whoissilmoy

Interesting. There is a newcomer Wang Jia Yi, 22, who debut in a Zhang Yi Mou movie before.

SOKP had this huge pent up demand where it surpassed 7M reservations because it was highly anticipated and because it delayed airing for many many months (possibly almost a year?) and then it just air dropped (11/7/23) without any announcement the day after WOL aired (11/6/23) according to AvenueX (11/11/23) "air dropped... long awaited...once scheduled... postponed... nobody knows when its goinna show up...suddenly it just showed up on iQiYi."
OFL aired 11/3/23 so there were two BL dramas airing the same time as WOL.

MR wrapped 5/14/24 while BL drama wrapped 8/6/24, 84 days or 2.76 months later. Hopefully it won't coincide.

The constant "black" against XuKai was the reason I was intrigued by this actor - like WHY? why only him? So, it was really nice to see him get two separate awards for BCE for outstanding and best quality and creative acting. I think "creative" fits Xu Kai.

SiYi is listed as one of the six main characters here on MDL. Even though she didn't die but they basically "killed" her character once it served its purpose, which is fine, I have no problem with it, it made for good story too although I'm not sure how to link her story to others.. I thought there was a linkage but now I think she is just a side story, This way they have more time to develop the main story of going North and focus on leading characters. SiYi role is self-contained and has no character development if she only has 2 min, left in the series.

I doubt she's going to die. It doesn't feel like that kind of story to me, It feels like a super happy ending type of story.

in China, people park their bicylcles and motorbikes everywhere safely, no one steals them, Even safer in Japan,

Fenghua's possible terminal illness introduces a deeply emotional and dramatic storyline, likely to draw in more viewers and evoke strong reactions.

The poster of only four of the main characters without SiYi is the same poster on iQiYi. I guess they left her out means her character serves only as a plot device for the history of canal and as precursor to romance for others. SiYi didn't go North so she's not part of the main theme. In Ep29 preview, Fenghua stares at a picture of the same four friends without SiYi. When SiYi does return, she's going to look amazing based on some stills I saw on Douban. In the original synopsis and Ep 1, Fenghua said SiYi had this big impact on their lives which I'm still waiting for it.

ep 28 WangHe disclosed why he finally likes Fenghua.

If it's negative about Xu Kai, don't believe it.

At the award ceremony 3/19/25, Xu Kai was interviewed, and he said he would join the crew the next day, 3/20/25, so I assume he means this drama?

WangHe is often rash but decisive. Saving Fenghua from sexual abuse shows his courage, even if he doesn’t always think of the consequences. He’s flawed yet heroic, always learning.

or Siyi doesn't' end up with anyone is another possibility, she's such a mystery

I never thought this was going to be a love triangle like the kind in other dramas. I've always suspected the FL and ML will marry. SiYi's story feels like the nucleus of the entire narrative, intricately tied to the canal—the heart of the novel's story—which will likely bind everything together in the end (just a guess, as I’ve fallen behind on watching this drama lately - catch up on weekend).

XuKai at the 2025 TV Drama Quality Ceremony together with WuYanshu and HeSaifei
https://x.com/Alaso_Indonesia/status/1902282862646194529

Xu Kai won "Quality and Creativity Drama Star of the Year” at Dragon TV’s Drama Quality Festival for his portrayal of Yao Zhi Ming. His voice wow!
https://x.com/XuKai_Soso0305/status/1902421502844449233

This is his second award for this role. Previously, another award, Xu Kai also won an outstanding actor award along with Yang Zi for their roles in BCE.

There are so many warm moments in this drama. For example, their date at the fish-eating flesh foot bath, the time he used that silly ladder to climb down to her room, or the day he couldn't find any clothes and came down wrapped in a bedsheet—they were so playful with each other! I can't remember everything since it's been so long, but I think there were many more sweet and tender moments. They weren’t always overtly romantic but were implicitly romantic, like when he began seeing her in a different light and helping her. He brought a bouquet of sunflower for her but was too shy about giving it to her. How YZM tried to go fishing with her and ended her father and brother came along and they tried to get rid of them. The bellhop outfit incident—where she accidentally caused him to spill tea—was another example of these small, charming moments. And it goes on and on!

People who say there’s no romance in this drama clearly didn’t watch it carefully, unless they only equate romance with physical intimacy, which is fine, but saying there’s no romance isn’t true.

Even their bantering felt romantic to me. It showed that they were falling for each other, even though they were mature, serious, and career-minded characters with love on the back burner. That’s probably why they didn’t marry in the end. Still, he actively pursued her and did so much to win her over. The way YZM confessed his love for MCH to her mother was so beautiful.

I think whether you see romance or not depends on how you define romantic moments. Personally, I wouldn’t classify this as a full romance or love story because that wasn’t the primary narrative. Yet, there were plenty of romantic moments since he clearly fell for her, pursued her, and they ended up together. The story focused more on the three strong women in the drama, but the romantic element was undeniably present.

grandma explained everything in her letter to him

I believe when they return to the canal for whatever reasons, it will deeply change them and give their lives new meaning. Maybe watching their struggles as adults now will make that transformation even more powerful (just guessing).

SiYi's mom is only the daughter-in-law of SiYi's grandmother. After remarrying, SiYi's mom had a son (SiYi's little brother) who is not biologically related to SiYi's grandmother. Both SiYi's mom and grandmother are 100% Chinese, while SiYi's dad carries Italian ancestry because SiYi's grandmother married a man who was half Italian. SiYi's connection to her great-grandfather, who was likely 100% Italian, forms the link to her Italian heritage, which is central to the original novel. The mystery of the ship lies through SiYI's heritage. I can't remember what Grandma said, who it was that went missing, so they eventually settled at the canal. This means SiYi has family in Italy.