Before I write my thoughts on this drama, I have to say first that I am not a fan of Xiao Zhan or Yang Zi. I will just write my thoughts based on what I have watched, in all honesty.

MAIN STORY

Gu Wei (Xiao Zhan), a gastroenterologist in a hospital, met Lin Zhi Xiao (Yang Zi), a university student majoring in music (cello) when the latter’s father was hospitalized. He was her father’s surgical doctor. Due to some misunderstandings, they didn’t quite like each other at first.
Nevertheless, as they slowly grew to know each other better, they gradually fell in love, despite the huge age gap (he 31 and she 20), personality differences (he was a serious and rational person, while she was happy-go-lucky) and lifestyle habits (he had mysophobia and was health-conscious, while she enjoyed eating steamboat and drinking coke).
Gu Wei eventually confessed his feelings to Lin Zhi Xiao, but not after attempting three times and when they finally got together, hurdles were thrown along the way, but eventually all these were overcome.

ACTING/MAIN CAST

Yang Zi was good, but not anywhere different from her usual character she tends to play as far as I have seen in her other dramas - bubbly, easygoing, straightforward – type of character. And she is a natural in such a role.

Xiao Zhan was the one who made me sit up and give a second look (and couldn’t stop looking, indeed). Other than the historical dramas The Untamed and The Wolf, this was the first time I saw him in a modern romance drama and he oozed charisma here. His tender eyes, superbly sweet dimpled smiles, gentle gestures and devotion as Gu Wei towards Lin Zhi Xiao won my heart over.
I seriously couldn’t stop looking at him in every episode throughout the drama. Many people prefer Xiao Zhan in his Wei Wu Xian character in The Untamed, for sure I like him there too, but it was slow burn for me. Here, he WON ME OVER within the first two episodes. His acting was also natural and believable, whether in his role as a doctor or when he had to show a more emotional side of Gu Wei.

SIDE CHARACTERS/OTHER CAST MEMBERS

I especially like Lin Zhi Xiao’s mother. She looked beautiful with her bright smiles and was always supportive of her daughter in whatever she did. Lin Zhi Xiao's father also did an exceptional job in his role.

As for Lin Zhi Xiao’s friends, they had their own story developments, but all in all, they looked like they were simply there to allow the audience a breather from the main leads once in a while and I did not quite like that Lin Zhi Xiao always consulted her friends for advice when she encountered issues with Gu Wei because her friends always tended to make a mountain out of a molehill of the issues.

PACING

Overall, it was not too fast nor slow, though I did find it a little frustrating around the time before Gu Wei’s confession of his feelings for Lin Zhi Xiao, mainly because he was inexperienced with falling in love, and with the appearance of the love rival, him wanting to give up, misunderstandings, etc., the entire process towards his confession was a little slow (as I mentioned, he tried to confess three times).
So, when he finally managed to confess, it was a sense of relief and the entire confession was so sweet that I found myself smiling and feeling as over the moon as Lin Zhi Xiao.

OST

For most parts of the drama, there was a duet sung by Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi and two others each sung by them. I enjoyed all three songs thoroughly. All have a romantic ‘love is in the air’ vibe in them. They were the kind of OSTs which I would still continue to listen to, even after the drama has ended because they were extremely melodious and the lyrics were so meaningful that they could easily be used as wedding songs in future.

ENDING

What to say about this other than I was touched to tears? I have watched lots of wedding ceremonies in dramas, but this couple just made the wedding vows totally unforgettable, saying words to each other unique in their own way.

Some of the unforgettable words said,

"I hope that when we grow old, you will tell me that marrying me was the best decision you have ever made in your life. If really we cannot remember anything, I also hope that loving you will be the last thing I will forget." Gu Wei

"I swear, I will be patient like a brother, humorous like a friend, thoughtful like a lover." Gu Wei

"I swear, I will be tolerant like a sister, understanding like a friend, romantic like a lover." Lin Zhi Xiao

And when Gu Wei proposed to Lin Zhi Xiao, I could not forget this sentence spoken by him.

