“Every person has a migratory bird in their heart. Looking at this feather you can imagine that bird once appearing in your life.” – Li Li. This is just one of many beautiful quotes that you’ll come across while watching this gem of a drama. It really caught me by surprise how deep and somehow poetic the dialogues were, considering the premise of the show being a high school drama. I was also amazed how beautiful this drama was shot, especially those scenes at the reed field were stunning.

What makes this drama so special, is definitely the group of four friends that we follow through their years at high school to college and their first job. All characters were well-written and as they struggle through life and face many obstacles, they slowly grow up, finding their own path in life. The female lead, Li Li, is one of the best female leads that I’ve seen so far. Pretty, smart, kind and strong, yet understanding and humble, she’s just the type of woman that guys would fall for and girls would want to be friends with. It’s really such a nice breath of fresh air to find such a lead aside from those annoying, noisy and clumsy leads that we see a lot in C-dramas. Since she’s very thoughtful and eloquent, her talks are filled with quotes and wisdom which actually makes all of her scenes a delight for the eyes and the mind.
The male lead, Pei Shang Xuan, is the kind of friend that every girl wants to have in her life: caring, reliable and loyal to the core. Though a little too confident and impulsive at the beginning, he grows up to be a wonderful person, wanting to succeed on his own and for the sake of the person that he cherished the most. Unlike most other dramas the second male lead in this drama is absolutely on par with the first lead. He cares for her, but also has his pride and wouldn’t follow her blindly if not needed. Both are very supportive of her, always wanting to bring out the best of her and wishing for her happiness. They would do anything for her, but never ask for anything in return, because they knew she would repay them ten times as it’s simply in her nature to do so.
I also liked all the side characters. They fitted perfectly in the storyline, even the changing love interests of our main leads were interesting personalities that you’ll find likable. There are no evil characters or whatever. Even if someone does something bad and regrettable, you know the reasons behind their actions and can understand them at some point. The only thing that actually bothered me was the ending. I also find it to be rather disappointing, not because of the outcome, but the way how the last episode was wrapped up.

All in all, it was still a very enjoyable watch. I would highly recommend it to all of you, who want to see a coming-of-age drama that has more depth than your usual fluffy high school rom-com with lots of eye candies, amazing dialogues and a lifetime friendship that goes under your skin.

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