DreamHi

If you want detailed analysis of the story setting, genre and character sketch, the analysis by oddsare is a must read:
https://kisskh.at/781606-city-of-the-sun#comment-24403850
I don't think it has any substantial spoiler either.

The below explanation is assuming that you've watched till the 8th episode. If not, please read the first part only :)

Fan Xiao is not out for revenge, on the contrary, he is acting purely based on his personal needs and worldview. You Shulang caught his attention in their masks of similarity- Gentle, distant, perfectly composed and societally acceptable. However, Fan Xiao under his mask hid deceit, hate, apathy and superiority- which leads to him wanting to tear off You Shulang's veneer of goodness and kindness to see the rotten truths hidden deep down.

Except, the more he slid closer, the more he tries to get under You Shulang's skin- he only ends up finding gentleness, sharp yet calm intelligence, steady beliefs and strong empathy. This triggers him- he makes it his goal to posess that light and drown it into darkness with him. Why should You Shulang live a life of hope when Fan Xiao believes drowning beneath the waves is much better than living? And just like that, hoping to pull him down into his makeshift grave, Fan Xiao lies, manipulates and captures his prey not realising he had failed the story he wanted to spin by truly falling in love.
Fan Xiao wanted You Shulang to drown with him. But, You Shulang ends up pulling him out of the freezing water that never seemed to leave him since childhood, into arms that embraced him and warmth that promised to never leave him either in darkness or light.

I really had to get a cup of coffee for this one,. Your profound insight on this series or genre in general has left me little to say. I feel like you have meticulously given voice and reason for the innate desire we have in us to watch, read and fantasize experiences we would frown upon in real life. What is life without the colour art and literature brings into it? Many people in general have become so critical of literature and media representation these days that oftentimes it takes all the fun out of it, even going as far as to spread hate or boycott the series. But it's all just brain food in the end, a brief moment of imaginary respite from this busy and all-consuming life, (unless ofcourse it endorses discrimintion, hate or crime).

To My Shore, for me, feels like burning embers of coal amidst the frozen depth of winter- a perfect story to end the year and start a new one with, as I watch Fán Xiāo and Yóu Shūlăng navigate a flawed, painful path to their shared eternity. Humans are but luminent specs of emotions and desire held together by mortal shell and worldly rights and wrongs, and little in life can replace the fond depth of belonging to a place that would forever be reserved for them.

In here, Fán Xiāo and Yóu Shūlăng could choose to burn away with their passion and love, they could belong to each other like sea and salt, like the ocean and its shore. Not because they are unaware of the depth of the depravity that encompsses their love, but because they know it.
And the magnetic pull lies in the aftermath, the question which has no right or moral answer- Will they shy away from the scorching heat? Will they burn through it and destroy each other? Or, will they decide to carve a path through all the filth, love and obsession, just enough to hold two lives entwined down to their very breaths?

Your analysis of the characters Yóu Shūlăng and Fán Xiāo were exactly what I needed- beautiful, precise and sensitive. They resonate to the chaotic feelings stuck inside my head as I watch and savour every moment of this deliciously flawed and captivating story. I tend to get a little (huge understatement) addicted to characters and stories like this and they always leave an everlasting, persistent thread of discourse in my head. I find it kind of hard to organize them as well as you do and craft it into words that embody the feelings behind it, so I feel extremely grateful for every comment of yours. I'm going to be stuck in kowtow for a while 🙆🏽‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️❤️

🙎🏽‍♀️I got up😂
But really, no words can explain how happy I was to see your comment here. I know you from your detailed comments on the mdl page of Kill to love (hope you know that your analysis is enshrined in an isolated discussion thread in there), and as I was reading this comment of yours, I kind of had a feeling it might be you (I did not notice your username), and wow, it really did turn out to be you.
I'll proudly let you know that I appreciate your comments a lot, enough to recognize them by the vibes alone😅😅

YSL's tears in that moment was meant to look wierd, like does he look like he cries every other day for it to look graceful🥲
YSL is a character who was always meant to hold himself up even if he was crumbling inside, who stood straight like a pine even on days he didn't want to. He's never has someone to depend on, and certainly not someone he would cry over. His emotions at the cemetry were meant to be raw, ugly and graceless- or to put it more eloquently- his tears were real, overwhelming and unfamiliar. It was so beautifully portrayed by HYR.
To add on- in the book, YSL doesn’t cry in the cemetry, I think it must be the director/ scriptwriter or HYR himself who came up with the interpretation- and it absolutely elevates the scene, setting stage for the depth of YSL's heartbreak once everything unravels.

This is utterly ridiculus and batshit stupid. No bl/ ship/ actor is going to erase the other? This kind of crazy, toxic mentality is what factured popular ships like YiZhan and caused lots of controversies and heartache for the entire lgbt community in terms of media representations. Anytime there’s a slight lax in bl/ bromance representations in china, toxic fans try their best to kill it. And now, hearing that fans of other cbl dramas are reporting their lives- isn’t that setting fire to their own backyard? I'm beyond surprised by the lack of basic intelligence behind these actions😂

Can I kowtow to you for perfectly capturing the core essence of both the story and characters?🙆🏽‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️

He knows he's betting on something he has no control or accurate prediction over. His calculation and careful analysis has failed in FX's regard as YSL himself says that : "I never gamble on what I cannot win, you're the only exception. Do you think I'll win?" He knows deep down that Fan Xiao is a difficult person to understand or decipher, he can't figure out what he's thinking. But, You Shulang is in love, he crashed into it with no control over himself, very unlike his usual personality. It doesn’t mean he's fooled easily, it's just that, with Fan Xiao, he chose to trust, believe and love. He's given him the benefit of doubt, and that's why he calls it a gamble where he's given FX the precious fragments of himself. He's more than aware that FX declaration of love is half nonsense and half real, but he believes in the passion, the care, the attention and the effort FX is investing and is willing to take risk.

I am at awe with how beautifuly each episode was portrayed.
When I first watched Fan Xiao, i couldn't decipher his expressions at all, a perfect veneer of manufactured anf calculated reactions, gentle words thrown off balance by eyes that gleamed with unchanging light. His eyes were a void, holding next to no emotions except when close to You Shulang and even then, most of the time, his agendas were a total mystery. Only with You Shulang in his line of sight did his eyes light up with mischief, condesceding smugness, sharp desire and burning irritation. While his words turned tender with the confession, his first true crack in mask appeared with the blatant embarrassment of having next to no experience on bed. At the start of the relationship, he seemed all words and actions, eyes still holding a layer of coldness. But then, as he opens up about his fear of lights, as he basks under You Shulang's utter love and devotion, and he touches and maps every bit of You Shulang's body, his eyes grow tender and soft, at times even brimming with pride at his capable boyfriend. He melts like a helpless block of iceberg ripped out from icy cold waters and trust into warm life. And then, like a paradox, his words no longer match the tenderness he holds in his eyes. He can no longer blatantly and shamelessly spew witty and sticky remarks back at You Shulang like he did at the start, because while his eyes hold love and longing, his mind trips over the sheer intensity of You Shulang's devotion, felling guilt that he doesn’t realize. He could once flirt words he didn't mean just to satisfy his bodhisattva, but now, with his lover's overflowing declarations of love- he can't bring himself to playfully and halfheartedly reciprocate to such undivided sincerity, maybe- it finally feels like blasphemy, because he's truly in love. His eyes and actions shine with care and love, but words wouldn't form whereas once, his eyes and actions were empty, with only colorful words decorating the absence of feelings. Such a mind blowing portrayal of a complex character.
However, You Shulang- a person alike Fan Xiao, a master at wearing masks of gentle companionship, went from politely distant to wary, to confused and thrown off balance, to irritated and blunt, to offhanded remarks and subtle growing trust, to care and friendship, finally ending at pure unadultered tenderness. I was thrown completely off balance by his smile as he stood outside his apartment, remniscing about the door locks Fan Xiao changed, because it was brimming with soft happiness, which was very distinct from the polite/kind smiles that usually graced his face. Ripping his closed off and careful persona, Fan Xiao managed to throw his entire life into chaotic firsts, leaving him exhilarated, longing, full of fragile and tender love. In Fan Xiao, he saw himself, lonely ghosts of pasts haunting their presents. And just like that, with one I Love You, he unravelled. Never having anyone to rely on all his life, Fan Xiao was like a piece of driftwood he never thought could hold him. And so, he becomes an open book for his lover, pouring and pouring, filled to the brim with unspeakable joy. He could lay down his hard shell and expose the soft flesh inside, because, in Fan Xiao- he found a tangible evidence of hope he always chased.

They both glowed in this episode, a quite intimate kind of glow restricted to those in love. Fan Xiao, who always looked older, turned into a young inexperienced youth everytime he looked at You Shulang and You Shulang became soft spoken, loose limbed and tactile, helpless to Fan Xiao's charms.

I'm totally in love with this series.

He does, he loves him, is obsessed over him, thirsts for him and is hopelessly and moronically in deep. But he thinks he doesn't. He believes he will get tired of YSL someday, he gloats over that thought because, by then, he would have sucessfully tainted YSL and dragged him down. By then, like him YSL will lose his hope and be miserable like him. This is just FX reflecting his insecurities on YSL. But, he doesn't realize, that shattering YSL will be his greatest play of doomed satire as he himself has long become a character in the game he once reigned over- Someone should just give him a mirror so he can take a good look at him with YSL- all tender eyed and parched

YSL's brother leverages a few facts- major spoilers ahead
1. YSL was adopted by his mother off the streets
2. During his days in high school, YSL was bullied for his sexuality (which was outed by some unethical means?) which he strongly fought back against. The bullies were unable to do anything to him, so once YSL finished highschool, his brother's classmates took it upon themselves to harass his brother claiming he must be gay like YSL. One thing led to another and his mother (who was mildly intellectually challenged), trying to save him from some bullies, accidentally fell down the stairs and passed away. So his brother believes that YSL was the reason for the whole thing.

He uses the above 2 facts to constantly demand money from YSL firmly believing he deserved that "compensation". He also, with his gambling, abusive (towards his mother), cheating vile father, uses his degree in finance to cheat a lot of people out of their money in the name of stocks trading to gamble- effectively incurring major losses and borrowing money from loan sharks.
Due to this, YSL had no way but to sell his house off to repay all the money- which as you can in ep 6 was thwarted by FX behind his back. But this turns out to a major turning point in their relationship later on as YSL finds FX's agendas and falls out with him, selling both his house and car to return back that money. Without a place to stay, he gets tricked into staying in one of his research professor's student's house- all arranged by FX (he freaking installed cameras on every inch of the house) as YSL quits his company to rejoin the research he once left (which was again secretly funded by FX). FX also resorts to employing his brother in his company to force YSL into staying with him once he finds out about all this.

Overall, his brother was his only weakness, only kin in the lonely world. And that brother whom he wholeheartedly supported, stabbed him in the back again and again going as far as asking YSL to just get back together with FX and let him f**k him so that he can earn money through the job. He played a major role alongside FX in breaking YSL down so much that he finally couldn't take it any more and agreed to let FX do whatever he wanted. The unwavering hope that YSL held in the world, that it was somehow worth living in despite all the struggles of life was repeated broken down by all this, ripping off the light in his soul forcing him down into the abyss where FX stayed.

FX started hoping, placing faith in the happiness that YSL once brought him, whereas YSL plunged into the darkness wondering if death was perhaps the answer to it all, like FX once told him. His brother was the noose that pulled YSL off the chair he was teetering on,delivering him right into the suffocating hands of FX.

It's the same dynamics in the novel as well actually. You Shulang is around 3 years elder than Fan Xiao and is a senior executive at bohai in the administration with prior experience as a researcher in his university days. I usually either read the book prior to watching the series or finish the series first before reading the original material, refusing to have either tainted by half and half perspectives, so I totally get you in the sense that series and book can be viewed at seperately with their own merits and demerits.
But, this is a thorough first for me, I really couldn't wait to read the novel as soon as I laid by eyes on the first four episodes- especially because I was not sure if Yun Qi's portrayal of Fan Xiao was adequate enough especially since it seemed to be a new experience with acting for him (He nailed it though). And I was vastly surprised by how impeccably true the series seemed to stick to the source material, word for word in many instances, with small exclusions which do not exert much of an impact on the story. First for an adaptation to be honest😭
Also, I'm an obsessive fan of Kill to love, and I do know you from its mdl page. I won't lie, I've read almost all of your rewatch snippets on the page. I tried in vain to find a good translation for the book, but I was really satisfied with just the series as a whole- it's a masterpiece in itself, so I'm kind of putting my search for a translation on hold now.

