This is my favourite long form period chinese drama in a very long time. The OTP is so adorable in reel and real life, I totally ship them in both!

And the production quality is totally up there with the best of what money can offer in C-drama land, none of the xianxia nonsense where most of the money seems to have been flushed down the drain with shitty CG and overpaid actors.

And the story! Gosh the story, I actually started reading the book after the first week because it got excruciating waiting for the new episodes - and that, ladies and gentlemen, is when you know I have it bad. The adaptation is stellar so far to kudos to the scriptwriter and director for knowing how to keep the story tight and the plot moving, but making sure the swoony scenes between the OTP are still present, and in some scenes, even one-upping the book version. Can I also just say that Wendy might be the OTP's major shipper in reel-life, but the director plays no small part in shipping the OTP too in the way he crafts each exquisite scene!

The chemistry, my god. So restrained, but filled with so much wanting and frisson, yet innocent and chaste as fitting for the characters' age/context. It made this 'jiejie' smile and squee at this redemptive first love unfolding on screen. I've been following every behind the scene clip and those who understand chinese, please go watch the livestream playback of both leads on weibo - it'll have you smiling so hard the apples of your cheek will hurt so bad. (^з^)-♡Chu!!