WK1

I am trying to console those who find the games portions given way too much airtime. Those who love the games stuff don't have to read this.

This drama is produced by a subsidiary of Tencent, am I right? And it is also distributed by Tencent Video, the streaming arm of Tencent. You can see very clearly Tencent is very involved. Ninecent did not play any role.

Being so involved means they are the biggest sponsor of this project. Payment to our two mega stars, all the supporting cast, to Gu Man, to the director, etc, etc..

What is Tecent known for in China? Video games. The particular video game that is played in this drama, I don't know the name cause I am not a gaming person, but who owns it? Tencent, am I right?

So, they are using this drama to promote this game. But, hey, what is wrong with that?? Think about it. They likely coughed out millions to make this drama possible for all of us to enjoy (some free and others via paid subcription). Tencent will recover some of the costs through subscriptions. And also through other product sponsors (e.g., Clarin). I do not know if all these will be enough to cover their costs. Even if enough, they will not find it a crime to make more. They are a publicly listed company whose main goal is to make money and get the highest return for their shareholders.

And one of the best ways for them to make money is to promote their own product through this game they play in this drama, am I right?? Is there anything wrong for a money making company? Totally nothing wrong.

So, for those who do not like the game (like me, for instance), just bear with it. Fast forward those scenes if you need to (I do that, but still enjoy this drama like crazy). The gaming stuff will end soon enough.

Just be grateful we get to watch this. Because there are many dramas out there, years after filming, still left on the shelf unbroadcast, because no one wants to air it. The fans of those dramas grieve everyday, and they come here and see YAMG being aired less than a year after filming was completed (Chinese wikipedia filming was done on 6 Jan 2021). They are green with envy, at how fortunate we are.

So, let us do not lament why we are still seeing the game being played. Without it, there will be no sponsor for this drama. Yes, our two mega stars are huge. But they are still smaller than Tencent. (Maybe they are bigger than Ninecent). So, they likely need Tencent, more than Tencent needs them. At the very least, they have equal bargaining power (and certainly more than any of us here).

So, let us be thankful and grateful that we get to see our favourite actress and actor do their stuff, and we get to enjoy all of it.

What makes you feel that JJ is looking more like a support role??

How exactly do you define chemistry?? Very often this difference of opinion comes from different definition of what is good chemistry and what is not.

In order to make sure that we are talking about the same thing, will be nice to know how you define it

I think you already found your answer??

I hope you are not offended that I keep relating stuff to TLB. But I see an interesting change of role here and in TLB. In TLB, Ashile Sun was very interested to find a mate very early on, as early as the first time he found out Li Changge was a she; but Li Changge was not ready for such stuff. She was more interested in revenge. So he had to wait; till Changge mature a little and changed her focus.

But here it was the other way around. QJJ was very interested to find a mate very early on, but YT was not. He was more interested to chase after his dream. So she had to wait; till his desire for a mate caught up with him, and found that the girl of his dream had been there all along.

Those are my only contribution. Other than that, I have nothing to add to your post, because it is so well expressed.

I am totally fascinated just reading this. Such rich information about the aerospace industry in China, which many of us know very little about.

But I do watch lots of dramas. And I know that to make a novel/drama realistic, writers must write stuff that are realistic. Otherwise, knowledgeable readers/viewers will just laugh at them.

And good writers do take great pride in their work. Even if they don't, their editors would. No publisher will publish books that are out of touch with reality. Unless, of course, they are detemined to bring their own business to a premature end.

So, when Gu Man wrote her novel, she must have done lots of research of the aerospace industry in China, know that someone in Yu Tu's position would not be making enough money (relative to other professions) and hence that formed the basis of Yu Tu's struggles between his dream and practical reality of financial burdens.

After reading your post, I find that the struggles that YT faced is extremely real. Particularly to the viewing audience in China. They would also know that a successful actress like Qiao Jingjing would be making an enormous amount of money. The scandal involving Fanbingbing is still raw and very very fresh in their mind. And just about everyone in China knows the obscene kind of money Yang Mi, Angelababy and all the other successful actresses are making. They are so rich, they could be shopping for their next house, and not their next handbag. Some in China could just be searching for their next meal.

Yet, those who truly know Dilraba, and there are lots in China, will not begrudge her role as QJJ in this drama. They know how much she cares for social causes, and is not after money and fame (those some of those would not hurt).

I just make this post to highlight the reality of the plot in this drama, why Gu Man chose the aerospace industry, to contextualise Yu Tu's struggles. And contrast that with the money that QJJ is making. And then just use games as the bridge to bring them together. To illustrate how two different lives from two different worlds would somehow intertwine after 10 long years. Those games were just a plot device, never the main focus of this drama (nor the book).

It is also realistic that despite their good looks, they had remained single. Yu Tu was more interested in pursuing his dream than chasing after girls. And a successful actress like QJJ don't need to marry young, cause they are rich and capable enough to take care of themselves. They would only marry, when the right man comes along.

All this makes this drama hyper realistic and confirmed our suspicion that it is truly aimed at an older audience, because only older viewers would care about the 'realness' of what is portrayed. Teenage or younger viewers would not care about such stuff. They just want fluffy stuff, no matter how unreal those stuff might be.

You should not give up. In drama adaptions, they usually speed things up. So, soon, the gaming stuff will come to the end. I did not read the novel at all, but from what I can tell, if stuff in the epilogues are what you are looking for, those stuff will be coming right up, very soon.

So beautiful to see three TLB alumni in a single discussion thread, now conversing in YAMG. Makes me feel that the migration is successful (but not complete - because some of you are still hanging out at the TLB page).

