The Sweet Love Story (2020)

This was honestly a lot better than I expected it to be. I'm not a huge fan of the "they break up because of stupid misunderstanding and get back together later" plot and so I had been avoiding this, but I ended up really enjoying this one. I should've known the writer of ALSB and PYHOMS wouldn't let me down!

I'm usually a huge friends-to-lovers trope fan and even though I felt for the second lead in this drama, I actually didn't have SLS and I felt like the main lead was actually really soft and proactive, despite being indifferent to other people, he was always really nice to the female lead from the very start and it was refreshing to see a ML so upfront about his feelings to the FL and SFL.

I also have to say that Zhou Xiao is EXACTLY THE KIND OF FEMALE LEAD THAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR, and she's exactly the type of character I relate to — very independent, crazy with her friends, chill about most things, and unassuming when it comes to romance. In so many dramas the female ends up being ditzy when they fall in love and that never happened to ZX. She was super smart when it came to things OTHER than romance and even in a relationship she had so much of her own thinking and independence and focused on friendships.

The big plot point actually didn't bother me at all and I feel like the pacing was done really well. It wasn't blown up into a tragic sob story and was more of a "this is why things are the way they are." The build-up to it was there from the very first episode with his mom's phone calls. Still, I've never been a fan of time jumps and that was no different with this one — I felt like the characters were never the same afterwards.

Also, the sismance was really good! Honestly I could have seen more of it but it was super fun to see how they stood up for each other when romance fell through or when they needed help. It's kind of one reason that I loved the FL so much — she was still there for her friends even after getting in a relationship.

The family aspect was overall pretty good as well. The FL's dad annoyed me a little but ultimately I really liked the little tidbits of humor throughout the drama and how the different family dynamics worked.

I kind of wish that the SML had gotten a better plotline because he could've been a lot more in terms of his own character and not just "the sidekick," and the same could've been said for the studious roommate that never got her own sub-plot. Ultimately though, I really enjoyed this drama and honestly will now watch ANYTHING by this writer!

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I will say I am quite critical on this drama since I watched Put Your Head On My Shoulder and really expected the same quality content. When the cast came out, I was like "ok, this looks decent." And so I was quite excited when it premiered. Sad to say, it didn't totally fulfil my expectations, maybe a 75%? It's still a pretty great drama tho! hating myself now for having too much stupid expectations.

STORY (Major spoiler)
Sweet sweet sweet. AND I LOVED IT. The cold, smart and handsome male leads falls in love with the quirky and cheery female lead. It never grows old. And their interaction was soooooo cute. I love how Zhao Fan Zhou (ZFZ) is always teasing Zhou Xiao (ZX). Those super heart fluttering moments are worth your watch. The side storylines were also well plotted and didnt snatched the attention away from the main couple.
But then... here comes the not-so-good part. They tried to create some crisis for the main couple but it totally killed the story and flow for me. They broke up for 1 entire year and without a reason. I totally could not feel it anymore cause I feel like the details are not there. That 1 year seemed so empty like they didnt missed each other. And that totally destroyed the story for me:(

ACTING/CAST
Can you believe Simon (ZFZ) is a 92 guy? he totally didnt look like he is 28 to me.... his acting was commendable! the way he looks at ZX changes throughout the drama, from a cold stare at beginning slowly to a lovely adorable look. I am also glad that he didnt portray ZFZ as a nerdy guy (I saw some comments who say he was miscast, I beg to differ) Not all smart people are nerdy, sometimes some people have it all hahaha
I got to know Liu Ren Yu through China's Produce 101, she's sweet and quirky like her role should be. And given it's her first time acting (I think), she did a pretty good jobbb. I will definitely look forward to her next role. (but that hairstyle doesnt suit her)

MUSIC
There wasnt a super iconic song for this drama but all the songs were well suited for each scenes. Can I mention that Liu Ren Yu is such a good singer? Her voice is so sweet and she sings really well ....My fav is 心跳的证明. Go watch her performances on China Produce 101 too!

REWATCH
yes probably. but maybe I will be watching those heart fluttering clips instead of the full drama.

It's my fault for having too much expectations but thankfully, it was decent and made my stay-at-home better. Will definitely recommend you to watch, don't be too critical (like me haha) and you will enjoy it. Now go watch it.

