Never-Ending Summer

must-watch! teenage love and family problems are the main topics

I absolutely loved this drama! I had high expectations and they were all met! It was exactly as it was shown in the trailers. The atmosphere of the drama is impossible to describe in words, you just need to feel it! Each scene made me excited! And all I could do is to hope for new eps to come out right after another! All I can say is that this cdrama is a truly masterpiece! China is clearly surpassing Korea, especially this year! Every new release is a hit that brings so much joy to the viewers!
Speaking about plot, I was particularly moved by their teen dating era. The way they escaped from all the troubles and enjoyed their time together! They looked incredibly sincere, tender, and loving, and they cared deeply for each other! I was captivated by those scenes.
For me, this drama had a vibrant beginning, a rich middle, and a satisfying ending. The entire plot was perfectly crafted and executed. There was no dry middle or clichéd ending; everything was just right!
I can't help but mention how Lu XiXao pursued her despite everything and never gave up on her.
Additionally, I can't overlook how beautiful they were as adults! I mean, their outfits and style were on top during the whole drama. They both looked insanely gorgeous and matched each other!
I’m delighted with the chemistry between Ke Yu and Shang En! Their gazes at each other screamed of the great love between Zhou Wang and Lu Xixiao! Both actors delivered an outstanding performance!
This drama is a must-watch! It deserves a place at the list of the best dramas of 2026!
I think I’ve never rated a drama that high before! It’s gonna be enjoyable rewatching the drama again and again, looking at perfect match of KeYu and Shang En

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perfect for summer

omg I have been waiting for this drama for so long, i love the FL. Lowkey wanted to watch it only for her but the story is interesting. also the ML is so hand and so fit into the story.
The chemistry is serving. the height difference??? omfg its so hot, exactly what we needed.

Till now everything from side roles to ost to main leads everything is on point and not a single scene to skip. I hope it stays the same, after watching today's 4eps I really really have high expectations.

And for my sake I hope they dnt traumatise us and give a happy ending, I have a feeling I need tissue in upcoming days haha. so loving it.

The ost's are so hard, loving it.

DAMN I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. 10/10

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Summertime Sadness... in a good way :)

This got a lot of traction early on because of how "sad" it was. Yes, the setting is a bit sad in the beginning, but brightens up pretty quickly, and easily has become one of those nostalgic-vibe dramas. Especially because of the time skip from high school to adult. And all rainbows and unicorns is BORING imo. Never Ending Summer had a good balance of many emotions🔥

I loved the story. The hardship the female faces was a lot more than usual, and although the male also has his problems, it's nothing compared to hers. The gradual development of their relationship from classmates to ILL DIE FOR YOU lovers was the highlight of the drama, with good side plot as well. The unromantic part of the story was not very appealing, and the way they sort of handle it until the last few episodes was a bit lacking, almost in a way where they meant to highlight the romance more. And their ups and downs of the relationship itself was also quite a rollercoaster so even that alone was enough of a story.

I. LOVE. ANGST. So we know already based on the synopsis, no spoiler, that they separate after that one summer. I was looking forward to the time slip the most, and it did NOT disappoint. I loved it. They did that part so👏🏻 so👏🏻 well. And then after that ended, it was sort of boring. But still, the breakup and reunion makes up for it. The ending also felt quite rushed. So for my preference story wise: reunion>high school>after they get together again at the end. I don't think it's the type of drama I'll constantly rewatch, but I'll remember it for a while.

Casting was perfect. They honestly look so good together, especially that HEIGHT DIFFERENCE. Their chemistry was off the charts, and it's just thanks to both of them equally, always looking so great with whomever they act with. This was actually the first drama of both actors I really liked. Hope to see them again soon!

Always sad when a good happy ending drama ends 😭 bye bye

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Good Girl x Bad Boy with A Pinch of Teenage Angst and Chaebol Family Soap Opera

Disclaimer: This review only covers the first 17 episodes, so please do not attack me for marking it as completed. I need to do so in order to make a full yapping about this series as I'm totally pissed off after watching it.

I don't even have the slightest idea of the reason I'm coming to "Never-Ending Summer". I did try to read the novel once, but goodness only knows why, it's so full of violence and sexual contents which discourages me to continue - oh yeah, the ML is also a total jerk who only knows to flirt with other pretty girls since he's a carefree chaebol boy. I couldn't care less about that. However, when words got out that Zhou Keyu and Bao Shang'en would star this drama, I reminded myself it wouldn't do much harm to try watching a bit, 'cause I like Keyu (he's a super-duper pretty boy and a sexy one on top of that). So, let's see my take on "Never-Ending Summer".

The story tells us the angsty romance story between Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao. Zhou Wan is a straight-A student whom the teachers always brag about. She also has a nice and kind-hearted personality and is extroverted enough to build a connection within her classmates. However, nobody ever knows her family condition and that she's now living in a run-down apartment with her sickly grandmother. To pay her grandma's medical bill, Zhou Wan becomes a manipulative person and secretly works as a tutor by posing as a college student looking for part-time job. Sometimes, she also makes note and sells them to a nearby bookstore, hoping that her school friends will buy dozens of them. Zhou Wan comes from a broken family as her father had died during a factory accident and her mother Guo Yan (better known as Guo Xiangling) fled to the Lu Family to have a better life, preferring to abandon her biological daughter with her grandma. On the other hand, Lu Xixiao is your typical bad boy with a rebellious streak against his controlling family. He has zero interest in studies but is zealous over painting (as painting is his mother's favorite hobby). Xixiao accidentally meets Zhou Wan in an abandoned swimming pool behind their school and she helps to tutor him so that he can go abroad to delve more into the painting world. Since then, the two develop an unusual bond and become each other's emotional anchor since they both come from dysfunctional families. Nevertheless, there will always be obstacles hampering their relationship. As they approach their adult years, their love and loyalty are tested repeatedly, and they finally find their true selves within the storm.

So, what can I say about the plot? Well, nothing much to say maybe, because the story is so awfully generic that even writers who love rich-boy-x-poor-girl trope know how to combine this spice into a hot mess. I grow frustrated over times as I watch this drama and always skip endlessly as the plot rumbles with a pace of a snail. Zhou Wan grows into a frustrating character as she always gives mixed signals to Xixiao. Well, she only approaches him so that she can have her revenge against her bitchy mommy and extract money from her to pay for grandma's hospital bill. Unbeknownst to Xixiao, the pair of mother and daughter has concocted scheme that will threaten the couple's relationship. All I see from Zhou Wan is crying like a little baby, mumbling about suicide after grandma dies, breaking down in front of Xixiao, being bullied by a gang of thugs, and complaining interminably to Jiang Yan (her neighborhood friend). However, the next day, she will turn into a completely different person and attempts very hard to make Xixiao hate her, like gurl, can you be more specific about your feeling - like you love him or not? If no, please leave Xixiao alone before he hates you that much. But she doesn't seem to be aware of her actions and acts like a double-faced liar instead. For Xixiao, I don't know why you always have to listen to your sugar daddy and listen to every of his order. Firstly, you want to escape abroad then he threatens to sell your mommy's residence. Secondly, you want to play along with Zhou Wan, then he grounds him in the Lu mansion. Thirdly, grandpa intervenes as well and wants Zhou Wan to stay away from you. Okay, this is getting more and more tedious and I don't care the single fuck you want to do anymore. I'm also tired of seeing him repeatedly forgiving Zhou Wan despite her manipulative behavior. After the forgiving, they will act as if nothing happened, then fluffy couple scenes will be thrown in your frame and you are going to see how both of them flirt endlessly, including kissing, I guess.

In the above paragraph, I've said pretty clearly that I don't like the main couple. Now, let me list what I also dislike from this drama. Firstly, congratulation for the bitchy mommy Guo Yan/Guo Xiangling for being so awfully selfish and abusive that I hate her the most. Secondly, the whole Lu family (except for Xixiao's auntie) for being so fucking lucrative and only thinking about their company and whatsoever. Thirdly, the second couple Jiang Fan and Gu Meng for having the most lackluster bickering relationship - I see no spark between these two people. Fourthly, Jiang Yan and his mommy - mommy previously had an affair with sugar daddy Lu and she got pregnant with Jiang Yan, then the two of them were kicked out of the Lu mansion due to their underprivileged economic background. That's why she always encourages Jiang Yan to loathe the Lu family, even though not all people are the same as sugar daddy. Fifthly, Jiang Yan gives mixed signal as well, sometimes being hostile to Xixiao, and sometimes secretly helping the couple to escape by having meaningless talk with sugar daddy. Sixthly, the hooligan Luo He keeps abusing Zhou Wan and uses violence to harm her, and yet his elusive gang always disappears before the police comes. Seventhly, Xixiao always comes to Zhou Wan's rescue whenever she is harassed by Luo He's gang, like they are in some kind of mafia mini dramas. I don't have any idea about the stabbing scene, but that comes off as cheesy to me.

