I'm going to be honest, the only reason I watched this was because Zhang YuJian was in it and haven't actually watched the first season. Though I had no previous knowledge of the drama because I haven't watched the first season, I was still able to follow along. I read a lot of reviews saying the cast changed and became a whole new drama which may be why.
So I would say that this drama would be great even to those who haven't watched the first season!

This drama is probably one of the top Chinese dramas I've watched. Overall, it's a very satisfying drama to watch, it doesn't really include any confusing scenes nor does it have any characters that annoy the hell out of you.

Highly recommend!