Introduction
Speed and Love is thrilling, not only because of the high-stakes action of underground boxing and street racing, but mainly the “brother-sister” bond (though adopted, not blood-related) turning into romantic love, creating high emotional stakes and “taboo” romance. The narrative breaks the barriers by overcoming societal perceptions and personal fears to pursue a genuine connection, even if unconventional.
I decided to write a highlight article for Speed and Love after I realized that it’s only 29 episodes. Yes, it’s short for a Chinese drama watcher who is used to 30-40 episodes, lol! Moreover, the story itself it’s pretty much simple. Basically, the drama centers on a Female Lead, who tries to pull the Male Lead out of a dangerous life of underground boxing and illegal street racing in Thailand and bring him back to a normal life and family in their homeland, China. The plot doesn’t need dissecting secrets like in mystery dramas or describing strange names like in fantasy series, which renders a recap that is usually more informative and detailed for clarification.
Therefore, a highlight article it is. I wrote this to create memorable moments for those who have already watched the drama. Also, to hook the readers who haven’t watched it yet! Here we go!
Drama Info
Drama title: Speed and Love (Native title: 双轨)
Alternative title: Shuang Gui, Double Track
Genres: Action, Romance
Aired: 12 Dec, 2025 - 22 Dec, 2025
Episodes: 29 | Duration: 45 min.
Directors: Yu Zhong Zhong (于中中), Ma Ming (马鸣), and Xu Lin Leng (徐棱棱)
Screenwriter: Zhao Xiao Lei (赵晓磊)
Adapted from the web novel "Shuang Gui" (双轨) by Shi Jiu Yuan (时玖远).
Where to read the English translation novel: ReadtheDrama
Where to watch: iQiyi and Viki
OST: Full album (fansub)
Trailer
Synopsis
When she was a child, Jiang Mu lived a charmed life in the shadow of her loving and gifted older brother Jin Zhao. But when she was just nine years old, their young lives fell apart. Her parents divorced, with Jin Zhao and their father moving away to Thailand. A decade later, Jiang Mu learns that the brother she once loved was actually adopted. Jiang Mu decides to continue her studies abroad in Thailand as she tries to reconnect with her father and Jin Zhao. To her utter surprise, Jin Zhao’s life has gone off in a very different direction: he is now a streetwise racing driver who also doubles as an underground martial arts fighter. Jiang Mu is a complete outsider in this strange, high-octane world. But her desire to reconcile with Jin Zhao burns bright, leaving her undeterred.
Could the love they once shared reignite – and even transform into lasting romance? (Source: Viki)
Characters
Relationship Chart
Main Characters
Esther Yu/Yu Shu Xin (虞书欣) as Jiang Mu
He Yu (何与) as Jin Zhao
Supporting Characters
San Lai (Fei Qi Ming)
Lin Luo (Mike Angelo)
Wan Qing / “Snakey” (Sun Mei Lin)
Na Na (Li Ao)
Jin Feng Zi (Guan Zi Jing)
He Zhang (Casper)
My Rating
My rating for this drama was based on MyDramaList’s scoring system, which is from 0.0 to 10.0. For any drama/movie/show I completed, I gave a minimum rating of 6.0 to appreciate the hard work of the production team, and to adjust to MyDramaList’s overall score base. From 6.0, this drama has additional scores of:
+ 1.0 for exploring a ‘taboo’ topic. The different presentation of their journey, from childhood (sibling relationship), Manshi/Thai subplot (exploding, hot young romance), and 6 years jumps (mature romance).
+ 1.0 for the sizzling chemistry between Esther and He Yu.
+ 1.0 for the unique backdrops of Manshi (Thai shooting location), and racing action choreography.
My final rating is 9.0/10.
Highlight Episodes 1 to 9
Episode 1
Right off the bat, I like Jiang Mu, or nicknamed Mumu, already. Although she has lived a sheltered and pampered life, even after her parents’ divorce, she’s not a spoiled brat. I like her independence and stubborn streak. After finishing high school, she decided to look for her brother in Manshi. This Mumu is interesting for the romance sake, because usually Chinese kids her age are busy studying for gaokao and college entrance exam. Oh, apparently her Mom just got married to a Canadian Chinese guy, Chris, and wanted to take her to Canada for further schooling, so it makes sense.
This Manshi is a fictitious place in China, but the shooting location is actually Bangkok, Thailand. It’s called Manshi, located somewhere near the Chinese southern border, to promote Chinese national culture and avoid sensitive topics with Thailand. Even the Thai nationality supporting actors, like Mike Angelo (ไมค์ แองเจโล่) and Patrick Nattawat Finkler (แพทริค ณัฐวรรธ์ ฟิงค์เลอร์), speak Mandarin fluently.
From her convo with Nana, whom she met during the flight to Manshi, I suspect Mumu has a brother complex (brocon). The way she described Jin Zhao to Nana, without revealing to her that Jin Zhao was her adoptive brother, led Nana to believe Jin Zhao was Mumu’s dream guy, boyfriend material. Of course, when Mumu and Jin Zhao met again, reality check time…
Does he also have a sister complex (siscon), lol? His car keychain is engraved 朝思暮想 (zhāosīmùxiǎng), a Chinese idiom which means “to yearn for something day and night”. His friend San Lai, interprets Jiang Mu’s name 姜暮 also as “yearning day and night.”
I also need to remind you, because this is a Chinese drama, which everything has to be ‘clean’, the non-blood relationship is clarified right in the beginning, during the first 3-4 minutes since the drama starts! Chinese NRTA, the censorship agency, won’t pass any misunderstanding or pretense of incestuous romance.
Jin Zhao is the son of the late best friend of Jin Qiang, Mumu’s father. So naturally, when Mumu’s parents got divorced, Jin Zhao went with Jin Qiang. Mumu’s mother, Jiang Ying Han, changed her daughter’s surname to follow her maiden surname, which is Jiang.
By the end of Episode 1, they went out to eat street food, and some thugs looked for Jin Zhao. He escaped with Mumu, riding his friend’s bike. From Jin Zhao picking up Mumu at the airport to the brawl, everything is so strange and different from what Mumu’s childhood memory of him. Everything has changed. But sitting in proximity behind Jin Zhao, Mumu smelled his familiar body scent and hugged him even tighter. It also felt that nothing had changed…
Mumu found her security blanket, lol!
Episode 2
Oh my God, I won’t like this obsessive chick, Wan Qing. Jin Feng Zi, Jin Zhao’s friend, called her “Snakey”, which seems to fit her character: venomous. She use his adoptive father Jin Qiang as a leverage for Jin Zhao to be with her! It seemed Jin Qiang had a lot of debt to Snakey or her father or her gang, and Jin Zhao paid the debt bit by bit. Is that why he’s involved in underground boxing and street car racing?
Since Jin Zhao was barely home, Mumu created a reason for him to return home by breaking the water heater pipe, lol! Stepmom called him home to fix it. When Jin Zhao was working on the pipe, Mumu was watching him, and her pheromones reacted to his sweaty face, arm, and tummy. Luckily, she already found out that he’s not her biological brother! When asked what she was staring at, with her naive look, she simply answered, “The sun.”
Following Jin Zhao, Jin Feng Zi took Mumu to an underground boxing event, since she lied to Feng Zi that her brother allowed her to attend. The brutality freaked her out! Especially, since Jin Zhao was ordered to fake a loss and be beaten up, so that spectators would raise the bets on him. He was famous by the name “Brandy”.
The underground boxing scene is violent, especially if you’ve never seen it below. It was different from a professional boxing match. As a note, underground boxing differs from professional boxing primarily in its illegality, lack of rules, and extreme danger, operating outside sanctioning bodies with no safety measures, judges, or consistent regulations, often allowing weapons and brutal tactics for high-stakes gambling, contrasting sharply with professional boxing’s structured, regulated, and medically supervised bouts, even though both involve fighters in a ring. Professional boxing emphasizes strategy, endurance, and technical skill over longer rounds, while underground fights prioritize raw violence and survival with fewer limitations.
Episode 3
Now we found out that Jin Qiang used to be a racecar driver and taught little Mumu about cars. She even became her father’s little navigator. I wonder if that caused the divorce between her parents, or Jin Zhao’s father was Jin Qiang’s fellow racer friend who died in a race racecar accident?
