# 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. The series aired on Hunan TV from 11 June to 8 July 2017.
The drama was praised for its realistic portrayal of youth and campus life, as well as its beautiful cinematography.

## 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. Filming began on August 5, 2016 at Guankou Middle School and ended on November 24. Guo Jingming acts as the artistic director of this series.

## Ratings

| Episode # | Original air date | (CSM52) | (CSM52) | (National Average) | (National Average) | Ranking in National timeslot |
| Episode # | Original air date | Ratings | Audience share | Ratings | Audience share | Ranking in National timeslot |
| 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 | Average | 1.05 | 3.66 | 1.6 | 6.08 | - |
* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue