HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count – Drama Review

Hao Ting and Xi Gu didn't get off on the best start in HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count is about the turbulent romance between a high school student and his bully. Although the two characters begin the series with lots of hostility, their relationship improves as they understand each other more. This BL drama also features a saucy romance with a sizable age difference, as one of the teens develops a crush on an older man.

Admittedly, HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count comes with a lot of red flags, which include poor writing, unlikable characters, and unhealthy relationship dynamics. Nonetheless, there are some compelling moments in this series, capable of stirring up intense emotions with its nonstop drama.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count Summary

Title:

HIStory 3: 那一天

Series Info:

Taiwan (2019)

Length:

7 hours

Total Episodes:

20 episodes

Genre:

School romance

About:

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count is a spicy & romantic BL drama.

Plot

Xi Gu does not return Hao Ting's aggressive advances towards him at first.

Hao Ting and Xi Gu are both senior high school students, but their personalities couldn't be more different. Hao Ting is outgoing, lively, and known for being a rowdy troublemaker on school campus. He is the stark opposite from Xi Gu, the quiet, intelligent, and hardworking student who's acing all his classes. In fact, Xi Gu is the number one student in his grade with a promising academic future ahead of him.

Xi Gu is an orphan who lives by himself with no family or friends. After school, he has to work a part-time job to pay rent and save up on tuition costs. Sometimes, he barely has enough money to afford regular meals for himself. Fortunately, his boss Zhi Gang is a very generous man, and he tries to look after Xi Ghu by giving him extra food or money.

Recently, Hao Ting's needy girlfriend has developed an interest in Xi Gu. Although he rebuffs her advances, she insists on spending time with the ace student. Their closeness attracts the ire of Hao Ting and his friends, who grow hostile towards Xi Gu. As tensions rise, Hao Ting's clique begins to bully Xi Gu, threatening him with pranks and violence.

However, one of the pranks ends up having severe and unintended consequences. It causes Hao Ting to feel bad about the way he has been treating Xi Gu. As he is overtaken by guilt, Hao Ting starts paying more attention to Xi Gu, eventually developing feelings for the guy he used to bully. However, these feelings are not reciprocated and Xi Gu still views him as the enemy, no matter how much Hao Ting tries to improve his reputation.

Meanwhile, Hao Ting's classmate and best friend Bo Xiang is working part-time at his cousin's gym. Bo Xiang has a massive crush on one of the regulars, who just happens to be Xi Gu's boss Zhi Gang. Although Bo Xiang is smitten with Zhi Gang, there's a sizable age difference between the two of them. While Zhi Gang believes Bo Xiang is too young for him, his rejections do not seem to deter Bo Xiang, who only becomes more fixated on winning over the older man.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count Cast

Characters

Hao Ting Wayne Song (宋緯恩) Wayne Song Instagram

Hao Ting is played by the actor Wayne Song (宋緯恩).

Hao Ting is an outgoing high school student with a rebellious streak. He is doted on by his mother, but clashes with his more conservative father. He also has a younger sister, and the two of them have a good relationship when they aren't teasing each other. Hao Ting is close with his circle of friends, which includes Bo Xiang, Xiao Chun, and the twins Xia De and Xia En.

Xi Gu Huang Chun Chih (黃雋智) Huang Chun Chih Instagram

Xi Gu is played by the actor Huang Chun Chih (黃雋智).

Xi Gu is the ace student at his high school with top academic marks. As an orphan, he used to live with his aunt, but moved out on his own to not burden her new family. Although the teachers are impressed with Xi Gu, he is quiet and serious with no friends at school. He often stays behind at school to study and do homework until it closes late at night.

Zhi Gang Thomas Chang (張瀚元) Thomas Chang Instagram

Zhi Gang is played by the actor Thomas Chang (張瀚元).

Zhi Gang owns the cafe where Xi Gu works part-time. A kind and altruistic man, he tries to help out Xi Gu with food, finances, and social occasions. Zhi Gang exercises at the gym where Bo Xiang works at, but doesn't seem to reciprocate the young man's advances towards him. He is currently single with three failed relationships under his belt.

Bo Xiang Wilson Liu (劉韋辰) Wilson Lau Instagram

Bo Xiang is played by the actor Wilson Liu (劉韋辰).

Bo Xiang is a high school student and one of Hao Ting's good friends. He is loyal and devoted, but has an immature and impulsive personality. He works part-time at a gym, which is owned by his cousin Wen Jie. Bo Xiang develops a massive crush on Zhi Gang, who is a lot older than him.

Supporting Cast

Hao Ting's sister is played by the actress Cai Mu Fei (蔡牧霏).

Yong Xing

Cai Mu Fei (蔡牧霏)

Hao Ting's mom is played by the actress Sara Yu (于子育).

Hao Ting's mom

Sara Yu (于子育)

Hao Ting's dad is played by the actor Spark Chen (陳如山).

Hao Ting's dad

Spark Chen (陳如山)

Xia De is played by the actor Xia De (夏得).

Xia De

Xia De (夏得)

Xia En is played by the actor Xia En (夏恩).

Xia En

Xia En (夏恩)

Xiao Chun is played by the actor Shih Cheng Hao (石承鎬).

Xiao Chun

Shih Cheng Hao (石承鎬)

Si Yu is played by the actress Wang Chen Lin (王真琳).

Si Yu

Wang Chen Lin (王真琳)

Mei Fang is played by the actress Cindy Chi (紀欣伶).

Mei Fang

Cindy Chi (紀欣伶)

Ting An is played by the actor He Yu Xian (何禹賢).

Ting An

He Yu Xian (何禹賢)

Bo Xiang's cousin is played by the actor Brent Hsu (許明杰).

Wen Jie

Brent Hsu (許明杰)

John is played by the actor Trent Chen (陳禕倫).

John

Trent Chen (陳禕倫)

Cheng Qing is played by the actor Duke Wu (吳珝陽).

Cheng Ching

Duke Wu (吳珝陽)

Cast highlights

  • Xiao Chun's actor (Shih Cheng Hao) starred in the 2022 Taiwanese BL drama Plus & Minus. It's a sweet love story between two childhood friends. The leads (Wayne Song and Huang Chun Chih) from HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count appeared in that series with guest cameos in the final episode.
  • Surprisingly, the leads also appeared in a BL series from another country! They showed up for a few seconds in the 2020 Japanese drama Life~Love on the Line, albeit their roles were very minor.
  • Spark Chen, who plays Hao Ting's dad, starred in the 2018 Taiwanese LGBT film, Dear Ex. He played the gay love interest in this movie.
  • Duke Wu, who plays Cheng Ching, was the lead actor in HIStory 1: Stay Away From Me.
  • Also, Cindy Chi reprises her role of Mei Fang in HIStory 4: Close to You, along with cameo appearances from most of the cast.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count Review

Review

Drama Review Score: 6.6

C
Hao Ting and Xi Gu share a kiss in his bedroom.

I struggled to enjoy the first half of HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count. Both Hao Ting and Bo Xiang were such obnoxious characters, whose scenes left me with immense second-hand embarrassment. Everything they did irritated me. When they weren't behaving like reckless idiots, they were being unpleasant bullies who harassed Xi Gu for no good reason. At some point, my annoyance turned into rage, and just seeing the two of them filled me with visceral hatred.

I wasn't convinced by Hao Ting's sudden transition from bullying Xi Gu to developing romantic feelings for him. It didn't make sense how his character could go from one extreme ("I HATE YOU! 😡") to another ("NO, I ACTUALLY LOVE YOU! 😍") so fast. He was way too over-the-top in his pursuit of Xi Gu, who clearly wanted nothing to do with his bully. Their romance was poorly written, terribly paced, and marred by unrealistic characterization.

The other romance felt as annoying as it was problematic. Bo Xiang was so self-centered, turning a schoolboy crush into an unhealthy and uncomfortable obsession. His juvenile behaviour highlighted the sizable age difference between him and Zhi Gang. One of them was a mature adult, while the other was still a high school student who behaved like a kid. These two characters were in completely different stages of their lives and they weren't a good match for each other.

The second half of this drama did feel more coherent. Not that there was a significant improvement in the writing quality, but at least the plots moved forward once the couples got together. We explored deeper into Hao Ting’s family dynamics, which opened up new storylines. Both Hao Ting and Bo Xiang also got less annoying once they settled down in their relationships, so I guess that's considered character development?

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count has a controversial ending that made a lot of fans upset. However, I'm actually not that offended by the way it ended. Maybe it's because my expectations were already so low, and I couldn’t be disappointed any further. Overall, this wasn’t the strongest or the weakest installment in the HIStory franchise. I find the series very mediocre as a whole.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count Episodes

Episode Guide

This drama has a total of 20 episodes. Each episode is around 22 minutes long. The last episode is around 33 minutes long. This is a long BL drama, and you can finish the entire series in approximately 7 hours.

Episode 1 & 2

★★☆☆

Episode 3 & 4

★★★☆

Episode 5 & 6

★☆☆☆

Episode 7 & 8

★★☆☆

Episode 9 & 10

★☆☆☆

Episode 11 & 12

★★☆☆

Episode 13 & 14

★★☆☆

Episode 15 & 16

★★☆☆

Episode 17 & 18

★★☆☆

Episode 19 & 20

★★☆☆

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count Information

  1. I don't feel that XI Gu had any romantic feelings for Hao Ting. Perhaps, he was straight, I don't know. However, he should not have led Hao on if he had no romantic feelings toward him. They never had a sexual relationship which Hao Ting wanted. I guess towards the end Hao Ting finally gave up because Xi Gu rejected him and pushed him away. He seemed deeply hurt. I felt badly for Hao Ting because it seemed as though he truly loved XI Gu. However, in the end, it didn't matter anyway because of the accident. All in all, I did like the drama. Perhaps because of Wayne Song. He is an awesome actor and very good looking.

  2. Not satisfied by this review, it’s one of the best acted series with a great story . They all did amazing job!

  3. It is a brilliant and stellar work of cinematic beauty that I shall remember for a long time. It is a profoundly moving and deeply spiritual series, along with being one of the best acted BL series in a very long time.

  4. I quite liked it though I share your sentiments about the quick change of heart, felt the love story wasn't developed enough. The ending bored me to hell though, I actually spoilered myself cos I searched the series on tiktok before I finished it so it was even worse cos I knew it was coming.

  5. It confused me how Xi Gu developed feelings for Hao Ting that fast. It was a littlebit lackluster writing but overall I enjoyed the story. It was actually also realistic that they didn't acted overly romantic all the time because of their personalities. Xi Gu was more reserved and introvert that Hao Ting who was sometimes over the top. The acting was actually good. The second couple bothered me more because of the age gap. Why would a grown adult start a relationship with a minor high school student? I am not a fan of age gaps in general. The ending was also not far from reality because a lot of people have sad stories and that was theirs. All in all your rating was ok.

  6. Just having seen the series, I agree with a lot of points made (in the negative). However, I was really blown away the acting of the main character Hao Ting, particularly in the second half. In terms of acting alone, my impression as a viewer, was that he lived in that character. He really left a strong emotional impression on me. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Xi Gu, and the interaction between the two main actors. Imperfect as the series may have been in some ways, it impacted this viewer in a way that many other BL’s do not.