Anyway, childhood experience turned out to be useful at this time, since after the illegal boxing, Jin Zhao engaged in illegal street racing, competing with his boxing opponent He Zhang, and another guy Liang Yan Feng (Patrick Nattawat Finkler). Mumu became his navigator and Jin Zhao won the race.
When a fellow racer complained that Jin Zhao brought an outsider to be his navigator, he said that Jiang Mu was not an “outsider” but his girlfriend.
We got to know Jin Zhao and Jin Qiang’s background story after the divorce, and they moved to Manshi. Apparently, the little sister Jin Zin (Jin Qiang and Zhao Meijuan’s child) has congenital heart disease, which made the parents go broke with expensive treatments.
Mumu tried to make sense of Jin Zhao about all the illegal activities he did. She begged him to return home to China with her, to their old house in Nanjing. She even said that he could just write and go to school, while she can make money, and give him a stable life, lol.
Because Mumu texted Mom that she wouldn’t go back to China, Mom and her new husband flew to Manshi to take her daughter back. Mumu refused to go with them to Canada, and even scared Mom that Chris might deceive her. However, Mom already sold their old house in Nanjing, the one Mumu and Jin Zhao grew up and also the one Mumu wants to take Jin Zhao back to.
So, we found out from Mom that every time Jin Zhao called home looking for Mumu, Mom kept discouraging him and warned him not to talk or meet Mumu anymore. Mumu also found out that Jin Zhao read and kept all the letters she wrote to him, and even replied to some of her questions in letters, but never sent her letters.
Now I believe that Jin Zhao might have already developed slight romantic feelings for Mumu before; Mom saw that but disagreed with them being together. Mom revealed to Mumu that she disagreed when her father brought Jin Zhao home and didn’t like his brash attitude. I wonder if Jin Zhao might be one of the reasons Mumu’s parents got divorced?
I like the OST lyrics above that perfectly fit with the scene, because Mumu had written a lot of letters to Jin Zhao, as well as he called her home (“missed chances 1,000 times”), so she would make it a happy ending. “I’d rewrite the ending.”
Episode 4
Hahaha, the Mom is weird. She’s so worried her daughter is associating with the boy she hates, yet she just left her in his hands, or she and Chris will be late for the flight. Unbelieavable!
Their birthdays were even weirder. No, not that they have the same birthdays. It happened that when Jin Qiang brought little Jing Zhao home (and my guess was right, Dad’s friend died in a race car accident), Jing Zhao didn’t know his birthday. So when Mumu was born, Dad just used Mumu’s birthday the same as Jing Zhao’s, so they could celebrate the birthdays together.
What was weird on this birthday was: first of all, Mumu came to visit Jing Zhao at his autoshop at midnight (!), so she could say happy birthday to him. We know that this Manshi place is dangerous for young girls since the airport; there were thugs everywhere. Then, they went to buy a birthday cake, and the bakery was still open after midnight! Then, after eating some skewers and drinking beer, Mumu got a stomachache from her period. So, Jing Zhao went to buy some sanitary pads (and the shopkeeper threw some packs of condoms, muahaha!) super early in the morning, let’s say 2 or 3 in the morning. Amazingly, in Manshi (or Bangkok?), shops and eateries still open past midnight or 24 hours.
Now we know why the word “brother” meant the world to Jing Zhao, especially during the underground boxing match in Episode 2. When Mumu was almost 2 years old, she still couldn’t speak. Mom blamed Jing Zhao and wanted to send him away. That was when, suddenly, Mumu said her first word, which was “brother”.
The whole overnight stay is cute and seductive. No wonder Mumu wants to extend her stay. Mumu, what a tease you are!
Episode 5
Although Jin Zhao forbade Mumu for overnight stays, at least she could hang out at the autoshop during the day. One day, while she was there, a bunch of thugs led by He Zhang, the dude who fought Jin Zhao at the underground boxing match last time, came to harass Jin Zhao’s autoshop. After threatening that the police would come, they left. Mumu got info from San Lai, Jin Zhao’s friend, about the thugs. They are from Wan’s Autoshop, former Jin Zhao’s workplace. After becoming a senior mechanic, he quit because of some issues. Along with him were other mechanics, even customers. Since then, thugs from Wan’s Autoshop have come regularly to harass Speeding Auto Shop (Jin Zhao’s autoshop’s name).
When Mumu was packing up to go back home to Dad’s house, she found the condoms in the shopping bag. I knew since the beginning that this condom thing would be a tool to create misunderstanding, since I watched a drama before with a similar situation. Mumu freaked out, and she avoided Jin Zhao and leaving him confused. San Lai drove her home, and Mumu drilled San Lai about Jin Zhao’s high school days. Did he have a girlfriend? San Lai wasn’t sure because Jin Zhao was a heartthrob in high school; however, he had bought a keychain at the night market a few years back, which he seemed to cherish so much. San Lai suspected that his dream girl was connected to that key chain. Y’know, that key chain from Episode 1.
Episode 6
Mumu has a knack for driving like a race car driver, remembering what her Dad did when she was little and sitting in the back of the car. Her driving, though, scared and amazed San Lai at the same time. Nana enrolled her in a driving school, so Mumu could legally drive.
Mumu told Nana about finding packets of condom in the shopping bag, but afraid to ask Jin Zhao directly. Well, don’t ask advice from your immature friend, cos this Nana advised her to make Jin Zhao jealous by sending a picture of Mumu with a guy. Nana then made her own cousin a victim of this misunderstanding. She took Mumu to her cousin’s birthday. Her cousin is none other than Lin Sui, whom I suspect would be the Second Male Lead in terms of romance. When Lin Sui arrived at his birthday, Nana pushed Mumu towards Lin Sui. Nothing happened, but Nana managed to take a picture of Mumu standing in front of Lin Sui. Mumu then ‘mistakenly’ sent that picture to Jin Zhao, who, in turn, feels jealous and worries, and decides to find Nana.
I told you that Lin Sui became a victim of his own cousin, right? Mumu drank a cocktail, and she suddenly felt dizzy, itchy, and fainted. At the right time that Lin Sui caught her. Lin Sui felt responsible because he was the birthday boy and the host, so he carried Mumu onto a couch. Just at the right time that the angry Jin Zhao arrived. Thinking that Lin Sui spiked Mumu’s drink, right away, he hit Lin Sui, and they were engaged in a fight. Luckily, before someone died or was taken to the police station, Mumu woke up. It turned out, the cocktail had peach in it, and she’s allergic to peach. DUH! But, like Nana said, the fighting scene was quite a show!
Because of the allergy, Jin Zhao took Mumu to the hospital. The doctor not only saw that the patient was having an allergic reaction, but she was also malnourished. So, Mumu had to stay in the ER overnight for observation and IV. San Lai, who visited Mumu, clarified to Jin Zhao that Mumu had probed him whether Jin Zhao had a girlfriend or not. At least someone was wise, Jin Zhao realized that Mumu’s odd behavior earlier might have been caused by a misunderstanding. Jin Zhao then told Mumu that he didn’t have a girlfriend.
Mumu used the doctor’s diagnosis of malnutrition so she could stay with Jin Zhao, stating that Dad kept drinking, Zhao Meijuan was not her mom, and she already had to take care of her own child. Since nobody seemed care about her, Jin Zhao took her back to his autoshop.
Episode 7
Now that she could stay at Jin Zhao’s autoshop, she needed a valid reason to convince Mom for her to stay in Manshi. Since Mumu was supposedly moving to Canada, but she’s weak in languages, a language prep school, that’s it. Nana’s family (conveniently) happens to run a language training school, so Mumu enrolled in that school.
Nana took her home to Speeding Autoshop, but it was locked. At Jin Qiang’s home, it was also locked. Mumu wandered around feeling miserable and found Dad drunk, sleeping next to a pile of trash. She called Zhao Meijuan, but Stepmom was in the countryside with Jin Xin. Since Mumu couldn’t carry the drunken Dad home, she tried to cover him so that he wouldn’t be bitten by mosquitoes. I feel bad for Dad; hopefully, by the end of this drama, he will have a better life.
After sobering up, Mumu coaxed Dad to agree with her staying in Manshi. She then called Mom, and she would take a language training school for 3-4 months as her prep to go to Canada. Dad agreed, so Mom couldn’t say no to Mumu.
Time for love competitors to enter the scene.
