The story is pretty similar to other tropes done before. The main difference is the background of the male lead. Darren Wang plays Lang Zai/Prince Bo. He was raised by wolves and after he and Xing Er (Li Qin) meet at a younger age, they become close friends. Misunderstandings happen, Lang Zai's entire wolf family is killed and, thinking Xing Er betrayed him; Lang Zai is taken in by the ruler of Yang Kingdom, renamed Prince Bo, and raised to become a lethal weapon at the discretion of his foster father. During these 8 years of separation, Prince Bo has become cold and calculating while Xing Er maintained her kindness that's now mixed with sorrow due to her guilt at the failure to save Lang Zai. They meet again after Prince Bo's people are given the orders to and follow through with killing Xing Er's family. Now alone, Xing Er believes Prince Bo and his people to be her saviors and soon they are betrothed to each other (a ploy by the king to control the remnants of Xing Er's family's army). Their relationship starts off antagonistic because Prince Bo still believes she intentionally betrayed him but after the misunderstandings are cleared, he returns to treating her with the love and care he always held for her. Sadly good things never last long, and they are separated by more misunderstandings when Prince Bo realizes the true evil nature of his foster father. This leads to them eventually standing on opposite sides of a long-coming war.

I think this is one of those dramas where, if you have an enjoyment for angst and misunderstandings, then this will be your cup of tea. The leads do spend nearly half the story on opposite sides due to the misunderstandings that the male lead refuses to mend (for his own reasons). The noble idiocy/sacrifice trope is the main cause of their misunderstandings but we see that both Prince Bo and Xing Er employ this when they make the choices to protect each other.

I personally enjoyed the soundtrack (I'm still searching for the song from the trailer from 3 years ago). The opening theme is alluring but I think the gem is Song Nian Yu's "Heaven Wolf Star 天狼星." It gives a melancholic, lullaby-esque feeling of heartbreak that perfectly matches the journey of love, separation, longing, and loss between Prince Bo/Lang Zai and Xing Er.

I really do think the cast is the selling point of this drama.
Let's start with the obvious: the three main leads are very good-looking. The three have similar facial structures (longer faces, slim noses, high cheekbones, etc) so all three complement each other very well. Styling-wise, Li Qin looks beautiful like she always does. I don't think the styling was flattering to the men. I loved Darren Wang's hairstyle but the outfits he wore made him look clunky. You can tell he's built but slim and his attire made him look bulky. I had the opposite opinion of Xiao Zhan. His attire was fine but his wig towards the end didn't highlight his facial features. Regardless, they all still looked beautiful because it would take a lot to make any of these 3 look unattractive. Truthfully, no matter who Xing Er ended up with, she looked fabulous with both.

My interest in this drama came from Darren Wang and Li Qin. I saw "Legend of the Naga Pearls" back in 2017 and instantly liked Darren because of his versatility as an actor. His characters from one work to the next were drastically different and it was his allure for me.
Li Qin has always been a weakness for me. Despite playing characters with similar dispositions/trajectories, she does it with an endearment that's very enjoyable to watch. She is one of those few actresses who can portray the "innocent, naive, and spoiled" female lead without making the role seem ignorant or annoying. I'm happy Xiao Zhan was here too since I did love him from "The Untamed" but if this drama had aired before 2019, I still would've watched it solely for Darren Wang.

Darren Wang is a gem and I don't think this drama truly allowed him to showcase his talent. He is so interesting to watch because he can pull off any character given to him. He has this innocence to him when he's Lang Zai that makes you want to stick him in a bubble so he will never get hurt. But as Prince Bo, he exudes hostility and malice. When he has on his veneer of cruelty, it makes you instinctively take a step back but then. . .he smiles his sincere smile and you question everything you know about life. Darren Wang has this extremely boyishly handsome smile that just wipes away any trace of doubt you could have in him.
Xiao Zhan has been very lucky because he's been able to play lovable characters, even as the second romantic lead. I don't say this to mean it takes away from Xiao Zhan's acting; he is a very talented actor. He certainly brings life to the lovable characters he does play which makes them more endearing. My first encounter with Xiao Zhan came from "Oh! My Emperor." As soon as I saw him smile, I became a sucker for him. He, like Darren Wang, has this amazingly handsome smile. Their smiles just melt your heart because there's this undeniable sense of awe in them. But when they smirk, it makes you want to simultaneously slap and kiss them.
As for this drama, Ji Chong is so awesome! He becomes Xing Er's rock and steadily stays by her side while respecting that her heart belongs to Prince Bo/Lang Zai. He has no malicious intents and he's reasonable. After a point, Ji Chong and Prince Bo/Lang Zai have a heart-to-heart, lay all their cards on the table, and reach a mutual respect and understanding with each other.
(SPOILER) Ji Chong is the reason why Prince Bo/Lang Zai and Xing Er are able to reconcile. If you didn't love Xiao Zhan before, you probably will after finishing this drama.
A very fantastic characteristic of this drama is how the two male leads approach each other. They are obviously rivals for the affections of the female lead, but neither fight in an underhanded way. When they pursue her, there's no purposeful deception about the other male and they both respect the choices of the female lead. It's also really telling that both men acknowledge the other is a man of quality and is worth entrusting the female lead to. Sadly, that kind of character maturity and self-awareness doesn't happen too often in dramas.

Overall, I don't think the story itself is anything spectacular but it was an enjoyable watch, especially if you love the cast like I did.