Rush to the Dead Summer (TV series)

Rush to the Dead Summer (Chinese: 夏至未至; pinyin: Xiàzhì Wèi Zhì) is a 2017 Chinese television series based on Guo Jingming's novel of the same name; starring Chen Xuedong, Zheng Shuang and Bai Jingting.^[1][2] The series aired on Hunan TV from 11 June to 8 July 2017.^[3]

Rush to the Dead Summer
Drama poster
Also known as	Love till the End of Summer
Genre	Romance Teen Coming of age
Based on	Rush to the Dead Summer by Guo Jingming
Written by	Liu Fei Liu Chenguang Shi Shi
Directed by	Han Yang
Starring	Chen Xuedong Zheng Shuang Bai Jingting
Country of origin	China
Original language	Mandarin
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	46(Hunan TV ver)
Production
Production locations	Xiamen Shanghai
Running time	~40 minutes per episodes
Production companies	China Syndication Hunan TV
Original release
Network	Hunan TV
Release	11 June (2017-06-11) – 8 July 2017 (2017-07-08)

The drama was praised for its realistic portrayal of youth and campus life, as well as its beautiful cinematography.^[4]

Synopsis

This is a youthful story which spans the period of ten years and focuses on friendship, alienation, and one ultimate betrayal that breaks the group of close friends, each going their own way and entering society.

Despite growing up poor, Li Xia works hard and wins a scholarship into Qian Chuan secondary school where she meets Fu Xiaosi and Lu Zhiang, two boys who are the most popular in their batch. Fu Xiaosi possesses a cold demeanor while Lu Zhiang is charismatic and easy-going. Li Xia also becomes friends with Yu Jian, a tomboy, and Cheng Qiqi, a rich girl.

Love booms in more ways than one, and the group of youth quickly became good friends. After graduation, everyone goes their separate ways. Fu Xiaosi becomes a well-known artist, and Li Xia becomes Xiaosi's assistant and other half. Cheng Qiqi won a singing competition and becomes a famous idol, and Yu Jian heads interstate to realize her dreams of becoming a singer. Everyone is still fighting for their dreams.

However, with the onslaught of adversities: the death of Lu Zhiang's mother and his imprisonment, Cheng Qiqi's betrayal and Li Xia's eventual departure, and Yu Jian's loss; the warm and bright summer starts to fade away. Everyone is changing and they become doubtful about the origin of their friendship. A span of ten years make them realize that other than memories, nothing can be eternal, but they learnt to love and grow.

Cast

Main

Actor	Character	Introduction
Chen Xuedong	Fu Xiaosi	A talented artist who is perceived as a legend in the eyes of others. He is sensitive, quiet and not good at expressing himself. Though he loves Li Xia, he has hurt her deeply through various occasions; forcing their relationship to come to an end. He decides to remain at Qian Chuan and waits for Li Xia to return to his side.
Zheng Shuang	Li Xia	Kind, pure and sincere, she is a hardworking girl who loves drawing. She falls in love with Fu Xiaosi, and becomes his assistant after graduation. However, their relationship was destroyed by Cheng Qiqi's betrayal, and Li Xia chooses to leave him.
Bai Jingting[5]	Lu Zhiang	A cheerful guy who is always smiling and full of life; and a loyal and protective friend to both Fu Xiaosi and Li Xia. Later because of his mother's death, he becomes quiet and introverted. He was imprisoned after attacking a man who insulted Fu Xiaosi. After his early release from imprisonment, he proposes to Yan Mo and marries her.

Supporting

Qian Chuan Secondary

Actor	Character	Introduction
Xia Zitong[6]	Yu Jian	An orphan whose independent nature causes her to be seen a problematic student. She possesses a beautiful voice, and is determined to realise her dreams of becoming a singer despite all odds. She is also a loyal friend to Li Xia, whom she considers as her best friend.
Chai Biyun[7]	Cheng Qiqi	The "perfect" girl who seemingly lives a life envied by others, but is actually really lonely and insecure deep down. She is Li Xia's best friend since they were young, and befriends Fu Xiaosi and Lu Zhiang due to Li Xia. However, her selfishness and possessive love for Fu Xiaosi eventually caused her to be estranged from her friends.
Wang Yuwen[8]	Li Yanran	A proud and haughty "princess" who grew up together with Fu Xiaosi and is caught in a one-sided love for him. She tries to ruin Li Xia and Fu Xiaosi's relationship in hopes Fu Xiaosi would stop liking Li Xia on various occasions.
Zhao Yami	Song Yingying	Li Xia's dorm mate and classmate. A cheerful and loud girl who loves to eat and ogle at handsome guys.
Jin Liting	Ren Xiaofei	Li Xia's dorm mate and classmate. A quiet and shy girl who aspires to become a manga artist.
Jessie Li	Chen Wenjing	Li Xia's dorm mate and classmate. A girl who likes to gossip and proclaims herself as the head of Lu Zhiang's fanclub. She transferred away to another school after the first semester.
He Jiaxuan[9]	Luo Xun	Student of 1-03, who is seen as a childish troublemaker. He has had a crush on Cheng Qiqi since they were young.
Hu Yitian	Ou Jun	Student of 1-03. Luo Xun's table mate.
Wang Xinting	Yao Nana	Student of 1-03.
Zhao Zimeng	Liu Yang	Student of 1-03.
Ni Jingyang[10]	Wen Ren	Form teacher of 1-03. A strict but loving teacher to her students.
Wang Jinkun	Wu Kai	PE teacher. He loves Wen Ren and becomes her boyfriend.
Li Dong	Department Head Mao
Zhou Yunshen	Teacher Luo	Chemistry teacher.

