Jungshooky

If you're familiar with Pride and Prejudice, the mom is A LOT like Mrs. Bennett. Means well, but over the top with no social awareness haha

To be fair to YZM, before the bidding started, he explicitly told He Dong not to tell anyone where the kickback receipt came from (MCH). That was his way of trying to protect her from being a scapegoat. He even tried to get MCH to leave the meeting by giving her other tasks (that she'd already done because she's too good at her job XD)

It was XJL who threw her under the bus by announcing to the room that the discount was specially for MCH, and that the receipt was sent to her directly. At that point, there was little YZM could do, especially after the Deshan secretary framed MCH for leaking confidential bidding information. Yeah, YZM could have warned her before hand, but then she would have been in on it and couldn't claim plausible deniability. Although I don't think there's any romantic feelings involved yet, I do think YZM thinks highly of her as an employee (and her relationship with grandma) and was trying to minimize her involvement

I also understand why MCH would be upset, she has every right to feel used and manipulated. It's also understandable for her to be emotional about it and we already know she's a bit impulsive. MCH is a good person, but has faults like everyone else - she can be more emotional, impulsive, and unwilling to compromise. The dynamic between MCH and YZM is and will continue to be very intriguing as they're polar opposites in how they approach work and family. Neither of them can function optimally at these extremes, and it'll be through balancing each other out that they'll reach perfect equilibrium (hopefully)

His grandma owns a prestigious hotel that as far as I can tell is not related to Botticelli (the hotel he and MCH work), but YZM wants to acquire it. I'm a little fuzzy on the motive - could be because he feels entitled to it as a blood relative, wants the profits/power associated with owning/managing it, or possibly even wants to bring it under the Yueda fold so that he can make himself look good and get a promotion to headquarters. Maybe a little bit of all 3?

I feel like the translations regarding a lot of the business stuff are not entirely accurate, so it's a bit hard to follow most of the time

I had to look it up, but a kickback is a form of bribery. So I'm guessing in exchange for giving Deshan preferential treatment/bidding, they basically paid back some of the profits of the purchase back to Dennis. So like rebate, but instead of going to the hotel/Yueda group it goes directly into Dennis' pocket.

When MCH got the invoice for her 520 event, the kickback receipt was inadvertently also attached. She didn't look at the invoice herself and directly forwarded it to YZM, giving him the proof of bribery he needed to get rid of Deshan who was selling them subpar items and oust Dennis from power.

Someone, please add or correct any wrong details!

MCH said something along the lines of “I thought we were family since we take care of grandma together” or something similar. She did bring grandma into the conversation

I do have to agree on this point. Although YZM and the other hotel lady did it for selfish reasons (promotion and power) and YZM used MCH to achieve that goal, his result was above board and in the best interest of the company, its employees and in the long run their clients

MCHs personal feelings about XJL and the Xin family didn’t matter in any way since his family essentially broke the law and was taking advantage. They brought that upon themselves

I see YZM and MCH as polar opposites on a spectrum. Neither can truly function optimally doing it their way . . . Which is probably where their business (and eventual romantic) relationship comes in. They’ll learn to balance each other and their business will be better from it ☺️

This show mostly focuses on the characters and their interpersonal relationships. It's a show about personal growth, maturity, and learning to be true to oneself. Many of the characters are 'annoying' at first because they need flaws and conflict in order for the writers to show their development. This way, the audience sees obvious and meaningful growth.

