Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 liddi:

I do remember reading previously on Weibo (honestly can't remember where though) that someone spoke of how Tong Hua once said that she tried to make Xiang Liu the endgame, but in the end, the characters wrote themselves as she got to know them more, and the story turned out the way it did.

Yes. I have seen numerous comments in the Vietnamese LYF's fandom that referred to this as well. I just wasn't sure if we had an actual Weibo post or interview as a primary source. I don't have Weibo and really didn't get into the Viet fandom until very recently, but some of these fans have been there since the beginning.

 liddi:

and she herself expressed grief over Xiang Liu's fate in her Weibo post early 2012, before the novel was published:

It's pretty clear that XL is her favourite in LYF and possibly her favourite character that she created. I don't think she ever posted about any of her other characters like she did in that post that you referenced. Unfortunately, she also doesn't seem adverse to using him for commercial gain. Sorry, I'm feeling quite bitter about all the changes to the story in the second season. 

 liddi:

What she did say in interviews circa 2019 (including Scholar Speaks and Sohu) about Once Promised as opposed to Lost You Forever was that she considered Once Promised a tragedy, but not Lost You Forever, because in the latter, everyone found their proper place in life,

Yes. That interview that some fans liked to misuse and push on unsuspecting new fans to prove that LYF is a happy ending :-). I personally think XY's entire life is a tragedy and the ending of LYF is just a continuation of that tragedy. I'm such an optimist ray of sunshine aren't I :-)? Do you remember if she made any other mention about giving LYF an ending to make up for the tragedy of the parents' generation? I think this whole "healing" thing was a recent push for the drama because I don't recall her ever mentioning this before.

Thank you for all the details interview excerpts :-)

 liddi:

Either way, it's coming. I can't quite imagine Love Has Fireworks airing after LYF2 though... but I am hoping it comes quickly so that I can finally brace for what is in S2, and hopefully finally move on.

Having Love Has Fireworks and Go East sandwiched LYF 2 is probably a good thing.  Those two shows are more comical.

I've been doing pretty good with the moving on thing, although occasionally I still get a bit sad whenever I think about poor XL's life and fate. I think that's my biggest regret from this novel. The YaoLiu love story isn't what made me sad - I just wish that XL could have a happier life/ending for himself with or without XY :-(. Fanfictions help.

Oh. And my grumpy pants have arrived today - bad, homeless hair and all :-). I just need to figure out how to upload the pictures that I took

With S2 around the corner, I wonder how everyone coped after reading the novel or watching the drama and how long it took?

My daughter was inconsolable after watching S1 to the extent where even just hearing the soundtrack would trigger her, and I would make sure to not play it in her presence. However, as time went on, it appeared that she was coping a lot better, so to my utmost surprise, 5 months later, she suddenly asked to read the novel about a week or so ago. She refused the physical copy (which she was convinced would take her forever to complete because like me, she reads English better than Chinese), so I directed her to Koala's version (with some of my supplementary translations). It took her 2 days to cover 33 chapters, after which she refused to continue anymore and is going through the grieving process again, having now read about the crystal globe, her fruitless seven-day wait for him, his killing off Fangfeng Bei, the four questions and his deliberate cruelty to push her towards Jing. 

Too late, I realised that the experience of reading the novel was like the sure sounding of a death knell for her, each chapter bringing her closer and closer to the inevitability of his death even as she railed over his decisions and stubborn forbearance, to the point where she could not bring herself to continue any further because the pain was becoming unbearable. Despite knowing (without being told the details) that there are more beautiful, intensely memorable times they shared together in chapters down the road, she could not be persuaded to continue, and now she is at a point where she might not even want to watch S2. I had assumed that the five months was sufficient for her, but I was clearly wrong and I deeply regret the fact that I allowed her to read the novel too soon.

While not as intense a reaction as hers, I do understand where she is coming from. Her reading the novel in turn  prompted me to read Koala's translation properly (I never really read it properly in the past) and compare it to the original novel itself. It is a slow process, having just gotten to Chapter 16, but this has allowed me to recall and appreciate details of the novel that I had either glossed over previously or forgotten, and I am aware of a pervading sense of sadness as I read, not just for Xiang Liu, but also the rest of the characters. Tong Hua has woven an immersive tale with prose that vividly captures the nuances of her characters and narrative in such economical use of words, and I find myself falling in love with the novel once more, and reliving the heartache all over again.

 liddi:

It took her 2 days to cover 33 chapters, after which she refused to continue anymore and is going through the grieving process again, having now read about the crystal globe, her fruitless seven-day wait for him, his killing off Fangfeng Bei, the four questions and his deliberate cruelty to push her towards Jing.

So sorry about your daughter, Liddi :( That's all pretty relatable.

 liddi:

With S2 around the corner, I wonder how everyone coped after reading the novel or watching the drama and how long it took?

