Flawless Masterpiece – A Must-Watch 10/10
This drama is perfect from start to finish. If you are looking for a show with great acting, a beautiful story, and amazing music, you need to watch this right now.What I Loved:
The Story: It is beautifully written. It has the perfect mix of happy, sweet moments and deep emotional scenes. It never feels boring, and the ending is completely satisfying.
The Acting: The main actors have incredible chemistry. They don't even need to speak to show how they feel—their expressions say it all. You will truly care about every single character.
The Music & Visuals: The show looks like a movie. Every scene is shot beautifully with great lighting. On top of that, the soundtrack is amazing and makes every emotional moment feel twice as powerful.
Final Thoughts:
I honestly have no complaints. It is a heartwarming, unforgettable journey that I will definitely watch again
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Expectations vs Reality hits hard with "Never Ending Summer"....
This is my first review about a Drama, and I've been a fan of C-drama, K-Drama for about 4-5 years.In the beginning I didn't care about how ridiculous the plot was, how irritating the script was, or how cringe the dialogues were, but over the time my preferences changed, I recently watched so many of masterpieces that my Bar was set to high( Hidden Love, First Frost, pursuit of jade, You are my fateful love, deep affection eyes, forever and ever, blossom, love between lines, Love in the clouds ....etc)
I also watched generation to generation , where I first discovered Bao Shang En, she was pretty and good at acting, so I was so excited about Never Ending summer, cuz both the leads looked stunning and had great visuals in the teasers, personally it was a 50:50 for me cuz I don't like fake sibling or step sibling type tropes at all, but here, it was not like that at all, the story was good in first half, the chemistry was fire, the acting was top notch and the music.....cherry on top.
The thing that disappointed me was the story and plot holes in the 2nd half, they could have gone with the original pacing of 1st half, if the episodes were 36 or something it would have perfect. The second half didn't do justice to many important parts of the story, The classic kidnapping, ML getting injured ( honestly, it would have been fine if they did it better), the family asking the FL to stay away from MC and she does so by hurting him, ( even this part was not done in a more convincing way, it felt shallow than feeling sad or painful, like they didn't make that build up , she just leaves after saying a few words, it's like all her rationality, intelligence gets null, okay, she promised ML's grandpa not to meet him so it's fine ok, but the ML's suffered a huge psychological backlash after she left him, and when he was dancing hallucinating about her, his friends were smiling , nobody was angry on the FL, like what bro your dear friend was hurt by a girl so bad that he hallucinates about her... Especially Gu Meng, I know she was FL's besty but, she also saw how hurt he was but she could really have some lines like " why did you do that" it would be like even the person close to the FL says it, so it would create a bigger impact, but instead no one ever said anything like that. Sure, the FL went through a lot of suffering, but she just gave up on someone who pulled her up like that.... And then in the ending ep she says she loved him from 2013,( what? That's the inconsistency I'm talking about). After the separation, when they meet again, FL didn't apologise properly nor the ML made her cry like he said he would if he saw her again, nor she felt how miserable he was because of her( it's shown a bit but you know it's pretty rushed and doesn't have the feeling of regret or loss etc ), she was forgiven like nothing ever happened ( not even forgiven, it's like she was just away and came back) there were some(one) moments where The ML sabotages her plans, but the next moment gets her on his team, lol, meanwhile, they didn't even show much of the BFF's relationship, I mean it was there but not, it felt incomplete, like there was so little of their story and screen time, honestly, their quarrel felt weird cuz we didn't see their actuall points for arguments and their shred moments etc. I also don't understand the real reson why or how they separated, the promise to grandpa or him taking that knife for her ? Both are ridiculous reason to me, they could have added a sequence of FL loved ones leaving or something like that, like she was afraid hell leave her too etc they could have had a build up like that since it happened anyhow, I wanted to see the tension between the FL and ML after they reunite, him making things hard for her while her thinking he's been doing fine without her, and ultimately realising the reason why he's like that, to facing him and properly explaining( even the grandpa thing was not resolved in the drama better) to apologising, and then the ML, forgiving the FL, something like that, and then there's Ml knowing about FL's father incident related to his father, when and how he knew, the whole revenge plot came out of nowhere, they seriously needed more episodes to fit all that info?an then again kidnapping part, wow.....and because of that, the ending feels so empty, like I should have felt like how they went through a lot to heal each other and fix the cracks of each others but the feeling was missing, again I will say the Acting and pairing was top Notch, the Ost was cherry on top, so you can check it out, it's a gem
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Story saved by the Amazing Chemistry of our two leads.
