
Thankfully, it wasn’t that tragic. The show just shifts from reply 1998 vibes to a When Life Gives You Tangerines tone, ending with a very Inception-style “wtf just happened?” finale and, by the end, I was just as confused as at the start.
The characters are interesting because they have flaws and we get to see their growth. I especially liked Bai Li and her struggle to be "free," which felt very compelling. However, the writing often fails in storytelling. Some characters are introduced and developed, only to be forgotten halfway through the plot, leaving their arcs unresolved.
In short, it’s a captivating series that keeps you watching, with a ML and FL, though the ending feels rushed and some characters are simply written out.
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So Very Strange, But Very Intresting! From Love, Hate, To Being Blackmail, Threatened, Manipulated!
I'm Going To Be Truthful, I Only Wanted To Watch This Drama BECAUSE OF HOU MINGHAO!!! I've Recently Been Watching His Drama's, Because I Have Started Really Liking Him Alot, Sometime In January Of 2026. If You Read My Review Of "The Unclouded Soul" It Will Explain To You About Why, And How I Started Really Like Him. Let Me Just Start By Saying This One Thing, WOW!!! Hou MingHao Is Not Only Beautiful, Gorgeous, Handsome, And Pretty All At The Same Time, He Is So Beautifully Perfect In Every Way. I'm So Sorry, But He Is What I Would Call A Pretty Boy, And I Am So In Love With This Cutie Pie. I Love His His Personality, And His Additute, He Seems Very Humble, Very Nice, And Like Such A Very Sweet Person. He Is Just To Cute, And Way To ADORABLE!!! There Is Something About This Young Man's Eye's That Draws Me To Him... The Innocents In Them, In Him. His Eye's Are Just So Big, And So Beautiful. HOU MINGHAO IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Yes, I'm So Obsessed With Him. How Can You NOT???1ST THINGS 1ST, THOUGHOUT THE DRAMA ALL I MOSTLY SEE IS DRINKING, AND EATTING!!! BUT MOSTLY DRINKING... MY HUSBAND SAID ALL HE SAW THEM DOING WAS MOSTLY DRINKING!!! ALWAYS A CLEAR LIQUID IN A BOTTLE THAT YOU TAKE SHOTS OF, WHICH I THINK, AND BELIEVE IS CONSIDER CHINESE WHITE WINE. CHINESE WHITE WINE IS SO STRONG, AND BRUTAL, WHEN YOU DRINK IT, IT BURNS YOUR NOSE, AND THROAT IMMEDIATELY!!! THE YELLOW LIQUID IN THE GREEN BOTTLE WHICH IS BEER!!! (The Only Other Modern Day Drama, I Remember Them Drinking In Some What Was Gank Your Heart, And Not Nearly As Much As This Drama!!! MY GOD!!!) Drinking At Such A Young Age At 18, Always Tall Bottles, And ALWAYS THE SAME GREEN BOTTLE!!! Curious, If That Is Even Real Beer Or Not. If It Is, I'm Guessing, It's Really Good!!! I'm Guessing...
SERIOUSLY Though, If The Actors Or Actresses In This Drama Really Drank As Much As They Did In This, And It's Real Alcohol, They Would Be Sleeping It Off, Puking There Guts Up, Or Be So Incoherent, They Couldn't Continue Filming. I Know That The Clear Liquid Is Water, But Curious What The Yellow Stuff Is... They Dub There Voices, And Sounds So The Beer Bottle Opening Sound Would Not Matter!!! Unless Your There, You Would Not Know If The Pisssss Sound Is Real Or Not. PLUS YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE THERE TO KNOW IF IT'S REAL ALCOHOL OF NOT.
What A Very Bazzare Drama!!! This Drama Was A Very Strange, But Yet A Very Intresting One... From Beginning To End, It Was Very Mind Blowing. The Diffrent Plots, And Senerio Lots Of Fight Scenes, That Were Action Packed. LOTS OF CHEATING IN FIGHTS, BY THE BAD GUYS!!! NOT FIGHTING ONE ON ONE, LIKE 20-30 WOULD FIGHT AGAINST 1 PERSON, AND JUST USING Pipes, Thick Long Stick, Sharp Objects, KNIEFS While Fighting One Person!!! LET'S FACE IT GANGS, AND BAD, EVIL PEOPLE, DON'T FIGHT FAIR!!! To Chicken Sh!t To Fight One On One, And The Fair, And Right Way. Especially The BOSS BOSS WHOS ALWAYS HIDING BEHIND HIS CLAN! Like Really?!?!? Hey Mr. Tough Guy, Why Don't You Fight? BECAUSE YOU ARE TO CHICKEN SH!T TO FIGHT WITH YOUR OWN LIFE!!!
