x_AJ_x

Unless of course they change something. Maybe they can hint at the idea they will meet again in another life, while she ends up with Jing in the current life lol. I think if Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu had existed in different circumstances they absolutely would be right for each other and would have ended up together. I'm choosing Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao endgame for the next life 🤣 headcanon.

Lol no. That confession proved she did have feelings for him and an attraction to him. She admitted it herself. She's afraid kissing him would let him into her dreams and a guy like him is not the kind of guy a girl should dream about (who and what he is.) shes afraid that in kissing him she might fully let him into her heart and fall in love with him. It's terrifying to her because she knows she already feels something and she see's it as an impossability that will bring more pain. She doesn't know he feels the same of course...
That is why his smile is bittersweet. she basically confessed she has feelings for him and at the same time he knows that they can't be together. Had he confessed his feelings things might actually be different,instead he has to watch someone else take her away.

In the novel they actually make it quite clear that Xiao yao is thinking about Xiang Liu when trying to kiss Jing. Jing tells her he doesn't want to kiss her because he see's someone else in her eyes. It's more subtle in the drama but I think the same idea applies.

Depends on how you look at it. In the novel TTJ's soul is saved by the tiger demon and he is eventually reborn where they are reunited. In the drama the heart guarding scale saves his soul instead but the implications are the same I think. A possible future reunion. Youku basically confirmed that with their Li Susu letter video.

Not a hint of that with XL, unfortunatly.

I wouldnt necessarily say red flag, especially not in comparison to the other characters but the overly sappy puppy dog thing where he follows her everywhere gets old really fast. He's so "nice" that it feels downright dull. He doesnt seem to have a personality to me other than nice. Maybe that will change as it gets further along...

Cant lie...am a Xiang Liu fan myself. At least he's interesting to me.

I think you misintrepreted that entire scene lol. She already has feelings for him. Her looking at his captured image in her mirror proved that. She was scared to kiss him because she was worried she would accidentally let him into her dreams, meaning let him fully into her heart and fall in love with him. That he is not the kind of man a girl should be dreaming of. (Because of who and what he is) That is terrifying to her. For many reasons not limited to the fact she see's it as an impossability that would lead to more pain.

Not 100% sure. But maybe Sebrina Chen/Chen Yao? She's playing his sister in the drama and I know they're good friends. I could be wrong though.

Basically saying she's scared of him because she knows she already has feelings and an attraction for him. If she fully lets him into her heart, things will probably end badly. She was afraid to kiss him, because by doing so he might find his way into her dreams (she'd fall in love with him) and he's not the kind of guy a girl should be dreaming about. (because of his bad boy demon nature I guess) That's why he had such a bittersweet smile on his face. She was essentially admitting to feeling something for him. At the same time he knows he can't be with her.

Now, had he expressed his own feelings right then and there who knows what might have happened.

No, that was the original schedule. It's been updated. episode 21 will now be tomorrow. and episode 22 on Friday. Episode 23 and 24 on August 7th.

yeah it's not so bad. It gives Xiao Yao "shivering feelings of bliss" after all haha

Well I guess she was referring to the incident that just happened with XL but they didnt actually end up kissing and he didnt force her to.

As of this point in the drama
She definitely has feelings for him and some kind of attraction to him yes. She basically says she was afraid to kiss him because she may fall in love with him or "let him into her dreams" and that a man like him is not someone a girl should dream about.

Okay that scene with the mother's passing was heart wrenching and so beautiful. The idea of them telling her jokes as she passed away. It made me cry. Some very impressive acting from everyone in that scene. He Huan and her dad just broke my heart.....

But also Liu Yuning's performance was amazing too. I'm so impressed by him. I knew he was good after The Long Ballad, and he's only gotten better. I cannot wait to see him take front and centre with A Journey to Love and Prisoner of Beauty.

Two episodes today. Episodes 19 and 20. one episode tomorrow (21) and one episode Friday (22) then we have to wait until Monday for episode 23 and 24.

Chemistry is subjective of course, so everyone will see it and experience it differently. But for me, there definitely seems to be more chemistry between Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu and that's mainly because of the onscreen chemistry of the actors. Their scenes, good or bad, feel more loaded.

Let me put it this way. In TTEOTM Ye Xiwu beats and whips TTJ. In the novel it is made quite clear that TTJ enjoys it. Obviously they can't be overt or show that aspect (him enjoying the pain) in the drama, but the subtext of BDSM is still there and the audience has to fill in the blanks or interpret it how they choose.

I'm not saying that's what's going on here btw, but if there were hints towards sadomasochism or bdsm they wouldn't be able to be overt in this drama either. So of course it's not going to blatantly show it that way, if that was the intention.

At no point did the OP say it was necessarily sexy, they just said they're seeing the imagery in a way that could suggests BDSM and kink (at least to them). It's also kind of problematic and unfair to label someone as disgusting for noticing visual motifs or possible subtext.

You're not completely wrong - especially about the biting scenes. They are definitely filmed to be suggestive. Can't understand how anyone would see it otherwise. In the novel Xiao Yao definitely gets pleasure from him biting her. "A Shivering feeling of bliss". They can't get much more overt than that...

lol that's exactly how they do get it through Chinese censorship. By having it as innuendo or subtext. They can't be overt about it. Like in TTEOTM - Ye Qingyu walks into the room to see that Ye Xiwu has tied TTJ up and she is asleep with her head in his lap. Ye Qingyu automatically gets flustered, punishes her and apologises for her obscene behaviour. To which TTJ replies "What exactly did you think we were doing?" lol this is as close as they can really get to implying fellatio and the BDSM elements that are in the novel.

I'm not saying that's what's necessarily happening here in terms of BDSM, but you can't rule out the subtext completely. The scenes where he bites her are absolutely loaded with sexual undertones. Especially the way they're filmed - I don't know how anyone can look past that. In the novel, Cang Xuan can sense this is going on, because of the bug, and is confused about it because he can also feel her "shivering feeling of bliss". Which would tell you that Xiao Yao is enjoying it. That's exactly why those scenes in the drama are filmed to be so suggestive.

Oh wonderful. I did think having that four day break without any episodes was a bad idea and that it would break the momentum too much. This is much better.

but then it goes straight back to the four day break next week haha.

The gender bending is glorious. Xiao Yao in the guise of a man and Xiang Liu in the guise of a woman having a "moment" together. It's perfect *chefs kiss*

It's absolutely true that some people just might not like it, but when there is a sudden drop that big, with a bunch of 1 star ratings, its pretty obvious that it's targeted.