There is something that LMT tells Ziyu after she gets back her Mount Yang memories in the novel.She told him that…
I mean, to be more precise, she said all that to compare CXZ's unconditional trust in her to Ziyu's scheming, which effectively pushed her off Mount Yang. Although Ziyu wasn't the one who ordered her assassination, LMT accuses him of going along with Yun'er's plan to stage a compromising scene with Ziyu and trigger LMT's jealousy because LMT kept disagreeing with his faction within the rebel group. He did love her, but he didn't want her to be pushing back against him in the political arena, so he engineered her exit from Mount Yang while letting her believe it was her own idea, with the foolish intention to reconcile with her after ascending to the throne and make her his empress (or more realistically, his beloved consort, since she wasn't considered empress material).
She figured all of that out after she regained her memories of her bandit days and was disgusted with Ziyu's manipulation.
Of course, the fact she didn't remember her time with CXZ in the novel made that whole speech kinda stupid because, let's face it, CXZ is just as much of a manipulator as Ziyu if not more! The real difference is that he loves LMT unconditionally, whereas Ziyu ultimately puts himself first while lying to himself about it, which only makes him seem more pathetic.
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but I have to say almost every change they've made to the plot is an improvement. All the plot points I found frustrating or unworthy of the characters in the novel are done better here. Great drama adaptation so far!
It's only been one episode but I love the chemistry, esp the he fell first and harder trope 😘could never get…
Can we stop overusing the word trope please? One person liking the other first is not a trope. There’s also no evidence that Seunghyo likes Seokryu yet, and no reason to think they won’t develop feelings concurrently, which is actually normal and happens in 80% of the shows people try to categorize by dumbass criteria like ~who fell first~.
The people who found Seokryu's mother to be too much are definitely not strong enough for cdramas lol. She barely rates a 2/10 on my cdrama-adjusted scale for annoying maternal behaviour so far.
I think the mom's reaction was clearly one of shock and glee. What grabbed my attention was Seunghyo's stiff expression when he congratulated Seokryu on her marriage. I think that was a bigger giveaway.
Lomon did pretty well with the comedic scenes in Branding in Seongsu and Kim Hyeyoon would be wise to stage a departure from the "sunny girl-next-door" roles she's been getting before they get stale, so this is an exciting pairing for me based on the cast alone... but the premise sounds very generic. I hope the drama ends up better than it sounds.
Are you new to Dramaland or what? He is the main character and his late introduction was meant to build suspense…
Some dramas introduce the protagonist at the end of episode 1 or in episode 2. That's perfectly normal and not a sign of exploitation or false advertising. The assumption is that you're watching the show for the story and not just to stare at one person's face.
I'm still on episode 3, but like, why is everyone treating Sousuke as the biggest victim in this situation?!?!?! lmao?!
Yes, he WAS abused as a child, and yes, he was caught up in a cycle of violence and he didn't deserve it and the world of adults failed him and his life is shit forever blah blah blah, but can we focus on the part where HE BEATS HIS MOTHER ON THE REGULAR IN THE PRESENT DAY??? Jin found out the woman was covered in wounds and bruises and didn't even report it, let alone help her? And he's supposed to be some kind of crusader against domestic abuse? And I'm supposed to give a shit that Sousuke attends a support group because he wants to stop being an abuser? BITCH, HOW ABOUT YOU MOVE OUT OF YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE FIRST, IF YOU CAN'T STOP ASSAULTING HER?
This whole absurd ~poor wittle Sousuke uWu~ propaganda campaign is only making me dislike this little bitch more. He acts so self-righteous too! I wouldn't move like my brother owed me anything if I was him!
You got it wrong, fl company is not failing, and she has other option beside the ml as investor, he only came…
No, I haven't, and you're wrong too,
In order: HT trusted JX's ability to make biomedical tech, not to run a business—this is a direct quote—and JX was afraid HY would make her a figurehead with no decision-making power, not that she would sell the company.
And yes, HT gave JX 20 million yuan without demanding decision-making power. That's exactly what I said. What you have evidently failed to understand is my point that investors want as much control over their investments as possible in exchange for money, so HT offering the same amount of money as HY but without asking for any control over the internal operations of the startup, after stating multiple times that the founder is not qualified to be an entrepreneur, is very obviously not a rational business decision but one motivated by his feelings for JX.
I'm not angry about any of this BTW, though spelling out obvious points for stupid people who will continue to argue back without even understanding what I'm saying does tend to make me irritable, so I'll stop replying to you now.
You got it wrong, fl company is not failing, and she has other option beside the ml as investor, he only came…
You're 100% lying about everything lol
She had no other option. Han Yuan wanted to invest in her company on the condition she would get control over hiring decisions. Ji Xing decided that wasn't acceptable and turned her down despite her partner urging her to accept because they were facing bankruptcy and had no other source of income. He and Han Ting's secretary were both absolutely sure the company would have to fold if it didn't accept Han Yuan's offer. They couldn't even pay their only employee his salary! Ji Xing, however, decided to stick by her principles, turn down Han Yuan, and trust that a miraculous solution would present itself out of nowhere, and lo and behold: it did! The guy who'd been in love with her since university swooped in at the eleventh hour to give her a bunch of cash in exchange for nothing. Because that's how the universe rewards talented women in the world of cdramas.
As for Han Ting, he offered her the exact same deal as Han Yuan but without strings attached. Why? Not because he believed in JX's project or entrepreneurial potential, no—he said several times she was not fit to run her own business—but BECAUSE HE LIKED HER.
At first he refused to invest in JX's company because the founders had no capital, no logistics & distribution channels, and no track record. Logical. However, he tried to recruit JX several times so she could be close to him and on his payroll. When she refused to work for him, and he refused to invest in her, instead of letting go of his obsession with JX, HT had his secretary stalk her and report her every move to him in real time. When his friend told him he could get together with JX if he invested in her company, he started to consider it, but his business sense kept telling him not to make financial decisions with his dick. When he learned JX had a fiancé, he told his friend about it as if to say the investment-for-sex plan was a no-go. BUT THEN his secretary, who was still stalking JX, told HT that JX's company was facing bankruptcy and he got worried for her. While he was wondering if he should invest in her company or not purely on the basis of liking JX and not wanting to see her fail, he heard Han Yuan had approached her. His secretary reminded him that if Han Yuan gobbled up Ji Xing's company, HT would have to destroy it personally in the corporate war against HY. So when JX turned down HY's offer, HT was ecstatic and happily invested in JX on the spot as if to reward her for not taking HY's side.
Don't even try me, I just watched this episode. The last two episodes have been all about Han Ting's internal dilemma of "it is a huge risk to invest in Ji Xing's company" vs "but I like her."
If he wasn't her rich college classmate who had an unrequited crush on her for years, she would have NEVER gotten this opportunity. Which is fine, but I'm sick of cdramas selling me this condescending plot device and telling me the story is about women being awesome.
I love all these feminist girlboss cdramas about how a young woman can conquer the corporate world if she just believes in herself enough and the dream of being a badass entrepreneur is all that matters where the girlboss in question would have gone bankrupt by episode 8 if some unrealistically young and handsome male CEO hadn't given her failing company a bunch of money just because he wanted to fuck her.
If I ever came across an office romance cdrama where the guy WASN'T mega rich and didn't solve the woman's problems for her despite the show's message being all about female empowerment and independence, I think I'd die of shock.
Wow, Natsu's mom was so out of line in episode 5... "If you signed the consent form, that means you forced her to get an abortion!" No, it doesn't! Requiring a man's signature to authorize an abortion is patriarchal bullshit, but Natsu didn't make Mizuki do shit! What do you think he should have done, not signed the form when she asked for it? How would that have given her more freedom to make her own decisions? "I'm not saying getting an abortion is bad!" That's kind of what you're saying, lady. Your son just told you he has a 7-year-old child and you're going off on some incoherent rant about how he's a monster because he didn't push back when the mother wanted to get an abortion! "I won't let you force Yayoi into anything." Holy projection Batman! She's the one who's pushing to get involved with Umi. Do you seriously not know your child at all?
Speaking of which, the whole show is super weird about abortion, but I'm willing to overlook that because I guess it's trying to say something about societal pressure on single mothers/unmarried pregnant women, which seems to be a bigger problem in Japan than it is where I live. So while pressuring women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term is the abortion issue at the forefront of western feminists' minds, this drama is about women being forced to terminate pregnancies because having children out of wedlock is seen as taboo, and about the difference having the support of your loved ones makes (Mizuki's parents vs Yayoi's parents). So, like, whatever, that's interesting, I guess (and although I said it's a lesser issue where I live, that doesn't mean it's not an issue at all—men pressure women to get abortions all over the world). But still, the drama can get very preachy and anti-abortion-y... Give me more cute moments with Umi and her three parents and fewer lectures from annoying grandmas.
Natsu has his flaws, but he got shat on very unfairly here. I got so pressed when he meekly agreed it was all his fault just to pacify his mother and validated all her nonsense that I had to turn off the episode. (By nonsense I mean, for example, her insistence that he should have told her about Mizuki's pregnancy at the time...?!?!?! Bitch, for what? So you could find Mizuki and pressure her to become a parent at 21 under the guise of offering her support she never asked for? We know Mizuki's personality pretty well at this point and I think we can safely assume she didn't want Natsu's family all up in her business!)
There are too many things wrong with this drama to list, but while others may have remarked on how the leads and the SML all got inexplicable personality transplants that made them more unlikable halfway through the story, I don't think many people have noted the FL's styling, so I'll do it here. One episode she looks like a normal teenager and in the next episode she's a college freshman wearing head scarves, earrings, too many hair ties and heavy lipstick every day like a single mother from the 1980s? The fuck? Has the costume designer met any university students this century?
(The SML becoming a high-powered corporate shark at 22 or whatever and starting to wear suits and skinny ties on a daily basis also stretched credulity, but I was too busy wondering when he transformed from a wise, cool older brother type friend into a brainless rapey stalker to critique his appearance and the logic behind his career trajectory.)
Wow. She is or just turned 17 in July. There is a 2022 drama where she is the main lead. The male lead is now…
I agree the casting choice is bizarre, but to blame her guardians for endangering her like she was filming sex scenes left and right is crazy. It doesn't actually matter if a teenage actor is in a "young high schooler drama" or a historical romance; the job requirements and the adults around them are the same.
1 
She figured all of that out after she regained her memories of her bandit days and was disgusted with Ziyu's manipulation.
Of course, the fact she didn't remember her time with CXZ in the novel made that whole speech kinda stupid because, let's face it, CXZ is just as much of a manipulator as Ziyu if not more! The real difference is that he loves LMT unconditionally, whereas Ziyu ultimately puts himself first while lying to himself about it, which only makes him seem more pathetic.
Yes, he WAS abused as a child, and yes, he was caught up in a cycle of violence and he didn't deserve it and the world of adults failed him and his life is shit forever blah blah blah, but can we focus on the part where HE BEATS HIS MOTHER ON THE REGULAR IN THE PRESENT DAY??? Jin found out the woman was covered in wounds and bruises and didn't even report it, let alone help her? And he's supposed to be some kind of crusader against domestic abuse? And I'm supposed to give a shit that Sousuke attends a support group because he wants to stop being an abuser? BITCH, HOW ABOUT YOU MOVE OUT OF YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE FIRST, IF YOU CAN'T STOP ASSAULTING HER?
This whole absurd ~poor wittle Sousuke uWu~ propaganda campaign is only making me dislike this little bitch more. He acts so self-righteous too! I wouldn't move like my brother owed me anything if I was him!
In order: HT trusted JX's ability to make biomedical tech, not to run a business—this is a direct quote—and JX was afraid HY would make her a figurehead with no decision-making power, not that she would sell the company.
And yes, HT gave JX 20 million yuan without demanding decision-making power. That's exactly what I said. What you have evidently failed to understand is my point that investors want as much control over their investments as possible in exchange for money, so HT offering the same amount of money as HY but without asking for any control over the internal operations of the startup, after stating multiple times that the founder is not qualified to be an entrepreneur, is very obviously not a rational business decision but one motivated by his feelings for JX.
I'm not angry about any of this BTW, though spelling out obvious points for stupid people who will continue to argue back without even understanding what I'm saying does tend to make me irritable, so I'll stop replying to you now.
