THE BEST YOUTH DRAMA!!
I want to say that this is probably the BEST high school theme drama I've watch (please mind that this is purely my opinion). I just love everything about it from the acting, the chemistry, the cinematography, everything is just PERFECT.The plotline is just like any other high school theme drama generally but it has a different element that made it unique from the other drama I've watched before. More than focusing on their loveline (yes there is a loveline but in a high school type of way), it's mostly about friendship. its shows that the bond between friends does not just disappear over time.
I really love how the drama also teaches us that each of us is perfect just the way we are. We don't need to change ourselves just to please others.
TO ME ITS A MUST WATCH HIGH SCHOOL THEME DRAMA. I really recommend this drama to those who are searching for a good drama to watch and mostly to those who loves watching high school type of drama. I PROMISE YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
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A personal favorite youth Chinese drama of 2021!
Went into this drama feeling hopeful after seeing a MV of the leads and I am so glad I gave this drama a try! There are so many youth Chinese dramas out there that I thought this would no different, however, I was wrong. There are familiar setups and tropes but it's refreshing because of the main cast and the charms they bring to their characters. Moreover, the writing brings the realism of being a teen and the conflicts that come up such as wanting to fit in (be someone you're not), finding your dream (being forced to fulfill another person's wishes), being true to yourself (loving yourself and who you are)... and so many more. Plus just the romance and innocence of being in your 17s.To add, how rare is it to find a Chinese youth drama that has a female lead that DOESN'T have a bob cut?? That was one of the unique factors hat drew me in. Plus, the male lead isn't your typical smart class leader or "bad boy" who has low scores. And the secondary couple!! Very comedic banter and sweet scenes between those two as well.
I have to say that these four actors are the ones carrying the drama, otherwise this youth drama would be no different than the many others that are released every year in China. Their acting is on point to their characters, bringing them to life even if there are some stiff/awkward moments but it's understandable since they are all new. I especially love Lin Nan Yi's smiles and Wang Yu Ming's personality. Bonus point is that their voices aren't dubbed! Another rare occurance in Chinese drama land.
Speaking of the plot though, I have to give a warning that towards the end, you can tell the writer is trying very hard to push the plot in a certain direction and use certain tropes that we are all familiar with in youth romance dramas. It's not subtle at all and feels quite forced, but it's not too bad. It only made me drop the Plot score by 0.5. I can overlook it because of the main cast's acting, chemistry, and romance. It only happens a handful of times through the storyline anyway. Also, on the bright side, there are NO stupid misunderstandings that drag out the plot. It's quite fast-paced.
A bonus would be the OST of this drama. I love several of them and they fit the scenes so, so well. I definitely have those songs saved for replays. The upbeat ones are my favorites but they also match the youthfulness of the cast so I
Happy that it finished off well. Will keep an eye out on the main cast for sure.
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My new blueprint for the childhood friends to lovers trope.
I… don't ever watch high school dramas. I find it hard to find the appeal in a time that's been so long ago for me now & triggers some unpleasant memories. So it's a wonder to me too that I watched this drama – and stuck with it til the end, completely engrossed and invested. Why?First off, I have to thank the cinematography and editing department for that. Summer Again is shot and coloured in such a way that elicits very specific sensual responses of well, summer: the fresh sea breeze playing with your hair, the lush greens and the smell of fresh flowers in the park next to your house, the way you have to squint your eyes right after waking up because the summer sun is so bright in the early mornings, the magic sensation of staying up late on mild summer nights, and the constant buzz of life compared to dreary winters or rainy autumns. Summer Again, short, is a visual feast that transports you right to life in a small, seaside holiday town.
In this setting we meet our heroes Tong Xi, a ballerina from the big city, and Lin Nan Yi, her childhood sweetheart & secret manga artist. Surround the two leads with two faithful and cute friends (a pair of childhood friends as well), a rivalling girl & some seniors to look up to and you have the story. Sounds clichéd? Yeah. But sometimes all I want for a drama is to execute the tropes and clichés it commits to well. And unexpectedly, Summer Again excels in that. If I had to describe the way the story was told, I would describe it as "fresh", "unpretentious" and most of all, "sincere".
