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I recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch a comforting and peaceful series. The relationship between the main characters is beautiful and carefree. They are a wonderful support for each other, trust one another completely, and because of that, unnecessary arguments never come between them. The development of their relationship is also amazing—at first, Su Zai Zai seeks contact with him, but soon enough, he wants the same. He slowly begins to open up to her, and she shows him that he, too, is someone special and deserves happiness. What starts as a friendship quickly turns into love, which blossoms in college and continues into adulthood, where their carefree bond and genuine love remain just as visible.

The whole storyline of their friendship as a group of five was also wonderful. Their carefree high school life, the dilemmas connected to university, and later their adult life were all portrayed beautifully. They always stayed together, despite the passing years and separations. On top of that, the relationship between Jiang Jia and Gu Ran was also lovely, and I rooted for them strongly. I was even a little sad that we didn’t get to see more scenes after they became a couple. The only one I truly felt sorry for was Guan Fang, who was the only one in the group not to find happiness, even though he also deserved it (P.S. his grandmother was wonderful).

There weren’t many downsides, although one of them is definitely that the storyline about harassment by the president wasn’t further developed—especially the consequences he faced. Another drawback is that we didn’t get to see Zhang Lu Rang’s parents truly realizing how much harm they had caused their sons (it was only mentioned that they supposedly noticed and changed, but I would have liked to actually see it).

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I wouldn’t say this drama was bad—it was fine, but in my opinion, not much more than that. I didn’t feel like I was watching something exciting that truly captured my heart.

The supporting relationships definitely deserve recognition. They were interesting, and Jiang Zhi Shan completely stole my heart. The main couple was fine as well—especially the female lead, who supported him with all her strength—but I still feel that the whole enemies-to-lovers storyline between them could have been handled much better.

What I disliked the most was that at one point, the female lead’s IQ seemed to drop to the level of a starfish. She knew the male lead was afraid of swimming, and yet she still thought it was a good idea to play videos from his swimming days—despite the fact that this advice came from a girl who had already lied to her once out of jealousy. The female lead even discussed this with her friend beforehand.

Another issue was the breakup, or more specifically, their reconciliation afterward. I genuinely understand that he felt like a burden, but downplaying how terribly he acted made me really angry. It’s not as if she should have immediately run back into his arms, as if feeling like a burden excused his behavior—because it DIDN’T. They should have at least had a much longer and deeper conversation about it.

Other than that, like I said, the drama felt very average to me and didn’t move me, though it wasn’t among the worst either.

As for En Tong, her character was so irritating that for the first time in a long while, I found myself wishing nothing but bad experiences for a female character—karma. And honestly, I was glad we didn’t see her getting a happy ending with anyone. Credit where it’s due though: the actress played the role very well.

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I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO WATCH THIS SERIES. The chemistry between the main characters was wonderful, and their relationship developed without major, unnecessary drama. The way the other characters were created was also fantastic — none of them felt bland or forgettable. The plot was engaging enough that I didn’t experience a single moment of boredom, and I absorbed each new episode with genuine interest. There were many plot twists and events I didn’t expect, which is a huge plus — and most importantly, the characters are held accountable for their actions.

For a moment I thought there were no downsides, but after some reflection I did find one. Namely, at least one storyline was left unresolved, and I would really like to see the continuation of the relationship between Gu Xin Er and her father.

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Yang Hong — I absolutely couldn’t stand that bitch, and I’m glad she didn’t get a happy ending with anyone. I hope she withered away in prison without the support of anyone close to her.

Ling Sheng — I kept telling myself I’d treat him the same way no matter how hard the series tried to redeem him at the end, and that I wouldn’t give in — but I ended up crying during the prison scene with Gu Xin Er, and in the end I understand him a bit. I don’t understand the attempted murder of his brother or that whole scheme, but I do understand that his father shaped him this way, because it’s simply not true that he loved all his sons equally.

Gu Xin Er — I hated her intensely for half of the series, but later she became the character I felt the most sorry for. Girl, find yourself a boyfriend from a family that isn’t completely fucked up.

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I haven’t had such mixed feelings after watching a series in a long time.

Let’s start with the positives. I liked the way the characters were created — especially the female lead, of course. Her development throughout the series and the way she gradually gained confidence were really well done. I also view the show’s message positively: that external appearance doesn’t matter, and what truly counts is who we are on the inside. The male lead, whose personality resembles that of side characters usually rejected by female leads, is also a plus — although in his case we’ll get to the negatives as well. Overall, it was a pleasant series to watch, but I also noticed several major flaws…

First of all, the series is painfully predictable in almost every aspect — though there was one thing that surprised me and counts as a positive: the moment when the female lead broke up and chose herself. Secondly, the male lead — in two specific situations. The first on the rooftop, when she confessed her feelings, and the second by the pool after he didn’t tell her that he actually wasn’t leaving. In those two scenes, he annoyed me more than any other character in the entire series, and I came to the conclusion that he simply didn’t deserve her.

The BIGGEST downside for me, however, was the LACK of kisses and the very small number of scenes where the couples were physically close (and this applies to all the couples). I can understand a lot, but this is a deal-breaker for me. We’re making a romance series where the couples are ADULT university students who don’t kiss even once over several years of a relationship. That might work in a Disney children’s show (although even there they kiss :D), but not in a series that is clearly meant to appeal to older viewers as well.

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I really enjoyed watching this series. I liked how the characters were created—none of them felt one-dimensional, and each had their own personality. It showed a difficult childhood and its effects on adult life. I also liked the relationship of the main couple—there were no pointless arguments, and they were not just partners, but also best friends.

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On the downside, definitely the fact that the main character didn’t go to therapy. F*ck, seriously, it was obvious he was struggling, and they’re trying to convince me he cured his depression and anxiety with herbs? I was also waiting to see the relationships of the main character’s friends, but unfortunately, in vain—which is a shame, because I think it could have been interesting. And the main character’s mother… I haven’t hated a character this much in a long time. I couldn’t stand her from start to finish.

I’m also not fully convinced by the fact that there was no official moment where they defined the relationship. They just naturally started being together—which is fine, I guess—but at the same time, it didn’t bring me much joy.

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I have extremely mixed feelings after watching this drama. I really liked the premise of the story, and I genuinely enjoyed the first episodes. However, as time went on, things started getting worse, and unfortunately the last two episodes only proved that.

I’ll start with the relationship between the main couple — Yun Jin A & Seo Jun Hui — because this is where I think the concept of the story was genuinely very strong. I enjoyed watching their dynamic, where he showed her what real love actually looks like, while she regained this kind of youthful joy for life thanks to him. The subplot involving his sister/her best friend also had huge potential in the background. But over time, the whole story started losing its charm in my eyes. At certain points, I felt so damn sorry for Jun Hui, who was constantly treated like sh*t by almost everyone, who kept chasing after her and instantly forgiving every mistake she made, while even she sometimes treated him like a child. But at least back then they still stood by each other. It got even worse in the final episodes. Their breakup happened completely off-screen — suddenly we jump to her brother’s random wedding, and she already has a new boyfriend. Then we randomly find out she’s moving to Jeju Island, and just as randomly she’s single again. After that, things somehow became even worse: we got the scene of them getting back together. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not that them reuniting was bad. The problem is that we got that one scene… and that was it. Her mother still doesn’t accept him and is proud that the relationship ended. We also never saw his sister’s reaction, and I highly doubt she would’ve been happy about it. It honestly feels like the story just went full circle, and they would still be stuck dealing with the exact same circus as before.