Now, to the acting. All the actors have performed very well according to the script, and I appreciate all their hard works. This is my third drama of Bao Shang'en after the reboot of "The Legend of Condor Heroes" and "Generation to Generation". I feel Shang'en still has room for improvement for her next roles, and she radiates the bubbly yet resilient and independent aura of Zhou Wan seamlessly, proving herself as a promising future actress in C-drama land. Meanwhile, Zhou Keyu has come out of his comfort zone and has better micro-expressions which are shown during the scene of Zhou Wan lying to her and how he forcefully kisses her in ep 10. Other than the leads, I've only known Fu Weilun from "Extraordinary" and Ke Chun from numerous mini dramas. Their performances are so-so, so I don't think I'm going to complain much further. And please tell Ke Chun not to take any of this abusive role in the future. He's too good to become a real rogue juvenile delinquent.

The OSTs are giving mixed signals as well because I like some of them and dislike some too. My favorite will be 梦与环游 by Xu Ziwei and Cui Shiba, Sunburn by Brian Cheng, Frozen Heart by 8Bite and Dyrox, 最蓝核梦 by Murphy's Law band. Other than the songs I list, all sounds kinda meh to me, or maybe I'm too overwhelmed by the shitty stuffs happening in the drama.

Of course, my last words will be do not try to watch this drama unless you're in a total drama slump or you want to see beautiful fashions of the leads here or you need a daily dose of sizzling chemistry of these two people (all is up to you). Thank you for reading my whole yapping and I'm so glad to take everything off my chest. Good luck and happy watching!!!

P.S.
If any of you ever know about an Indonesian novel titled "Long Lost Memories in Daejeon", the ML's tragic backstory is more or less similar to Xixiao's. However, the characterization of the FL is completely different and she's a full-time simp too. On the other note, another Indonesian novel titled "Act of Money" heavily resembles this drama too - ML has a controlling father and FL is a straight-A student but constantly gives mixed signal to the ML and even dares two-timing with the SML (you can imagine him as Jiang Yan 2.0).

Edit:
I'd watched ep 19 - 22 and found out that the kidnapping and stabbing scene is "spectacular" and more or less similar to my imagination. Anyway, I also felt the emotional impact when Xixiao desperately wants to save Zhou Wan - this is the most memorable scene of "Never-Ending Summer" as far as I can reminisce.

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Never Ending Misunderstandings

I started Never Ending Summer excitedly bcuz the leads are good looking and the height difference between them is so cutee . Zhou Keyu and Bao Shangen have great chemistry and the first few episodes hooked me with sweet moments and the kind of slow-burn that promises big feelings. There are scenes that really land especially one with Lu Xixiao (ML) dancing alone, hallucinating he’s dancing with Zhou Wan (FL) . He was not drunk; he was just broken and lost in memory, and watching him like that made my chest tighten in a way few shows do. That moment was raw and heartbreaking!

But as the series goes on, the drama slipped into a loop of the same misunderstanding cycle. Every time I hoped for a proper reset or honest conversation, the plot pulled back adding another layer of confusion instead of clearing things up. It felt like the director decided to extend the push-and-pull until the very end, not because it deepened the characters but because the show relied on dragging things out for tension. That slowdown dulled the emotional payoff. The leads argue, misread each other, and then retreat again and again which made some middle episodes hard to binge through.

The series wants to be deep and melancholic, and it gets there at times when it focuses on interior pain - like the dance hallucination, it’s affecting. But those high points are unevenly spaced.

It’s well-acted, beautifully shot, and occasionally devastating. But the show’s reliance on drawn-out misunderstandings makes parts of it feel padded, preventing it from reaching the emotional heights it seems to aim for.

......

Overall, this isn’t a binge-every-night kind of drama for me, but it’s not something I’d drop either. It sits comfortably in the “watch when you’re in the mood” category. Still the show isn’t a miss, the leads are convincing and have moments of real tenderness. The cinematography and music suit the mood, and there are other smaller beats and side characters that add flavor. It’s not soulless filler; it’s just that the pacing keeps you from fully investing in every twist.

If you love lingering, introspective romances that trade on sadness and slow reveals, you’ll likely appreciate Never Ending Summer. But if you prefer forward momentum or clear emotional arc progression, you might find yourself frustrated by the repeated setbacks.

As for if i would recommend it or not, i suggest to watch starting few episodes to see if this drama is your cup of tea or not and then decide whether or not to continue .

Thanks for reading! :))

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Misery...

