go in without judgement
i rarely write reviews but felt like i had to support this drama a little for the amount of negative reviews i've seen.saw this drama back in 2024 upon release but never felt drawn to it. fast forward to jan 2026, perhaps because i'm getting closer to 30 – which is the average age of the main cast – i was immediately engaged with the story from episode 1. what initially started as a random watch to pass time made me stay up till 4am to watch it. personally, i don't see what other reviews have mentioned about the lack of chemistry between the main male and female leads because i enjoyed watching them together. this drama is a great balance of love, misunderstandings, courage, (mis)communication, comedy and understanding.
without spoiling anything, here are some overarching observations i gathered:
(+)
one thing i enjoyed about all the characters is they are flawed and there is beauty in their flaws. the relationship between the men showed what a healthy friendship rooted in reality could look like. they were quick to acknowledge their mistakes and apologise when necessary, open to communication and being there for one another. overall, the relationship dynamics between all characters just made sense when i think about their respective situations and tried thinking from their pov, whether i personally agree or not. most importantly, i love xiao xiao and ye han together!! they are so cute and perhaps i'm not seeing what others see (the lack of chemistry) because hu yi tian portrayed his love-at-first-sight look very well! i'm not ashamed to say that i have rewatched this (mostly the main couple's scenes) 2-3 times over since i finished the entire 40 eps for the first time.
(-)
on to the not so good, some parts of the script were great, mostly things said by ye han, whereas there were multiple occasions that made me go ??, breaking the mood of the scene by the dialogue. i felt confused because one moment the script seems to be going well and the next, a character says something that doesn't make sense on that situation or conversation topic. i do agree with some critiques that this drama was too long. it could have been better if it was condensed in 24/28/32 eps max! a lot of back and forth, breaking up for the same reasons (especially by the second couple), and with the amount of episodes there were, i did feel that the writing could be better and friction points could be more layered and delved deeper into.
overall, it is a nice, realistic drama (that said, i typically don't gravitate towards realistic dramas unless i'm in THE mood for it so this says a lot), the actors and actresses all did well given the scripting and i personally hope to see hu yi tian and liang jie together in another modern drama.
p.s. i may have had my expectations lowered because i read the negative reviews halfway watching this drama which could have made it a better experience for me. so i'd suggest doing so and forming your own opinion about it instead of being swayed by both the positive and negative reviews!
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