The Early Spring wrapped its 24-episode run on September 12, 2026, and the finale gave Jing Boran and Sun Qian the ending their characters fought so hard to earn. After six years of a secret workplace romance, four years of painful separation, and a decade of emotional push-and-pull, Luan Nian (Luke) and Shang Zhitao (Flora) finally chose each other again. The path back was not simple forgiveness. Both characters had to rebuild themselves from the ground up before they could stand as equals. The show, which streamed on Netflix and Youku, became a global phenomenon, holding a spot in Netflix India’s Top 5 for weeks and peaking at No. 2 on the streamer’s global non-English TV list.
Why Flora Walked Away from Everything
Flora’s decision to leave Beijing was not sudden. Pressure had been building for years. Her secret relationship with Luke, her demanding boss at Lingmei Advertising, left her feeling boxed in and constantly questioning her worth. A junior colleague took credit for her work because of family connections, costing Flora a promotion she had earned. The death of her best friend Sun Yuanzhu, who struggled with depression, added grief she could no longer bury. When Flora confronted Luke about whether he had scored her fairly during the promotion process, he avoided a direct answer. His words during their final argument cut deeper than anything before.
“It’s only been six years, if it wasn’t you it would have been someone else.”
That sentence shattered Flora completely. She packed her things, took their dog Luke, and returned to her hometown of Harbin without saying goodbye. She bought a house, started her own event management company, and built a life that had nothing to do with Luke. For the first time, she had the space to figure out who she was without him at the center of every decision.
Luke’s Journey from Control to Understanding
Luke did not take the breakup well. The usually composed and sharp-tongued boss broke down upon learning of Flora’s resignation. He began flying to Harbin repeatedly, showing up with an excuse that became a running joke among fans: he wanted to see the dog. The truth about their relationship’s beginning also surfaced during this time. Luke had always told Flora their first meeting was a mundane office encounter. He finally admitted he remembered every detail of seeing her in the hotel lobby six years earlier. He had lied for years, hiding his feelings behind pride and deliberate teasing.
What changed was how Luke approached Flora after their separation. He did not step in with his money or try to take charge of her business. When Flora’s company hit a cash-flow crisis, she mortgaged her apartment instead of turning to him for help. Luke quietly used his professional connections to open new doors for her, helping without taking away her control. He eventually offered to work as her driver and assistant, free of charge for six months, just to stay close to her. That offer, more than any grand gesture, showed Flora that Luke had learned to put her needs above his pride.
The Museum of Time and Eternity Proposal
The finale’s most talked-about scene took place in Episode 24, when Luke built what the show called a Museum of Time and Eternity for Flora. The museum held carefully collected memories from their years together: old movie tickets, messages, the brooch he had given her, her employment resume, and photographs from their entire history. Their dog Luke wore a sign that read “Marry Dad” around his neck. Luke got down on one knee and asked Flora to make room for him in the museum she had built for herself.
He also gifted her a necklace with an “L” typewriter key pendant, the same key Flora had recovered after she knocked his manual typewriter off a desk years earlier. The gesture tied their ending back to their beginning. Flora accepted the proposal in front of their family and friends. She also opened a satellite office in Beijing, commuting between Harbin and Beijing on her own terms. She was no longer his subordinate. She returned to Lingmei as an equal.
The Bittersweet Shadow of Sun Yuanzhu
The happy ending came with a heavy cost. Sun Yuanzhu, played by Liu Xiaobei, was the gentlest character in the series. He carried deep wounds from his family and struggled with depression throughout the story. On New Year’s Eve, he died by suicide, leaving behind a farewell message: “I will watch you love, marry, and have children from beyond this world, joyful for a lifetime, never to suffer again.” His death became the show’s most devastating moment and the biggest source of regret for viewers.
Sun Yuanzhu’s close friend Sun Yu, played by Qi Tianqing, never fully recovered. She built a successful career in Beijing but remained trapped in the memory of his death, never opening her heart to anyone new. The contrast between the main couple’s joy and this lingering grief gave the finale a layer of realism that many C-dramas avoid.
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What Happens After the Proposal
One year after the proposal, Flora gave birth to a daughter named Luan Niantao. Luke, at forty years old, became a devoted father who doted on his daughter. The family settled into a quiet, ordinary life together. Lumi, Flora’s close friend played by Zhang Yezi, also found happiness with Will, the marketing director at Lingmei, and gave birth to twins. The drama ended at the proposal and did not show the married life or the child, though the novel’s epilogue included those details.
The series drew mixed reactions from book fans. Some felt the emotional turns were rushed due to cuts from the source material. Others praised the finale for delivering a complete and satisfying resolution without the dreaded “bad ending” that plagues many long-running dramas. The split between joy and grief, between the couple’s hard-won happiness and the permanent absence of a beloved friend, made the ending feel real rather than perfect.
The Early Spring is streaming internationally on Netflix. The series is based on the web novel Zao Chun Qing Lang by Gu Niang Bie Ku and was directed by Jiang Ji-Zheng. All 24 episodes are available to watch now.
Also Read: The Early Spring Episode 20 Streaming Guide: Release Date, Time and Where to Watch Online
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