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this is probably one of the most realistic "coming of age", "melt your heart", "all about youth" and "inoccent" c-dramas I've watched. Although, the plot line was very obvious from the beginning that this older cool, doesn't show his feelings male lead would fall in love with a young, cute freshman, I feel like it was exactly the kind of drama I was looking for. It shows a bunch of kids who enter college and experience life lessons. There are new couples that fall in love for the first time, couples that break up over time and couples that didn't think they matched at first.

I really enjoyed the progression of xiao zhou and zhou fan zhou's relationship. It was very cute and honestly could melt your heart through a lot of the scenes. The way their personalities matched in helping the male lead become more open and enjoyable, while the male lead helped the female lead achieve her dreams and goals. It was super cute and very realistic to any type of college experience where people find their first love. Although, the reasoning behind their "sudden break up for no reason" is not my favorite type of plot line, it was a good representation of something that could happen to couples at this age. ALSO, this is one of those dramas where the male lead falls first, like way way way before. It was super cute to see the progression.

my favorite character is the roommate, tao ling!! she's super fun and adds a super enjoyable entertainment value to the series. I originally watched both her and xiao zhou on produce 2019 and both thought they deserved more lime light! glad they were able to show their talent through acting as well. For xiao zhou's first acting gig, she did really well!

rewatch value super high!! if you really enjoy dramas that are focused on young love and 青春, this is for you!! very similar dramas to this that maybe aren't super popular are ones like we are young, beautiful time with you, the best of you in mind, all I want for love is you, just an encore, a little thing called first love, etc.!!

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Sweet, refreshing rom-com

What a lovely, refreshing rom-com. It is almost a 9 but for the unnecessary break-up and a messy tail (see later). It is refreshing to see the cool, clever ML doing all the chasing while the FL is clever and bold but a bit clueless when it comes to dating. Not that she is ditzy, just a little innocent and happy-go-lucky. The chemistry of the OTP is very good. Not raw lust, just pure first love from two nice sweet characters. There were genuine LoL moments as well. The scientific approach to dating from the ML is sooo cute, not done for laughs like other dramas but totally in character. There are just so many cute moments during the first 2/3 of the show, it really brings on the feels. That makes the obligatory break up so much harder to take. Especially, when the reason behind the break up was so thin and weak. I'd call it poor writing, to be honest. We don't need that just to have the bitter sweet reunion later on (can't recapture the light tone for several episodes). I can do without the manufactured pain and suffering for our OTP, thank you very much. All the support casts were great. Strong characters and lively banters. One last thing, there are 27 episodes on Viki. The ending at the end of ep. 27 is not the true ending, a bit meh and half baked. The reason is that there is an episode 28 (26 mins long) on Youtube with eng sub which you must watch to conclude the series properly.

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Ohhh how I wish I could red marker this entire drama and say "NO!" to so many scenes and plotlines. It took me an embarrassing amount of time (1 month) to get around to watching the last episode of the drama because I literally couldn't force myself to part with 45 minutes of my time to watching this boring mess of a show.

I have said this multiple times in multiple other reviews, but I actually don't mind TV shows without a lot of drama. Sometimes, that's exactly what I need. But my god, I need SOMETHING to happen. There was NOTHING interesting about this drama. Eventually, the second couple's romance line came to fruition and good lord, if the only thing that a viewer looks forward to is 5 minutes of screentime with a cute second couple who come like, twice an episode, then your drama is literally the pits (or atleast, very, very close). I'm not saying my expectations were high, but I did love the writer's other two shows, which is what makes this one such a bummer.

The chemistry was...awkward, to say the least. They seemed like they were mildly interested in each other, but would still do decently well without one another. Which is...alright (obligatory "yas our independent kween" moment, I guess)...but this is literally a romance drama with the romance BEING the drama. Will they? Won't they? Do we even care anymore? Because by the end, I surely didn't.

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So far, I like the story and the main leads.
I mean his personality is almost identical to the previous male leads of ALSB & PYOMS. It's interesting to see how he is trying to get close to her & how unassuming the heroine compared to other dramas. Also, I noticed how the writer incorporate anime related stuffs which I don't hate because I'm also a fan of them. ? Doraemon & Detective Conan plus those One Piece poster she had at her dorm. There are some plot holes but I'll forgive it since I find them so cute dang! Simon eyes can talk baby haha let me stare at you XD

I prefer light romance that's why I like this kind of drama. How the guys unchanging feelings despite the ups & downs on their relationship. I mean, a popular and good looking not to mention intelligent guy. There's a lot of girls out there but he chose someone he loves & try to work things out. That's why I really like how the writer makes this type of romance novel. It's heart warming to see guys who only focus his attention to the person he likes. I mean not in a possessive way but more like a friendly way. Haha wtf I'm talking like I have someone sh** ?


