Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 Kokuto:

Cracks knuckles and starts thinking about the Kokuto Racy Rating scale.

First, you need to watch that film I told you about. You know which one.

 Kokuto:

I'm all for nathsketch fan fic. :)

 luv2bafangurl:

I find it also interesting, that she keeps testing YSQ/TSJ (she did have ground to but never once XL. I don‘t know it we should interpreted it, because she didn‘t have any expectation of XL as romantic partner so she never has the need to test if XL will abandon her or she implicitly already trusted XL, so much so that no test was needed?.

YSQ behaved in a way that started making XY have certain expectations of him. Then he promised to break his engagement and return to her as YSQ, and asked her not to let another man into her heart. His behavior, his promises, and her nascent expectations scared her. She felt like she shouldn't let herself trust those expectations. So she tests him and creates situations where she sets him up to do something that will disappoint her so she can use that situation to cut off her feelings for him. 

With XL, he doesn't really put forth anything for her to test. In front of XY, XL doesn't behave in a way that would create expectations. He hides his best intentions behind transactions. If he spares her life, he asks for poisons in return. If he offers to have her bug transferred to him, he asks for a promise in return. If he commissions a bow for her, he does so anonymously. etc. etc. And he doesn't make promises, especially not ones that he can't keep.

As FFB, XL can shamelessly flirt with XY because of FFB's reputation. She doesn't take it seriously and assumes he flirts like that with all the girls. He tells her their relationship is only temporary, pre-emptively cutting off any expectations that might develop about their relationship turning into something more. I can't think of any instances where XY comes closer to testing XL than when FFB asked her (half seriously, half in jest) to give up being a princess to wander with him. XY sees that offer from FFB (she doesn't know he is XL yet) and doesn't trust it, so she tests him. She says she'll go with him if he can give up everything, and of course he can't. So she feels like she called his bluff. 

Apart from that, I can't think of any other instances where she tests FFB or XL. Instead, the dynamic in their relationship shifts to one where she says or does things that are thinly-veiled bids, and XL ignores them or turns cold. XY says she wishes that he could always be FFB? XL says nothing and leaves. XY says she wishes she could have been the one to save him from the death match arena so she could make him be just FFB? XL raises a hand to touch her face before stopping himself and turning cold. XY says she wishes she could spend the rest of her life like this (after spending a night and a day in the ocean with XL, and eating a meal with him on an island)? XL ignores her words and summons Furball to take them back to shore. XY sends the ice crystal ball scene to XL? XL ignores it for two months, makes a deal with TSJ, and then stops her wedding in the most upsetting, hurtful and humiliating way possible.

Instead of testing XL like TSJ (out of fear of disappointment), it's like she starts to put out those bids to test whether there was a chance that he might do what she asked of FFB: give up everything else (Gong Gong and the remnant army) in order to be with her. That there was some possibility that they could become something more. And XL reaction to those bids seems to be a "no" every time. 

 liddi:

Your interpretation is correct. The text 忘记 literally means "forgot", but can also be translated as "neglected to consider":

Good to know. Thanks liddi!

 liddi:

I would say that it is not so much she did not choose Cang Xuan over Xiang Liu, but rather she continuously chose to protect both, which indicated that they were both at least equally important to her.

I agree that she chose to protect both of them.

 liddi:

Up to the first and last time she ever begged Cang Xuan for anything, and that was for Xiang Liu's life. I never recalled her begging Xiang Liu not to kill Cang Xuan, except for that one time way back in Qingshui town after she first found out about Cang Xuan's real identity, and that was only just to point out that Xiang Liu should not need to kill Cang Xuan because there is no personal enmity between them.

It's true that she didn't ask XL to spare CX's life exactly. I think that's mainly because she felt like she didn't have enough pull with XL and he wouldn't listen to her, so there was no reason to bother asking. 

I would also point out that even though XY didn't exactly ask XL to spare CX's life, she did try to convince him that killing CX was a bad idea and even threatened to personally kill Gong Gong if XL tried to go after CX again. 

