Let’s address the elephant in the room. There are no overt love confessions or overt intimate contact due to Chinese censorship rules for the entertainment industry. Therefore, all Chinese bls produced in China have to be packaged as ‘bromances’. Saying that, this is the closest I’ve seen a Chinese bl come to being ‘overtly bl’ since the implementation of the censorship rules. This drama walks the tight rope between adhering to the censorship rules and portraying a couple in love onscreen. You’re able to see them be more intimate in the latter episodes and we are promised an uncut version once season 2 is out.

What this show does well is that it’s able to do so much with sub-text and emotional undertones. The emotions are strong and the performances are compelling. Like its predecessor, it has relatable down to earth characters and plenty of heart. It does manage to set itself apart from Addicted/Heroin and find its own voice and story along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it and think future Chinese bls should follow its blueprint.