Unlike many fans, I actually preferred the drama adaptation. For me, the true climax of the story was not the political ending, but the moment when Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu finally fully acknowledged the feelings they had been holding back for so many episodes. Their relationship was the heart of the drama, and that moment was the real emotional peak.

After reaching such a powerful climax, the drama could not simply end abruptly. It still had to resolve all the questions and storylines built throughout the narrative: the political conflicts, the supporting characters' journeys, and the consequences of everything that had happened. Since the emotional payoff had already been delivered, the remaining episodes served to provide closure rather than create a new climax.

The "what if" sequence did not bother me at all. In fact, I saw it as a creative choice by the director to reinforce the theme of fate. To me, the point was not "what would have happened if things were different," but rather that some people are destined to find each other regardless of circumstances.

Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng feel like the kind of souls who would choose each other in any version of the story. Meanwhile, some of the other couples do not stay together in either reality because they simply do not share that same destined connection. That is why the final sequence did not weaken the story for me—it strengthened its central message: those who are truly meant to be together will find their way to each other, while those who are not meant to be together will not remain together, no matter how fate is rewritten.