Linayeol

I can’t take my eyes off Chen Xingxu he is incredibly virile and masculine. He has such a wild, sexy charm in this drama.
Over the past few years, I’ve started watching Lu Yuxiao’s dramas, and she has come such a long way. She effortlessly creates great chemistry with all of her on-screen partners. I absolutely love her voice it’s soft, cute, and very calming. It’s refreshing to see an actress with such a gentle voice who doesn’t rely on overly childish behavior or exaggerated expressions.
When I found out that the drama also involved a virtual game concept something that has been rather overused in recent years I expected it to be quite caricatural and heavily focused on comedy, similar to Everyone Loves Me. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this drama is actually quite serious, with strong stakes involving the workplace, revenge, and well-developed relationships.
The sets and cinematography within the virtual game are stunning; the overall visual experience is truly beautiful. The video editing is also quite well done; there are no abrupt cuts or awkward transitions. So far, I’m loving it, and the tension between the two leads is absolutely delicious.

Yes, I think what you’re saying is absolutely true, but I find that their noses and full lips share some similarities. And in terms of styling, their makeup artist always gives them very pronounced orange-toned lips

Now that you mention it, I also notice that she resembles Ao Rui Peng 🧐. I knew that having prominent ears is considered attractive in Asia, but I didn’t realize it had become so widespread. I find it quite distracting, even though it doesn’t change the fact that these actresses are still gorgeous.
Anyway, Lu Jiang Lai and Rong Shan Bao have such interesting interactions their chemistry and visuals are absolutely stunning 🤭. I really love cunning and intelligent characters

The drama is fairly coherent and good so far. I really like this new character played by Hou Minghao. In this drama, Gülnezer Bextiyar bears a slight resemblance to Meng Ziyi, especially in terms of her styling and makeup. However, almost all the actresses in this drama have very prominent ears, which is quite distracting for me.

Zhuang Xu needs to completely disappear from my sight. He’s such a pretentious little jerk, and his arc drags on way too long for my taste. I can’t wait until we’re finally rid of this trash.

Zhao Jinmai is so beautiful in this drama.

I also think that long-format dramas, like Go Ahead, allow viewers to truly immerse themselves in the lives and personalities of each character, helping to better understand their situations and fully grasp their struggles. It’s such a shame that the story was so heavily shortened.

Just look at what happened with the drama Our Generation. The FL was heavily criticized because her entire life seemed to revolve around the ML. In contrast, in The First Frost, everyone praised Sang Yan for waiting for Yi Fan and for chasing after him. No matter how the story is written, people would have criticized it anyway.
If he had told her everything, and she had given up her studies and her dreams to support him and take care of him, he would have been accused of being selfish. Yet in reality, how many of us would wish that someone could make those difficult decisions for us to spare us from having to make too many sacrifices and later live with regret?

Exactly! People don’t take into account all the aspects, nor the consequences that could have happened if he had told her.

Even though I genuinely like this drama, and after having read the novel, I was expecting something far more mature. I hoped the emotional and psychological aspects would be deeply explored and thoughtfully developed. Unfortunately, many of the changes that were made only served to improve the story from the heroine’s perspective, while the male character’s deeply painful and realistic trauma was largely ignored.
Jin Zhao’s story did not need to be altered. And if it truly had to be changed, then it should have been strengthened not softened or sidelined. A good example of how to handle such a character properly is Yi Fan in The First Frost. His story shows that characters do not need to be perfect, healed, or emotionally “ready” right away especially not after years of suffering. Healing takes time, patience, and emotional honesty.
The First Frost does not portray its characters as flawless beings. Yi Fan is deeply scarred, emotionally closed off, and shaped by years of neglect and trauma. His fear of attachment, his emotional distance, and even his moments of weakness are not framed as cowardice, but as the natural consequences of prolonged suffering. What makes his story powerful is not instant transformation, but the slow and painful process of learning to trust, to accept love, and to believe that he is worthy of it.
Characters like Yi Fan and Jin Zhao after enduring so much trauma need someone courageous, kind, and emotionally strong enough to love them despite their wounds. They need someone willing to be patient, to stay, to gently pursue them, and to help them heal and open up at their own pace. Love, in these stories, is not about saving someone instantly, but about being present long enough for healing to become possible.
That is why I deeply admire both Jin Zhao and Yi Fan. I know some viewers criticize them, calling them imperfect, weak, or even cowardly. But no one is perfect. We all fight our own inner demons, and our experiences shape who we become. Trauma does not disappear just because love appears it must be met with understanding, patience, and time.
What disappoints me is that this drama missed the opportunity to explore Jin Zhao’s trauma with the same care, depth, and realism that The First Frost gave to Yi Fan. His pain deserved to be seen, acknowledged, and respected not erased to make the story more comfortable or idealized.

