Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 MTH123:

Exactly! I keep thinking it's almost a crime to hurt us this much. (It's so not the Golden Rule?) For me, it's mostly all the crying. Having said that, I've never enjoyed crying this much, while also eagerly wanting to read more... and cry more, lol.

So, okay, the ending for XY isn't tragic. But, can Tong Hua agree that there's plenty of tragedy along the way?

Hey MTH！

I'm... confused. I thought you were a Jinger. Aren't you? LOL even if you are, that's not a problem, it's just that I could swear that I've seen your cute heart profile pic on the main comment section, but you were talking about Jing. I think. I don't know anymore. 😹

It's either that, or I really am losing my mind. I wouldn't be surprised, tho. I'm really going mad.

 MTH123:

You don't need to borrow them. I'll supply you with a lifetime supply of them!!

 nathsketch:

Hey MTH！

I'm... confused. I thought you were a Jinger. Aren't you? LOL even if you are, that's not a problem, it's just that I could swear that I've seen your cute heart profile pic on the main comment section, but you were talking about Jing. I think. I don't know anymore. 😹

It's either that, or I really am losing my mind. I wouldn't be surprised, tho. I'm really going mad.

Hey nathsketch!

You aren't losing your mind or going mad! You're right to be confused about me!

I came here because of liddi. I was looking for her translations of the alleged leaked script. I skimmed through the entire thread. It’s an awesome thread and all the great discussion in it has altered my view! I explain how my view altered on page 166 of this thread. I imagine that I’m not the only one whose eyes have been opened up.

I had to get out of my own paradigm and into Tong Hua’s. She purposely placed three great love rivals in front of us! I said this from the beginning and was never against any of them, although I didn’t take CX or XL as seriously as I did TSJ, because I already knew XY would end up with TSJ. I still believe XY would have been happy with any of them, if she let her heart go there fully. Wouldn’t we all love to have three great options at the same time?

But, am I a 100% convert? I’m pretty sure I already am. Give me a little more time to let it fully marinate. But, again, I still believe XY will be happy with TSJ too. But, XL… a lifetime of XL… wow…

 nathsketch:

No, come on, let me hug you. You deserve SO MANY hugs.

BIG HUG! I think I already told you in the main comment section that you're a sweetheart! BIG HUG!

I arrive JUST in time, for the HUGS!!

So much to catch up with and I was already behind.  But I love it!  Will hopefully catch up tonight.  Or tomorrow.  Love seeing all the discussion.

 Kokuto:

I arrive JUST in time, for the HUGS!!

So much to catch up with and I was already behind.  But I love it!  Will hopefully catch up tonight.  Or tomorrow.  Love seeing all the discussion.

Kokuto, I saved some hugs for you too, so don't think you can escape!!

 liddi:

Once Promised is a tragedy, but Lost You Forever is not considered as one. All the characters in Lost You Forever found their proper place in life, so to me, Lost You Forever is not a tragic story.

Not a tragic story? It was tragic to me. I wouldn't have cried my eyes out if it wasn't. I can't move on from it.

 AH :

Since XL had to feel everything that XY felt in the chapters that dealt with her heartbreak after breaking up with TSJ, I felt like her pain probably factored into his determination to keep XY in the dark about many of the things he did for her and to erase the memories of him that she saved in her gorilla spirit mirror. 

@blimarch Tagging you too as I am only slowly now backtracking the thread and MDL does not allow me to quote multiple comments from different pages in the same post.

Agreed.  Knowing the state of the lover's bug, he is aware how she feels for him. And he would spare her or at least alleviate that pain by forcibly making her hate him, and cutting all traces of himself from her life. 

I think I expressed myself poorly earlier on when I said "My take is that he expected that after all the apparent cruelty he showed her, especially the last time she saw him, there would be no love left for him in her, only hatred." What I really meant to say was that he expected her to hate him, without any more lingering tenderness or hope on her part.  Remember what she once said to Cang Xuan, that by not holding out any hope, there is no disappointment. And once he forcibly destroyed the bugs, he in effect sets her free to be able to totally cut him out of her life without any risk of repercussions from the bug. What he perhaps did not factor in his meticulously crafted plans, was that in spite of everything he did, everything he made Xiao Yao believe about him, that deeply buried place that he held in her heart still remained unchanged, and it still failed to protect her from being shattered by his death.

 HeadInTheClouds:

What one person sees as pointless, another may sees as absolutely meaningful. I don't XL as suicidal and looking for death, it just happened to be the outcome for the choice that he made in standing with the resistance army till the end.  His comment about how as long as there are beautiful sights to look at, life is worth living tells you that he's someone who appreciate life. 

I concur. We see this during their first date under the moonlight, his words an encouragement to her to cherish life; and we see it again in Tong Hua's descriptions of her times with Fangfeng Bei:

In the past two years, the two of them accompanied each other to explore every nook and cranny of Xuan Yuan city. He would sometimes disappear, then sometimes appear, carefree and spontaneous. Xiao Yao felt that they could continue playing together for an eternity because they were too similar. They cared for nothing, were willing to try anything, interested in all things, and everything could make them smile. They appreciated all that was beautiful but wanted to own none of it. Their lives were at the juncture of light and darkness. If they chose to face the light, behind them were thousands of miles of desolation. If they chose to face the darkness, behind them was the glittering splendour of the world. But even if they faced the light, they were still stepped in darkness. It was not that they could not understand what it was to be in pure light, but they could never forget all the pain they experienced before, the pain that followed them like a shadow. They were strong, independent, indifferent, so no matter what they encountered, they could go on living well.

That was the real Xiang Liu, unfettered by responsibilities and bonds of gratitude, so similar with Xiao Yao. The only difference is that he made his pledge long ago to stand by the Shen Nong resistance army, and once he gave his word, he would never renege on it.