The whole storyline with her family also feels extremely absurd to me. A 35-year-old woman is treated like a child here. She’s afraid of her parents — parents who aren’t even powerful or influential — and allows them to walk all over her life instead of cutting them off. Overall, the mother is an incredibly st*pid and unbearable character. She supported two toxic relationships where her daughter was miserable just because those men came from influential families. Who cares that one cheated on her and the other barely gave a damn about her. Meanwhile, she was ready to burn the world down when her daughter got together with a genuinely good guy who actually made her happy, because what? His mother died and his father was weak? Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. The only normal member of that family was the younger brother, whom I actually liked. The father was tolerable sometimes, but he also had plenty of moments where he was unbearable.

As for his family, I still don’t understand why Seo Jun Hui’s anger was portrayed as something wrong. In my opinion, he had every right to be furious with her. He’s a grown man who has the right to make decisions about his own life, and meanwhile she secretly plots with his father behind his back — a father who spent most of the drama not giving a damn about his family. Then she forces Jun Hui to say goodbye to him at the airport, basically emotionally blackmailing him using their relationship. It was an absolute circus and another major negative for me. On top of that, this storyline completely disappeared afterward. What happened to his father after that? Did he try to repair his relationship with his children? Or did everything just go back to normal, with him continuing not to care about them at all? I did see his sister as one of the better characters though — honestly probably the smartest person in the entire drama. It’s just a shame we never got a romantic storyline for her, because it could have been a really nice change of pace.

The workplace h*rassment storyline is another plot point that I think was genuinely very good and really engaging to watch. I was genuinely excited to see how it would develop. The search for evidence, the scheming, the tension — it was genuinely interesting. The problem is that this storyline was also ruined by those final two episodes… In the end, we basically learned NOTHING about how the case actually turned out. The scenes make it look like she lost, while the dialogue says she won XD. What consequences did those pathetic as*holes face? That’s what I wanted to know. She literally had evidence — there’s no way she realistically could have lost that case. It’s not like the court wouldn’t figure out that the men’s “evidence” was photoshopped. On top of that, Kang Se Yeong is still casually working there even though she literally conspired with the h*rasser. I was really hoping all of that would come out and that we’d get a proper resolution, but absolutely nothing got resolved and I’m incredibly disappointed. And these were storylines that lasted through most of the drama, only to get completely watered down in the end.

The last thing I want to mention is her ex-boyfriend — Lee Gyu Min. Why did we never find out what happened to him afterward? Is he seriously just walking around freely after stalking her, se*ually h*rassing her in the café, and literally trying to k*ll her? Why was that never followed up on? The drama completely forgot about him, even though he played a major role through half the series and absolutely deserved prison. They forgot about him so hard that I forgot about him too and only remembered him just now XD

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An amazing drama! I had a great time watching it — there wasn’t a single boring moment, and I watched every episode with genuine curiosity, waiting to see how the story would develop further.

I completely fell in love with the main couple dynamic — Hu Xiu & Xiao Zhi Yu. I loved them both as individual characters; they were written extremely well. He was cold, distant, highly intelligent, hardworking, but also teasing and cunning. What I especially liked was that he wasn’t the stereotypical cold CEO, which made the interactions within his company genuinely enjoyable to watch. He also had flaws, which she gradually helped him work through. She, on the other hand, was open, energetic, but also smart and hardworking. Equally teasing. And I loved them even more together. They had incredible on-screen chemistry (some of the kisses were absolutely incredible), and whenever they were together, they radiated happiness that practically poured out of the screen and affected me as well, because I spent most of the drama smiling. They also became better versions of themselves thanks to each other. They always stood by one another, even during relationship crises. On top of that, the drama included tropes I absolutely love — roommates and office romance.

I also really enjoyed the virtual game storyline and honestly think there could have been even more of it. I loved watching them compete against each other while she constantly tried to outsmart him. I especially enjoyed the way they sometimes resolved their smaller personal disagreements while staying in character inside the game. Although, at the same time, his decision to stop playing also makes perfect sense narratively, because in the end he no longer needs to hide his true self in the game anymore, and thanks to her, he’s finally at peace :D. I also liked the little final touch where she’s the one inviting him into the virtual world.