I binged-watched this drama for three days. Lol. I agree with some reviews I read that the story, especially the ending, felt rushed. It looks like cutting the total episodes contributed a lot to it. There are times when I feel too confused about what was happening, or an issue has suddenly been resolved without fully showing how it was solved. The editing was also a bit off, since there were scenes that were suddenly cut and then changed to another scenario.The winning formula for this drama, definitely, is the chemistry between the two leads. I have watched tons of Cdramas, and I can tell, this pairing is rare. Not all characters can make you feel the sincerity that Bao Bao and Daniel Zhou did for this one. Story aside, they really make you believe that they are in love. The kiss scenes really feel like they are together, and not just for show. Their expressions, when both proposed to each other, the way he goes to her every time. This is the main thing that made the drama linger, even after the credits rolled.
I used to wonder why Lu XiXao clung to Zhou Wan, even after 10 years. From the outside, a 10-year hyper-fixation can sometimes feel like a stretch in dramas, but when you view it through the lens of profound grief and isolation, it makes total sense. Zhou Wan wasn't just a romance; she was his lifeline and the only person who could break through his deep-seated loneliness after his mother passed away. When someone brings you back to life like that, time and distance don't change the baseline connection, no matter how hurt he is.
I pray the gods hear us and pair them up again soon—ideally with a production team that gives them the full, uncut episode count they deserve next time!
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AAAANGGGGSTTTTTT
My drama slump has been unreal and only recently rescued from the brink of starvation and revitalized with the recent kdrama, doctor on the edge, and, you guessed it, NEVER. ENDING. SUMMER. Zhou Keyu, what a stud. Bao Shangen, what a beauty. Chemistry, exploding, obviously.Only 4 episodes are out and I am SO HOOKED. So this story follows high school students Zhou Wan and Lu Xi Xiao. Zhou Wan is a strong academic student who’s proper and obedient, definition of a good girl who has never gotten in trouble. But as you continue to learn about her, she hides a lot of burden and is left with a huge responsibility of taking care of her sickly grandma. She’s kind to those close to her, and those who aren’t may find her a bit cold, and that’s exactly the side you don’t want to mess with because she can be scheming and manipulative when she needs to. Lu Xi Xiao on the other hand is very early on classified as the school bad boy. He rides a motorcycle, skips classes, doesn’t study, and simply doesn’t care about school. Growing up with neglect from his parental figures, hes essentially given up on caring because no one else would care anyways! Both struggle with their own family issues, and due to an unexpected twist of Zhou Wan’s mom (who abandoned her as a child btw) being Lu Xi Xiao’s supposed stepmom, she decides to get closer to him to get closer to her mom (what she’s plotting, I guess we’ll find out!). She ends up tutoring him as he’s getting ready to study abroad and they have almost daily meetups at their secret study spot (inside a dome of wooden tables and desks in an abandoned swimming pool, super romantic I know). The issue doesn’t become how she can fool Lu Xi Xiao, but how she can continue bringing herself to fool him, because this guy is not who she imagined at all. Well, who knew what a romantic he is. They’re so cutesy, he’s super falling in love, and she’s super denying her feelings because she only sees their interactions as her using him.
