Episode Summary
In 2007, fiery college senior Dai Daji meets quirky film student Zhou Shui after a dramatic breakup with her cheating boyfriend. Through chaotic encounters, face masks, and late-night talks, the two form an unexpected bond. As graduation nears, they make a spontaneous decision to chase their dreams together in Beijing—despite knowing their love may not last. Years later, they meet again as strangers, reflecting on what was and what might have been.
Spoiler Alert
An unexpected love story that begins with a hammer and ends with a heartbreak.
The first episode of Such a Good Love kicks off not at the beginning, but at the end—or at least, what feels like the end.
On a bustling city street, Zhou Shui and Dai Daji part ways like strangers. Once lovers, they now carry the weight of everything that was and could’ve been. Daji turns to Zhou Shui and asks if he remembers a moment from 2007, back when they were young and reckless in Hainan. She had asked him, If we go to Beijing knowing this love won’t have a happy ending, will it still be worth it? Years later, standing at another metaphorical crossroads, Zhou Shui has no answer. And maybe that is the answer.
Flashback to 2007: Chaos, College, and a Sledgehammer
At Haikou University, we meet a younger, fiery Dai Daji—charging into a boys’ dorm with a literal hammer to confront her cheating boyfriend, Ren Zhuangzhuang. His roommate, the low-key and slightly oddball film student Zhou Shui, watches her demolish the room with the calm curiosity of someone scoping out a new film subject. He’s intrigued. He even offers her a face mask mid-destruction, because, why not?
Their first meeting is undeniably chaotic, but that moment—sunlight filtering through a dorm window, a girl with a hammer and a sheet mask—becomes strangely cinematic. For Zhou Shui, it is a movie scene. For Daji, it’s just another heartbreak—but one that leads her straight into Zhou Shui’s lens, and his life.
Rebound or Something Real?
Zhou Shui, a junior in the film department, starts filming Daji, a senior business major. They’re mismatched in every way—she’s bold and emotional, he’s dreamy and detached—but he believes they can connect through film. After a botched breakup, he takes her to a bar and throws a mock “funeral” for Ren Zhuangzhuang, declaring him dead in her heart. It’s ridiculous, dramatic, and oddly healing.
Then things get even messier.
Ren storms into an internet café, begging Daji to take him back and promising tickets to the Beijing Olympics. Zhou Shui—never one to back down—says he can take her to Beijing too. Daji doesn’t respond. Instead, she and Zhou Shui casually apply face masks in Ren’s face (yes, again). Furious, Ren challenges Zhou Shui to a fight, but the couple-to-be runs off hand-in-hand.
Dreams, Decisions, and the Last Sea
Zhou Shui confesses he’s planning to move to Beijing after graduation to become a film director. Daji is torn. She’s supposed to return home, get a stable job, and live out a life that feels unbearably small. Her mother is adamantly against her chasing dreams, even threatening to cut ties if she does.
At the beach, Daji calls it “the last sea” of her life. She’s about to graduate. Nothing has gone the way she hoped. She tells Zhou Shui she wants a love that’s big and passionate—movie-worthy. He asks her if she has dreams. She’s not sure.
First Love, First Film
In a dimly lit motel room, the two awkwardly sit on opposite beds. Daji is ready to dive in; Zhou Shui, hilariously, starts taping newspapers to the bathroom glass for “privacy.” That night, she watches his student film—boring, yes, but strangely compelling. She sees something in him.
At graduation, Ren mocks her dreams one last time. Zhou Shui shows up with a hose, creating a dramatic, movie-like moment just for her. In 2007, they didn’t have a term for “Love-brained” (a person whose brain is clouded by love), but that’s exactly what they were.
The Big Ask
At the airport, Daji is about to fly home. Zhou Shui plays music and convinces her to dance one last time. Then he surprises her: Come to Beijing with me. Let’s be the most shameless couple the film world has ever seen. Daji doesn’t hesitate. She changes her ticket. But she asks him the same question again: If our love has no ending, is it still worth it?
Fast Forward to 2017
Daji knew Zhou Shui had a habit—he saved all his footage, no matter how silly or mundane, on his hard drive. Over time, she developed a habit of her own: watching that footage every single day. Until one day in 2017, when she left the hard drive behind at the airport. Maybe that was her way of letting go.
Final Thoughts:
Episode 1 of Such a Good Love is a bittersweet, time-jumping portrait of first love, messy choices, and the dreams we chase (or don’t). It’s nostalgic, raw, and grounded in moments that feel real—like hammer-wielding heartbreaks and awkward motel silences. Zhou Shui and Dai Daji's story isn’t perfect, but it’s painfully honest.
