Spolochon

How I understood it: the writer was "trapped" in this virtual world, possibly as he was waiting to be operated on. He was about to die in real life (flat line at the start of the operation), but makes the decision to fight and come back, find Miaomiao and all that. So he "leaves" the virtual world (when he "falls"), yet the novel exists with the characters etc., he just gives a happy ending to all in the re-edition.

He was the author from the very start, chances are he had given up on real life because it had become too difficult to bear. But he found Miaomiao in this virtual world, remembered who he really was, understood that she was the Miaomiao from his childhood, connected the dots and... decided to come back and fight, as said above? Something along those lines?

one or two episodes after, I forgot exactly but they don't make us suffer for too long, no worries.

We don't get the details, but we know that in the re-edition of the novel (in the drama), "everyone gets a good ending". It's just one sentence, it doesn't say how it's done for every character, but we know that.
So the second couple does get their happy ending, for good, even if we don't know precisely how.

To each their own, if you don't like it that's simply it. As for me I loved it, but on the negative side you could say that we suddenly get lots of information out of nowhere, nothing before gave a single hint that we would go this way etc. As for me I think that not expecting it makes the final message stronger, but if you need an intrigue to be "built up" you might feel that something's missing somewhere, which would lead to that conclusion. That's just how you like your stories then, nothing to say on that.

Edit because I forgot a very important point: Men do look 1 000 000 times better with long hair!
Yes, long hair require careful grooming and all that, but men should go back to the long hairdos. They all look sooooo much better with it, it's a scientific fact!
So when you take someone who already looks very good with short hair, like Ding Yuxi, he becomes gorgeous with long hair. Pure science. Indeed. Let's all enjoy the marvel of science and admire pure scientific facts.

Well, if we follow a very ancient principle in philosophy (from the Greeks, will make it short, it isn't a super brainy thing), everyone actually has three personalities:
- The person you show others -> "how you appear in front of people", there might be a few differences depending on who surrounds you but there's "a core", and that's this personality.
- The person you want to be -> "your ideal self", usually only you know of this one.
- The person you are deep inside -> "your inner core and the result of said core", quite often no one really knows that one, even though it has a huge influence on you (will boost or block you under some circumstances etc.). Psychiatrists are paid a fortune to try and help understand that one.

The interesting point is that artists in general actually show on stage "who they want to be", or part of it: to sum up they "grab" from that inner core what part they want to use for this or that character, and they show it to the world. That's how writers often write about themselves here and there, for bits and pieces of this or that character, sometimes with more focus on one single character. So yes, Ziqi is mooooost surely who Fu Zhou "wants to be": as a writer, that's who he wants to speak about!

Still, even if "the personality" is a bit different, "the person" is the same. Fu Zhou will have to work on himself so that "the one he shows others" gets very close to Ziqi, but that's precisely the decision he makes at the end of the drama, when he leaves "the virtual world" (and decides that "the real world" is worth fighting for). Including the fact that that's who Miaomiao fell in love with, and he wants to be worthy of this love in the real life too.
But that story would be a new drama, not sure it would be as interesting even though it would surely be super sweet. Good thing we have Moonlight, we can watch it and fill in a few gaps using pieces of LGIEF!

The next episodes will answer that.

Maybe they decided to hide it with make-up?
He was supposed to have a very pale skin after all (because of the description in the novel), so maybe a dimple on a very light skin didn't look right? Something like that?

It's a happy ending.
Some see it as an open ending, but honestly all clues are there: happy ending.

In a fantasy world again: Love You Seven Times, with the same male lead. It's a very, very sweet story that makes you laugh and cry too (and vent at the screen sometimes, and of course it's on purpose).
In the real world: Moonlight, with the same two leads (and with the same 2nd male lead, in a role I definitely prefer for Moonlight). There's a good reason why many (everyone?) considers it as the unofficial second season of LGIEF!
And many others with different actors, too many to list. For a recent example, I loved Wonderful Land Of Love ("old times", a bit of fantasy elements but mostly "old times"). Are You The One ("old times" too) is a recent obsession of mine too. Etc., many!

And all of these have a good ending. It's an important detail.

Moonlight is facing you with open arms!

