24 Comments On “Shine on Me: Open Thread Eps 29 to 32”
ibisfeather
Dear @GB,
Ep29
Wow. And who said fashion doesnt matter? Was that me?
Look at the skirt she wears to the office immediately after the share transfers both go through. Late at work, she is going into YuSen’s office — the skirt if a different length (a few inches above the knees only), different color (red/orange patterned), and layered, so not a little girl’s skirt any more.
Way to underline the idea that she is now a woman with a powerful mom, who is working in her own family’s business, and who has a husband-to-be who is ready for her to take her place when she is ready.
Nice.
ibisfeather
@GB
ep29
As you said – all out in the open. Family connections, past histories future (tentative) plans.
I was so happy that the question of when to tell her friends she was the daughter of the founders of the company (and now of the other main shareholder) was settled quickly.
In general the timing of this show is right for me, When there is a problem of communication and the FL isnt sure how to do it correctly, or how to correct a misunderstanding, she thinks about it, there is a short [period of anxiety, and within one or two episodes she figures out a way.
In the beginning she was hurting YuSen provided some of the decisive impetus she was lacking on occasion. YuSen himself presented problems at work, but even so the show doesnt linger too long. Good pacing.
It makes Zhuang Xu look even more troubled. He doesnt understand or perceive himself and others correctly. He just seems to thrash around.
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
@IB, I’ve just completed Eps 29 and 30.
LOL Thrashing around is such a good descriptor of ZX.
Because I took more note of ZX in the rewatch, I thought I figured out a thing or two about why he was just thrashing about (and was pleased to see I was right) … however Ep 30 suggests that he did try to at least thrash about with some purpose LOL.
I like that the points brought up in the early episodes make their reappearance in these ending episodes. The Writer has planned well and not forgotten what clues she’d left before and what result they pointed to in the later time.
SPOILERS EP 30
SPOILERS EP 30
I don’t understand though, since ZX did receive XG’s text, why then could he not contact her from 2 years prior. Why did he have to go from place to place to look for her or hope that she’d end up working near his Huaya Bank. It does not make sense to me.
I replayed XG’s long retort to him. Basically before she knew about Ye Rong, she’d openly shown that she liked ZX, but he never declared himself. I like that XG is written to be spirited and to know how to stand up for herself. I wanted to applaud when she said why should she be the one to crawl back, and since ZX was such a smart guy, how could he not know how she had once felt about him.
By contrast, even knowing that XG still had an unsettled heart, YS had already declared himself and stepped up to do the bf things with her, while letting her choose whom she would end up with. I like that she said, there was no need for her to choose at all because YS had been definite and clear and she was always going to end up with him. 🙂
angelwingssf
@GB –
I think that ZX has a huge dose of inferiority complex. NX was a daughter from a rich family while his family was no where near them. He liked her but he was led astray by Rong who is nothing but a manipulative scum. Just because she was his childhood friend, she manipulated ZX to the extent that he started to doubt NX. Even when he received the text, he was not fully sure that he wanted to reply it. Written word could be different than spoken word – so he might have gone to find her. Not finding her and knowing that she went abroad to study must have ticked him even more. Since he did not know. SHE did not tell him. Her cousin did not inform him. He probably found lot of excuses and blamed her for it.
To me he is manipulative scum just like Rong, who did not want to stand up as a man and take responsibility and even though he tried to earn a lot of money and stand up to her standards, it does not add up that he is a nice guy. He gets information about her, from others instead of asking her and getting the facts straight. Now that she moved on in her life and someone better than him likes her, he needs to snatch her from him . Even (just if) if NX went to like him and breaks up with Lin, the next time there is a misunderstanding – he will be the one to blame her first. There are people like that in real life too. So, it would good to choose the right partner.
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
Hi there @angelwingssf, that’s a good take on ZX. Like him or hate him, his character is somewhat intriguing, since he causes his own problems but is blind to this. (He even asked XG what he did wrong or what more he could possibly have done, as if it wasn’t his fault).
Partial Dissection of the Character of Zhuang Xu
I agree that a strong sense of inferiority may have had a part to play. Or maybe, if we want to be sympathetic to him, the inferiority complex can be blamed for EVERYTHING he failed to do. That it could drive him into inability to communicate and inaction however, sort of boggles my mind. I’d think that sort of symptoms should have gotten him medical attention.
