The plot is pretty plain, a simple slice of life. But the characters are what drive the show. The leads are dynamic people that feel real with so many quirks and traits. They build their relationship upon respect, admiration, maturity, and communication. I'd rate the plot 7.5, but the characters and lead's beautiful relationship are an 8.5.
Na Eon has to be one of the worst FL's I've ever come across. An absolutely vile human being that I don't get why we're supposed to root for her? Are we supposed to believe she's a good person? She's not morally gray, she's genuinely evil like what??
I actually really enjoyed the ending. It's gotta be one of the best work arounds I've ever seen writers do for…
So the 1st timeline is Zhenzhen's autobiography. Her novel ended with her committing suicide after the money incident. The 2nd timeline was Jiangling writing himself into her story. In the present day reality, they're both authors on different sides of the coin. One hugely successful while the other is suffering from depression and hopelessness until they both fall in love through the story they created together.
Zhenzhen's past childhood experiences affected her life so largely, that they became an inspiration as she wrote her autobiography even ending it with committing suicide. In real life, she even walks in front of a car still feeling that hopelessness. Jiangling reads her work and is so moved that he falls in love with her past self as he writes himself into the second timeline. He offers her support in every way that she needed it back then.
The two's past selves fall in love with each other. He writes and falls in love, she listens and falls in love. So technically, each timeline and reality were real because the emotions were real.
I actually really enjoyed the ending. It's gotta be one of the best work arounds I've ever seen writers do for Chinese censorship. The censored ending actually added more layers and complexities rather than take away like it normally does. The writers did an amazing job!
I have a question about the ending to those that finished the movie.
Was the numbers disappearing a metaphor that they weren't going to care about what time they had left? They were going to stay together and attempt to fight fate no matter what? But ultimately he would die after the time ran out?
or
The numbers actually disappeared because the clocks were broken? Because he defeated it in his dream and the end credits said two people once fought fate?
And to think it even passed me by so I had to go back and watch it for this scene for this article, just shows…
I'm studying social work and therapy. When I faced more real life cases, I realized how often abuse occurs between older brothers and their younger sisters. It really was a slap in the face and made me question how many tropes in asian dramas use the sibling-eqsue dynamics for romance. There are very very few that have enough nuance to handle stories like that.
1 
The 2nd timeline was Jiangling writing himself into her story.
In the present day reality, they're both authors on different sides of the coin. One hugely successful while the other is suffering from depression and hopelessness until they both fall in love through the story they created together.
Zhenzhen's past childhood experiences affected her life so largely, that they became an inspiration as she wrote her autobiography even ending it with committing suicide. In real life, she even walks in front of a car still feeling that hopelessness. Jiangling reads her work and is so moved that he falls in love with her past self as he writes himself into the second timeline. He offers her support in every way that she needed it back then.
The two's past selves fall in love with each other. He writes and falls in love, she listens and falls in love. So technically, each timeline and reality were real because the emotions were real.
or
The numbers actually disappeared because the clocks were broken? Because he defeated it in his dream and the end credits said two people once fought fate?