sara

Unfortunately, not everyone try to understand these characters and instead want to watch a drama with perfect characters and smooth sailing relationship journey.

Yup she's indeed his hero. I love the scene when Qiaoxi is described as the "princess" that needs to be saved and that Yingtao is the "prince" in question. Sometimes it's the men that needs the saving.

I'm glad to see Qiaoxi change his way of thinking after being lectured by Yingtao at the stairs. Them being honest about their feelings with each other and talk about how they will navigate their relationship moving forward is so satisfying to watch. It shows their maturity and their willingness to change and grow to be better person, for the other person.

This drama is by no means a perfect one but I don't agree with all the harsh reviews and comments regarding the way the FL behave. I don't think she's obsessed or have no self-respect or have no backbone.

If someone you like and that you know LIKES you too suddenly left after saying "don't forget me", wouldn't you be confused and would want to find out why? Could you just simply get over it and move on from what happened as if it's no big deal? We're not talking about some random boy who rejected her feelings and ghosted her after that. It's a boy that is also her childhood friend, whom she has special connection with and whom she knows has feelings for her too.

Even if you want her to move on from him and stop thinking about him, she deserves her own closure. She has the right to find him and know what exactly has happened. His abrupt leave affects her life deeply because he's someone that means a lot to her but despite the heartbreak, I still think she lives her life well, study well and she has many good friends in the college. It's fortunate that she doesn't become depressed or suddenly find the world isn't worth living in. She's still the same bright, determined girl even after JQX left.

I think she's a very firm, courageous and responsible person. She doesn't worry and trouble her family over her personal matters. Despite being very sheltered by her family, she has no problem to be independent and make her own decision. She works hard with the tuition part time work to save money for finding him.

Also the fact that later on she successfully became the teacher as she dreamed of means she's a person that is clear about what she wants. In no way she's losing herself for the sake of man's well-being. The reason she is the way she is, it's because she's raised in an environment full of love, only when you're loved you know how to love. She believe in their love and think it's worth fighting for.

Occasionally thinking about him and save the money to find him isn't an obsession, if she wants to find him, she has more than right to do that. They even kissed before he left, they're pretty much lovers at that point. If not, more than friends, less than lovers. So, what's wrong with her wondering about him and wanting to find him? Even if they didn't get together after meeting him, she deserves to know what happened and find her own closure, so she could completely let the love go and finally move on from him.

Maybe because most of the viewers here are women, it's like you people are projecting yourself on Yingtao. So many of you hate to see female character make so much effort for the love she believes in because it's not something you'd do in real life but then would go applaud when it's the men who do the same thing bc #yaasss women worth all the effort and sacrifices; women deserves be loved and be pampered and treated like royal etc, but no woman should "lower herself" and do anything for men. Idk if it's coming from misogynistic or extreme feminist kind of thinking.....

Regardless, female characters are always hated on this site no matter what dramas. They're always expected to behave only certain ways or they'll be subjected to harsh criticisms. It's like nuanced or flawed female characters are not allowed to exist.... Many people expect the female leads to always be smart and act in proper manner, subject them to highest standard, judge them harshly when they don't behave in a way that align with one's belief/preference but would turn around and have no problem showing compassion and understanding when it's male characters behaving the same or exhibiting the same flaws...

It's always women that are more harsh towards another women, it's sad to see. There's no chance for female leads to make mistake and have a room for growth. They need to make wise decisions all the time otherwise they're "poorly written" characters

Even for this drama, the FL is still judged more harshly than the guy who left her abruptly even after saying "don't forget me". I need people to stop picturing themselves in these characters and talking about what you would have done in that same situation. Instead, try to understand more the characters, their backgrounds, their motivations, where they're coming from and why they behave the way they did.

I think the things Yingtao and Qiaoxi did in the drama are very consistent with their personalities and the kind of family environment they grew up in. One is very secured and rich in love and have no problem with expressing her feelings while another one is timid, always in constant pressure and has a lot of insecurities. Qiaoxi running away and cutting people off from his life when faced problems makes a lot of sense, so is Yingtao who doesn't easily give up on the love she believes in. That's just the type of person they're.

