CHINESE DRAMA REVIEW
Chinese title炽夏
2026 · 29 Episodes · Full-Length Chinese Drama · Modern Romance / Reunion
Bao Shang’en as Zhou Wan · Zhou Keyu as Lu Xixiao
Main Couple: Zhou Wan × Lu Xixiao
THE ROMANCE CHECK
Relationship spoilers below.
RELATIONSHIP MILESTONES
Spoilers for all 29 episodes. This is a finished-watch account; only the breakup and finale have episode markers supported by the checked sources.
Zhou Wan approaches Lu Xixiao seeking help for her ill grandmother; attraction grows as they get close.
They confess their feelings, kiss and establish a real romantic relationship. Exact first-kiss and official-relationship episodes were not independently pinned down.
Under family pressure, Zhou Wan lies that she used him and does not love him. They actually break up.
They spend approximately ten years apart in the story.
They cross paths again with the old hurt still unresolved.
They learn the truth, reconcile and have more kisses and affection. ❤️
Mutual proposal/engagement-level commitment; together in a cute Happy Ending. No on-screen wedding confirmed.
Finished all 29 episodes.
My impressions cover what I watched. Later research is labeled on dropped reviews. Kissing, affection and adult intimacy are separate; coercion does not count as romantic spice. Being apart does not automatically mean a breakup.
A PERSONAL VIEWING JOURNAL
Never-Ending Summer gets 3.5/5 from me.
I actually liked the romance, especially the kisses, and the ending was really cute. ❤️
But then we have the thing that made me lower the rating:
that breakup and TEN-YEAR separation. 😭🤦♀️
I remembered being annoyed by why they separated, and after checking the exact details again... yes, it was still ridiculous.
Zhou Wan needs money for her grandmother's medical care. Her estranged mother has become Lu Xixiao's stepmother, so Zhou Wan deliberately approaches him hoping to reach her. They get close for real, fall in love, and then family pressure blows up the relationship. Ten years later, they meet again as adults and have to deal with what actually happened.
And yes, that setup makes them non-blood-related step-siblings through their parents. I know this kind of family connection is a deal breaker for some viewers. It deserves a warning before anyone presses play.
I did enjoy the romance here.
The chemistry worked for me, and I especially liked the kissing scenes. ❤️🔥
This is not one of those dramas where I watched the whole thing and wondered why the leads were even supposed to be in love. There is actual romantic payoff, and once they reunite, the drama gives us more affection and relationship development.
That is part of why I still gave it 3.5/5 even though the separation annoyed me so much.
If the breakup had been handled differently — and especially if they had not been separated for roughly ten years — I probably would have enjoyed the relationship a lot more.
Zhou Wan is under pressure from Lu Xixiao's family. Instead of telling him the truth and letting him face the problem with her, she tells him she used him and does not love him. Then she leaves.
He even gives her a chance to say she loves him, and she deliberately says the opposite. I understand why she feels trapped, but I was still sitting there thinking: PLEASE JUST TALK TO HIM. 😭
This is an actual breakup, not a temporary trip or one of those separations where a couple is still together. And the story makes them spend about ten years apart before the adult reunion.
That is a very long time for me to sit with a self-sacrificial lie. Family pressure explains her choice; it does not make me enjoy it. 🤦♀️
I watched the later episodes, and I liked that the romance has room to return. They confront the old hurt, learn more about what happened, reconcile, and give us more affection and kisses. ❤️
The reunion and romantic payoff matter. I would have been even more annoyed if the drama had kept them apart for a decade and then waited until the final thirty seconds to remember it was a romance. 😂
The ending is Happy, and I thought it was cute. ❤️
Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao fully reconcile and end the drama together.
The finale gives them clear commitment and romantic payoff, including mutual proposal/engagement-level commitment. There is no on-screen wedding to point to, so I am counting the ending for what it actually shows.
The main couple ends together, their relationship is explicit, and the ending is cute and satisfying.
So after all that ridiculous separation nonsense, at least the drama did not betray me at the finish line. 😂
I liked their chemistry, the kisses, the romantic payoff after the reunion, and that cute happy ending. ❤️
But Zhou Wan's deliberate lie, the breakup, and roughly ten years apart really dragged it down for me.
⭐ 3.5/5. Enjoyable romance; extremely frustrating separation.
Official iQIYI International and MangoTV English-language listings show all 29 episodes and English-subtitle labeling. Signed-in U.S. playback, complete subtitle continuity, original-audio track and A/V quality were not independently tested.
Official iQIYI series and finale clips · Official MangoTV series listing
The romance, kisses, breakup, reunion and ending reflect my completed viewing.