I liked When I Fly Towards You, but apparently my brain decided to preserve approximately three pieces of information:
- The female lead annoyed me. 😂
- I loved the friendship group. ❤️
- MY HUSBAND ZHOU YIRAN WAS THERE.
Honestly, those are pretty important facts. 😂
The Story
Su Zaizai falls for the quiet, handsome, ridiculously reserved Zhang Lurang almost immediately and then spends a good portion of the drama making that everybody’s problem. 😂
Meanwhile, Zhang Lurang is dealing with his own insecurities. He’s smart and capable, but years of being compared to his younger brother by his mother have done absolutely nothing good for his confidence.
Then Su Zaizai enters his life like:
HELLO. I LIKE YOU. I WILL NOW BE HERE CONSTANTLY. 😂
Eventually she breaks through that enormous emotional wall, and we get to watch him slowly go from quiet boy who barely reacts to anything into a very devoted boyfriend.
Which, obviously, is the important development here.
Su Zaizai
Okay.
She annoyed me. 😭😂
I know she’s supposed to be bubbly, confident, persistent, and adorable, and clearly A LOT of people love her.
I was just not one of those people. 😂
Sometimes her energy was simply too much for me.
She is VERY committed to Zhang Lurang basically from the beginning, and she definitely does most of the obvious pursuing during the high-school portion.
I didn’t hate her.
She wasn’t weak, stupid, or constantly allowing everyone to walk all over her, which automatically earns points from me.
But would I personally survive being around Su Zaizai every day in high school?
Probably not. 😭
Zhang Lurang — AKA MY HUSBAND 😂❤️
Now we have reached the important section.
Zhou Yiran.
That is all.
Review over.
😂😂😂
Okay, fine.
Zhang Lurang is exactly the kind of quiet male lead who gets better once you realize how much is happening underneath that calm face.
His family situation explains a lot.
His mother constantly compares him to his younger brother, so even though Zhang Lurang is intelligent and talented, he doesn’t really believe he’s good enough.
Then Zaizai shows up and basically spends years going:
EXCUSE ME, YOU ARE WONDERFUL. PLEASE ACCEPT THIS INFORMATION.
And eventually he does. 😭❤️
Once they’re together, he becomes a really sweet boyfriend.
He notices things.
He takes care of her.
He shows up when she needs him.
And when she has a horrible work experience later, this man realizes she’s upset and drives HOURS to go get her.
YES.
That is the boyfriend behavior I requested. 👏😂
He also openly acknowledges that he has a girlfriend instead of acting like their relationship is a government secret.
We love a man who understands the relationship-status assignment. ❤️
And once Zhou Yiran starts smiling?
Yeah.
Husband.
Next question.
The Friendship Group ❤️
This might actually be my favorite part of the entire drama.
Su Zaizai, Zhang Lurang, Gu Ran, Jiang Jia, and Guan Fang genuinely feel like a group of friends instead of five random characters the writers shoved into scenes because the script said:
INSERT FRIENDSHIP HERE.
😂
They’re funny, supportive, ridiculous, and comfortable with each other.
You actually get to watch them grow together through high school, graduation, university, and adulthood.
And I really liked that.
The friendship gave this drama a lot of its heart for me. ❤️
Even when the main romance wasn’t completely holding my attention, I still enjoyed watching all five of them together.
Romance & Chemistry ❤️
The romance is very innocent and slow at first because they’re teenagers.
Zaizai spends most of the early drama being VERY obvious about liking Zhang Lurang while he quietly falls for her and apparently thinks nobody can tell.
Sir.
We can tell. 😂
Then around Episode 19, he finally beats her to the confession and tells her he likes her.
THANK YOU.
Civilization progresses.
By Episode 20, we finally get actual kissing. 💋
And once they enter the university/adult portion, their relationship gets much more satisfying for me.
There is hand-holding, hugging, jealousy without insanity, boyfriend behavior, kissing, living together, and considerably more affection.
By Episode 22, they’re living together and Zhang Lurang has clearly graduated from Quiet High School Boy to:
THAT IS MY GIRLFRIEND AND I LIVE HERE NOW.
😂❤️
The adult-era kissing is also much more interesting than the innocent high-school flirting.
Thank you, Zhou Yiran. 👀😂
NO STUPID BREAKUP 🎉
One of the best things about this drama:
THEY DO NOT BREAK UP.
Other people may show interest in them, but the actual couple basically responds with:
Sorry. Taken. Bye.
Beautiful.
Efficient.
Civilization has been restored. 😂👏
There isn’t some ridiculous third-act misunderstanding designed to destroy a healthy relationship for three episodes.
Nobody suddenly announces:
“I love you deeply, therefore I must disappear from your life for your own good.”
THANK YOU. 🙄😂
They actually trust each other.
Imagine that.
Zhang Lurang as a Boyfriend ❤️
This man quietly becomes an excellent boyfriend.
He remembers things Zaizai needs.
He notices when something is wrong.
He supports her.
He openly tells people he has a girlfriend.
And when she is treated badly during her work trip, he doesn’t sit around debating whether her feelings are logical enough.
He goes to get her.
That is the kind of devoted behavior I appreciate. 😂❤️
He’s not loud or dramatic about loving her.
He just consistently shows up.
The Ending ❤️
Happy Ending. Completely happy. No tricks.
Zhang Lurang and Su Zaizai stay together into adulthood.
They live together.
He proposes.
They get married.
And later we find out they have a child.
So there is absolutely no:
“Please interpret this distant shot of a mountain and decide whether they’re spiritually together.”
nonsense here. 😂
THEY ARE MARRIED.
THEY HAVE A KID.
CASE CLOSED. ❤️
The finale also circles back to their youth and all of the memories they made growing up together, which was actually really sweet.
Final Thoughts
This was cute.
Was Su Zaizai occasionally testing my patience?
Absolutely. 😂
But I really loved the friendship between the five of them, and Zhang Lurang’s development was probably my favorite part of the romance.
Watching him go from this withdrawn, insecure teenager into someone who is comfortable being loved — and comfortable openly loving Zaizai back — was sweet.
And obviously…
ZHOU YIRAN WAS THERE.
My husband was adorable.
My husband became a devoted boyfriend.
My husband kissed people.
I am satisfied. 😂❤️
The drama also gets bonus points for giving me something I constantly beg C-dramas for:
A COUPLE WHO GETS TOGETHER BEFORE THE FINALE AND THEN JUST… STAYS TOGETHER.
No breakup.
No noble idiocy.
No surprise:
“I must leave you because I love you.”
Marriage.
Baby.
Done. 👏
Would I rank it among my absolute favorite romances?
No.
The female lead annoyed me too much for that, and the high-school portion is much sweeter and more innocent than the kind of romance that usually makes me go feral. 😂
But the friendship was excellent, Zhang Lurang was lovely, the relationship was healthy, and the ending actually gave us proper romantic closure.
3.5/5 ⭐️
