KevinToronto

Thanks for the clarification. I thought that the parents had divorced and that he had married the mistress. Does that mean the daughter is her half-sister?

Two reasons why I fear future interference is
(a) several commentators have speculated that the daughter was the woman YuSen was going to have a blind date with when he had the accident. Hopefully, she does not enter the storyline as a wrench in the works; and
(b) Her father's company is the largest single shareholder for the PV company, so will he try to interfere with XiGuang's position there?

We will have to agree to disagree.

Technically, it is true that there is no history between them, but he could easily have said, we were in the same college. Instead, he said that he had never even spoken to her. His colleague did not believe him. He did not help his credibility by saying she had a boyfriend. That is not a piece of information you know about someone you are saying is essentially a stranger.

As for his discussion with his brother, his comment, after saying she has a boyfriend, was "So how am I supposed to fight for her?" That does not suggest that he has moved on.

Having watched episodes 16 and 17, I have one observation to make and one (minor) correction to an earlier "thing I like" statement I made.

Early on, many people called Zhuang Xu a "walking" red flag. In my opinion, he is not even worthy of that status. He is pathetically spineless. A true red flag would have some level of spine. To be honest, the congee I made this morning had more spine than he has.

Earlier, I wrote that I liked the absence of the obnoxious family members trying to boss the lead characters to take over the family business and/or marry the person they decided. Unfortunately, along comes XiGuang's father to tell her that
(a) she should not be a mere employee;
(b) he would find her management position at his company;
(c) the PV industry is a "losing" industry (explains why he has not provided the funds); and
(d) that she should look to settle down ( i.e., marry) as she is nearly 23! [

I fear that we will see more interference from her father and more negative involvement from her step-sister.

I really loved the scenes with XiGuang and her grandparents and those with her mother, uncle, aunt, and cousin. They were all perfect examples of how families who know, love, and are comfortable with each other truly act when together. Clearly the writers and producers put together excellent scripts, but the actors rose to the occasion.

"l think she’s over him [SML]. She just probably feels awkward to see him again especially after their last meeting."

I agree. As for her feeling awkward, who can blame her given the fact that he stares at her with a pathetically blank face.

Ah, okay. You could be right.

I am enjoying this programme far more than I expected. Like Ayanabi, I find it refreshing and cozy. The perfect programme to watch during the downtime that are the holidays. There seems to a genuine friendship between the two lead actors, which lends weight and credibility to their growing relationship.

Two things I have definitely enjoyed not seeing are
(1) The domineering parents who want to control and dictate their children's lives; and
(2) The incessant requirement to say no to or endure meaningless blind dates set up by parents who look more to business benefit or family obligations. [Yes, there was the scene where it was suggested that XiGuang marry someone from her home town, but that was more for to allow more regular contact with her mother.]
For examples of the above two annoying plotlines, check out Ski into Love, Healer of Children, and Fireworks of my Heart.

For upcoming episodes, I expect to see
(a) the scene where the SML finally gets to publicly understand he is not even on the list of "also rans";
(b) an explanation of the interrelationship between the two families;
(c) clarifications of the misunderstanding;
(d) an explanation of why no one in the company seems to have made the connection between XiGuang and her father's company; and
(e) some sort of problem with his company (or the PV company) that requires XiGuang to step forward and reveal who she is (similar to Here We Meet Again)..

I thought that I saw only 24 episodes when this started, so I was surprised to see it expand to 36 episodes. The cynical side of me thinks that some of the expanded time is taken up with showing China's PV industry in a positive light. Mind you, China does have over 80% of the market share of the PV manufacturing process, so who can blame them for bragging.

I will go back and check on the photo later. My recollection was that there was a gap between Xiguang and the others, and that she was not facing straight forward. So, you might be right that the photo had been modified after it was initially taken.

My mistake. I refer back to my reply to @SwollenGoggles.

Do you mean the one in Zhuang Xu's book, that his brother found? If so, I thought it was a graduation photo with Xiguang at edge. My impression was that Zhuang Fei noticed Zhuang Xu's lingering look towards Xiguang's spot in it, put 2 and 2 together and got 99. That is why he thought about the "whole" family ski trip as an opportunity to play match-maker (or at least that is how I viewed it).

