Now streaming on Netflix, The Early Spring places its romance in a decidedly uncomfortable setting: an advertising agency defined by tight deadlines, constant pressure, and workplace power imbalances. It is in this environment that Shang Zhitao tries to build her career and gradually grows closer to Luan Nian, her demanding superior.
Jing Boran and Sun Qian lead the central romance, but they are not alone. The friends who share Shang Zhitao’s daily life and the women she meets at the agency help the series explore more than a secret relationship. Their stories also reflect what it means to begin adult life in a big city, build a support system, and learn to stand up for yourself at work.
For viewers who have started watching and are trying to place the familiar faces on screen, we have rounded up five members of the cast of The Early Spring, along with their characters and some of their previous work. The profiles below do not reveal any of the story’s major twists.
1. Jing Boran plays Luan Nian
Jing Boran began his career far from the world of advertising. He rose to prominence in 2007 after appearing on the talent show My Hero and became a member of the musical duo BoBo before establishing himself as an actor. His film credits include Monster Hunt, Lost and Love, and Us and Them. More recently, he has appeared in dramas such as Road Home, A League of Nobleman, and the thriller Regeneration.
In The Early Spring, he plays Luan Nian, a creative director respected for his expertise and feared for his blunt way of speaking. The character quickly recognizes when an idea does not work and rarely softens his criticism, an attitude that turns his first encounter with Shang Zhitao into a clash. She arrives hoping for an opportunity; he believes the newcomer is not yet ready for the position.
The strength of the casting lies in that contrast. Jing Boran maintains the confidence of a man accustomed to leading meetings, while allowing subtle changes to emerge whenever Luan Nian loses control of a situation or has to confront his feelings.
As a result, the executive becomes more than the familiar “cold boss” archetype: his difficulty communicating also drives the romance and the workplace conflicts.
Those who would like to learn more about his career can read our profile, Jing Boran: the journey of The Early Spring’s leading man.
2. Sun Qian plays Shang Zhitao
Born in Harbin, Sun Qian studied ballet before enrolling at China’s Central Academy of Drama. Her background in dance helps explain the actress’s precise physical presence, even when she portrays seemingly ordinary characters. Chinese drama viewers may recognize her from Meteor Garden, Remembrance of Things Past, Wild Bloom, 19th Floor, and Love Song in Winter.
Shang Zhitao arrives in Beijing without the ideal résumé for a major advertising agency, but she refuses to let a poor interview determine her future. Sun Qian portrays that persistence without turning the protagonist into an infallible newcomer.
Zhitao makes mistakes, feels the weight of criticism, and must learn the unspoken rules of a profession that no one takes the time to explain. Even so, she returns the next day ready to try again.
The audience discovers the agency and its demanding workplace culture through her perspective. Her growing closeness with Luan Nian matters, of course, but the character must also recognize her own worth beyond that relationship.
Sun Qian’s open and expressive energy works especially well opposite a more restrained leading man, with much of their chemistry emerging from the contrast between their personalities.
We have also published a profile exploring Sun Qian’s career, from Meteor Garden to The Early Spring.
3. Liu Xiaobei plays Sun Yuanzhu
Liu Xiaobei belongs to the younger generation of the cast. Before The Early Spring, the actor appeared as Wang Fang in the school drama Ray of Light and attracted the attention of international viewers with The Spirealm. He is also part of the cast of the historical comedy Hilarious Family 2.
His character, Sun Yuanzhu, shares a home and daily life with Shang Zhitao. A researcher working in autonomous-driving technology, he is reserved and kind, often projecting a calmness that does not fully reflect what he is experiencing.
Living together turns their group of housemates into a kind of chosen family for young people who arrived in Beijing without an established support network.
Reducing Yuanzhu to a potential romantic rival would overlook the character’s most interesting qualities. His presence expands the series’ exploration of work by presenting a different kind of pressure: the expectations placed on talented young people, financial responsibilities, and the emotional strain hidden behind a calm exterior. Liu Xiaobei conveys that restraint without revealing everything beneath the surface too early.
4. Qi Tianqing plays Sun Yu
Qi Tianqing may be most familiar to viewers who watched Hidden Love. In that drama, she played Yu Xin, one of Sang Zhi’s university roommates. The actress has also appeared in Brilliant Class 8 and starred in the short-form production I Opened a Supermarket on the Long March.
In The Early Spring, she plays Sun Yu, Shang Zhitao’s best friend and roommate. Direct, observant, and practical, Sun Yu is one of the first people to welcome the protagonist to Beijing. Her life does not revolve around the central couple: she also faces romantic disappointments, changes the way she views relationships, and looks for her own professional space in the dating industry.
The friendship between the two women creates some of the series’ most relatable moments. Sun Yu can advise Zhitao, disagree with her, and, when necessary, remind her to look at a situation without viewing everything through the lens of romance.
Qi Tianqing brings lightness to these conversations without reducing the character to a friend whose only purpose is to give advice.
5. Zhang Yezi plays Lu Mi
Zhang Yezi has enjoyed a longer career than some of her fellow supporting cast members. A graduate of China’s Central Academy of Drama, she made her film debut in The Tokyo Trial and later appeared in crime, family, and comedy productions. One of her most notable roles came in the 2018 sitcom Jia You Er Nu Chu Zhang Cheng, in which she played Jiang Nan.
Lu Mi, whose name is also written as Lumi in some listings, works alongside Luan Nian and becomes a professional role model for Shang Zhitao.
She knows the unspoken rules of the agency, understands its internal disputes, and recognizes that competence alone is not always enough to move forward. Her presence makes the protagonist’s journey less lonely while also making the corporate setting more convincing.
Zhang Yezi conveys maturity without turning Lu Mi into a distant figure. The character can be firm, but her role is not to compete with the younger employee or create an artificial obstacle to the romance.
Instead, she represents something Zhitao needs at that stage of her career: an experienced woman capable of guiding her through a professional environment controlled by people with more influence and power.
A cast that supports both the romance and the workplace story
The Early Spring begins with the tension between a newly hired employee and her boss, but gains strength when it allows other relationships to move to the foreground. Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu give Shang Zhitao a home and a daily life beyond the office. Lu Mi, meanwhile, shows that the protagonist also needs female role models to grow professionally.
This combination helps explain why the ensemble works so well. Jing Boran and Sun Qian carry the romantic conflict, while Liu Xiaobei, Qi Tianqing, and Zhang Yezi prevent the world of the series from feeling as though it exists solely around the central couple. Each character occupies a different place in Shang Zhitao’s life, and all of them contribute to her growth.
The Early Spring is streaming on Netflix, although availability, episode release dates, audio tracks, subtitles, and dubbing options may vary by country. Viewers should check their local Netflix catalog for the most up-to-date information. For a closer look at the rollout, see our The Early Spring episode schedule and streaming guide.