But for fun, let me just argue differently … that he had only a mild case of inferiority but a bad case of not knowing how to communicate and not being able to assess himself. He does not seem to understand that leaving a question unanswered (I’m referring to XG’s last text to him) is also a kind of answer. It would seem to XG that he did not want to reply to her, and not that he could not since there was plenty of opportunities to follow-up on her question. Silence to a question meant total non-committal to any stand. Hence the other party (XG) is justified in thinking whatever she wishes.
Between the receipt of that text and the time that they graduated, there was a long stretch of time. ZX never once texted anything to XG who was still on campus or nearby. He’d run into her from time to time, but say nothing of consequence.
I also agree that he seems to have been listening to others’ judgment about XG but he never checked directly. The thing is that when he was tutoring Jiang Rui, XG was around a lot in Jiang Rui’s home. The 3 of them spent time together. He should have been able to observe and get to know her. He seems however to have been incapable of forming his own opinions.
Ye Rong’s poisoned tongue spoilt the image of XG, and ZX never bothered to find out if this was true, or to defend XG or to right the wrong. Was this laziness, indifference, blind trust in Ye Rong (in the scene Ep 12?? where he and YR were on the windy bridge, he seems to say it was his blind trust … again he’s blaming the girl!), or lack of confidence in his own judgment???
How could he believe ill of someone he liked without proof, and without trying to do something about it. It looks like he did not really like XG as much as he claims he does.
In all these circumstances he fails to see where he is lacking.
(Continued …)
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
(Continued …)
In one of my notes (EP 10), I wrote that he was floored when he found out that he’d been led to think XG was overseas studying when she was actually in China most of the time. I give him the benefit of the doubt, that if he had been told that she was only on a short trip, he’d have gone to ask about her again at Jiang Rui’s home. But again, really… he could have just telephoned her or left her a text to say he was looking for her and she’d have seen it. That’s what our mobile devices are for!!!
I agree that he blamed XG for his inability to reach her when he chose the wrong time to do it. He also blamed her for not telling him she was still single during the New Year,… but really, why should she? He had never told her that he was definitely single, and that Ye Rong and Chris (his colleague) were not in the picture. He expected the effort and information to come from XG, but he gave nothing.
However in terms of character development, in Ep 30 we finally see a little bit of difference in ZX. At least (thank heavens!!!) he did not just leave Chris hanging. Again it was Chris who initiated, not ZX … she asked to get confirmation from him that he liked XG and that he was rejecting her (Chris).
At least he tried to communicate through that song he sang, and was able to get that long speech out in front of XG finally (rather than stew in more silence), … but it was inappropriate, self-justifying, blame-throwing, self-pitying and too late. I loved that XG put him in his place and pointed out that he’d taken advantage of her feelings for him (by leaving her dangling for so long).
He is actually not a nice guy when it comes to relationships with girls. All the girls (Ye Rong, XG, Chris, and even Si Liang) who liked him had been hurt by him.
Yes, it’s also likely that unless he changes how he communicates and how well he can do his self-assessment (they call it self-reflection in dramas) and improve himself, in the future in any fallout in his romances, he’s likely to blame the girl. So stay clear of people who expect one to do most of the work of making a relationship work around them, no matter how good looking they are!!!
ibisfeather
@GB, good evening!
…”That’s what our mobile devices are for!”…
You remind me, I have been meaning to say that so much of this romance is expressed through text exchanges interspersed with phone calls. These are constructed really well and retain our interest — I need to go back and explore exactly why technically. Editing, setting, soundtrack, voiceover, what is it that makes this so much better than this element in other shows?
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
@IB, @Kate,
EPISODES 31 AND 32 (and it seems that even Episodes 33 onwards might be dropping today!?!?!)
I do appreciate a show that can intersperse enough romance in between a site visit, business discussions, visit to elders and creditors making a scene. The comfortable, non-cringey scenes of a couple in love are amazingly natural. I imagine us watching with smiles on our faces whenever our OTP are together on screen.
I foresee in future episodes, more scenes with Ye Rong and ZX, although whether they’ll be part of the problem or part of the solution is not clear.
