Early Access: When I Fly Towards You [China] E1-2, E3-4

E1-2. So you're probably wondering why I picked this show as the replacement show for My Perfect Stranger, particularly since I'm already covering another youth romance, Hidden Love, at the moment.

Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, the shows that I'd shortlisted, Celebrity and Not Others, turned out to both be shows that I didn't feel like writing about, for varying reasons.

The other kdramas I'm keeping an eye out for, haven't premiered yet, and so, I started looking at c-dramas, since I do enjoy a good c-drama too.

And that's when I realized that there is a good amount of love for this show, particularly from drama fans who don't find themselves jiving with Hidden Love.

Apparently, this is the antithesis of Hidden Love, when it comes to the various things that these viewers struggle with, in the setup and story of Hidden Love.

And so, folks who don't take to Hidden Love seem to really, really love When I Fly Towards You, and there are lots of praises for this show for being sweet, slurpy, well-written and just pretty special, all-around.

Of course I sat up with interest, because I'm all for checking out drama gems, and also, I'm often really curious to see if I will love a show as much as everyone else, and everyone else really seems to love this show. 😁

I'm also curious to see which of the two shows I will end up preferring, or if I'll like them both in equal measure, albeit most likely in different ways, and for different reasons.

Four episodes in, I do like this.

It's pretty early days yet, but so far, I'll say that this one is working to be a cute, fluffy little watch, and even though Show's not reinventing any wheels here, I'm glad I decided to check this out.

Basically, this show reminds me quite a bit of shows in the vein of A Love So Beautiful, because our female lead develops a crush on our male lead pretty much right from the get-go, and is brave enough to wear her heart on her sleeve.

The reason I cite A Love So Beautiful as a comparison, instead of Mischievous Kiss or Playful Kiss, which are similar types of stories, is because, in A Love So Beautiful, the cold aloof male lead isn't so cold nor so aloof, and the warm girl crushing on him, isn't so blind nor desperate.

I feel like we're getting a similar sort of dynamic here.

Our male lead, Zhang Lurang, is played by Zhou Yi Ran, who played youngest brother Qiqi in The Bond, which lots of you loved, and I find him very likable, so far.

I mean, he is on the reserved side of things, and he's very smart, and that's kinda similar to the cold aloof male leads of the Mischievous Kiss franchise, but the similarities seem to stop there.

I like that Lurang is clearly not hating our female lead Zaizai, in all of her efforts to get close to him.

He definitely seems amused by her, and I'd venture to say that he does think she's cute, even though I'm not super sure yet, if he's already at the stage where he likes her.

As for our female lead, Zaizai, she literally looks like a doll, with her big eyes and rosebud lips.

More than that, though, I find her likable - and so I find it easy to understand why Lurang might find her likable too.

She's all heart, and she's kinda goofy too, which makes her very endearing, to my eyes.

I'd also say that this show vibes a little more earthy than Hidden Love, even though both shows have their own brand of whimsy.

The conversations land as a little more down-to-earth, rather than Hidden Love's more glossy, more "packaged" sort of feel.

To be clear, I'm not saying that I prefer one over the other - at least, not right now. I'll probably have an opinion on that, when I get to the end of both shows.

You know how some romcoms are glossy and packaged-feeling, and yet, they're fun and enjoyable? Like King The Land, and A Business Proposal, for example.

And then there are some romcoms that are a little less glossy and a little more earthy, even though they still qualify as romcoms? Like Our Beloved Summer, for example.

I'd say there a similar kind of difference between this show and Hidden Love. They both have their charms, and their audience. And I am hoping to be able to appreciate and enjoy them both. 🥰

Ah, one more thing I wanted to say about this one, and that is, this show feels like it's going to also include a coming-of-age story, not just for our leads, but for the friend group as well.

So, yes, there's romance, but it feels like there are going to be strong and important friendships too - and y'know, that reminds me of A Love So Beautiful as well. 🥰

And, also rather like A Love So Beautiful, Show makes use of familiar tropes as well, while it tells its story.

So far, I don't mind it, because I find it all pretty fun and amusing. 😁

Like how Show quickly serves up a case of mistaken identity in our first episode, which has Zaizai thinking that Lurang is his friend Gu Ran, and vice versa.

Hijinks ensue, of course, which I'll get to in a bit.

As an aside, the lost wallet incident in episode 1 has my subs saying that Zaizai's put down her name on her student ID as "Audrey Hepburn of the school," but in actual fact, she uses Liu Yifei, aka Crystal Liu.

I guess the subbers did that to make it accessible to international audiences, but really, I'd have loved for Crystal Liu to have had the shout-out she deserved.

Similarly, the male classmate who reacts incredulously, saying that he could then be Tom Cruse of the school, actually uses the example of Wan Yan Zhu, ie, Daniel Wu.