Another storyline I found really interesting was his investigation into what happened to his father. Even though it became relatively obvious quite quickly who was behind everything, it was still very engaging to watch, especially waiting for the moment and the way the truth would finally come out. In the end, though, I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t a bigger confrontation. I was hoping for a scene where the police arrested him, followed by a court trial, but instead we never really found out what consequences he faced — although I assume he never left prison again. The situation with Huang Yi De was handled even worse, because in his case we learned absolutely nothing. On the positive side, I liked that he rebuilt his relationship with his mother in the end, although I do wish we had gotten at least one more scene with them in the United States.

Still staying on the topic of his family, I have very mixed feelings about his “brother” — Pei Zhen. On one hand, we know that old bastard completely destroyed their relationship, and Zhen himself wasn’t inherently evil and was going through hell too. The problem is that even though I sympathized with him, I still couldn’t stand him. There wasn’t a single trait about him that made him genuinely likable, and his attempts to get closer to the female lead — which often ended up hurting someone — only strengthened my dislike toward him.

As for her family, I also have mixed feelings about them, because on one hand it was obvious that they truly loved their daughter, and in the end things turned out well — the chess scene was funny. BUT personally, I really disliked the fact that they were pushing for their breakup (even if not directly), and also pushing her to quit her job. Earlier on, her father also didn’t accept the fact that she wanted to become an architect. Even assuming his father had made a mistake back then, he as a child was not responsible for it.

Lastly, I want to talk about the second couple(?). When it comes to the marriage-divorce storyline between Zhao Xiao Rou & Wang Guang Ming, I had mixed feelings for a moment because he really did reject that other girl. However, those mixed feelings disappeared very quickly once he himself failed to admit it and even planned a dinner for the three of them. On top of that, he lied to her about no longer being in contact with that girl. So personally, I very quickly started strongly rooting for her and Gong Huai Cong. They had a really great dynamic together, and in the end I’m disappointed that we never got to see their relationship become official — although it was heavily implied that they would eventually get together, so I’m only slightly disappointed, because I would’ve loved to see more of them already being together while filming/in a relationship.

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I definitely recommend this drama to anyone looking for something very pleasant and comforting to watch. There’s no complicated plot full of twists here - instead, it’s a calm story focused on a healthy relationship between the main characters. Their relationship develops in a natural and steady way. There are no major arguments or dramatic conflicts-instead, we’re given a healthy, almost ideal relationship between two people who are perfectly matched. They’re happy together, deeply in love, able to listen to each other and communicate openly, they trust one another, and they become better people by being together. Once they get into a relationship, they never doubt each other or what they have. Overall, their relationship quickly becomes very sweet, and watching it puts a smile on your face that lasts until the very end. It was a real pleasure to watch them, and their chemistry was very good. Beyond their relationship, we also got to see their individual growth-especially his journey of dealing with the past and maturing, particularly in her career - Nie Xi Guang.

A huge highlight for me, and a perfect conclusion to everything, was the final episode. Starting with the scenes with their daughter, which were wonderful, and ending with showing their growth and professional successes — things they had talked about wanting to achieve throughout the entire drama.

Another big advantage for me were the family relationships. On the female lead’s side: her mom, grandma, grandpa, uncle, and cousin. On the male lead’s side: his mom. First of all, the scenes with all of them were very enjoyable to watch - they usually brought a smile to my face or even made me laugh. Secondly, none of them were against their relationship, which sometimes happens in dramas, so I consider that a huge advantage. A special mention goes to the female lead’s cousin - Jiang Rui. I loved him as a character on his own - he was funny - but I also loved his dynamics with Nie Xi Guang and with Lin Yu Sen.

Among the other characters I particularly liked was Yin Jie. I could relate to her in many situations, and she was a very positive character. I was hoping we might get more of her on screen, maybe through some kind of relationship with Fang Sheng Yi(?) - that doctor friend of Lin Yu Sen.

As for the second male lead - Zhuang Xu - I’ll admit I expected him to be the cause of a major conflict between the main couple. I was worried he would disrupt their healthy relationship once he confessed his feelings. So I was positively surprised when Nie Xi Guang completely shut him down in episode 30 - it made me like her even more. And even though I wasn’t rooting for him, I do have a soft spot for toxic dynamics, so I can imagine an alternate universe where Lin Yu Sen doesn’t exist and I’d actually root for him, because his dynamic with Nie Xi Guang had the potential to be just as interesting — something I’d definitely enjoy watching :D. I was also hoping for some development in his relationship with Chris, but at the same time I’m satisfied that, after everything he did, he’s still pining for Nie Xi Guang, who moved on and built a life without him - just like the other girls did. Naturally, moving on from him to Ye Rong — I didn’t like her from the very beginning, and that didn’t change until the end. It’s hard to like someone so full of insecurities who makes life difficult for a person who has been kind to her from the start. It’s a shame that most of their college peers never found out about the extent of her manipulations, because she would have faced greater consequences if everyone had turned their backs on her. Still, despite my dislike, I am curious about what happened to her after she left, and we never find that out.

As for the downsides, I didn’t find many, and the ones I did don’t really affect the overall enjoyment of the series:
-> First, I was somewhat disappointed with the storyline involving the female lead’s father - Nie Cheng Yuan. He never fully found out that he had been manipulated by Qian Fang Ping and her daughter Nian Yuan. He did find out part of the truth and kicked them out of the house, but he never discovered, for example, that Fang had been faking her illness the entire time. I was hoping for more drama and emotional impact when the truth came out. I also expected stronger consequences once he realized he had been the one used. Later, we also don’t find out what happens to him (we only get a brief mention of the mother). We also don’t know what happened to them after being kicked out, so overall it feels like wasted potential.

-> Second, the storyline involving the male lead’s father. In one conversation, it was suggested that the male lead’s uncle and his wife were involved in the issues surrounding his father, but then that topic just completely disappeared. No one mentioned it again, even though it seemed quite important - especially since their son was supposed to take over the company. It’s possible this was due to a translation issue, so I’m not treating it as a definite flaw.

-> Third, the plotline about taking over the grandfather’s company. This topic appeared throughout most of the drama, but in the end we don’t know who actually inherited the position. There is a time skip of about 10 years at the end, so the grandfather is unlikely to still hold that role.

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Overall, I consider the series itself to be very good. Although I think the biggest credit goes to the legal storyline, which in my opinion was the most interesting part. It was mainly because of it that I kept watching the next episodes with curiosity, wanting to know how it would develop further. In my view, it strongly saved my overall perception of the series and made up for the underdeveloped remaining storylines. That said, even here I have a few reservations. For example, Qin Shi never found out that it was because of Lan Xiao Ting that she initially didn’t get promoted to the 11th floor, since Lan Xiao Ting didn’t vote for her — even though they were close at the time and she treated Qin Shi like her own daughter.

Now I’ll move on to the other storylines. The first main couple — Qin Shi & Yang Hua. For most of the series, I liked their dynamic. Two completely different people who started out pretending to be in a relationship, but as feelings developed, they both began to change for the better — or at least that’s how it seemed. She started opening up and noticing life beyond work. He began thinking more seriously about his future. They both started to look genuinely happy. We had a very well-done slow burn here — which then got completely destroyed. Everything started falling apart with the divorce plotline. I did understand his decision, but I couldn’t understand the female lead’s actions: despite having feelings for him, she didn’t try to stop him (even though the show tried to explain it somehow). Later it turned into an even bigger circus of two supposedly “adult” people. He suddenly started pretending he wanted to get back together and leave the country with his ex-girlfriend, didn’t tell the female lead that he was doing it for her, and the cherry on top was that they had no contact for seven months after passing each other at the airport — only for him to randomly start living across from her and for them to fall into each other’s arms.
Overall, all of this wouldn’t have been that bad if it had been spread across more episodes (and there were plenty), but instead we got an emotional rollercoaster crammed into the final episode, which simply didn’t work. Still, aside from those last episodes (especially the finale), their relationship was very pleasant to watch.

