Always Home (2025) 樹下有片紅房子
Directed by Zhang Xiao'an, starring Zhai Xiaowen as Jing Xichi, Yang Xizi as Chen Huan'er, Zhou Keyu (also known as Daniel Zhou) as Song Cong, He Qiu as Qi Qi, Zhao Fanshu as Liao Xinyan, and Sui Yuan as Du Man.
Watched 6 - 11 July 2026 — 30 episodes (KISSKH/VIKI PASS)
*Absolutely love this coming-of-age, slice-of-life series, similar to When I Fly Towards You, and I binged it in less than a week. I read somewhere it's called the Reply 1988 of Chinese drama because of the family community vibe. I still haven't seen Reply 1988 yet, but I prefer this to When I Fly Towards You. There's more story here and more drama, and I like the characters better. It's actually less fluffy and cute than When I Fly Towards You (which derives its cuteness to a large extent from its female lead Zhang Miaoyi as Su Zaizai) but it shares the same wholesomeness I love.
*I loved the main characters right away. Yang Xizi as Chen Huan'er is a cheerful high school student moving from her small hometown to the big city due to her mother's job transfer. Living at the hospital staff residential compound, Huan'er's mother reconnects with her two girlfriends, the mothers of Jing Xichi and Song Cong, and Huan'er befriends the two boys. I love the housing arrangement and the developing bond between the three families and the three main characters.
*I immediately fell in love with the male lead Jing Xichi, already with the meet-cute between him and Huan'er. I loved Xichi in the scene in episode 1 where he defends Huan'er when class 6 students are badmouthing her at the washroom facilities.
*I can safely say Xichi is my fave character of this show. He is optimistic, outgoing, mischievous and funny, but also affectionate and caring. Zhai Xiaowen embodies his character very well and is totally convincing in his role. He also looks good, especially while being more serious. It's funny how his looks can change from moment to moment. He can look like a school kid, and then, when his facial expression changes to serious, looks more mature in an instant. In the scenes where he is working on his rehabilitation after his accident (ep. 10), he looks very good, and I liked him at the end of the series wearing a suit jacket.
*So many nice moments between our OTP with high proximity and heart-fluttering gazes. Here are a couple: (ep. 10) the scene at the football field where Huan'er lists famous football players who made a comeback after their injuries, with a cheat sheet in her pocket, and Xichi is clearly touched; I also loved that Huan'er let him borrow her lucky bracelet, a piece of string; Xichi surprising Huan'er with a piece of the expensive cake (ep.13); the scene where Huan'er is frantically looking for Xichi, him having left his phone behind, buying fireworks for her, and the subsequent firework scene at their secret place (ep.15); the flour scene in episode 16 (did Huan'er not sneeze in the bowl with dough, the dough she's using to make the cookies???!!); (ep. 21) Huan'er finding Xichi alone at the football field on his deceased dad's birthday, then eating old and new snacks together, with Xichi saying 'But, some things just can't be replaced. Right?' with a meaningful look. The friends-to-lovers trope is well done here. I love how Xichi teases Huan'er all the time and how playful they are together. It was great to witness how they slowly realised their feelings for each other went beyond friendship. Their chemistry is great.
*The second male lead Song Cong is also very likeable. He is more silent and serious, the studying type, but towards the end of the series he loosens up a little. Normally I'd prefer a serious type (Song) over a character with a sunny disposition (Xichi), but not here, and it was clear there was more to Xichi than meets the eye.
*Initially Song Cong likes Huan'er, and though I usually don't like love triangles, I didn't mind here because everyone was liking somebody else anyway. Zhou Keyu portrays Song Cong well.
*I didn't like the 2nd female lead, He Qiu as Qi Qi, all the time. Since it was immediately clear she liked Song and she was billed as the 2nd lead, I was hoping for a romance between her and Song, but I actually liked the other two girls Liao Xinyan and Du Man better. I was feeling sorry for Qi Qi, for having a horrible, cold mother and for not totally fitting in because of her rich background. Then I read somewhere online that Qi Qi and Song weren't going to end up together, and to be honest, I was actually okay with that because I thought Song was much too nice for her. And then I saw a photo online of Du Man looking pretty without glasses, and she's also in the end compilation clip with Song. So when Song bumped into Du Man at the university in episode 18, I was rooting for Du Man. Well, Qi Qi is not out of the picture yet, and her character returns and is more likeable, and Song notices this too. So the romance I was initially hoping for still happened but in the end, it wasn't meant to be.
*The earrings scene in episode 24 was a big Qi Qi turn-off for me! Song was so sweet to make Qi Qi earrings by hand for Valentine's Day. At a dinner date with Qi Qi and her posh friends, Qi Qi wears Song's earrings, but then her friend gifts her a set of expensive glittering ones in front of Song. Qi Qi immediately replaces Song's handmade earrings with her friend's earrings, right there at the dinner table. How insensitive and cruel is that! I could punch her. And the nerve to turn around and show them to poor Song. She also gifted him an expensive designer shirt, costing around a 1000 euros. Song looked up the price online, and I used the currency conversion. No wonder he didn't want to accept it. After that, I just wanted them to break up.
*I love episode 23 with Xichi visiting Song at his parents' place, and Song's dad coming into Song's room to give his son some fatherly advice about being in a relationship. The advice is also applicable to Xichi, and the scene is extra poignant since Xichi's dad can't give him paternal guidance anymore and he realises that. We don't see much of Xichi's grief but it's small moments like this that make his hurt palpable, and the moment he walks into his own house, seeing his dad's portrait, made me teary-eyed.
*I love how Jing Xichi silently observes. In the scene from ep. 25, Qi Qi tells Song she wants to make the return journey on the train with him but she has booked a business seat. She offers to exchange her ticket to second-class so they can sit together. Song feels uncomfortable and doesn't want her to do this, and you can sense Xichi's concern for his best friend in the way he observes them.
*Ultimately, Song and Du Man's potential romantic relationship stays a possibility. The show hints at a romance and their friends tease them with it, but it never gets confirmed. It's a fact that Song feels more relaxed with Du Man than he felt with Qi Qi. They share the same interests (studying medicine and doing their internship at the same hospital, are even neighbours) and Du Man doesn't come from a well-to-do family, her father running the convenience store during their high school days (and giving away more than he sells), and she likes eating in simple restaurants. I still love that we get a kissing scene between them (Du Man initiating the kiss at her place, both shaken up after seeing a patient die in front of their eyes for the first time), though it wasn't a romantic kiss. I love the happy scene where Du Man finally gets lucky and catches a plush toy while playing the claw machine, with Song by her side and using his coin. See ... they're meant to be!
*Love episode 24 with the scene where the belated wedding pictures of Huan'er's parents are being taken, with the three families together minus Xichi's dad, and Xichi putting a comforting arm around his mum and giving her purple roses later, which hold the meaning of 'eternal love' (love how caring he is towards his mum). This episode also has the OTP's first kiss. I was eagerly waiting for it and was happy the moment didn't disappoint.
*I especially love the scene with our OTP in the mountains (ep. 29), at the supply station of Huan'er's research team. When Xichi comes driving all the way down to Wu'an after seeing Huan'er in a videocall with Tian Chi (a character I didn't like very much, whom Xichi considered a rival), he finds himself in a fight with Huan'er (I think their only fight in the show), overcome by jealousy, and drives back again. Then Huan'er gets lost in the mountains on her research trip, and Xichi goes looking for her (after learning her location from Tian Chi) while there's a heavy rainstorm forecast. It's the same spot where his dad died in the fire. Huan'er is the one who finds Xichi, and what follows is one of my fave moments between the couple sitting in front of the supply station. Huan'er gives Xichi a sample of soil from the firesite of his dad's accident. I really felt for Xichi who carries his grief with him. He looks good, by the way, also before that scene while looking for Huan'er in the rain. Both characters have really grown up (even though they are sporting the same hairstyles all these years, lol) and they share a heartfelt talk and express their love for each other.
*Though I like the university period and seeing the characters grow up and pursuing their careers, still the high school days are my favourite part of the show, and I was a bit sad when they were over.
*I felt for the characters when they were going through difficult times, also when it concerned their parents, and I did my fair share of crying.
*Love the OST and especially the song with the end credits.
*The final episode is satisfying, with the group of high school friends reuniting and Xichi showing the video messages. I also loved the intimate moment with Xichi and Huan'er on the couch, Huan'er lying in his lap, with Xichi explaining to Huan'er that his name evokes a life of drifting before finding a place to belong. It was his mother's wish that he'll never be homeless. Now Huan'er is Xichi's home. I appreciated the fact that the drama didn't shower us with lovey-dovey filler scenes between our OTP but we get heartfelt and meaningful moments like this, and it's this moment that gives the drama's title its deepest meaning.
*I want to conclude this long post with the old video message of Xichi in the final scene of the final episode, a very fitting ending, which left me feeling melancholic: "They always say that change is a constant in life. So houses get torn down, friends get separated, and even the closest people leave. But I always think that even if that day comes, the traces of those people and things will follow me, and accompany me all the way to a faraway place. Even if I've already forgotten this afternoon many years from now. Anyway, some things will change and some things wil never change."
*I already miss this show and the characters and feel like watching it again.
(Collage made by me.)