00:00The Early Spring is a new Chinese drama.
00:02In this drama, the boss tells the new hire to quit on literally day one.
00:06They date in secret for six years.
00:09She leaves without saying goodbye.
00:11They meet again, and she's doing great without him.
00:14Is The Early Spring a romance or a cautionary tale?
00:18I watched it so you don't have to waste time if it's not your thing.
00:21Here's what actually happens.
00:23It's 24 episodes.
00:25They shot 32 but cut it down, which honestly?
00:28Thank God.
00:29Nobody needs 32 episodes of Workplace Tension.
00:33Jing Boren plays Luan Nian.
00:35He's an advertising exec, brilliant at work, but terrible at being decent.
00:40Sun Kyan is Shang Zhaitao, the rookie who won't take the hint.
00:44You can find it on Netflix if you're outside China, or Yaoku if you're not.
00:48Both have subtitles.
00:50Zhaitao gets hired at this fancy ad agency.
00:53Her boss makes it clear she doesn't belong there.
00:56Instead of quitting, she sticks around, learns the game, and gets good.
01:00They start dating.
01:02Keep it secret for six years.
01:04He's emotionally unavailable.
01:06Shocking.
01:06She finally leaves.
01:08No dramatic confrontation, just gone.
01:11Years later, they run into each other in her hometown.
01:14She's running her own businesses.
01:16He's still kind of terrible, but trying.
01:18If you're into the cold boss falls for the optimistic employee trope, this hits every beat.
01:24The actors have an eight-year age gap in real life, which weirdly makes it feel less creepy.
01:29I don't know, it works.
01:31Look, on paper this is about romance.
01:34But it's really about Zhaitao figuring out who she is outside of needing his approval.
01:39She doesn't suddenly become a genius.
01:41She messes up.
01:43She learns to cover her ass professionally.
01:45She goes from a nervous rookie who takes on too much to someone who can tell him no.
01:50There's a scene where she literally saves him during an accident.
01:53That's the whole thesis.
01:56Luan Nyan's arc is slower.
01:58He starts as this guy who uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism.
02:02The show doesn't excuse it, but you see small moments.
02:05Like when he remembers she mentioned wanting her dad's fish, so he takes her fishing.
02:10Doesn't make a speech, just does it.
02:12His growth isn't in what he says.
02:14It's in what he actually does.
02:16Here's where it gets messy.
02:18The show knows the power dynamic is fucked.
02:21It doesn't pretend otherwise.
02:22The good stuff happens in the office.
02:25How they work together.
02:26How she pushes back.
02:28How he actually listens even when being a dick.
02:30Their chemistry builds through work conversations and glances.
02:34That's the strong stuff.
02:36But then the script gets lazy.
02:38Need them closer?
02:39Landslide.
02:40Hospital scene.
02:41Crazy ex with a knife.
02:43It's like the writers panicked.
02:45And yeah, Luan Nyan is kind of toxic at first.
02:48If that's a deal breaker, I get it.
02:50The show doesn't fully fix him.
02:52Just shows him trying.
02:54Which might not be enough for some people.
02:56Here's my take.
02:58Watch it if you like slow burn romance where both people grow.
03:01You're okay with a male lead who starts awful but shows genuine change.
03:06You want a female lead who earns her success.
03:09The 24 episodes move fast.
03:11Skip it if boss and employee romance makes you uncomfortable.
03:15You need male leads nice from episode one.
03:18You hate random disasters for drama.
03:21Or you want a girl boss from the start because Zhai Tao takes a while.
03:25I'm giving it a three and a half, maybe four out of five.
03:29It's better than it has any right to be, mostly because the leads actually have chemistry that doesn't feel manufactured.
03:36Netflix has it with English subs in supported regions.
03:40Yaku's international version also has official subs.
03:43Please don't watch on sketchy free sites.
03:46These people actually made something decent.
03:48Support them through official channels.
03:50I want to know, do you prefer male leads who are decent from the start, or do you like watching
03:56them earn redemption?
03:57I'm genuinely curious if I'm the only one who finds grumpy but growing more satisfying.
04:03Drop your take in the comments.
04:05If this helped, hit like.
04:06Subscribe if you want honest drama reviews.
04:09See you next time.
