I tried this drama because the ost sounded heartbreaking even though I was not interested in this drama at all when I first heard about it. I am so glad I gave this drama a chance instead of making a judgment on it and giving up on it without even trying. Once I tried the first episode, I knew I was wrong before and that this drama had the potential. I would have never known what I missed out on if I hadn't given this drama a try. Now that I finished binging the 30 episodes, I am so sad it is over and I have to say goodbye to Mu Chuan and An Ran. :((

This drama really surprised me with its reasonably paced plot, storytelling, and casting choices. I felt like every episode was exciting and there weren't any filler scenes. I couldn't stop myself from going on to the next episode every time I finished one. I especially loved how they incorporated the flashbacks into the new timeline because that is how you tell a flawless story without wasting any precious screen time. Every scene had its reason and connection to the past. The filmography techniques were also done very nicely. They used some narration for some scenes with the characters painted and those parts really added to the story. Also, I did not notice any obvious plot holes or dumb plot tools which is so good! Every scheme was well-written and logically thought out from that character's point of view. I was on the edge of my seat for so many moments of this drama and there were many times I did not see what was coming- which was super exciting. This is the key reason why the drama was so good because there was no dumb parts- everything flowed smoothly. I am surprised about this because as a time travel drama it is very difficult to pull that off. Another key is that none of the characters were stupid or written flatly without any depth. I liked how An Ran was a strong female lead and that Mu Ze was more than your typical antagonist while Mu Chuan was more than the male lead. Every character was written with a lot of thought and excellently played by their respective actors. Even the supporting roles were well-written, such as Ling Xi and Dong Qing, and other villain roles. I could understand their motives and they made some very unpredictable moves that I never saw coming.

More importantly, I think that they cast the right people for all the roles. Xing Fei really brought out An Ran to life and I hadn't expected her to be so good at the crying and emotional scenes. Her acting pulled me into the story deeper and I kept emphasizing with An Ran. I cried many times when I saw her cry. She showed me through this role that she can do more than those cringy sweet drama roles and move toward these serious and deeper characters. I now really want to see her in another modern or historical drama with a complex character like An Ran again. She really proved to me and the audience that she can be more than the sweet romance main character. Next, Zhai Zi Lu was so adorable and lovable as Mu Chuan! I haven't seen any of his previous works but this role really showed me his potential. He needs to be cast in more dramas as the male lead and play more of these serious and melo roles. As a rookie actor, I was surprised that he conveyed the emotional scenes so well, especially his eyes, which really helped me fall into this story and the love line between An Ran and Mu Chuan. I really loved the chemistry between them and I wish I could see Xing Fei and Zi Lu in another project again. And Jing Chao was also so great at Mu Ze. As a villain of the story, I found Mu Ze had a deep background that Jing Chao did an amazing job at pulling off. He made Mu Ze more than a villain and I found myself understanding some of his decisions even though I sometimes really wanted to smack him for things he does. I never fully understood Mu Ze's choices but it was fun to watch him nonetheless thanks to Jing Chao. Mu Chuan and Mu Ze's bromance was also so good. I felt for their kinship and loved that one scene with the wooden bird and toys that Mu Ze made for Mu Chuan. I was very sad that they had the ending they had considering all the things they went through and how much they care for one another. Besides these main leads, I felt that all the other characters were casted well and I can't imagine the drama without those same people.

And now the music was SO GOOD! I can't explain how much every song hit me so hard every time it was played in the drama. It brought the emotions to life and made my heart hurt so much depending on the scenes. There were many moments where I cried for those characters and really felt like I was with them. I have been playing the songs on replay and I don't think the songs will ever stop making my heart hurt this way.

The visuals for the drama was also very nice. The characters' outfits looks nice and not cheap while the buildings looked pretty real. I could see that the production team really spent a lot of time on the sets and clothing design.