SD1D Enthusiast

Now we need the 4th lifetime where they actually end up together and HEA lol, fingers crossed one day

I'm curious how they will adapt it, they are already changing things from the novel so we shall see.

think you forgot to include a link

this is one of the few dramas where I wouldn't mind reverse harem lmao

they have already changed it by a lot and already erased ZZ and JXN moments to make room for XW and JXN earlier. the drama has done XW fans a big favor

You hit the nail on the head. In the novel she thinks that ZZ was the only part of her heart uncovered by dust and it really makes sense considering everything.

the small acts of service are EVERYTHING to me

What I find funny about people saying he is too straight is that in both lifetimes, dude ended up in prison and goes head to head against the all powerful monarchy.

Anyway, yeah we all know XW is the ML here and they can be happy enough together, but I think it's silly to say that someone like JXN can't be with ZZ just because she is manipulative and he is not. On the contrary, that just means they have different strengths and could fill the gaps in each other's weaknesses. JXN isn't manipulative because she wants to be, she is that way at this point by necessity. In the second life, if she had a choice for a life with a peaceful and honest person, she would grab it. (And as we can see, she did try, even if it's not meant to be due to the storyline.)

I think these assumptions are a strawman argument considering their dynamic in the previous life. In her previous life, she was a complete menace to everyone and didn't shy away from teasing him and trying to get a rise out of him. She was intrigued by him but the opposite was also true. ZZ tried to act indifferent to her at the start, but later he had to admit to himself that he liked her rebelliousness and her dominant nature; she was a "vibrant flame" that brought passion into his dull life and he welcomed it even though his position didn't allow it. She brought something that his life was lacking and similarly, he brought her a level of warmth and peace that no one else did. They were attracted to each other precisely because of how different they were and they had an interesting, forbidden camaraderie.

They were very different people but they still complemented each other quite well. In this life, sure, JXN holds herself back but that is not only due to her guilt but also due to them never having a chance to communicate about in the past and her having the mistaken belief that he would not love her because of her many misdeeds.

This is proven false though because he says later at one point, that "there are many women in this world with good intentions, but I have not fallen in love with any of them," and instead only fell in love with her, even when she was at her most "wicked."

The people saying it's a crush are quite frankly downplaying it. ZZ imo is the greatest love of her life, but a love that she was unable to be with in both lifetimes, so their story is quite tragic. The lines from the novel describe ZZ as some of the most romantic and poetic lines in the novel. To JXN, ZZ is the last bit of sincerity "uncovered by dust left in her heart," her "warmth on a snowy day," and her "lamp in a dark room." She thinks multiple times that just his quiet presence gives her peace and fulfillment, and that she would go through a sea of fire to be with him. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

this is one thing about cdramas/cnovels, I really can't stand. if you're going to create a reverse harem concept and create well developed MLs, but don't commit to an actual reverse harem, then at the very least let the other MLs find their own happiness. Instead, the leftover MLs who arent the final boss, always end up living alone forever and mourning that they never got w FL and it's just so sad all around. I wouldn't want a 2FL who didn't get with her crush to be loveless her whole life and all alone, and I don't want that for the other MLs either.

I support the ZZ/JXN ship more but I agree that while JXN doesn't know that ZZ is reborn, she has been consciously trying to show her "best" side to him like any girl in love would towards her object of affection. That's probably why I'm more attracted to the dynamic JXN had with ZZ in her past life, because she was unashamedly herself and teased ZZ quite a bit, trying to get a rise out of him and generally being a menace. That was the JXN that ZZ fell in love with and she doesn't realize that truth. She could be her truest self and he would love her still, if only she knew :(

They've already toned it down a LOT tbh, and cnovel readers have complained that they've taken out quite a bit of ZZ and JXN's scenes and pushed the pace up a lot. If it followed the novel, we would only start to get XW and JXN around episode 35. Instead, they've erased a lot of ZZ and pushed the pace up a ton so that the ZZ loveline gets cut off halfway instead of 85% in.

I'm someone that looooves my fictional villains haha so I usually don't mind the swooning over mass murderers thing, but what I can't stand is the hypocrisy. Aint no way folks trying to criticize the one man in this story who actually gives a shit about justice and is the only one who actually was there for JXN in her past life with bogus reasons because they're annoyed he's making things difficult for the guy who only cares about revenge no matter who he harms AND hurt JXN in his past life.

He did what he did in his last life to protect JXN; it showed how much he loved her.

EXACTLY. He is clever and strategic here, even if it adheres to his straightforward style. He's not a damn mind reader nor does he have meta knowledge. There are plenty of scheming ministers who do things by being slick, but how many of them actually get down to the root of things for justice instead of trying to save their own neck?

I had to google who that is but whoa, yeah I can see the similarities

Well said, he's doing the best he can right now with what he has and what aligns with his character. It makes perfect sense to me and some of the negative overreactions that ignore that context feel quite silly to me. I read a comment on someone posted here that:

"Zhang Zhe is not interested in power struggles and only cares about justice and helping people. He can't be bought or bribed. He has no bias: he will clear your name today and send you to jail tomorrow. If you threaten his life he won't put up a fight but will let you know you don't have the correct paperwork to behead him. "

It's not his fault others have given him nothing to gain his trust and rather his suspicion. XW and JXN have their own scheming and plots but that has nothing to do with ZZ. He is a pursuer of truth and he'll go down that path till the end.

Good point, he literally helped them out and people still mad.

they do have some good analysis posts now and then, I've found some really insightful comments on tumblr for cdramas over the years so it can be a nice reprieve from the WW3 happening in some dramalist sections