Chapter 17. Fallen. I want us to be together
Featured Object: Cake

The word “fallen” here has a double meaning. Obviously, it refers to falling in love. They’ve fallen in love, so they want to be together.

But the not-so-obvious meaning of “fallen” is to fall for a trick or to get duped. To be clear, Sang Zhi has fallen for Duan Jiaxu’s wily brainwashing a couple of times in this episode. HE so badly wants them to be together that he tries to outwit, trick, and charm her to agree to be his girlfriend.

Now, I’ll list the list the things that they did to make the other person fall irrevocably for them.

1. The Kiss

That rascal Jiaxu pretends to kiss her, and she FALLS for his trick.

Thinking that he actually kissed her, she gets upset. I don’t think she minds the kiss per se. I think what she doesn’t like is that he “stole” a kiss and was acting like it wasn’t a big deal. For Sang Zhi, their first kiss should be special. They already had an accidental kiss on the night she rushed him to the hospital, and now they have this “stolen” kiss.

DJ: (feigning innocence) What’s wrong?
SZ: What are you doing, Duan Jiaxu?
DJ: What did you call me?

She didn’t use honorifics. She usually calls him “Jiaxu Ge.” At least, that’s how I’ve been transcribing the subs. 🙂 I purposely add the “Ge” in because I expect the transition from crush to boyfriend/husband to be denoted by a switch in their pet names/given names. Anyway, this is the first time that she called him by his full name. And he’s making a big deal of it because, to him, it’s a sign of her change of heart toward him. He’s always looking for even the tiniest indication that she likes him.

Of course, I also wouldn’t put it past him to try to distract her from the joke he just did.

SZ: I mean, what did you just do?
DJ: Given our current relationship, you shouldn’t be calling me Duan Jiaxu.

In other words, she can only call him by his full name if and when they’re actually dating. If she drops the “Gege” honorifics now, then it can mean one of two things. Either she’s thinking of accepting his suit shortly, or she’s “cruelly” raising his hopes about being no longer in the “Gege zone.”

SZ: You…you…I wasn’t asleep just now. I knew what you were doing.

It’s funny that they’re at cross-purposes here. He wants to talk about her calling him by his full name, while she wants to talk about the “stolen” kiss. She doesn’t realize that she’s FALLEN for his trick.

DJ: Ahhhh. So you weren’t asleep, were you? What did I do just now, then? Hmmm? Tell me.

How can he look this innocent while driving her nuts?

Sang Zhi decides that if he’s going to pretend that he did nothing wrong, then she’ll just have to tease him back.

SZ: Come closer. I won’t say it out loud.
DJ: (leans in)
SZ: Come closer.
DJ: (moves closer) Do you want to whisper it?
SZ: (then kisses him)

He’s stunned. This is funny because he wanted to kiss her earlier, but he didn’t have the guts to do it so he settled for the fingertip kiss, instead. Sang Zhi is more daring and less inhibited than him…and he’s FALLEN for her trick.

SZ: (pretending ignorance, too) I also don’t know what I’ve done either.
DJ: (proud of her) That was unexpected of you.
SZ: Even though I did that just now, it doesn’t mean I have feelings for you. Got it, I mean…I haven’t agreed yet.
DJ: (confused) It doesn’t mean you have feelings for me?! Then that mean you took advantage of me!
SZ: Well, you took advantage of me first!
DJ: (capitalizing on her move) Huh? Are you saying that no matter what I do to you, you will do the same to me?
SZ: That’s not what I meant. If you do this again, I’ll tell my brother.
DJ: (calling her bluff) Go ahead. Tell him. After all, we’ll have to go public sooner or later. It’s better to do it sooner.

Seeing the wisdom of his words, she nods in agreement.

Too late! She realizes that she’s FALLEN for his trick. She unconsciously complied with his plans to make their relationship public when they aren’t even in a relationship.

SZ: (frowning at him) I haven’t agreed yet!
DJ: I’ve successfully brainwashed you just now.

