Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 H19279:

I read Once Promised in Vietnamese and I don't have the Chinese novel to check. However, in the translated novel, Chi You was describled as an orphan who lived in the wildness, among wild animals. Chi You told Ah Heng that since the moment he had awareness and understanding of surroundings, he had already lived among wild animals. At some point, he realized that he was not as similar as the animals in the forest. Those had same kin but he didn't. Thus he was curious about the people living in the village nearby. He stole things from villagers such as wine because he saw them being happy after drinking wine. He tried to approach them but was chased by them. 

I have a AI translated and AI prose version of the forward of Once Promised. TH describes Chi You almost as if he is King Kong himself. Chi you is described as:

"Peering closely, he observed a long-haired, robust figure resembling an ape darting through the woods....The beast, displaying its teeth, emitted an angry roar, charging forward with ferocious teeth and claws. Possessing the strength to rival a tiger's might, it faced Zhu Rong, the God of Fire....Exploiting the distraction caused by the flames, the beast leaped high into the air, seizing a vine and propelling itself upward. In an instant, it grasped another, higher vine. With a few more swings, it could ascend the cliff, disappearing from sight....Zhu Rong let his guard down and fell victim to the beast's claws, leaving five long blood marks on his arm....Over centuries, he had roamed with herds, evading countless threats, witnessing the demise of his companions at the hands of hunters. Life-and-death struggles had honed his survival instincts. Yet, akin to a formidable tiger brought down by an injury, he found himself vulnerable to capture."

 In describing his desire upon setting his eyes on AhHeng, TH writes, "He yearned to carry her to his tree-top nest, lead her to his mountain cave, sing to her like the bird, and assure her of the safety and strength of the nest he crafted, capable of warding off eagles and safeguarding the eggs she would lay. He desired to capture the most delectable rabbit, present it to her, bite off the plumpest breast, and offer it to her, mimicking the red fox's gesture. He wished to mark the mountain stream by urinating around it, imprinting his scent on every tree and rock. This act declared to all beasts and hunters that this was his territory, a space where she could play and hunt freely, shielded from any harm. If anyone dared to encroach on his territory and threaten her, he would confront them in a deadly battle, much like the white tiger.

These surging thoughts illuminated his once ignorant and desolate heart like lightning piercing the dark sky.

Spring, he realized, this is what spring is!

He gazed up at the sky, unleashing a howl that resonated with the moon. The long and piercing cry sent wild beasts in the mountains scurrying down in fear."

 Kokuto:

Chi You sounds more like Tarzan.

Tarzan/caveman. Hahah!

 HeadInTheClouds:

Tarzan/caveman. Hahah!

 plor20:

Lol! That too! ??

Tarzan comes from a long line of mythological children raised by animals, like Romulus and Remus.  And I'm sure there are some in Asian myths, that I'm unaware of.  But they are usually of noble or divine  heritage, who have been abandoned to avoid a prophecy or step-parents or some threat.  So I can see Chi You fitting in that mold ... though of course, that begs the question, WHO are his parents?

Food for thought:

Old wives' advice: My mom once told me two things as I was growing up. 1) Always choose the person who loves you more. 2) If a man really wants you, he would move mountains to have you.

When I think about the love lines in 'Lost You Forever,' I often revert to my mom's advice. Many viewers have attributed TSJ's love as the former; however, I have felt that all the men except Feng Long love XY more than their own lives. The difference is that XL saw XY existing in a world where she can protect herself, CX foresaw XY's existence in a peaceful world, while TSJ's world was dependent on XY's existence. Each male suitor made decisions that best suited their worldview of XY, and therefore, it did not equate to how much they loved her, but it did, however, affect the quality of that love.

In terms of the second advice, I am brought back to the idea of choice. Tong Hua has crafted a story that gives you four suitors but only one choice. This quote manifests literally through CX, who gave away a mountain to ensure XY's safety, and then gave her a palace on a mountain and planted her a forest, while TSJ gifted her a home he found (which was coincidentally her biological father's home) on the side of a mountain overlooking into the Chenrong Valley. Allegorically, XL was the only one who didn't move a mountain for her. Instead, he gifted her the abilities to traverse and claim any mountain she wanted without fear. Yet, as readers and audiences, Tong Hua continues to hint that if XL did move a mountain, XY would helplessly follow him, literally jumping of the side of boat to be with him. The choice that XL didn't take (but often yearn to and rejected by XY) made sure that XY's only choice was TSJ. In the end, XY who wanted to command her own love story, was bested by XL, the man who loved her dearly and put her dreams ahead of his own.

I've read a couple partial translations, summaries and commentaries on Once Promised from different sources. All of them are incomplete fan works (i.e., not the work of professional translators).

The main source that I read included the following details related to Chi You:

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Chapter 1 summary note: 

A hundred years before, the Jiu Yi tribe was unhappy with this cruel slavery and so started to band together and rebel. Because of one strong malicious beast that helped the Jiu Yi tribe, they were able to deal with tens of great soldiers from the God Tribe and this caused the Yan Emperor to be disturbed. The Yan Emperor called the best warrior in the Sheng Nong Tribe, Zhu Rong (the Fire God) to personally deal with this beast. 

So, Chi You is not named by Tong Hua throughout this chapter, but it is clear that the strong malicious beast that helps the Jiu YI tribe is Chi You.

...

Chi You manages to avoid capture for a long part of the chase in the forest with several beasts coming to his aid, but ultimately, Zhu Rong is too strong. 

...

However, after being on the run for 7 days without eating or sleeping, Chi You knows that he will ultimately be captured - his leg is injured and his hand is burned. He is the Beast King, he knows what happens when a beast is captured by the hunter. He does not want to be skinned and become a display piece in someone's pedestal.  

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Chapter 1 translation (the scene where Chi You sees Ah Heng for the first time):

In the midst of loneliness and confusion, he always felt that there was something, somewhere in the horizon, that once he captured he would understand. Understand why they were happy. Understand what he was. Understand what spring meant. Understand why he was alone. But no matter how hard he tried to catch, he could not catch it.

Now, he understood. At this rich, verdant and vibrant spring day, he was like the countless beasts in the forest mountain: once they saw a female beast, they suddenly understood. 

This girl in the mountain spring, caused the piece that was sleeping deep in his soul to awake.

He wanted to carry her to the nest on the top of his tree, bring her to his cave in the mountain, like the bird that was singing - tell her how safe and secure the nest he had built, it could protect against eagles, it could protect the eggs she will birth; he wanted to catch fresh rabbits for her and present it to her, bite off the juiciest breast for her, and like the red fox beg her to eat; he wanted to surround the mountain stream with his pee, so that every tree, every rock, would have his scent, would tell all the beast and hunters that this was his land. To let her freely play and catch food here, to not allow anyone to harm her, if anyone dared to cross into his land, to threaten her, he will be like the white tiger and fight him to death. 

These wild overpowering thoughts flashed through the dark sky like lightning, his ignorant heart burst into light. 

Spring, so this was Spring! 

The beast sadly looked at her for a while, then determined turned his back, and jumped down the precipice, dragging his broken leg, he limped towards the direction away from the mountain stream. He did not hide any signs of his route as he journeyed, in fact he would stop every now and then to listen, to confirm that Zhu Rong and soldiers had gone far away from the mountain stream and were chasing him.

In this spring, where the flowers are blossoming and the butterflies are dancing, hundreds of years of loneliness and confusion have disappeared. But, at the moment he understood what to do in the beautiful spring, he could not live to the next spring day. The only thing he could do was to not let her get hurt. 

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Chapter 1 comment: 

At first, Chi You reminds me a bit of the Monkey King, after all Tong Hua even writes about little monkeys playing around his home. His rebellious and direct nature and how he opposes authority - especially unjust authority - appears to be similar. It's also noted in this chapter that Chi You is very young, hence he is no match to the very senior Zhu Rong. 

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Chapter 2 comment:

Eeks! I loved this chapter. It's quite conventional actually - kind of like a romantic comedy kind of meeting, which I loved. Both of them pretending to be village idiots, but Chi You being much more cunning since A'Heng starts protecting him left, right and centre except Chi You was actually the one protecting A'Heng but she doesn't know and just thinks he is being a village idiot. Ahahah, I love it. 

I also love how Chi You is this cold calculating Beast King, but his facade starts to melt at this silly young girl who isn't very powerful but tries to help people regardless of the obstacles she will face. The chinese idiom that perfectly captures it is 不自量力 (not knowing one's strength), but still going ahead anyway.

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Chapter 3 translation:

In the late evening, a red-robed Chi You grandly landed from the sky. 

 Under the last residues of the sun, the old sacrificial stage which was stained with countless fresh blood had a dazzling beauty. 

 There was rich divine essence in the air, but it announced that the divine essence holder had a bad demise...

