flowermoon9

I prefer this beast mode too. It really suits him 🤌

Me too! They're the sweetest and purest angels in the leads' lives. To the point that I'm afraid we've already lost one of them that night. I have a feeling Wen Jie died in the arson, and that Chen Yi witnessed her death. That could explain the PTSD we saw in Episode 1. And perhaps, over the past six years, he's gone through even more traumatic experiences because of the dark life he was forced into, all thanks to that ungrateful former boss of his.

This drama really is tragic, and I'm afraid the leads won't get a moment of respite - or any extended period of happiness - until the very last episode. 😔

And I agree! SWL suits this kind of role so well. I'm really enjoying the drama because of its gripping story and the fantastic performances from both leads! 💗

I'm going to hold your hand when I say this... 😭

Ahh, thank you!! 🥹 I think the guy's name is Cen Ye. The drama has shown MJ keeping in touch with him over the phone since she came back. So she's probably not single either. We still don't know what her profession is, but I believe she'll end up in a career that somehow helps Chen Yi and eventually pulls him out of his darkness.

So maybe she met Cen Ye through work, and either he's her boyfriend or he has a one-sided crush on her. Given what we've seen of MJ's character so far - and because of my delulu self - I'd like to believe it's the latter. Perhaps he's helping her with her mission too, the same way I suspect Tu Li is helping Chen Yi. So yeah, that's my guess for now. 🤭

Aww, thank you!🫶
Oh, they're definitely locked in a battle of wills right now, with MJ clearly having the upper hand by rage-baiting him. Lol. I'm really enjoying this feisty side of her because I think this nonchalant attitude is the only way she'll be able to deal with a tough nut like Chen Yi. If he's adamant, she's no less stubborn.

So I'm really excited for the upcoming episodes to find out the truth about their past, what happened during those six years, and how everything led them to where they are now. In the meantime, watching their push-and-pull dynamic is absolutely delicious. Haha.

Tu Li is his girlfriend. Whether it's a real relationship or a fake one, the coming episodes will tell. I really hope it's fake because I prefer the kind of romance where the leads are each other's one and only. Haha. But this drama is complicated, as you can see. And from what I've heard, the novel's leads are far more twisted and toxic than their drama counterparts. So we'll just have to digest these things here and be grateful that the drama toned the characters down considerably. I've also heard that novel Chen Yi and MJ have done even more disturbing and morally questionable things. I couldn't believe my eyes when I learned about them, I tell you. 🥲

And I get why, in the drama, CY keeps telling MJ to leave. I think the arson case was just the tip of the iceberg. That was only his first step into the criminal underworld. It's been six years since then, and so much more could have happened to him. He may have lost more people he cared about too (Wen Jie, I'm afraid), and he's only sunk deeper into darkness ever since.

Now that MJ is back, he's bound to be terrified of staining her life all over again, just like before. He can't let her get caught up in his world, can he? Otherwise, all the sacrifices he made to protect her would have been in vain. Remember, pushing her away was just as painful for him as it was for her. They only had each other as family. So it's understandable why he's acting "rude" around her and trying to push her away again. But MJ isn't the same girl she was before. She won't give in to his demands this time. She's come back to pull him out of that hellhole and set him back on the right path -- all while acting nonchalant. 😁

Fr fr, Zhang Bin is like a parasite in his life. He's destroyed CY inside and out. Such an ungrateful jerk. Instead of freeing him from the clutches of the underworld, he dragged him even deeper into it under the guise of favoring him over his other underlings. Then, when the time was right, he pushed CY to take the fall. CY should've left him to meet his fate the first time they met. Six years later, that rascal is still flourishing, while this poor guy is stuck so deep in that hellhole. Zhang Bin is poison incarnate.

Nobody's being mean to MJ. There's just a cold tension among the group because the two parted on bad terms. Chen Yi knows he wronged her, the group knows she was treated unfairly, and now that she's come back unexpectedly, the need for an explanation still hangs in the air. But nobody wants to dig up the past, and to top it all off, she's completely changed. So they're all just being wary of her, which comes across as hostility.

As for why CY has a girlfriend, we don't really know. Maybe it's a one-sided feeling from Tu Li, and she's his girlfriend in name only. Maybe he's relying on her for some hidden agenda, like a plan to bring down his former boss (the drama hasn't revealed Tu Li's background yet, so she might be connected to his mission in some way). Or maybe he's in a relationship with her as a coping mechanism to forget MJ.

Whatever the reason, it's obvious that MJ is the one in his heart, but it stings nevertheless.

