(Alert: contained spoilers of “Flight to You”.)

If you’ve read my Certified in Cybersecurity Exam Experience post, you might've noticed that during the study sessions, I watched a Chinese drama in between. So what kind of drama had made me couldn’t wait until I took the exam to watch? *insert dramatic drumroll *hihi. I shall blame iQIYI for dropping an enticing summary of a drama with a poster of Wang Kai in pilot uniforms! (the caption: “Nick Wang (Wang Kai’s international name), please always wear your uniform”. YES please!).

Previously watched a drama where he transformed into a stern team leader of the Violent Crime Unit, I can totally portray him being a strict flight instructor. In my biased opinion (yes, here I am unapologetically biased), I couldn’t imagine any Chinese actor can exceed his performance in portraying a calm and charismatic super-strict-almost-annoying yet soft-hearted man. He is built for this kind of role. Also, his beautiful translation of “how a man’s icy heart gradually melts” was just mesmerizing. In addition, the talented Tan Songyun will showcase how a female pilot navigates the male-dominated profession. Those two actors are synonymous with good dramas so there I was couldn’t put my priority right. Argh, I just studied then watched it then studied for a bit then watched it again as if I was so ready to risk the exam *can you hear my dumb sobs?

I love her character. Cheng Xiao, you are awesome!

Now, I am gonna talk about the drama because so many thoughts flooded me while watching it. “Flight to You”( 向风而行) revolved around the lives of the flight crew of Luzhou Airlines, largely inspired by 12 real-life aviation cases. Cheng Xiao (Tan Songyun), a pilot in the cargo flight department had to move to the passenger flight department due to the company's restructuring. After 8 good years of serving, becoming a captain should be just a matter of time for her until Gu Nanting (Wang Kai), the Deputy Director of the Passenger Flight Department became her direct supervisor and instructor. He mentioned several times that what she lacked as a passenger pilot couldn’t be overcome by hard work and she should just quit (even wrote a resignation letter on behalf of her. LoL). As if her journey as a woman in the piloting field wasn’t nerve-racking enough, she had to go through a hamster wheel of mistreatments from several parties including the devil instructor.

(Before moving forward with the romance side of the drama, I would like to applaud the show for spotlighting the obstacles that women go through in the workplace. For example, there were episodes where she was involved in a rumor and it did bigger damage to her compared to her male counterparts. The fact that a woman can be talented, hardworking, and have credentials yet be easily knocked down by a false accusation while the men involved weren’t affected as much showed the double standard society has against women).

Let's go back to the track of romance. As someone who closely saw her determination and persistence, eventually, Gu Nanting's opinions about her slowly shifted. We can find him in the later part of the drama defending, supporting, and protecting her behind her back. Therefore, it was understandable that Cheng Xiao developed a special feeling for him as he was there assisting her growth. A straightforward and fearless woman she was, she openly admitted her secret to him--in hope that the feeling would reciprocate. She pursued him with the attitude of “even if I have to take 99 steps to close the 100 steps between us, it doesn’t matter as long as he is the one taking the final step”.

The problem is, it became frustrating that she already threw herself at him yet he was battling with his own demons: denials (for 34 episodes like seriously the man being a turtle in front of his feeling), avoidances, trauma, “you’re just a student to me” (a.k.a the C-drama's most heartbreaking statement of early 2023) reason, “not with you, not without you” attitude, and “one hand holding the past, one hand holding her” manner. He did everything but be honest with his feeling. Yet at the same time, he’d drop everything just for her, in rescue mode whenever she was in danger, and was the most panicked one when it comes to her. Imagine the confusion you get from a man whose acts and words were perfect contradictions. Should you give up? What if his actions were truer than his words? Should you stay? But isn’t it disheartening to see him keep pushing you away?

Should be an interesting watch, the drama became draggy and plain infuriating because of several things including his inability to have an honest conversation with himself. I skipped the middle part of it to the part where Gu Nanting started to realize that he was wrong in putting the walls against Cheng Xiao. I'll be honest: I must say Gu Nanting is one gorgeous man I can’t deny. He is ridiculously attractive and his soft calming smile cured the hard days of a stressful job. On top of that, his actions signaled that he saw her as more than just a colleague, so as a woman who has initially developed a special liking toward him, it’s hard for Cheng Xiao to ignore and get past her feeling.

Ni Zhan, a man you are.

Dear iQIYI, shouldn't you also say: "Liu Chang, please always wear your uniform"? :)

I know the writer tried to convince the viewers that Gu Nanting is worth all the pain but still for me, Ni Zhan is the man. I’m sold at how he was selflessly there for Cheng Xiao, helped her, cheered upon her, treasured her, and thoroughly thought about her happiness above anything. Ni Zhan simply won my heart with his firm decision and sure steps toward Cheng Xiao. But then I realized that choice stemmed from my cowardice while in reality, my heart would probably belong to Gu Nanting for all my life. 

So under what circumstance can someone be trapped in the middle of this beautiful friendship? *cough *only Cheng Xiao's circumstance

As I progressed towards the end of the drama, I can sense my heart little by little changed as Gu Nanting became more humane. On top of that, I must admit that Nanting's small detail of softness all over the episode is what makes him worth the long wait. I am also glad that the writer gave him chance to redeem himself which made the decision to choose him well-justified. Then I understood that maybe if I was Cheng Xiao, I wouldn’t be able to turn my head away from him as well. In this world, there is a magical feeling which makes someone’s smile greatly powerful for us. Perhaps if I was Cheng Xiao, I don’t care how long shall I wait or whether I would end up with him or not, but seeing him standing there, all the hardships the world throws at me would be less excruciating. Maybe if someone like Gu Nanting himself appears in my life, I would do exactly the same. I would also work my best to be the woman he’d run to every day.  

Therefore, who I am to give her advice? Because when the heart says seeing someone even from faraway calms the stormy day, then perhaps it's enough. :)

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When Cheng Xiao finally got promoted and Gu Nanting said, “Captain Cheng, please have a safe flight”, I smiled widely. Some people just couldn’t express their thoughts well. For them, “I hope you’re okay” translates as “You mean the world to me”. 

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All photos belong to iQIYI. All right reserved.