 Chi You walked towards the sacrificial stage, he laid in a comfortable position in the midst of the blood that was still fresh. He closed his eyes, and tried to gather Xi Ling Heng's energy from the fresh blood, then used his own divine essence to travel through the ground and living things, to try and find traces of her life. 

Until the sky became completely dark, until he had used all of his divine powers, he had searched endlessly again and again but could not find any traces of her energy.

She had really died!

...

The divine essence moved with the flow of her fresh blood deep into the ground, all the trees in the village started to grow crazily, covering the roads, surrounding the walls, sealing shut the doors and windows. The people deep in their sleeps start to awake, they were alarmed at how the entire house was thick with vegetation, and they were still growing at a maniacal speed, what appeared like soft vegetation, had an unyielding energy, they broke cabinets, shattered stools, enshrouded every single person's body, no matter male, female, young or old. 

Desperate cries of help rang through the mountain, countless mountains birds felt the horror, and squawked loudly as they flew again, the quiet mountain village become a demonic village. Chi You simply laid on the place Xi Ling Heng once laid, and lazily smiled at the sky.

 The desperate cries slowly vanished, and the mountain returned to its silence, the entire village appeared to have completely vanished, only an extremely tightly wound thick vegetation remained. 

 ...

 Under the moon light, the entire sacrificial stage appeared to be covered by vegetation from all sides. If you looked from above, you would see a huge green tomb. 

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Chapter 4 translation:

Xi Ling Heng slowly walked to his front, carefully examining him, "After you left yesterday night, I realised that even if you were a skilled person from Sheng Nong, not many could escape fully after stealing a treasure from the Jade Mountain Ground Palace. You saved me as well on Bo Fu Mountain, didn't you? Who really are you?"

"I am who I am."

 Xi Ling Heng said furiously, "Stop lying to me, I want your real name!"

 "Jiu Li tribe's witch sorcerers called me the Beast King, Sheng Nong's gods called me a monster, some called me a beast, Shi Fu and Yu Wang call me Chi You."

...

Chi You sat and watched for a while, then he covered his mouth with both hands and gave out a few cries. In a while, two birds flew over holding one stalk of peach, the leaves were glistening green with drops of night dew, and in the middle was a luscious peach. One look and it was certain that it was extremely delicious.

The god tribes can use their divine powers to control demon beasts and bird sprites, but to order normal animals to listen was not possible. Xi Ling Heng watched in utter shock and amazement. The two birds fluttered their wings in front of her and started to sing, as if inviting her to eat the peach.

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Chapter 6 summary note:

As per Yan Emperor's instructions, Yun Sang gave all the governmental matters for Chi You to handle and she was very free. 

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Chapter 6 translation:

Chi You grabbed her hand and looked at her, as if he was smiling but also not smiling, he said, "If you don't want to be my good wife-to-be, then whose will you be? I am the king of hundred beasts and I have picked you to be my female beast, if any one has the guts to snatch you from me, then we will have to have a fair fight."

Chi You isn't a man who is so good looking that he stands out from a crowd, but his eyes were like wild beasts - beautiful and cunning, and yet under its coldness there was a fierce unyielding beauty, it gave his face a strange demonic power, causing him to be unforgettable.**

But Xi Ling Heng did not know why, she did not have that previous indifferent feeling when she had teased with Chi You, but actually felt some terror. She shook off Chi You's hand, "We are not wild beasts, what's there to battle?"

Chi You heartily laughed, "Only a healthy beautiful female beast will have male beasts trying to battle for the right to mate with her, you..." He looked at Xi Ling Heng, made a tsking sound and shook his head, as if saying no male beasts will like her and want to mate with her.

 Xi Ling Heng bashfully turned red, finally understanding why people called Chi You a beast, the way he spoke was too naked and direct, she covered her ears and shouted, "Chi You, if you continue to speak nonsense, I will not listen to your words in future."

Chi You gazed at the blushingly angry Xi Ling Heng, and felt his heart tremble, his most basic desire shook within him. He suddenly moved closer and quickly kissed Xi Ling Heng.

...

 Although Chi You's actions appeared cool and experienced, this was his first time kissing a girl, plus it was a girl that he had hid in the top of his heart, his heart in chaos, his heart that was calm even in the midst of life and death suddenly rapidly jumped, his eyes full of softness. 

...

Xi Ling Heng finally reacted and heavily bit his lips. Chi You gave a cry and stepped back, he glared at Xi Ling Heng, out of embarrassment and confusion, as if he was an agitated little wild beast.

Xi Ling Heng coldly rebuked, "How's the taste? If you dare to do it next.... next... I will not be kind!"

Chi You raised his brows and laughed, as if he became a sly cold Beast King, his fingers wiped off the blood on his lips, he stretched out the tip of his tongue and lightly tasted it, staring at Xi Ling Heng's lips and as if reminiscing said, "The taste is very good!" Purposely twisting the meaning of her words.

...

Chi You broke out into peals of laughter, his expression immediately softened, he patted Xi Ling Heng's cheeks, "You are so fun to play with, one tease and all seven emotions will surface. Do you actually believe I will treat you that way?"

Xi Ling Heng was already dizzy from his ever-changing expressions and could only dazedly watch as Chi You helped her tighten her belt and laid by her side. He smiled at her, "You always think that wild beasts are fierce and barbaric, but when a male beast woos a female beast, he will never compel her to mate with him, their hearts must be willing."

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Chapter 8 translation:

The person who poisoned Chi You must be someone who was at his side. According to Yun Sang, in these last tens of years, the Yan Emperor had heavily used Chi You, every big and small government matter he had let Chi You be involved. When they attended the Jade Mountain, while Yun Sang was there, only Chi You handled the political matters, he was clearly becoming more powerful. Although A'Heng's basic nature was simple, she grew up in a royal family, so she naturally understood that the rise of Chi You had threatened other people's power and this must have created an incentive to murder him.

...

 "According to my shi fu, the great Chi You grew up in the wilderness, he is familiar with poisonous worms and herbs, I am the Witch King in the Jiu Li tribe, everyone in the wilderness knows that I am good at poison and like to call me the poison king, even the highly skilled pugilists in the god tribes fear me. Still, it is obvious that I would never poison the great Chi You. The only person who could have set the poison in the great Chi You's body must be highly skilled gods in the god tribe who are well-versed in medicine, these gods are likely to come from the Sheng Nong tribe, since the poison might have come from them, how dare I seek help from them? If the great Chi You must die, I wish for him to die peacefully in the Jiu Li mountains."

...

A'Heng kept using all her divine energy, first to fasten her pace, and also to let the poison spread through her whole body. One person one bird rushed a day's journey, and left Jiu Li village far behind.

 ...

"Ah Bi, we need to go to Shen Nong mountain," Chi You sat on Ah Bi's back. The Witch King was shocked awake, he anxiously grabbed Chi You's robes, "Your poison has not been cured, you cannot ride."

"Which generation Witch King are you? You dare to tell me what I should do?" Chi You's gaze was as cool and cruel as a wild beast, as if he had no trace of humanity, the Witch King fearfully knelt down, he did not dare to lift his head.

Chi You patted Ah Bi, Ah Bi immediately flew up, one person one beast disappeared in the night sky.

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Chapter 9 translation:

Chi You grinned happily at her, "That is right! Don't ever do something so silly again, I only want you to treat me well when I am alive. If I die, just throw my bones into the mountain, the wild beasts will naturally clean it up, as if I never existed, you should also immediately forget about me, happily living the rest of your life."

Although Chi You's expression was playful, he was very serious with what he said, A'Heng did not know how he could look through life and death so clearly. 

...

Chi You's eyes were dark and rebellious, he said coldly, "It is hard to measure a person's heart, when it comes to life and death, besides one's self, no one else is dependable!"

This time Chi You appeared to be suspicious and serious, completely different from how he lightly laughed at life and death just now. A'Heng couldn't help becoming curious at Chi You's past, what must he have experienced for his personality to be so complicated?

...

The Yan Emperor smiled at A'Heng and said, "Do you know how did Chi You become my only disciple?"

A'Heng shook her head.

The Yan Emperor held a tea cup and he gazed out of the window, "A few hundred years ago, at a government meeting, the official in charge of the South West said that the low class citizens of Jiu Yi were rebelling, they actually killed hundreds of people from the noble tribe and a member of the god tribe. Because my heart at that time was troubled by Yao Ji's illness, I ordered Yu Wang to take charge of this. A hundred years later, Zhu Rong reported to Yu Wang that it turns out the chaos from Jiu Yi came from a demon monster of unknown origins, because it had learned the ways of Nature, it could control the beasts and the Jiu Yi Tribe called it the Beast King, but it was more cruel and fierce than the tigers or leopards. Yu Wang pitied the low class Jiu Yi citizens and did not bear to kill the wild beast. But the wild beast was not obedient and had seriously injured tens of generals. For this, Yu Wang and Zhu Rong fought furiously, I found out about the killings by the wild beast, scolded Yu Wang and agreed for Zhu Rong to kill Jiu Yi's Beast King."

A'Heng had already guessed the wild beast was Chi You, although this matter had already passed, her heart still felt anxious and tense, Chi You had actually ran for his life for a hundred years from the skilled pugilists from the God Tribe, no wonder when he hid himself, even Big Brother with his great divine strength could not find him.

The Yan Emperor drank a sip of tea, he rested then continued his story, "I thought this matter had come to an end, but turns out that deep in the night, Yu Wang suddenly asked to see me, saying that the Jiu Yi Tribe had surrendered, they were willing to be low class servants generations after generations, the only condition was to spare their Beast King. Yu Wang painfully begged for me to command the return of Zhu Rong, I couldn't help becoming curious about this wild beast, so I rushed to Jiu Yi that night. I found them at a marsh - the situation was dangerous and yet funny, the wild beast had used himself as a bait and attracted the rash and proud Zhu Rong into the poisonous marsh. Inside were thousands of different kinds of poisonous worms, a few god generals had been poisoned, although Zhu Rong could had set fire to burn the wild beast to death, but if he had set the fire, this will cause the marsh energy accumulated for ten thousands of years in the marsh to explode, Zhu Rong is protected by his fire spirit and will only suffer light injuries, but the other god generals will die. At that time, Zhu Rong was cursing loudly saying that he must break the bones of the wild beast and incinerate him into ashes, the wild beast couldn't really speak, it only gritted its teeth and gave a cry, it kept beating his chest as if saying, come come, come and burn me to death!"

As the Yan Emperor spoke, he could not help smiling at Chi You, he told A'Heng, "At that time, my heart was very shocked, the wild beast was born in the wild and knew how to use the poisons of worms and snakes, the place where he chose for both of their deaths had a lot of thought put in to it, the marsh is a very strange place, since it was mixed of water and soil it could control the fire energy, but it was also filled with marsh air, just a little fire and it will explode, Zhu Rong could not control the situation in such a place. This wild beast that did not even know how to speak knew how to use the elements of nature to his advantage much better than many skilled members of the god tribe."

A'Heng thought about the crying formation earlier, she nodded in agreement. The Yan Emperor said, "I saw that this wild beast wasn't a wild beast at all, it was only a human who had been reared by beasts and had no mother or father. I commanded Zhu Rong to shut up, and started to communicate with the wild beast. He was filled with animosity towards me, he looked at me as if he was listening to my words, but he was also thinking of how to use the poisonous bugs and beasts to secretly attack me, trying to find out my weak point. But he did not know that I was well-versed in medicine, normal poison would not hurt me. The more I observed him, the more I was shocked by his natural gifts, but also the more terrified I was, that someone with such extraordinary natural gifts was so cruel and barbaric, in my joy at finding someone of such great gifts, I also felt that I should immediately kill him."

...

"As I was hesitating, suddenly a flower floated by, this wild and cunning monkey caught the descending flower, he looked left and right, the surroundings were all dirty, he appeared to be scared of dirtying the flower, so he carefully placed the flower on his head. I saw his wild messy hair and on top of it was a wild flower, he looked extremely humorous, but his two eyes were glaring at me. I couldn't help but break into great laughter, my killing intent disappeared."

"I commanded Zhu Rong and the rest to leave, I stayed with the wild monkey in the marsh alone for ten days and ten nights, finally I managed to win a little of his trust to let him go out of the marsh. I said I would heal his wounds and his leg injury but he would have to follow me back to Sheng Nong Mountain, and he refused. I finally realised that although he was cruel and violent, he was also naive, the only way to communicate with him was to be sincere, I straightforwardly told him he was very smart, he should not hang around with the beasts, I wanted to make him a person like me, he actually agreed to come to Sheng Nong Mountain."

 Chi You gazed at A'Heng, his gaze was clear and bright, like the clear moonlight on a spring night, it was filled with the passion and romance of the wild flowers of the mountain, A'Heng was both confused and also panicked, she avoided Chi You's glance, "This small wild beast became your disciple, he was named 'Chi You'".

...

The Yan Emperor looked at Chi You with complicated emotions in his eyes, "His natural gifts were astonishing, each day he improved by leaps and bounds, on one hand, I admired this, on the other I was afraid. Since I decided to take you as my disciple, you had the same place in my heart as Yun Sang, Yu Wang and Mu Jin, my close kin, I was so happy at your improvement, but I was also the head of the country, as the Yan Emperor, I could not help but be afraid of you. I was scared that one day, because of provocation from Zhu Rong or some other matter, you will burst out in temper, and used all I have taught you against the citizens of Sheng Nong, so I poisoned you. No matter how bad-tempered and greedy Zhu Rong is, or how scheming and deep Hou Tu was, all of them had weak points and obligations, but Chi You had no father and mother, he had no ties in this world, his personality was wild and unrestrained, the sky could not hold him, the land could not bound him."

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Chapter 9 comment:

Chi You is really brilliant when it comes to using the natural landscape to his advantage, which is why I think he is the manifestation of nature, in all its beauty and chaos - both creative and destructive at the same time.

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Ugh that Yaojing thread... I told myself I wouldn't go there for my own sanity but here we are LMAO. They're saying XL is "taking advantage" of XY by accepting the bugs and not telling her the true meaning of them. Sorry but if not for the bug connection, girlie and her lover would be dead. Ceased to exist. Gone to the great beyond.

XL accepted the bugs in the first place because he loves XY and wants to save her when she's in danger. If XY knew those bugs were for lovers, she'd go into panic and denial and urge XL to remove them asap (like when she found out in the novel.

Their thoughts on TSJ's 15 years promise vs XL's bug acceptance scene is also absolutely ATROCIOUS and biased (ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻

"Shi Qi demonstrates genuine care and understanding in his interaction with Xiao Liu, which contrasts sharply with Xiang Liu's manipulative actions."

"He expresses his feelings for her without attaching conditions or expectations, and his willingness to wait for her demonstrates a healthy approach to building a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding."

Being trapped in a 15 year promise is apparently not a condition. Lol. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's XY who has to constantly wait for him, not the other way around, but okay.

And don't forget! In the drama (ep 14, ~15:10) after TSJ tells XY to not let another man enter her heart, the next scene is XL. Don't tell me the editors didn't know what they were doing lmao. Even TSJ deliberately said that to XY because HE KNEW XL had a chance too.

"The"15 Years Promise for Jing" demonstrates patience, empathy, and a healthy approach to romance, making it the clear winner in the game of love gestures."

@yaojingers: if y'all wanna know what a real anlaysis looks like, go check out the LYF facebook page (the name has been temporarily changed to Love Endures Cast Updates). Many of them are XL fans but their analyses are not biased like the ones you guys put out. If you have to constantly mention how terrible another character is in order to make your favorite look better, then there's clearly an issue.

 plor20:

Many viewers have attributed TSJ's love as the former;

Based on what? Because he wanted to die with her when he found her "dead"? Please! XL and CX loved her no less. XL actually "died" in exchange for her life in that very same incident. The differences between Jing compared to XL and CX are that the latter two are stronger and more resilient than he is and they have not made XY their sole reason for living. He gave into helplessness and sought death because his reason for living was gone. They would have fought tooth and nail to give her a chance at life. Does loving someone because you need them for your own existence can even be called love?

 plor20:

The difference is that XL saw XY existing in a world where she can protect herself, CX foresaw XY's existence in a peaceful world, while TSJ's world was dependent on XY's existence.

Out of the three, 2 were about XY's interest. One was out of his own interest. If XL did not have another commitment before meeting XY and if he was a little less honourable, he would have both protected her and taught her how to protect herself - as he did in the 100 years that they had known each other. 

 plor20:

TSJ's world was dependent on XY's existence.

Jing's psychopathology in a sentence. If you find yourself in this predicament, please seek help. If you think this is romantic or healthy, please also seek help :-)

 plor20:

The choice that XL didn't take (but often yearn to and rejected by XY) made sure that XY's only choice was TSJ

Not quite sure what the part in brackets means, can you clarify? However, Zhang Yi herself even stated that XY didn't choose anyone - XL and CX had other pursuits, it was Jing who was the only one that chose her. Kinda like attending a dance and all the other people are already partnered up, so you end up with the only one who is still around and wants to dance with you unless you are willing to sit out/do a solo. Unfortunately, going it alone is not a possibility for XY what with her psychological deficiencies.

 plor20:

Thank you for these. It was great insight to how TH has kept his identity so vague.  I am working on a AI translated and AI prose version of it, so when I am done, I can share with you. It's not perfect but I will give us a good insight into the parallels between AhHeng and Xiao Yao's lives.

i would say that XY and her mom had very different way of living and loving. The only thing in common is they both loved someone who is family’s enemy . However Ah Heng was always committed to her love and Chi You. XY was opposite