Others

Actor	Character	Introduction
Pang Hanchen[11]	Duan Qiao	An architecture student who is kind-hearted and helpful man, and understands girls well. He gets together with Yu Jian but a fatal car accident breaks the two apart.
Juck Zhang[12]	Qing Tian	A singer at a bar. Yu Jian's first love and former boyfriend who separated with her due to the realism of life.
Zheng He Hui Zi[13]	Yan Mo	A goddess in the eyes of many and comes from a wealthy background. She is a talented artist who returns overseas from Japan. She loves Lu Zhiang and marries him later.
Li Xian	Qing Yun	Li Xia's fiance, and appears briefly in the last episode.
Zhang Liao	Jie Xun	A determined and hardworking man who eventually fulfills his dream of becoming a rock star.
Liu Tao		Fu Xiaosi's father.
Zhao Qian		Fu Xiaosi's mother.
Zhang Li		Li Xia's mother. A strong and resilient lady who works several jobs to provide the best for her child.
Song Tao		Lu Zhiang's father
Li Lin		Lu Zhiang's mother. A caring and understanding lady who respects his child's opinions and dreams.
Fu Heng		Cheng Qiqi's father. A capable businessman who is harsh toward his children and discourages Qiqi's dreams of becoming a singer.
Lin Jing		Cheng Qiqi's mother. A meek lady who always chooses to give in.
Guo Qiucheng		Li Yanran's father.
Rong Rong		Li Yanran's mother.
Jiang Bing	Aron	Yan Mo's father. The head of a large company in Shanghai, who runs Fu Xiaosi's art career.
Shang Kan	Carol	Cheng Qiqi's manager.
Yang Shuwen	Ding Yiyang	The culprit who maligned Lu Zhiang.
Yan Qingyu	CEO He

Production

The actors' original voices are used in this drama, with no dubbing.^[14] Filming began on August 5, 2016 at Guankou Middle School and ended on November 24.^[15][16] Guo Jingming acts as the artistic director of this series.^[17]

Soundtrack

Rush to the Dead Summer - Original Television Soundtrack (夏至未至电视剧原声音乐大碟)

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"My First Memory (最初的记忆)"	Lala Hsu
2.	"That Boy (那個男孩)"	Silence Wang
3.	"Rush to the Dead Summer (夏至未至)"	Hu Xia
4.	"Chaser of the Light (追光者)"	Yoyo Sham
5.	"Starlight before Yesterday's Night (昨夜以前的星光)"	Zhang Yang Yang
6.	"Haven't End (未至)"	Yisa Yu
7.	"I Miss (我想念)"	Jin Zhiwen
8.	"A Person's Scenery (一个人的风景)"	Milk Coffee

Ratings

Episode #	Original air date	(CSM52)		(National Average)		Ranking in National timeslot
		Ratings	Audience share	Ratings	Audience share
1-2	June 11, 2017	1.144	3.951	1.44	5.43	1
3-4	June 12, 2017	1.050	3.606	1.59	5.95	1
5-6	June 13, 2017	1.110	3.785	1.64	6.04	1
7-8	June 14, 2017	1.122	3.93	1.64	6.04	1
9-10	June 15, 2017	1.224	4.248	1.79	6.66	1
11	June 16, 2017	0.842	3.161	1.17	4.89	2
12	June 17, 2017	0.754	2.813	1.18	5.13	2
13-14	June 18, 2017	1.089	3.772	1.5	5.59	2
15-16	June 19, 2017	1.105	3.864	1.49	5.46	2
17-18	June 20, 2017	1.027	3.603	1.67	6.29	2
19-20	June 21, 2017	0.961	3.31	1.69	6.26	2
21-22	June 22, 2017	1.07	3.702	1.77	6.58	2
23	June 23, 2017	0.855	3.058	1.31	5.37	3
24	June 24, 2017	0.843	3.031	1.19	4.83	2
25-26	June 25, 2017	1.104	3.735	1.7	6.38	1
27-28	June 26, 2017	1.133	3.994	1.66	6.38	3
29-30	June 27, 2017	1.124	4.011	1.8	6.9	3
31-32	June 28, 2017	1.082	3.861	1.8	6.87	2
33-34	June 29, 2017	1.215	4.246	2.1	7.78	2
35	June 30, 2017	0.648	2.303	1.56	-	2
36	July 1, 2017	0.661	2.384	1.15	4.69	2
37-38	July 2, 2017	0.936	3.175	1.69	6.25	1
39-40	July 3, 2017	0.935	3.264	1.54	5.8	3
41-42	July 4, 2017	1.032	3.603	1.77	6.55	3
43-44	July 5, 2017	1.107	3.798	1.91	6.93	2
45-46	July 6, 2017	1.229	4.116	1.93	6.9	2
47	July 7, 2017	0.916	3.386	1.46	6.1	2
48	July 8, 2017	0.893	3.209	1.61	6.66	1
Average		1.05	3.66	1.6	6.08	-

• Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue