I had watched what I thought was the original Korean version of this, https://www.primewire.li/tv/50799-watch-boys-over-flowers that had taken the world by storm when it aired, and I was a fan then. After some research I discovered that this show is based on an anime and has had many iterations from various countries even before the Korean version that was so popular.

I watched this Chinese version set in 2018 and I have to say that much of the writing is superior to the popular Korean version. There are many points in the Korean version where it is quite obvious they are just extending the series because of it’s overwhelming popularity, as fan service.

In this Chinese remake, many of those weak plot points from the Korean version are stabilized to make much more sense. F4 is a tight knit group because they are World Champion Collegiate Bridge players. Shancai living in that dudes house is explained much more clearly. The writers dive further into the characters of the rest of the ensemble instead of only focusing on the two main characters. All of the stories are just much more realistic and relatable.

I have to say the writing and acting in this are superior to the version from 10 years ago. There are many times I am watching these characters clearly freezing, you can tell by their visible breath, and yet they are still doing very believable emoting during their love scenes etc. Who knew Shanghai could get so cold?

I am 30 episodes deep and still really enjoying this. If you were a fan of the Korean version from 10 years ago or if you have some quarantine time - I recommend this. If this story is completely new to you and you feel like you would be interested in a coming of age love story based on college aged people in East Asia instead of high school Americans, then this might be for you as well.