Anyway, I'm watching raw videos because I'm so excited! Anyone knows where I can read a translated version of the Novel?


Btw, I've read the novel version of ALSB and I DON'T LIKE THE WORLD I ONLY LIKE YOU. It's a must read haha I mean while waiting on the weekly episodes of those I drama, I was reading the novel because I'm so impatient lol

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ILL BE HONEST WITH MY REVIEWS

CURRENTLY WATCHING NOW EPISODE 19
FIRST THE STORY IS QUITE FOR HIGH SCHOOLER PEG, THE STORY IS KIND BORING AND I DONT KNOW WHY THE EPISODE IS UNTIL 28, PINAHABA LANG NILA ANG KWENTO.


SECOND, I DONT LIKE THE LEAD GIRL SHE SO OVER ACTING IN ACTING... PROMISE U WILL HATE HER UNTIL U REACH THE END.

THIRD, THE GUY IS COOL BUT HE IS KINDA BORING TOO... I LOVE HIM IN BEGIN AGAIN SO I FOLLOW WHAT SERIES HE HAS BUT IN THIS SERIES HE IS KINDA BORING AND DIFF... HE MUCH HANDSOME IN BEGIN AGAIN... I THINK ITS FITS HIM IS MATURED ROLE NOT YOUNGER ROLE...


ANYWAY I WILL FINISH IT UNTIL THE END... HOPE ITS NOT DRAGY ANYMOR.E...

I DONT LIKE THE LEAD GIRL!!!

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A Love So Beautiful, Put Your Head on My Shoulder and The Love Equations were all written by Zhao Qian Qian. But out of all these three spin-offs, The Love Equations is by far the best among these three. ALSB was almost the same as ISWAK but we saw growth and maturity for both leads which made it different from ISWAK. PYHOMS was cute, fluffy, no heavy scenes, just a real feel-good drama. However, Love Equations gave me a whirlwind of emotions. I really laughed, smiled, felt love, cried, and mad; it really captivated my heart and emotions.

ACTING: Female lead is obvious that she is new in acting. She is really cute. Although there were few dead emotions on the way she acted, they were all bearable. I love her smile though, she was really loveable. The male lead is different, the way he delivered his lines and his facial expressions, it was really impressive. All the supporting cast were good too. It was really fascinating to watch the parents and teachers in this drama cause I've seen them from the other dramas.

STORY: Let's say it is a typical story. But what I love here is that our FL is independent, strong, she doesn't let the other girl get her; a very headstrong character. ML here is very cute. He was the first one to fall in love and to confess, and he was the one who leads our FL into their relationship. It was really cute! Also, what I like about this drama is how they tackle mental health. Not elaboratively but at least they touched something about it. It showed how family support can help someone that has mental issues. I also like how each character showed growth as the episodes passed. There were some boring scenes, almost skipped it, but it's alright. I really didn't find each episode dragging or boring. I enjoyed all of it. My only complaint is that when Jia Yi Chun doctored the genetic results, isn't that a medical malpractice? Shouldn't she suppose to be sanctioned for that? It really bothers me a lot, and she didn't even say sorry for what she did, which makes me mad. That is my only complaint.

MUSIC/OST: They were all cute. I really like the intro OST of this drama. It's also a plus that both leads sang a duet in this drama. Also, the female lead sang most of the OST since I guess she came from Produced 101(?)

KISSIN SCENES: This is why I consider this one fo the best among all the spin-offs. It's a big plus for me if the kissing scenes were really good and this one did not disappoint. I heard Simon Gong is a really good kisser in dramas but when I found out that Liu Ren Yu is just 18 years old, I already had a gut feeling there will be no kissing scenes. But, boy oh boy, I AM WRONG. They were really good together. Two thumbs up.

REWATCH VALUE: 100%. YES. I WILL BINGE THIS AGAIN.

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I don't mind watching mellow romance but this one no much

Story wise, theres no much of a story. I call this mindless watching. The show described the characters as a forensic student and the other a writer who loves mystery and detective stories. If you're looking for excitement, this show has none.

One moment the ML gets easily annoyed w/ the FL. Then suddenly he was in love. Then ML decided to leave FL broken hearted. Then he decided to pursue her again.

