Frost_edelweiss

That's my idea as well. Actor Zhang Yu is so remarkable in that role, that I always perk up when he appears, apparently loafing unconcerned and smoking his cigarettes (what brand? Not Marlboro I think). He always has a twist in store for us!

He knew too well Long and Ma who are not originally from Halan. He looks innocent but in fact was always calculating his best advantages. Reconnecting with Zheng Bei and playing on his "guilt" allowed him to know about the police operations better than to have a listening device in their office; the bullet resistant vest armor was such an advantage...
But why did not Zheng Bei remember that Xiaohai was wearing it, the evening when he was shot by Ding Guozhu? And was there no trace on the vest after impact, if and when he needed to return it? Minor plot hole (I did not notice many since start) ?

Chen Zheyuan's cat is playing a role! Why is not it featured in the cast, lol ?
Liu Yi is a female, btw, and Chen Zheyuan has had it for years now ; he is a wounded and stray cat rescuer for real.

There's one version with English annotations, mentioned in comments, but since no-one has added it, I'll just do it ;) https://kisskh.at/photos/2wnq0P_3

I have added in (hidden, it happens - MDL software is quirky) Discussions, this "mini-profile" for Johnny Huang, for which I finally gave in to a new "fandom exploration". There are a lot of pictures, Gifs, opinions and facts compilations by me + a good part about The First Shot, where you can find infos on precise shooting locations, dates, characters relationship chart, some pictures of promo and shooting, latest heat index, standing among the top TV series watched in China for the last two weeks (this will be updated, also with Weibo opening rating, when it will be recorded), music links for the song that caught the attention of some here. All pictures lead to their sources where there may be more to see and listen to. Enjoy! And if you have more to add, feel free to do so in comments there or here.

https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-first-shot/130149-a-mazing-johnny-huang

(Title of discussion? Well, partly because of the drama original title, Snow Maze, and partly because this piece originated in my temptation to share with all here the interesting target/maze/round Chinese design that served as background for 9 pictures on Johnny Huang's Weibo page.)

Without other than Hanzi subtitles :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzg2xXZAsw&list=PLkvG4EWPDB0mcUAKAwg6QdNqY2TEnLRe1

Wish I did too! only found it without on ...cool and on Youtube :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzg2xXZAsw&list=PLkvG4EWPDB0mcUAKAwg6QdNqY2TEnLRe1

Hmm I'm Interested in those two of course, but also in Dark Night and Dawn which airs on September 18 : I was among the first to "subscribe" among the 100 million reservations saluted on the posters of Sept.14...
A dark spy story in the thrilling and treacherous Republican era, to wait again for The White Olive Tree and the less stressful costume drama still filming by CZY and Li Qin, scheduled for next year.

Meanwhile, hoping you'll enjoy nice moonshine around the world for 中秋节 on Tuesday night.

If you have that handy, share with friends or close ones a box of nuts-filled sweet mooncakes - or the salty yellow egg yolk filled more traditional one, and sip guihua scented green tea : the guihua osmanthus trees flowers in September-October in the Jiangnan and it is an absolutely lovely and unforgettable olfactory experience for those who experience it !

thanks for liking! I hope you'll also enjoy the series or movies.
Reading (and writing) reviews can be a chore for me, therefore I often just leave out reviewing especially after having added documents and views in a companion piece. This time, I sat down to sum it up as a sort of conclusion to the longer piece. And, for all I hoped to keep it short, it still was a verbose one, so readers surely prefer to read other ones to decide whether or not to watch, you were patient here ;)
Wishing you continued pleasure with c-dramas or c-drama reviews readings, and a joyful Zhongqiujie festival on Tuesday night !

thanks, PBG, 😘 and enjoy the coming mid-autumn festival, watching the moon shine on a world which we shall hope stays mostly at peace, while finishing The First Shot!

100 million reservations as of September 14 - I was one of the first - waiting for September 18! :)

but Liu Yi "son" is in fact female 🤣

In fact, Liu Yi is female 🤣

DNAD to air on September 18, on iQiyi 🥳🥳💙💙💙💙💙

Mr Gu - yes he hopes his father is alive - but I doubt it.
Er Jin's daughter? perhaps yes. I thought it was a flashback but was surely mistaken (I was wondering why XH looked so grown -and I missed the mention that "Qin Yi is dead", as to when was it happening, your reply clears it up for me). You were more attentive than I was :)

Gu's father was abducted and presumably killed by the southern drug gang and the "asthma" suffering gangster, while his son was away on exchange study tour, coming back to empty home with food left on the table.

Xiaohai met his "sister" in the street when she was being bullied as a still not grown girl. He scared off the young pricks and presumably got close to her and "adopted" : he said he went through several deaths after being left in the dump as 12 yr old Lele, and that Qin saved him and became his godfather, so I assume there is a deep covered link between Mrs Jiang, who looks like a full fledged mafia queen, and the gangs - remember she was being assaulted because her dad was in prison and "no one would protect her", except Xiaohai did just that...

Wondered about same, am only on 21 :)

For those who liked the music, I hunted down the 4 OST songs, and have put lyrics and links to listen to them on YouTube (one is the theme song, two are in a short clip, one is missing, perhaps targeted by a claim that it was too similar to an already published one). The theme song and the two ones from the clip are often repeated throughout the series.
https://kisskh.at/discussions/embrace-in-the-dark-night/130109-embrace-in-the-dark-night-ost

Yep 12/10 ! it bridges over the flaws and leaves a most satisfied memory. It's the stuff of cult items.

But such a sizzling chemistry ! Not so often do we watch and overlook flaws just because of the incredibly perfect and fun chemistry. Even thinking of it in retrospect, I have a wide grin on my face and my stomach is full of hiccuping loony laughs !

Aaah, with those guys ? What could they do next in the Mr & Mrs Smith vein ?
I'd probably be watching.