Thanks for the information. It is the weekend and my poor brain cell is still asleep. :-)

I also had the fear that we are going to have a ski trip with Zhuang Xu turning up like the proverbial third wheel. However, it would be a complete reversal of his character to date, and totally at odds with his previous actions.

Not certain about anyone else, but I really liked Xiguang's "self-commentary" when she said she was now the pursued when previously she had been the one who was the pursuer. Yes, it could be viewed as another example of the misogynistic "man chases woman" trope. However, I prefer to see it as a role reversal where the person who has previously taken the lead faces a situation where they are not dictating things, and that is not a comfortable feeling.

Beat me to it. I could not remember when she found out, but I was sure she did know. Indeed, I suspect that it is an open secret in within the company. Although I am not certain that the Sheng's own 51% of the company. I seem to recall Yusen saying that Xiguang's father was the largest shareholder.

In contrast, Xiguang's relationship to the company ownership is not widely known, probably because she does not have the same family name as her father.

@Cash-grab-man You should really do a bit of research before posting things about the "spark of light".

First, this phenomena was first described in 2011, when the researchers used mice eggs.

Second, the 2016 study did not use actual sperm. They used the sperm enzyme. So, there is no creation of a fertilised egg. The title of the article was "The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation".

Third, the image/video was made using a fluorescence microscope. The "spark" is an artifact that can be seen using the microscope. It is visualisation of the release of the zinc.

I will agree with you that this phenomena is amazing. To me, it is yet another example of how fantastic this universe is, and how little we know.

@cindesaurus I am afraid that you are conflating science with ethics. As I am sure you are aware, ethics are "a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral value" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). They are best described as "a branch of philosophy".

The position put forward by @eighthsense is based on science, and it is one that I agree with. In fact, my personal position is that abortion should be allowed up to the point of foetal viability, which is around 5 months. The current "record" for the youngest pre-mature baby to survive is 21 weeks, born in Iowa in 2024.

You correctly note that almost all countries that allow abortions have 3 months (12 weeks) as the cut-off point. Why pick this point? Well, I have some thoughts.

First, this is about the time the woman starts to feel the foetus move. Clearly, a very significant and emotional event.

Second, the foetus has changed shape from a rather amorphous "blob" with a tail to a discernible human being.

Third, the laws have been enacted by legislations that are dominated by men, who have no understanding or comprehension of the emotional or psychological impact of being pregnant has on a woman. Is it easier for those men to defend the termination of a "blob" vs the termination of a discernible human?

Finally, I do not know how many people here have knowledge or experience of an abortion. Amongst family and close friends, I know of 5. In each case, I have witnessed the turmoil and distress that the decision had on the woman, before and after. In my opinion, it is unconscionable to add to the pressure on a woman by stating that a foetus takes precedence over her choice.

@eighthsense First, I agree with your comments.

Second, I would like to add some comments from my perspective.

As the father of a gay son, who is happily married to his husband, I am really pleased to see dramas increasingly present stories that reflect the broad spectrum of society, including the LGBTQ community.

And, as the father of a daughter who is a surgeon, I am firmly (as is she) of the opinion that doctors must leave their religious beliefs at the front door of the hospital. Also, in the case of an abortion, the doctor's patient is the woman, not the foetus.

Finally, why do people, claiming to be Christian, state that homosexuality is against the teachings of Christianity? To my knowledge, there is nothing in the New Testament that says that. And, just to "rub it in", Jesus wandered around during his 3 year preaching tour with a group of 12 men and one female prostitute.

Unfortunately, there was a group of people who were constantly negative towards Esther Yu. The comment from Strawberrylush above is typical. They were even giving a rating to episodes that had not yet aired. Last weekend, EP 23 had a rating of 7.3 from 44 votes, and it did not air until yesterday.

I suspect that the same group will appear for the next Esther Yu show and repeat the process.

It took me a little while to think of a metaphor of how I felt watching this show. Perhaps it is because I live in Canada (aka the Great White North) and in keeping with the show's winter theme, but the best way to describe it is that
"it was like the warm, cosy blanket you wrap around yourself as you watch the snow falls outside."