Frost_edelweiss

As of 2nd surgery (tumor relapse motivated) his birth mother decided to move from Guangzhou to "Jiangzhou" so they'd be closer to the hospital in case his condition deteriorate again, and so that the boy would not be too far away from his "previous family" that he loved so much, despite "blood running thicker than water" was why he had chosen to go with barely responsible post-adolescent poor worker birth mom who had abandoned him at 6mths because she was 20 then and had no money to pay for his care and brain surgery.
Some plot hole is that when another child needed cranial surgery, if I recall correctly, Dr Ning thought that other one needed to be taken care of by a specialized Children's hospital.
That beloved adoptive son of Dr Ning seemed to fade off totally from the story after ep.30.

I have not started on that one yet. Probably will soon, then.
It is still airing until March 11,
40 x 45': sounds very long, although length should not deter me since LLTG, and some other "impossibly long" c-dramas like Ashes of Love (which I was wild with at the time, rooting for "Run Yu" and become instant luoshifen!!
Btw, among the other dramas LYX starred in, there was one with a tragic end : Broker, but it is clear why that one could not get approval from a large part of audience, so I am not going to recommend it to all, even if I enjoyed it (die-hard luoshifen me, yes 😂) .

And now I see that this Starry Love is described as 3rd volume in the "Honey" trilogy so I certainly will pop over to see whether this is still my cup of virtual pink flower sweet flavored baijiu (to be invented, although there's the alcohol free Hibiscus tea which is nice to control blood pressure).

Now which new one are you working on??? So curious, me, as you said you thought we have somewhat similar tastes 😂

Btw me too, I accompany my days and nights "in deep space" with this OST playlist, after the L&P one and other playlists including one around the "luo 落” (which means drop or fall to the ground) theme.

Yes I remember. It caused, reportedly, quite a momentary stir in Chinese social media because many thought Jerry Yan somehow had a baby on the way with someone, maybe a secret marriage too. Until he apologized for the misunderstanding and made it clear that it was in reference to the drama that was upcoming.
So, "my child" was also perceived as quite an ambiguous statement in Chinese too, away from context!

Ep24 is the final secrets revelations. He did not know, but when he did, it was like he found one more fated string tying them together forever.

Yes she did change the painting when she pretended to come with a frame for it. It was in her family safe previously.

The airport scene was before she flew to Chuanxi, Aba county, to get married.
She said somewhere that she did not want treatment.
Perhaps she wished to die of hypothermia + hypoxia instead of suffering living decay.

Sleeping in ice and snow without an insulating blanket (and sometimes even with one) in high altitude can be lethal. Many climbers and mountaineers know that. If that was her choice, Xiao Han would have accompanied He Ran, knowing that this was her last wish: to die a natural death, instead of in hospital where she would be reduced to powerlessness. Also, lack of oxygen would cause a sort of drunk state numbing her pain.
It even ties in with Mongol-Tibetan culture where the dying often would go far into the wilderness to seek death there without more active suicide (leaving it to Nature), and be exposed for "sky burial" (there are also similar customs in some Native American cultures) .

That lying in the snow somewhat reminded me of the movie sequence about the Cheyenne chief in Little Big Man, where Jack Crabb accompanies Old Lodge Skins who went up in the mountain to lie down and wait for death (but that movie has a sarcastic end there, when the old chief who had decided it was "a good day to die" gave up waiting for death and admitted, "Well, sometimes the magic works. Sometimes it doesn't." before they returned to have dinner together).

So perhaps it was He Ran's "good day to die", but not Xiao Han's yet and he had to return, unaccompanied and sad, to wait elsewhere until they'd be reunited in the afterlife.

I think that for some reason you mistrust and misunderstand even worse than when Zhang Yuanqi was talking to He Ran about the keys after Han Yu's birthday. Nvhai 女孩 (litteraly female child) is a common term to talk about a younger female (less than 30-35, depending on appearance) ;我的孩子 (my child) or baobei 宝贝 (baby) is a common endearing term for a younger loved partner, even if age difference is only in months.
As they say in Chinese : "你想太多了" (you overthink)

It does exist in French, but as a very cheesy endearing address "mon bébé en sucre (mon adorable petit)..." All depends on context. In the drama, I found it appropriate and not in the least condescending & raising my hackles as the cheesy French might do in too sweet romances.
Besides, a young lady is termed routinely as nvhai in Chinese. Even when she appears to be reaching 30! So yes, nothing untoward with the "you can remain my child as long as you want to", implying also that Xiao Han accepted by saying 'as long as", that He Ran might have to go, but might be able to come back if she so decided. Xiao Han was leaving freedom and the power to her in the relationship. She was so lucky to have found one who would do so, stay loyal to her whatever she did, and be charmed by her endearing bouts of selfishness and scorching jealousy when she would claim ownership.

You did it again! Your edit was spot-on, although centering on He Ran and Xiao Han only .
Two songs from the drama: the most ear-worm ones ; you distilled it in tune.
One small regret: you zapped the flower-boy painting with the triangular church? (I liked that one)
But you've got an eye for just those frames and meaningful dialogues that are purest gems, with the exchange of glances, the scratch on Xiao Han's arm when He Ran falls, the cat, the fish, the colors of Xiao Han's skin paint...
How to cut those frames with precision must have taken lots of time and thought.
Noticing also the recent edits you did of dramas that I also watched with a smile since L&P : Hi Venus, Time and him, Meet Yourself... You are so busy pleasing us with those condensed souvenirs!
Thank you again!