I get that this is a fiction, but to me it feels like a fantasy. Very unrealistic reactions from all the characters. Even the subplots were a bit boring.

Almost gave up watching the show but still decided to finish it. Yes, skipped a lot though. For me, definitely no rewatch value

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Meh. This drama just didn't do for me. If I compare it to the two other dramas by the same writer (A love so beautiful and Put your head on my shoulder), the plot is just plenty weak. It was all over the place with too many elements never fully developed.

STORY
The first part of the drama is very cute and fluffy. I liked that the guy was the first to fall in love and was so obvious with his feelings. So much that you actually wonder if Zhou Xiao is really the president of a detective club, baby girl you're so oblivious. They are in the Uni so they are more mature and not too timid about their feelings and relationship.
However, the pace of the drama is off. It's too slow at first and too rushed in the end. The mother's problem could have been better -- the conflict is just a pretext. Even the characters are not fully developed, some of them disappear for several episodes and reappear just to create problems or resolve them. Especially the "love rivals": Cai Yasi was great but went MIA for several episodes, he was only heartbreak and support. So far, the best part of the drama for me was the girls' friendship but we don't get many scenes after the main couple starts dating.

ACTING/CAST
The actors do a decent job but no one is outstanding.
I liked the second couple, they were cute and the actors had great chemistry.

MUSIC & EDITING
A few things really bothered me in the drama and prevented me from fully enjoying it.
1) The image is bright, too bright, almost like in a giant advert.
2) The editing not necessarily great -- plenty bad in the last episode.
3) The sound effects were not good. I like it when they play with sounds and music in crucial scenes, it never happened here and it was a pity.

To sum up, it is a fresh romance drama but nothing new and memorable.

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When I saw that Simon Gong was going to star in this, it piqued my interest. Zhao Fanzhou is a handsome and odd genius, who does not bother much with society. It took a blubbly personality like Zhou Xiao to grab his attention. In the beginning you could see Zhao Fanzhou was intrigued by her. Slowly viewing her from a far, before he started interacting with her. It didn't take him long to realised he had developed feelings for her. Gosh! I really like how sweet the male and female lead's chemistry is! At first I was not attracted to Liu Ren Yu's acting, as a character who loves detective novels to extreme. But then after awhile her character grew on me. And I realised how well she acted in her role, as someone who grabs the attention of Zhao Fanzhou's character. Zhao Fanzhou was also sweet in his own way, trying his best to be a good boyfriend to her. Holding hands, sneaking kisses in public and making Zhou Xiao blush.

Like every drama, there will always be villian(s) trying to break the couple up. After the breakup, it was one year later that Zhao Fanzhou found that the villian(s) made them misuderstand one another. He tried his best to get back his relationship with Zhou Xiao. This is where I would like to praise Zhou Xiao's character, Liu Ren Yu's acting again. After Zhao Fanzhou tried to clear the misuderstandings, at least she had some backbone and not get back with him straight away. Hence he had to work hard to get her back. Eventually after they got back together, I like how Zhao Xiao showed some insecurity if getting back was the right descision. But Zhao Fanzhou reassured her he will not break up with her again

Fast forward, they still remain a couple and eventually got married!! This drama was so adorable, showing college love. I would also like to commed supportings characters. Without them, the drama would not be a complete success! Kudos to the cast for a wonderful drama as well as the screenwriter.

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I enjoyed this drama...

I just finished this drama. It took me about 4 days to finish it because I was busy with other stuff, but I wanted to say that I enjoyed this drama. So far, most of the C-dramas that I've seen this year, I've really enjoyed. I like the casts they chose and I thought it was cute.

And yes, I agree that I didn't care for the breakup scene, but I'm going to let others watch that part and write that for yourself since I didn't want to spoil anything. I will just let you know that that breakup scene reminded me a little of “A Love So Beautiful” where they want to break up but don’t want to say as to why they want to break up.

I will just let you know that it's a happy ending. As long as there's a happy ending in a drama, I'm down to watching it and I'm glad I checked out a bit of the last episode to know that it was gonna be a happy one.

In the end, I would re-watch this again. This is a nice drama for those who are just getting started and like the coming of age romance where it's a bit of college (or high school) love that grows over time.

Also, I agree with all the recommended suggestion of other cdramas to watch if you enjoy this one.

My favorites are: My Unicorn Girl, A Love So Beautiful, and Put Your Head On My Shoulder.

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