Red beans will never have the same connotation again. LOL
angelwingssf
@GB – great analysis. when there is an issue – ZX puts his head in the sand and expects the problem to go away. When he handled Ye Rong accusing Nie Xiguang about receiving the phone call from the company and not informing Ye Rong. During that conversation, he snatched NX phone while she was calling someone (I think Mr. Li) and we heard it was a wrong number. He had no right to do that in the first place. He made her look bad. Did he not know her character after meeting her many times when tutoring her cousin? Did he know Ye Rong so well that he did not recognize her manipulation? For a person who had such high IQ and EQ – where was his analysis? Was he so inept that he could not figure it out. He just wanted to put his head in the sand and look good.
IF NX did not want to disclose something to him about her relationship with LYS, that is her right – he has no right to accuse her that she should have told him.
SPOILER :
In the latest episode, ZX experiences what NX went through in college with YeRong and how everyone in the company starts talking about him and accuses him – Karma in a full circle.
ibisfeather
Ep30-31
Karma indeed, @angelwingssf.
I was glad for that moment though, because it seemed to represent that ZX finally understood what hell he had put Xiguang through.
After hearing Lai Wei Ming (the actor) sing so beautifully at karaoke, I understood why he is a respected performer in China.
@GB, how did you know I was beaming? I hope I smile in my dreams like this, and wake up a little less wrinkly.
I stand firm on the classical tragedy angle. ZX is a tragic character as only cdrama can make them, blind, strong, foolish and pitiable.
Some say they want to see a spinoff where he mends his ways. Not me. I like my tragedy straight. (although of course if he were a real human I would hope he could grow and do better)
angelwingssf
@ibisfeather –
I like that ZX got to experience what Nie XiGuang experienced in her college years. It was smacking to the face – since this happened right after the birthday lunch and looks like YS had a hand in it. The father was unaware of it and Bokai would not be helping elevate or clear YS or NX. either grandpa or Lusen made this rumor float around.
What i still did not like about ZX is that he did not apologize to NX for his involvement in this character assassination during college . Not even after working for more than 6 months or longer.
Haven’t watched the rest of the episodes – will have to see if he really gets to apologize in the end.
angelwingssf
Where are you guys watching this drama? I guess wetv already has all the episodes unlocked. The others might unlock it today. From those who are already seen it, they are over the moon on how the last episode was done. very beautiful it seems. Will have to wait to see, since Netflix is pretty one episode per day and I usually watch it on Kisskh.
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
Hi @angelwingssf, I also watch on kisskh, hence I have to wait until tonight I think.
I’m actually quite confident that the show will end satisfactorily. We have previews already showing what will be.
The one show that ended in the way a couple of us most wanted it to was Dynamite Kiss. I’m waiting for another ending like that!!!
angelwingssf
@GB @Ibisfeather
– I have seen many clips of the so called ending and know that it is a happy one with a kid .
– both leading their lives as they wanted and being a happy family.
– Since I watch on kisskh too just like you, have to wait – probably will be watching it tomorrow.
– Dynamite kiss was awesome. Loved it. Loved the ending too – hopefully would have been better with little less of his memory loss giving us more time with the OTP.
– to tomorrow – have work in the morning – but will catch up in between.
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
@angelwingssf, @IB, @Kate
Just a little note. This show was made recently but is set in 2013 (the date on the wedding invitation), when WeChat was still a fledgling (it started in 2011). Hence in Ep 14 they speak of just trying out WeChat for the first time and predict that it was going to grow very big.
So we expect that what we are seeing now are their beginnings in the working world and business and by the end of the series, it would be a few years into their future, when we can see the results of their choices and efforts. And the growth of their family. I’m glad that they show them as a family with a child!!
ibisfeather
@angelwinssf, @GB, @Kate
Ep32
I am not that versed in Chinese modern drama, but I like this version of the ‘village’, with plenty of local drama and fewer saintly characters. Mr. Nie’s grey character, and his lover’s shady dad in the background — and the local debt collectors camped out in front of Granma’s house!
(Dont get me wrong I love my kdrama tropes like well-polished chess pieces)
@GB, I wasnt clear what you meant about red beans until YuSen’s red bean snack bonanza in the office at the beginning of this episode! In 31 the color change was nice but I wondered why it was significant; part of the chain of events that evening, wasnt it?
