Ackery

Yes it's quite sad. In this case I see he cab redeem himself though. I hope that's the case.

I agree about the mom. I get where she's coming from but at the same time I can't justify her actions. Same with Pei Zhen. I understand why he's acting like that, but that doesn't justify his wrongs.

I truly hope so (let me add I want his dad in jail).

I watched that one too recently! Yeap that one was pretty dark when it comes to the ML.

Yes exactly

I truly hope so.

Yeap exactly. Plus every person is different, has a different idiosyncrasy and lives in a different environment. All these are very important to stand up to your own feet and of course the way that a person was raised. It's interesting to compare the two main leads even the female lead in those aspects. It shows how families play an extremely important role in one's life.

I'm sorry you went through that. Hope u are okay now.

I hope he redeems himself and his father ends up in jail 🤞

Hope In a good way 😂

I agree and I have answered a similar post of your own above if you want to read it.

Both male leads need therapy for different reasons and this post is about her relationship with Pei Zhen not her son. I'd curse her the same there if it was about him cause she's a horrible mother and whoever just turns a blind eye to abuse is a terrible person in general, doesn't have to do with being a parent in my book.

Thank u!

I agree and honestly same with the ML. They both need some serious therapy. SML for the abuse and First ML cause he has PTSD.

I expect her to be a decent human being. Yet she's there like decor. This post is about the second male lead and their relationship, if it was about the first male lead I'd curse her the same for similar reasons. Some people are just not meant to be parents and she's one of them.

Yeah she has no free will of her own. However she seemed to have a good relationship with her first husband and with her son before he died, so I think she just ended up worse after her new marriage. I get it, her husband killed himself and left her all alone, but I don't justify it especially since there is abuse and I can't fathom how someone can turn a blind eye to it being her son or not.

If you don't like Pei Zhen don't read. This is a character analysis for him.

I really really like Pei Zhen. Now, do I want him to end up with the FL? No. I think she's a great couple with Zhi Yu, but I'd definitely want Pei Zhen to find someone that truly loves him and will make him open up.

I feel for his character quite a lot. I can't deny that his behaviour can't be condoned and he did many wrong things, but I can't hate him nor I think he is a "villain". His character is so well written I can't help but feel for him.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS
From what we have seen until episode 21, Pei Zhen is just a hurt person that has received no love from anyone and he has no one that truly cares about him in his life. Yes, that is partly his "fault", cause he can't open up and he has created this whole "I am above everyone" persona to make himself feel enough and better, but he's an abused person and it's typical for that to happen, but I am gonna get on that later.

For me Pei Zhen found the FL interesting and was attracted to her from one point forward, but the moment he truly fell for her for me was after the "band-aid" scene. FL was the first one that immediately acted and didn't just ignore what she saw or walked away. It was also the firs time we saw him feeling ashamed, turning his back on her thinking she will just walk away.
Like he said, "That band-aid meant more than that one yuan for me". Hu Xiu is that one bright person that you rarely find in real life that is just there for you no matter what and she never judges nor makes you feel inferior. And he never had that in his life. His father is abusive, his "mother" is absent and he has no friends or relationships outside work, which gets me to my other point.

His father is abusive. It was evident from the get go but I just chose to ignore it. All scenes he has with his father, you can see he's just a scared kid. From that first moment he went back home and saw him standing there, he froze. And now it was implied, and thankfully not shown, that he beat him with a golf club. I hate his guts as you can understand.

I know many people are unable to comprehend how abuse shapes ones character and how difficult it is to get away from your abuser. I won't try to convince anyone, but it is a theme that upsets me greatly and I just wanted to talk about it.

Pei Zhen was probably abused as a kid too and it is obvious that he always wanted to be the best and climb higher than everyone else. I don't think he truly feels superior. I think he wants to feel superior, cause anything else would break him and that is obvious from the fact that he never shows emotions.

His father is a bastard, but in this episode I also hated his "mom". No, a simple "Have you eaten?" and "How are you today?" is not enough to show love and care. She's just another pawn of his father that has no will of her own.
I am sorry I simply cannot look away in this episode. She tried making a heart to heart conversation in the last episode and I am glad she did, but where was she all this time?
Taking into consideration this is probably happening for years, where was she?

Now, he hasn't eaten with the family for ages and she's asking her husband where he is knowing full well of their relationship. How about checking on him? That didn't cross her mind?

I mean how is anyone expecting from him to open up when no one tried to truly approach him and pay attention to what is going on all this time?
He has been abused for who knows how long. Abused people can't open up to others easily and in this case it is easy to see he is also feeling vulnerable when he does, losing control.
He's all alone. He was raised by a monster, in the same house with a "mother" that didn't understand her husband beats him and that for me shows how much of an absent character she is and how much she's scared to be involved.

I hate people like her more than the actual abusers and it's mindblowing to think how many real life cases like those exists. Mothers that look away, that didn't know that they "children" were abused for years.

She did that heart to heart convo about Hu Xiu with him, but she didn't dare to speak up when they were having dinner as she should have and when it would matter the most. I understand where she's coming from, but again, like with PZ, I won't justify her actions.
The fact that she's married to a man that said in front of her that he won't allow his son to get with HX cause of her background, shows us how much he loves his wife that he probably married cause it was advantageous for him too...
He shows that carrying image to her, but when it comes to his son, he either beats him or just never praises him.

I am not sure how Pei Zhen will act and what he will do and I can't justify his actions, but that scene where he just sat in this bedroom floor after his dad beat him, holding that scarf broke me. I just truly hope he finds someone that will be there for him, cause he has love to give and he just needs to receive acceptance from someone. HX is like his lifeline at this point and I am not sure what will happen when he finds out she's with his brother.

If I catch Pei Zhen's father, he's not gonna live to see another day

Yeap exactly. Love how the female characters are written in general. They feel like real people with flaws. They are kind and understand others, but at the same time they are not perfect.

Same...
People like her are rare to find. I'm wondering what will happen when she meets the mom cause she doesn't know about her and her son and she just thinks Pei Zhen likes her 😮‍💨

When 😔🥺😮‍💨

Again I'm not disagreeing. I'm just saying that some questions during the day can't create a strong emotional connection between people. Just because a mom asks her kid if he's eaten and if he's okay, doesn't mean the kid is feeling comfortable to share his difficulties and thoughts with her. There's still distance between them.

It's like the typical "how are you doing" we are asking people and they always say "fine" no matter what they are truly feeling and we don't bother to look further. Only the conversation in the car was more of a heart to heart conversation, but again their family dynamic clearly shows who's in charge, cause she said nothing during the dinner when she most had to talk.

His dad has the upper hand in everything that happens inside the house and I'm sure he doesn't even care that much about her. He feels like a soldier raised by his father.
They were still children when the family dynamic changed. If their relationship didn't change then, I doubt it will change fundamentally now that he's probably near 30.

Of course don't get me wrong. They both care about each other, but none is feeling comfortable enough to feel truly vulnerable around the other. Pei Zhen feels like he always wears a facade. He's manipulative and wants everything to go his way. He also has this "I'm above everyone" behavior, but at the same time he looks like a scared child when it has to do with his dad. So when I'm saying I'd like someone to truly care for him, I mean that I'd like someone to truly create a strong emotional connection with him so he can open up.

Even coming close to Hu Xiu was to achieve his own goals. I feel like the first time we saw the truly real and vulnerable him was when his dad hit him and he was ashamed to face Hu Xiu. That care she showed after he felt humiliated felt much more important that anything we've seen of him and any interactions he has had with anyone. Because she acted immediately. She didn't ignore it or turned a blind eye.

I can't disagree with this, but there is still distance. She even looks like she feels awkward around him and how he perceives her at times which is understandable, but at the same time there is not that pure emotional attachment between them and he is not feeling comfortable being vulnerable around her. They are both his fathers tools after all.

Yeap exactly. But I'm talking about his relationship with Hu Xiu. His fame and life work could get destroyed, but I hope Hu Xiu sees that what happened then wasn't his fault, cause he was just a child.

He found out recently and he obviously doesn't want the company to get destroyed. He also knows that he will take the fall if sth comes up, but when they first implied what was happening I thought he knew but in reality he didn't.

I feel the same, but I hope and also feel that angst won't last for long, especially since the ML wasn't really involved and they seem to communicate like adults in the entire series.

Yeap, but it's obvious there's also distance between them, same with her actual son.

I hope so 🤞

I honestly truly want him to be redeemed and also find someone that cares for him (which won't happen but I'm still hoping)

I'm wondering what he'll do. He can easily go "evil" but at the same time I'm not 100% sure cause it seems he doesn't like how his dad acts.

"I'll introduce you properly next time there's a chance" -> And that will go so well, I'm sure 😂😂😂

I love how domestic they are.

I also loved how Pei Zhen became vulnerable in front of her. I know most hate him but I genuinely would like him to find someone to show him some actual love and care, plus I appreciate all the jealousy scenes he creates cause Zhi Yus reactions are comedy gold.

Hu Xiu being 😙 all episode 🤣🤣🤣
She's so cute!

He made it so she couldn't say no 🙃