-----

Chapter 46:

Xiao Yao raised her silver bow and pulled back an arrow aimed at Xiang Liu. “Gong Gong lives for his fallen kingdom and stubbornly refuses to surrender, that’s something admirable! But people cannot fight against the inevitable, now Xuan Yuan, Sheng Nong, and Gao Xing have all united, each of the tribes, clans, and families are coexisting peacefully. If you kill Zhuan Xu then the entire vast wilderness will be launched into disarray and war will begin again. Hundreds of thousands of people will be swept up in the devastation. Is this what Gong Gong wants in order to cling to his loyalty, be true to himself at the cost of the peace of the world?”

Xiang Liu smiled a sardonic grin. “If I kill Zhuan Xu, then it means the vast wilderness isn’t yet united. How can you say we’re going up against the inevitable?”

“You know in your heart whether what I’m saying is right or not!”

Xiang Liu stared at the silver bow in Xiao Yao’s hand and smiled. “You want to use the archery skills I taught you to kill me?”

Xiao Yao’s hands shook but she yelled, “Don’t move!”

Xiang Liu continued to walk towards Xiao Yao with a laugh. “Can’t believe you’re going to get revenge for Chi Sui Feng Long. If you’re that into him then you should have married him. I mean, Jing’s been dead for a few years now…”

Xiao Yao was so furious at his words the silver arrow flew forward with a whoosh.

Xiao Yao’s archery skills were personally taught by Xiang Liu, her bow was one-of-a-kind and hand-forged by the Jin Tian family, and the two were standing not far from each other. So in a split second the arrow embedded itself in Xiang Liu’s chest. Xiang Liu’s body visibly shook slightly but he continued to walk towards Xiao Yao. “Don’t forget I’m called Nine Lives Xiang Liu! If you want to kill me then you need to shoot a few more arrows! And you have to be more accurate! Right here!” Xiang Liu pointed at his heart and then spread his arms wide.

“You think I won’t dare!” Xiao Yao pulled back another arrow.

But ——- blood was spreading like a plum blossom on his white robe and Xiao Yao’s heart hurt so she closed her eyes and in that moment her arrow flew forward and missed, grazing his arm. Xiang Liu stopped in his tracks and he smiled at Xiao Yao, it appeared to be mocking but was in truth hiding his joy.

Xiao Yao wanted to pull another arrow but her heart was jumbled and she couldn’t do it anymore. She finally put her bow down, all the energy from Feng Long’s death dissipated and Xiao Yao turned to Left Ear. “Let’s go back!”

Xiang Liu said to Left Ear. “Stand to the side. If I want to kill her, there’s nothing even ten of you here can do!”

By now Left Ear knew that Xiang Liu was Bei, and Left Ear couldn’t understand what was happening before his eyes right now. He silently stepped aside.

Xiao Yao stepped onto the waves and walked towards Xiang Liu. “What are you going to do now? Kill me and bet with the heavens whether the Lover’s Bug legend is true or not?”

Xiao Yao walked right up to Xiang Liu and looked up at him. “I’m sad and angry, that’s all true, but in the end I still can’t kill you to avenge Feng Long. But you listen to me – if you try anything against Zhuan Xu, I will go assassinate Gong Gong! My archery skills were taught by you, you know what you taught me was all about killing. My poisons, you’ve sampled it all and even if it’s useless against you, it'll kill Gong Gong easily!”

 blimarch:

LM (pleading): There is no future for you both. Let her go! Both of you have different stands. Don't be like... the Great General... loving each other devotedly, but forced to fight to the death in battle...

Looking at the tear-filled old man, Fangfeng Bei's eyes were grief-stricken as he recalled what happened not too long ago.

What's the context for this part?

 blimarch:

CX is a pragmatic ruler but I thought that he is presented as a man of his word?

From what we know of how he ruled, he was shown to be a man of his word. But he hadn't ruled for long, and he invaded Gao Xing despite being sheltered there for hundreds of years and calling the Grand Emperor his Shifu. If CX promised Gong Gong or XL something that seemed too good to be true, my assumption is that they would be more likely to assume that CX simply wouldn't fulfill the promise faithfully than they would be to assume that CX was making those promises because of XY. 

 blimarch:

Anyway, it seems unlikely that he could have allowed XL to disappear given his conditions for fulfilling his promise and XL's stubborness...