GrowingBeautifully (GB)
@IB, I wondered about the change of the beans too and why it evoked such a strong sentiment in YS and earned his warm embrace.
I checked and found that the red bean is a powerful cultural symbol primarily representing:
-Romantic love and yearning.
-Good luck and the repulsion of evil.
-Health, happiness, and celebration.
I guess XG wanted to fill his lonely times doing therapy with an assurance that he was not alone, but that he was loved and wished well. It was sweet without being cheesy, and YS appreciated the thought a great deal!!!
ibisfeather
@GB,
the penny drops!
XG had cheerfully kept up a flirtacious front, without specifically telling YS that she loves him.
So the red beans are here way of saying that, confirming it, or just being romantic. She is our classic heart of gold sassy FL without much mush to her.
The last red bean which she puts in his hand and folds his fingers over.
Very nice choice, classy and traditional but original. Much better than a candy heart.
That is why YS reacts that way: it is a green light, it is I’ve Grown-Up! I’m Here! Come and Get Me!
So he asks her if she really has to go home. And she says it was just a way to get him to see the red beans. They drag each other back inside to finish the date.
Somehow its characteristic of XG’s artless nature in love that she carefully set up a symbolic message but left out the whole sitting-in-front-of-a-fire-holding-a-wineglass-ambience. She ends up goofily smiling on his doorstep again. Luckily the door is open for the two silly souls.
Kate
@Ibisfeather,
I was just thinking about the fashion in this show and then saw your post at the top of the discussion. Absolutely — the stylists really are letting the clothes do the talking. I loved the moment when the FL steps out of the car, leading with those beautiful heeled sandals — an instant signal of status and glamour at that gala event in Episode 26 which launches her in a new way. She wears pastel coats beautifully too — a refreshing move away from sombre office attire.
They’ve also done an excellent job styling Song Weilong’s character — some sharp and subtly fashion forward colour and style choices, without his look tipping into exaggerated high fashion.
I’m also enjoying the workwear choices for the more mature cast members. The ice-blue jacket worn by the FL’s aunt in Episode 31 when she presents the large-scale project she hopes to involve the ML’s and the FL’s company in was lovely, with what looked like subtle Chinese detailing (sorry — names are escaping me here). She looked confident wearing it while presenting to a room largely filled with dark suits. I’m taking that as inspiration for myself.
Kate
@Packmule,
Another interesting tie-in — taking my eyes off the fashion and paying closer attention, in Episode 31 the Feng Teng Suzhou Intelligent Digital Centre becomes an important focus. In Gu Man’s Boss and Me, the story centred on the Feng Teng Group (also known as Wind Group), and the chaebol ML was called Feng Teng. This time — unlike Love O2O — we’re not being pointed directly to a character, but the name is clearly familiar to viewers who know Gu Man’s dramaverse.
It would be wonderful if the fictional Feng Teng were behind this Centre, but perhaps what we’re really being offered is a signal that this is a good thing: something linked with successful, ethical, innovative thinking. In Boss and Me, Feng Teng was notably supportive of innovation and start-ups — something we later see again in Love O2O.
Kate
@GB,
I noticed that you picked up on the date of the show — 2013. For some reason I hadn’t, and that now makes further sense of the tie-ins, given that Boss and Me takes place in 2014. I really like the way Gu Man creates proximity between dramas — albeit lightly. Your point also makes sense to me in terms of where the story sits technologically, with things like brain–computer interface research coming onto the horizon.
One reason I didn’t pick up on the date was the styling — it doesn’t look dated in the way Boss and Me (made in 2014) does. Perhaps this is a 2025 lens on what 2013 fashion should have looked like! 😄
ibisfeather
@Kate, yes maybe the fashion is the same reason I have also felt puzzled about the 2013 dating.
I was also especially puzzled when GB mentioned that WeChat was only getting going around then. The characters seem quite at home with it in a contemporary way.
Unlike Daniel Zhou’s adorable mid-dorm revelation abt Moments in Sniper Butterfly. He had to be shown how to use his phone by from his friends.
Kate
@Ibisfeather,
Glad this resonates. Boss and Me is so obviously dated that you automatically locate it somewhere a good decade back! The make-up, the platform heels, the hair, the whole colour palette…. But not this show.
