This is a lovely watch for teenager, if you're an adult don't bother

Story wise, the trope of an ordinary girl falling head over heels is kinda old, but depending on the execution it still can be enjoyable to watch. For this drama, the pace is so slow I had to play it at 1.5 x speed or even skip it often.

Now the acting and the character. I can't root for anyone here! Not even the female first lead. The acting is passable, not extraordinary, but the character itself makes me unable to love her. Chasing the most popular guy in school, changing her appearance to be more attractive society standard (fair skin, long straight hair, neat teeth), following the university and student club where he is in... Okay, the part where she studied hard is good, albeit it isn't shown well enough. It feels, everything she does always revolves around the handsome senior. The change in her appearance also betrays my logic, like how come your skin suddenly become fair with just some spray? And her hair suddenly is straightened naturally as if her old curly hair was some kind of wig (which is true I bet, for the sake of the movie).

The male first lead's acting is as versatile as a block of dry wood. Stale, flat, expressionless. I don't know if it is the directing or the script itself, or the actor who isn't capable to be more expressive, but watching him delivering his lines as if he was reading news is excruciating. I don't know that a cool guy is supposed to look stoic and flat all the time, and only smile occasionally. The scenes between him and the female first lead feels so unnatural, I can't get the butterflies or taste the slightest chemistry. It's hard to see if he likes the first female lead too, as it's not shown on his face. Everything about their relationship is like 90% conveyed by the awkwardness of the first female lead whenever she is with him.

I find the second couple more interesting to watch. Although they are mostly silly and both seem to have anger issues, at least there's some clash they present. The second female lead is the same as the first lead in the sense that she too busy chases the second male lead to the point of nagging and stalking at first. But at least she has some personality and finally stand up for herself when the second lead professes his feeling for the first female lead (rather a silly love triangle trope). What I like a bout that part is the second female lead turns cold towards the second male lead but she still keeps her friendship with the first female lead. At least, apart from being too nagging and male-chaser in the first part, she isn't that silly and immature when her feelings isn't reciprocated.

The second male lead is the definition of immaturity. He always seems angry. Still, I'd still prefer him than the deadwood first male lead. The part when he confesses his feeling towards the first female lead in front of everyone is silly and baseless. Even so, I still enjoy his erratic relationship with the first male lead and the second female lead. It's more colorful than the relationship of the main couple.

I picked up this drama, hoping to watch some light melodrama that might remind me of the silly teenage years I had, but I ended up losing some brain cells after some episodes. Still, I should give some credits: the visual of this series is good. Some scenes got weird camera angle, but it's aesthetically pleasant. It's nice to get a glimpse of education in China and see daily life of people there. My last would be: It can be a fun watch for teenagers, I would probably enjoy it 10-15 years ago, but now I can't help but skipping many scenes and just cut straight to some highlighted (unnecessary) conflicts.

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