Gu Yiye a winner

This military drama is surprisingly enjoyable. Gu Yiye played by Xiao Zhan is an interesting and very endearing character. He’s smart, brave, righteous and driven to achieve his goals. Although kind-hearted he doesn’t back down from a fight (especially with Gao Liang - played by Johnny Huang Jingyu the other male lead). There’s a ruggedness and masculinity not seen in Xiao Zhan’s past roles that is very attractive. He had lots of chemistry with Elaine Zhong Chuyi (Jiang Nan Zheng), Bai Lu (Hu Yang) and Mao Lin Lin (A Xiu). There’s a sweet youthful romance, an intense male rivalry and struggles of military life. The dreams of young soldiers are forever changed by adversities they face and tough choices they make. The development of a true Ace Force requires tough training, real battles and sacrifice. I found Gu Yiye’s determination, perseverance and responsibility to be heart-warming and inspiring.

The storyline becomes is a bit disjointed in the last ten episodes (probably due to post/production cuts). The final drama delivered is not as good as it could have been, but every scene with Gu Yiye is worth watching. Xiao Zhan delivers a phenomenal performance as Gu Yiye.

A bonus is the beautiful ending song “We Used to Be Together” sung by Xiao Zhan and Tan Weiwei. Plus Bai Lu’s guest appearance and “bite” in Episode 1 is precious!

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Ray of sunshine

Young designer Sheng Yang (Xiao Zhan) meets his longtime idol award-winning director Jian Bing (Bai Baihe). Despite a 10 year age difference he has a strong affection for her and she’s drawn to him as well. He tries to be a little ray of sunshine to brighten her life.
Filmed in the city of Chongqing this workplace drama has a movie feel to it. The way it’s shot, the attention to detail, and the great city scapes make for a very artistic urban atmosphere.
In addition to the slice of life story surrounding Sheng Yang and Jian Bing, the drama depicts struggles faced in different generations and stations in life, broaching hot-button issues such as sexism, ageism and bullying.
The acting is natural and on point - cast and crew included seasoned professionals along with fresh faces.
Xiao Zhan is an impressive actor with great range. He has three dramas of different genres in 2023 with three very different characters. The loyal persistent social cow Xiao Chun Sheng, the cool reserved high priest Shi Ying, and now the joyful and warm puppy Sheng Yang. Sheng Yang is so real that after just a few episodes I feel like I know him.
Sunshine By My Side is an interesting and entertaining watch so far. I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds!
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If you’re expecting a typical modern love story with intimacy and happily ever after ending…Here are some interview snippets that may prepare you for a somewhat different type of drama.

On the screen time for leads…
This is not a pure love or idol drama, it show lots of relationships, not just the protagonists.

On the slow burn/lack of skinship…
It does not cater to the audience's fast-paced drama-chasing psychology, but instead handles the progress of character relationships in a step-by-step plot development.

This is a story that flows like water. It has no particularly dramatic conflicts or plots. Everything is natural, just like a story that would happen around you.

This is one of the really realistic things, the didi doesn't immediately push the jiejie up against a wall, the two of them don't immediately get into it, they gradually come to understand and test and walk toward each other.

Love is like a glass of wine. When you put it in mouth, it’s one taste; after swallowing it tastes different; then there’s an after-taste. Love is actually like this, not very intense…getting to know each other, testing each other, There are sweet and sour moments in between.

On the open ending…
Life is a marathon. You may meet someone who is at the same pace as you. You two will run together for a certain distance; If one person loses speed, then you separate. And continue running and meet new people with the same pace. In the end, it doesn’t matter who you are running with, the important thing is that you have to reach the finish line.

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Gripping story of Menghai gang

Characters grabbed me from the start and I wanted to see how their dreams played out. Xiao Chunsheng portrayed by Xiao Zhan is a social cow who everyone is attracted to. He and his circle of friends from the military compound and nearby hutongs grow up together and pursue their dreams during a time of big change in China. Chungsheng and his Menghai gang - Tong Xiao Mei (Li Qin), Ye Guo Hua ( Liu Rui Lin), He Hong Ling (Cao Fei Ran), Chen Hong Jun (Cui Hang) and Ye Fang (Zhao Xin) - are faced with many challenges and have to make difficult choices along the way. The excellent scriptwriters, production team and talented actors made their youth story tender and compelling. There's teenage puppy love, brotherhood and bravado, inspiring courage, wartime tragedies, sincerity and betrayal, enduring friendship, real love that develops over time and persistence to overcome obstacles and follow one's dream.

Authentic scenery and costumes immerse viewers in old Beijing during the 1970’s during China’s opening up period. I never realized how powerful military was politically (getting into army, school, jobs, rations, movie tickets, privileges) and socially (prestige, influence, popularity).

Some of my favorites scenes include Shichahai rink, top of Great Wall, moonlight military training, land mine field, hospital good-bye, train ride home, meeting sister at train station, first steps, bookmark realization, and library reunion. I enjoyed everything about this drama and pulled for each character to achieve his dream.

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Leads convey subtle emotions very naturally.

Romantic comedy that has a nice balance of scenes and characters that are funny and sad, light and serious, clinical and emotional. The attractive leads Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan are well matched as Lin Zhixiao and Gu Wei. There’s lots of chemistry between them from their chaotic first encounters and bumpy beginnings until they gradually fall in love. Both are excellent actors who convey subtle emotions very naturally. They have beautifully expressive eyes that are captivating and mesmerizing. The plot is clever and entertaining from the get-go. The flirting game between Gu Xiao (Zhai Zi Lu) and San San (Daisy Li) made for a playful sub-plot. Fine acting all round by the supporting cast. Plus this drama has a beautiful musical score and opening and ending theme songs by Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan. Bonus: When not in scrubs Dr Gu sports some great fashion wear, and there are 30+ kisses that won’t disappoint romance fans.

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Visual feast

Beautiful to watch! The attention to detail in the costumes, sets, props and cinematography makes for an exquisite visual experience. Superbly shot scenes such as flower bridge, dance, sword play, bird flight, magic and xianxia are feasts for the eyes. Excellent acting . Xiao Zhan as Shi Ying and Ren Min as Zhu Yan plus fine job by other cast, especially Li Ming De as Chongming, Fang Yilun as Zhi Yuan and Wang Zi Qi as Qing Gang.

Cold and aloof priest Shi Ying lived an isolated life on JuiYi mountain until bubbly princess Zhu Yan intruded into his solitary life. I'm loving everything about this drama and look forward to how the fateful love story unfolds. Have already rewatched every episode on Tencent WeTV and will rewatch again on Netflix.

Synopsis from Tencent app:
The series tells the story of the lonely and indifferent Kongsang prince Shiying and the passionate and righteous princess Zhu Yan of the Chi nationality who form a long-term relationship, stay together and overcome difficulties together. The story of the play takes place in a fantasy continent called "Yunhuang" … a fantasy mountain scene with grand architectural scale and profound Zen for the audience. As the narrative unfolds, the emotional line and the career line run parallel. Not only there is a romantic story of fateful love, but also elements such as family and country righteousness and inspirational growth run through it, explaining the righteous mission of the main characters to protect the common people and set their hearts for all things.

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