There is a beautiful sincerity in the way this drama captures the peak of high school life, our sweet 17s, its ups and downs and that pure & innocent heart most of us were carrying then: from the drama that the characters defined as problems to the way they tried to solve them and gave each other advice, it's all really realistically told from the (limited) worldview of teenagers. It's this realism that balanced the drama throughout. There was drama, but there was never hysteria as dramaland is wont to do. Watching Summer Again is an easy-breezy feat that sends you right back down memory lane to simpler days.
Doesn't mean that the drama is not meaningful: our characters are confronted throughout with navigating that period of life when we first started to think about who we are, what we want, what we expect from ourselves and what others expect from us & how we can be our most authentic self. The conflict between "just wanting to be a simple teenager" and all the pressure that our circumstances put on ourself is maybe best shown in Ni Xiao Wan, the "antagonist". I can't even dislike her; the show gives us too good of an explanation of why she behaves the way she does. It doesn't excuse her mistakes but it humanises her.
Our leads on the other hand, are my new blueprint for a childhood friends to lover story. While Tong Xi's growth can be observed like a beautiful arc spanning the show (look out for how she solves problems), Lin Nan Yi is maybe an almost too perfect classic male lead; I guess his only weakness is that he doesn't like to rely on others for help much and can be too secretive. But the way he handles issues is so relatable and impressive that I forget how little flaws they gave him to begin with. Though they are teenagers, Tong Xi & Lin Nan Yi resolve issues better than most adult drama pairings I've seen.
They are open, honest & forthright with each other. Encourage and support each other. They communicate, a lot. They are not afraid of countering the other, but always give them enough room to come to their own conclusions. Ni Kexin & Chen Heyi are rookie actors but absolutely sell their roles to me. It's to this drama's benefit that they are rather unknown; they play their roles so relaxedly that I have a hard time differentiating between what's acted & what's their real persona. And OMG Chen Heyi's eyes: any ice block would melt at how his Lin Nan Yi looks at Tong Xi. Their story never felt forced and was beautifully and organically told from their rekindling, their clashing and their getting closer. It makes absolute sense for them to be attracted to each other.
I'm starting to ramble and I didn't even get into the second leads yet. But to cut it short: their group of friends is adorable, the actors have great rapport together & I just want all four cast in another project again. Last up, OST-wise this drama is a gem. So yes, please do check it out. Let me tell you, by the end of it, just like downing a glass of fresh, cold (mint) water in a hot summer, you'll want to rewatch it again!
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Highschool love breaking through the norms!
Characterization that breakthroughs the stereotypes we tend to get with youth and school dramas. Refreshing!Here's a FL who isn't dumb/airhead or super intelligent. There's no unsightly hairstyle or dump-down clothes. In fact you get a pretty female with nice long hair that suits her and clothes that suit her age and is pretty to look at. Then that goddess image has a backstory too. For FL has come back from the city to her hometown and like a typical teenage she covets in wanting to be loved, admired and centre of attention instead of being a wallflower or side character. Then comes the character development.
ML isnt your typical one either- neither high cold or super sunny. He's your regular guy with good looks but has a secret identity nobody knew. Additionally he has a backstory regarding his family. When it comes to FL, they meet again after FL left for the city when young. ML still holds on to their childhood memories that meant a lot to him. There was a misunderstanding too that gets unraveled 1/3 into the drama.
The child actors are cute! I wait every episode to see flashbacks of the child versions.
The drama has a nice mix of 3 things.
1. Theme of finding oneself and being real - I really like how ML encourages FL to be herself, and not the act she has to put up to be perfect
2. Friendships and family - I love FL's friendship with her deskmate. I love FL's dad too
3. Romance - not only is it done well with limited cliche; im surprise how romantic it comes across- from language of mint, to the garden and the blue tears in the sea
Lastly, it's also peppered with reminded that its highschool and FL is a teenager- enters the visualisation of drama queen in almost all teenage girls- complete with black and white version talking in her head.
It's been a really easy breezy watch and you might be surprise with how much you like it.
