🎬 Just One More Episode Presents:
A Love So Beautiful (致我们单纯的小美好)
Episodes: 23
Aired: Nov 9, 2017 – Dec 7, 2017
Aired On: Thursday, Friday
Original Network: Tencent Video
Duration: 45 min.
📺 Where to Watch:
Netflix (Sub)
WeTV (Free, sub)
Viki (Free, sub)
HUACE GLOBAL FUN (Free, sub)
AsianCrush (Free, sub)
TencentVideo (Free, sub)
✨ Synopsis
Chen Xiao Xi and Jiang Chen are high school classmates and neighbors. Xiao Xi is cheerful, expressive, and deeply infatuated with the academically gifted, emotionally unreadable Jiang Chen. Alongside their friends—class clown Lu Yang, athletic Jing Xiao, and the quietly devoted swimmer Wu Bo Song—they navigate high school, college, and the bittersweet chaos of growing up.
🪶 Same source story as the Korean version; both follow that classic slow-burn first love arc.
👥 Cast
💫 Hu Yi Tian — Jiang Chen
“Perfect grades, perfect hair, zero facial expressions. The boy is a handsome statue with academic ambition.”
🔥 Shen Yue — Chen Xiao Xi
“Cheerful, energetic, and… look, I’ve said it before: the acting simply does not work for me.”
💎 Gao Zhi Ting — Wu Bo Song
“The second male lead who will treat her right, make you cry, and carry the entire show on his swimmer shoulders.”
💎 Wang Zi Wei — Jing Xiao
“Athletic queen energy, grounding the group with more charm than the leads combined.”
💎 Sun Ning — Lu Yang
“Comic relief MVP, emotional support clown, national treasure of this friend group.”
(And the rest of the sizeable supporting cast fills the world with actual personality.)
💬 Ratings
🎭 Story: 💖 — 5/10 — “Mediocre plot; some sweet moments, but mostly meh.”
💫 Acting/Cast: 🌟 — 3.5/10 — “Performance feels stiff; chemistry is lacking.”
🎧 Music: 🎵 — 6/10 — “Decent enough; supports scenes but nothing memorable.”
🔁 Rewatch Value: 💖 — 1/10 — “Nope. Once was enough, thank you very much.”
🏆 Overall: 💖 — 5/10 — “Cute in spots, but overall forgettable.”
📝 Review (WARNING: Potential Spoilers — I’m Not Saving You from Emotional Damage)
The Chinese adaptation follows the same familiar path: wide-eyed crushes, teenage awkwardness, and that nostalgic, floaty first-love sweetness. Xiao Xi is supposed to be the bright, expressive heart of the story—but Shen Yue simply doesn’t sell it for me. This isn’t a critique of her character choices; it’s a straight take on the acting. Flat, unconvincing, and often so wooden that I found myself leaning into the supporting cast for actual emotion.
Thank goodness the supporting cast shows up like heroes. Wu Bo Song is the emotional backbone here—sincere, steady, and heartbreakingly committed. Every scene he’s in feels genuine, so much so that I’d occasionally forget to be annoyed at the leads. Jing Xiao and Lu Yang bring warmth, chaos, and laughter; their chemistry is effortless and the reason this version remains watchable.
Jiang Chen (Hu Yi Tian) is consistent but stony. He wears the stoic ML trope like a uniform, and while he fits it, it rarely translates to emotional engagement. Watching him try to emote can feel like watching someone practicing blinking with intent. Still, he doesn’t wreck the show; he just doesn’t lift it.
Pacing is another patience test. The story moves slowly—slow-burn to a fault—so if you prefer fireworks, this isn’t your adaptation. But if you’re here for the soft, small victories and the friend-group chaos, you’ll find moments that land. Mostly, though, this version’s heart belongs to the supporting cast; they keep the show breathing and the feels coming.
Overall: watchable for fans of the franchise or for those curious about adaptations, but temper your expectations for lead performances. If you love Second Male Lead Syndrome, brace yourself: Wu Bo Song will wreck you in the best possible way.
💭 Final Mood
😐💘
Sweet enough to finish, flawed enough to sigh at, and powered almost entirely by the supporting cast and Wu Bo Song–induced emotional damage.
📌 Other Adaptations:
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Korean: Watched and reviewed — adorable, with a more expressive ML.
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Thai: On my Plan to Watch list — fingers crossed for equally cute chaos.
🏷️ Tags
#JustOneMoreEpisode #ALoveSoBeautiful #EmotionalDamageApproved #ChenXiaoXi #JiangChen #SecondMaleLeadSyndrome #ChineseDrama #HighSchoolRomance
