My first C-drama review — and the show that turned me into a full-blown C-drama addict
How I Got Here
I accidentally got into C-dramas… and now I can't stop.
It started back in October 2025, while I was waiting for my K-dramas to finish their weekly releases. Netflix kept pushing The First Frost into my feed, and one day I finally clicked it.
That was it. Game over.
32 episodes. Instant hook.
From there, I went deeper — started with modern romance, then somehow ended up in wuxia, xianxia and political dramas. One recommendation led to another, and before I knew it, I'd downloaded iQIYI, WeTV, and Youku just to keep up. (Facebook's algorithm is also partly to blame — my whole feed is C-drama content now.)
Yes, C-dramas are longer, and yes, most are slow burn. But once you're in, you're in. The story pulls you in slowly, and the payoff makes every episode worth it.
So if you're a K-drama fan waiting between releases, or feel like you've run out of shows to watch — this is me telling you to just try one C-drama. You might end up like me.
Quick Info
- Episodes: 32
- Genre: Modern Romance
- Released: 2025
- Leads: Zhang Ruonan as Wen Yifan, Bai Jingting as Sang Yan
- Where to watch: Netflix
- My rating: 8/10
Spoiler-Free First Impressions
I went in with zero expectations — Netflix just kept pushing this into my feed while I was waiting for my K-dramas to update. One episode in, I was hooked. The chemistry between the leads is obvious from the very first scene, even before you know their whole history, and that alone was enough to keep me clicking "next episode."
The Romance Timeline (Spoilers Ahead!)
My signature way of tracking a drama's romance — because sometimes that's really all we're here for.
- First meeting: High school — a mix-up with their names by their teacher becomes their first real introduction (shown in flashback in Episode 2)
- Reunited as adults: Episode 1, at Sang Yan's bar, after years of separation
- Living together: Episodes 3-4 — after a fire at Sang Yan's place and a vacancy at Yifan's, they end up sharing an apartment
- Feelings start showing: The sleepwalking arc (Episodes 8-14) — Yifan unknowingly hugs and even sleeps beside Sang Yan multiple times while sleepwalking, and the slow, confused, tender build-up here is honestly some of the best slow-burn tension in the whole show
- Decision to pursue: Episode 16 — Yifan decides to go after Sang Yan and confides in her best friend
- Confession: Episode 18 — Sang Yan surprises her at their old high school noodle shop and confesses he's never liked anyone else; she confesses back. Official couple!
- First kiss: Episode 19 (a peck), followed by their "real" first kiss on Episode 20's official first date, and a first passionate kiss in Episode 21
- Conflict (not a love triangle — her trauma): Episode 23 onward — Yifan's uncle, tied to a traumatic past event, resurfaces and threatens her
- Breakup / separation: Episode 24 — Yifan runs to Hong Kong alone without telling anyone, blaming herself for the danger she thinks she's brought to Sang Yan
- Reunion: Episode 27 — Sang Yan finds her in Hong Kong; deeply emotional reunion where she finally opens up about her full past
- Resolution: Episodes 28-29 — her uncle is arrested and put behind bars
- Happy ending: Episode 31 — she meets his parents and finds out he'd secretly been checking on her all along, even after she pushed him away. Episode 32 closes with a flashback and a proposal.
Love rivals? Barely any, and I appreciated that. Mu Chengyun and Xian Lang both like Yifan at different points, but neither creates real tension — she's clear from the start that her heart belongs to Sang Yan, and both accept it without drama. If minimal love triangles are your thing like they're mine, this delivers.
Second couple: Zhong Siqiao and Su Haoan also get their own arc, which adds some nice depth to the side cast.
Chemistry & Leads
The chemistry between Zhang Ruonan and Bai Jingting genuinely carries this show. You can feel their feelings build slowly, episode by episode, which is exactly why the slow burn works here — by the time they're finally together, you've felt every bit of the hesitation, the almost-moments, and the growth. It makes the payoff hit so much harder.
Bai Jingting deserves real credit — his portrayal of Sang Yan's quiet, steady love was so believable I felt the emotion in every scene. Handsome, great presence, and honestly just perfectly cast for this role.
Zhang Ruonan matched him completely — her sleepwalking scenes felt so real I almost forgot I was watching acting, and she handled Yifan's heavier emotional scenes with a lot of depth.
Zhang Miaoyi, who played Siqiao, also stood out and added a lot to the story beyond just being a side character.
What Didn't Work For Me
Not everything landed perfectly, and I want this blog to be honest, not just gushing:
- Too many flashbacks. I understand they helped fill in the backstory, but there were a lot of them, and it slowed the pacing for me at times.
- The Hong Kong separation (Episode 24) felt frustrating. Yifan had just committed to being strong and not hurting Sang Yan again — so watching her run away alone instead of trusting him enough to face the problem together felt like a step backward for her character, right after so much growth.
- The final episode felt like a letdown. Between the heavy flashback and the proposal, Episode 32 didn't land the way I hoped after 31 episodes of buildup.
The OST
One more thing I have to mention — the soundtrack. "Like A Sunny Day, Like A Rainy Day" is the OST that stuck with me the most from this whole show. It's the kind of track that makes the emotional scenes hit even harder, and honestly I caught myself replaying it even after finishing the series. If you watch this show, pay attention to when it plays — it's used really well.
A quick note: not everyone loved this drama as much as I did — some viewers found the pacing too slow or felt the leads' chemistry was forced. Dramas hit everyone differently, and this is just my take. For me, it worked.
Why It Hooked Me
As someone who'd never watched a C-drama before this, I finished all 32 episodes wondering: what took me so long? This is the drama that proved to me that the length and slow burn C-dramas are known for isn't a drawback — it's the whole point. You feel every part of the leads' journey, which is exactly why the good moments hit as hard as they do.
Recommended If You Liked This
If The First Frost hooked you the way it hooked me, you might also love:
- Hidden Love
- The Best Thing
- Road Home
This is my first C-drama review on My Drama Desk — more coming soon, across modern, historical, and wuxia. Depends on my mood, honestly.
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