Before he’s anything else, Luke is a dog — a fluffy white Samoyed with a serious name problem and an undeniable talent for being ridiculously cute. At this point, C-drama fans are convinced he’s a paid actor.

He shares it with the leading man himself, Luan Nian (Jing Boran), who goes by “Luke” at work. So when Shang Zhi Tao/Flora (Sun Qian) brings home a Samoyed puppy and, half-teasingly, names him Luke too, she basically doubles the men in her life named Luke overnight. Cue the confusion — and the charm.

What The Early Spring is about (Dog Included)

Flora is new to Beijing when she meets Luan Nian, a brilliant but guarded creative genius. She’s bold, open-hearted, and determined — and slowly she chips away at the walls he’s built around his heart. Their romance is intense and messy, full of breakups and reunions as they try to balance love with ambition in the city. And somewhere in the middle of it all is Luke the dog, quietly stealing scenes.

Luke’s real job in the story

Luke isn’t just comic relief for sharing his owner’s name — he’s practically a supporting character in the romance itself. When Flora and Luan Nian split up, it’s Luke who keeps them connected. The dog becomes their built-in excuse to keep crossing paths, walking, feeding, and co-parenting their way back toward each other without either of them having to say it outright. He’s the reason they can’t fully let go.

Luke delivers the proposal

Fittingly, it’s Luke who gets the biggest moment in the finale. At the “Museum of Time and Eternity,” Luan Nian proposes to Flora with a necklace featuring the “L” key from his old typewriter — the same key Flora once knocked loose during their very first meeting. As he declares his love in front of family and friends, it’s Luke the dog trotting along as the messenger of the moment, tying the whole love story back to where it started: with a shared name and a very good boy.