Ackery

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 🙃

I hope there's not much angst (even though I love angst 😂)

I hope so. Most modern dramas don't need more episodes.

I get wanting that and it's completely acceptable. If they wrote the husband's character differently and gave him positive character development like you said, it would be nice to see sth like that.

But with the way he was written and their story, I couldn't really see this ending any other way.

And I honestly don't hate the way their relationship is in the series and it did feel "fresh" for me.
He was portrayed as a person who loved her as we saw in the flashbacks and then became totally unresponsive way too early, sth that is also very close to reality and happens to many couples. I like how they didn't make him the typical cheater, but a person that is unable to say no and understand what is truly important.

What ruined his marriage was his inability to communicate with her and the fact that he was basically absent in his own marriage. Plus I don't see someone forgetting an anniversary after only two years and treating someone they love like that. Love was not there anymore, which is sad, but also didn't really feel like a usual trope if that makes sense.

HX is a person that understands others in general and she's caring, sth that is evident by everything she does and her relationship with her friend. She doesn't judge when she knows it's not her place to do so.

PZ saw that as care cause he doesn't seem to ever had someone that truly cared for him. His dad is an asshole, he has no friends from what we've seen, so any source of care feels like a big thing to him.

I like that about the FL too. She feels like a real person with vulnerabilities. I don't think angst will last for long.

That's definitely the direction they are going. I personally wouldn't like to see any type of resilience cause it's not a marriage that is worth to keep.

He was emotionally unavailable and he kept things for her way too many times. Even after they talked, he still made the same mistakes and she was the only one getting hurt. I'm glad she got away from him, cause that wasn't love no matter how much he wanted to think so.She deserves better. I don't care if that will come with GH or with the power within herself, but a husband that doesn't bat an eye when his wife is hit can go straight to garbage.

I think it was also a way to not involve her with the family since he seem to hate that man.

🤞🤞🤞

It's going very well so far and with only 9 eps left and many things to happen I doubt it will go downhill, unless they go with a huge time skip

I'm glad Pei Zhen talked about the company to his dad. I'm wondering how this while thing will get fixed.

I was also waiting for Zhi Yu to announce his relationship. That would be comedy gold, but at the same time I get why he didn't