Suliabryon

OMG, ha ha ha.

I don't like them more, but I do like them and am looking forward to seeing where their story goes! I think it's pretty cavalier of him to send her off on dangerous missions where she could get hurt when he relies on her for his continued well being. Unless he thinks if something happens he can just replace her with another Ren. But at the same time, when he "selected" her, he chose her for a reason. Something about her already appealed to him more than I think he will admit.

I know everyone is obsessed with the chemistry of the leads (with good reason!) but I just want to drop a comment that I'm also already invested in our second lead couple, the brother and Li Xiang, who clearly is in love with him and he's so busy maintaining his cold, aloof distance from all things Ren, I have to wonder what is eventually going to happen to break that. 🤔 Given the mythology of the show, it seems like the pact they've made is VERY IMPORTANT for both of them to stay healthy and, you know, living and sane. Nothing has been explored yet about what happens when one partner in a pact is injured or dies, but I'm guessing there are consequences.

IDK but we have 28 more episodes to find out. That's more than most dramas of this kind get as a full run! I'm still gobmsacked that we gt 40!

Of note, this drama is the same director as Embrace in the Dark Night!

If it goes anything like Embrace in the Dark Night (same director, same FL, also a 🔥 OST) they'll never be released. I'm still sad not to have the songs from that one for my playlist.

I can't believe it's 40 episodes, and we're only going to get them 2 at a time! I already caved and bought the express package on Youku, lol.

🤣 Just the director and actors making us all question our sanity!

Youku, which is also aggregating the episodes to youtube!

Right??

For real! I need to keep an eye on this director's dramas. He clearly knows how to direct chemistry and isn't shy about his leads kissing.

All I'm saying is Youku put up a clip of the slow crawling scene without music and it's even more intense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wNcT4ovfd4

OMG this explains so much! I've been comparing it to that show the whole time! The slow crawl across the floor of the train kissing was giving "slow climb up the stairs kissing" from EitDN!

"For survival" 🤣

I think she's resisting on principle. She told him she wanted to be in love, basically, and I'm guessing it would be her first, so....

But yeah, I agree with you.

You should watch Embrace in the Dark Night. That was the first drama I saw her in and she and Jessie Ren have insane chemistry.

Well now I had to go and find it! It's this drama, apparently, and now I'll be watching it. Ha ha ha. https://kisskh.at/792972-xi-yu-lian-xiang

Also, found this BTS of a kiss scene with him because you sent me to TT, and...my gosh his smile. He certainly seems to be enjoying it, lol. https://www.tiktok.com/@wkbhbbga/video/7554320370044505352

Commenting because you said "This is the first drama since zhang chi's BDSM one" - and girl, when I stumbled across that drama - my first with Zhang Chi and the reason I watch every drama he's in - I was like "WTH China?! How did this make it past censors?" (For anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about, it's a vertical drama with very clear overtones listed here on MDL as "Desire's Dance, Fate's Chance".)

This show is crazy - makes the barest effort at world building, ignores giant plot holes with a lazy shrug, shamelessly uses every vampire and/or werewolf romance trope out there without using either vampires or werewolves, and also using some weird, unnecessary science fiction hand waving, has the worst special effects since...IDK, old episodes of Dr. Who, maybe?....and SOMEHOW none of it matters because it hits just the right notes with insane chemistry, trope filled excuses for lots of kissing scenes, all while striking this perfect balance between taking itself seriously and poking fun at itself at the same time. The actors absolutely had to have fun making this. 🤣

I remember when I first started Embrace in the Dark Night and was like "wow, this makes zero sense and I don't even care. I am here for this insane chemistry". This is like that all over again. Notice the score. 8.0?!? Another sleeper hit for Fang Jin, I bet that will end up having a long tail of viewers just like EitDN.

I binged all ten episodes last night and even paid for the early access, because this show knows what it's doing. This isn't the kind of drama you watch because it's amazing or so well done. It's the kind you watch because it's like a guilty, candy-laden pleasure.

That was epic! Ha ha. I also loved how ZXR told the ML in today's ep to be more honest with HX. Yay for BF's who call out the BS the ML is doing! I understand why he's doing it. He's convinced himself - thanks to his Uncle - that it's too dangerous to allow anyone else in while he's enacting his plan for justice, and also that he doesn't deserve happiness until this is over. But he's making these decisions without telling HX what is going on or why, which is doing them both a disservice. But that's okay, she's not sitting idly by and is taking every opportunity to smack him proverbially with the dumb-a$$ery of his choices. 🤣 The trailers for the next two episodes are so good. I can't wait to see her make him approve of her marriage in-game to someone else. Like, no, sir, I will not be waiting around for you until you get your head on straight. So you better take care of that now.

I love that we got to see HX going and supporting her BFF in this episode. Like yes, more dramas should have a back and forth dynamic like this with the best friends, a BF character does not exist only to support the FL. LOVE IT. I also love how they are handling the very difficult subject of what ZXR is going through. They've handled this storyline, as with everything else in this drama, so subtly and well. So many of us were questioning all along whether her husband was cheating on her, if there was really something wrong in the marriage or not. And as ZXR said in this very episode, the signs were there, but at first they seemed small, then they got bigger, and then obviously in ep 16 they exploded and became clear. 👏🏻 Well done, drama team. And her reaction, so devastated but strong, is also on point for her character.

This drama truly is a 10/10.

And I love that we're already seeing signs of the future to come for her. We have GHC noticing when something is wrong, and unlike her husband, immediately taking action to help. First when he contacted HX, then when the pipe burst he jumped in and handled everything without hesitation. Let's roll back to the game with that jerk slapped her, and her husband did nothing. Put GHC in his place, and he would not have stood by, there would have been immediate and decisive action. He's also such a funny guy - I can totally see what they'll be like as a couple, and the fact that he's super rich doesn't hurt. She's going to end up with someone who will support her and love her and who also has the ability to literally give her anything she wants. Fantasy? Yes. But it's nice to see in a show a woman wronged get everything she deserves in the best way possible.

This just occurred to me, but ZXR and GHC's love story is sort of the mini-drama plot, isn't it? Wronged woman ditches her jerk husband and ends up married to the rich CEO of her dreams, lol. GHC is far from the usual cold demeanor we usually see in those characters, but that's part of his charm. He's a little bit goofy but with a truly good heart, and he's also smart to have built his company and business to where it is.

It's not taboo, but for reasons that escape me, many c-fans and k-fans want their male lead actors to be single, or appear single - presumably so they are free to imagine themselves meeting and dating them, which is ridiculous. For example, Dai Xu went crazy trending (SML actor in this drama) after the early episode elevator scene with the FL, c-netizens were totally captivated by the actor and he was experiencing an unprecedented surge in popularity online...and then they found out he is married with a child, and while he is still trending in popularity, about half of his new supporters suddenly started wavering, as if him being married and having a kid suddenly impacted his potential as a ML actor. It's nuts. So no, there are no formal rules against it or anything, it's all just parasocial fan dynamics that are really unhealthy.