april

can’t believe i teared up while watching episode 7! when the teacher was checking for the highest scorer in the province, it gave me goosebumps, and the moment the principal ran over to tell the female lead she got 616 points was when i started tearing up… such a touching scene. funny because i barely cry while watching shows, i am usually quite cold blooded

me too, i genuinely like the vibes and pacing of this drama… having watched a couple of transmigration or reincarnation dramas, i am now scared of their endings. making the leads wake up and realise everything was just a dream, that everything they experienced did not happen and everyone they met did not exist, is honestly so tragic and cruel.

i feel you! i watched summit of our youth and the ending really ruined the story for me… even though both leads remembered what happened, that ending still felt cruel. and i am honestly scared of getting a romance in the farm type of ending too, like what do you mean we do not even get to see the male lead’s face and they only show his back??

i have seen tons of complaints about scent of time’s ending as well, so let’s just hope the scriptwriter does this show justice… 🤞

yes! it didn’t even feel like he was acting in that show, i really loved his performance there and i am loving him here so far as well. he is pretty talented in acting, especially considering he debuted as an idol and never formally studied at a performance academy. i feel like he is one of those idol turned actors with strong career potential. hope he continues choosing good scripts

2 episodes in and i am enjoying it so far! they really cast the right actors, i love seeing zhou ye play this “i won’t let anyone bully me” kind of character, and zhai xiaowen was the right choice for a gentle and respectful young man.

i am so happy to see familiar faces from other shows. jiang zi xin and lawrence wong from 2018’s story of yanxi palace, what a classic and my first cdrama, are appearing in the same show again. i am really hoping to see scenes with both of them! then we have tu ling, who played xia feng hua’s mum in northward, and kevin who played xue ying in young blood.

i am really praying the ending is good, please do not give me another “everything is a dream” ending anymore

i agree! i felt the same when I was watching episode 1 of this show. the plot is different but the female leads both came from awful/horrible/complex/ sad backgrounds. and they were lucky they got to meet people that loved and supported them in this new world (of course there are people that dislike them and cause trouble too). i am hoping we don’t get the romance in the farm kinda open ending though ….

i think so too! either one of them dies, or the minion’s family member or love interest might die tragically for character growth and to set up a redemption arc. then perhaps after their loved one dies, they become fixated on becoming good, but not long after they finally change, they die as well. dramas really like arranging this kind of trope.

just binge watched 5 episodes and i am loving it so far! the cinematography is great, some of the shots made me go woahhhhh! the visuals are amazing and the leads look really good together. the supporting characters are good looking and generally likeable as well.

this show has the potential to be a really good historical romcom. some scenes gave me a good laugh and made me go “aww so cuteeee!” like when the female lead was saying the lines of the poem wrongly. the trailers are looking good too, hope this show keeps the same standard and does not disappoint!

really enjoying this show! a cute fluffy lighthearted romance! i shall grant it early access to my comfort shows list 💗 (I typically wait until I end the show…) the friendships are pretty cute too, the drama watching experience has been amazing.

i don’t typically like shows where all the friends of fl end up with friends of ml/ people she knows end up with people he knows, but in this show, I’m surprisingly okay with the supporting characters and their romantic interest, probably because chemistry is there and visuals are great 😌

really enjoyed the ending, episode 34 was the peak for me. i loved how everyone got closure. in many shows, only the main characters get proper endings while the supporting characters are left untouched, and the audience never finds out what happens to them. but in this show, we got to see characters from earlier episodes appear again in the finale. i honestly got goosebumps watching this episode.

nah, i will not be hopeful about getting a sequel. i have watched cdramas since 2018, and i can count on one hand the number of shows that actually got a sequel. it rarely happens. the investors, production crew, cast and platform all have to be interested, and it is hard to get so many parties aligned.

besides, youku did not treat this show well. there were zero promotional companies working on it, while other dramas airing at the same time had at least 2 to 3 companies handling marketing and promotions. (how dare you etc.) bai lu has been working extremely hard promoting the show everywhere she goes, at award ceremonies, through social media content, even giving out red packets. her fans have also been putting in a lot of effort, promoting the show online, rewarding creators who made edits, buying over 100k seats for audiences to grab, etc. yet the production team has barely done anything.

recently, it was even discovered that the official social media account for the show rated their own drama one star out of five. that says a lot about their attitude. most of the time, they use ai to generate plot summary videos or focus on editing romance clips, when we all know how much romance there actually is in this show.

with the way bai lu is being treated, even if a sequel were to happen, i doubt fans would want her to return. and if she does not return, i am pretty sure the show will not do as well, considering many viewers are watching because of her, and a lot of the advertisements are placed due to her popularity as well. realistically speaking, the rest of the cast are not at the same level of popularity. there is a stark difference even just looking at their weibo follower counts. without her, it would be difficult for the show to maintain the same level of attention, so i am not sure whether investors would be willing to take the risk on a sequel.