Yes, that was a cute moment in Sniper Butterfly.
monmor
@GB I think red beans are sometimes used as part of the wedding ceremonial in historical cdramas. Fits with your description of their symbolic meaning.
Dear @GB,
Ep29
Wow. And who said fashion doesnt matter? Was that me?
Look at the skirt she wears to the office immediately after the share transfers both go through. Late at work, she is going into YuSen’s office — the skirt if a different length (a few inches above the knees only), different color (red/orange patterned), and layered, so not a little girl’s skirt any more.
Way to underline the idea that she is now a woman with a powerful mom, who is working in her own family’s business, and who has a husband-to-be who is ready for her to take her place when she is ready.
Nice.
@GB
ep29
As you said – all out in the open. Family connections, past histories future (tentative) plans.
I was so happy that the question of when to tell her friends she was the daughter of the founders of the company (and now of the other main shareholder) was settled quickly.
In general the timing of this show is right for me, When there is a problem of communication and the FL isnt sure how to do it correctly, or how to correct a misunderstanding, she thinks about it, there is a short [period of anxiety, and within one or two episodes she figures out a way.
In the beginning she was hurting YuSen provided some of the decisive impetus she was lacking on occasion. YuSen himself presented problems at work, but even so the show doesnt linger too long. Good pacing.
It makes Zhuang Xu look even more troubled. He doesnt understand or perceive himself and others correctly. He just seems to thrash around.
@IB, I’ve just completed Eps 29 and 30.
LOL Thrashing around is such a good descriptor of ZX.
Because I took more note of ZX in the rewatch, I thought I figured out a thing or two about why he was just thrashing about (and was pleased to see I was right) … however Ep 30 suggests that he did try to at least thrash about with some purpose LOL.
I like that the points brought up in the early episodes make their reappearance in these ending episodes. The Writer has planned well and not forgotten what clues she’d left before and what result they pointed to in the later time.
SPOILERS EP 30
SPOILERS EP 30
I don’t understand though, since ZX did receive XG’s text, why then could he not contact her from 2 years prior. Why did he have to go from place to place to look for her or hope that she’d end up working near his Huaya Bank. It does not make sense to me.
I replayed XG’s long retort to him. Basically before she knew about Ye Rong, she’d openly shown that she liked ZX, but he never declared himself. I like that XG is written to be spirited and to know how to stand up for herself. I wanted to applaud when she said why should she be the one to crawl back, and since ZX was such a smart guy, how could he not know how she had once felt about him.
By contrast, even knowing that XG still had an unsettled heart, YS had already declared himself and stepped up to do the bf things with her, while letting her choose whom she would end up with. I like that she said, there was no need for her to choose at all because YS had been definite and clear and she was always going to end up with him. 🙂
@GB –
I think that ZX has a huge dose of inferiority complex. NX was a daughter from a rich family while his family was no where near them. He liked her but he was led astray by Rong who is nothing but a manipulative scum. Just because she was his childhood friend, she manipulated ZX to the extent that he started to doubt NX. Even when he received the text, he was not fully sure that he wanted to reply it. Written word could be different than spoken word – so he might have gone to find her. Not finding her and knowing that she went abroad to study must have ticked him even more. Since he did not know. SHE did not tell him. Her cousin did not inform him. He probably found lot of excuses and blamed her for it.
To me he is manipulative scum just like Rong, who did not want to stand up as a man and take responsibility and even though he tried to earn a lot of money and stand up to her standards, it does not add up that he is a nice guy. He gets information about her, from others instead of asking her and getting the facts straight. Now that she moved on in her life and someone better than him likes her, he needs to snatch her from him . Even (just if) if NX went to like him and breaks up with Lin, the next time there is a misunderstanding – he will be the one to blame her first. There are people like that in real life too. So, it would good to choose the right partner.
Hi there @angelwingssf, that’s a good take on ZX. Like him or hate him, his character is somewhat intriguing, since he causes his own problems but is blind to this. (He even asked XG what he did wrong or what more he could possibly have done, as if it wasn’t his fault).
Partial Dissection of the Character of Zhuang Xu
I agree that a strong sense of inferiority may have had a part to play. Or maybe, if we want to be sympathetic to him, the inferiority complex can be blamed for EVERYTHING he failed to do. That it could drive him into inability to communicate and inaction however, sort of boggles my mind. I’d think that sort of symptoms should have gotten him medical attention.
But for fun, let me just argue differently … that he had only a mild case of inferiority but a bad case of not knowing how to communicate and not being able to assess himself. He does not seem to understand that leaving a question unanswered (I’m referring to XG’s last text to him) is also a kind of answer. It would seem to XG that he did not want to reply to her, and not that he could not since there was plenty of opportunities to follow-up on her question. Silence to a question meant total non-committal to any stand. Hence the other party (XG) is justified in thinking whatever she wishes.
Between the receipt of that text and the time that they graduated, there was a long stretch of time. ZX never once texted anything to XG who was still on campus or nearby. He’d run into her from time to time, but say nothing of consequence.
I also agree that he seems to have been listening to others’ judgment about XG but he never checked directly. The thing is that when he was tutoring Jiang Rui, XG was around a lot in Jiang Rui’s home. The 3 of them spent time together. He should have been able to observe and get to know her. He seems however to have been incapable of forming his own opinions.
Ye Rong’s poisoned tongue spoilt the image of XG, and ZX never bothered to find out if this was true, or to defend XG or to right the wrong. Was this laziness, indifference, blind trust in Ye Rong (in the scene Ep 12?? where he and YR were on the windy bridge, he seems to say it was his blind trust … again he’s blaming the girl!), or lack of confidence in his own judgment???
How could he believe ill of someone he liked without proof, and without trying to do something about it. It looks like he did not really like XG as much as he claims he does.
In all these circumstances he fails to see where he is lacking.
(Continued …)
(Continued …)
In one of my notes (EP 10), I wrote that he was floored when he found out that he’d been led to think XG was overseas studying when she was actually in China most of the time. I give him the benefit of the doubt, that if he had been told that she was only on a short trip, he’d have gone to ask about her again at Jiang Rui’s home. But again, really… he could have just telephoned her or left her a text to say he was looking for her and she’d have seen it. That’s what our mobile devices are for!!!
I agree that he blamed XG for his inability to reach her when he chose the wrong time to do it. He also blamed her for not telling him she was still single during the New Year,… but really, why should she? He had never told her that he was definitely single, and that Ye Rong and Chris (his colleague) were not in the picture. He expected the effort and information to come from XG, but he gave nothing.
However in terms of character development, in Ep 30 we finally see a little bit of difference in ZX. At least (thank heavens!!!) he did not just leave Chris hanging. Again it was Chris who initiated, not ZX … she asked to get confirmation from him that he liked XG and that he was rejecting her (Chris).
At least he tried to communicate through that song he sang, and was able to get that long speech out in front of XG finally (rather than stew in more silence), … but it was inappropriate, self-justifying, blame-throwing, self-pitying and too late. I loved that XG put him in his place and pointed out that he’d taken advantage of her feelings for him (by leaving her dangling for so long).
He is actually not a nice guy when it comes to relationships with girls. All the girls (Ye Rong, XG, Chris, and even Si Liang) who liked him had been hurt by him.
Yes, it’s also likely that unless he changes how he communicates and how well he can do his self-assessment (they call it self-reflection in dramas) and improve himself, in the future in any fallout in his romances, he’s likely to blame the girl. So stay clear of people who expect one to do most of the work of making a relationship work around them, no matter how good looking they are!!!
@GB, good evening!
…”That’s what our mobile devices are for!”…
You remind me, I have been meaning to say that so much of this romance is expressed through text exchanges interspersed with phone calls. These are constructed really well and retain our interest — I need to go back and explore exactly why technically. Editing, setting, soundtrack, voiceover, what is it that makes this so much better than this element in other shows?
@IB, @Kate,
EPISODES 31 AND 32 (and it seems that even Episodes 33 onwards might be dropping today!?!?!)
I do appreciate a show that can intersperse enough romance in between a site visit, business discussions, visit to elders and creditors making a scene. The comfortable, non-cringey scenes of a couple in love are amazingly natural. I imagine us watching with smiles on our faces whenever our OTP are together on screen.
I foresee in future episodes, more scenes with Ye Rong and ZX, although whether they’ll be part of the problem or part of the solution is not clear.
