mochachen

Agree. I liked her in Put your head on my shoulders. But after that it seems like all her characters are similar. like happy go lucky, looking at the bright side, always nice and helpful not a bad bone, never bully anyone type. It's repetitive. Her acting is ok, perhaps with more opportunities with diff roles she'll gain more experience and widen her scope. Like Zhao Lusi, her acting in Ballad was pretty good I liked her more than Raba surprisingly.

If you prefer this type of genre, then the list of recommendations on this page (Peach Plossom, Pillow Case, Ashes of Love etc) are perfect. They are also the more superior cast, drama and directing than the one currently airing. Strongly recommend those as you wait for this to air. They are also free and available with subs on youtube

I thought I was the only one who thought that.

haha, I wouldn't go that far.

I've watched 3 eps so far. Not the best fantasy/deity drama out there. How ml just fell in love with fl is somewhat fickle and childish. the beginning didn't really have much of character or love buildup. The fl is the type of character that is naive, innocent and foolish. Basically the typical " Sha Bai Tian" type of girl. I just rolled my eyes when she didn't want to sleep with the snake (in snake form) bc she didn't know his gender....it's an animal, not going to take your maiden hood my god. Something is missing with Bambi's acting, I just can't get in to her acting. It's like at first she's scared of the dragon and then acts normal again then scared when he reappears....like be consistent. Also, isn't she a maid why is her maid responsibilities so light that she can go around and shop. Her room is also very luxurious looking that no maid should be allowed to sleep in, in typical dramas anyways. I get she's the lead so there's exceptions. Then why not make her the miss of the manor, why the maid?? Does being the maid help her character? Perhaps she has another identity she didn't know. Also, the colour scheme is very dull. Overall, it's just a so so drama. But I will keep watching until a better one comes up since I'm in a drama drought, even though there's plenty of new dramas out.

whaaat? were we watching the same drama?

ZQ is very immature in the love department. He still hasn't "bloomed" yet. He treats JJ extra nice and special bc he considers her his sister. I was so annoyed at his lawyer friend bc he mislead and misguided zq into thinking he has feelings for jj. If you looked at zq's expressions, his face lit up when his friend mentioned that if he and jj got married then he would officially be her family. That's the ultimate goal. He wants to marry her so he can be registered under the Li family. He even told jj, when he confessed to her, that he would take their last name. That's really the only thing that bothers him deep down, unconsciously. Although Li dad and jj treats him like family, he isn't legally. He's a foster son/brother. So in a way, he's afraid they will abandon him bc of that bc there's no legal ties. There's also many other times where he showed that he's not interested in jj. When jj asked him what would he do if they kissed. He gave a very brotherly reply and said he would stick her head in the freezer to cool down. Another time, when she mentioned sex, he got grossed out and said they would never do that. So why would jj ever be with a guy that doesn't want to be intimate with her??

Everyone gets confused about the scene where the two bros have a confrontation about who jj likes, and zq ends up saying "why don't you choose me?" This is not about love at all but about his abandonment issues from his mom. he didn't understand why jj didn't choose him and abandoning him, just like his mom. The scene was portrayed nicely when jj was standing between both bros (symbolizing equality between the bros), then lx reeled her to his side, which made it 2 against 1 stand off. That showed that they were both abandoning him and that's probably how he felt. He never liked jj that way. He was the ultimate winner in the end, bc he got his mom back and his mom married his dad, which meant that he can finally be a Li.

From my understanding, LX made this unfair request to JJ to maintain boundaries with ZQ bc of his insecurity. He's afraid he'll lose JJ to ZQ. He mentioned that compared to jj's ex, he's confident in himself bc he has the benefit of growing up with her. They are already like family, so their foundation is more solid compared to her ex. But, compared to ZQ, they both grew up together around the same length of time. So LX is uncertain and afraid bc ZQ has just a strong foundation with JJ as he himself does. Hence, he did all these things to test her (going to her tree, kissing her-he always opens his eyes first before her to confirm- asking her to kiss him, requesting the boundary etc. The main thing is he believes JJ is with him out of pity, and bc he desperately needs her, he doesn't care what reason is the cause of it as long as she reciprocates same feelings. He can tell that JJ pities ZQ too, so he's anxious and worried that she will leave him for ZQ. LX is actually a very sad character, he's so broken and scarred inside, that nobody seems to be able to see through his facade or care to be perceptive enough. Only JJ can tell.

in the coming eps, LX relays the events in Singapore and he really doesn't have it any better than ZQ. In a way, I think he has it way worse. ZQ is more of physical exhaustion during his time abroad, while LX is mental exhaustion. Deterioration of mental wellbeing is the worst and much harder to overcome and recover. I really wouldn't put it pass him of the thought to suicide, if it weren't for his sole purpose to return back to JJ he really wouldn't have lasted so long. JJ was his motivation to endure all these 9 years, hence why he said he often day dreamed of going back to her and having a life with her. It's this hope that kept him sane.