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a realistic and cute youth drama
this drama is the first high school drama for me in a while, and it didn’t disappoint at all. this drama shows that you don’t have intimate scenes to feel love. there’s communication, protection, companionship and trust.i love how they talked it out whenever there are misunderstandings and told each other almost everything. they’re best friends and they put so much trust in each other. whenever there are issues, they stayed by each other’s side and they helped each other to become the better version of themselves. Tong Xi learned that it’s okay to not have to act for others to like her, and Lin Nanyi eventually learned to stop avoiding a situation and to listen to his parents’ perspective. they’re also so supportive of each other, always encouraging each other throughout.
to be fair, i teared when he had to leave for the city. in life, don’t we all have that friend where we became distant with in the different phases in life as people come and go? it was clearly shown as Tong Xi said that it happened to her, but she put her faith in Nanyi, and believed that he would be back by her side in the future, and she was willing to wait despite how long it might take. and that’s so touching. it’s so obvious that he felt the same about her as he came back to take his papers and told her that they should aim for the same university so that they will never be apart again. and that’s so sweet, they’re both in love with each other, though they might not know what love truly is at their age.
similar to taozi and yiming, where they may have already had feelings for each other, yet the fine line of friendship and love makes it confusing for them. it’s cute for them to explore and learn their feelings when yiming tried dating jieping, yet he realised that he’s too used to having taozi around and he felt the most comfortable around taozi. at the same time, taozi felt uncomfortable without him around despite her complaining previously that he was always around her. it’s a case where absence makes the heart grow fonder.
despite Ni Waner being an annoying character, i could understand why she did that. she has craved attention and love which wasn’t given to her by her parents, yet the first time she ever felt concern was from nanyi, which is probably why she felt that it was love.
the plot is pretty realistic, where there are parents who force their own dreams on their kids, parents leaving their kids as they might not have been planned, a boy who treats a girl however they want to despite knowing her feelings for him, a boy not knowing that he has a crush on his friend and tried to date someone else, parents who are more biased to the son than the daughters (because apparently they’re more precious and can carry on the line of the family). the plot is also very well paced, it doesn’t feel rushed, nor does it felt like it was dragging out the episodes. there are also huge character developments for all the characters, which is something i really appreciate and like about this drama.
their acting was good considering that it’s their first main role, and they portrayed the characters well. the emotions of the character (e.g. when tong xi was tired of her mother pushing her dreams on her, and she finally talked back to her mum, standing up for herself, stating what she really wants).
the songs are also so good, enjoyed them as they were played at the different scenes.
overall, it’s really a nice and healing drama, i feel, and it’s a good drama which i would rewatch in the future. give it a try if you haven’t already :)
to add on, personally i would like it to have a second season, where we can see how their relationship and friendships develop. it would also be good to know what obstacles they’ll have in achieving their dreams.
also, random but their characters being a cancer & scorpio are just so cute, cos compatible signs ><
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Beautiful story with beautiful moral.
Hello everyone!If you are wondering whether to watch this drama or not, I will advice you to go for it. But if you need some time to think, here are some things that I like and also dislike about this drama. Hope it can help you!
What I like :
1) The story is great!
Because it revolve around teenagers, it touch a lot of topics that we often think back when we were a teen such as our dream, friendship, backstab, love, study and more. Also, there are some topics that are interesting too like broken family, telling lie to become everyone's favourite, ballet, comics and more. So I really like the topics and how it was executes in the drama.
2) The acting !!
Both ML and FL are rookie actor/actress. Their expression are good and well delivered. You can feel the emotion they express. The other actors are great too. The annoying character are annoying, the dumb character are dumb, to put it simply, all actors are doing good.
3) The love story (or you can say friendship<3)
The FL and ML are both in love and in friends (?) !!!!! They are so cute. They always support each other. They are always have time for each other. Their love is so pure and innocent. You can't help but smiling everytime you see them both on the screen.
4) The cinematography. Periodt.
It's so beautiful!!!!! Every scenes are so beautiful. The beach, the drama tones, the plants and more. You can just screenshot any scene and *baam* you got a new wallpaper.
What I dislike :
1) Annoying character
Well, of course we need an annoying character. After all, this is about a high school student, we cannot escape from character like that. But in the end, the character change to a better person ¢:
2) LITTLE misunderstanding
I just dislike misunderstanding in a drama. But the misunderstanding in this drama is acceptable. You always find yourself asking why they act like this and that. But in the end, you realize they are just a teenagers. They are in a phase to grow up. Of course they need some obstacle in order to become stronger. So the misunderstanding in this drama doesn't affect your pleasure-ness.