You can feel frustrated, disagree with their actions/decisions and still understand why they behave the way they do. Everyone has different personalities and has their own values. What you think is silly, to others it's worth it. What considered a measly matter to you can be everything or life-changing matter to them.

I don't believe the way Yingtao behave is irrational, immature, lack of self-respect or even be called obsession. I think it's the right balance between knowing what she wants, bravely pursue for what she believes in, caring about the people she love.

In the current world filled with so many extreme way of thinking such as you either find yourself a perfect partner or be single forever, I applaud Yingtao for fighting for the love she believes in, embracing JQX's flaws and insecurities and working together to make their relationship work.

Anyone knows what are TXN and ZY's next projects? Any rumors? Is there variety show or event to look forward to?

I know it's still early but this drama is one of the most well-written dramas of this year so why is the mdl rating so low....? I'd expect it to be at least 8.5. The quality of writing is on par with those of Our Unwritten Seoul or WLGYT imo. Like the story is just so well-thought out. I hardly have anything to pick on.

Have you watched Good Partner (2024) starring Jang Nara and Nam Jihyun ? It's a good one too.

how did this went from the most exciting romance kdrama i've watched this year to just another average, kinda forgettable drama..... this could be this year's lovely runner if they didn't butcher the last few episodes #wastedpotential

tbh i'd forgive the weird timeskip and the random additional plots and rushed ending if they include a lot of cute, heart fluttering scenes between the leads but they don't..... the romance in the first half was so exciting but there's barely romantic scenes in the second half.. like the butterflies were just not there anymore :/

unfortunately, it didn't give me the same "crack" feeling i had when watching lovely runner.

Can someone tell if this drama has a lot of tw/cw? I'm kinda interested to check out for Dilireba but I'm not a fan of dark/frightening scenes, graphic violence, blood etc. Is this drama okay to watch for someone faint hearted like me?

Is the entirety of this drama filmed in Hengdian? Anyone knows when they are expected to wrap up filming?

Some of my favorite plots are the cheerleading arc and the conflict between Yingtao and Qin Yeyun, the college roomates arc and the HK phone call between Yingtao and Qin Yeyun (iykyk)

Some don't enjoy these kind of side plots and think they're filler scenes but I really love them bc I find them very fascinating and relatable. Not many youth dramas that do these kind of scenes well. It hits close to home.

Random fact, I have been following the discussion of this drama for some time but only after finishing it, I decided to create a MDL account for the first time lol bc I feel the need to say what I think about this drama. There's a lot of negativity on this page, some were frustrated with the characters and the conflicts and some were frustrated with the lack of ML's screentime.

But I just wanna say to those who are considering to start it or whether or not to continue watching till the end, the drama isn't all that bad, and that there are still some like me who enjoyed it and think it's worth watching.

If you treat this drama as a slice-of-life or coming-of-age story centered around Yingtao, then maybe you might be able to enjoy the story better :)

For me, the best and most memorable parts about this drama is not really the romance, it's the characters' growth as individuals and the wholesome girlhood and family moments portrayed by the drama.

Another thing I like about this drama is the friendship between the families. It was so wholesome and heartwarming.

Also, despite the lack of their scenes with each other, I really, really love Yu Qiao and Qin Yeyun. I love them as individuals (of how selfless they're as a friend to Yingtao) and I also love their dynamics together.

Their last scene together in the last episode made me wish there'd be a spin off based on their story. The probability is low but let me just dream lol. They have really great chemistry. Even their visual chemistry alone is palpable enough.

Their visuals, personalities and dynamics are actually more of my type than Yingtao and Qiaoxi, so I believe they too could make a fascinating love story. Just imagining a romance drama with characters like them is already quite exciting lol.

Regarding the characters' conflict, I personally think the drama did pretty good job at laying out the motivations of each character and explaining why they behave the way they did. Even though we may not agree with their certain actions or decisions, the way the characters behave are honestly consistent with their personalities, their family backgrounds, and the environment they were raised in. I don't find it that hard to empathize with them. We should view the story from the characters' perspective instead of picturing ourselves of what we would have done in their situation.

Sure, some viewers would hope Yingtao to stop wasting her time and move on from Qiaoxi and maybe consider the SML. Or that Qiaoxi would put more effort on their love instead of telling her not to forget him but then end up ghosting her for 2 years.

- A girl who will realize no man who ghost you would be worth it
AND
- A guy who will not resort to noble idiocy and instead, have more faith in the love she has for him

That would be the ideal scenario. That'd be pleasant to watch. But I think sometimes we forget that there are different kinds of people existed in this world who would deal with their emotions and lives differently.

In real world, people who would make naive mistakes and act reckless or selfish like them very much existed. Us humans don't always make wise decisions in our life and most often, we learn from the mistake we made. For me, characters' flawed decisions don't necessarily equate to bad writing.

I personally find the characters quite realistically written albeit frustrating bc I know many girls out there who find it hard to let go of their past love even though they know it's affecting their life in negative way. It's easier for us to just tell, "Girl, move on. He's not that great. You deserve better. Stop holding onto a guy thats not worth your time". However, some people just feel intensely, no matter how many times you advise them, they still can't let their feelings go easily.

And there are also people like Qiaoxi who would cut off contacts with their loved ones/their close friends abruptly when they're going through hard times, because they find it shameful to show their vulnerable sides to the other people. I think we all can relate at one point of our life of not wanting to show people our weaknesses and insecurities. It's in human nature to show people close to us that we are living a good life. Not everyone is fine with letting people see how struggling and miserable they are in reality.

While there were few moments I felt frustrated with the characters' behaviors, after the deep conversations they had with each other at the stairs, I started to understand the intentions of the writer - what kind of love story they want to deliver, and what kind of characters they want to write.

I think the long talk they had show enough of their remorses, regrets, their resolutions etc. They talked their feelings out, talked about their situations and began to understand each other. They recognized their issues - how things don't have to be this way and discussed how they're going to handle it moving forward.

Yingtao said things that need to be said. She's not some lovestruck fool like some people said. I think it's actually cool and courageous of her to fight for the love she believe in, to find the answer and conclusion to her heart matters - whether she should continue to fight for it or to give up completely.

I especially like the scene where she said that she will really decide to stop loving him if he still insists with his way of handling their situation. Even though they made up not long after that, those words just shows how she knew her worth - yes she loves him a lot but she also readies to give up if she's the only one who is going to make effort to hold onto their love. I love how that scene switched from being serious to lighthearted and then wholesome.

You know that sayings, something along the line — only when you're loved, you'd know how to love others. That's exactly who Yingtao is as person. People like Yingtao who is raised by a good family, in an environment full of love naturally would have a lot of love to give to other people and have her own ideals of love.

So her actions regarding Qiaoxi imo are very believable and consistent with her personalities. Like some users have said, Yingtao is not chasing some random guy she had one-sided feeling with. (if a female character is still chasing a guy despite already being rejected and humiliated many times, then that's what I'd called foolish and have no self-respect

But in Yingtao's case, she's chasing a guy whom she knew have feelings for her too. So from her perspective, it's the kind of mutual love that worth fighting and making effort for. She knew something must have happened to Qiaoxi, that's why she's still holding onto that love despite being hurt, and insisted to go and find him. Even if there's a chance that their love may not end up being the way she's hoped hor, to her it's still worth trying and finding the answer.

Overall I think the angst and the conflict wraps up pretty nicely. Maybe certain parts could be done a little better but for me, it was satisfying enough.

Even though the drama has several flaws here and there and there were certain plot arcs or characterization that could be executed better, overall I still think this is a good coming-of-age drama packed with a lot of life lessons. I did not regret finishing it despite there were some slow or frustrating moments. Personally, this drama is a solid 8 or 8.5 for me.

I understand the various sentiments people have on this drama. I liked this drama but I also understand those who did not like it and where they were coming from. That just shows in the end of the day, everyone is different and view/interpret things differently.