"Helen" Zhou Hailun, from Chengdu, poses on campus at Linfield Christian School in Temecula. She is part of the increasing wave of Chinese students attending U.S. schools and colleges. (Photo provided to China Daily)
It topped TV ratings in a 35-city survey, dominates the hot-topic list on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, and has been watched nearly 4.7 billion times on video-streaming sites.
On the country's largest review site, Douban.com, 10,674 viewers gave it scores that average 7.9 points out of 10.
For many viewers, the series is a reflection of the anxiety and frustration they face because of the Chinese college-entrance exam, or gao-kao, which uses scores as the only criterion for admission.
One viewer, who reviewed the series on Douban.com, says: "The conflict between Duoduo and her mother (who pushes her daughter hard) is what happens in my life. Every time the school releases scores, I feel extremely scared if I fail to meet my mother's expectations."
In the series, three teenagers－from a low-income, a middle-class and a rich family, respectively－face the same dilemma: stay home or go abroad to study.
Dwelling on the subject of sending children abroad to study, chief producer Xu Xiao'ou tells China Daily: "It's not an easy choice. Besides the separation, families also have to endure economic stress, culture shock and language barriers.
"The struggle resonates with Chinese audiences. Most of them see their depression and confusion reflected in the series," Xu says.
"The series reflects a changing trend and provokes thought about the state of education in China and the accompanying social issues."
Meanwhile, the popularity of the series has prompted the producers to work on a sequel.
To prepare for this, Lu says he traveled to the United States earlier this month to meet students, parents and consultants to write the script for the second season.
