Chim Yen Nho

I recently just found out about this drama because it had similar themes to the Journey of Flower which I loved and also starred Ma Ke. And like you, I’m in the minority of shipping Shifu and Yeyin. I understand why people want YaLong because he had the chance to woo her and express his feelings for her and she knows where she stands with him. He’s so devoted to her and his devotion didn’t waver even after thousands of years. But the same could be said for Shifu. He may have started out as a manipulative and obsessive deity but at the core you can see the love he has for Yeyin. And his love held on through all his reincarnations into the modern world. Throughout Yeyin’s childhood, Yeyin was never aware Shifu loves her because he never lets her see it, because he wasn’t ALLOWED to show her due to his punishement . He even asked the question for us, what could be the biggest torture, knowing that you love someone but can never tell them? And thus it’s because of this that Yeyin was never given the chance to see her Shifu as anything but a fatherly and respected figure in her life. Her first exposure to romance was through YaLong and it makes sense that she became infatuated with him even if her loyalty belong to Shifu.
I was upset with the ending because it’s true that while Shifu stayed in her life longer, he never got to be anything more than her Shifu. The drama didn’t give us the time and chance to see anything possible developed between them and his first ‘I love you’ to her was literally spoken in the same breath as his ‘goodbye’ . Indeed I was very upset. If season 3/4 is really happening I do hope they will allow Shifu and Yeyin a chance to blossom romantically (I’m aware she ended up with YaLong in the novel (?) ).
But I have to really give my hats off to Fu Xin Bo. I’ve never seen or heard of the guy until this drama and I gotta say he swept me away amidst the laughable cgi. The only ones ever to do this was Wallace Huo in TJOF and Hawick Lau in Sealed with a Kiss. Fu Xin Bo was so amazing at expressing the subtle nuances of emotions in his roles that it literally hurt me to see him hurt. The longing way he stared at Yeyin killed me everytime and his unspoken emotional torture crushed me when I (and he) realized that the person Yeyin might’ve truly loved was YaLong.
Sorry for the long reply, I hadn’t realized how long it was until I reread it lol. And to once again reiterate your wish, I also hope if the sequels happen, make Shifu and Yeyin happen too.