Xiaozhi is asked by his older brother to spend a few weeks at a summer camp to monitor children on an island that produces lychee fruit. He is a boyishly handsome young man, who is also interested in art and philosophy. He is roomed with a friend of his brother and about the same age as his brother. Chen Li, handsome and helpful, takes a liking to Xiaozhi and immediately the two of them become close friends. Both take separate soul-searching journeys that intercept and intertwine with one another leading to only one inevitable course. The two spend a lot of time in the camp just being there. They become inseparable. Their experiences are ardent, amplified, and deeply sensuous. It is the kind of shared experiences which remain with you for the rest of your life that you always remember because they happen with the first person you fall in love with and the person you fall most deeply in love with as well. But the camp ends and they have to go back to their world. A year later, Xiaozhi tells his brother he loves Chen Li in a drunken state but his brother says that he has a girlfriend. Heartbroken, somehow he continues to study. 2 more years pass and when he graduates, he finds a job on the same lychee island where to his surprise Chen Li shows up and they both confess their love. We might not see them grow, but we feel them moving forward.
The story seems simple and it really is about 2 boys meet, fall in love over summer and will need to figure out what it means when they go back to the real world. Firstly I did not expect a Chinese production to show all this especially a few passionate kissing scenes. It's a coming of age story for both these boys. Of desire and denial, and whether there is something more to sustain the initial attraction beyond a summer holiday. But the way it was told here made all the difference. There was a quiet honesty in the execution that made it feel fresh, even if the idea wasn’t original. Sure, it could have been a bit more coherent in parts and maybe longer episodes would have helped the pacing and clarity. But given the production scale, it still managed to deliver something heartfelt. These two actors seem to have a natural, almost built-in intense bond between them that jumps out at you and leaves you captivated. They were also not shy when it came to showing their passion for one another when it counted, and the love-making scenes were sensual if not erotic. The countryside setting is more than just a backdrop here, it feels like a character in itself. Tall green trees, birds chirping in the background, piles of fallen leaves on the ground, winding little roads, and calm water bodies with unexpected rains, it all felt like a breath of fresh air. Instead of dramatic villains, the tension comes from Chen Li’s older brother. He keeps trying to separate the boys under the guise of protection. This conflict mirrors real-life struggles many queer youth face—where even well-meaning actions can feel suffocating. Thankfully, the show handles this dynamic with nuance. My biggest problem is, who the hell hardcoded the subtitles in such small fonts that it was extremely hard to read them. There is a lot of art symbolism in the series, which personally I did not understand. I just don't get art. So I liked the show, but I am not completely bowled over as most filks are. I think the series is nice, refreshing chemistry and a simple story with everyday moments that linger with you. But I did not think it was great ! But yes, it is visually stunning.
The 14 special episodes show us snippets of everyday loving life of Xiaozhi and Chen Li. How they are very much in love, they cook together, they may have differences but eventually it's their love for one another. The poster of these episodes summarizes it nicely "Step Into the lychee grove, pluck the heart-fluttering first taste of sweetness". (7/10)
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