In the past, she posted comments about his -past- novels. The one she was writing as the drama was starting was about his new novel, his first one after years of silence. It's the first one she didn't like so much, after years of loving everything he published.
Thus the positive comment(s) in the past!

Well, there can be many possibilities that lead to that screen. Even in real life. Especially when the operation is done on the brain. Fortunately, surgeons are trained to deal with them, and most of the time all goes well in the end (as long as it wasn't caused by a huge accident). Here it seems it was the case, after all the patient had something to fight for too, it usually helps?

Anyway, yeah, one way or another he's having a signing event, so of course he made it!

Well, yes and no. I'm not into "big bears" whose manliness is supposed to express their feelings. I like it when men manage to accept that little instant of weakness that makes one lose themselves into the other (figuratively, but still). That's what hugs and warm moments are for. Including kisses, yes, but not only for sure. As in, if I can see really warm moments, I'm fine with no kisses. Here, they were so busy saving the world at one point that they didn't really take time to show their love to one another... while they managed to do both before they were officially a couple?
We got a bit of that in the last episode, in that virtual world, but in the end we didn't get it in the real world, at all: even one giant bear hug as they meet again would have been enough, instead of just Miaomiao's eyes. I loved the drama and the ending, truly, but it could have reached another scale with such a "closure ending" in the real world.

It's a form of confirmation, or affirmation, or a way to get lots of feels (when well done). I don't yearn for kisses at all, but when they aren't here I need warmth from the actors. For example, here, we got no kiss but also no giant bear hug: considering the level of affection expressed and shown by the two leads, that is something I absolutely missed. I loved (LOVED) the drama, but in the end the leads showed more affection towards one another -before- they were officially a couple, so that was a bit underwhelming in that regard.

It's completely different to Scarlet Heart?
In Scarlet Heart, the girl returns to her period and the two of them live in great sadness knowing they will never meet again, they can only regret what they could have had.
Here, they both come back to the same era/universe, and it's clearly shown and explained that they find each other again (and remember, even if only a little for FL): they have their forever ever after, even if it isn't shown to us.
So, truly, extremely different?

He's literally having a signing session at the very end: there's no way he died.
The disease they speak about can be deadly when it's not treated, but with surgery there's a very good survival rate: really no reason for him to die. Like, at all.

I love how they troll us a little bit at the very end of the very last credits... they knew what they were doing!

Some of the last episodes were so-so, I would say they were not as well planned or scripted than the first ones. They were good, just not at the level of AWESOMENESS of the start of the drama. Except for the last episode, which was AWESOME again. I loved how Miaomiao seemed to remember her "dream" little by little, how the writer just calls her, how just calling her and the way he rewrote his novel show that he remembers, and how Miaomiao's eyes are enough to show that she starts to remember the dream, at least the most important parts, at least enough to start a nice love story. Everything before that in this last episode is probably a bit easy and fairy tale-ish, but fairy tales are important mostly for the message and values they convey: that's surely the case here too.

In the end, he's a writer, she's a girl who was working for a business-thingie which she hates and her boss are bad with her, she loves reading, and she will probably start looking for a new job soon: we can absolutely consider Moonlight as the 2nd season and that's awesome.

I didn't especially like the novel or manga, so I didn't expect much from this drama, but I -love- what they did here from this raw material, and send my warmest congratulations and everything positive to the writers, who had the imagination to deliver -this- from something that was so, so different.

Also warm thanks to everyone here, it was a delight to come and read messages even before I created an account and started to participate a little bit: I'll be missing you all, hoping we can have such nice yet heated discussions some time in the future, for another great drama that inspires looooots of conversations (and theories) (and frustration... but not too much, pretty please producers and directors?)

It's been a pleasure, farewell and hopefully see you soon!

I'm convinced she's his mom. Who turned evil after her son's father didn come back and even forgot about her (for reasons to be determined: the background on this changed a lot from the novel or manga, so it won't be the same for sure.)

I don't care either.
But if there's no kiss, there should be scenes where the lovers act sweet towards one another. And I feel we've had less of those ever since they made their relationship official? In number or in sweetness, I couldn't say, but... less?
As for me at least, that is the one thing I regret at the moment.

Well, at least it's a pleasant sight?