Elise:
I thought this review was so bizarre and had nothing to do with LYF but reading it now, it all makes sense.
"From the development in season 1, I could tell they don't want yaoliu other than for marketing. Season 1 yaoliu should actually get a lot of sugar, but the way the director shot it was very grim and Xiangliu was very bitter."
For marketing reasons. They all knew Xiang Liu was the most popular character to people who read the novel so they advertised him and YaoLiu a lot to get people to watch the show. Heck, even I who didn't read the novel before started watching this for him and really believed YaoLiu had chance....
I bow down to your GIF library!
I haven't read the novel, but the bits I've read here and there, I think Tan Jian Ci's XL is far sweeter than the novel. We actually get to see some of his PoV and feelings. He's aloof, but he's not as icy. I didn't see XL as grim or bitter at all in the drama. He comes across as lonely, but he doesn't reveal that to anyone but XY.
If they know XL is the most popular character, then why would they sabotage him??? Why would Tong Hua sign up for that?