Having consumed this drama very quickly, I can safely say it has gripped my attention and pleasantly surprised me in more ways than one. There may be slight spoilers in my review, so bear that in mind if you choose to continue reading.

First of all, what seems to be a common type of story actually reveals profound characterizations that have been brought to life by gifted actors. The drama starts in the present and introduces the key characters who share a complicated and painful past. Then the flashback occurs and we see what led to the current circumstances.

The male protagonist Li Xun (LX) is an IT prodigy focused solely on his work and devoid of social skills. Or he can't be bothered to play the games of society, in this case university life. LX is a pioneer and thus attracts equal amounts of admiration and envy from peers. He gradually builds a circle of IT enthusiasts around him, but has uneasy relationships with most of them. Why? Because he is like an absolute ruler or king and the general approach is his way or the highway.

As the story unfolds, we understand why LX is emotionally closed off and that a series of traumatic and unfortunate events have deeply scarred him. He had to survive and then give himself a new start in life, based solely on his efforts and with no support from others. All these experiences are symbolized by the lighter often seen in his hands.

The one person LX seems to indulge is the female lead Zhu Yun (ZY), or 'princess' as he sometimes calls her. At first glance, ZY is a nice, intelligent and hard-working girl from a wealthy but loving family. Unfortunately, her rather domineering mother has charted ZY's life course, leaving her little free will and unaware of what she actually enjoys doing.

That is one reason why ZY is inevitably drawn to LX. Although they are fundamentally different and often bicker, she admires and respects his IT genius and slightly envies his devil-may-care attitude. ZY chooses to be inspired by LX and in the process discovers her passion for programming.

The romance/ coming of age background story in university is light with some substance. LX and ZY make a cute couple. My concern with LX's behaviour is that he is impulsive and tends to take things to the extreme, regardless of consequences. After LX starts his company, another series of tragic events renders him determined to push ZY away and deeply hurt her.

Fastforward a few years, the two meet again. LX has revenge in mind against those who betrayed him and ZY wants to help him. His development was derailed by time in prison, while she became a very successful professional. She goes above and beyond to support him, since his quest for justice is important to her as well.

Here for a while LX portrays someone very difficult for me to like or respect. I have compassion for his traumatic past, but that does not entitle him to use ZY as emotional punching bag. LX intentionally hurts her again and again, particularly when feelings of insecurity come up within him.

There seemed to be a dark side to his character cropping up when he deals with women who are emotionally vulnerable to him. There was a scene with Xu Li Na as well, which left me with the impression that LX enjoys the power trip of having the emotional upperhand. Unfortunately, these issues with both women were glossed over with a brief apology.

Meanwhile, I was very fond of ZY's character. Her success abroad hides many emotional wounds and her long time struggle with mental health. She has lingering feelings for LX, but it is her sense of responsibility to help right what went wrong which makes her stay, despite his very hurtful attitude. In the end, they know each other better than anyone, with good, bad and everything in between.

Gao - the former friend turned foe - is also a complex character. His poor choices, torment and obssessions were very convincingly interpreted.

All in all, a solid and engaging drama that was definitely worth my time.