Beginning RESET

Synopsis

A suspenseful short drama about game architect Xiao Heyun and college student Li Shiqing, who become trapped in a time loop after a bus explosion, repeatedly dying and reviving as they investigate the truth and strive to save everyone on the bus.

Overview

Reset (Chinese: 开端; pinyin: Kāiduān) is a 2022 Chinese urban suspense short drama series produced by Daylight Entertainment. Directed by Sun Molong, Liu Hongyuan, and Lao Suan, with a screenplay by Pray Jun, Qiu Yujie, Suan, and Huang Kaiwen, the series is an adaptation of the web novel of the same name by Pray Jun published on Jinjiang Literature City. It premiered exclusively on Tencent Video on January 11, 2022, with a total of 15 episodes.

The series stars Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai, with special appearances by Liu Yijun and Liu Tao, and starring roles by Huang Jue and Liu Dan. It tells the story of game architect Xiao Heyun (Bai Jingting) and college student Li Shiqing (Zhao Jinmai), who become trapped in a time loop after experiencing a bus explosion. They repeatedly relive the same bus explosion event, investigating the truth behind the bombing and striving to save everyone on the bus through each cycle.

Plot

College student Li Shiqing is caught in an explosion during an ordinary bus ride and unexpectedly falls into a time loop—waking up on the same bus every time she dies. She attempts to prevent the explosion but repeatedly fails. In one cycle, she pulls fellow passenger and game architect Xiao Heyun into the loop, and the two begin experiencing the life-and-death cycle together.

As the number of cycles increases, the pair gradually discover that each passenger on the bus has their own story: an old man carrying watermelons, a father in conflict with his son, an aunt carrying a pressure cooker. They must identify the mastermind behind the bombing in each repeated cycle while trying to save every innocent passenger.

Cast

Production & Reception

Reset is produced by Daylight Entertainment, one of the most consistently well-regarded production companies in the Chinese television industry, known for hit series such as Nirvana in Fire, Ode to Joy, and Like a Flowing River. The series employs the relatively novel narrative device of a time loop, blending suspenseful mystery with heartwarming elements, sparking widespread discussion among young Chinese audiences.

The series received a high rating of 8.2/10 on Douban (with over 600,000 ratings). Its viewership surpassed 100 million within three days of its premiere, and its total view count exceeded 1.2 billion after its conclusion. During the weekly release of new episodes, it averaged over 20 trending topics, becoming one of the most popular web dramas in early 2022. In 2023, the series won the Annual Outstanding Web Drama award at the Capital TV Program Spring Promotion Conference.

Cultural Impact

Reset is a rare time-loop themed television drama in mainland China. Its narrative structure shares similarities with the Korean film The Day and the American series Russian Doll, but incorporates localized Chinese social issues—such as cyberbullying, family education, and the struggles of people at the bottom of society. The "Anti-Bombing CP" (Xiao Heyun and Li Shiqing) became a popular online topic in early 2022, and the performances of Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai were widely praised by audiences. Liu Yijun's portrayal of police captain Zhang Cheng also left a deep impression.

References

1. Douban Movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/35332289/
2. Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/开端/56787751
3. Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/开端_(电视剧)
4. Tencent Video: https://v.qq.com/x/cover/mzc00200mp8vo9b/