Yes, when CX made that promise to XY I'm sure he was well aware that XL was not going to stop, so the condition for his promise would not be met. However, I do think he probably would have tried to fulfill the promise if, by some miracle, XL actually did stop. Hopefully CX would have learned his lesson after aiding in TSJ's murder.

 blimarch:

If we take into account that XY at the moment of the story when she planted the bug on CX, did love CX romantically but failed to durably plant it because as XL said, CX did not willingly accept the bug, it all makes sense, doesn't it? 

I agree that there is room to question whether XY's feelings for CX were always strictly platonic, and if her feelings for CX were romantic at the time that she planted the bug in him then that would resolve any questions raised as to how XY was able to establish a connection with him using the Lovers' Bug. 

 blimarch:

The drama emphasizes the idea of a romantic shared love bewteen XY and CX better

It's interesting. The drama includes the scenes you mentioned, but ended up removing XY's childhood promise to marry CX (although the original version of the scene is included in the trailer). In the novel, at CX's first wedding, XY thinks to herself that this is not the wedding she envisioned, and she recalls the pledge she made to him as a child.

And there are a few places in the novel (including the scene in chapter 47 that you quoted) where it's suggested that XY would have married CX under the right circumstances (e.g., if she was his only wife, if she believed he could choose her over everything else, and if she didn't fall for someone else). 

Plus, as you mentioned, WXL asked Xuan in chapter 6, "You and Ah Nian…..is it really just sibling feelings between you guys?"

-----

Chapter 26:

Seeing Zhuan Xu getting married, Xiao Yao plastered a smile on her face but had no happiness in her heart. They stumbled, they fell, they drifted, they fought, along the way her and Zhuan Xu both grew up and now he was getting married. But this wedding wasn’t what Xiao Yao had envisioned.

In her memories: her Eldest Uncle’s wedding to the Sheng Nong Kingdom’s Princess was a lavish ceremony. She and Zhuan Xu got in a fight, he said a married daughter was like water splashed outside. She remembered later her Fourth Auntie committing suicide, Zhuan Xu’s nightly nightmares, her comfort that she would forever be with him. Zhuan Xu said she would marry one day and leave her, she innocently said that she wouldn’t marry another, she would marry him……

Though the crowd and the noise, Zhuan Xu turned to look at Xiao Yao. When their eyes locked, both had a perfect seamless smile locked on their face: no matter what, at least we are both still alive, as long as we stay alive, nothing else matters!

 liddi:

Oh dear. That would be a totally different story altogether!

@nathsketch 

Thank you! I found the reference in the novel already and explained it in my post above.

Thank YOU!

 windiaaa041293:

Because TongHua said it herself :
The heroine's choice has always been due to psychological deficiencies

If we translated this as, "The heroine's choices were driven by her trauma", I would agree with it. "Psychological deficiencies" is a synonym for "trauma", but it carries certain implications that I would guess probably aren't intended by Tong Hua's original phrasing. 

 AH :

If we translated this as, "The heroine's choices were driven by her trauma", I would agree with it. "Psychological deficiencies" is a synonym for "trauma", but it carries certain implications that I would guess probably aren't intended by Tong Hua's original phrasing. 

Agree. Possibly something is lost in translation. Having a physically or phycological illness is complicated and isn't necessarily a deficiency or permanent.

 MengXiang:

I see it as the opposite. I see her sending it as her declaration of love and her testing out and asking for his commitment. No actual commitment has been made.

She hasn't pledged herself or made promises to have only him in her heart. If she cancelled the wedding and sent him that, then that's commitment.. saying I will stay true to you because I love you.

Yes, I also laughed at the irony of the name of XY - TSJ live... Fatuous.... It was a very apt name!

That's a good point of distinction. 

Her sending the crystal ball is a signal of intention/wanting to commit to him, but she's still playing it safe by keeping her engagement to FLong just in case XL doesn't come through. It's very in character for her. Xiang Liu had her pegged correctly when he told her that she worries too much about gains and losses. I think this is applicable to her relationship with Jing as well. The person that she really loves and wants is XL, but because he's not "available", Jing is the "backed-up" guy. 

Jing did her dirty by essentially trapping her in that 15-year promise; creating a tie and expectations that she relies on. I wondered if she might have been more honest and braver if Jing hadn't dangled himself as an option with the promise of safety/security that she so desperately wanted. Thinking about this makes me annoyed at the changes in the script for season 2 with Jing "giving" XY back the option to choose between XL and himself. A little too late, buddy.