est-seulz

here's a funny behind-the-scenes view of the scene in the last episode that they considered using in the actual drama (although ultimately they didn't) but nonetheless still quite amazing:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1rD4y147aq/ (no subtitles though)

so it seems that the video has been taken down, it's kinda like a reconstruction from the end-credits/ending theme song if anyone was wondering

and if there were more episodes, I would love to see their university days, especially what KJW and XJJ were doing when missing each other in those years.

talking about the teacher, not sure if you remember the part where the teacher promised xiaobai (one of the fl's friends who was a die-hard fan of her idol) that they'll go to meet the idol after the exams (I think it's episode 17) - I kinda hoped that they showed that that promise actualized, that the teacher actually fulfilled that promise - after all, this is a teacher who had gone to great lengths for her students

so, apparently there was a scene of that filmed for the drama but it was cut out from the final version of the drama probably because of censorship issues, but the director himself posted a clip of it (an animated version though) on social media:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Yv4y1t7QR/
(but this clip has no subtitles, be it Chinese or English or other languages, and the voices are different, but the tones and expressions of the characters look very much like the two main leads in non-animated live action)

I don't think the entire novel is available online (but I could find a physical copy of the book in the neighbourhood library, in Mandarin) but here's a brief description in English (as far as I could find): https://www.scribblehub.com/series/586002/i-have-a-crush-i-want-to-talk-to-you/

agree about the main leads!
as for the side characters, just curious what do you mean by some are poorly written? (like which part exactly?).
Is it character development, actions inconsistent with personality, or the acting?

Agree with the rushed ending at the last episode, but to provide some context I think the director said there wasn't enough budget so what was supposed to be *a few* episodes became episode 30 AND there was weather conditions affecting their filming (a typhoon/cyclone). -- Actually I hope that if this drama ever becomes a hit, then the rushed ending (ironically) gives raise to the potential for a Season 2. (Like I could think of many things to fill in for another season haha, and story of not just the 2 main leads, but also the character development of the other characters - which we have somewhat observed here and there in XJJ the 2FL, Gao Zhan the 2ML, Wang Jia Yao, and also, Ms Chen).

I also hope that the last episode doesn't stop ppl from watching the drama as a whole because it's been so funny and heartwarming, and yes the cast acted like that was their real personalities (actually in interviews the cast said that there was a lot of laughter during filming cos the actors and actresses themselves are quite humorous people in real life.)
And this drama is so worth re-watching just for the feels.

I haven't read the novel but hearing from others' comments, in the novel the 2FL was a more wicked character while the gap between the leads reuniting was actually 8 years (and with more 'drama' than the relatively feel-good ending we saw in the show).

But even in this adaptation I think you can think of it as them graduating slightly under 4 years (if you take into account internships) - Xu Jing Jing *the FL having been assistant to the interior designer for several months (maybe around half a year), Gao Zhan having *just* graduated and joined the police, Lu Xiaobai being (assistant) producer for variety shows for a few months since graduation, Xiong Shuai interning and then turning into fulltime teacher - this would explain why they seem to have not met in the past 4 years (except for the 3 girls who are besties) in the scene where they returned to their high school. As for Kang Jia Wei (who is just starting out as an entrepreneur, in education industry) you could assume that he returned after having *just* graduated (in Britain, college education generally only takes 3 years, and take into account the time that he had to prepare to take college entrance exams overseas since he didn't take the one in China).

Happy (belated) birthday to 许晶晶 Xǔ Jīng Jīng (the female lead)!!! (her birthday in the series is December 7)! Really love this series which has been so heartwarming, funny, thought-provoking, tear-jerking, and motivational! :)