She had no other option. Han Yuan wanted to invest in her company on the condition she would get control over hiring decisions. Ji Xing decided that wasn't acceptable and turned her down despite her partner urging her to accept because they were facing bankruptcy and had no other source of income. He and Han Ting's secretary were both absolutely sure the company would have to fold if it didn't accept Han Yuan's offer. They couldn't even pay their only employee his salary! Ji Xing, however, decided to stick by her principles, turn down Han Yuan, and trust that a miraculous solution would present itself out of nowhere, and lo and behold: it did! The guy who'd been in love with her since university swooped in at the eleventh hour to give her a bunch of cash in exchange for nothing. Because that's how the universe rewards talented women in the world of cdramas.
As for Han Ting, he offered her the exact same deal as Han Yuan but without strings attached. Why? Not because he believed in JX's project or entrepreneurial potential, no—he said several times she was not fit to run her own business—but BECAUSE HE LIKED HER.
At first he refused to invest in JX's company because the founders had no capital, no logistics & distribution channels, and no track record. Logical. However, he tried to recruit JX several times so she could be close to him and on his payroll. When she refused to work for him, and he refused to invest in her, instead of letting go of his obsession with JX, HT had his secretary stalk her and report her every move to him in real time. When his friend told him he could get together with JX if he invested in her company, he started to consider it, but his business sense kept telling him not to make financial decisions with his dick. When he learned JX had a fiancé, he told his friend about it as if to say the investment-for-sex plan was a no-go. BUT THEN his secretary, who was still stalking JX, told HT that JX's company was facing bankruptcy and he got worried for her. While he was wondering if he should invest in her company or not purely on the basis of liking JX and not wanting to see her fail, he heard Han Yuan had approached her. His secretary reminded him that if Han Yuan gobbled up Ji Xing's company, HT would have to destroy it personally in the corporate war against HY. So when JX turned down HY's offer, HT was ecstatic and happily invested in JX on the spot as if to reward her for not taking HY's side.
Don't even try me, I just watched this episode. The last two episodes have been all about Han Ting's internal dilemma of "it is a huge risk to invest in Ji Xing's company" vs "but I like her."
If he wasn't her rich college classmate who had an unrequited crush on her for years, she would have NEVER gotten this opportunity. Which is fine, but I'm sick of cdramas selling me this condescending plot device and telling me the story is about women being awesome.
If I ever came across an office romance cdrama where the guy WASN'T mega rich and didn't solve the woman's problems for her despite the show's message being all about female empowerment and independence, I think I'd die of shock.
Speaking of which, the whole show is super weird about abortion, but I'm willing to overlook that because I guess it's trying to say something about societal pressure on single mothers/unmarried pregnant women, which seems to be a bigger problem in Japan than it is where I live. So while pressuring women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term is the abortion issue at the forefront of western feminists' minds, this drama is about women being forced to terminate pregnancies because having children out of wedlock is seen as taboo, and about the difference having the support of your loved ones makes (Mizuki's parents vs Yayoi's parents). So, like, whatever, that's interesting, I guess (and although I said it's a lesser issue where I live, that doesn't mean it's not an issue at all—men pressure women to get abortions all over the world). But still, the drama can get very preachy and anti-abortion-y... Give me more cute moments with Umi and her three parents and fewer lectures from annoying grandmas.
Natsu has his flaws, but he got shat on very unfairly here. I got so pressed when he meekly agreed it was all his fault just to pacify his mother and validated all her nonsense that I had to turn off the episode. (By nonsense I mean, for example, her insistence that he should have told her about Mizuki's pregnancy at the time...?!?!?! Bitch, for what? So you could find Mizuki and pressure her to become a parent at 21 under the guise of offering her support she never asked for? We know Mizuki's personality pretty well at this point and I think we can safely assume she didn't want Natsu's family all up in her business!)
(The SML becoming a high-powered corporate shark at 22 or whatever and starting to wear suits and skinny ties on a daily basis also stretched credulity, but I was too busy wondering when he transformed from a wise, cool older brother type friend into a brainless rapey stalker to critique his appearance and the logic behind his career trajectory.)