Asma

I wouldn't mind if the female lead was in her 40s in the drama, but giving a 30-year-old role to a 40-year-old actress who clearly looks 40+ in the drama wasn't good for me.

So how can we decide which one is better? It's completely subjective and immeasurable, so your disagreement with my suggestion or preference means nothing. I love snowstorms, maybe because I love the male and female leads' personalities, and I'm a snooker fan and player, preferences are personal. Just suggest what you want without going against mine.

Why'd the rating dip below 9?

My idea was super clear, but you still don't get it. I'm not explaining it again, just reread my comments and give yourself another shot at understanding.

What red flag ? I'll give you one example of difference between red and green flag: in " Road Home, " when the leads meet after years apart, the female lead directly asks if he remembers her, and he responds with straightforward, masculine honesty: "I wouldn't forget you even if I turned into ashes."
​In First Frost, however, we are given a lot of childish, immature behavior between two people who used to know each other incredibly well. Sang Yan plays dumb and acts like he doesn't recognize Wen Yifan, and somehow she actually believes it. It makes zero sense, she hasn't changed a bit, so how are we supposed to buy the idea that he wouldn't instantly recognize her face?
​ I enjoy watching "red flag" male leads for the sake of fiction and entertainment, but Sang Yan wasn't even an appealing red flag like for ex, Lu Yan (Xi Wei). He was just a massive simp whose stalking, overly dependent, and borderline invasive behavior put me off completely.
​The core dynamic here isn't a healthy romance; it’s an unhealthy trap that would 100% turn toxic in the real world. You have a female lead who is entirely passive and avoidant, paired with a male lead who is deeply codependent and carrying a massive martyr complex. Instead of jumping into a relationship, both of these characters realistically need a significant amount of therapy.

​you like Sang Yan’s stalkerish tendencies because they're being delivered through Bai Jingting’s handsome face and natural charm. But : imagine someone you actually disliked, urgly, or someone you had zero romantic feelings for, doing the exact same things he did. Suddenly, those "romantic gestures" become predatory and deeply invasive.
​Part of what makes this so uncomfortable to watch is the jarring tonal contrast. Wen Yifan’s experiences with sexual assault and family abuse are handled with a grounded, modern realism that feels far too close to reality. Because the trauma feels so real, trying to resolve it with a juvenile, Twilight-esque YA fantasy feels incredibly wrong.
​Ultimately, this story feels like it was written by a girl specifically for teenagers and young adult readers. The characters are two-dimensional, and the plot reads like self-insert fan fiction. It relies on a very specific, unrealistic fantasy: a teenage girl is abused by absolutely everyone, suffers alone for years, and then a handsome, perfect man appears out of nowhere to devote his entire life to waiting for her and saving her. I understand why fantasy appeals to some, but it is simply not my cup of tea.
​And to be clear: just because I dislike this drama doesn't mean I didn't watch it or didn't understand the assignment. I’ve read the manhua and I watched every single second of the Drama, I know exactly what the story was trying to doI just think it was highly overrated

​why it's red flag
I'm just giving ONE EXAMPLE:
comparing with Road Home is how maturely the reunion is handled . In Road Home, when the leads meet after years apart, the female lead directly asks if he remembers her, and he responds with straightforward, masculine honesty: "I wouldn't forget you even if I turned into ashes." It is simple, believable, and mature.

​In First Frost, however, we are given a lot of childish, immature behavior between two people who used to know each other incredibly well. Sang Yan plays dumb and acts like he doesn't recognize Wen Yifan, and somehow she actually believes it. It makes zero sense—she hasn't changed a bit, so how are we supposed to buy the idea that he wouldn't instantly recognize her face?
​Beyond that setup, Sang Yan’s arc genuinely creeped me out, to the point where I mentally checked out of the drama whenever it took center stage. I enjoy watching "red flag" male leads for the sake of fiction and entertainment, but Sang Yan wasn't even an appealing red flag ( EXAMPLE like Lu Yan (Xi Wei).) He was just a massive simp whose stalking, overly dependent, and borderline invasive behavior put me off completely.
​The core dynamic here isn't a healthy romance; it’s an unhealthy trap that would 100% turn toxic in the real world. You have a female lead who is entirely passive and avoidant, paired with a male lead who is deeply codependent and carrying a massive martyr complex. Instead of jumping into a relationship, both of these characters realistically need a significant amount of therapy.
​you overlook Sang Yan’s stalkerish tendencies because they're being delivered through Bai Jingting’s handsome face and natural charm. But let’s imagine someone you actually disliked, ugly , or someone you had zero romantic feelings for, doing the exact same things he did. Suddenly, those "romantic gestures" become predatory and deeply invasive.
​Part of what makes this so uncomfortable to watch is the jarring tonal contrast. Wen Yifan’s experiences with sexual assault and family abuse are handled with a grounded, modern realism that feels far too close to reality. Because the trauma feels so real, trying to resolve it with a juvenile, Twilight-esque YA fantasy feels incredibly wrong.
​Ultimately, this story feels like it was written by a girl specifically for teenagers and young adult readers. The characters are two-dimensional, and the plot reads like self-insert fan fiction. It relies on a very specific, unrealistic fantasy: a teenage girl is abused by absolutely everyone, suffers alone for years, and then a handsome, perfect man appears out of nowhere to devote his entire life to waiting for her and saving her. I understand why that fantasy appeals to some, but it is simply not my cup of tea.
​And to be clear: just because I dislike this drama doesn't mean I didn't watch it or didn't understand the assignment. I’ve read the manhua and I watched every single second of the drama series. I know exactly what the story was trying to do, I just think it was highly overrated

My #1 C-drama of all time is Joy of Life. That's what I would call a truly complex drama. My #2 is Nirvana in Fire, which is even more layered, with intricate plotting, political schemes, and characters whose motivations constantly evolve.

