Many thought-provoking insights as always! Apart from lack of trust as the reason for keeping the lake bullying…
The word that's used is 怕 pa which does commonly mean "afraid" or "fear" so the translation is fine such as it is.
My own view as described in my blog post is that they're both talking past each other. I don't think she completely understood what he was asking of her. On the one hand he wants her to trust him fully with all her hopes and fears but what she seems to be hearing is that she was in trouble and he wasn't there to protect her which is not wrong but that's not his point. His core grievance is that he's disappointed that she didn't feel that he's important enough in her life to share something as important as this with him. He's upset that she doesn't trust him enough with her deepest secrets while she thinks that he's upset because he wasn't there to rescue her from uncertain death. She didn't think it was a big deal but to him, because she could have died in this event he is absolutely dismayed that he, her fiance, didn't even know such a terrible thing happened. He doesn't just want to be a fiance in name only if you understand what I'm saying. So he thinks that she's deliberately putting some distance between them because she's afraid of him and not treating him like someone who is in love with her fiance.
About time we had a nice juicy murder to solve. But then Zisheng takes a single look around the room and he pretty much knows who's done it. :D No fun.
I must admit to enjoying the revenge fantasy fulfilment a little bit too much. Bad parenting finally gets its just desserts. Zisheng's bite is worse than his bark.
Ok, I got a rant!! I'm rewatching ep 37 and subs are finally available on Viki and because I'm seeing a lot of…
The thing is she doesn't even need to "rely" on him. What she needs to learn to do is to communicate properly with him and come up with a plan that works better than the one she came up with by herself (It was funny mind you). In this case two heads are better than one especially if one of the heads involved borders on genius.
This independence shtick is nonsensical and she's taking it too far. Nobody needs to fight battles on their own if they have people in their corner. It just becomes about ego not about solving an actual problem.
Not only will you have to change the men's trajectories but Niaoniao's as well. Quite radically I would think.…
The point of my earlier response (which I obviously didn't communicate well) is that you can't change the ending or offer an alternative ending by tweaking around the edges. Certainly not without annoying large swathes of the audience. To make Yuan Shen an equal romantic male lead you would have to establish his credentials much earlier on. Now, I haven't read the novel so I have no idea what happens to Yuan Shen in the final phase of this story but his backstory, his relationship with his mentor and his general cynicism about marriage has to be re-written or re-considered. In some ways, he is indecisive and fearful about commitment like his mentor Huangfu Yi. This is why he struggles with his feelings and is slow to act on them. In so doing, the other two guys get a head start while he's just indulging in playground tactics. He's not easy to root for at this point. It's like writing an essay with a very specific thesis only to find that conclusion doesn't commit itself one way or another.
That's why I said that there would have to be a radical shift in his dynamics with Niaoniao starting now not 5 episodes before the finale. Because right now from where I'm looking Niaoniao is also falling really hard for Zisheng and considering their history it feels like she would only be engaged to Yuan Shen under duress. Also, with the way the director frames scenes between Niaoniao and Zisheng makes it clear who the endgame is.
This is why I didn't root for A'Yao to be with Niaoniao despite the fact that he was a "nice guy" because there are things within the writing (and the execution) itself that provides the rationale for why they aren't a good match in the long run.
It's many years ago now and there was a K drama that tried to do this very thing -- offer alternative endings -- using a parallel universe type trope. Even that show had difficulties wrapping things up satisfactorily for most people. In fact most of the audience were angry that the show didn't have an definitive outcome. It made the female lead look pretty wishy washy.
I would love it if they gave us options to choose who CSS ends up with and the difference life she would live…
Not only will you have to change the men's trajectories but Niaoniao's as well. Quite radically I would think. Honestly she would have to enter the palace for very different reasons IF at all. Unless you kill off Ling Buyi midway through the story. Yuan Shen's character will have to undergo quite a transformation because he's not that likeable even at this point. He's mostly a figure of ridicule at this point.
The messaging will probably change too.
This is the reason why it is hard to do AU fanfiction well and not veer off from canon.
It would be easier to write another script, have Zhao Lusi and Li Yunrui as leads in another show.
4 
Thanks for reading.
My own view as described in my blog post is that they're both talking past each other. I don't think she completely understood what he was asking of her. On the one hand he wants her to trust him fully with all her hopes and fears but what she seems to be hearing is that she was in trouble and he wasn't there to protect her which is not wrong but that's not his point. His core grievance is that he's disappointed that she didn't feel that he's important enough in her life to share something as important as this with him. He's upset that she doesn't trust him enough with her deepest secrets while she thinks that he's upset because he wasn't there to rescue her from uncertain death. She didn't think it was a big deal but to him, because she could have died in this event he is absolutely dismayed that he, her fiance, didn't even know such a terrible thing happened. He doesn't just want to be a fiance in name only if you understand what I'm saying. So he thinks that she's deliberately putting some distance between them because she's afraid of him and not treating him like someone who is in love with her fiance.
Wasn't sure if she was upset or happy that the husband was dead.
But this show is a great soap opera. One of the best.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/love-like-the-galaxy-2022-episodes-007
Now, I can get on with watching the latest episodes.
As always thanks for reading and all the kind comments.
Zisheng's bite is worse than his bark.
But was it entertaining? Absolutely!
This independence shtick is nonsensical and she's taking it too far. Nobody needs to fight battles on their own if they have people in their corner. It just becomes about ego not about solving an actual problem.
The director and writer are just too good. LOL.
The camaraderie and banter are still great.
TJ Group looks like a veritable nuthouse.
But most importantly, Oh Ji-hyeok is still the sharpest tool in the toolbox.
That's why I said that there would have to be a radical shift in his dynamics with Niaoniao starting now not 5 episodes before the finale. Because right now from where I'm looking Niaoniao is also falling really hard for Zisheng and considering their history it feels like she would only be engaged to Yuan Shen under duress. Also, with the way the director frames scenes between Niaoniao and Zisheng makes it clear who the endgame is.
This is why I didn't root for A'Yao to be with Niaoniao despite the fact that he was a "nice guy" because there are things within the writing (and the execution) itself that provides the rationale for why they aren't a good match in the long run.
It's many years ago now and there was a K drama that tried to do this very thing -- offer alternative endings -- using a parallel universe type trope. Even that show had difficulties wrapping things up satisfactorily for most people. In fact most of the audience were angry that the show didn't have an definitive outcome. It made the female lead look pretty wishy washy.
The messaging will probably change too.
This is the reason why it is hard to do AU fanfiction well and not veer off from canon.
It would be easier to write another script, have Zhao Lusi and Li Yunrui as leads in another show.