He’s incorrigible! But it’s true that he brainwashed her successfully. Twice, in fact. While Sang Zhi thinks that he’s only talking about his plan to go public, she doesn’t know that he’s also referring to the “stolen” kiss. He successfully brainwashed her with that, too.

SZ: Jiaxu…

He looks smug so she just pushes his face away.

2. The basketball game: she falls in love with him.

To her and her roommates, he looks impressive. But as a basketball enthusiast, I know he’s a ball hog. But I get it, he wants to impress her that although he’s five years older than these guys, he isn’t an old man yet.

3. Her birthday surprise

Before getting off work on his birthday, he calls her up but she doesn’t pick up. So he leaves her a voice message and she texts back. She doesn’t have class that night because she has “other plans.” That plan turns out to be surprising him for his birthday.

DJ: I forgot that it’s my birthday.
SZ: I understand. Old people don’t like celebrating their birthdays. My dad is the same.

If I remember correctly, this is the second time that she compared him to her dad. The first time was in Episode 8, when they met again at the sing-along club. She said she didn’t like it when he called her kiddo. He pointed out that she was a kid to him who was five years older. Besides, he added, her parents would still see her as a kid even when she gets married. Her clapback was, “So do you want to be my dad?”

He clarified all this on her birthday. To him, “kiddo” was his pet name for her. It was meant to convey his closeness and fondness for her. If she didn’t mind it, he would call her “kiddo” even when she was geriatric. Note the difference between a pet name and nickname. A nickname can be used by anyone, and usually by two or more people. For instance, Sang Zhi’s nickname is “Zhizhi.” She’s called Zhizhi by close family members. Her other nickname is “SangSang.” Her roommates call her Sangsang. In contrast, a pet name is more intimate, and it’s reserved for use by only one person. For instance, Sang Yan calls Sang Shi, “Little dragon.” And Jiaxu calls her, “Kiddo.”

Back in Episode 8, Jiaxu became annoyed when she compared him to her dad; he didn’t have a comeback. This time around, his rejoinder was ready.

DJ: Yes, I’m getting old. That’s why I hope you can help me get married before I turn 27.
SZ: (speechless for a second) When you are 27, I won’t have graduated yet. So who are you going to marry?

Let’s do a quick math review. She had 19 candles on her last birthday. That makes him 24 years old on this day. When he was hospitalized, he joked to his roommate, that Sang Zhi wasn’t of legal age to marry. Legal age in China is 22 for males, and 20 for females. He plans to marry her after she turns 22 years old. If you ask me, I think it’s too early to get married at 22. Here, in the US, the average age for marriage for women nowadays is 32.

DJ: From the sound of that, I don’t think you refused. So I’ll take that as a yes.
SZ: You’re so shameless.
DJ: Of course. I’m pursuing a young girl and someone as difficult as you at that. Of course, I have to be shameless.

Meaning, has no choice but to be audacious. He’s already breaking social conventions by courting a girl who’s five years younger than him. Plus, Sang Zhi gives him a hard time. If he was cautious or timid, he wouldn’t have a chance with her. Faint heart never won fair lady.

SZ: So you think I’m difficult?
DJ: (only rubs his head in answer then walks away)

Pic

Good. He knows when to stop digging a hole.

4. The conversation after their phone call with Sang Yan

Sang Zhi texts her brother to remind him to greet Jiaxu. It offends her that nobody has remembered to greet Jiaxu on his birthday. But her good deed backfires on her. Not only does she accidentally reveal to Sang Yan that she’s out with Jiaxu, but Sang Yan also accidentally reveals to Jiaxu that she has a boyfriend. She must explain to Jiaxu what her brother meant.

DJ: Boyfriend? What boyfriend?
SZ: I told him that I’m about to start dating, not that I’m already dating. He misunderstood.

