The novel is nothing special. I stopped reading it in the middle just in case it would affect my excitement of the drama version. However, even if the story is so so, I can watch Xiao Zhan doing nothing for hours without getting bored :D
Turned out I've seen several of his drama before. He wasn't memorable in those drama which made me think Into The Ring was my very first his drama, lol. It's okay, now I'm her fan!