4.30 复制打开抖音，看看【黑客娱乐的作品】没收官就背刺白鹿，出事就赖被盗号，唐宫剧方操作把路... https://v.douyin.com/2VcEI1iNi1g/ IiC:/ [email protected] 08/28

thank you for your comment lol, I had zero idea there was a post credits scene and went back after seeing your comment!

all 24 episodes available on YouTube! posted by GF全球热映, or you can just search using the Chinese title 其实不是初恋

English subs are available but I’m not sure if it’s accurate cuz I watched it in Chinese :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSFf6M_d-hY&list=PLtoW4yqvbT_jX0YdeS48mOD9XwwLsI8Yd&index=1

i wish we got to see the male lead in real life too. but joseph zeng was not originally supposed to play this role, he stepped in last minute, so they were rushing through filming his scenes and he wrapped up about a month before the female lead because he had to join another production. i saw an interview where the female lead mentioned that joseph even asked her about the ending because he did not get to see it. tian xi wei said she filmed the ending but did not know how it would be edited. so i guess joseph was not even there when they filmed the real world scenes, and they probably used a substitute actor to show his back.

i would also love to see more of her story. i really want to know how she is supposed to adapt back to real life knowing that all her family and friends in the game were just codes. even if she gets to see the male lead again, it still feels cruel that she will never see her family from the game again.

2.56 复制打开抖音，看看【娱乐速报台的作品】# 田曦薇曾舜晞也不知道田耕纪结局 连主角都无法预... https://v.douyin.com/qdmngR1XAYs/ NWm:/ 02/23 [email protected]

really enjoyed the wedding scenes in this show, it’s nice to see everyone in their high school uniforms again! but i don’t really like how the villains (or those that did bad shit to the leads) were suddenly forgiven, as if all the harm was undone. did not understand that at all! redemption arcs were unnecessary and their growth felt forcefully done.

the romance was decent, and i really liked the female lead here, so pretty with very natural acting. for a 17 year old to be playing a character from 18-22 is not easy, and she nailed it. the male lead did a great job too, i didn’t like his hair, but some of his micro expressions were nice to watch

yep, i understand it is tougher to hit on iqiyi. a 9k on iqiyi is roughly equivalent to 28k on tencent. if you look at the average viewings per episode, it is around 10.98 mil for this show currently, which means it aired okay but is not really considered “popular”.

for iqiyi shows that hit around 9k, their average viewings per episode are usually higher if you compare the stats with shows from earlier years (8.7/8.8k = 19–20 million average viewings per episode).

then again, considering the popularity of the cast in china (fl: 6–7 million followers, ml: 4–5 million followers before the show aired), these results are honestly considered okay for them.

2025🥝部分播出剧热度与云合相关盘点 这个表其实是为… http://xhslink.com/o/7tgop1oOKvW
copy and open xiaohongshu to view the full post！

这个大盘实在太冷了 整张表居然找不出一部集均超过150… http://xhslink.com/o/8i8VKkIiPHA
copy and open xiaohongshu to view the full post！

苍兰诀是意外，扑才是常态 🍑的仙侠玄幻剧数据表现 <2… http://xhslink.com/o/AtiaMYdJCL
copy and open xiaohongshu to view the full post！

if this show feels choppy, it’s because scenes were edited out. during the cast’s watch sessions, they mentioned that some kissing scenes were deleted or left incomplete. fans have speculated that around four episodes were cut in total. deleted scenes reportedly include xie yong er meeting er lan, xia hou dan and yu wan yin having barbecue together, intimate kiss/bed scenes, and most importantly, their children allegedly retelling the story of yu and xia. (& more)

last year, a child actor posted wrap photos, and in the picture, he was said to be playing the emperor. putting two and two together with the alleged script, it seems like we were supposed to get an easter egg at the end.

8.23 复制打开抖音，看看【安.AN的图文作品】当花絮放出来也好啊。# 成何体统 https://v.douyin.com/LAQMWZDMtak/ wSY:/ [email protected] 06/22

1.02 复制打开抖音，看看【星海入梦记的图文作品】这个演员也参演了成何体统，大结局了人呢？这个演员是... https://v.douyin.com/iCVFDGlj9f4/ 08/06 daA:/ [email protected]

9079 on IQIYI China. not too good considering the popularity of the novel and animated version, but not too bad considering the popularity of the cast in China.

sometimes the entire cast and crew cannot be added in because their profiles are not available on MDL, take it with a pinch of salt. i checked the credits scene of the show and it does have multiple screenwriters

Episode 29 was insane — I loved the fight scenes and the emotional moments. Bai Lu did an incredible job! I understand why the male lead wanted to step in and stop her from killing the minister, but wow… whatever he said was unbearable. What do you mean, “I sabotage your revenge plan, and you ruin my chance at a lifetime of love”? How do you compare the death of someone’s entire family to a marriage? Those aren’t equivalent at all.

Scriptwriters, please give us a good explanation for this — not just unnecessary conflict. If this line isn’t properly explained, I’d honestly rather Li Peiyi remain single, because that was such a hurtful and insensitive thing to say.