On paper this is perfect, and between Lighter & Princess and The First Frost I've enjoyed my fair share of second chance romance cdramas. The main leads here have really great chemistry and I love that the FL is realistic and practical; it's refreshing to see an FL that's not your typical bubbly and naive one. And I'm so happy that they let her use her own voice and dressed her accordingly — this drama let her be a baddie because her post-timeskip outfits were SO pretty :^)

With that being said, in practice, I found the story kind of...miserable to get through. The villains were downright evil and I felt like they such a huge impact on the actions of the leads and thus the overall plot that I couldn't fully enjoy it. Even when it was a scene that was supposed to be happy or fun, I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and there was a dark cloud hanging over everything — I didn't really start enjoying everything in full until after the time jump and reunion, which didn't come until too late in the show in my opinion.

I'm disappointed because I think I would've really loved the leads otherwise.

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she fell first, he fell WAY harder.

Wow wow wow this drama completely took me by surprise, I never expected a drama I randomly started watching at 9 pm on a Friday night to completely take over my heart. Everything about this is amazing, the leads have ELECTRIFYING chemistry. You can feel every bit of hurt, sadness, angst, and happiness they portray through the screen. This story is paced really well, even the reunion arc where they weren't on good terms didn't drag on for too long. This one will stick with me for a while, and quietly made its way to my all time favorite dramas list. Honestly what sells this for me so well is the casting of the 2 leads, they made an already good drama so much more amazing because of their portrayal of the characters. Their acting felt so natural it felt like I was watching a real couple and not some characters, it's some of the best chemistry I've seen in a cdrama and I mean that genuinely. Everything felt so real and not forced.

my favorite scenes: their first dance in episode 7, the heartbreaking series of back to back phone calls after the breakup, the reunion scene where the female lead shows up with a new look (no bangs) and where the male lead looks absolutely heartbroken, and the make up scene in episode 26 *whew that one was steamy*!!!

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It's full of yearning!

Just finished watching the drama, and I will certainly take a week at least to get over this. The music is still playing in my mind, the actors' voices are all I am hearing, and the warmth is still lingering...

This drama captivated me at the very first episode, that the very next day I started the novel it's based upon. They have changed the story a lot, some I liked some I didn't. But overall, I don't have any complaint. I saw many novel fans are disappointed with the changes, but they seemed okay to me. Though some ridiculous details are there, but the vibe, aesthetic, music, acting, didn't let me focus on those. And I only find myself every morning before the laptop waiting for the episodes to release.

The drama provides the peak angsty, yearning, losers characters. I mean why the ml says he will make the fl beg for him, and the next moment, begging is what he's doing. He's such a loser in love. He doesn't care being used as long as fl stays by his side.

I really love Keyu as Lu XiXiao and Bao Shangen as Zhou Wan, their chemistry is really what I was not expecting, they are so comfortable with each other, many scenes felt like they were not scripted. Perhaps being the same age added a charm, their acting really was natural to me in all their duo scenes. I saw Keyu first in Always Home, I know he is a brilliant actor. In this drama too, one can really feel his yearning, frustration, helplessness, his eyes are so expressive. This is my first time seeing Bao Shang en, I will say she really done a good job as Zhou Wan. I remember in the novel, it was mentioned, Zhou wan was innocent looking but wasn't exactly, also she is so independent that whenever someone is kind to her, she feels burdened and wants to repay it tenfold. And she asked lu xixiao to not be kind/good to her. Though in drama I guess they did not exactly include this, but you can really understand the moral conflicts she faced. She is a complex character, not the pure, innocent, cheerful one. I will say the actress done really well to showcase that, however I would really love if they could include more scenes explaining her thoughts.

About the story plot, I loved a lot of changes they have done, but one really put me off. Making the fl call ml brother once. It was really ridiculous to me. Also making them live together at ml father's house. It don't think it was really required. One more thing, they really need to understand forced kisses are not exactly romantic.

At last, I enjoyed the drama a lot, the chemistry is what one must really look forward to. And the fl and ml suffers a lot, so be ready to bawl your eyes.

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most romantic and beautiful drama

note: they are not sibilings nor half sibilings nor step sibilings (their parents are not related at all nor they are married)

started for their visual and height difference but ended up liking everything about this drama
if u are looking for a drama where leads have best chemistry then this is it.
it has very good start and a very very very heartwarming, most romantic and beautifull ending (u have never seen a ending so beautiful like this)
zhou keuy as luxixiao was very handsome and played his role really well same goes to bao as zhou wen
love everything about this drama
this drama deserve its fame and everyone must try this out atleast for the ending
last 4 episode was literally amazing
one of the best 2026 drama .

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