If all the characters start off mild, very likable, and without major flaws (like most modern c-dramas to be honest), any character development, personal growth, and relationships will feel shallow and insignificant. Like most meaningful things in life, you have to stick it out to see the best results :)

Yeah I’ve noticed that most recent cdrama OSTs aren’t available on Spotify or Apple Music (what I use). Not sure why since it seems most older drama OSTs are available

Oh goody - I’ll rewatch it on Viki to hopefully get better subs. WeTV and iQiyi haven’t been the best for this show

I agree! I usually don’t like the longer, shaggy look and man-bun hairstyle but of course XK would be one of the rare few that can make me love it 🤣

I feel like most c-dramas I watch and end up liking a lot start off slower/weaker but get really good as it continues. I have also watched plenty of shows that hook me really fast but then fizzle out midway and/or have an ending that ruins the whole show me

So I trust shows that take awhile to warm up more than those that hook immediately

THIS

On the surface it seems harmless. He’s just honking a horn - but on a deeper level it shows a lack of respect for consent and that if MCH doesn’t immediately agree with him, he finds a way to coerce her into complying with his wants. I don’t think he’s aware of what he’s doing, he’s just a product of his upbringing. His parents (esp father) don’t respect women as independent people so XJL also doesn’t

Prenups in and of themselves are not bad and are designed to protect the rights of both parties before marriage in case of a worst case scenario (divorce). Ideally they should be drafted and discussed between both partners, but in this case Jialiang’s family unilaterally made the contract and we can be sure it’s meant to keep MCH in a cage with no rights in and after the relationship. So it’s understandable she is upset and sees it as an insult against her.

There may also be cultural differences in the views in prenups. For me, even with partners of equal socioeconomic status, a prenup is probably a good idea just so everyone has legal protections 🤷🏼‍♀️

lol right? I think I literally wailed “Girl noooooo” at my TV 🤣🤣

Not sure if it's officially announced as the reason, but there was a huge "scandal" involving fans of The Untamed and the lead CP actors (Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo) and a real-person fanfiction of the two that majorly offended one actor's fandom. Apparently it seriously blew up in China, caused an entire media stink (the detail of which I don't know), and led to banning of dramas adapted from BL source material, as well as the fan-fiction platform Archive of Our Own (AO3)

At least that's what I gathered as a reader over on AO3 in The Untamed fandom haha

OMG you're right! I didn't recognize her with her hair down XD

Several thoughts regarding episode 8

1. I actually feel sad for YZM in this episode. I've seen some judgement about him using/gaslighting MCH, which is very true, but during his conversation with He Dong about 'sacrificing' MCH, he said something along the lines of that when presented with power/opportunity, no human is immune and will succumb to that pressure. In that moment, I really felt like I understood something broken in YZM - he has no faith or trust in people. He doesn't believe truly good people exist in the world, and that makes me really sad because think about the people and events he's had to experience to be that jaded - definitely looking forward to more backstory and development for his character.

2. I admire MCH's integrity and refusal to give into the powerful players around her. Although not playing it safe or protecting herself, I do think there's courage in sticking to your morals despite knowing it may hurt you in the end. Some (like YZM) may say it's foolish, but at least MCH won't feel bad about herself as a person at the end of it all (hopefully)

3. YZM's line to MCH "In the Xin family, the only place for women is the kitchen and the garden" really struck me for some reason. I feel like YZM knows that MCH isn't someone who can just stay at home to be someone's pretty housewife/mother and that was his warning to her. Whether it came out of genuine concern for her or just him acknowledging her talent is still unclear

All in all, episode 8 made me think some deeper thoughts than normal for a c-drama and needed to share haha

I think she's meddling because she's super bitter that she was traded away to someone she doesn't seem to even like, while her brother gets to marry the girl he fancies regardless of her class and bringing nothing substantial to the family in return (in her eyes). I imagine she's over at her parents all the time because she can't stand her husband's family. She's pregnant yes, but that doesn't mean she likes her husband. Having babies is a 'wife's duty' after all.

I understand where she's coming from and I also don't like women being treated as worth less than men . . . but that doesn't excuse her awful behavior toward MCH and her family. Definitely a good example that although someone may be from the upper class, that doesn't mean they are in fact classy in any respect

Oh goody! I like his voice 🥰

The best part is that she knows what they’re up to. YZM is likely a fox kit compared to his grandmas slyness - she’s very good at pretending she isn’t fully aware of everything. It’s great 🤣

Thanks!