  7. Thanks for another excellent review, BLW. Make Our Days Count is the only installment of the History franchise I've watched so far. Although the series has many problems, its virtues outweigh its vices. Overall, I found the series enjoyable, even memorable. Sure, I was enraged by Hao Ting's bullying (and incredulous toward his rapid conversion) but karma collected heavily on the debt, leaving nothing but sympathy for him in the end. What I enjoyed most was the inversion of tropes. Couple 1: the skeletal nerd is pursued by the muscular jock. Couple 2: the older guy is pursued by the younger guy. It's not what we've come to expect from BL, but it's refreshing, particularly for us old, skeletal nerds whose demographic I dutifully represent.

  8. for me this movie is actually so heartbreaking……
    just so heartbreaking……
    but to give this movie a C should be a crime…

    the acting for me is not just good but so so so so so good…
    yess the story line at the end is not perfect at all but however the love is real….

    I understand that you cannot stand Red Flags behavior but that's what make this movie so realistic because human mostly is Red Flag dear… I also do not like Bully because I myself was a victimize over bullying …. I know how it feels like…

    But to hate on this movie??????
    Xi Gu deserve B+ for this and thats for period

  9. Honestly I really really love this series so much that I watched it for over and over again. I hope after my review you can change yours (REVIEW maybe you can give them B or B+ but not C)

    Make Our Days Count is not just a BL but more like a Drama Series..
    And this story actually based on True Story that happened between two High School students who fell in love but one of them ending up dead just after they got their parents permission

    I know the Fact that there so many Red Flag sign in this movie made this movie so hard to swallow and to watch. But it made this movie so real and so realistic.

    I might not as expert as you in BL Movie but I watch over 40 BL movies and there some who can actually drove me into tears and only one who able to broke my hearth even until this very moment and that is Make Our Days Count.

    The essence of the Movie is about cherishing your days everyday because we never know what might happen in the future.
    The fact that Ahao never loved a man before actually made this movie even more heartbreaking and he even admitted that its more than just acting anymore. He said at the last two episode when he looked and the box fill with XiGu memories his mother was not supposed to be crying on the scene but she did cry this is all because the series was more than just a movie for all of them. One of the reason why this movie seems too real for me is because of the acting from the whole cast. They really into their character it was not too much it just so on point.

    There are some part that will always be "questionable" for me example like, XiaDe. He was actually always always paid attention to XiGu at one point I thought he was going to persuade him or maybe express his feeling that he actually loved him. I mean XiaDe even knew XiGu favorite food (Carrot) he also pissed when HaoThing openly courting XiGu for the first time. I was like what was this all about??? But damn even until the end of the movie XiaDe didn't make any effort. So this left a BIG Question inside my head even until today.

    And they decided to revealed this relationship to Ahao parents while they were kissing on the couch inside the living room. I can understand that this is just too much for a movie. But however this movie is based on a true story so its only logic if the screen writer wanted this part as the "come out" part.

    One of the scene that made me so in love with this movie is how XiGu progress from a straight face guy to a very cute loving and likeable guy. And how XiGu had the ability to change Ahao rebellion personality into a soft heart man this is actually the best of the best.

    The same with Ahao parents reaction especially his dad. I mean that was a very very natural reaction for parents who still find same gender relationship is in fact taboo. So it was actually so on point But however they made it and Ahao enter TOP 5 National University at Taiwan. So there are so many so many plus point in this movie.

    C really is too low for this movie for me. And they Add second relationship which actually so cute for me.
    If you really can change your Review for this movie it will add the positive side of this movie don't you think so.

    So please think about it again if you need to watch the whole crew interview when they watched the last 2 episode together you should do it. There you can see how meaningful this movie for them because of the essence of the movie.

    For a head up Ahao was so so sad trough out the whole interview. He could not answer for a long time and always gave a very short answer. There you can see a whole new POV n understand this movie better.

    I think that's all for me I hope you can reconsider this review.
    Thanks for this site it help me a lot to find lots of BL movies..

  10. I personally loved this series overall, it had me stitches and in tears. One of my favourites.
    I also love your site and your reviews and it's okay for all of us to have our own opinions. Keep up your hard work✌🏻

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