And then, when Jiang Jia, Zaizai's bestie, mock-introduces herself as Angelina Jolie, she's actually using Wang Zu Xian, ie, Joey Wong, as an example.

Not sure the subbers actually needed to swop out the names, since Crystal Liu, Daniel Wu and Joey Wong are pretty well-known internationally.

I do like that while in similar drama universes, the warm female lead is typically made out to be pretty bad in her studies, Zaizai's excellent in English, to the extent that the new teacher would know her name, because she'd managed a perfect score in her entrance test.

Yes, Zaizai's not great in her other subjects, but I just like that she's this good at a subject.

And, like I mentioned earlier, Zaizai is endearingly courageous, when it comes to putting herself out there, in order to be nearer to Lurang.

In turn, I also find it endearing that Lurang is pretty nice to Zaizai, even though he largely remains reticent.

Like how Zaizai volunteers to take the bus with his class, when the bus for her own class is full, all because she wants to be near him, and he stands up to help her with putting her bag in the overhead compartment, because he notices that she's struggling with it, a little bit.

Immediately, I'm drawn to the fact that Lurang is a nice person, and nothing like the aloof jerks that these cold smart guy types have often been characterized as, in similar stories.

And, when he comes across Zaizai taking an rogue rest in the sick room, I'm amused that he humors her from behind the screen, and then informs the nurse who comes in, that Zaizai's very ill. 😁

Importantly, I don't detect any malice from him; he's not trying to get her in trouble, he's just cracking a joke, with a small twinkle in his eye, and I'm fast growing fond of him, for his quiet niceness.

It's pretty great, that we already get a moment of hyperawareness, in episode 2, with how Zaizai and Lurang find themselves hiding together under that staircase, because they've both got contraband stuff in their hands.

She's got her cellphone with her, and Lurang's got Gu Ran's PSP, both of which are not allowed in the military training camp.

It tickles me that it's Lurang who seems a little awkward and hyperaware of Zaizai's proximity, while Zaizai's all wide-eyed innocence, holding onto his arm. 😁

Heh. I don't believe him, when he says no, in response to Zaizai's question, about whether he's feeling shy. He sure looks like he's feeling shy, to my eyes. 🤭

That's one thing I like about Zaizai; even though she likes Lurang and has hearts in her eyes for him, she doesn't get all tongue-tied or weirded out, when she's with him.

Like this staircase incident, and also, later on, when she walks with him and asks him about "Lurang," while addressing him as Ranran, thinking that his name is Gu Ran. I mean, isn't that so confident and precocious of her? And yet, she just comes across as simply being herself. I do like that.

And then, how about the way Zaizai literally asks Jiang Jia to volunteer her to sing a song in front of everyone - so that she can dedicate a song to "Gu Ran."

As an introvert, I am in awe of Zaizai's chutzpah, because I couldn't do that, in her shoes.

..And of course, this is when the ruse is finally up, because this is when Zaizai realizes that the boy she's crushing on, is actually Lurang, and not Gu Ran. 😁

How intriguing, that Lurang quotes Zaizai's first words back to her - that to not run while the rain's coming down, is dumb. He'd heard her that day! Ooh.

I'm glad Show doesn't drag the mistaken identity thing out for too long.

Which is one of the things I appreciate about Show, so far anyway.

We've got lots of tropes helping to nudge our story along, but so far, it feels like these tropes don't outstay their welcome. They do the job, and then get shown the door, in relatively good time. Nice.

And since we're talking about Gu Ran, I'll just say that I'm less fond of Gu Ran and his cartoonish ways, but I suspect that Show's going to endear him to me eventually - and give him a loveline with Jiang Jia, at the same time. The enemies-to-lovers vibe is strong with these two.

That's what my drama instincts are saying right now - let's see they're proven right. 😁

Back to our main would-be couple, I do enjoy the way Lurang seems to enjoy teasing Zaizai; in my head, this means that he thinks she's cute.

Like the way he stifles a smile, when he teases Zaizai that there's something behind her, while they're on night duty - and then tells her that it's just a leaf.

I also like how Zaizai doesn't try to shirk responsibility, and quickly tells Lurang she's sorry for calling him a dummy that day, in the rain.

Our girl is pretty forthright, and I'm liking her very well, in all her clumsy, dorky, sunshiny glory.

It's quite funny - and punny! - when Zaizai gets spooked by the sensation of someone following her, and bursts into tears, telling Lurang that she'd bumped into a ghost, and Lurang replies that he'd bumped into one too - a coward.

The pun is lost in translation, so here it is.

The word for ghost is "鬼" (guǐ), and the phrase for coward is "胆小鬼" (dǎnxiǎoguǐ), which literally translates into "small bravery ghost" even though we're not talking about literal ghosts here.

And so, when Zaizai cries that she's seen a ghost, Lurang's being wry and ironic, when he says that he saw one too - a "胆小鬼," referring to Zaizai herself.

Pretty cute, yes?

Also, I do love the way Show ends each episode with a glimpse of Zaizai recording her memories, in the light of the events of the episode.

That lends a really nice layer of nostalgia to the watch experience, I feel. 🥰

E3-4. One of the things I find endearing about Zaizai, is that cheery, resilient, hard-to-get-down quality about her.

Even when she does get embarrassed in front of Lurang, it really doesn't take her long to dust herself off, and be on her merry way.

And she's so matter-of-fact with Jiang Jia, when Jiang Jia first fails to get intel from Gu Ran on the kind of girl that Lurang likes, and she tells Jiang Jia that it's ok, she'll ask Lurang herself, and anyway it won't be the first time he's heard her talk nonsense.

How is she so self-aware, and so blithe, at the same time? 😁

And then, when that miscommunication has Zaizai trying to demonstrate all the qualities that Lurang's described in his ideal companion, when he'd been thinking about his dog, is just silly, but it's an amusing silly, so I don't mind it.

Also, I appreciate that when Lurang realizes what's going on, he clues her in to the fact that he'd been talking about his dog, by showing her a picture of said pup. At least this way, Zaizai's misguided efforts and accompanying embarrassment are cut short, yes?

I feel like the OG cold aloof male character would have let this drag out for longer, as a way of teasing or ribbing the female lead, and I just like the fact that Lurang doesn't do that.

I also like the indication that Show gives us, that Lurang is very observant of Zaizai, even though he doesn't say a whole lot.

Like when Zaizai and Jiang Jia show up at the dessert stall belonging to the grandmother of one of the boys, while the boys are eating there, Lurang's quick to refute the speculations from the others, that the girls had followed them there, by saying that Zaizai's not that good of an actress, so it's an actual coincidence.

Heh. I just like this idea that he knows Zaizai better than he's letting on. 😁

And, when Zaizai gets threatened by that dude on the bus because she calls him out for trying to molest a female passenger, Lurang speaks up to back her up pretty quickly.

He does have her back, even though he claims that he doesn't, and I like that Zaizai's clued in to that.

And then, I like that by the time we get to the end of this set of episodes, we've got Zaizai tutoring Lurang in English, and him tutoring her in math and physics, in exchange.

In many youth romance dramas, it's always the guy tutoring the girl, so I like that it feels nicely balanced in this story; Zaizai's got something to offer Lurang too, and it's something that he legitimately needs. I like that.

I also like that Zaizai recognizes that Lurang needs her help, and then goes out of her way to offer her help to him, but in a way that wouldn't make him feel bad, because she recognizes that he's not used to needing help from others, being an otherwise top student.

In fact, she does this consistently, where she's careful to be considerate of his feelings, so that he doesn't feel bad for accepting her help - like when she offers him oden at the convenience store, because she knows that he hasn't eaten.

When she notices that he feels bad about it, she gives him the option of returning the favor, by buying her a meal some other time, to which he quietly agrees.

This is just Zaizai being her good-natured self, but I do think her kindness comes at just the right time for Lurang, who's just had a falling out with his mom, over the tutor that Mom had wanted to engage for him.

It's crazy to think that despite his outstanding results, Lurang gets disdained at home - and by this potential tutor too - for not being as outstanding as his brother. Gosh. You just can't win, sometimes, can you?

I feel bad for Lurang, and I'm glad that with Zaizai, he feels accepted and not in a way that makes him feel indebted.

I do love that Zaizai turns out to be such a good and effective teacher to Lurang, such that he's quickly able to answer questions in class that stumps everyone else.

And how endearing is it, to find out in the epilogue, that Zaizai actually put extra effort into practicing how to teach Lurang in a way that would be effective and easy for him to understand.

Aw. And here I'd thought she was a naturally good teacher. It's somehow more endearing, that she learned to be a good teacher, in order to each Lurang. 🥰

The bond between Lurang and Zaizai is definitely growing stronger, slowly but surely, and I couldn't help but get a thrill out of how Lurang comes to Zaizai's defense, when those other boys try to bully her and Jiang Jia, during gym class.

That other girl from Class 1, Zhenxin, is obviously upset because she's got her sights set on Lurang herself, and while I'm feeling a stab of satisfaction that she doesn't get what she wants, I do wonder if she'll target Zaizai next, in our coming episodes.

But, if she does, I'm sure that Zaizai will be able to stand up for herself. Or perhaps Lurang might show up, to back her up as well?

Either way, I'm having a nice time with this show, and I hope that you guys will enjoy it too.

Next episode notes will be out on: Friday, 4 August 2023!

* This show will be covered on the Early Access Plus (US$10) Tier *