Novel excerpts ahead-
Actually, Fan Xiao was not willing in the slightest to be the reciever on a sexual level- according to the novel. He was just cooking up a pitiful show, sweating through every second that ticked by, because he trusted You Shulang to give up and let him dominate. And, yes, Fan Xiao is ready for any road that brings him closer to You Shulang in whatever way he wants- but he has mentally not yet comprehended that he is gay/bi/pan because to him, it's all still a game which he believes he'll get tired of someday and he finds deep amusement ruminating in that thought. Though, he also as fiercely and obsessively means every word of worship and attatchment he pours on You Shulang. Such a paradox of feelings- so delicious to watch a character as intelligent as Fan Xiao tripping over his own thoughts and stumbling onto the path of no return. He believes to be on the top of the chain, all seeing, only for the wheel of time to turn on him someday as You Shulang tears him apart for the facade. I'm afraid I'm in love

Am I even alive after watching this episode?

I believe You Shulang will take great pleasure in breaking that grip and then choose to stay- not because he has no other option, but because he wants to. Fan Xiao doesn’t realise it yet, he might be a black forest, but he also can't seem to exist without You Shulang. If he wants him, he'll have no chance but to grovel and beg- which he 100% deserves to🙂

Okay, if the videos were not about Yu Menglong, who were they of? Who was the person screaming and crying out in those videos? In spite of knowing strict and sick measures of chinese authorities, who in their right mind would fabricate evidence again big chinese names aware of foul play at higher levels? FOR FAME?
A person died under suspicious circumstances pointing towards foul play at higher level, and oh, so many people are suddenly interested in getting killed by pointing out the injustice. What a f*cking elaborate joke!?
The videos themselves are very scary, very unjust and hideous to watch. If they're fabricated, where's the damn proof? Where's the autopsy report? Where's the forensic analysis report of the scene?
When 1000s of people round up for answers, why hide the facts investigated if there's no foul play? A clean plate has nothing to hide, protestors don't need to be silenced or craked down, they just could be shown the so called "ruled out criminal suspicion" checklist.
These authorities holding money and positions in their hands are instilling fear into the minds of troubled people instead of offering peace and clarity. Truly, humans have become the worst creation of life.

Has anyone in here read the book? If so can you kindly drop the site/link to the translated version?

My God, I love your analysis and the work as well as thought process you've invested into this. Would be so delighted if you can continually share your insights and findings in here🥰

This short episode series had a lot more potential had only the script-writing and characters been a bit more streamlined. The story was brilliant for a short series. If the execution been better and consistent, the story would have had a more explosive reaction. Not to say, the actors all did very good jobs with the characters. The last part was a bit too similar to all other censored danmeis in forcing a sad ending, but I should say that Xiaoxi survived because we see him with the wolf fang necklace in the market. As for the last scene where Jianwei sees him, that could be taken as a delusion or an actual meeting. But I do believe he will return back because the title literally is Returned Master and he will always be the young master of the Ghost valley.

As for them being cousins, there are literally so many straight chinese dramas with the same concept. I think it's somewhat common in asian countries for cousins to marry each other. Since this is mostly frowned upon for scientific reasons (birth anomalies in children), I don't see why it is a problem here, they're both men anyway😅 But, I can understand why it can be wierd for some people too. Also, this seems to be a move to counter censorship as far as I am aware, so no big hate from me.

No, they're not brothers. That wouldn't make sense. Their fathers are 2 different generals

https://kisskh.at/50145-the-light-in-the-night#comment-22283504
Please read my comment following the link for the details. It's completely normal to not understand, afterall even the novel readers find it hard to unavel the dense plot ;)