Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

Dec 20, 2023 10:59 am

liddi:
Yes, it was really misleading because she promised her father she would let them know once she settled down. She also promised her grandfather that if she came across any type of edible grains she had never seen before, she would arrange for merchant groups to bring it to him. Yet in the last scene, it is evident they (or at least Cang Xuan) have no idea where she was anymore. My take is that she settled down in Qingshui town as she and Jing agreed upon (and Cang Xuan overheard), but probably lived incognito and in disguise. In any case, it gives the impression that she did not keep her word after all.

Seems strange to change the details so that XY makes that promise, only for her to not keep it.

liddi:
Keeping fingers, toes, hair, heck... even eyes crossed that the finalised version fixes all these glaring issues, and not butcher the story and the characters

Fingers crossed!

liddi:
especially seeing how the cast are saying that S2 is even better than S1.

Hmm. I'm going to tell myself that this cannot be trusted at all. I'm pretty sure my only hope of not hating S2 is to go in with expectations that are so incredibly low that it would be impossible for them to not be exceeded.

liddi:
Please don't shatter my bubble. It is fragile enough as it is, and I need something to hold on to.

Oh no. Liddi I think you need a safer bubble. This one isn't reliable enough to hold onto :(

liddi:
the bugs glowing in unison after the 4th question

Okay yeah I gotta admit I am looking forward to that one.

Dec 20, 2023 11:39 am

H19279:
windiaaa041293 once told me about XL’s blowing heart when he told XY about Jing before the last treatment in the drama. U can see it, the blowing light at the bottom edge of the screen . So there are some intended blowing bugs in the drama (from XL side). What is exact intention?

Here's a link for anyone who's curious: https://youtu.be/8H5T0X9ejEM?si=JKhJxE2SrNqGH4SI&t=1451

The linked video is not the same video as the one in the screenshot, so the timing is slightly different. The faint edge of the glow / sparkle appears at the bottom of the screen momentarily at 24:12. I recommend making the video full screen and slowing the playback speed down to 0.25. It seems like a lighting mistake at first, but it does look similar to the edge of the glow / sparkle that occurs in episode 19 (https://youtu.be/bL-ouseEPYk?si=2Mw56HOJAvEH0_jN&t=2526).

It almost seems like they originally added the glow / sparkle effect to the scene and later decided to take it out, but missed removing the edge of the effect from this one split second.

Dec 20, 2023 11:45 am

HeadInTheClouds:

Bringing this over from Xiang Liu's thread. Don't know if it has been discussed. This is probably Xiang Liu's most colourful outfit. The red with the green (Xiao Yao's favourite colour).
The red signified blood. The period that he wore this outfit was when he was falling in love with WYL/XY. He was emotionally open and vulnerable. This was also the outfit that he wore outside of the Bone Prison when Xiao Yao said that he was not suitable to step into a girl's dreams. He was at his most vulnerable and open to her in that moment and she stabbed him in the heart. He must have been so devastated :-(. I don't think he ever wore that outfit again. It's like a signal that he's stepped away from their relationship following that exchange.

The thin strip of red makes me think of 姻緣紅線, the unbreakable red thread of fate that connects destined lovers across time and space. Which feels like it has a bit of overlap with the Lovers' Bug connection. ^^

Source from reaperfoxgirl

Bonus points to anyone who recognizes those hands and sleeves. ^^

liddi

Dec 20, 2023 12:16 pm

@H19279 @AH

This is the corresponding script for Ep32 when Xiao Yao's consciousness was pulled back into her body, which specifically mentions that both their hearts glowed at that time. Could it be that the glowing of their hearts in unison signifies Xiang Liu initiating the process to wake her up using the lovers bug connection, which was why her consciousness was finally pulled back and merged into her body?

S1Ep32 scene 17 - Xiang Liu awakens Xiao Yao

Inside the seashell with the curved ceiling, Xiao Yao's body laid unconscious on the pallet with Xiang Liu seated by the side. