Close to You

When "Youth C-drama" Director and Writer wake up and decide to do something differently good

CLOSE TO YOU (2025) | CN DRAMA
Cast: Liu Xiao Bei, Zhu Lin Yu
Rating: 8.5(Ignore the current 7.4 rating and make your own judgement)

Hear me out...

Yes, I know. I said very loudly and confidently that I wasn’t watching another high school drama again. I’ve seen enough of those rinse-and-repeat arcs, carbon copy characters, where the writers repeat after themselves “we are not trying to be Lighter and Princess (2022) but we low-key are” setup like Forever Love (2020) or When I fly Towards You(Yes I skipped WIFTY,the same way I skipped Lovely Runner) that’s a rant for another review.

Yet here I am. Again. Why? Because I belong to that very niche group of people who can commit to 24 episodes based on a single 1-minute clip floating on the cursed but irresistible streets of social media. I even left a comment on the post: “If this drama flops, I’ll be back kicking and screaming.” Spoiler: I did not kick or scream. In fact, I quietly binged the whole thing.

So what made Close to You different from every other coming-of-age drama we’ve seen?

For starters,it’s not set in high school. (Pause for applause.) The writers actually upped their game and placed the story in a private college. Now, I don't fully understand the Chinese education system,maybe this is the A-Levels equivalent? Who knows. All I know is: we left behind the tired old tracksuits and stressful university entrance exam trope that make you hate every parent in C-dramas and upgraded to blazers, sports festivals, swimming pools, and fancy tuition fees.

Jiang Cai College is the setting of an elite private school where students are handpicked from upper-class families. There are music clubs, sports teams, and yes, a basketball squad that serves as the beating heart of the story. Our ML, Jiang Bo Han, is the team captain. Tall. Calm. Respected. Leadership unlocked.

Enter Yu Ming Xi, our FL. She’s not rich. She didn’t get in because of her bank account, but because of Plot Reasons and a mysterious backstory linked to the school. She’s backed by a bubbly and ride-or-die bestie Wang Chu Nian (SFL),who got plenty of spark but let’s be honest she's mostly in this school for one reason: the basketball boys. And I don’t blame her. At all.
Together, these two form a surprisingly balanced pair in a school full of pressure, privilege, and plot-relevant bullies. It’s like they live in their own little pocket universe inside Jiang Cai’s perfectly landscaped gates.

Our Leads' first meeting? No fireworks. No dreamy background music. Just a street brawl and one girl who refuses to mind her business. She jumps in to help, standing at maybe 5’5” and ready to throw hands. And folks..that’s how Jiang Bo Han met Yu Ming Xi. From that moment on, his world does a full 180 and begins to orbit around her.
He becomes her protector, not that she needs one, because sis can defend herself just fine but he fills in the cracks she can’t always seal up alone. Especially when a certain villain (yes, we have those, obviously) starts stirring the pot.

One thing I really appreciated about this drama: the leads broke out of the usual mold. Jiang Bo Han is not your average rich boy who folds every time his parents show up. No. This one argues back, stands firm, and will absolutely defy his mother for the girl he loves. And Yu Ming Xi? She’s no helpless kitten. She fights, speaks up, and works her tiny frame to the bone to stay afloat.
The side characters? Surprisingly useful. They actually did what they were meant to do: support the main storyline without hijacking it. Even the villains served a purpose and didn’t just exist for chaos points.

And don’t be fooled by the private school aesthetic and ¥1200 blazer(which is a story on its own)—these kids aren’t just walking Hedge Funds spoiled brats. They carry pain, trauma, and secrets. Each of them is fighting their own painful past and as they stand at the messy intersection between adolescence and adulthood, they’re forced to make choices that hurt more than they should.
If I could describe Close to You with one analogy, it’s an onion. The more layers you peel, the more it hits you in the feels. You’ll cry a little, not because it’s sad all the time, but because of how deeply some of their emotions are buried under all that schoolwork and basketball practice. (Also, none of these kids are visiting the school counselor, and it shows.)

OST:
Let me talk about the music. Whew. Someone in production got a blank check and used it wisely. The soundtrack? A banger. I haven’t made a playlist for a drama since… ever. And I’ve watched over a hundred. But this one? Had me in a chokehold. RIP my replay button. I’ll drop the link somewhere below. You’re welcome.

What could’ve been better?

– Each episode is just 18 minutes, which is cute until you realize some scenes were clearly cut short. Like we blink and suddenly we’re in a whole different vibe with zero transition.
– That twist near the end? Blame the writer for giving us a slap that we didn't see coming and also blame me for believing youth equals peace.
– The time skip... kinda flopped. Characters looked the same. Their future selves were just vaguely mentioned in passing. Not a single grown-up makeover or career montage in sight.
– The final 10 minutes? Unhinged. Old characters randomly reappeared for no reason, and the “ending” felt more like a deleted scene they threw in last minute.

Final Thoughts:
I went in expecting fluff, maybe a height difference and a few cute moments from two lesser-known leads. I came out emotionally invested, unexpectedly teary-eyed, and with a whole playlist. This was more than just another youth drama. Think Always Home, sprinkle in Hierarchy, and season with a dash of Weak Hero Class 2 energy.
Highly recommended if you’re stuck in a drama slump, craving something new, or just in the mood for an emotional but sweet ride through growing pains, love, and a whole lotta basketball.

EDIT:
As promised,It took me a second to put the playlist together but here it is.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6iKhX935lp2UYb9RNLIWJ1?si=bNC28tq7TMGvy8GjISdK4w&pi=qFbEFqnaTp-N2

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Fair but could be better..

The series is good, and it's nice to see the FL again. I love the height difference between the FL and ML—they somehow have great chemistry and portray their characters well. The ML did justice to his role and executed it impressively. His small, subtle smiles were also adorable.

However, the storyline became a little strange in the middle of the series, particularly in Episode 15. It didn't clearly explain the relationship between the ML and FL—were they just friends, developing mutual feelings, or something else? After a brief infatuation, some scenes felt odd and lacked proper explanation. Their relationship felt like a whirlwind. The ML and FL didn’t have enough time to get to know each other or spend moments together to establish what they truly had. They also didn’t have time to clear things up or express their emotions fully. Perhaps the writers had different ideas regarding that aspect.

Additionally, there were moments when the characters' secrets weren’t explained well. Overall, the series is enjoyable for today's era, but I feel it lacks a stronger storyline that could have clarified important details and made it even more compelling. I could rewatch it at some point, but it wouldn't be one of those series I'd revisit often.

Lastly, I didn’t like the ending. It felt rushed and disconnected from the rest of the story. The last two episodes were fast-forwarded, and the series concluded without properly showing how the ML and FL officially became a couple, no clear development. They talked and kissed, but there was no deeper progression. It was quite disappointing. The part where the ML goes abroad also felt a bit odd.

Watch it for yourself, and you’ll understand what I mean! I just wish the ending had been better.

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Touching story but confusing

This coming of age series was heart touching. The characters were well acted. The main ML and FL were excellent. I enjoyed the story until the poor editing on the last 2 or 3 episodes made a muddle of the series.
After completing it I continued to ponder the timeline in these episodes to make sense of things. There appeared to be sacrifices and considerations occurring that weren't straightforward. It just really got confusing. I can't help but think there was a better way to present the chain of events that caused the leads to be without communication for four years. I wish the last 3 or 4 episodes were redone to provide more clarity. On reflection it's like the plot wasn't adequately developed to reflect the motivations of several of the storylines...like maybe the production was running out of time or money to fully develop the plot.

I would love to see the ML as a main character in more movies. The secondary couple were sweet and romantic and helped carry the story along with warmth. The antagonists: the spoiled selfish FL lead and her besotted sort of step brother were both infuriating and unnecessarily tragic. I enjoyed this cinderella-like series until it became a mess and morphed into a jigsaw puzzle .

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A Cute Youth Romance with a Sweet Start

I enjoyed this web drama for the most part. It had charm, heart, and some truly adorable moments.

What I liked:

1. Cinematography: Surprisingly good for a low-budget series! The camera work felt thoughtful, like what I’d imagine if I were directing it myself.


2. Sweet & Funny Moments: There were plenty of lighthearted, cute, and genuinely funny scenes that made it a feel-good watch.


3. FL (Yu Mingxi): A relatable, likable character, an introvert with an extroverted side. Hardworking, sweet, and portrayed well by the actress.


4. Wang Chu Nian: An absolute scene-stealer. Adorable, real, and hilarious with her ever-changing crushes. “I like all the good-looking ones”,girl, exactly. Also, whoever styled her hair deserves a raise!


5. SML (You Jingchu): Very likable. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if he ended up with the FL. I enjoyed his friendship with FL so much.


6. Second Couple: Wang Chu Nian and Chen Su Jie had such cute chemistry and the height difference just made it more fun.


7. ML: Not a bad character, but I lost some interest in him during the second half. Still, I didn’t dislike him.


8. Friendships: Yu Mingxi and Wang Chu Nian’s dynamic was a highlight. Their bond was wholesome and adorable.



What I didn’t like:

1. Shaky Cam: At times the camera was too shaky, it distracted from the scenes.


2. SFL: Repetitive and frustrating. Her constant problems and pity plays wore thin quickly. Her backstory made her motivations understandable but overdone.

Her pairing with Zheng Wen felt like a “villain x villain” duo, which I didn’t really care for. (visually they make a good pair, I would watch if they act as the leads in another drama.)



3. ML’s Dubbing: While the voice suited him, it sometimes sounded like he was chewing his lines, especially when he spoke in English. Made me wonder if he memorized them properly.


4. Too Long: 31 episodes was a stretch. Tighter storytelling would’ve improved the pacing.


5. Last 3 Episodes: The ending didn’t live up to the strong beginning.



Overall: Not a bad drama at all, starts strong with lots of charm, but loses some momentum by the end. Worth a watch if you're into sweet youth romances with lovable characters.

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Easy watch, One of the very good short dramas.

This drama is really underrated so much. 7.4 is rated for the worst of the worst but this drama don't deserve this. Though it's not perfect, it's already too good for a short drama. The story is also good. The chemistry is nice and fluffy but ML was serious in chasing FL.ML gave so many butterfly moments. His way of teasing FL makes me giggle. First half especially was too engaging. They didn't drag anything.
sure, there was so much annoying things but it's overshadowed by the Main leads.
The ending was also believable and acceptable.

I have to specifically mention the music. Omg this series has one of the best songs ever. The tracks were very carefully chosen and I found lots of music to my taste. Loved it.

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Not spectacular but highly watchable, with awesome breakout performance by Wu Bo Wei

The strengths of this drama:

❤️ Brisk pacing and good story flow makes it highly binge-able. Direction, camerawork, production value all of higher caliber than most stories of similar episode-length.

❤️ Actors and actresses brought their A-game to this. Some performances are stronger than others, but no one was actually bad in their role, there is no "weak link" that ruins the continuity of the drama. I'm really impressed by the cast that they were all fully invested and tried to make this story shine.

❤️ Absolutely AWESOME performance by Wu Bo Wei (the "villain" ML). I tend to shy away from comparing actors to other actors, but Wu Bo Wei is the chinese Zo In Sung, and I mean that as a compliment. He has those sexy deep eyes, strong handsome facial features, onscreen confidence, and most importantly imo... he has this "shimmery" quality to his acting where he's not just acting, he's acting down to the level of microexpressions where you can see huge range of emotion coming through from just his facial reactions.... and he has FIREY chemistry with his female love interest, like burn down the whole drama level fire. With the right career breaks and the right directors, he could be a huge powerhouse actor that could easily co-star or lead in a major production drama.

❤️ Styling is often a c-drama's weak point, but not here. Here the styling fits the story very well and helps build some of that "seamless watch" energy it has going for it. It could be better, but hey. Budget restraints are a thing. At least no one had truly crappy hair. I could see the care that went into styling each character, and appreciated it.


The weaknesses:

💥The ending. Super disjointed and confused, ruins the sense of continuity they had built up through the whole drama and just drops the ball. Big cop-out energy.... (and speaking of cop-out energy, the way they wrapped up the "villain's" character arc was so absolutely AWFUL it was laughable)

💥The lack of depth. Much of the story is cliche and trope. There are creative and refreshing aspects to the drama, but those threads aren't really pulled on and teased out like they would have been in a winning script. The emotional depth is sounded out a little bit with some of the characters, but there is not the masterful depth of human understanding some Chinese writers have, so the final product is a little bit flat-feeling.

💥Some are gonna disagree with me but OST/BGM was a net negative for me. The mood of the songs was fine, I didn't think the musical direction was tone-deaf, it matched the storyline. But it was intrusive and persistent, and all in all I think it would have been better without an OST at all if they're gonna be so aggressive about it. Somebody thought this production was a good opportunity to showcase some musicians and singers. But I wanted to watch a romance drama, not a music video. I get that that whole folk-indie-pop-Mazzy-Star sound might be just what some people like. But I listen to EDM and speed/thrash metal and hiphop. So for me sitting through this OST was like a form of torture, and ruined many scenes for me.

All in all, I think worth a one-time watch. Fast paced, major eye candy factor, great acting by the whole cast. But to me, not really "rewatch" caliber.

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Comparable to average-highly budgeted youth dramas

… but it’s not without flaws, because the series’ strong points also became its weakness during the second half.

The good
- Decent cinematography for a low-budget web series.
- Impressive cast performance.
- Decent chemistry between ML and FL (the height difference is great, too!)
- Good flow, pacing, and storytelling in the first half—even comparable to average-highly budgeted youth dramas. Hooks you right in during the first episode.
- Good soundtrack.

The bad
- Inconsistent camera works.
- The relationship of ML and FL has a weak foundation. The romance peaked without the getting-to-know process. The shift from infatuation to a full-blown romance was not the best kind, and it does not give a clear distinction of where the relationship actually stands. I just couldn't tell if the way it's written is intentional.
- The secondary characters' antihero situation is poorly written and a mismatch of how their characters are.
- Everything crashed during the second half. Flew high up with impressive formatting during the first episodes but fell down pretty quickly due to inconsistency. Some stories were introduced, but not properly wrapped up. Additionally, the ending was a huge disconnect, like it was trying to be something that it wasn’t.
- The soundtracks were all good, but sometimes, they were used inappropriately, in a way that the lyrics of a song would not match the mood or the theme of a scene. Sometimes, they come off a bit awkward and intrusive, especially when a scene does not really require a background song.

Overall, I’d still give credits to where it’s due: despite the bad fall during the second half, I still think that this fared better than some youth dramas who had the advantage of budget and a full-length airtime.

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Something different yet not so unique

When i usually start a mini drama, i try to keep my expectations as low as possible because let's be honest these mini dramas are only here to help us pass time, but for this one i had high expectations after watching the first few episodes. It was something different and refreshing.

The FML wasn't the typical damsel in distress who can't utter a word in her defence when somebody wrongs her, she was head strong and out going. She spoke her mind, had her goals and was likeable.
The ML was also not the typical rude cold jerk even after going through a rough patch in his life. He was very sweet and firm when needed.
The chemistry was chemistrying. They were very cute together and loved their relationship buildup. Though the FML took way too long to confess,but it worked out.

This was surprisingly a good drama before it all went down. First of all, I'm sick and tired of "second female leads who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, but the second male leads will always be very understanding and easy going." Why can't writers come up with better plot device? Why is it always the female second lead stirring up trouble for the leads?

Honestly the second lead couple had better development in their story. They were so cute omggg.

The last 3 episodes were total disaster. For a short length drama, why did they have to complicat it so much? The ending—rushed, not satisfying, hence the rating.

The person who was in charge of the OST department rocked.

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Good pace and story for a short web rom-com drama about finding love in the midst of adversities.

Close to You is a short rom-com drama about two unlikely people from different backgrounds who ended up together through many obstacles they faced in school and life.

It's my first time watching the main CP (Liu Xiao Bei and Zhu Lin Yu). They both did a decent job playing the characters.

Synopsis: Yu Ming Xi, an ordinary girl with a gift for sports, enters the elite Jingcai Academy to honor her late father's dream. There, she meets Jiang Bo Han, a brilliant student hiding behind a rebellious front. As their lives intertwine, they peel back each other's masks, confront past wounds, and begin to heal through an unexpected connection.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 7
2, Script: 7
3, Music/OST: 7
4, Production Quality: 6
5. Cinematography: 6
6. Rewatchable: 7
7. On-Screen Chemistry: 7

Overall Rating: 6.5

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it’s a cute short drama

I binged it in two days. A preview popped up on my feed and I got curious. It captivated me from the first second on. Despite the fl being a bit annoying. She was very cute and her acting was good. Just the character and her storyline was a bit annoying. Ml was great. I loved the second couple more. They were so cute together. Great actors, both of them, I hope to see more of them in the future. The Mbff of the FL was great and deserved a lot more than what he got. I loved how the personal traumas of both leads were woven into the storyline without being overly dramatic! Overall its a 10/10 for me and will rewatch it when I have a bad day because this is definitely something that will make you feel better

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By bringing up the story of young people who go to school with a good background story, the acting of the players is good, the camerawork is also good, plus the cinematography of this drama is very aesthetic and beautiful. The background songs and shots in this drama are also good and harmonious.

Each drama scene is presented with the ups and downs of personal life, school, family, and friends at Jingcai Academy. With different characters, difficulties, wounds, many problems that come continuously, lack of self-confidence, jealousy, fear, trauma, selfishness, loss, and decisions taken in their respective lives, they go through their youthful lives by continuing to move forward and continue living until they become adults with stable thoughts and attitudes.

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