The way MJ's rage-baiting CY every chance she gets, it's like she's making sure he feels it in his bones that this is the MJ he gets after sending her far away for her own good. Lmao

But just see how he's slowly becoming more mindful around her and more conscious of his choices. I believe this girl is going to pull him out of that hellhole and set him back on the right path, all while acting nonchalant and minding her own business. Of course, his business is her business too -- he just doesn't know it yet. 😂

Tu Li, Chen Yi's gf

Possibly. But I felt he was genuinely worried about CY and MJ's future as their guardian. If she stayed there her whole life, she wouldn't have much of a future because she'd be relying on CY, who had already become involved in the underworld. The cop knows that CY works honestly, but the boss he works for is corrupt. Sooner or later, he was bound to get caught up in it.

That's why he also reminded CY that Kuangxia isn't a clean business, to which CY promised that he wouldn't let MJ's life be stained because of him. And CY also knows that the cop has information about the boss's shady business. He may or may not have shared it with CY since it was supposed to be confidential.

So I think it could be a mix of everything, you know... wanting to make sure MJ doesn't ruin her life, CY having a plan to expose the boss, or maybe he's joined forces with the cop. Or they could be working separately while still having each other's backs.

Oh, you haven't watched Ep 11 yet? Because I'm talking about what was shown in today's episode, and my theory is based on that - specifically, Chen Yi's photograph ending up in Zhang Bin's hands, six years after the arson.

CY ended up becoming his boss's scapegoat, and Zhang Bin forced him to take the fall for his crimes.
The hardest part in today's episode was that Chen Yi knew exactly what accepting his boss's order would cost him, yet he still went to the place where the arson was about to take place. What happened after that wasn't shown. Instead, the scene cut back to the present-day timeline, where Ep 1 began. So that's what my theory is based on for now.
And I think the cop's fiancée is gone, even though nothing was explicitly shown in today's episode. All the foreshadowing seems to point in that direction.

Now that you mention him being undercover... what if Chen Yi and the cop have actually been working together to expose Zhang Bin's criminal operations ever since the arson that took the life of the cop's fiancée?

We saw that Zhang Bin is still exactly the same and deeply involved in the underworld years later.
What if Chen Yi intentionally put himself back in Zhang Bin's path, and that's why his photograph ended up in Zhang Bin's hands? And what if Tu Li is somehow connected to that plan? Maybe pursuing a relationship with her serves a purpose.

At this point, I'm more than willing to come up with the wildest theories just to convince myself that his involvement with Tu Li is nothing more than a façade for a bigger goal. 😤

Agree! Agree! My type of romance is one where the ML and FL are exclusive to each other, with no room for a third person to come between them or take that place, even for a brief moment. So naturally, I was shooketh when I learned about novel CY and MJ from your earlier comments, and in that sense, it's a relief that the drama isn't following the novel to the T.

Even though the drama's characterization isn't entirely to my taste, I'm still watching because the plot is gripping, ZJY is one of my favorites, the leads' chemistry is fantastic, and I'm genuinely eager to see how they'll overcome this dark period and how their story unfolds.

I think it's either that, or Chen Yi doesn't stay at the house very often. The house only has two rooms, right? So he gave MJ's room to Tu Li. Hmm... Maybe they didn't actually sleep together, and Tu Li is just the type to leave all her belongings lying around because she's disorganized?

Look at the lengths my mind is going to just to convince myself that drama Chen Yi is exclusive to MJ. 🫠

Me too 🤜🤛

Right? That hurts so much. Bras and lingerie inevitably imply they've crossed that line... Even if his soul belongs to MJ, it feels like he's given his body to someone else as a way of coping with his heartache.

Although I really hope I'm wrong and that it's just a fake relationship. But then why would he even go through the trouble of putting all her clothes on display to push MJ away? There's no way he knew she was coming back, right? Right?? 😭

Yasss! I want to see them as the lead couple in another project again!! Another modern drama, please... if that's not asking for too much 🫣

I don't know how much you've watched, so this might be a spoiler...


Although it's such a relief to see that the drama toned down the level of toxicity and twisted mentality the novel's lead characters seem to have, neither of the leads is actually single in the current drama timeline either. Remember in Episode 1 when the FL was clearing out all the women's accessories and clothes from the room? Then the ML walked into the house, thought Tu Li was in the kitchen, and reminded her that he'd told her not to go into the kitchen. Tu Li is Chen Yi's girlfriend in the current timeline.

Maybe their relationships aren't that serious, and they're still thinking about each other despite being with someone else. But yeah, neither of them is currently single 😬

Taking a moment to appreciate how GORGEOUS ZJY looks in this drama. I loved her fringe look, but I can't stop gushing over how stunning she looks with her new styling! And to top it all off, she's bringing so much sass and badass energy. Bring it on! Haha