Bonus :
+ If "summer again" and "mint" are real comics, I absolutely want to read it!
+ I cried at a few scene because it's relatable ;)
+ I usually finish a drama within 2 or 3 days, but this drama, only 1 half days!
+ Coco (the FL) is so cute <333 her smile especially!
+ Chen He Yi (the ML) is cute too. Especially his brown eyes.
Okay, I think that's all! After all, it's up to you to watch it or not. But you definitely not gonna regret it!
<333333
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Sweet and Innocent teen drama - No GaoKao (college admission exam) for once!!!
Completed - 1/4/2022"Summer Again" might not be a perfect drama, but to me, I really like it and I can't stop smiling while watching it. This is my second teen drama that I rated a 9.0, after my other favorite, "Forever Love". I finally found a Chinese high school drama that is not focused on the evil GaoKao (College admission exam). There are so many other teen dramas, but you can't escape the plot of students stressing over the exam and parents being mean about it.
"Summer Again" is a breath of fresh air. The setting is at a small seaside town. The drama is about our young cast finding and loving their true selves, and discovering and working towards their dreams. Romance is present in the name of friendship. It's sweet and innocent, and there's no cheesy love lines or fluffy and intimate skinship. It's just pure innocent, caring and supportive friendships.
What I like:
1. Plot/No GaoKao - As mentioned, the focus of the drama is not about studying hard for the exam. I have watched a good number of teen C-Dramas, and this might be the only one that I can remember that has nothing to do with the exam. It's just normal high school life in a small town. Our young cast grow and learn about themselves. Of course, they encounter similar challenges in other teen dramas, but I think it's a refreshing take as it all happened in a small town.
2. Realistic teenagers - We have normal teenagers doing what normal teenagers do. They hang out, dress, talk and act like teenagers. Our male lead is not cold-on-the-outside and mean to FL, nor was he a genius or a failing student. He's just a normal kid who happens to be a famous comic book author. Our female lead is not naive or shy or a pushover. She's an above-average student, not particularly smart or dumb. Even if ballet takes center stage, she's not a superstar ballerina. All characters act like their age. I also like that none of them is dumb or naive
3. Romance/Friendship - We don't have outright romances here. There's no lovey-dovey fluffiness. Not even a kiss. or the confession of "I Like You". Once in a while, a romance like this is refreshing. Our leads are caring and supportive friends. They have open and honest conversations. They listen and support each other, and don't try to change each other. They help each other think things through in order to come to their own decisions. They show affection through actions. It's simple, sweet, and innocent.
4. Ballet - I appreciate our FL performing all her dances. And no, don't expect expert ballet dancing. Her dance is simple and amateurish, and definitely not showcasing someone who has been dancing for years. I can't say for sure, but there are enough shots to show her head /body/legs to know that FL does her own dancing. On the other hand, I can also tell that her teacher is a ballet dancer (I looked him up and he is). You can tell by the way he presents himself and the few dance steps he did - very light on the feet!
5. Gift Giving - What a creative way for ML to give the farewell present to FL when they are under the tree.
What I don't quite like as much:
1. Love triangle - ML only has eyes for FL and he makes that very clear. I still think that the jealous 3FL storyline lasted a little too long. Even though I pity her circumstances, her mean actions get repetitive and annoying after a while.
2. Acting - The overall acting of the main cast is not bad. However, the other minor characters' acting is not quite up to standards. For example, I am not sure if the ballet teacher is supposed to act so stoic and wooden because of his role, or his acting is not that great.
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Not Your Cookie-Cutter Typical CDRAMA High School Romance!
From the moment that I saw the trailer and mv for this drama, I just knew that I had to try it. The chemistry between the leads, Tong Xi and Lin Nan Yi, felt so strong the second I saw clips of them together in the music video and trailer, and the music was so catchy and sweet. AND THEN the moment that I tried it, WOW I was sucked into their story. The OST is also soooo good! And no one is dubbed!Let me explain in detail below:
Although you can expect what cliches the story will be using and what might happen next (with this story being old childhood friends reuniting and all), there was never a boring or cringy moment. It felt so new even though I know these tropes and have seen them in many other dramas before. The casting may be the reason for this because they finally cast main leads who are not a tall male lead and a much shorter female lead with a short bob hair cut. The female lead is also not a poorly performing student and the male lead, not a smart and aloof person. This drama finally put two students in high school (main leads) who are equals in academics and not having the typical character development lines (as deskmates, enemies). With the different types of male and female leads we are given, the story felt much more engaging and new even though the tropes were still the same old ones. And yeah, although the main leads are not exactly unique either, they felt new (with Nan Yi being a manhwa writer and Tong Xi a ballerina tomboy). The supporting roles also played a large part in this, by having hilarious little arguments and chemistry that is unlike the supporting roles I have seen in other youth dramas. They added to the main leads' story and made everything feel more real and grounded. All of this made the story feel like I could actually see these types of characters in a small island like this somewhere. SO, even with some tropes and forced cliche moments (ex: rain scene and when Nan Yi came back), it was still fun to watch.
With such casting choices, the cliche moments become more cute and sweet instead of feeling so cringe and overused. It feels like a new idea and more creative (though it doesn't seem like it is on the surface level) that makes you want to keep watching. This makes each episode so so so so so enjoyable to watch and I felt so sad each time I finished an episode because I knew I was getting closer to the end of their story. There are still some moments where it is very obvious that the writer is trying to force a trope, but the characters make it so easy to look over it (ex: the rain scene where Nan Yi is standing in the rain downstairs at Tong Xi's house). The fact that this happens is really the magic of this drama. This is the first time where I watched a youth drama where I expected the tropes and it didn't bother me for even one moment because I just loved seeing the cast on screen. I couldn't help smiling and having my heart flutter for all of them when normally for other dramas, I would just roll my eyes. At the end, I even wished there were more of those cliche scenes just because I want to see the main couple and supporting couple more!
The acting is also pretty good for such new rookie actors/actresses. The main leads and supporting characters carried their characters well and delivered the emotions above my expectations. It was my first time watching everyone in this drama and they all did great. Although they can definitely improve, I think they all brought their characters to life, particularly Lin Nan Yi, Tong Xi, Tao Zhu, and Wang Yi Ming. Any scene with any one of them were so fun to watch, especially with Wang Yi Ming. There were some more side roles (Ni Xiao Wan's parents, some kid actors) that were weak at delivering lines, since they felt like they were just reciting their lines and forcing the emotions to the viewers, but they don't take away from the story.
Finally, the story discusses very real concerns that high schoolers have. For example, Tong Xi and Xiao Wan's desire to be liked and attempts to lie to create a fake image of themselves. Or, Tong Xi's struggle to decide what she wants to do in the future (since ballet is not her dream). These are all very real problems that kids in high school deal with. Even as you get older, these are concerns that people likely have because we all wish to be liked by others, to fit in, and to know what we truly want for ourselves. It was nice seeing these in the characters and watching their journey.
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE THE TITLE OF THE DRAMA! The writer did well to connect the entire story to the mint plant and the main leads' 'engagement' to each other when they were kids. It was cute to learn what the mint plant means in flower language and how this is Tong Xi and Nan Yi's story.
BUT one regretful thing is that there are only cute eye contact or smile scenes between Tong Xi and Nan Yi! No real dating or skinship scenes at all! They only had 1 hug and 1 handholding scene (which wasn't even a close up of them) which is so sad since they look so cute together. The writer only gave a lot of cute Nan Yi smiling secretly at Tong Xi, or them two smiling at each other.. :( So I feel like I didn't get enough of this couple. The side couple at least got a peck on the cheek but nothing for the main leads!
SO PLEASE GIVE THIS DRAMA A TRY BECAUSE YOU WON"T REGRET IT!!!!!!!! YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH TONG XI & NAN YI!
