I had known about this show and it's ending for some time now and I had been putting it off because I don't like sad endings. I thought I was prepared for Eternal Yesterday and still cried like a baby, so I took lots of time and mental preparing for this show! 😂

In the end my mental preparing paid off and I was not emotionally damaged! Though it was still heartbreaking, I was able to objectively judge the show. I'll come back to the ending later.

Without the ending Hao Ting and Shigu's story would be a 9/10 for me. With the ending it's an 7/10.

Sun Bo and Xhi Gang get... a 0/10 I'm sorry lol. I did not care about these two. I thought they were so weird and Xhi Gang was so creepy to me. I don't even mind age gaps, but this one was a big yikes. Irl the actors also have a significant age gap, but them both being legal adults did only a little to ease me since Sun Bo was portraying a kid. I cannot imagine dating a HIGH SCHOOLER. 💀 I didn't want to date an 18 year old when I was 23 much less now lmao. He was always surrounded by younger men, especially high school boys, and so touchy feely with LITTLE GU. I get it that he saw him like a little brother, but this dude was so weird lmao. They didn't do a good job of convincing me he was "protective" instead of predatory. Especially since at one point he tells Sun Bo he's his little boy or something. 🤢 Sun Bo, I didn't like him at first. He definitely acted the part of a high schooler. Idk if he was 17 or 18 because age was rarely mentioned in this series, but I stand by this match being weird on both ends. He was so obsessive and creepy without realizing it I guess. Kissing someone 3x when they said no is assault. The adult in the situation didn't do anything to actually correct this situation. He still appeased him by getting out of the man's car when Sun Bo said he was FOLLOWING HIM, HELLO? I could be here all day telling you why this relationship is yuck. I skipped their scenes after they actually got together because it was a lost cause. However, Sun Bo did eventually grow on me in terms of his friendship with Hao Ting.

Back to the elephant in the room: The Ending

I can see why the audience was so distraught. Up until this point the show wasn't even a heavy one. It showcased struggles yes, but it wasn't "someone dies at the end" heavy. It was a little angst along side comedy. I mean come on... I always wondered who would buy those fish flipflops from Shein. 😂 Though at the end Hao Ting's parents were super annoying and not the best.
Ex:
-Not supportive even though they stopped resisting.
-Encouraging him to date a woman, instead of comforting him, despite him CLEARLY mourning and depressed!

They still offered some comedic relief in their arguments, cue the fish flipflops. So when the viewer abruptly finds out the MC died halfway through the last episode it would definitely be jarring to someone who went in to this show blindly. You also find out in the last quarter how he died and that this time jump was around 6 years?! For the emotional impact I don't think it was even well done, written, or planned with care. They didn't deliver the audience a bittersweet emotional moment, they did a time jump and swept the MAIN CHARACTER under the rug like he didn't matter. At least give us some of that heartbreak and do Shigu's character some justice. He was so warm, strong, kind, and I adore the actor's bright smile. Shigu deserved better and so did the audience.

Now I prefer he have not died at all and that sloppy alternate ending online is just hilarious to me. The alternate ending sucked too. Take out the accident and refilm a GOOD alternate ending. Though I'm glad there was enough outrage from the masses to show the writer she's an a*shole, I understand the goal between the death and the title, but you had so many options to go with this. The loss of Shigu's parents would fit this. His aunt basically abandoned him. If something must happen maybe an accident he survived or a short coma. Hao Ting cutting his parents off. Heck if someone needed to die, why not Xhi Gang? 😂💀(I'm actually fr on that one.) You could've made the "tomorrow isn't promised" point a plethora of ways that didn't flush a whole show down the toilet.

All in all I'm glad I watched this. I would suggest spoiling it for yourself and just prepare! I would rewatch it and probably just stop before the last episode. Despite hating Hao Ting at first, that big golden retriever grew on me and their love story sucked me in. I'll always have a spot in my heart for them, but especially Shigu. ♥️