Maggi64

Thank you so much for this thoughtful explanation. But I have one question -- when the Chinese govt mandated that all shows and movies be in Mandarin, did they want it to be free of the sort of accents you mention? Because I read something by a Chinese voice actor who said he gets lots of work because so many of the actors speak Mandarin with a heavy accent.

I thought of how American News Anchors are trained to speak English in a way that has no trace of any of our regional accents, and assumed this Chinese voice actor did dubbing because he spoke Mandarin in the same accent-free way.

Thank you. That all makes sense. I had a feeling that Wu Bi's wish related to Su Yu because Su Yu's facial expression showed that he was touched on reading it. Then he immediately rejected the bitch in the next scene.

But I was not sure because Su Yu told Wu Bi that he came around based on something Duo had said. I figured he meant when Duo told him that Wu Bi was "suffering over someone he loved." I couldn't put that together with the wish.

Now, however, I think I got it: Maybe he read Wu Bi's wish about spending every holiday with him and that this, by extension, confirmed what Duo said about Wu Bi suffering for love -- and he figured out that the love is him, himself. That would connect the wish to what Duo had said.

EPISODE 13

In the beginning of this episode Su Yu digs up the wish box that he, Wu Bi and Duo had buried some weeks earlier. He reads the wishes, but the audience never gets to see what they said. Will we learn what they said later on in the show? If so, can someone tell me what they said?

You asked if my comment about them meeting at school for the first time is, "In this drama or the other one?" I was talking about SWM in that case, but the fact is they meet the same way in both shows . They pull pranks on each other and then befriend each other. The impetus for becoming friends right after the pranks is the only thing that's different. In Addicted the impetus was Gu Ha defending Bai Luo Yin from the kid who called his mom a prostitute. The impetus for them becoming friends in Stay With Me is different (I won't spoil it for you), but the result is the same -- ie, they become friends.

They discover that they are, in fact, step brothers later on in their friendship. Of course, this would not matter if they began a romantic relationship because they did not grow up together in the same family (ie, it's not incest). They are just two guys who met as 18 year old high school seniors, just as any other teenage couple would meet at school.

Then you can watch the censored version. I think it's on youtube. The sex scenes are mostly relevant cuz it's surprising that they were so explicitly gay and, well, this is CHINA! But the sex scenes don't add anything to the plot so you'll be fine watching the censored version. It's the characters that matter, and they are just the most unexpected couple. It's an adorable case of opposites attract.

Yep, she doesn't need a job for money but she could volunteer somewhere.

A man bun does speak of pretentiousness, so you're right about that.
But as the person above said, they could have used a hair extension to make a proper man bun if that's what they were going for. The budget on this show is pretty decent so they could afford a good stylist who does hair extensions . It's not like Addicted which was so low budget that the cast did all their own hair and makeup and wore their own clothes. Although I kind of liked the amateur makeup in Addicted and how you could even see Bai Lu Yin's acne in a lot of scenes. It had a certain realism, know what I mean?

I know, how could nobody on that set notice how bad it looked? It's bizarre.

You're right; it's been mentioned dozens of times on this page and it's all over twitter. Besides, just saying "a kiss is coming" in some show is not a spoiler -- especially when one of the primary discussions about the show has been whether or not it is a censored bromance or a flat out BL with a kissing scene. So your comment simply supports the latter theory that it's a flat out BL. In that light, it's totally cool :)

Totally agree. She has said things that reveal how she thought it was her duty as a mother to provide material goods and posh, private schools for her son. Of course, this was flawed thinking because all he wanted was her love and attention. But in her defense, she seems to have truly thought that her becoming rich would benefit her son

It looks like a big mushroom is growing out of his skull.

Ah, that explains why the voices match in other shows! Thank you. I am convinced that it was Gu Ha's and Buy Lu Yin's real voices in Addicted. After all, it's likely they speak Mandarin too if they are actors and live in an urban area instead of some outback province. So why wouldn't they do their own dubbing?

Yep, I felt badly for the mother in Addicted too. There was a scene of her visiting Buy Lu Yin's and Gu Ha's new apartment to bring them fruit, and they're both so rude to her while she's clearly trying HARD to get involved in their lives. I wanted to yell through my screen, "Give the poor woman a chance!"

Yes, Yechan had a cute puppy personality too. But Bu Xia's personality is even more childlike and innocent. I mean, he could eat potato chips off Jiang Chi's chest without nary a clue that this would arouse a man. He's just so innocent and clueless. It's adorable!

As for "Like Love" yes, it's wonderful. It was made before China's ban so it is openly gay, and the original show and the sequel each have multiple gay sex scenes. And wowza, those sex scenes are explicit! The scene of the 1st time they have sex even felt like softcore porn. Truly, we see everything but the penises (make sure you watch the uncensored version, cuz there are 2 versions).

But the real focus of the show is how opposite the characters are. The rich, suave, popular, handsome guy is utterly aloof, while the dorky, bespectacled little guy is always bouncing around him trying to get his attention. It's funny as hell. Ultimately, the dork wins the heart of the rich, aloof, cool dude, as his aloofness melts and he becomes a puddle of love for the little dork.

The Chinese "bromance" Precise Shot did the same thing by having the real brother playing Truth or Dare with friends, and his dare was to hit on the fake brother. So he talks to the fake brother seductively and asks him to have sex with him. Then he breaks out laughing saying, "It was only a dare!" But the audience got that this was the only way the director could show us what was really going on the character's mind.

In the novel, Gu Ha discovers that his dad and the new wife had nothing to do with his mother's death. It was an accident just as they had said.

I hope so too. Her character was too cliched, and the actress was a weak link. But it seems that Su Yu's rejection, plus his brother knowing the real deal with her, means the writers have effectively tied up her storyline. They'd have to create a new storyline if they bring her back, and I don't see that happening.

RICH WIFE SYNDROME

I felt for the mother in recent episodes. She is suffering from what I girl "Rich Wife Syndrome" wherein the high-earning husband is never home. Her kids are not interested in her because she ignored them when they were little while she focused on cultivating a rich woman's posh lifestyle; and when she tries to open relations with them as teens, they reject her. Ultimately, the woman suffering from Rich Wife Syndrome is left home, in her big beautiful house, drinking alone and with nobody to talk to except the maid. This show did an excellent job portraying Rich Wife Syndrome, and the actress playing the maid even made facial expressions showing that she felt badly for the mother. I sure did.

Thank you! I felt the same way. The poor thing is drinking alone with nobody to talk to except the maid. I even commented on this in a post above.