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cute highschool drama ! really enjoyed it
i watched this in less than 2 days i was so hooked on it! i really enjoyed the plot of this , i think the ending could have been a little better - maybe an extra episode? or the middle could have been less spread out to make the ending a bit more extended - however regardless it was an enjoyable watch!i loved the cast, the ost was so good and i think it was pretty good at reflecting reality ! eg the reality of being a child of a parent who tries to push their dreams onto you, but how through communication sometimes change can happen , and how sometimes even if we accept the past is the past it doesnt mean we can forgive and forget. this was shown well in the show! i also enjoy how it was more about school + friends/family, than romance
would defo watch again! and a s2 for their uni life would be cool haha
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Sweet Mint bubblegum bubbles
Sweeter than sweet this adorable little teen drama will probably keep you smiling while you watch one of dramalands sweetest (a tad deceptive) male leads support and encourage the female lead as well as smooth out some misunderstandings. 'This drama screams summer, youth and very innocent puppy (or kitten) love from start to finish.I love the friendships, the growth and the sunny atmosphere making this drama very easy to watch and making each episode fly by,... what drags down the score is how the character of the second female lead is portrayed as slightly evil due to poverty. Though I do like the way they show how poverty may cause people to judge you as well as cause shapme in a pretty good way. everything else around that character just felt wrong and misplaced dragging down the general bubblegum feel of the drama.
The drama also deals with finding ones self, standing up for ones interests and not having ones parents dictate ones future in kind of rushed and pretty predictable yet still sweet way (also dragging down the total score).
This drama probably has one of my new favorite teen couples and one of few dramas I can see would do well with a second season of sweet college life in a sunny China showing them struggle together to achieve their dreams or something like that.
All in all definitely worth watching if you are int the mood for some sweet mintey teen fluff
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Don't miss this one
This drama needs more exposure for others to watch. It's so underrated. I feel like this story is pretty unique for a school/youth Cdrama. Not since Forever Love have I been so excited to watch this genre. It's a sentimental look into what youth in China are going through or better yet what all youth can be going though. I think all kids go through issues with: inattentive parents, divorce, family finances, poverty, jealousy, popularity, secrets, and chasing your dream. The acting between these 2 leads is well done considering they're young and new at this, The character development is nicely paced and the personalities are interesting and not at all annoying. And the OST and cinematography is surprisingly good!Was this review helpful to you?
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A must watch youth/school drama!!!!
Warning: this review is mostly me rambling , getting sidetracked and it will be all over the place so I apologize in advance :')I originally found this drama cause of Chen He Yi, I first saw him in Make My Heart Smile as Mu Ze and though he was a supporting character he immediately caught my eye (even more then the main lead). At first glance the story felt somewhat basic with the cliche trope of childhood friends reuniting and that's the reason I put off watching this drama for a long time. But now that I have watched it I realized that sometimes the most basic stories create some of the most beautiful drama's . I would say the first thing that I noticed was the visuals of the show, the drama being based on a seaside town had a very blueish, golden type of vibe and it was very aesthetically pleasing. The next thing was the acting, the acting is done so well that even when the female lead was being quirky or goofy I didn't find her cringe at all which I think is amazing because I find in drama's when female leads try to be quirky they end up just being cringy. And of course the male lead I loved him in make my heart smile and I loved him here, he is such a good actor I've watched him play two completely opposite characters and absolutely nail both of them. I also loved the fact that they didn't dramatize the friendships , they seemed very real in the way that when the male lead was leaving they didn't cry or do any dramatic gestures it seemed simple and realistic. Another thing that was well done was the romance part, where in the entire series we really only get a hug from the main leads and that's also in the end, there was no accidental touches, or fl falling on ml nothing like that it was simple and sweet where you can see their love through their actions and it suited the entire vibe of the show. I also really liked the character redemption arc of ni xiao wan, it wasn't something that happened immediately where she realized her mistake, it happened gradually where a lot of factors contributed to it and I think that was really well done as it didn't feel forced or rushed. My favourite character throughout the series was wang yi ming, he was goofy and never failed to make me laugh when he was on screen, his character was so pure you couldn't help but love him. And of course the relationship between the second leads was so so cute I was rooting for them throughout the entire story. However, somewhere I do believe that the drama was slightly slow paced and found myself skipping through some scenes which does affect the rewatch value of the show. but Overall I would 100% recommend it even if you don't like youth or high school dramas I recommend you to watch this one you won't regret it for sure! :)
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