The ML is definitely not your swoony Prince. He is flawed, stubborn and annoying at times but very real, grounded and genuinely cares for people around him. He might sound overbearing and crossing the line at times, but within minutes he turns around and reflects, and ultimately supports the FL. I found that incredibly melty than any other idealized hero. Smth I really love is that the ML does not treat the FL at all like an incapacitated person. The strangers will fret over her and give her hand all the time and all, the ML just stays away and lets her walk etc by herself. He's not just indulging her desire to be independent and pretending that he lets her be, but rather he simply does not even think she's disabled, but differently able. It never even registers to him otherwise. He accepts her condition and embraces it, and that helps the FL more than any gentlemanly behaviour.
When she truly needs his help however, he's always, always there.
I loved the themes discussed in this drama. For example:- The couple post their journey on Weibo and are now sort if Internet Celebs.
After a while Netizens accuse FL of being pretentious and weak so she can get cared for by her boyfriend. I loved her answer. "You mistake the willingness to be vulnerable with playing weak. I'm not a helpless maiden. Precisely because I have him is why I can lower my guards and allow myself to relax and play around. You are lucky if you have someone to be vulnerable with."

The netizens say they don't believe such a pure love story like theirs could exist, and they are more interested in hearing the "dirt" so they can be proven as frauds who spinned a fairytale. It's depressing that people have fallen to this level where you assume everyone else's lives are full of mistrust and hate just because theirs does, and drawing satisfaction from that. It's not your job to judge whether a stranger you see on screen is a Saint or not unless they are revealed to be despicable by law! Why do that to yourself? Why sour everything up for not only yourself but everyone who see your hypothetical theories? Do not tolerate wrong, but still believe that goodness exists somewhere in the world. To assume some stranger is heaven sent or hell sent just based on what aspects of their life that they have chosen to share with you....they are not obliged to show you anything that they don't feel like, it's their right. Let them live their life. You live yours!
That episode really spoke to me.
It did not feel like they were making a melo out of s sickness, but rather they made it an adventure. It does not make you feel down and depressed. It felt so refreshing, for the "Sickness drama" genre.
There are some less perfect eps, in ep 1 they were still figuring out their dynamic, ep 2 bit slow and ep 9 bit hurried. But overall, it's an absolutely amazing gem of a 12 ep drama. I have not seen a show that had so much obvious hard work behind it and looks so genuine, after the Cmovies of the pre-2000 era. The actors look so damn haggard as they continue further on their journey, they don't hesitate to roll around in clouds of dusty floor and hide in dirty sheep pens.
If nothing else, you have to see this drama in just for the gorgeous scenery of China. There was this mountain range that looked like it's straight out if a traditional painting, and they mentioned the painting style is given the name of those mountains for that reason.