Nana took Mumu to Lin Sui’s luxurious garage, as he’s also a race car driver, a rich one. She saw a lot of luxurious cars, including the one used in a movie, so she took pictures. From the surveillance camera, Lin Sui noticed Mumu taking pictures, so he was suspicious that she was a spy from a competitive racing team, and approached Nana intentionally. When Mumu expressed that she knew about the Wankel engine Lin Sui was dying to find (the one driven by Jin Zhao), she got his attention. I guess this Nana is an irresponsible friend or wants to hook Mumu up with her cousin, cos she disappeared. Since Lin Sui wanted to get to know more about Mumu, he offered to take her home. A girl like Mumu, who is not only cute but also knows a lot about cars, even racing cars, is hard to find. No wonder Lin Sui may fall for Mumu later.
Speed and Love is a reunion drama between Mike Angelo and Esther Yu, as they played together as a couple in My Amazing Boyfriend Season 2 (我的奇妙男友2).
Zhao Meijuan saw Mumu being dropped off by a man in a luxurious sports car, so she called Jin Zhao to talk to Mumu. Jin Zhao took Mumu for a long walk and lectured her about boys and relationships. They arrived on a messed-up road with holes and water puddles. He told her to hold his sleeve, but she took his hand instead and said:
Episode 8
This episode is full of absurdity.
Firstly, Snakey showed up at Lightning Autoshop with Jin Fengzi. She was dying to know who the heck Mumu was, in relation to Jin Zhao, of course. The “sister” answer didn’t satisfy her. And I didn’t get why a girl like Snakey could stoop so low as to like a man who doesn’t like her, even if another girl didn’t show up. Nothing wrong with Jin Zhao, of course. But, imo Snakey is not that bad either, despite her obsessiveness. She’s pretty, has a good body, is not stupid, rich, and has backing. If I were her, I would study overseas with my dad’s money, either in business or auto engineering, and dream of taking over my dad’s empire in the future. That eating a meal together scene with Jin Zhao, Mumu, San Lai, Snakey, and Jin Fengzi was super awkward. Snakey openly tried to flirt with Jin Zhao in front of Mumu, and he openly avoided her. When Mumu asked San Lai about Snakey, he assured her that Jin Zhao would never like Snakey because she was the daughter of Wan’s Autoshop owner.
The second absurdity was the fact that the autopart Jin Zhao was looking for was nowhere around, and Snakey told him that her dad bought them all. What age of technology are they in the drama? Can’t he just order it online from China and have it shipped to his place? Or, even if they don’t ship to Manshi, Jin Zhao can drive to a big city nearby to pick it up. There is no way Wan Boss acquired them all; the Chinese manufacturing company would keep producing it.
This episode gave me the smh moment that I forgot they got a golden retriever puppy from San Lai that Mumu called Lightning. When they were kids, Mumu and Jin Zhao had a yellow-colored dog and named them Lightning, too. I believed this pup would be the autoshop mascot, lol. At least, it gave Mumu another excuse to live at the autoshop to take care of a little dog. Since I love dogs, here is the cute pup:
Episode 9
I like San Lai in this episode because he got a major overhaul by Mumu. From a scummy guy with scrungy beard and overgrown hair to a sleek appearance, which Mumu said was like an idol. She advised him to change, because he had been laughed at by Lin Sui. I assumed the drama would pair him with Nana, because they have known each other, and San Lai said he and Nana were “childhood sweethearts” in an earlier episode.
Generally, I like San Lai’s character, because as Jin Zhao’s loyal friend from high school, he was a catalyst for Jin Zhao and Mumu’s relationship. Mumu often asked San Lai about Jin Zhao, and in turn, San Lai told Jin Zhao about Mumu’s inquiries about him. So, that night, Jin Zhao seductively asked Mumu her reason for coming to his autoshop, and if she wanted something happen between them. This intimacy freaked out Mumu. She ran away and didn’t come back to the autoshop for a while, and stayed with Dad and Stepmom. However, Jin Zhao’s sensual question and their closeness bothered Mumu to the point that she had a (wet) dream of kissing Jin Zhao in the swimming pool! Hahaha!
Conclusion
What a nice episode to stop this first part of the highlight article series, and what a nice image to conclude this episode! I love the sunset cinematography of the scene below. Did they kiss? In your dream! Or to be exact, in Mumu’s dream! Let’s see how this pull-and-push going. Will they get together in the second part: Speed and Love: Drama Highlight Episodes 10 to 19?
