Xiao Zhan and Bai Baihe share their personal advice on work, marriage and life as Bai Baihe believes that every relationship will end up with the female being more mature if the other party only grows physically but not mentally.
Co-starring fans’ onscreen crushes Xiao Zhan (肖战) and Bai Baihe (白百合), Sunshine By My Side (骄阳伴我) has been seeing soaring popularity ever since its release on 1 September 2023, clinching the No. 1 spot as the most popular modern workplace series on iQIYI.
Xiao Zhan plays a newbie, Sheng Yang (盛阳), who stepped into the advertising industry so as to woo his girl crush Jian Bing (简冰) and popular advertisement director (played by Bai Baihe). They develop romantic relationships as they grow together as a pair and as individuals.
As the series almost perfectly reflects the many aspects of life — the harsh working environments, the unseen parts of marriage life, the thought process one has after entering their 30s, the way parents might be fighting at home and the typical words that come out as fights happen.
That includes “Have I really enjoyed life after marrying you?” and “Have you even helped me around the house before?” etc. These situations have led to fans asking, jokingly, if the director had installed cameras around their house.
Countless of personal advice and complaints of work life, unfiltered
Many workaholics might resonate with the plot of Sunshine By My Side as they cover some experiences one might actually face in real life from the stupid encounters you might meet with, supervisors that take the credit for work you’ve done, and many more.
“If you’d like to do great things in life, you don’t really have to be overly fussy, overly uptight”, Jian Bing who has found her place in the advertising industry gave this piece of advice to the newbie Sheng Yang, who is still filled with passion, and told him to not put himself in too much of an opposing position from his cunning leader.
They’ve also elaborated on the topic of work and passion, and how passion can deplete when you put the two together, just like how one wouldn’t set their favorite song as their alarm and how you’ll forget about the initial affection after being with someone for too long because work will become tiring and torturous.
When the passion is gone, you’ll forget why you even started on the path. They even used a more comical way to point out some of the pain points many face during work.
When Jian Bing had to direct an advertisement featuring Sheng Yang’s dad, he shared that he had to substitute as the company didn’t have enough budget to hire professional actors and even jokingly said, “I do understand, when they say it’s a private limited company, everything becomes limited, like when allocating budget and especially when sending out monthly salaries,” which many could relate to.
Suffocating middle-aged marital and family crises filled with fights and quarrels
Sheng Yang didn’t come from a well-to-do family, with his dad working as a cleaner and his mum a fresh food handler at the local supermarket. His family however is very down to earth, allowing him to grow up in an environment filled with warmth despite the slight lack of money at home hence many do get affected when they see the couple quarrel on screen.
Many applauded the reenactment of the two as they enter a marital crisis while their son finds himself stuck between them as one that is so real. What came as shocking news would probably be that their acting was so realistic to the point that the audience was left feeling suffocated as they watched the old couple quarrel over spending 12k for a dress, which resembled the quarrels couples have in real life, especially when they’re at the stage of filing for a divorce, reminding the audience the importance of finding a outlet to let go of negative emotions, having better communication and to think in a different perspective.
Sweetness overload as Sheng Yang picks up the drunk Jian Bing, cooks for her and waits for her below her house despite their 10-year age gap
Sweetness overload alert! Sheng Yang has placed Jian Bing on a pedestal since he laid his eyes on her many years ago. Now, he meets her again in the industry which he joined because of her.
As the two reunite, he decides to take the leap of faith and attempt to woo her, by picking her up when she gets drunk, sending her home, cooking for her, helping her fix her pipe, consoling her waiting for her below her house, causing comments such as, “the ultimate boyfriend material” and “I want Xiao Zhan to wait for me too” to flood the internet.
The domineering and straightforward Jian Bing even said in the series, “Females in a relationship are always the older party because when did you guys even grow up?” which ignited much support from netizens as they promised to keep this in mind and even commented that guys only grow physically.
In-depth discussion about how females face gender discrimination at work and finding their own identity and place
The unjust choices the two had to make in the series were also one of the hot topics online. Men in the series only referred to Jian Bing as the “female director” at the beginning and even went as far as to doubt her professionalism, thinking that she is just a shadow of her husband, who also happens to be a director.
Bai Baihe even added comments that left a lasting impact on many female audiences, “If there was a word that could describe only females and not the male population, that would be virtuous, which also becomes some sort of kidnapping. Why must a woman’s success be defined by their marriage? Are you trying to say that she doesn’t have any other friends or a job of her own? Are there no other ways to prove a woman’s charm?”
Can you still live for yourself at 30?
Fans were also able to hear the voices of those in the workforce at 30 years old. Some people say that when you’ve passed the 30-year-old mark, you have to stop living for yourself.
You have to tone down on all the narcissism and affectation. All your dreams and aspirations should be for your husband, your child, and your parents because as long as they are happy, healthy, and have no worries in life, then you shouldn’t ask for anything more.
Nothing in this world should be taken for granted or treated as if it should happen. Whether one can be counted as being middle-aged is in one’s mentality, they are still given as much right to be reckless just like the younger ones have.
Everyone goes through three crises in life – when you have thoughts of dying, that’s a crisis in one’s youth; when you’re afraid of dying, that’s a crisis faced by the older generation; when you have both, you’re going through a mid-life crisis” etc, exploring the fact that once everyone steps into their 30s, they will face losing a life of their own and taking on bigger responsibilities in life, hitting right at the spot of those who are helplessly going through this process.
Starring Xiao Zhan and Bai Baihe, you can catch Sunshine By My Side on iQIYI (www.iq.com & apps) now!
*Press Release
