The Early Spring
The Early Spring is a 24-episode Chinese modern romance drama from Youku. It aired from August 26, 2026 to September 9, 2026, and all episodes are out. In the US it streams officially on Youku (VIP, episodes 1-3 free), checked October 25, 2026. It is adapted from a novel by Gu Niang Bie Ku.
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What viewers score it
The story, without spoilers
What to Expect
We haven't watched this one. This section is based on the official episode synopses, the production's own descriptions and Chinese coverage, and we'll replace it with a verdict once we have one.
This is a workplace romance for adults, not a sweet one. The story covers about eight years, and much of it is about work: pitches, budget cuts, office politics and a creative industry where a junior employee's ideas get taken by her bosses. Shang climbs from assistant to project director by doing the boring work well. Luan Nian is cold and controlling for long stretches, and the relationship has a real power gap that the drama spends its second half taking apart. Chinese reviewers praised its "female gaze" and its frank take on desire, and also argued about how much it romanticizes the imbalance. It was the first Chinese series reported to use a professional intimacy coordinator, and it has several intimate scenes.
The other half is about friendship. Shang shares a flat with Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu, two other young people trying to make it in Beijing, and their home life is as important as the office. A content note: the drama deals with depression and the suicide of a major character.
The cinematography moves from gray Beijing to snowy Harbin, where the last third is set. The drama was a hit: Youku's heat index passed 10,000, and Chinese coverage reported more than 1.1 billion plays. It holds a 6.7 on Douban from more than 54,000 ratings.
The Story
Shang Zhitao is a cheerful, slightly clumsy young woman from Harbin who has come to Beijing with nothing but determination. On her first day at the Lingmei ad agency she fails her interview, breaks the star creative director's antique typewriter, and gets hired anyway because the head of HR likes her. The director is Luan Nian, a gifted, sharp-tongued man who keeps everyone at arm's length. They start badly, then save each other's lives, then sleep together after a night of drinking, then begin a relationship that she insists must stay secret so no one at the office thinks she rose through him. It lasts six years. The Early Spring (早春晴朗) is a 24-episode Youku drama starring Jing Boran and Sun Qian, based on a JJWXC novel by Gu Niang Bie Ku. Netflix released it in many countries the same day it premiered in China, and it reached second place on Netflix's global chart for non-English shows.
Release Notes
The Early Spring premiered on Youku on August 26, 2026. Members got three episodes on the first day, then one or two a day until the finale on September 9, with top-tier SVIP members one episode ahead. Netflix released it the same day in many regions, and it reached second place on Netflix's global non-English TV chart for the week of August 24 to 30, with 2.4 million views. When we checked from the US on October 25, 2026, Youku's international service had all 24 episodes, with the first three free. We couldn't confirm whether Netflix carries it in the US. Jiangsu TV began broadcasting it on September 23. Filming ran from September 5 to November 26, 2025, in Beijing and Harbin.
On September 16, 2026, Youku released a concept poster for a follow-up called Sheng Xia Qing Lang (盛夏晴朗), reported in English as Midsummer Clear Skies, for 2027 with the same creative team. Its cast, story and episode count haven't been announced.
The theme song is "Passing Through Clear Skies" (路过晴朗) by Silence Wang. Liu Yuning sings the opening theme, "Her" (她), and Tia Ray sings the ending song, "This Moment" (此刻).
Does The Early Spring have a happy ending?
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We have not finished this one ourselves; this is based on outside sources.
In Brief
Ending spoilerShow the ending in brief
The Early Spring has a happy ending. After a painful breakup, Shang Zhitao goes home to Harbin and starts her own company. Luan Nian follows her, works his way back into her life on her terms, and the two reconcile. In the last episode they go public at Lingmei and he proposes. She says yes. The ending is bittersweet for the friends around them: one of the roommates dies before the breakup, and his death changes everyone.
Full Ending Explained
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This account comes from the official episode synopses for episodes 18 to 24, not from watching.
The fault lines. Four years in, Shang brings up marriage and children. Luan Nian refuses and calls her immature. She takes a three-month posting in the Northwest and comes back as a project director, more confident and less willing to wait for him.
Sun Yuanzhu. In episode 20, Sun Yuanzhu's mother dies. Luan Nian sees Shang comforting him with a hug and turns cold, and they fight. Soon afterward Sun Yuanzhu takes his own life. His letters and diary show that he had loved Shang for years and was the one who sent her flowers anonymously. Sun Yu, who loved him, had known.
The breakup. Chen Dong, the new general manager and the partner who once betrayed Luan Nian, leaks photos that expose the relationship. When the company's expert slot goes to Song Ying, Shang believes she has been treated unfairly, and she ends things, saying he never really loved her. He accuses her of using him to get ahead. Neither knows the whole story. Luan Nian had threatened to resign to protect her, given up his own claim to the slot, asked HR to put her forward instead, and applied for a post in the US so she could stay. Then her father breaks a bone. Shang resigns, sells the bags he gave her, thanks him by text for six years, and blocks his number.
Harbin. Back home, Shang founds a small company and hires her first employee, Fu Dong. Luan Nian visits again and again without telling her, and a pile of train tickets shows how often. He cries under an aurora while calling her disconnected number. When Lu Mi brings him onto a beer-festival project in Harbin, he waits for Shang in the snow. She claims her classmate Xing Yi is her fiancé, which isn't true. He moves into her building uninvited.
The last episode. Her company struggles and she mortgages her flat. Luan Nian applies to work for her and quietly brings in clients. His friend Tan Mian sends her the video from the aurora night, and they reconcile. When her father walks in on them, Luan Nian tells him he will marry her. Back in Beijing they go public at Lingmei. He builds her a "time corridor" of their years together and finally explains the misunderstandings: the bag, the flowers, the drives home that were never on his way. Their dog, Luke, brings in balloons, and Luan Nian proposes. According to HK01, he also admits that Sun Yuanzhu "was good." Lu Mi and Tu Ming's romance runs into his family's snobbery about hers.
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Cast and characters
The novel behind it
The drama adapts Zao Chun Qing Lang (早春晴朗), a workplace romance by Gu Niang Bie Ku (姑娘别哭) published on JJWXC, which Chinese coverage describes as one of the site's highly rated workplace novels. As far as we know, there is no official English translation. A Chinese audio drama of the novel came out before the series.
Differences from the Novel
Ending spoilerShow the differences
Chinese coverage, mainly HK01, points to three big changes:
- How it starts. In the novel the relationship begins as a cold, physical arrangement with a clear power gap between boss and junior. The drama softens it into a secret romance based on mutual attraction.
- Luan Nian. The book's Luan Nian is more self-interested and sticks to his rules. The drama gives him more protective gestures and makes his feelings clearer earlier.
- Shang's road. In both versions she becomes a senior planner, then leaves Beijing to start a business at home, and he follows. The drama frames the ending as two people saving each other and meeting again as equals.
Novel Ending
Full spoilersShow how the novel ends
The novel also ends with the leads together after Shang goes home and Luan Nian pursues her. We haven't confirmed the details of the book's last chapters or how it handles Sun Yuanzhu, and we'll update this section once we have.
- Original title
- 早春晴朗
- Author
- Gu Niang Bie Ku 姑娘别哭
- First published
- JJWXC
- In English
- No official translation that we know of
Words and customs you'll hear
Beipiao, the Beijing drifters
Beipiao (北漂) means "drifting in Beijing," and it describes the millions of young people from other provinces who move to the capital for work without a Beijing household registration. They rent shared flats, work long hours and wonder every year whether to stay. Shang, Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu are all beipiao, and the drama's toast "to Beijing" is a toast to that life.
English names at work
Chinese staff at foreign-style companies, especially in advertising, often go by English names at the office. That's why Luan Nian is Luke, Shang is Flora, and Zhang Ling is Alex. Shang later names her dog Luke, which is a joke at her boss's expense.
Harbin
Shang's hometown is the capital of China's far northeast, known for its brutal winters, Russian-era architecture and ice festival. The drama filmed on Central Street, at Saint Sophia Cathedral and in the East Hechang 1917 district, and its last episodes use the city's snow, its beer festival and a rare aurora.
Keeping it secret
Office romances between a manager and a junior are often frowned on in Chinese companies, and gossip about favoritism can sink a career. That's why Shang insists on secrecy from episode 10 and why the leaked photos in episode 21 do so much damage.
The Early Spring FAQ
How many episodes does The Early Spring have?
The Early Spring has 24 episodes, each about 45 minutes long. All 24 are out: the drama finished on Youku on September 9, 2026, and Youku's international service lists all 24. Some Netflix country pages show a different episode count, but the story is the same 24 episodes as in China.
Where can I watch The Early Spring?
Outside China, The Early Spring streams on Youku's international service (youku.tv and the Youku app). When we checked from the US on October 25, 2026, all 24 episodes were there, with episodes 1 to 3 free and the rest VIP. Netflix carries it in many regions, but we couldn't confirm the US, UK, Canada or Australia.
Is there a season 2 of The Early Spring?
Sort of. In September 2026 Youku announced a follow-up called Midsummer Clear Skies (盛夏晴朗), planned for 2027 with the same creative team. It hasn't said whether it continues Shang and Luan Nian's story or who stars in it. We'll update this answer when the cast is confirmed.
Does The Early Spring have a happy ending?
SpoilerShow the answer
Minor spoilerReveal whether it ends happily
Yes, for the leads. Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian break up in episode 21, but they reconcile in Harbin, go public at work and get engaged in the final episode. The ending is bittersweet overall, because a close friend of theirs dies earlier in the story.
What happens to Sun Yuanzhu?
SpoilerShow the answer
Ending spoilerReveal what happens to Sun Yuanzhu
Sun Yuanzhu dies by suicide in episode 20, after his mother's death and a long struggle with depression and family debt. His diary reveals he loved Shang Zhitao for years and sent her anonymous flowers. Sun Yu, who loved him, had known all along.
Why do Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian break up?
SpoilerShow the answer
Ending spoilerReveal why they break up
Leaked photos expose their secret relationship, and Shang thinks Luan Nian let a promotion go to someone else. She ends it, and he accuses her of using him. In fact he had protected her and given up the slot for her. Her father's injury then takes her home to Harbin.
Is The Early Spring based on a novel?
Yes. It's based on Zao Chun Qing Lang (早春晴朗) by Gu Niang Bie Ku, a workplace romance published on the Chinese site JJWXC. The drama keeps the story but softens how the relationship begins and makes Luan Nian more protective. Our novel section covers the differences.
Can I read The Early Spring novel in English?
Not officially, as far as we know. Gu Niang Bie Ku's novel has no licensed English translation that we can find, and the original is in Chinese on JJWXC. Fan translations may circulate, but we don't link to them. If an official edition is announced, we'll add it here.
Who sings The Early Spring theme song?
The main theme, "Passing Through Clear Skies" (路过晴朗), is sung by Silence Wang. Liu Yuning sings the opening theme "Her" (她), Tia Ray sings the ending song "This Moment" (此刻), and the soundtrack album came out on September 1, 2026, with insert songs by several other singers.
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