For me, there hasn't been a lot of improvement. So in that sense, your daughter is doing way better.

I can't get in the mood to finish season 1, I can't get the courage to start reading the novel and I definitely won't be watching season 2. Hahahaha not sure what I'm even doing here anyway because my opinion on Lost You Forever is that it's probably the worst story I have ever come across. Probably will have to skip Filter too because if Tong Hua is involved, I don't want it. Dang it, I truly became a hater haha

 H19279:

I just read that the drama list that Tencent published today is actually drama list that they announce on the occasion of the International Woman Day (March 8th). They are not the dramas which will be on air from March to May. 

oh hahahha like celebrating strong female characters. hahaha...XY would be very low on my list, but YZ portrayal is definitely more different than the XY in the novel.

 nathsketch:

I can't get in the mood to finish season 1, I can't get the courage to start reading the novel and I definitely won't be watching season 2. Hahahaha not sure what I'm even doing here anyway because my opinion on Lost You Forever is that it's probably the worst story I have ever come across. Probably will have to skip Filter too because if Tong Hua is involved, I don't want it. Dang it, I truly became a hater haha

I personally think you probably already have a very good idea how S1 and the novel unfolded based on everything that is shared here and on every other platform. As such, I am curious - what is your opinion of Xiang Liu as a character? I wonder sometimes... was it his character arc that made him so searingly unforgettable in our hearts? Would we have loved him so much if he was given an ending that was far less tragic?

You are skipping Filter as well? I am actually looking forward to that one, because there is no source material to butcher. I am probably one of those weird people who loves angst that makes sense and is done well - Scarlet Heart is one of them (both the novel and the 2011 drama), as is LYF the novel. 

Are you planning to watch "I Miss You" though? That's another one I am looking forward to - hopefully it is broadcast where I am sometime in the near future.

All the earlier discussions on the thread which I can't keep up with regarding Once Promised makes me want to read the novel properly, and am actually tempted to brave the drama A Lifetime Love properly once more. Can anyone who has watched the drama tell me whether it is a good idea to to so? I have sorted out the renamed characters and places in the drama so the only thing left is to see how far I get with the drama (previously could not survive past Ep1, and actually skipped to the memorial ceremony for Zhong Yi, and the finale). 

 liddi:

It took her 2 days to cover 33 chapters, after which she refused to continue anymore and is going through the grieving process again, having now read about the crystal globe, her fruitless seven-day wait for him, his killing off Fangfeng Bei, the four questions and his deliberate cruelty to push her towards Jing. 

I can understand her reaction and relate to me. if I watch Season 2 when it is being broadcast, I will also only watch until XL killed FFB and push XY away. 

 liddi:

It took her 2 days to cover 33 chapters, after which she refused to continue anymore

 liddi:

Despite knowing (without being told the details) that there are more beautiful, intensely memorable times they shared together in chapters down the road, she could not be persuaded to continue

That's too bad. Chapter 35 and Chapter 43 are two of my favourites. Chapter 48 and XL's epilogue are special too. 

But if the story is causing her that much anguish I hope she finds some other, happier story to enjoy and take her mind off of this one.  Fiction should make are lives more enjoyable, not less. 

 liddi:

now she is at a point where she might not even want to watch S2.

I get that, tbh. Not much to look forward to given all the changes in the leaked script. Even if the final product doesn't match the leaked script exactly, I feel like the chances that it will be significantly better than the leaked script are somewhere between low and zero. 

 liddi:

I had assumed that the five months was sufficient for her, but I was clearly wrong and I deeply regret the fact that I allowed her to read the novel too soon.

I wouldn't blame yourself for this. It may not be an issue of time, at least in the short term. Perhaps this story just isn't for her (bittersweet endings aren't for everyone), especially at this age. If she revisits the story when she's older maybe she'll view things differently, but in the meantime maybe try redirecting to something else happier that the two of you can share? 

 H19279:

1 hour ago
 liddi:
All the earlier discussions on the thread which I can't keep up with regarding Once Promised makes me want to read the novel properly, and am actually tempted to brave the drama A Lifetime Love properly once more. Can anyone who has watched the drama tell me whether it is a good idea to to so?
After finishing reading LYF, I tried to watch A lifetime love (before reading Once Promised). I watched about 3 episodes and I did not like it at all. The acting, visual effect was poor. Thus I dropped it. If I remember correctly, AH also had some experience with that drama and she didn't like it either. Once Promised is way better than the drama.

Yep, +1 to all of that. 

I watched the first two episodes and thought it was poorly done. I skipped ahead to the episode that matched up with one of the chapters Koala translated (Ah Heng and Chi You's last night together) and was disappointed by that too. So I ended up not watching the rest.