Directed by CatTree, Sunshine Through the Rain (今天是太陽雨) stars Yang Chaoyue and Dong Sicheng, also known as Winwin, a former member of the K-pop groups WayV and NCT. For the 28-year-old actress, who’s landed a number of lead roles since shooting up to popularity through the idol survival show Produce 101 China in 2018 yet found herself repeatedly criticized for her acting, it looks like this is just the breakthrough she needed.
Sunshine Through the Rain tells the story of Zheng Yu, a university student working hard to make ends meet, and Chen Yanzhou, an emotionally distant young man. Haunted by troubled family backgrounds and life’s hardships, they were initially rivals competing for scholarship until they gradually become each other’s source of comfort, healing, and redemption.
The drama abandons heavily filters and embraces soft colors, allowing the actors’ natural look to come through. Following its release, much of the attention has focused on Yang Chaoyue who has earned praise for her noticeable improvement in acting. Many viewers believe she delivers a convincing performance in this series, nailing several emotionally intense scenes and that she has become Zheng Yu, a character whose story resonates with many. Together, it looks like both Yang Chaoyue and Winwin were perfectly cast for their roles and with CatTree using his signature style, the show has become a dark horse that is drawing buzz online.
Incidentally, CatTree revealed that Sunshine Through the Rain, based on an original screenplay by Shi Ye, was initially planned to have 22 episodes. However, they eventually extended it to 24 because they simply weren’t ready to end Zheng Yu and Chen Yanzhou’s story. Having weathered so many storms together, these two deserved a little more time on screen, so the production team wanted to show more of their sweet, everyday moments.
