A cute romance between an adorable singer who develops a crush on a guy that she is too scared to approach, he is a genius in the field of computer engineering and a legend in the world of professional gaming.
It is late evening when Han Shang Yan walks into an internet cafe. While helping her cousin watch the shop, Tong Nian catches a glimpse of Han Shang Yan and immediately falls for him. She is usually brave, outgoing and has tens of thousands of followers from singing covers online, but she fumbles whenever she encounters him.
She is used to interviews, but can’t even utter a word when speaking to him. He is cold, hard to reach and not the type of guy to be interested in girls, but Tong Nian’s unique personality and her persistent ways to get close to him begin to catch his attention.
Continuing on my Chinese Drama trend, I saw this was starting on my viki and said why not. Plus, all the guys in the poster were hot and I’m easy when it comes to a pretty face. I am SO glad I started this. To say I became obsessed with this and Li Xian totally became my summer boyfriend is an understatement.
This was exactly what the synopsis tells you. A one-sided love at first sight story; a young girl who is a genius programmer as well as an online singer falls for this mean and closed off but handsome CTF (Capture the Flag – Cybersecurity competition) god. As the story starts to unfold, you see how it was pretty destined for these two to meet in some way, but them mutually falling in love was a ride.
I usually hate when the romance has no build-up but this had a slow burn in an unexpected way. Tong Nian was about Han Shangyan or Gun from jump and there was nothing ever going to change that. Love at first sight in its rarest form. It was his journey to opening his heart up that was entertaining to watch. The character development was at times a little boring and I did find myself wondering why Han Shangyan was so mean because the reasons they gave through the MANY flashbacks just didn’t add up. But I’m really forgiving when it comes to things like this when the lead is charming.
Speaking of charming, the supporting cast! All the kids that Han Shangyan coached in CTF were a bunch of characters. Team K&K had my love Hu Yitian playing Gun’s cousin Wu Bai. He was equally quiet and closed off but mean wasn’t his style. Then you had the other main players for team K&K Grunt, 97, One and demo. They took care of the comic relief and really was the marker for all the character changes that happened when Gun really started to fall for Tong Nian.
This really was an assemble cast and I found myself waiting for scenes that weren’t just Tong Nian and Han Shangyan. However, their scenes were flutter inducing. The scenes that weren’t for me was all the flashbacks. They could have gotten rid of half of the flashbacks and I’d be okay with it and still understand that yes, Gun and his old team have bad blood now.
Either way, I drank the koolaid this summer and was on that Go Go Squid train with everyone else. Not sure if I would watch something else Yang Zi is in, cause at times she just came across as too young but I guess that was the allure of the character. Go Go Squid hit all the markers it was supposed to for a romantic dramedy. I laughed, swooned and sometimes wanted to cry.
Acting: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Recommend? Absolutely
Fave Song: “Couldn’t Leave – Dimash Kudaibergen”
Unbothered Unnies 
You owe it to yourself to visit China, given your fascination with the music. You’ll also be presently surprised that 8 out of every 10 girls are as pretty as the ones in the videos you admire. Don’t visit the areas like Hong Kong, or Shanghai where there are droves of Americans and other foreigners. Check out Shaanxi province where you can visit the Terracotta Warriors exhibit and other attractions. Also, check out Xian and Baoji city where there are plenty of stunningly beautiful girls that can speak English but have never seen an American in person.