CasualCDfan

Here’s the key difference between ZY and PZ: ZY didn’t rubbed his relationship with HX in PZ’s face when he had the opportunity . He simply put her feelings first and showed restraint.

If the roles were reversed, PZ would have absolutely flaunted the fact that he was dating HX just to provoke and hurt ZY.

SML may not be outright evil (we’ll see if he uses ZY’s real identity to sabotage things) but he’s undeniably petty and small-minded. The irony is that his looks and status make him hugely appealing to many women. What’s unsettling is that, in real life, someone like PZ would probably attract even more interest than ZY.

They implied that HX was leading Pei on. HX did the exact opposite. She set boundaries and kept their interactions professional.

People who cheer for this type of SML in dramas need to be on medication

you sound dumb

HX is absolutely adorable. I'm glad she confronted the ZY about his feelings. Now that they're happy, we wait for the other shoe to drop. ZY's past is about to catch up with them. And that clown PZ thinks he has a shot lmao

"If he loved her and his state of mind was the problem that day, he could express that to her the next day."

True, but men aren't the best at expressing their feelings. He was never going to tell her what was wrong. But you're right, due to the lack of communication, she was right to assume that the rejection was just a rejection on its face. But then again, I feel like she should've picked up more on his psychological state, given how he acted during the dinner and what she knows about his family relationship. I hope the writers don't make her totally oblivious.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying people usually don't need big reasons to fall in love. They just do.

Yes, his jealous is unnecassy. It's just lazy writing to satisfy the audience. And she did misread the situation. We, the audience, know this for a fact.

I agreed he should've been straight with her. But it doesn't take a medium to see that the ML was not in his right mind during the New Year's Eve dinner. Instead, she misread the situation and went for a kiss. That's on her

"she does everything for him, fulfils all his emotional needs, cooks for him, cleans, serves him. That's not really love it's just convenient to have someone like that around."

Love is usually like that. You do a lot for the other person while not expecting much in return.

"The ML is repeatedly getting jealous for no reason at all, cause Hu Xiu doesn't like Pei Zhen and he knows Pei Zhen is acting like that to get on his nerves. Pei Zhen can't even be considered a typical second male lead, cause FL doesn't like him and he doesn't like her. "

Every drama of this genre needs an obligatory jealously arc no matter how unnecessary it may be. It's lazy writing. I wish they spent more time on the ML dealing with his trauma instead of wasting scenes on these jealously bits.

No, she didn’t handle everything well. If she had, she’d be the worst kind of character: one without flaws. She badly misread him at the New Year’s gathering and went in for an ill-timed kiss. And no, I’m not saying she should babysit him either, that’s a straw man. What would be meaningful character development is her recognizing that she misread him and trying to understand him more.

That said, I agree he also bears responsibility. Afterward, he should have communicated instead of distancing himself. My point is that they both made missteps. She acted boldly and was rejected because she misunderstood the person she was with. He, in turn, should have told her something was wrong (even without going into details) rather than leaving her to wonder what she’d done wrong. They both need to come around because they both committed missteps. Good writers understand that they're dealing with flawed characters.

It's like they have to do the cliche jealousy trope.

I get it, the jealousy arc is a staple in these dramas. But many are so cliché and really don't add anything other than angst. In this drama, the ML doesn't need to be made jealous (although he's overthinking); he needs someone to support him as he confronts his sad past. I also hate the fact that the writer will NOT address the fact that the FL misread the ML's feelings on New Year'sday. They frame the rejection as entirely his fault.

ml actually did the right thing. The fl misread the situation. I’m not sure what her freedom has to do with anything

You’ve described her character flaw perfectly. I hope that she’ll realize that she misread him. Because realistically a guy will not share certain feelings with his significant other unless he’s probed.

I hope she takes the first step in reaching out to him. I hate how clueless they made her regarding his feelings.

So they finally get together in episode 19? I might fastfoward through episode 17 - 18. I have zero patience for jealousy/misunderstanding/miscommunication arcs.

Yeah, I think more context is coming. lol

The knee-jerk reaction is to blame ZY for breaking HX's heart. But HX is at fault.

She misread the whole situation at the New Year's gathering. ZY clearly had a lot on his mind. He didn't even want to stay over. At dinner, he was distant and emotionless. She should have tried to find out what was wrong. If he didn't want to share, she should've just given him space or stayed by his side. Instead, she went for a poorly timed kiss.

Harsh as it was, ZY did the right thing by turning away. He wasn't in the mindset to accept that kiss. However, in true dramatic style, both sides engage in terrible communication.

Now time to fast-forward through the next 2 episodes. I have zero patience for the upcoming jealousy/miscommunication/misunderstanding arc. It seems like things will get back on track for our main couple in episode 19.