Let’s recall the backstory. I already explained this in another writer-up, but I’ll recap here. One, she already made up her mind to accept him. The only reason she’s holding back is because she’s afraid that he’s courting her only on a whim, and that he’ll lose interest after a while. Two, she was worried that if he’s pursuing her on a whim, he might be discouraged by her hesitation/indecision, and just give up on her. Three, she’s following Weiwei’s advice to protect herself. The rational here is the suitor must demonstrate some determination, effort, and initiative (or DEI for short, lol) to win her or he isn’t likely going to appreciate and cherish her. Four, actually, when you think about this, his “shameless” antics are a sign of his DEI.

But Sang Yan’s announcement that Sang Zhi already has a boyfriend scuttles her plan. She fears that Jiaxu won’t try hard anymore since he’s been assured of winning her hand already.

DJ: A postgraduate student? Is it too late for me to apply?

There he goes again. That’s DEI in action.

DJ: (continuing) How else will we explain it to Sang Yan? Maybe we can…tell him that you broke up with that postgraduate boyfriend and got together with me. Yeah… that might work.
SZ: (just closing her eyes in exasperation) That definitely won’t work!

She realizes that she’s FALLEN for his brainwashing trick AGAIN. She unconsciously considered his plans to lie to Sang Yan when they aren’t in a relationship yet.

SZ: When did I get together with you? That’s so weird.

DJ laughs at her because she realizes what he’s up to and successfully dodges him. He then points out that she doesn’t make sense.

DJ: You’ve already told your brother. And you still won’t admit to liking me?
SZ: (realizing something) Did you already know?
DJ: (sensing danger) Know what?

Let’s all remember what he told Qian Fei. One, he must pursue her because she doesn’t think he could possibly like her. Two, he had to be “straightforward” to make her happy. And by straightforward, he meant he had to demonstrate his intentions with unambiguous and unmistakable actions. He could even be “shameless” if needed to show his DEI. And three, he must pretend that he doesn’t know that she likes him in order to save her face.

And that’s what he’s doing here. His words = his actions.

DJ: Huh?
SZ: (shaking her head)
DJ: All right. Jokes aside, let me ask you something.
SZ: Go on.
DJ: Do you really have no feelings for me? Hmm?
SZ: Maybe just a little bit.
DJ: (hiding a smile) Okay.

He knows already that she’s lying. She likes him a lot but she doesn’t want to admit it.

SZ: Why aren’t you surprised?
DJ: Hmm?

Again, remember what his words to Qian Fei. He has to be careful not to accidentally reveal – or even give her a hint — that he knows all about her secret crush on him.

SZ: Don’t you find it strange that I have feelings for you, but won’t agree to be with you and am making you pursue me?
DJ: You said it’s only a little bit. It’s probably not strong enough for you to want to date me.

Good answer! He’s saying that her actions are reasonable and capricious. More importantly, he’s implicitly reassuring her that he’s prepared to take whatever obstacle or hardship she wants to dish out. If she wants to delay the courtship and make him pursue her longer, then it’s fine with him. It’s up to him to prove to her that he’s a worthy boyfriend.

SZ: What if I never agree to be with you?
DJ: Then, I will pursue you every day. After all, this might be the only relationship you’ll have in your whole life. (looks at her) So whatever other young girls have, Zhizhi has to have it too.
SZ: (joyful face)

And that’s the whole point of “fallen.” Yes, he’s resorting to tricks to get her to agree to be his girlfriend quickly. It’s because he’s fallen in love with her and wants them to be together as soon as possible.

That said, he doesn’t want her to feel pressured to accept him quickly out of fear that he’d get tired of her, cool off, or change his mind. Kidding aside, he’s prepared to woo her as long as it takes. He understands that he can’t rush the courtship when this is the one and only courtship that she’ll ever experience. That’s because once she agrees to be his girlfriend, he intends to keep her with him for the rest of their life.

And Sang Zhi’s happy because, from the beginning, that’s all she wants, too. Her fears that she shared with Weiwei instantly vanished by his heartfelt answer. No brainwashing involved.

And she’s falling in love with him even more.

Do you see it? That’s why I say that “fallen” has to be understood in two ways: from his and her perspective. 🙂

Next up: the (real) Birthday Present