So I am watching this because I am swept along with the 20,000 others that are watching this. Also it is rated a 9.2. So that means it shouldn't be a waste of my time... right?

Yeah this drama isn't a waste of time. It's good. The light and cheery atmosphere alone are enough to have me watching. I have seen a lot of k-dramas lately so this is a nice switch-up. It tells a sweet little love story about a girl and her brothers best friend. Suprisngly enough I haven't seen any dramas with this synopsis before.

Now what is good is the production quality and the visuals of the main leads. I am a few episodes in already and it's easy to watch. Watching is a breeze and I can easily watch, so I hope I don't lose interest. What interests me is those visuals and the hope that the 9.2 rating brings foward some amazing scenes that punch right at my gut and get me really believing that score.

I'm not going to be super bitter about the rating. I honestly don't see that it is a 9.2. I give it what I give it because it isn't perfect, but I rate it so high because it isn't necessarily doing anything wrong either.

What gets me though is the younger actress for our main character. She is great, but she is waaaaaayyyy to young to be portraying a character that is 13/14. The actress is 10 irl, so to have moments that are classically portrayed as a budding romance is weird to me. It makes me uncomfortable.. and it shouldn't be. This show brings up the age gap though, with Duan Ji Xu and Sang Shi. It is very obvious between the two their age because of how she claims him as another 'brother' of hers. Comparing him to her brother, those are cute and not problematic. What is- is how Duan Ji brings up how if she is dating someone and he took her out knowing she is a minor than that is wrong. So he sees her as a minor, he won't date her. That is good. What could be, and notice how I saw /could/. Is that if he ends up dating her, which I know happens, then he has seen her grow up. Now that is grooming.

I think this drama isn't stupid, but it has its moments. The opening scene with the young Sang She and Duan Ji are cringe inducing. The music playing up as she sees him for a moment.. I can look past that. I can't look past how three years later she seems even more immature than her younger self. I haven't seen a show with Zhao Lu Si, so maybe her voice is just that young sounding. I do like her character a lot though. She is sweet and naive, but she is calculating in a way. She have ulterior motives with Duan Ji and that is where the love is hiding. It's cute to see her little crush and how that affects her actions with him, it's pretty simple. So the hidden love to me is more of an agenda because of this. Because she likes to hang out with him and pulls him into her life not because he is just nice, but because she secretly likes him and is waiting for the day she can confess or something. I am excited to see how that all unravels but hope that they don't emphasize her youth too much.

With Duan Ji bringing up her age and all I hope they just do it correctly when it comes to him liking her. I believe he will like her when she is of age, and I hope they address that he likes her NOW as opposed to the trope of always loving her. Because he knew her since she was 13/14. I hope he grows to like her as an adult of age and appreciates her growth as a person rather than saying something like he always has loved her. That would make this weirder than it already is.

I get that she likes an older guy, I would too. He is someone she compares her brother too, and he is nice to her. It's a mindless attraction. So I hope for Sang Shi, she realizes what she /really/ likes about him. The older she gets her feelings mature as well.

So this drama is good and I recommend. It's got this amazing feel to it, it's got stunning setups with the camera work and everything. What is needs it to have those hearthrobbing moments between the leads. The set up is very very good, I want their romance to mature and I can see that happening.

What I really must commend is Zhao Lusi's acting. I haven't seen a drama with hers in it and now I know I have been missing out. She is excellent here and so is Chen Zhe Yuan.. who I am most looking forward to see in Sho Po Lang.