Red beans will never have the same connotation again. LOL
@GB – great analysis. when there is an issue – ZX puts his head in the sand and expects the problem to go away. When he handled Ye Rong accusing Nie Xiguang about receiving the phone call from the company and not informing Ye Rong. During that conversation, he snatched NX phone while she was calling someone (I think Mr. Li) and we heard it was a wrong number. He had no right to do that in the first place. He made her look bad. Did he not know her character after meeting her many times when tutoring her cousin? Did he know Ye Rong so well that he did not recognize her manipulation? For a person who had such high IQ and EQ – where was his analysis? Was he so inept that he could not figure it out. He just wanted to put his head in the sand and look good.
IF NX did not want to disclose something to him about her relationship with LYS, that is her right – he has no right to accuse her that she should have told him.
SPOILER :
In the latest episode, ZX experiences what NX went through in college with YeRong and how everyone in the company starts talking about him and accuses him – Karma in a full circle.
Ep30-31
Karma indeed, @angelwingssf.
I was glad for that moment though, because it seemed to represent that ZX finally understood what hell he had put Xiguang through.
After hearing Lai Wei Ming (the actor) sing so beautifully at karaoke, I understood why he is a respected performer in China.
@GB, how did you know I was beaming? I hope I smile in my dreams like this, and wake up a little less wrinkly.
I stand firm on the classical tragedy angle. ZX is a tragic character as only cdrama can make them, blind, strong, foolish and pitiable.
Some say they want to see a spinoff where he mends his ways. Not me. I like my tragedy straight. (although of course if he were a real human I would hope he could grow and do better)
@ibisfeather –
I like that ZX got to experience what Nie XiGuang experienced in her college years. It was smacking to the face – since this happened right after the birthday lunch and looks like YS had a hand in it. The father was unaware of it and Bokai would not be helping elevate or clear YS or NX. either grandpa or Lusen made this rumor float around.
What i still did not like about ZX is that he did not apologize to NX for his involvement in this character assassination during college . Not even after working for more than 6 months or longer.
Haven’t watched the rest of the episodes – will have to see if he really gets to apologize in the end.
Where are you guys watching this drama? I guess wetv already has all the episodes unlocked. The others might unlock it today. From those who are already seen it, they are over the moon on how the last episode was done. very beautiful it seems. Will have to wait to see, since Netflix is pretty one episode per day and I usually watch it on Kisskh.
Hi @angelwingssf, I also watch on kisskh, hence I have to wait until tonight I think.
I’m actually quite confident that the show will end satisfactorily. We have previews already showing what will be.
The one show that ended in the way a couple of us most wanted it to was Dynamite Kiss. I’m waiting for another ending like that!!!
@GB @Ibisfeather
– I have seen many clips of the so called ending and know that it is a happy one with a kid .
– both leading their lives as they wanted and being a happy family.
– Since I watch on kisskh too just like you, have to wait – probably will be watching it tomorrow.
– Dynamite kiss was awesome. Loved it. Loved the ending too – hopefully would have been better with little less of his memory loss giving us more time with the OTP.
– to tomorrow – have work in the morning – but will catch up in between.
@angelwingssf, @IB, @Kate
Just a little note. This show was made recently but is set in 2013 (the date on the wedding invitation), when WeChat was still a fledgling (it started in 2011). Hence in Ep 14 they speak of just trying out WeChat for the first time and predict that it was going to grow very big.
So we expect that what we are seeing now are their beginnings in the working world and business and by the end of the series, it would be a few years into their future, when we can see the results of their choices and efforts. And the growth of their family. I’m glad that they show them as a family with a child!!
@angelwinssf, @GB, @Kate
Ep32
I am not that versed in Chinese modern drama, but I like this version of the ‘village’, with plenty of local drama and fewer saintly characters. Mr. Nie’s grey character, and his lover’s shady dad in the background — and the local debt collectors camped out in front of Granma’s house!
(Dont get me wrong I love my kdrama tropes like well-polished chess pieces)
@GB, I wasnt clear what you meant about red beans until YuSen’s red bean snack bonanza in the office at the beginning of this episode! In 31 the color change was nice but I wondered why it was significant; part of the chain of events that evening, wasnt it?
@IB, I wondered about the change of the beans too and why it evoked such a strong sentiment in YS and earned his warm embrace.
