Nao_Yamamoto

I can understand that its simpler, but its not an accurate explanation

Ahhh someone else who has read the novel!!! Honestly, I understand why they changed Beiyu’s story, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think the age gap between Beiyu and their cousin means more rather than making them close in age. It changes from “a young child being groomed and assaulted by a cousin who has escaped all responsibility” to “a mistake they both made that she only faced consequences for” and as sad as her original story is, I think it plays a huge part in her mental state and how that also broke their mom, and just reflects everything wrong about a patriarchal society. Qingyu not writing is so WRONG!!! I loved that she writes and how it’s her way of also expressing herself in a way that readers can actually UNDERSTAND. Dancing is interpretive and not as straightforward. I really am not sure if I like many of the changes because it changes a lot of the story’s meaning in a way. Like why is Qingyu SO MUCH MORE CARELESS IN THE DRAMA???? She was much more careful in the novel. And the side story!! What will they do with that? And her competitions? And her writing “I love you too” that acted both as something about her sister, AND a confession to Ming Sheng that only he understood!!!! It sets her apart from her sister as well.

The other reply is actually wrong… China did have a one child rule, but that had nothing to do with keeping one grandchild with their grandparents. There’s no such thing as “hiding” a kid, because they’d all be on the family registry. In China, that rule wasn’t ironclad, people COULD have more than one child, but it wasn’t for free. It’s a mixture of a very toxic patriarchal society that still remains, and just straight up vanity.

Their family situation is a little more clear in the novel, Qiao Lusheng, Qingyu’s father, used to be a civil servant. He had a good paying job etc. But their first born was a girl, Beiyu, and MANY Chinese still believe that having a son is imperative because they “carry on the family name.” It’s touched on really lightly in the drama, where the in-laws mention how Qingyu’s mom also only wanted one child, but Qingyu’s dad’s family basically pressured her into having more. It was all to have a son. The only problem about that, is that the one child policy had several different punishments. The most extreme punishments force abortion or sterilization, but the more common ones, were fining the expecting parents will large bills, or stripping them of their jobs to make life hard. That’s exactly what happened with Qingyu’s father. To have another child, he lost his decent paying job and could never get it back. That’s also why Qingyu has been asked if her family favors boys before, because they had another child after her, implying they weren’t satisfied until they had a son.

The reason why one child was left behind with the grandparents was because of pride. The grandparents never really WANTED to keep a child to raise, what they wanted was to ensure that the family would not appear poor. After having lost his well paying job due to having more than one child, they struggled to make money. And, as it’s been shown time and time again, the Qiao family is deeply concerned about appearances. It’s cheaper to send money home to the countryside to raise one child, rather than to afford larger housing in a more expensive city to fit the entire family, and the cost of schooling etc. The Qiao family wanted their son to look as though he could at least afford to keep everyone well cared for, and having 3 kids in the city would have damaged that and changed their lifestyle. It was ALL for appearances. That is why Qingyu’s mom always says it was all for his vanity, for his pride, and she never really wanted to leave her child there. But it’s a patriarchal society, and they’re not from a “big city” they’re old school traditionalists that still embrace all the toxic values. Her mother was powerless, beat down, criticized and suffocated as well.

The novel is a little different, but I do believe they’ll keep the general timeline the same. To give a little summary of her sister’s life through the novel ver, which is much sadder, Beiyu was actually groomed by their cousin. They were “in love.” But quite frankly in the novel, he was 17/18 at the point of them having slept together… and Beiyu was 12 and he more or less assaulted her in a mountain. (This just further justifies Qingyu’s rage, especially as their cousin never truly admits any wrong in the novel) The abuse and neglect from their family is no different, if not even worse in the novel. Beiyu was severely criticized for that event, despite having been a victim, and it shaped the way she viewed herself for the rest of her life. From there the timeline is somewhat the same. She does end up with appendicitis around the age of 20 and is treated for it, but for one reason or another, Beiyu herself must have suspected something and asked to be tested for HIV and upon testing positive she ingested pesticide to commit suicide… and did not die immediately. She was hospitalized for a while before finally passing away. Her entire life is tragic.

If you’re up for a spoiler, but not too big of one, Qingyu’s mother DOES need psychiatric help, and that is actually addressed later in the story, if it follows the general storyline of the novel, her mother’s mental state is actually a plot point. And… although it’s no excuse, it truly does explain a lot. I think many will at least feel for her and her pain, as she’s suffered a lot of injustice herself as well.

I’m not sure how I feel about the drama, the actors are great but the story is exceptionally Frustrating at some points. I’ve read the novel, and it’s beautiful in a very… sad but hopeful way.

The drama has changed a lot but not too much at the same time. The things I really wish that weren’t changed were Qingyu’s love for literature which they’ve changed to dance, which I think showed a lot of her character and inner thoughts as well as a beautiful connection with Ming Sheng who had the ability to always tell if she was the author or not and what her thoughts were. And how her mother, though even more suffocating in the novel, has moments of tenderness and vulnerability that really humanizes and adds depth to her character that the drama has excluded. I can understand why some changes were made, but the most frustrating is how Qingyu is seemingly more careless than she’s depicted in the novel, and how the circumstances behind her sister’s past has been altered to be less… haunting, in the drama, when I think the circumstances in the novel further supports and validates Qingyu’s desire for justice and reflects not just how detrimental a patriarchal society is, but also much despair and injustice it brings upon EVERYONE and the irreversible effects the mistakes of adults have on children. It’s not the typical high school setting, and tackles much more serious issues, but the two main characters are really a delight.

It’s both due to sound quality and the varying dialects. They try to have everything in standard mandarin, but many actors/actresses have slightly different dialects and when it can’t be foxed the dub it.

There’s actually akwaus been a large amount of food/cooking themed dramas in Japan! It’s because Japanese people as a whole are very large foodies. That’s why you’ll also find a lot of manga and novels with stories revolving around food!

Wait, what's wrong with JCW's drama choices? Isn't the only problematic one that he's been in is the one that's currently airing with Kim Yoojung? I saw the trailer and wasn't interested so I haven't watched it, but I have heard of some of the problems. One poor drama choice doesn't mean he's bad at choosing dramas. He was in Healer (one of my favorites), Suspicious Partner, K2, etc and they weren't dramatic, nor was his character a goofy one. Am I missing something??

I always figured the reason he "hid" from her was due to how violently she reacted to his meltdown in that field when he confessed how much he was struggling. Her response was something along the lines of, "You're my pillar, what am I supposed to do if you break down?" The pressure built up. YuHuai who already prided himself on being a reliable person for GengGeng probably felt like he couldn't show her his weakness after that. To begin with, he prided himself on being resilient in his own right, so everything just came crashing down on him. Sometimes when you're so caught up in something for too long, you don't know how to break the cycle.

TBH I was never a fan of Lu XingHe. I viewed his experience as a parallel of JianDian's. Never letting go of his one sided feelings, holding on for too long, etc. GengGeng, for all those years up until that point in the hospital where she takes his ring, never once encouraged his behavior or feelings.
As for GengGeng, I don't think she was "waiting" for him per se, but rather she stayed in the hopes that he would show up. But didn't revolve her whole life around that. It impacted where she chose to live/stay, but beyond that she was probably just hoping their paths would cross again or that she could find him. In the meantime she probably just never found anyone she liked as much.

Hi there! Personally, I found this drama to be very realistic. As the story progresses who as the viewers get to watch how certain actions have less than savory consequences. Lu XingHe's heartbreak was another one of those consequences. He continued to pursue GengGeng despite knowing who she liked, and never once being strung along by her for all those years until the end. He stubbornly clung onto her. I think his experience was a more extreme version of Jiangdan's one sided crush, and what could have happened to her if she insisted on clinging onto her childhood friend.

As for the ML, I don't think he was a coward. Throughout the whole drama we got snippets of his insecurity and how deeply engrained it was. Moreover, it was shown on multiple occasions that he came from a family that struggled financially. The circumstances were unfortunate, and the timing was never right. That's realistic. But he was also still responsible for his parents, for finishing his schooling, and also keeping GengGeng out of his life for what he probably assumed was for her benefit. Misguided? Yeah. But not a coward or a jerk.

Read my review on it! I wrote a pretty in depth review about this drama. I'll share a bit of my thoughts here too. It's a refreshing and more realistic take on school life. The romance is subtle, and doesn't take the spotlight but it's also not in the shadows. The balance is magnificent. There's a lot of focus, as there should be, on their life as a student, the expectations placed on them by parents and teachers, and how they slowly but surely mature as the drama progresses. This drama doesn't gloss over the difficulties of being a student, and the fears that come with not knowing what really lays ahead for us. It's a really well done drama, with realistic settings, characters and pace. I was pleasantly surprised by it. Nothing is overdone.

Yeah the way the female lead is depicted in the Anime vs the Japanese Jdrama is pretty different imo though.

Funny thing is his personality is known to be the exact opposite of a beast ???? He’s famous for being incredibly patient, well mannered, and never really gets angry. A lot of costars/fellow entertainers have commended him for his personality!

I know! Hence why I said it’s not necessary to watch one before the other. ????

The novels are a little different than the dramas, they show some relationships between the characters. But to make ot less complicated they changed it a bit for the drama. So it’s not necessary to watch one drama before the other! ????

Yu Huai is someone who took great pride in being able to provide Geng Geng with help almost every time she needed it. Whether that help be for her studies, emotional support, or physical support, he liked helping her. Most of all, he liked KNOWING he was capable of helping her. It wasn’t “man pride,” or anything of the sort. It was merely just the happiness one derives from knowing they can provide for the person they love/care for. Yu Huai held himself up to particularly high standards, most likely because that was how he was raised.

It’s been made clear that Yu Huai comes from a financially struggling family, and now that his parents are retired and ill, the responsibility to care for them falls on his shoulders. And though he can choose to abandon them like many other unfilial children, he doesn’t. He gives up his dream of attending Tsinghua and taking a step further with Geng Geng.

He’s also a student trying to finish his PhD in America, with a full scholarship (but scholarships don’t usually cover living expenses.) So here’s a great guy who likes security, who likes to provide security for others, to be reliable and dependable -and he just doesn’t feel that he is anymore.

Yu Huai is a highly complex character with as many layers as an onion. He’s shown vulnerability, insecurity, jealousy and fits of anger, but he’s also shown conviction, loyalty, kindness, intelligence, and even the rare shyness. For someone who took great pride in providing for others, his situation must seem like the epitomy of failure. He didn’t go to the school he wanted to go to, he didn’t have the courage to face the person he liked head on, he’s probably drowinging in financial issues, and his achievements are chronologically behind his peers.

However, he DID get into his dream school but selflessly gave it up for his sick mother, he was scared to face the girl he liked because he feared rejection, and that fear of rejection later evolved into his fear of not being who HE wanted to be for her. Yu Huai has accomplished a lot, but in his eyes, it’s not enough because it’s not what he initially planned for himself.

Yu Huai is happy to see Geng Geng again because, well he still likes her. But he’s also unwilling to approach her in a romantic way because of his insecurities and because his life is a little messy right now.

It might be a typical romance movie/drama trope, but unlike all the other ones this is actually based on a true story about a couple in Japan. In one of the interviews with the real couple the husband said he promised to marry her and take responsibility for her, and that’s precisely what he did.

If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of dramas do you usually like? Can you give me some examples? Maybe I can recommend some! ????.

Yu Huai was never really absent or overshadowed by Lu Xing He though? I don’t see Lu Xing He as a second lead used to deepen the main couple’s relationship. Because his existence really didn’t do that. And Geng Geng had never really encouraged or reciprocated his feelings for her either. Yu Huai’s character had a lot of depth and he was very human. Overall I found this drama to be much more realistic than other high school dramas.

...wait after rereading your comment I’m beginning to get a little confused. When you say that the male lead was absent for most of the drama and wasn’t developed, you aren’t talking about Lu Xing He are you?