There's really no need to pity ZQ when JJ chose LX over him. I can't emphasize this enough that ZQ never ever liked JJ the same way LX does. ZQ is heartbroken that JJ chose LX over him because he felt like he was being abandoned again, like how his mother abandoned him. He has major abandonment issues. He would've been perfectly fine with JJ not choosing any brother but bc she chose LX over him, he felt like he was an outsider, it was especially emphasized when LX grabbed JJ and it was a 2vs1 face off. But for LX, if JJ chose to not love him, he would be sad bc he already loved her. ZQ's ultimate goal was to be in the same household registry as the Li family, and to do so is to marry JJ. That's such a wrong way to think and very unfair to JJ if she ever got together with him. ZQ doesn't even want to be intimate with JJ. Imagine a passionless marriage. Overall, both boys have terrible and traumatic childhoods, so please don't hate on LX bc he has it just as bad if not worse.

It seems like there are a lot of misunderstanding of LX bc he's not as outspoken as ZQ. LX tend to bottle up everything inside. So here's my understanding of his behaviour in ep 27.

The details and meaning of this drama is one of the many reasons why it deserves a 10 in my book.
-For example, ep 4, during the bus stop scene where JJ and Lx were waiting for ZQ, jj was walking in a circle around lx. That symbolizes jj as the sun revolving around Lx. Meaning to LX, JJ is his sunlight, something warm and bright in his gloomy and sad days. Something he can't live without bc without the warmth of the sun( jj) lx will slowly wilt and die. Again, similar thing happens, in ep 9, when LX asked JJ to act cute. He smiles when she does it and we can see the ray of sunshine in his background shines through instead of the gloomy sky before.

-I always thought LX bought JJ her first bra bc he was a very perceptive person. But, after rewatching so many repeated scenes, in retrospect, I've finally figured out why. It's bc JJ always hugs LX's arm, and no one else's, not even her dad or ZQ. Hence why LX realized JJ is growing up and needs a bra bc he can FEEL her pressing against his arm. Again, only gf does that not siblings. So this is another hint to prove that JJ always liked LX in a different way compared to ZQ.

-I at first thought LX asked Mingyue of JJ's pictures bc he missed her and wanted to, somewhat like see her grow and want to know her daily activities. But now Ik it's bc when he's feeling down and need a pick me up, jj is his only ray of sunshine. His happy pill to keep him sane and tough enough to endure all these years.

-The bed scene in ep 3 where LX overreacted when JJ slept on his bed. JJ is clueless about the opposite sex since she's raised by all men and hang out with mainly her brothers. This bed scene and LX's reaction is to show the difference between all three siblings' maturity and how they see JJ. Lx's flustered and angry outburst to jj smelling and sleeping on his bed shows that he wants to set certain boundaries between jj bc she's becoming a grown lady. This shows that LX sees her as more than a child or sibling...he treats her as a blossoming lady that he likes, a man to a woman. While ZQ is clueless and says LX overreacts since she's still a kid portrays ZQ's maturity level , in terms of the opposite sex, has not fully developed. This also shows that he only sees her as a kid sister. And usually siblings can lay on each others' bed since well they are siblings with no romantic feelings for each other. And JJ being clueless bc she'a not fully developed yet in that area of the opposite gender. These 3 perspectives continues on in adulthood where LX likes JJ in the romantic way but JJ is clueless. And ZQ only adores JJ as a sister but since he is still confused about love between man and woman and familial love... a love triangle forms.

-This drama does a phenomenal job at depicting the difference between what LX and ZQ longs for, what or who they miss while they were away 9 years ago. When LX comes back the first thing he wants to do is go in JJ's room and look at her memories and runs his hands on her stuff. It shows LX misses JJ the most. While ZQ looks around the house instead. It shows ZQ misses family the most.

-The gold fishes symbolized growth. In JJ's family house, she has goldfishes during her childhood. It's subtle, but the goldfishes grew in size to show that the three were also growing and maturing. While Mingyue's goldfishes stayed the same-baby goldfishes. It symbolize Mingyue couldn't be her own individual person bc her whole life was handled and controlled by her mom. She couldn't make her own choices. This shows a small glimpse of what tiger/controlling parents does to their children. Near the end, Mingyue released the fishes in the river to let them grow and be free, that was also referring to herself.

-This drama depicts different family dynamics and how it influences and affects the children. Moms that abandon their children bc of poor financial circumstances (very common with left alone kids in China's country side), moms that exploit their children for financial gains, children with divorced parents, children with parents that are mentally unwell, tiger moms, single parent households, and lastly children in a family with two loving parents. Each character, in adulthood, have their own problems bc of their family situations and upbringings.

Overall, I think it's a really well written drama, with some things that could need a few tweaking. But it's one of the less draggy dramas and I loved the story and the meaning.

1. Why ZQ is not a good fit for JJ
-zq never had romantic feelings for jj to begin with. He was clueless about romance and his bff mislead him into thinking he had feelings for jj. If anyone looked closely they would've seen his eyes brightened and was much more interested when his bff mentioned that if he married jj then he would be under the same household registry. His ultimate goal was to be under Li's family registry bc technically he's a foster son. He's not legally under Li, and that gives him immense insecurity bc of his separation issues as a kid.
-zq told jj he could marry her and he could take their last name. That should be a huge hint as to what his ultimate goal is: to be a Li, not to have jj. When a couple marries, doesn't the female usually, in common practice, take the male's marital last name, not the other way around. But zq didn't want jj to take his last name, instead he wanted to take her's.
-if they married, they would've ended up divorced. it would've been a miserable marriage for jj. Jj asked zq what he would do if they kissed. zq gave a typical brotherly answer and said he would stick her in a freezer to cool off. When jj mentioned about having sex between them zq was disgusted. So would it be fair for JJ to be in a relationship with a man that won't kiss her or be intimate with her??? What kind of a romantic relationship is this?

2. The story was set up, from the very beginning, of the relationship between the three (ZQ and JJ as siblings, LX and JJ with romance)
-although jj refers to them both as brothers, there were subtle and significant differences/clues that separated the two males' roles towards fl. zq lived under the same roof with jj and called her dad "dad". While lx lived in a different apt, a floor above and called jj's dad "li dad". The different "dad" referrals already shows a relational difference as dad is more close, like an actual father, while "li dad" is more like a close uncle. This shows that zq is the real son while lx is more like a neighbourly brother.

3. Love triangle and hexagon love line is very swiftly and responsibly handled and ended. I quite liked how the characters were so mature about handling rejection. This drama didn't drag, instead they explained it well.
-JJ reassured zq's insecurity about him being left out and not being picked by explaining that, although legally on paper they aren't family, in her heart he is already family. In her heart, the family registry has zq as oldest son. That was the pivotal moment for him to understand that jj didn't abandon him when she picked lx. He was only hurt and mad bc he felt abandoned again, this strains from his childhood abandonment issues from his mom.
-Mingyue liked LX bc of that one moment when he complimented and consoled her when they were adolescents. Her crushes were very fickle since it was in highschool. She liked zq first and then switched to lx on the same day. She realized, she like the idea of liking someone but not actually being liked back. She liked the feeling and ideology of having a crush bc she can fantasize. I like how respectful and mature LX handled in rejecting Mingyue. He had no clue she even liked him, he always thought she liked ZQ. Plus, even when they stayed in contact for 9 years, all convo content was about JJ. He basically asked her to keep tabs for him bc he wanted to know what jj did daily and he wanted to see pics of jj. Mainly bc that was his only sole salvation that kept him going and living during those years in Singapore. Anyway, he apologized to Mingyue for misleading her into liking him, which he really didn't have to apologize. But he gave her a stage to step down so as not to embarrass herself. That was very very considerate of him.

I think it's just preferences. This is more of a family genre, it's heart warming and heart wrenching. I usually don't like family genre but this one was phenomenal to me. I rewatched it many many times. It was relatable in the sense that people that were once close to us become familiar strangers when they leave us. I think this drama did a great job in it.

It seems like there are a lot of people that don't like the love triangle or the hexagon love line. Some prefer ZQ with JJ, some thought the romance between fl and ml were a bit "incest". I want to give my insight and analysis on these.

Naaah, ZQ never had romantic feelings for JJ, he just wanted to be her real family.

I fell in love with her acting and her down to earth personality (as I got to know more of her) from Under the Power and Go Ahead. She's mot immensely popular bc she doesn't want the spotlight. She doesn't like to act in high traffic dramas, which i find is a pity since most get popular fast from there. But she works hard and she's getting recognition from the industry. She's not the prettiest, but she slwYs brings her roles to life and her smiles are so special. It's like her whole face lits up and I can't help but smile along. I'm sure you'll love her in Go Ahead

Yea. I'm just waiting for her movie and New Gen now.

Unfortunately JOL2 wont be airing anytime soon since they haven't even filmed yet

You may have already watched most of them. But the only dramas, that I can rmb on the top of my head, that I never dropped and have repeatedly rewatch were Nirvana in Fire, Joy of Life, Go Ahead, Under the Power, Startling by Each Step and Peach Blossom.

Sigh, me too. I can't quite get past ep 40. I've been stuck on it for a week. I grinded through some eps for Seven bc she's currently my ultimate fave actress. But even her and William can't save this plot. For her sake I will eventually finish it this year.

Oh, Yangxi Palace is good too, but I skipped the beginning eps then watched the second half. Then went back to watch the ones I skipped. Peach Blossom is good fantasy too.