Within these first 4 episodes, we already see that there’s a period of separation 10 years from their high school days. 10 years later, they’ve got some bad blood between them, although it’s mostly one sided from Lu Xi Xiao. Not sure how many episodes it will take for the transition to the adult half of their story, but they’ve done so well so far with the pacing and the storytelling that I have high hopes. I know it might not feel angsty right now, but the build up to their fall out is killing ne and I know it’ll hurt bad, but I can’t stress how excited I am for this angst. He’s mad at her and she feels super guilty towards him, will they or won’t they??? Let’s not forget he’s gonna be a loser in love and with how he’s acting now, he definitely can’t forget his feelings for her. And to those of you crying wolf on the incest, literally what incest? This woman is probably his dad’s girlfriend, his actual mom’s dead, and they never grew up as siblings (jab at speed and love, sue me), legit no blood relations so rest assured friends.. anyways, love em already, give this a chance!
music chefs kiss btw
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Perhaps the longest journey is the one back to someone you never truly left
Despite its title, don't expect a bright, fluffy summer romance. This drama is wrapped in golden sunlight, colorful skies, laughter, and first love, but underneath that warm summer glow lies grief, betrayal, trauma, guilt, and heartbreak. It feels like watching the most beautiful sunset—you know it's breathtaking, yet you also know darkness is quietly waiting on the other side. Every sweet moment between Zhou Wan and Lu Xi Xiao made me smile, but it also made me anxious because I kept wondering, "Okay... what tragedy is coming for them this time?" Somehow, that's exactly what made this drama so beautiful. It reminds us that even the brightest summers don't last forever, but the memories they leave behind can stay with us for a lifetime.What makes this drama so special isn't just the romance—it's the people. Zhou Wan and Lu Xi Xiao are two beautifully broken souls trying to survive life in their own ways. Zhou Wan has always carried more burdens than someone her age ever should. After losing her father, being abandoned by her own mother, struggling with debt, secretly tutoring just to survive, and eventually losing the only family she had left, life kept forcing her to choose survival over happiness. That's why I could never fully blame her for the choices she made. Meanwhile, Lu Xi Xiao looks like the perfect rich heir—handsome, carefree, rebellious—but he's just as shattered inside after witnessing his mother's death and growing up surrounded by adults who constantly failed him. When these two met, they didn't magically fix each other. They simply became the first place where the other person could finally breathe. My favorite line in the entire drama was when Lu Xi Xiao told Zhou Wan, "Let's grow together" after her grandmother passed away. Imagine hearing that from someone who was practically a stranger. That scene completely melted me.
The drama is divided into two emotional phases that worked so well. The first follows Zhou Wan trying to reclaim her late father's insurance money while getting tangled with the Lu family (yes... they were this close to becoming step-siblings!!). The second half completely wrecked me. Just when autumn arrived, the first snow fell, and it finally felt like these two deserved a little happiness, fate pulled them apart again. Zhou Wan chose to leave because she genuinely believed Lu Xi Xiao deserved a future untouched by her endless tragedies. She loved him so much that she convinced herself letting him go was the kindest thing she could do. Watching Lu Xi Xiao cry, beg her to come back, and promise he would forgive everything if she only admitted she still loved him... yeah, emotional damage. I know we all wanted to scream, "JUST COMMUNICATE!" because ten years is a ridiculously long time to spend playing emotional hide-and-seek. But I understood Zhou Wan.
And that ending... I absolutely loved it. It was bittersweet in the most beautiful way. After ten years apart, they finally stopped protecting each other with lies and started healing each other with honesty. I loved how Zhou Wan admitted she thought making Lu Xi Xiao hate her would help him move on, only to realize she had been completely wrong. Meanwhile, Lu Xi Xiao telling her that she was never the cause of his trauma—that she had actually become the beginning of his healing—completely broke me. And then came my favorite part: his paintings. Even after all those years, every painting he created was still inspired by his memories with Zhou Wan—the happiest pieces of his life, his own never-ending summer. That's why I adored the proposal. It wasn't just a fun reverse-gender moment. It was her finally stopping the endless game of hide-and-seek and choosing him with certainty. OH, and can we please talk about that final plot twist?? The entire drama convinced us that Lu Xi Xiao was the one who fell first and fell harder. I mean... the man loved Zhou Wan with every fiber of his being. But then the finale completely flipped everything. Through Zhou Wan's perspective, we learned she had actually fallen for him three years before they ever spoke to each other. She loved him long before he even knew she existed.
Lastly, I have to give a huge shout-out to Bao Shang En and Zhou Keyu. They completely disappeared into their characters and delivered every emotion so naturally that I never questioned a single tear or smile. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous—soft lighting, dreamy camera work, colorful palettes, bubbles floating through the frame, and golden sunsets that make every scene feel like a nostalgic memory you'd keep revisiting. The OST is another highlight (and yes, hearing Zhou Keyu's voice made it even more special). Never Ending Summer isn't really about summer at all. It's about that one person who quietly becomes your brightest season, the place your heart always returns to no matter how many years pass. Sometimes, summer isn't a time of year. Sometimes, summer is a person. And for Zhou Wan and Lu Xi Xiao, they were always each other's never-ending summer.
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Guilty Pleasure Watch of 2026
Never Ending Summer is an emotionally charged high school youth to adulthood drama with a 10 year time jump. It oozes chemistry and intense male lead yearning but the script is lacking. Extra half-point given for the beautiful OST.What I Loved:
The Lead Dynamic: The show thrives on the interplay between a moody, deeply emotional male lead and a logical, mission-driven female lead. The male lead is emotionally armored due to his circumstances, and I enjoyed watching how quickly he drops his armor once the female lead becomes his North Star. He has his prickly, sulky retaliation moments from having his heart crushed but this is not long lasting because he is truly defenseless when it comes to her. Seeing him cry & yearn will especially break your heart! But be warned that he is not a complete green flag.
The Chemistry & Cinematography: I could genuinely feel their relationship through the screen. The cinematography is stunning at times, with beautiful shots such as the snowy bridge scene, that make the romantic moments feel like you’re intruding.
The Swoon Factor: It was an emotional roller coaster for me—I swooned, I cried, and I definitely had those kicking my legs in the air moments. The male lead knows what he’s doing and wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to her.
The Full Circle Arc: The ending is satisfying. Without spoilers, the payoff for the male lead’s character arc is pure emotional catharsis, bringing his journey full circle in the most beautiful way.
Focused Storytelling: I appreciated that the show mostly kept the focus on the main couple. We were spared from too much unnecessary background noise of meh secondary couples that so often clutters these types of dramas.
The Not-So-Perfect Bits:
Nonsensical Plotting: You have to suspend your disbelief—a lot. From bizarre stunts like releasing fish into a high school pool to repeated, repetitive kidnapping subplots, the unnecessary potential step sibling situation, and neighborhood loan shark wannabe thugs stirring up trouble, the writing definitely leans into the "dramatic for the sake of drama" tropes. The family drama also got annoying with the exception of his aunt.
Pacing & Gaps: The 10-year time jump feels quite jarring. It’s a shame we missed out on seeing their individual struggles and the character growth that happened during that decade. It spends the bulk of the episodes on their youth and too little time on the work to repair the relationship.
Missed Opportunities: The reunion phase could have used more deep-dive healing conversations. I would have loved to see more dialogue unpacking their years apart before rushing to the finish line. The forced cohabitation was a catalyst but not my favorite narrative choice towards a respectful and mature reunion.
Final Thoughts: It’s not a perfect story at all, but the leads make it a memorable one. If you want a drama that will break your heart and put it back together again with a gorgeous soundtrack and a swoon-worthy lead pairing, this is well worth the watch.
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A Slow Burn That Pays Off
I wasn't planning to start Never Ending Summer while it was still airing, but after seeing countless edits on Instagram and YouTube Shorts, I finally gave in—and I'm glad I did.The story begins with Zhou Wan, a talented and hardworking girl who is struggling with life's challenges. During her school years, she meets Lu Xi Xiao, a free-spirited boy who loves breaking the rules. I personally loved his character from the very beginning.
At first, Zhou Wan only wants to befriend Lu Xi Xiao for her own benefit. She hopes that getting closer to him will help her receive financial support from his stepmother—who is also her mother—to pay for her grandmother's hospital bills. But Lu Xi Xiao falls for her completely. He doesn't mind being used and is always there for her. As they spend more time together, they become close friends, create unforgettable memories, and eventually fall in love.
Their relationship takes a heartbreaking turn after they become involved in an incident with Luo He. Lu Xi Xiao's grandfather forces Zhou Wan to leave him, leading to the classic C-drama breakup.
Ten years later, they meet again. Lu Xi Xiao has become a famous painter, while Zhou Wan is working as a director at a company. Fate brings them back together when he becomes her boss and asks her to be his special assistant. He confidently says he'll make her beg and cry, but in reality, he's the one who ends up suffering. He's completely in love with her, constantly jealous, throwing little tantrums, and trying to win her back.
I also really enjoyed the second couple, Gu Meng and Jiang Fan. Even though they didn't have a lot of screen time, their chemistry was fantastic, and I found myself looking forward to every scene they shared.
My only complaint is that the drama spent too long in the school timeline. I wish the story had moved to the present-day reunion around episodes 14 or 15 instead of waiting until much later. Since I watched it while it was airing, getting only one episode a day made that part feel even slower. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had binge-watched it after it finished.
Overall, Never Ending Summer is a good romance with strong chemistry between the leads, emotional moments, lovable characters, and a satisfying happy ending—they even get married. If you've been waiting for it to finish before starting, now is the perfect time to watch it.
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Never ending summer? more like Never ending trauma
I finally got around to finishing the drama, and it makes me sad that it's over. When I first saw the Reuters videos of it last year, I thought this would be a cute, youth drama. I WAS WRONG.I never expected to be met with trauma and sadness to the point that I thought this was more like never-ending sadness.
There's some inconsistency with the story; for example, Zhou Wan is a top student, and it doesn't really make much sense that her school wouldn't bat an eye at her missing the gaokao and skipping school, especially given how much China values studies.
I know they probably had to change a lot due to the censorship, but also to avoid "promoting" bad behaviours like smoking. This did create some plot holes in the end, which is a shame.
I personally wished they would develop the 2nd couple more because they were quite cute but didn't get much attention. I honestly got bored after the timeskip when they started to talk more about the business side of things; I guess it's more a me problem.
I saw a lot of people complain that the flashbacks were too long and dragged but I think it's necessary because we need to know what happened in the past then just directly showing the present but i feel like they couldve avoided this by doing a half and half situation where they showed the past then present but overall I didn't have much problems with it despite anxiousness of notknowing when the seperation woukd happen.
The revenge did feel rather underwhelming knowing that the Lu family was the cause of Zhou Wan's misery, but it's a modern show so the best she could do was crush his role at the company, tho it did feel like the revenge was kinda sidetracked sometimes.
The ost's were so good and amazing and they added a lot to the scenes and overall vibe of Never-Ending Summer. The acting was great; Zhou Keyu did amazing and Bao Shang En did fantastic as well. One scene in particular that stuck with me was when Zhou Wan ended up in the hospital due to a gas leak she wasn't paying attention to because her grandma had just passed away and she shouted, " I can't live anymore, I'm only 18"something along those lines that I cannot remember lol. That scene struck me hard because I'm close in age to Zhou Wan and I've had my ups and downs with my mental health that made me want to leave. So I related a lot to her in that moment despite how different our struggles were.
The chemistry was amazing that I wish they would get cast in another modern drama together cause the chemistry is there!!!
I gotta say that this drama made me fall in love with Bao Shang En! Especially the way she smiles and talks, omg I'm obsessed, and I tried to watch Generation to Generation that aired before this and I couldn't really get into it. I gotta also mention Zhou Keyu's English scene and the way he spoke in English was so attractive that I'm obsessed lol.
The cinematography was beautiful, especially the past episodes in their youth; it really felt like it was a never-ending summer by how bright yet sunny it was. It really made me wish that my youth was like those summer days lol. Sadly, it does fail during more emotional, sadder scenes because it didn't feel like the event that was happening was sad.
I wanna talk more about the characters now; Zhou Wan has been misunderstood so much by people on this site and social media that it reminded me of my girl Wen Yifan. So many people don't understand her decisions and complain or believe that she has the right to be with Lu Xixiao and so on but many people don't bother to see beyond that tunnel vision they formed.
She was just a kid when her dad's business failed and he died; then her mother abandoned her and left with her dad's insurance money to go find sugar daddies. She was basically left with nothing with her grandma but it didn't matter because she had her grandma with her. That all changed when her grandmother got sick; she became desperate and reached out to LXX as a desperate mesure because she was racing against time. Either she let her die or get money to help her get surgery.
So many people thought she was a villain for hurting LXX so much but they never tried to understand that she was desperate to save someone she loved and dare I say love makes us do all sorts of crazy things. This is why critical thinking is pretty much gone nowadays, when people never bother to think beyond why she did that? She knew it was wrong, she hesitated but desperation makes us do the worst things even if it's morally wrong. After all, she was just 17-18 when it all broke down. No child should suffer that but our world doesn't create a system that is fair to everyone. These are the same people who want more complicated characters in media, but the moment they are a woman, suddenly that empathy is gone out the window.
Lu Xixiao was rather someone who had a selfless love. He didn't care that Zhou Wan lied to him if that was what it took to let her stay by his side. I admire him for that quality cause I couldn't. That was, I guess, what led many people to think that Zhou Wan didn't deserve him or that he needed to move on. Honestly, it was sad seeing him being hurt this much by the breakup, but it doesn't really give you the right to whine about that, because one might think that you would want him to end with you because you "can treat him better". Not to mention what his grandpa said was really cruel to a girl who just went through a traumatizing moment
I gotta say it really felt like two lonely hearts that got attracted to each other lol. It was crazy when I found out that in the novel, LXX took the stab for Zhou Wan because he didn't want her to leave him, which was crazy to me. In the end, she still left, and he had a stab wound, so it didn't work out lol. The novel version of him must have been, to a certain extent, a red flag.
I know a lot of people hated Jiang Yan because he was annoying, but I related a lot to him, especially being a coward and feeling helpless. Many people needed to remember how insufferable his family situation was. He had a mother who was breathing down his neck because she couldn't accept her wedlock child to be mocked by the Lu family and his illegitimate blood because it would be admitting defeat and admitting that he was illegitimate and thus lower than the rich Lu family, who were better and smarter. So she had to raise him to be a smart and proper child because he NEEDED to be successful, not a maybe but a definite one, even if it meant his mental health hit an all-time low.
His dad wasn't a help either because he kept pressuring him to be a good child but also the connecting link to him and his mother because his mom decided to never speak to him, but it seems he still had lingering feelings. He had to be a good, obedient child because whenever Lxx, his legitimate son, wasn't there, he was the backup.
So he was basically the rope in a game of tug-of-war. How would you feel if you found out your dad was the reason you got the job and the girl you loved for so many years licked the guy that you were compared to your whole life because you were "illegitimate"? I could never because it sounds so insufferable tho I relate a lot to his situation; what makes it sadder is how confident he got after the timeskip. All for that to crash down because of his father.
It felt like the sadness was just never-ending lol. I liked this drama, and I'm definitely gonna miss hearing the beautiful ost's and cinematography of summer. I do gotta say that I did wish we could've gotten a wedding scene because there were Reuters videos of them doing a wedding for promo, so I kinda wish they ended with them in their wedding attire riding off in the sunset, but it's fine, the documentary, I guess.
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Good Chemistry followed by a generic storyline but screwed by pacing.
First and foremost this drama isn't some new or out of the box story but a mix of same old generic tropes, unidimensional characters and cliche storylines we have seen many times. The same old high school lovers separated by misunderstandings only to find each other again after years. The only strong point is the chemistry between leads and acting done by the actors.Bao Shang En and Zhou Ke Yu as the leads are just perfect casting with both showing off the emotions the characters go through beautifully, the slowly budding romance that acts as a medicine to the wounds they had as kids, the pain of separation, longing and love hidden underneath all the resentment after years was shown beautifully. The supporting cast too were spot on with their roles especially the antagonists, be it FL's scheming mother or ML's rotten father they all made us feel hatred towards them so kudos to that too.
The thing were the drama screwed up was the pacing with the whole teen age arc given plenty of time as a matter of fact I would say too much time was spent on it but the grown up arc being wrapped up in less than 10 eps. They wrapped up so many major things and issues quite fast, this is something a drama like "The First Frost" pulled of beautifully. This is the biggest drawback of this drama.
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I dont understand how people have given this a 10.Yes the chemistry is good and yes the main leads did a good job, but other than that its not good at all.
The characters and the plot are written so poorly.
We are to believe that the female lead is smart and someone who can be manipulative if needed and yet all she does is just ask her mother to give her money or she is gonna expose her but she never does. Its the same story that gets repeated over and over again. Her mother offers her money in turn for her to never talk to the male lead again, she takes the money and avoids XiXiao for a bit and then they continue hanging out like nothing happened. And then somehow she needs money again.
And as for her relationship with the male lead I dont understand how can she be so stupid as to keep these secrets from him and still decide to not expose the mother. I also dont understand how can the ml forgiver her so easily every single time. He forgives after learning that she used him, forgives her after being made to believe that she and the mother may be plotting something together and after being made to think that she is the one who ripped apart his drawing. And after all of this he still tells her that hes not going to blame her if he hears the whole truth from her and she still has the audacity to say that she doesnt want to tell him.
The adults all act like children too.
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The acting is amazing, for both Luxixiao (Zhouzhou) and Zhou Wan (Baobao), they really carried the drama — especially during the heartbreaking parts of it. Although the villains are pretty mild to be honest (both acting and their emotional impact) that's why I don't feel much towards them—no hate whatsoever. I don't know whether it's their acting that just lacks something or that's just the way their characters are written (maybe both?), they just felt flat to me. I didn't expect that I would not hate any of the villains.
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heavy on the romance, light on the plot
This is the kind of story that is 100% about the love story and everything else is kind of background noise to that. Our main couple has so much chemistry and are both likeable and rootable characters and you watch this show just to see the beautiful people fall in love. Beyond that, however, this story is a bit messy.Am I enjoying their chemistry? Yes, absolutely. Do I love the amount of screen time given to our main couple? Also yes. One of the things I do love the most about this is the portrayal of the recklessness of youth and passion of young love. That mindset and feeling that we know everything at 18 and love can win all. But the plot logic gets in the way of the emotion. When you really stop and think about all the things actually happening in the story then you realize how under developed it actually is.
Lets begin with the first episode where you already begin to see the convenient story telling put in to play when Zhou Wan goes looking for her mother that abandoned her over a decade before and even changed her name but Zhou Wan knew just where to find her and even had her phone number so she could conveniently find out she is the step mother of our male lead. Okay fine, I'll accept that as a story set up and ignore the logistics of that one. But then this same formula is utilized over and over again with characters overhearing important tid bits of information or random papers just laying out in the open for them to find easily. This type of story telling often feels lazy as the writers spoon feed information.
Next is the lack of proper background. I understand that Lu Xixaio is from a rich family but the show hasn't really made sense in explaining why he is so important to his dad. It does well in explaining the estrangement due to his mother but is his father's only reason for constantly entrapping Xixaio due to the grandfathers favoritism? The company aspect and importance of his role in it is not defined well making the stakes not feel real.
Also the blocking for all the action scenes feels practiced which often pulls me out of the moment. These are fairly new actors and they obviously need to learn but you can see and feel the punches being pulled and the movements being rehearsed. Even the motorcycle race scene lost its thrill due to this.
As the drama goes on and it moves to the latter episodes and the timeline shifts it it mostly held together through misunderstandings and miscommunications which is almost always frustrating to watch. Zhoa Wan's flimsy reasoning, Xixaio's family company being pushed on him because he is the 'heir', a narrative that serves to only push the leads in proximity over and over again. What I would love to see more of is tangible reasoning and real stakes.
Overall this is an enjoyable watch for the romance but could have been so much better with more attention paid to the why's and how's.
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