There's Lots Of Sadness, Lots Of Heart Brakes, And Lots Life Long Lesson Were To Be Learned, Some Were Learn, But Some Still Making Them Over, And Over Again, And Still Making Mistake, After Mistake! Lot Of Betrail, And Back Stabbing. (FUNNY I JUST THOUGHT TO MYSELF, YOU'D THINK SINCE THEY DRANK SO MUCH, EVERYONE WOULD BE MORE HAPPIER, CALMER, RELAXED, N-O-P-E!!! IT'S ALL ABOUT FIGHTING, AND BLOOD SHED... DON'T GET ME WRONG THERE ARE GOOD TIMES TOO... BUT MORE BAD THEN GOOD.)
Thoughout The Drama There Is A Lot Of Blackmail, Bribery, Manipulation, Threats. Everyone Will Get Whatever Way They Want, And It's There Way, Or Nothing. Even If It Means Lying, Fabricating False Document, And Forcing Others To Lie About Other, Just For One Thing For There Plan, Or Motive To Get A Higher Position Or Power Over Something. NEVER PLAYING FAIR, OR DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY OR FAIR WAY!!! Whatever Is To There Advantage, Which Was Always 100% Wrong They Would Take The Wrong Path, And Never The Right One, WHICH IS PRETTY SAD!!!
*** THE LOVE TRIANGLES*** The Trials And Errors Of Liking Someone, And Trying To Get Close To Them, And Trying To Be With Them. How To Go About Telling Them You Like Them. He Likes Her, But She Like The Other Friend, Or She Likes Him, But He Likes The Other Friend. It Was Like An Endless, And Pathetic Cycle Of One Wanting To Be With That One, But That One Wanting To Be With Someone Else. Two People Liking One Person, But That Person Liking Someone Else. The Tragedies Of Liking Someone, And Falling In Love With Them. The Hardships Of Trying To Be In A Relationship In This Drama Really Show, And It Shows At It's Fullest!!!
The Revolves Around A Young Collage Student Named Bai Lan. Thoughout Her Already Tough Life Of Being An Orphen She Is Judged, Mistreated, Picked On, Manipulated And Treated As An Object, Or Prize To Win. Chased After By Three Disgusting Men, Thinking She Is Intested In Them When She Is Not. One A Father, One His Son, And Another Wierdo!!! All Freaks, That Can't Understand She Has No Interest In Them What So Ever. She Has A Hard Life, And Thoughout It She Is Able To Fight Back, And Conquer All The Challenges She Faces. She Is A Strong Witted Girl That Know How To Take Care Of Her Self, At Times Putting Herself In Danger, But Has A Strong Will... For Success, She Wants To Live, And Progress To A Higher Position Anyway She Can, Because She Wants To Have Her Freedom, And Be Free!!!
Hou MingHao's Character Lu XiaoLu Is A Care Free Teenager That Really Doesn't Care About Anything All He Knows Is Play Games, And Fight Until He Meets Bai Lan, Then His Whole World Is Changes. Though Many Tries, And Challenges, He Tries To Win Her Over, But Doesn't Succeed. UNTIL... Eventually He Does... But Then She Leaves Him While In A Relationship With Her, He Has To Do Something To Benifit She, So She Leaves Him... But Faith Made It Where He Had To Bring Something To Her, And At 1st It Was Just Supposed To Be A Short Trip That Turned In To A Relationship, And To Work Together Hard, And At 1st They Did, It Was Blissful, And Happy Joyous Time, He Even Worked As A Door Man, But When It Got To Tough, Stressful, And Hard He Got Uped And Left. He Thought It Was Better For Her This Way, But In Reality She Was Worst Off... He Lefted Her When She Probably Needed Him The Most. She Was At Her Worst With No Where To Live Or Stay, Going Anywhere To Find A Job. Willing To Do Almost Anything Just To Servive!!! And He Lefted Her, And For That I Am VERY ANGRY AT HIM!!! Because He Said They Would Work Hard, And Get A Place Of There Own. L-I-A-R!!!
