OVERALL:

I don't know what's with Ba Yue Chang An novels that make me ugly cry so much. I've watched tons of dramas since 2002 but I guess this one was as relatable as Unrequited Love that it hurts me to see these characters struggle. If you're looking for a good youth drama that can make your heart flutter, this is it. I love the friendship the characters have in this drama. However, I would like to leave a warning that towards the end, it gets a bit darker and you might be surprised by the sudden 180. Nevertheless, I believe this is still one of the dramas I would recommend to new watchers.

THE CHARACTERS:

GENG GENG is one of the usual female leads we get in school dramas. She's "dumb" (although I believe science classes is just not for her, she's average/good with literature or art related subjects), bubbly, and has that iconic bob cut we always see in our tracksuit-wearing leads. What makes Geng Geng different from other leads was shown exactly in that part where she was asked by Yu Huai's mom to leave her son alone. She did not just quietly accept that, she told his mom exactly what she needs to hear. I totally admired her during that moment. She's very empathetic and she's the balance between our lovely female friendship trio. Geng Geng's strength is her straightforwardness and bravery.

YU HUAI is smart but he's not a genius. He's only good with science/math subjects but lacks in anything art-related. He's the total opposite of Geng Geng and that's what makes them a cute pair. He likes to play tricks. He plays computer games. He even cuts classes because he's too lazy to teach. He gets dejected when he gets bad results. He gets jealous. He's not the perfect male lead you expect him to and you know what? It's great that we get such realistic people in dramas. He was the most relatable character for me.

GENG GENG YU HUAI complement each other. What the other lacks, the other has it. You know they like each other. You see that in the first episode. You wonder, why don't they just confess? It's because they don't need to. Both of them know what the other feels. It's so painfully obvious yet I can't get frustrated because I know these two are just students who's trying to pass their exams. You watch them get jealous, do mistakes, and misunderstand each other. They reminded me of Luo Zhi and Sheng Huainan who lacked communication but I'm glad they pulled through in the end. My headcanon is that Yu Huai finally achieves what he's supposed to after all those years together with Geng Geng by his side.

The 10 year gap was a bit of a shock to me. I think it would be good if it was extended for a few episodes but I guess the point was to have an open ending. Some people think that the logical pick would be Xing He which I totally agree with. Who wouldn't? He was there for 10 years, waiting for the time that Geng Geng will finally be able to let go. But I can tell you that when it comes to love, you do the dumbest thing. Xing He wasn't the person in her heart, it was Yu Huai all along. I think it's totally unfair for him to be married to her without her being 100% into it. It's sucky that she did that to hurt Yu Huai and I wished we could see her apologize sincerely but time was running out in the last episode.

I guess that's my only problem in the drama, the last episodes were too short to highlight things that could've been highlighted. We only heard Yu Huai's struggles and did not experience/watch any of it which makes his backstory kinda cheap. It sounded like an excuse. I don't have any questions with what he experienced. It was unfortunate and he was unlucky. However, an episode totally focusing on his struggles could've been a good episode before or after they met again. Overall, I'm still satisfied with this drama and Zhenhua students will have a special place in my heart.