The end did not feel sad for me, but hmm I would also prefer a death while young and beautiful than protracted suffering, losing hair and no guarantee than new relapse will bring more suffering.
He Ran has a short, but almost complete and happy life in this drama; managing to make lasting art, starting Xiao Han's daughter on a path for a future, teaching, winning a gorgeous man, having loyal friends, even a doting mom... Taking in lots of beauty and sensuality on the way.
The only thing that is certain in life, is that it will end in death. Even if a swift death may be preferable, old age is not the less painful and swift end, so, I understand her choice of living a good life as long as it can last.
The part at the end of the drama is, to me, very soothing and conveys a feeling of completeness. Be it in dreams or real afterlife.
Xiao Han is left a widower, but he accepted that fate from the moment when he told Mr Han that he would never leave He Ran, so he had time to prepare his mind while giving to her all that she still needed, including impossible and unreasonable promises, because fulfilling them was less important than the love he gave in accepting to give them. I find this very touching and reassuring, that some people may think and act this way even inf it is fiction, instead of forcing unwinnable battles and imposing unbearable pity on the sufferer; like Han Yu unwittingly did several times.
Of course He Ran is selfish. She has the right to be so, having no time for pleasant and polite nonsense. She wants what she wants. Xiao Han is puzzled for a long while because he can sense that she is unusual, not just ordinarily brazen and with no sensibility. He should have guessed earlier that he was dealing with a "sick betta", and perhaps he had, since he undertook to try and heal the fish that he purchased. Whatever: he had accepted to take charge of his new "child" as long as she wanted to stay as his child.
But he also had stated and had everyone he told so accept that he would also give her a wedding. That was so sweet.
The "bonus" collection is like more icing on the cake. A very nice drama. And in a way, we did get the 3 endings promised. So I am very satisfied, and not stingy about it, rating it 10. The nitpickers will probably keep it down below 9, but maybe they want a drama to conform to their norms. I am particularly glad when it is unusual and as beautiful, as well-made as this one. The music that some complained was too much replacing dialogues was doing exactly what it should, so this drama was to me a feast for the eyes, the ears and all the senses through imagination, together with an almost daoist message. Perfect.

That 24'44 minutes collection almost qualifies as bonus episode for speed watchers ! Is anything missing? Not much, perhaps. There are a lot of endearing collected BTS with bloopers there. Also plain BTS like the punching the watermelon to split it open (Jerry Yan does have strength in his hands and wrists! Shaolin kungfu practitioner used to splitting bricks perhaps? lol, I'd end up with a broken bone if I tried such a stunt!) ; lifting lady practice and playing games to kill time, learning the proper way to shampoo and do scalp massage ... Much more.
But the title is a bit weird and there are no English subtitles.
Anyway it was nice watching. Thanks for having spotted it and posted the link.

Having previously done research into the MG/BOF/HYD phenomenon (watched them all +spinoffs etc ) and having more recently watched less than a handful dramas starring or including Jerry Yan does not in my opinion automatically qualify me to fan status.

But I will not be tepid in my view of the Forbidden Flower drama, which I like almost as much as I did the movies "In the mood for love" and "Lust, caution" which explored other difficult love stories with colors and music that resonate with the theme.

Actually to me the "ambiguous" xihuan ni translates as much as I Love You or I like you, depending on context in real life or stories.
Wo ai ni feels more like I adore you, I love you madly, desperately, till the end of times. 520 or 521 in text messages have somewhat debased the weight and seriousness of those three words.

12+ for Rakuten Viki.

Well, for many Jerry Yan was the ultimate and unchanging Daoming Si ?
There are hints to MG in this drama and the director cum scriptwriter did make apparent her worship of Yan Chengxu in that role. So the throwback to the 1980-90s rock style haircut, the Woodstock style bandana, some of the dialogue (if apology was enough there'd be no need for police) all tie in with the beginning of Jerry Yan's career as actor.
Age is important but love and talent transcend it. A young actor could in my opinion not have nailed that Xiao Han character. Even Wallace Chung (who also had a large age difference with co star in The Sword and The Brocade) might not have made it as skillfully as Jerry Yan.
To me, as l re-watch episodes and chuckle when I discover double meanings and subtle references, in words, tunes, paint style, even nail art (so lovely to paint the Little Prince and his Only Rose on each lover's fingertips!!) and the symbolism of flowers, I am thoroughly enraptured by this one.
Total 10 from me!!

Totally agree.
Even in daily life, self-censorhip is also one way of avoiding trouble, like testing the waters more cautiously before voicing a whole line of thought or writing too candid views.
Sometimes it is for self preservation (being too blunt or candid can be perceived as disrespectful to say the least, or outright stupid), sometimes it is in consideration of friends', lovers' or acquaintance's feelings for something one might not be in total agreement with.
Hints may be left, and if there is common ground, and no risk for misunderstanding or strife, these will be brought to light a little like these delicious cut scenes, which contribute in the viral way.
Uncovering secret thoughts this way can be like watching a flower go to full bloom and share the delight of colors, shapes and scents.
Actually, isn't this drama very much about precisely such things?

stiletto heels and black card (even if borrowed then) yes: she can flaunt her power and wealth when she wants, even if she most of the time appears less flamboyant, in consideration of Xiao Han's apparent less affluent background.

I suppose the cut in ep17 when she danced in firelight on his boot-tips was a mistake.
There's no prohibition on voicing 520 in dramas, even though there are more of the "xihuan ni" versions.

Danba county "Beauty Valley" village, Kham highlands north of Kangding, on the Sichuan-Qinghai borderlands.
Enjoy alan dawa dolma singing a tribute to her home 美人谷 here (with footage of the place):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5cAjJ28wcA
For more QingZang vibes, also try that one (one of my favorite alan songs) with beautiful landscapes : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYgJWeg__08 in addition to the classic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfCI3FL9WI (Tibetan plateau) and the almost classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY2QK_r6o2A (Heaven's Road)