This was an amazing story and one I’d highly recommend for those looking for a coming of age story! First off, this isn’t a romance drama and not sure why MDL tagged it as such. I suspect that many who are looking for romance would be disappointed in this one. I would also say this is for more mature audiences. It’s heavy on the realism and does not contain fluff. It’s definitely not an idol drama.

The Good

The story was well written and had a strong execution. This was one of the best high school dramas I’ve seen and left a deep impression. There were many profound moments and life lessons portrayed in this drama. The female lead Luo Qiqi was an extremely relatable character and had me rethinking my youth, thoughts, actions and choices made during those times. Every character was very complex, not perfect and had their own interesting story to tell. There was so much character growth and development seen that it left a deep satisfaction at the end. In my opinion, this was Zhao Jin Mai’s best drama that I’ve seen from her lineup through 2024. It really showed her acting range. All the remaining cast also did an amazing job and portrayed their characters very well.

The Bad

It’s a slow drama and requires patience to sit through as it’s 30 episodes with 50 min runtime per episode. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Though I enjoyed every episode and it kept me engaged, of course this drama still has the misunderstandings we’ve come to know in CDramas. The difference here is these are more realistic, relatable and understandable situations. It’s a basic production with a not memorable OST. The ending may leave some dissatisfied.