Even Though Threw All This Heart Ache, And Pain, They Always Seem To Come Back, And Find Eachother After 5 Years. Threw Some Tough Challenges, And Some Tough Times, Butting Heads, They End Up Working Together... But He Is Only Trying To Help Her Every Step To Get Her Where She Wants To Get To. Even More So After He Finds Out All The Hardship She Went Though After He Leaves Her. He Feel Really Guilty For That, But He Didn't Know The Circumstances, And She Didn't Contact Him Or Tell Him, But He Did Kind Of Break Up With Her Though A Letter. So I Guess She Swallowed Her Pride, And Wouldn't Even Let Him Know. I Will Say This He Did Prove Towards The End How Much He Really Did Love, And Care About Her. He Did Everything For Her Even If It Met Distroying His Company He Build Together With His Friends. He Loved Bai Lan, And She Was His Number One Prority!!! And No Matter What He Was Going To Help Her Succeed Even If It Meant Not Having Any Friends!!!
Hou MingHao's Cousin Brother In The Drama, Is What Real Family Should Be Like... They Weren't Even Real Brother, But In Reality Cousin Brothers, Or Maybe Not Even That, But He Loved Hou MingHao More Then His Own Life. He Would Always Protect Him, And Keep Him Safe. He Is What I Would Call A True Brother, And He Would Do Anything For His Cousin Brother, EVEN IF IT MEANT DYING FOR HIM!!! ALL I GOTTA SAY IS ANYONE WITH BE LUCKY TO HAVE HIM AS A REAL BROTHER. (P.S. The Actor Playing The Cousin Brother Really Reminded Me Of Chen From Hawaii 50!!!)
Hou MingHao's Best Friend... :0/ HE IS WHAT I CALL A GLOUTON FOR PUNNISHMENT!!! Only One Time He Came Though For Hou MingHao's Character Was When His Mother Needed It, But Time, And Time Again, Making Mistake After Mistake, Betrail After Betrail, And I Won't Lie, And I'll Be Honest He Was Always Threatened, Or Bribed. At The Very End Of He Still Messes Up, Trying To Fix Things For Hou MingHao, And I Understand, Because He Didn't Want His Best Friend Being Used For All The Wrong Reasons, But That Back Fired, THANK GOODNESS FOR LOYAL FAITHFUL PEOPLE WITH A HEART, NOT EVEN $200,000.00 RBM Could Make Them Turn On Hou MingHao... Instead Something Bad Happened To Someone He Loved Very Much, TALK ABOUT KARMA BEING A BITCH!!! And That Person Was The Only One That Ended Up Getting Hurt At The End.
Everyone Else That Were Friends, Wife's, And Husband's All Did There Rolls Good, And Perfectly. All Tried There Best Being Friends To Whoever Needed It, And Being Wife's To There Husbands, And Husband's To There Wifes!!! The 6 Main Friends Are The Apitamie Of What Real, And True Friendship Should Be. Always Being There For One Another, Even After All The Lies, Mistakes, And Betrails!!! FORGIVENESS IS A RARE THING, AND THERES ALOT OF FORGIVENESS BETWEEN THESE 6 GOOD FRIENDS!!!
I Only Felt Really Sorry For The Cousin Brothers Girlfriend, Because She Waited For So Long For Him, And Kept Waiting, Until Finally She Got Him To Soften Up, But He Left She High And Dry, NEVER To See Her Again, But He Had A Very Good Reason, And That Was For His Cousin Brother. She Had Such A Sad Story, And Ending. I Felt So Sorry, Sad, And Bad For Her. She Loved Him, Not Sure How Much He Loved Her, But He Definitely Cared For Her, Because He Saved Her From Like 20-30 Gang Members, THAT OBVIOUS. But In The End His Cousin Brother Was His Prority, And Unfortunately That Cost Him His Life, So He Couldn't Return To His Girlfriend. So Sad, And They Just About To Start A New Life Together Too... Only If Hou MingHao Cousin Brother Didn't Hear The Phone Call, I Knew He Would Know Something Was Up, And He Did!
