Erudite

In the manhua (web comic) Chen Junyuan was shown taken away by the ML and FL of an earlier manhua of the same author which concluded in 2014.

The reason is that NDT has determined Junyuan is not an Outsider but got his abilities from CE3 (Close Encounter of 3rd kind with Aliens) so was handed to a group called C47 from the other story.

BTW we saw NDT temp Wang Zhen Qiu for the first time in S2, but he was also a former operator in C47.
He is the only active cross-over character who has main roles in both web comics.

In the manhua:
1. MXH's invitation to ZCQ (S2 EP02) took place shortly after ZCQ's conversation with WY near end of S1 EP23.
2. The events of S1 EP24 to EP27 did NOT happen in the manhua.
3. Except for (2) he manhua is ahead of donghua and drama adaptation otherwise.

The beginning and conclusion of S2 affirms that while the manhua and the drama adaptation shares the same characters the storytelling can be different (think of them like parallel universes if you like).

According to the note shown in link above, 'Ski Into Love' is the 3rd Drama Series to obtain a distribution license this year from Beijing Municipality (2025 Serial No: 003).

Table from Datawin (德塔文影视观察), a Chinese company specializing in data analysis and research within the film and television sector in China -

(Ranking Top 5 Favourite C-dramas premiering in 2024 by different age groups of audience in China)
各年龄观众剧集偏好TOP5
年龄组 剧集1 剧集2 剧集3 剧集4 剧集5
18-23岁 大梦归离 失笑 永夜星河 19层 阿麦从军
24-30岁 欢乐颂5 小城故事多 边水往事 今天的她们 祈今朝
31-40岁 家族荣耀之继承者 赤热 流光引 人民警察 我
41-50岁 一路向前 侦察英雄 上甘岭 天行健 黑色月光
50以上 一路向前 老家伙 生活在别处的我 孤战迷城 好运家

统计范围：2024/1/1-2024/12/31期间，播出超过7天的首轮剧
(Source: DataWin Drama Series Market White Paper of 2024-2025)

Of particular interest here is 'Love Game in Eastern Fantasy' is the only single drama that have strong appeals to both the 'Young' (age 18 - 23) and 'Seniors' (age 50 and above) making Top 5 favourite premier dramas in both age groups.

Also note-worthy is that Esther Yu Shu Xin has only 2 dramas released in 2024 and they both make in to at least one Top 5 Favourite List.
Beside LGIEF, 'Sword and Fairy' is also in the Top 5 Favourite Drama list for 18 - 23 years old group.

You might wonder how good is DataWin's report:

The company do not just perform simplistic calculation of drama popularity based on some average daily 'heat' index.
It perform comprehensive coverage with data from various channels - including reported figures, users discussions on social media and online platforms using advanced data analysis techniques which combining big data and AI to provide detailed insights into audience preferences

It's generally recognized to be one of the most reliable 3rd party research resource for Chinese TV and drama industry.

Table from Datawin (德塔文影视观察), a Chinese company specializing in data analysis and research within the film and television sector in China -

(Ranking Top 5 Favourite C-dramas premiering in 2024 by different age groups of audience in China)
各年龄观众剧集偏好TOP5
年龄组 剧集1 剧集2 剧集3 剧集4 剧集5
18-23岁 大梦归离 失笑 永夜星河 19层 阿麦从军
24-30岁 欢乐颂5 小城故事多 边水往事 今天的她们 祈今朝
31-40岁 家族荣耀之继承者 赤热 流光引 人民警察 我
41-50岁 一路向前 侦察英雄 上甘岭 天行健 黑色月光
50以上 一路向前 老家伙 生活在别处的我 孤战迷城 好运家

统计范围：2024/1/1-2024/12/31期间，播出超过7天的首轮剧
(Source: DataWin Drama Series Market White Paper of 2024-2025)

Of particular interest here is 'Love Game in Eastern Fantasy' is the only single drama that have strong appeals to both the 'Young' (age 18 - 23) and 'Seniors' (age 50 and above) making Top 5 favourite premier dramas in both age groups.

Also note-worthy is that Esther Yu Shu Xin has only 2 dramas released in 2024 and they both make in to at least one Top 5 Favourite List.
Beside LGIEF, 'Sword and Fairy' is also in the Top 5 Favourite Drama list for 18 - 23 years old group.

You might wonder how good is DataWin's report:

The company do not just perform simplistic calculation of drama popularity based on some average daily 'heat' index.
It perform comprehensive coverage with data from various channels - including reported figures, users discussions on social media and online platforms using advanced data analysis techniques which combining big data and AI to provide detailed insights into audience preferences

It's generally recognized to be one of the most reliable 3rd party research resource for Chinese TV and drama industry.

The sequence of events in the S1 drama adaptation differed from the source Manhua :

In the original, after Zhuge Qin and WY has their conversation at end of S1 EP23 - ZGQ got the invitation from MXH as shown in S2 but the events of S1 EP24 to EP27 has yet to happen - they are (mostly) supposed to occur only after S2.

BB do not have normal Qi flow so that like manipulate Qi (WY's Qimen Manipulation) has little or no effect on her.

I think he nailed the character from the source comic/anime.

Actually his outfit is based on the source manhua (comic), 5 years before Squid Game was released.

A 2 minutes and 30 secs clip of the 'Outcast Disco / Catwalk / Pole Dancing' scene which is likely to be a direct extract from the S2 drama (*).

(*) As the scene itself is a direct adaptation from the donghua (anime) version.

https://weibo.com/tv/show/1034:5123208387428376

Tu Nan, the set designer for 'Legend of the Demon Cat' and 'Blossoms Shanghai' helped in the production for S2.

We were shown that giant weaving crucible shown is not all CGI but contain real moving parts.
So in this drama, Divine Refinement (one of the 8 Supreme Skills) is likely to be ability to weave and shed patterns of Qi in this crucible to create powerful artifacts and beings.

This trailer dropped a hint of what direction Season 3 will take if is confirmed.

For those who need the 2nd trailer with English subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQl4zQjmXo

Fact is S1 drama has outpaced the source webcomic in some scenes (a bit like Game of Thrones drama vs novel).

But from an allegedly leaked audition list, readers have deduced S2 will covered at least the Biyou Village arc in the source (most likely with significant changes)
This village is run by a Outsider without past memory...

The story arc above will be confirmed if the role of Chen Duo is announced. She is the ‘temporary employee’ (TE) for the NDT Southern Region (Fung Bao Bao is the TE of Lubei - Northern Region)

BTW Chen Duo’s handler Liao Zhong has a cameo role facing Chulan in EP3 of S1.
Liao mentioned a serial killing case to Chulan in the scene - the TE sent to investigate is Chen Duo.

A number of other TE should made an appearance in S2 and we can probably expect some big protracted fighting scenes.

There are subtle hints that what viewers shown at end of S1 is not necessary the full 'truth'.

Friends of 'granny' had difficulty surviving themselves - all but 2 of them were dead or captured shortly and while we know what happened to one who survived to present (Chulan's grandfather) - the other has so far not reappeared in the drama or the webcomic timeline.

You asked the same questions 3 times?...

The song's name is 来生不做人 (No more human incarnation in next life)
It's the first song from Gui Bian and Anti-General's EP 嫦娥赴月 (Chang'e ascend to the moon)
(Singer/Lyricist Gui Bian wrote the song and sang in the drama version, Anti-General is the producer/mixer)

Here's a link to the full EP on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/anti-general/sets/wt2rgdqxixmz

Bonus Trivias:
The first C-drama that use Anti-General's music is The Bad Kids (2020) https://kisskh.at/51571-cat-s-cradle

AG his team did a TicTok duet with Hans Zimmer (composer of Dune movies) in 2021:
https://www.tiktok.com/@hanszimmer/video/7030501966337871151

Be sure to catch the extra 3 and half minutes of drama scenes revealed after end of credits in Episode 60.

All significant characters in the drama will apparently meet the same fate as their novel version - only details might differed.

I think the drama ending the director referred to is a more comforting scene than the book (5th edition?) but it didn't changed the outcome of any character. The new visual narrative just made it easier for audience to understand the aftermath of the story.

A friend of mine who followed this drama who is an expert on certain Chinese dynasties provided a historical insight (he has not read the novel) that sufficiently explained (to me) the implications of the novel ending and if I am correct, the drama as well. Will share a little more of this when more than half the drama has been subbed properly.

Luo Jin is a long-time smoker and he has smokers' lips.

He probably picked up his smoking habit during his youth as a hard labourer (his father wanted to discipline him through hard work).
The dark lips are caused by long time exposure from inhaling smoke and heat of a lighted cigarette. The balm or lipstick he uses doesn't always do a good job of making his pigmented lips look natural.