So I definitely don't have a preference for simple or straightforward stories.

As for modern C-dramas, I've watched most of them, and very few can genuinely be described as complex. First Frost is far from being one of them. Beyond its strong production quality, attractive cast, and the popularity it inherited from the manhua fanbase, it's still a fairly simple romance. I've already explained in previous comments the issues I have with its writing and characterization, so I won't repeat them here.

Even a drama often dismissed as a "youth drama" like Go Ahead has far more depth in both its characters and storytelling. It explores abandonment, adoption, parental responsibility, emotional trauma, identity, and the long-term consequences of family relationships. Nearly every major character has their own emotional arc, internal conflicts, and meaningful growth. It also manages to tackle difficult topics without glorifying red-flag behavior or presenting unhealthy dynamics as romantic ideals.

My point is simple: don't accuse me of being shallow just because I don't worship a drama you like. And please don't act as if understanding First Frost requires exceptional intelligence or sophistication. It doesn't. People can fully understand a drama and still criticize it or find it overrated.

I'll try to make it easier for you.
If a "complicated drama" scale goes from 0 to 10, Amidst a Snowstorm of Love would be a 3, and First Frost would be, at most, a 4.5.
So yeah, it's "more complicated??! Than..." but it's still not complicated overall; neither of them are.
I don't like this drama because it's less complicated. I like it because of the grown and green-flag male lead. I wouldn't mind if it were way more complicated if the male lead was mature and a green flag, and China is finally getting that and giving us more healthy men as leads, so I'm enjoying it.
And people seem to like messed-up stories and call them "complicated."
Hope this helps

Yes both of them.
But the big bro will support them A LOT from day one,

Wow... calm down lo. I'm talking about a Drama. Not your godamn parents, so calm the fuck down.
Again, first frost IS NOT DAMN COMPLICATED. It's just trashy , the manhwa was less trash than the drama but both are trash.
If you want coming of age you have go ahead or when I fly towards you etc... these are real coming of age drama.

And. There no excuse for stalking someone for years without talking to.them. seeing her struggling and don't have the nuts to do anything about it and keep stalking her , this is what grown up ppl call red flags, but, you don't seem to be older than 14 yo regarding your previous coment.
so go cry about it far from me instead of raging here like a 5 yo.

Amidst a snowstorm of love is this but waaay better

Okay, first off, I can compare whatever I want. I'm not insulting anyone, just giving my opinion in a comment section meant for that.
"First Frost" isn't layered at all, just a female lead who's too much trouble and a stalker male lead with no communication skills. It starts with teenage leads who can't speak their minds, which wastes a lot of time, and even when they get back together, they still have unnecessary breakups. The female lead gets harassed everywhere she goes... no.
But in "Amidst a Snowstorm of Love," these are grown-up leads. Even though the female lead was young (21 at the start), she was mature and straightforward. When she decided to be with the male lead, she instantly became devoted to him, as anyone should. And he, as an older man, was able to clearly express his feelings without stalking her like a weirdo.

The crown prince wasn't really into her.
He only wanted her at first because she had his dad's support.
I know she's not OP, and neither is the ML, I was just replying to some comments.

No
No breakup at all.
They both are very devoted and supportive to each other.
The female lead brothers were deeply in love with the male lead lmao,
This is very sweet just go and watch

The ml couldn't save this ...

It's soo underrated, i feel like ppl needs red flags leads to give some good rating

Don't argue with ppl watching chinese dramas and waiting for some Hollywood level skinship, people like me who has watched a lot of chinese dramas finds that they kiss a lot here

Not as much yearning, still waiting for some modern dramas with as good male lead

No
No misunderstanding
Very quick mother refusal but, the big brother likes the male lead sooo much that he will make everything possible for the leads to be together.
This is one of the best modern Chinese drama , I rate it definitely better than first frost or other" better rated "dramas

In general, women in Chinese dramas are born to struggle. Even in modern dramas, the female lead somehow never owns a car. Why drive when you can stand dramatically at a bus stop waiting for the male lead to rescue you? 😂

And don't get me started on the constant humiliation. No matter how capable she is, she'll inevitably end up in some embarrassing situation where a man has to step in and save the day.

Ancient dramas are even worse. The female lead can be the smartest strategist in the kingdom, have ten backup plans, fake identitie, and an IQ of 300 but there will always be one man who instantly sees through everything ( nobody asks why he knows everything??!! ). He knows her real identity, her secrets, her weaknesses, and somehow ends up holding her fate in his hands. Her life only gets easier when he falls in love with her and decides to stop making her miserable.

It's a pattern I've noticed in almost every drama I've watched. Take Kunning Palace for example. The heroine is literally a reincarnated person with knowledge of the future, yet she's still constantly at a disadvantage. She was practically trembling whenever the male lead appeared. And once again, things only started improving because he fell for her.

So yes, it's honestly refreshing to see a female character who isn't constantly being outsmarted, cornered, rescued( well he rescued her many times.so ...) , or emotionally terrorized by the male lead. I'm not even saying this heroine is overpowered, she just wasn't forced to spend the entire drama losing every battle until a man decided to be nice to her.