Say it louder 👏👏

I completely agree with you; I feel exactly the same way. Many people refuse to understand that given Jin Zhao’s condition, with all the care he needed both physically and emotionally the person by his side would have had to constantly watch over him. That is not a small responsibility.
Because of her choice, Mumu was able to live, grow, and discover herself. But in the state Jin Zhao was in during the drama, he needed constant support to stand back up. If Mumu had stayed, would she really have been able to leave him alone with his pain while pursuing her studies and her own life? Realistically, no.
I personally know many people who carry deep regrets for having given up their dreams to care for a loved one with a disability. This reality is often explored in films, yet many still romanticize love without considering the very real limitations and sacrifices involved.
Jin Zhao has endured so much suffering since early childhood. His choices are not acts of selfishness, but a form of self-protection meant to prevent further pain, both for himself and for others. I don’t understand why this is so hard for some people to accept, or why they continue to demand more and more from him, as if he hasn’t already endured enough.

It’s quite sad that all of Jin Zhao’s suffering and struggles were brushed aside. What’s even sadder is that most people choose to judge him instead of showing a bit of compassion and trying to understand his perspective. That’s truly disappointing. In my opinion, the direction handled this separation arc very poorly.

In the novel, Jin Qiang’s daughter suffers from vitiligo and is constantly bullied at school, to the point of attempting suicide. Jin Qiang is a complete parental failure. As far as I remember, he wasn’t an alcoholic, but he completely neglected Jin Zhao during his struggles, to the extent that Jin Zhao even had trouble feeding himself. This is precisely why he started working at a very young age and engaging in illegal activities. Despite his negligence, Jin Zhao paid for his daughter’s treatment, and later on, Jin Zhao was also forced by Jin Qiang to keep his distance from Mumu.
I also agree that the editing is very choppy.

He really reminds me of Wen Yi Fan. She wanted to protect herself and also protect our international Sang Yan. Once Sang Yan understood the hardships Yi Fan had gone through in her life, he understood her choices and felt deeply sorry for her. He healed Yi Fan’s inner child. It’s a shame that the drama focuses mainly on the romance instead of exploring the psychological aspect more deeply.

I’m rather disappointed by this narrative arc, which doesn’t clearly depict enough of the traumas, dilemmas, and difficulties Jin Zhao had to endure during this period of separation, nor the difficult choice he faced when deciding to hide the truth from her. Jin Zhao’s decision wasn’t motivated solely by his desire to protect Mumu; it was also a way to protect his inner child, who had always been abandoned, both physically and emotionally, in his most difficult moments. A line he says in the novel perfectly expresses this fear that Mumu, even after learning the seriousness of his situation, might leave: “People always leave when things get too hard.”
The relationship between Jin Zhao and Mumu was still very recent. Mumu understood the gravity of the accident, but when she learned that her mother was recovering from a successful operation without any complications, she chose, without even checking on Jin Zhao, to go to her side. Jin Zhao arranged their meeting so as not to overwhelm her and to let her leave with a peaceful mind, even though deep down he was dying to ask her to stay. But facing his disability, he felt diminished, unable to hold her back, especially at an age where she was just beginning to take responsibility for her own life. He didn’t want her to ever regret spending the best years of her youth taking care of him and lifting his spirits.
I’m not sure if this will be further developed, but after feeling ready and capable of re-entering Mumu’s life, Jin Zhao went to see his father. The latter, cowardly and aware of Jiang Mu’s mother’s hatred, made him promise not to contact her again. How could he refuse? Jin Qiang was his only parental figure, and deep down, Jin Zhao knew that after everything he had endured, he could never be completely normal again or fully let go of certain fears.
Jin Zhao has lived through far more drama and experienced life more intensely than Mumu. From a very young age, he faced the darkest sides of humanity. He knows that, even with love, it’s often not enough to face certain difficulties together. He has endured too many betrayals and disappointments to blindly trust a budding love. How could Mumu, who was already struggling emotionally with news about her mother, handle problems concerning him? If she had been forced to choose, she would have been torn between the guilt toward her mother, who had always protected her, and the budding romantic relationship with Jin Zhao. It wouldn’t have ended well. Letting her choose was therefore not an option.
Mumu suffered, of course, but Jin Zhao suffered far more. He made an adult, difficult, yet understandable decision. He couldn’t hold her back, and that is more than enough. I wish this aspect had been explored more, but the drama still conveys enough for viewers to understand that this was not simply a matter of miscommunication.

I completely agree with you, and it breaks my heart. I can’t help but think: what if the situation had been reversed 😮‍💨?
And yes, Jiang Mu didn’t do enough for Jin Zhao.

In the novel, Jin Zhao was officially adopted at the age of 2 by Jin Qiang and Jiang Yinghan. This adoption was not motivated by love or affection, but by a compromise:

Jin Qiang’s family wanted a child, as Jiang Yinghan was unable to conceive.

Jiang Yinghan, in conflict with her in-laws, agreed to the adoption on the condition that Jin Qiang cut ties with his own parents.

Jin Zhao was therefore adopted to satisfy family dynamics, not to be genuinely loved.

Jiang Mu has no blood relation to Jin Zhao, but legally, they were recognized as brother and sister. Before learning the truth, Jiang Mu believed Jin Zhao was her biological brother, as they grew up together and he always acted as a protective older brother.

Later, the family falls apart: Jiang Yinghan and Jin Qiang divorce, and Jin Zhao takes his father’s surname, while Jiang Mu keeps her mother’s.

Jiang Yinghan never really loved Jin Zhao, especially after the birth of her own daughter, Jiang Mu. After Jin Zhao’s time in prison, it seems his stepmother wanted to remove him from the family register, but this point is not very clear in the novel. In the drama, some parts are clearly omitted, and nothing is confirmed or denied on this matter.

Mumu learns very late that Jin Zhao is not her biological brother. Many changes and details are left out in the drama to avoid disrupting the story, which I personally think is a good decision.

I wanted to mention this because many people understand that Jin Zhao was adopted and lived as Mumu’s brother for several years, which may make them uncomfortable. Even if these circumstances are not always clearly stated in the drama, in some countries, this kind of situation can be viewed negatively, making some viewers skeptical.

I would simply say that if some people feel uneasy about this, they should probably stop watching and avoid leaving hateful comments. There are plenty of other dramas to enjoy. This is not a spoiler, as many of the things I just mentioned do not appear in the drama.

That’s why I sincerely hope the screenwriter handled this part well and made the necessary adjustments. After that moment, I always felt that Mumu might not have been the right person for him, and that Jin Zhao needed someone mentally stronger and more mature, someone who could protect him from Mumu’s parents, who treated him so terribly.

Many people tend to glamorize Jin Zhao’s sacrifices and see it as “manly” that he lets the woman he loves live carefree. But in reality, he chose not to tell her anything to protect himself emotionally, in case she decided not to stay, or if he wasn’t sure she could still love him after seeing him so broken and depressed.

Jin Zhao has always been treated unfairly in life, and it’s truly sad. I hope this part is handled carefully, to show that his sacrifice isn’t just a display of masculinity or romance, but the difficult choice of a man fully aware of his own limits and emotional wounds.

where she doesn’t even try to look for him, nor wonders whether he has recovered psychologically or physically from the accident, feels very strange especially knowing that her mother had already once deliberately cut off their communication. Her naivety comes across as excessive.

Jiang Mu’s parents are so toxic that I honestly wish Jin Zhao had completely cut ties with them instead of constantly seeking their approval. The father, in particular, is incredibly selfish. After everything Jin Zhao did for their family, he still had the audacity to behave like such a coward.