I checked and found that the red bean is a powerful cultural symbol primarily representing:
-Romantic love and yearning.
-Good luck and the repulsion of evil.
-Health, happiness, and celebration.
I guess XG wanted to fill his lonely times doing therapy with an assurance that he was not alone, but that he was loved and wished well. It was sweet without being cheesy, and YS appreciated the thought a great deal!!!
@GB,
the penny drops!
XG had cheerfully kept up a flirtacious front, without specifically telling YS that she loves him.
So the red beans are here way of saying that, confirming it, or just being romantic. She is our classic heart of gold sassy FL without much mush to her.
The last red bean which she puts in his hand and folds his fingers over.
Very nice choice, classy and traditional but original. Much better than a candy heart.
That is why YS reacts that way: it is a green light, it is I’ve Grown-Up! I’m Here! Come and Get Me!
So he asks her if she really has to go home. And she says it was just a way to get him to see the red beans. They drag each other back inside to finish the date.
Somehow its characteristic of XG’s artless nature in love that she carefully set up a symbolic message but left out the whole sitting-in-front-of-a-fire-holding-a-wineglass-ambience. She ends up goofily smiling on his doorstep again. Luckily the door is open for the two silly souls.
@Ibisfeather,
I was just thinking about the fashion in this show and then saw your post at the top of the discussion. Absolutely — the stylists really are letting the clothes do the talking. I loved the moment when the FL steps out of the car, leading with those beautiful heeled sandals — an instant signal of status and glamour at that gala event in Episode 26 which launches her in a new way. She wears pastel coats beautifully too — a refreshing move away from sombre office attire.
They’ve also done an excellent job styling Song Weilong’s character — some sharp and subtly fashion forward colour and style choices, without his look tipping into exaggerated high fashion.
I’m also enjoying the workwear choices for the more mature cast members. The ice-blue jacket worn by the FL’s aunt in Episode 31 when she presents the large-scale project she hopes to involve the ML’s and the FL’s company in was lovely, with what looked like subtle Chinese detailing (sorry — names are escaping me here). She looked confident wearing it while presenting to a room largely filled with dark suits. I’m taking that as inspiration for myself.
@Packmule,
Another interesting tie-in — taking my eyes off the fashion and paying closer attention, in Episode 31 the Feng Teng Suzhou Intelligent Digital Centre becomes an important focus. In Gu Man’s Boss and Me, the story centred on the Feng Teng Group (also known as Wind Group), and the chaebol ML was called Feng Teng. This time — unlike Love O2O — we’re not being pointed directly to a character, but the name is clearly familiar to viewers who know Gu Man’s dramaverse.
It would be wonderful if the fictional Feng Teng were behind this Centre, but perhaps what we’re really being offered is a signal that this is a good thing: something linked with successful, ethical, innovative thinking. In Boss and Me, Feng Teng was notably supportive of innovation and start-ups — something we later see again in Love O2O.
@GB,
I noticed that you picked up on the date of the show — 2013. For some reason I hadn’t, and that now makes further sense of the tie-ins, given that Boss and Me takes place in 2014. I really like the way Gu Man creates proximity between dramas — albeit lightly. Your point also makes sense to me in terms of where the story sits technologically, with things like brain–computer interface research coming onto the horizon.
One reason I didn’t pick up on the date was the styling — it doesn’t look dated in the way Boss and Me (made in 2014) does. Perhaps this is a 2025 lens on what 2013 fashion should have looked like! 😄
@Kate, yes maybe the fashion is the same reason I have also felt puzzled about the 2013 dating.
I was also especially puzzled when GB mentioned that WeChat was only getting going around then. The characters seem quite at home with it in a contemporary way.
Unlike Daniel Zhou’s adorable mid-dorm revelation abt Moments in Sniper Butterfly. He had to be shown how to use his phone by from his friends.
@Ibisfeather,
Glad this resonates. Boss and Me is so obviously dated that you automatically locate it somewhere a good decade back! The make-up, the platform heels, the hair, the whole colour palette…. But not this show.
Yes, that was a cute moment in Sniper Butterfly.
@GB I think red beans are sometimes used as part of the wedding ceremonial in historical cdramas. Fits with your description of their symbolic meaning.