Platinum Fox

The actress was actually 11 at the time of filming. She was needed for her height as she was suppose to represent how underdeveloped Sang Zhi was as a teenager due to her prolonged illness as a child. It also was to show how much Sang Zhi grew up during the three year temporal node. There are other reasons, but these are the main ones.

The actress has played a younger version of Zhao Lu Si's character in several of her dramas.

Happy drama watching.

Such a beautiful and powerful drama. I hope the two main leads won awards for their roles.

Did she really lose her dream? She became an anchor woman, and she could have continued the charade of her marriage and her job knowing that she wasn't picked because of her talent, but for whom she was married to. She realized pretty quickly that it is all in who you know as to who gets the coveted positions in the industry. She also learned that she beat out someone who was far more qualified than her to do the job, just because of who she is married to. She didn't lose her dream, just that reality set in.

Dreams are illusions until they come true. Everybody dreams of being rich and famous, but how many of us actually achieve this dream.

You forget that the only reason she got the news anchor job was because of him. It was a reward for helping him get some guy's business through visiting his mother. How would you feel knowing that your dream job was given to you by your husband's influence, not because of how hard you worked for it? That was why she left the job and him.

The entire drama is about illusion vs. real. Her childhood dream was real, but how she received her childhood dream was not through her own doing. I admire her courage to walk away from all of it and begin something that is totally just her and her friends. Whether you liked the clothes or not, the point was to be your true self down to your roots (including your clothes), so the ethnic clothing line makes total sense. jmo

Yes, this drama is definitely a slow burn physical romance. But then again, what is romance to you? One of the most sexual scenes in the drama is in episode 12. The point of the whole drama is what is love and what does it look like? When SS was with LY love was food, friendship, honesty, openness, sharing the same goals, and just being with one another. Her and LY had the most open and honest relationship of SS' three suitors. Even though there was no hugging, kissing, or even hand holding, there was romance as defined by them. SS wasn't ready for a sexual relationship; she was barely ready for a boyfriend. However, her relationship with LY helps her grow to love someone and think about someone other than herself. She had a lot of growing up to do before she could be serious with anyone, including LBY.

So if you were looking for a simple, fluffy romance, this drama is not it. Thus, probably why you felt annoyed with the romance. It's okay. Many viewers felt like you and dropped it. It's okay. It just wasn't what you were expecting. But I will tell you that what you are expecting is in season 2.

This is why I say, can you look past why you dropped it in the first place.

Happy drama watching.

I have to disagree with you on PW. She did not plan fl's death that was all on XFF's first husband, his mother, and his sister. PW laughed like a mad woman when she heard that he "killed" XFF instead of letting PW marry into the family. PW does not kill people. She puts them in her dungeon to play with on a later date. We learn why she is the way she is later on in the story. Thus, XFF goes too far with the pregnancy pill and gets her just reward in the end.

You can watch this version on KissKH.

You can watch this version on KissKH.

Sometimes we don't give writers enough credit.
Happy drama watching!

I don't agree. Why can't HC have a happy ending and still be his true self knowing his true parentage? Yes, it may hurt him at the beginning, but he has the right to know who his biological parents are even if he doesn't claim them as his parents.

In the beginning XY does not claim her real parents as her parents, but in the end she begins to slowly build a relationship with them. However, her grandmother is her sole "parent" by choice. The same could be said for HC. There are so many options that could happen that would allow HC to live as his true self and still be a part of HM and XY's lives. HC could ask HM and XY to adopt him when he is old enough to make business decisions. HC's biological grandparents and aunt could say, that because he has been raised as a Shen, he can remain a Shen with the understanding that he get to know his biological family or not. Now, the tricky part would be the biological father of HC. He would need to be found, told, and have the option of becoming his dad. I don't know Chinese law. Does a father have claim over a child if the mother and mother's family doesn't want him to?

What most viewers want is for the deception, illusion, to continue because that is what they think is best for the child and the couple. But in reality that is the worst thing that could happen. In the grand scheme of things, if HM and XY continue on with the charade that HC is HM's son, this would be the equivalent of kidnapping. They know the truth, but refuse to accept it. This lie is bound to come out after all that has happened. It is far better to have the truth come out, let the Shens look like the good guys for taking in this child, who seems to have no family and allow HC to live and get to know his mother's and father's families. In the end, HC doesn't have to claim his biological parents as his parents, he can choose HM and XY, but it must be his choice, not something forced upon him like before, just for the sake of convenience. That goes against the narrative and theme of the drama.

Thank you again for the discussion.

I have to disagree with you on it being completely one-sided. When she is 14, yes, but when she turns 17, DJX's head is turned. I don't know of a brother who would tease his little sister with a milk bottle on the cheek or pick out food that his sister is allergic to, so she could eat the dish, especially Sang Yan who has grown tired of doing his brotherly duties and has passed them on to DJX. There are so many little things that DJX does for Sang Zhi when she is 17 that can be construed as the perfect boyfriend or brother. It depends on how comfortable the viewer is with the age gap at 17/22. Some viewers find it creepy.

Yes, it does seem like a harsh punishment for the advisors, but it did tame the princess which was the point of the action. Notice her maids survived.

I get your point, but do you really understand why those "advisors" were killed in the first place? Those "advisors" contributed to the immorality of the princess. The princess believed that she could kill anyone she wanted to just because she was a princess. If she were a boy, would you want her to be emperor with that attitude?

Why did you drop it after season 1? If you can look past why you dropped it then by all means continue. However, I have to say that season 2 mirrors season 1; we just get LBY's story and then their completed love story.

Depends on what you mean by romance. One of the most sexual scenes of the drama (and any drama that I have watched) is in episode 12, and they are not even a couple yet. The next most sexual scene is in season 2.

Yes, you can blame Fang Lei only partly for this lie. However, what I found interesting is that the Shens carefully created this elaborate illusion to protect the image of their company, yet they didn't double check the paternity of the child. That to me is the weakness in the plot, not that HC is really not HM's son. That follows the overarching theme of the story.

Many viewers like you have argued that if the Shens hadn't taken HC in then he may have become an orphan. That isn't true. He had a maternal set of grandparents, a maternal aunt, and a dad (even though they don't know who he was) who could have taken care of him and seemed to be just as well off as the Shens. I don't think the parents who had just lost their daughter would not have taken in her child if they knew she had one. Which leads me to believe that they may not have known. If they did know, then they may have made the arrangement with the Shens to take the child as HM was the "known" father at that time according to the fake paternity test.

We all want a happy ending for HC which it seems happened as he was not in the last episode, so I am assuming that he went to his maternal grandparents house to live as his true self as the Shens would have no claim over him since it was not the laboratory's fault, but Fang Lei's lie that made him a Shen.

Hope this clarifies things and thank you for the discussion.

I have to disagree with you on the message of HC's parentage. Yes, family is chosen, not blood, but what the Shen's did to HC was despicable. They deprived him of knowing his true roots for 12 years just to create an illusion of the perfect family. It is poetic justice for what they did to him. If HC had been HM's actual son, it would have contradicted the drama's overall theme: live sincerely as your true self down to your roots. jmo

I love how DSC's t-shirts match the scene. What wonderful easter eggs. Also, DMS' ringtone of James Bond.

I have to disagree with you on your main point that the ethnic clothing arc is wrong for the story. The whole point of the drama was to dismiss the fake, illusion (including how one dresses), and phony behavior that each character brought to the story. The scene where XY takes off her makeup and clothes is one of the most powerful scenes in the drama, it is then that she begins to become her true self, including in what she wears, hence why the organic, ethnic clothing line. Remember her goal in marrying HM wasn't money, she actually loved him. HM was the one who thought she was after his money and compensated her accordingly. If you turn her into a wealthy influencer, then you are still adding to the illusion, just because it is live-streamed doesn't make it real.

Also, remember the family went overseas once they found out about HM's "son", they purposely stayed away until it was a proper time for them to come back and be able to explain HC, so there is no plot hole. Again, this is to play into the illusion of the first part of the drama. Once that illusion was torn apart, HC could live as his true self.

One thing I can agree with you on are some of the ways they take to get to the point of drama. I despise drunk scenes. They are so over done, but this one had its point that they could only be their true selves when they let go of their inhibitions. The same with the silliness of those games, but the point was the same.

Happy drama watching.

I have been doing a Boys over Flowers binge watch of all the versions. This is hilarious with its homage to Grease. What a fun movie!