I don't really have anything to add, but to just express joy in reading Fairydustpuppy's 'sweetness overload' to babepiggie's "mature and healthy portrayal of a modern relationship" to Colessa's "they are each other's glory", all distilling the essence of this beautiful drama.

Haha! I was afraid if I said "you are that girl from Sweden", I might be disrespectful. I am a huge ABBA fan, so you know how old I really am.

Yes, those days, two months plus ago, we moved at lightning speed. The comments moved so fast, it was just crazy. People were saying they could not even find their own comments, after taking just a break of 1-2 hours. Those days are over. This page is now very quiet. We can find our own comments even after 1 week.

If you are doing re-watching, and feel like dropping by to make some comments, please do. Many people are still lurking around, though very much less compared to two months ago.

This drama is now on Netflix Taiwan. It should make its way to Netflix Sweden soon. TLB truly deserves all our love, so everyone does hope that more and more will watch it.

I fully agree. Very good storytelling. All of the main characters are seamlessly introduced, the background for the two main leads established, the context of their past relationship, etc. So well done, even for a non-novel viewer like me, I could already sense where the plot is going.

And 1st episode of every drama is very important. If it is boring or confusing, most people will not even bother to watch E2.

Or course, it does not hurt that many people here are either fan of Dilraba or Yang Yang, or people who came here to look at beautiful faces, because there is plenty of those here in this drama.

After 2 months, it is so nice to see this name again. Lei Lei zy.

You are one of those like me. Watched this without reading the novel first. But I am good with this drama so far, cause I like watching Dilraba stuff. And, like about 40 other people who just migrated to this page from The Long Ballad, it is such a blast to see her transit so effortlessly from playing Li Changge to Qiao Jingjing. It is like she just took off those historical costumes, had a shower, put on some modern clothes and then went to work here in YAMG.

This is the first time I am watching anything that has Yang Yang in it, and would likely have formed the same conclusion that you did, that he has a rather expressionless face. People in the US would call this poker face.

But, after being here for a while, and reading comments by so many who have read the novel, it would seem that such an impression is premature. It is all part of the plot, the storyline. That very soon, he will start to emote more. So I am fully prepared to wait.

And we don't just sit, do nothing but wait for that poker face to go away . Cause while we wait, we are fully enjoying Dilraba's portrayal of QJJ. And QJJ's chemistry with Yu Tu. The chemistry is so good, I did not even pay attention to Yu Tu's expressionless face, till someone mentioned it. Which shows that Yang Yang is rather good actor. His interaction with Reba was so natural, their conversation thus far so stress-free, I did not even notice that poker face till much later.

And the storyline is great, involving adult issues rather than some high school or college level or teenager stuff. Even when humour is used, it is not the sort of fluffy high school humour catered for the younger audience, but humour seen through clever use of words, clearly meant more for older viewers. Up to E12, they did have a misunderstanding, but it is so well acted out by both actors. I felt pain, and only felt it because of their good acting.

So, I am willing and am prepared to wait for that poker face to go away from Yu Tu.

Wow! Really nice to hear from you again! You are the lady from Sweden, are you not?

When was the last time you were here? Like at least 2 months ago? And so nice of you to introduce TLB to your best friend and her husband. You are such a good ambassador for TLB! And so pleased to hear that they are both so into the series as well. Reading your post make me feel like getting TLB fever all over again. Yes, TLB is indeed such an amazing series!

I think we all do. If filming for The Blue Whisper is indeed finished, her team should line up something for her by Jan 2022. Because, by the end of 2021, she would have finished filming The Legend of Anle. They likely would have, so maybe very soon we will know what it is. Maybe it is Ball Lightning. Or it is something else.

Yeah it is her own voice and she does have a cute voice. I think lots of fan love hearing her voice.

I did notice the Clarins stuff in her bathroom as well. I think they do lots of these product promotional stuff in modern Cdramas. Some product manufacturers could well be either investors or provided some kind monetary support for the production, in return for having their products being promoted. Clarin is clearest example for YAMG. I understand that in her drama "Love Designer", lots more product promotion was done. Many viewers were not happy. So likely now, for YAMG, this was toned down and became more subtle.

I do strongly suspect that the white foundation used on her face is somehow endorsement related.

Full agree. Here in YAMG, they dubbed their own voices. In most of the historical dramas, they use professional dubbers.

Yup. Eternal Love of Dream, also starring Dilraba. It hit 1 billion within one week of its airing. By April 2021, total viewership exceeded 8 Billions

Good! It is really simple to use. You do it once, you will remember it forever.

It is a whole lot worse in China. But I am really surprised that even here in MDL, among international viewers, there are also coordinated attack of this drama from haters.

KangHae and also Cwarrior, sure, you will see similarities. Many of these novel writers, they copy each other's stuff. And they are clever enough to copy all these surface stuff that cannot be patented, so that they will not be sued by other authors.

But, previously, I have already done a thorough audience analysis. I think it is somewhere in the next page or two pages down. The analysis shows that while there are indeed similarities, YAMG appeal to an older audience, and LS and FIYS appeal to a younger set of audiance. How on earth did this happen? Very simple. The kind of issues raised in the three different dramas.

YAMG deal with more adult and work related issues, life issues. That is why it appeals to slightly older people. I did not watch either LS nor FIYS, but my guess is they deal more with matters that teenagers can relate to. That is so many young people watched LS and FIYS compared to YAMG. The differences is not small, by the way. Double the amount of young preferred to watch LS and FIYS, compared to YAMG.

If these three dramas are really the same, this would not have happened. They would have identical audience profile.