Yang Hua also got the short end of the stick. We were given one throwaway line about his new job instead of actually developing that storyline. His legal case from his first job — where he was falsely accused — was never resolved either. That whole plot was completely forgotten, along with the fact that Jason Wang was involved. They supposedly suspected him, but later he was convicted for other things and the topic was entirely dropped.

What’s even more absurd? Despite all this circus, they were still the healthiest couple in the show — because the others were such massive red flags that their endings can honestly be called tragic.

Let’s start with Wu Fei & Tao Jun Hui. Tao Jun Hui is engaged to her from the very beginning, yet keeps chasing Qin Shi, whom he’s still in love with, lying to and straight-up manipulating his girlfriend. As for Wu Fei — she annoyed me the most out of the entire cast. Of course, I sympathize with her for having to be with such a loser, but she wasn’t any better herself. Her boyfriend lied to her and had feelings for his ex, and instead of breaking up with him, she supported him and sabotaged the other woman simply for being his ex. She behaved like a spoiled child — which, frankly, she was, thanks to her rich father. The cherry on top was presenting them as having a happy ending, despite the fact that there was no love between them — only dependence on her side and pathetic attempts to replace an ex on his side.
These two characters also have unresolved storylines. Wu Fei — what happened to her after she left her job? We know nothing, aside from a possible return of that “wonderful,” supposedly mutual love. Tao Jun Hui — what did he do with the evidence of s*xual abuse that he saw in Hai Tao’s possession? He said he would help him deal with it, and then not a single word about it again — just like there was no follow-up on Hai Tao’s fate, even though Tao Jun Hui warned him he could lose his license to practice law.

The last equally “healthy” couple were Ren Mei Mei & Qin Wen Yu. Sure, there were moments when I laughed at the absurdity and exaggeration of their relationship, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were in an extremely unhealthy one — which somehow got a happy ending in the form of a baby. Their entire relationship was built on violence, belittling, cheating, and constant fights, followed by showers of overly sweet, exaggerated affection. There was absolutely no ground for a healthy, happy relationship there without therapy, yet the show tried to convince us that they suddenly changed. And not even because of the child. She eventually left him, and we never even found out under what circumstances she returned or how they reconciled — it was simply skipped straight to a happy relationship and childbirth.

I have mixed feelings about the families of the first couple. Qin Shi’s family, considered by everyone to be the “worst,” was actually the best and the most enjoyable to watch. The oldest brother was definitely the highlight — he seemed the most reasonable and normal out of all of them. As for Yang Hua’s family, I have issues — especially with his mother, who was simply irritating. On one hand, she wants her son to get married and settle down; on the other, she constantly causes problems and interferes in the life of an almost 30-year-old man. There was also an absurdity here: his family thought they had been together only recently, while her family thought it had been two years — and how on earth did that never come up in any conversation between them?

Let’s end on a positive note. Li Dai was the queen of this series for me. I genuinely fell in love with her feisty personality, her confidence, and the fact that she kept the female lead’s secret, even when they weren’t friends yet. The duo of Qin Shi and Li Dai was my favorite in the entire show. Both had that “bitchy” vibe — in the best possible sense of the word — and together they were a powerhouse. To this day, I regret that we didn’t get more scenes of them working together, because I was really counting on that.

All in all, a surprisingly large number of things bothered me, which doesn’t quite match the high rating I gave this series — but that’s mainly because I had fun watching it and really enjoyed the legal storyline.

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A very pleasant and comforting series to watch.

Here we follow the transformation of the female lead — Shen Xi Fan — who at the very beginning is stuck in a toxic relationship. Her boyfriend treats her like trash, tries to blame her for everything wrong in his life, and keeps her on a leash. Later, she meets the male lead, her relationship finally ends, and thanks to He Su Ye, she begins to learn what real love actually is.
He Su Ye himself is a massive green flag. From start to finish, he was incredible support for her and made her genuinely happy. The fact that she needed time never discouraged him. He simply stayed by her side and showed her true love with his whole being. Watching them happy together was beautiful, and their relationship was extremely sweet. There wasn’t even a hint of toxicity here. They supported each other deeply, even during difficult moments. There were no arguments after they got together, which made the whole thing very comfortable and enjoyable to watch. On top of that, they had amazing chemistry. They were a joy to look at, and their kisses were HOT.

A huge plus also goes to the female lead’s parents and the male lead’s grandfather. All three were wonderful characters, and most scenes with them made me smile — or cry, when her mom got sick. I have mixed feelings about the male lead’s father. On the one hand, I was happy when the female lead initiated their reconciliation (for a moment I was afraid he would oppose their relationship), because watching him, I felt like he had truly changed and understood that he hadn’t always been a good husband to his wife in the past. On the other hand, I kept remembering that not long before, he was still putting pressure on his son to pursue Western medicine. So to this day, I’m not sure how much he actually changed and whether he truly deserved that second chance.

Now, the female lead’s ex-boyfriend — Yan Heng. I wanted to strangle him through the screen. They absolutely ruined the character for me after Meteor Garden — I will never look at him the same way again. The way he was such a piece of shit while seeing himself as a prince on a white horse was insanely irritating. He broke up via text message, then came back like nothing had happened just to get revenge on her father? He couldn’t accept rejection and had the nerve to go to her parents and keep selling them bullshit about how he supposedly broke up with her “for her own good.” T R A S H.
Surprisingly, he eventually disappeared from her life and was never mentioned again — which on one hand makes me happy, and on the other makes me curious about what happened to him afterward.

Now for two questions / downsides.

First, the secondary couple — though I’m not even sure they truly counted as one. I’d rather say Xu Xiang Ya and Lin Yi Shen were more of a side pairing. And that makes me sad, because they were so wonderful that I really wanted more scenes focused on their relationship. I can’t even find one solid argument — I just wish their storyline had been developed more.

And the biggest downside for me — or rather, an unanswered question. Did the male lead really have a girlfriend in college who broke his heart, or was that just a lie made up by Fang Ke Xin? Why was this never explained? Why did they never talk about it? I thought that ex-girlfriend would show up at some point since she was mentioned — but it never happened. So did she actually exist at all?

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When I started watching this series, I was convinced it would be good. I wasn’t wrong — it was fucking amazing and addictive. But I also thought it would be very sweet and “calm,” considering the author’s other works. Turns out, not quite. The series tackles heavy topics that are definitely not for everyone, but they’re handled extremely well — there’s really nothing to nitpick here.

Let’s start with the positives, namely the male lead — Sang Yan. I already loved him in Hidden Love, and here my love only grew stronger. A wonderful man and a massive green flag. I wish every good person could meet someone like him in their life. His unconditional love and immense support for the female lead were beautiful to watch — and at the same time heartbreaking. For two reasons. First, the positive one: he was the only person (aside from her dad) who was always there for her and truly showed her genuine love. Second, the negative one: he suffered a lot because of that love — and he absolutely did not deserve it. Honestly, neither of them did. They both truly fell in love back in high school, and their feelings remained strong even after their paths split. Their reunion showed that clearly, as the emotions slowly resurfaced. This wasn’t just about obvious on-screen chemistry (though it was definitely there, and the kisses were H O T), but about a deep, emotional bond. They were the most important people in each other’s lives, and both wanted what was best for the other.

That led to one moment where I was completely torn: Wen Yi Fan’s second escape to Hong Kong. At that point, two wolves were fighting inside me. One wanted to tear her apart for hurting Sang Yan yet again — a man who was nothing but wonderful to her. That wolf wished them both happiness apart, just so they could finally stop suffering. But the other wolf understood her. She had been through hell — the kind that’s hard to talk about and even harder to forget. She never received the support she deserved, and the people closest to her convinced her it was something shameful and that she should stay silent. Then Che Xing De reappeared in her life. She wanted to protect the male lead by disappearing from his life. That wolf knew that their true happiness existed only with each other — and that they truly shined only together.

As for Wen Yi Fan herself — the female lead — she was a tragic character. The actress played her brilliantly, and I felt her pain in every single episode (I cried in almost all of them). For me, it’s unimaginable how much hell the people closest to you can create in your life — and that was exactly her case. The strongest disgust and resentment I felt was toward her mother, Zhao Yuan Dong. Of course, I’m not defending that piece of trash (Che Xing De), who ended up exactly where he belonged — but it was her mother who allowed this to happen. She could have protected her and didn’t. She didn’t believe her own daughter when she said he tried to take advantage of her. She still wanted her to stay near him, claiming he was a good man. SICK. Years later, she acted like nothing had happened and wanted to fix their relationship (mainly because her new partner left her). I’m glad she didn’t get forgiveness from her daughter, and that the female lead cut her out of her life — she absolutely didn’t deserve to stay in it. Honestly, she deserved even harsher consequences. To make things worse, she let that trash live with her younger daughter, as if she wanted to put another child through the same hell.
Coming back to the female lead — I’m glad she met someone like Sang Yan. She deserved happiness. She was a good person, and her parent gave her the kind of fate no child should ever have. I’m happy that, thanks to him, she slowly started reclaiming happiness in her life. Thanks to him and his family — and we already knew from Hidden Love that his family is wonderful.

Still talking about the main couple — the proposal at the very end was beautiful. That kind of ending is pretty cliché, but here it really worked for me — especially with a small complication added. And one tiny BUT: it was sweet and at the same time slightly terrifying that he followed her around Yihe for six years despite having no contact, simply because he promised her back in high school that he would always be by her side :D

As for any love rivals — we only had admirers for the female lead (which is honestly weird, considering Sang Yan’s looks and personality — how was no one interested in him except me and Wen Yi Fan? :D). Still, both of them were decent guys and not overly annoying.

Now, the secondary couple: Su Hao An and Zhong Si Qiao. In their case, I feel a slight sense of dissatisfaction, though it’s hard for me to fully pinpoint why. Their relationship had huge potential, but somewhere along the way it feels like it wasn’t fully used (though, like I said, I can’t clearly define where it went wrong). What irritated me was that at some point I completely lost track of their dynamic. I thought they were together when they weren’t — or they were together, but she wasn’t sure if he loved her? I honestly got confused myself. On the positive side, both of them had wonderful families. Especially his grandparents — watching them together was a joy. They radiated a kind of happiness and love that had survived many, many years.

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I truly fell in love with this series. The plot drew me in so much that I watched episodes every chance I got. I liked how all the characters were portrayed—most of them really grew on me, even the main character’s admirers, who usually annoy me. I appreciated how popularity was depicted—it’s not always a good thing. It showed the pressure they were all under, as well as how Smiling kept growing with each new game. I also really enjoyed how the games themselves were presented; it was interesting and well done.

The only downside for me were the animations—I couldn’t always recognize the characters in them, and they sometimes went on for too long. I would have much preferred just a regular view of the game. Despite this, I can’t lower my rating, because I haven’t been this hooked on a series in a long time.

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I had a great time watching this series, even though I had seen a lot of scenes on TikTok beforehand and had already watched the Korean version (I think the Thai version was much better).

The character development was excellent. The main character’s transformation through love happened naturally, not all at once. The female lead never gave up despite all the obstacles she faced. The supporting characters were very interesting—each one different, yet all engaging in their own way.
Even the main character’s mother, whom I couldn’t stand for most of the series—there were hints from the beginning that she was hiding her true self, and only in the final episode did she finally reveal it.

The only downside for some might be the violence, which was quite intense in the first few episodes.

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