song

i found her so adorable in "i miss you" <3 even though her character is supposed to be cold LOL

there is something about her voice that is so alluring and pleasant to hear

9.1 rating DESERVEDDD 🥳

This movie was good. It could’ve been soo much better, but I enjoyed it enough overall to give it an 8.5/10. Tan Jianci and Zhang Jingyi did a wonderful job.

I cried 3 times
1. the hallway argument
2. that phone call break up (when the music started playing ugh 😭)
3. the final scene of course

That scene where WJJ hugged her mom made me a lil teary-eyed too :(

Some things I disliked / thought could've been improved:

Some scenes had bgm that weren't suitable or sounded like random non copyright music, or didn’t even have bgm at all, so it felt off-putting to watch. Ex: the comedy vibe when WJJ’s mom lectured her about men being unfaithful and the jazz music during emotional scenes.

I wished we saw BXY and WJJ sit down and have an honest conversation with each other for once. It feels like they reunited them simply for the sake of a happy ending. The last scene was gorgeous and I'm so glad they're together again, but where's the conversation? BXY accepted her back too easily.

This is minor but I wished the very last scene was of BXY and WJJ, not that childhood photo. I was waiting to see their adult selves again so I was very disappointed when the ending credits rolled. 😭

NOW THE BIGGEST ISSUE. A lot of scenes were rushed or didn’t transition well into the next scene. Ex: (1) we didn't see enough of their high school interactions and therefore didn’t clearly understand how/why BXY fell in love with WJJ and (2) they shoved their happiest moments into an extremely short montage 23:25 - 24:12, when the whole point of this movie was for us viewers to compare and contrast them with their later bittersweet moments. Yes it’s only a movie, but condensing scenes makes it difficult for us viewers to fully and emotionally connect with the story and characters. To fix this, they should omit minor scenes completely to allow room for more relevant scenes to have longer screentime.

(Guys, please watch Tan Jianci’s deleted scene of BXY drinking alone at that bar if you haven’t yet. It’s a gazillion times better than the small tidbit shown in the movie. You can truly feel BXY’s deep love for WJJ here https://youtu.be/G-g94tcwSb8?si=DgDZweQrzRkc2KxM)

I also forgot to add... reduce the number of voiceovers. It's more poetic to let viewers watch and interpret scenes on their own, rather than telling them straight up. Ex: the voiceovers when they re-enacted the murder mystery story.

this is so creative i love it 🤣❤️

“Wow, you really decided to xiangliu everyone today”.
* to hold the attention of (someone) to the exclusion of all else or to transfix them. “She was xiangliued by the red eyes that stared so intently into her own”. To mesmerize, to captivate.

im going start using this as an actual verb now lolol

completely agree with everything you said. i've also had my share of favorite characters but none of them left such a huge impact on me the same way that xiang liu did. he's not just a character that i love; he's also a masterpiece that i greatly appreciate tong hua for creating and tan jianci for bringing to life <3

havent been able to watch properly (still on ep 15) but damn we're 25 eps in and it seems like the mother is still a headache 😭 i thought she would've had some character development by now. i swear if they rush it in the last 5 or so episodes... 😬

indeed he's the best actor and the most suitable to play xiang liu 😁 i can't imagine anyone else who could nail this role as well as he did

Does love at first sight truly exist? I never believed it... until now 😂

The first time I saw Xiang Liu was in the ending credits after finishing ep 2. I was casually watching the ending credits, admiring the beautiful music and sceneries. And then I saw a figure, dressed in all white, drinking leisurely... There was something so captivating about this character that I had to pause and rewatch that scene over and over again. At the time, I didn't know his name or remember if he ever appeared in those two episodes, so I skimmed through ep 1 and 2 just to see if I could find him. to no avail of course 😭

That being said, I really applaud the LYF team for doing an amazing job bringing Xiang Liu to life. His hair, his costumes, and especially his actor Tan Jianci are all top notch. I can completely understand why Xiaoyao / Wen Xiaoliu is always mesmerized by his beauty.

(The scene I'm referring to is around the 0:23 timestamp in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS132ADHDB0)

only ep 6?? maybe your opinion will change later, maybe it won't. you still have a long way to go :')

when the c-drama starts giving you c-trauma lol
a loving but toxic relationship with your parents is the worst

does anyone know what those purple drinks are called? they keep advertising them and now i'm curious 🤣

it seems to be some type of water... maybe flavored water?

yes i absolutely love their production ❤️ from the bgm and osts to the cinematography and cgi

I know his character is supposed to be more cold and aloof because he grew up differently. That's actually part of the reason why I'm criticizing his facial expressions. There's something missing that I can't seem to pinpoint... like he's trying a bit too hard (or too little) to pull off the cold Yao Zhiming that it comes off as stiff. His expressions have more light in them than dark, if that makes sense. They don't give off the cold, aloof, and stern vibe that mirrors the harsh experiences YZM went through.

I still stand that MCH and YZM's dynamic is progressing/changing too fast. The producers should (1) let MCH's breakup with XJL marinate for at least one ep before moving on and (2) gradually build MCH and YZM's relationship. They dived into the bickering stage too soon.

I don't ship Yang Zi and Tan Jianci, only the characters they play in Lost You Forever. In fact, I actually ship Yang Zi with her Ashes of Love costar Deng Lun instead haha. But anyways, I do love and appreciate both YZ and TJC and their ability to fully immerse in their roles and bring them to life.

My intent wasn't to bash Xu Kai, I was just stating my opinion on his acting. I definitely don't think he is a terrible actor. But when you pair him up with someone like Yang Zi, the differences in their acting become evident and therefore make it hard for me to properly watch his/their scenes.

the fact that this drama only aired 12 episodes so far and has already become the 2nd highest rated tvN drama is insanee

when i saw that news, i thought the drama was almost done because high ratings are usually on the last 2 eps but nope! 4 more to go

Yang Zi always doing a fantastic job. When I watch the show, I don't even see Yang Zi, I see MCH. On the other hand, I can tell that Xu Kai is acting according to script and not fully immersing himself in the character. His facial expressions (especially the eyes) are pretty much the same in every scene. It's hard to watch the show when one of the lead actors is exceptional while the other is lacking. Not trying to be rude... just voicing my honest opinions and critcisms. Although I admit this might be a bit biased haha.

On top that, they're developing the relationship between MCH and YZM too quickly!! How did we go from a professional boss-employee dynamic to some enemies-to-lovers type bickering? Especially when MCH just broke up with her bf in the previous episode??? This feels so forced and unnatural.

tbh I've contemplated dropping this but I don't like giving up when I'm almost halfway 🥲 I've been watching the last 3 or 4 episodes in 1.5-2x speed, sometimes even 3x (don't ask lmao). I might just skim the next eps and only watch the scenes I find interesting.

With all her heart?? Well, her heart has one of the Lovers Bug living in it. Xiang Liu has the other one. These lovers bugs NEVER died after so many years, even when Xiaoyao dated and supposedly fell in love with Jing. Sooo what do you think that means? 👀

Even Jing knew her feelings for XL. That's why he entrapped her in the 15 year promise, saying, "You... you don't let another man... into your heart."

Ch 16
XY: "I was alone for so long that really I just want someone to keep me company. Not someone I want to marry. [...] Unless there is a man who, no matter faced with any choice, will always pick me first, who will never abandon me no matter what reason, then I will be willing to spend the rest of my life with him."

Ch 36 [referring to Jing]
XY's mom: "Is he good to you?"
XY: "Yes, very good."
XY's mom: "No one treats you even better? Why does it have to be him?"
XY: "Because only him, no matter what happens, he will never leave me."

Where does it say that she's with him out of love? Did XY ever tell Jing directly "I love you", like what normal loving couples would say? Why does she have XL in her mirror but not her lover Jing? The waiting that can't be waited for... the true love that XY can't pursue and is afraid of pursuing.

i'd like to thank yang zi and tan jianci for raising my acting standards so high, that i can barely even watch dramas nowadays without nitpicking the acting 😭

when zaozao isnt home, the mom says who cares, lets just eat. but when huanhuan isnt home, the mom is concerned about huanhuan. so sad for zaozao who gets mistreated and disrespected in both his family and workplace. ☹