All The Workers In The Food Factor, Did Great Jobs, And I Have To Give A Shout Out To There Teacher, He Was So Dedicated To His Students, And He Would Help Them Anyway He Could. Good Teacher.
As For The Father, That Disgusting Pig Think Bai Lan Would Even Be Intrested In Him, And Want To Be With Him... He Had Some Nerve, GOD!!! Do I Look That Old??? YES, YOU DO LOOK OLD, YOU OLD FART, YOUVCOULD BE HER FATHER!!! What Are You Like 70 Years Old, My God, You Could Be Her Grand Father!!! ONLY ONE THAT DIDN'T GET ARRESTED, DANG!!!
AS FOR THE SON, AND THE OTHER CRAZY TEACHER OF BAI LANS, AND THE GANGSTER PEOPLE, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEM... MOST GOT ARRESTED, SO HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
I CAN'T TELL YOU IF I LIKE THIS DRAMA OR NOT!!! I ONLY Liked That Hou MingHao Was In It, That's About It... It's A Little Confusing Too. The Drama Was 26 Episodes, I Watched The Drama In 2 Days. February 4th, And February 5th, 2026. So Everything Is Still Fresh In My Mind... And Half Way Though The Drama It Gets Confusing, But The Confusion Has To Do With The Very Last Episode, And At The Very End.
LET ME JUST SAY THIS, WHAT SEEMS TO BE WHAT IT IS, IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS AT ALL. WHAT YOU SEE IS ALL A DREAM, AND WHEN YOU WAKE UP FROM THAT DREAM, WE CAN ALL START OVER FROM THE MIDDLE AGAIN.
Whatever Mistakes Were Made In The Middle Could Be Amended Or Fixed, But That's The Ended Of The Drama, So... And So Technically It's Like What Was The Point Of This Drama. The Way It Ended Just Ended To Weird, And Really Didn't Explain Much. Plus All Bad People That Got Arrested, And Put In Jail, WAS THAT REAL, OR WAS IT NOT???
I WILL SAY THIS I WAS SO MAD THAT HIS COUSIN BROTHER GOT HURT, I'M EVEN MORE PISSED OFF THAT HE PASSED AWAY, BUT IF I'M GETTING THE STORY CORRECTLY, IT NEVER HAPPENED SO HE SHOULD STILL BE ALIVE I GUESS...
It Did At Least Explain One Thing For Me Though, And That's Why He Ran In Middle Of The Drama, Because He Didn't Want To Make The Same Mistake Again!!! I'm Guessing Or I Think!!!
(THE ENDING IS A REAL SHOCKER, SO PREPARE YOURSELF, BECAUSE WHEN I SAW IT I WAS LIKE W-H-A-T??? PLUS THE LAST EPISODE HAD SOME STRANGE STUFF GOING ON THAT WAS SO CONFUSING, IT BLEW MY MIND... MY HUSBAND WAS LIKE SOMEONE WAS ON SOME GOOD @SS DOPE, WHEN THEY WROTE THIS DRAMA. I WAS LIKE UMMMMM... YEAH!!! IT'S A REAL SHOCKER!!! I AM STILL JUST LIKE WHAT?)
STARTED WRITING THIS REVIEW ON FEBRUARY 6TH, 2026 AT 11:50 P.M.
FINNISHED WRITING THIS REVIEW FEBRUARY 7TH, 2026 AT 9:18 A.M.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great movie..... would I watch it again ...not really
The movie is really about teenagers/adults having nostalgic youth moments in the 90s finding different pathsML doesn't really have a life plan till he meets female lead who motivates him to find a path ...
ML....total green flag 💚
FL also has her flaws but really she's just a fragile lady who puts up a strong front... great story for them
But some details are soo annoying to overlook:
ML friend Li guanguan is excused for sooo many dumb shits he pulls and we are just supposed to overlook it ... i.e when he decides to help villian at the ending because of money
No sense of loyalty at all, greedy,self centered 😡 and they never call him out on this in the movie
Really thought his wife would divorce him but suprise suprise he proposes again and she accepts
I especially loved uncles romance too bad he died 😥.......another stupid plot
Third couple romance was okay😕
But ML and FL perseverance in finding a path in life really got me😭
In all the movie is great but a wacky ending,if you want to watch prepare yourself mentally to be annoyed by ending
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