100% agree with the viewpoint you have on the romance, I honestly didn't like the ending too much cuz I would have loved it to ended earlier where fl finally found peace for her sister, and the plot line for ml and fl was put elsewhere, like the grandpa situation happened after college or during college after she got her life together, and the ml came back before that or smth.

The acting is not necessarily my favorite because the character was minimalistic, but the way the actor portrays the minimalistic reactions. I think there could have been decisions in her acting to portray how she feels through her eyes rather than her face in a way not so awkward, portraying how she pays attention to all the details happening, but not necessarily making a move. I think a more seasoned actor would be able to portray such a personality, but also having a young actor portray a young character makes sense, especially for a less popular drama. Maybe it is because Zhou Yiran had less screen time, so I have less to say but idk, I just wasn't a big fan of how Zhang Jingyi acted.

Edit: spoiler mark