"Work, children, health, problems from all sides, I cannot guarantee that our lives will be smooth-sailing in the future, but I can guarantee, be it good or bad, I will always be here. I will always be by your side..." Gu Wei

REWATCH

Absolutely, but perhaps only the scenes of the main leads. I was already re-watching those kissing scenes and sweet love interactions of Gu Wei and Lin Zhi Xiao as I continued to watch further episodes.

NEGATIVE

There were comments about absurdities in the drama, mainly in the hospital setting and well, I do agree with them. Things like giving Lin Zhi Xiao to rest in one of the resting rooms meant for hospital staff or putting an adult patient and a paediatric patient in the same ward or nurses gossiping in the nurses’ station or not telling the father about his cancer condition even right before his surgery or such a huge hospital had no seemingly other patients’ families in the hospital except Lin Zhi Xiao’s family, etc.….

I would say, this is a drama, and watch this drama with your heart, not your brain. You will enjoy the show much more because their romance will far surpass those illogical parts.


VERDICT

People said the romance was clichéd and corny, but what I saw was a very classic, sweet, simple and romantic love story which warmed my heart very much. I enjoyed and found myself smiling at all their love interactions with each other.

Just watching them doing very ordinary things like Gu Wei stroking Lin Zhi Xiao’s eyelashes while she was sleeping, or him gently waking and kissing her in the morning the moment she woke up brought a smile to my lips naturally. They were all just so tenderly done. In fact, when they became a couple, the things they did were very common like taking selfies with polaroid and watching sunrise together, such scenes in other dramas might have been rather boring, but in this drama, I found myself watching with intense concentration. The entire execution was just so natural and sweet that they looked so convincing as a couple and made me want to fall in love too. Kudos to their acting skills!

All in all, I enjoyed this drama immensely and relished every episode. It was really one of the few times when I couldn’t wait for a drama’s next episode and eventually decided to pause watching first because I couldn’t bear it to end so quickly, preferring to ‘savor’ it slowly later :D

It was the entire packaging – very melodious and romantic OSTs, very natural acting from the main leads and above all, amazing chemistry between Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi who were totally comfortable with each other.

It was their natural execution of the roles, making them totally believable, which made this drama worth-watching and unforgettable. The story was nothing extraordinary, it was just a common, simple slice-of-life romance, but the commendable acting of Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi brought this drama to a different level. Perhaps if it had been other less experienced actors and actresses, with a simple story as this, I believe they would not have produced the same effect as Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi.

On top of the romance, I have to specially mention about the relationship between Lin Zhi Xiao’s father and her. Calling her father ‘Old Lin’ or ‘Teacher Lin’, they were always bickering and at odds with each other. Her father used to be a school disciplinary master, while she was a total opposite of what a disciplinarian would want to see. However, their relationship improved amidst heartbreaking moments when her father’s cancer relapsed and hearing her finally call him ‘dad’ at the end was heart-wrenching. It reminded us yet again that humans only learn to cherish the people around them or closest to them when they realize that they are going to be apart soon or apart forever,,,


I would HIGHLY recommend this drama if you like Xiao Zhan, Yang Zi or if you are looking for a sweet and romantic love story with heartwarming scenes or simply if you want to see a handsome doctor for a male lead.

As the lyrics in the duet goes, ‘A simple romance is what I love.’…totally apt in summarizing my thoughts of this drama.




OTHER COMMENTS

1. I think Yang Zi’s character in this drama is about 70% of her true personality, minus the naivety and a little of the bubbly side, based on what I have seen in her past interviews, behind-the-scenes, etc.

2. This doesn’t affect my rating of the drama, but I was a little disturbed and have to say something about it. I saw it frequently in Chinese modern dramas. It would be perfect if actresses could do with less make-up when shooting scenes in the bathroom or on the bed to add that touch of realism. Most of the time, Yang Zi had FULL make-up on, that is, eyeshadow, mascara, bright red lipstick in those scenes when she was supposed to be showering, sleeping, waking up, etc.
I know actresses cannot afford to look ugly even shooting such scenes, but I would have preferred them to tone down on the make-up, like use a lipstick with lighter color and do without the mascara to make things more realistic.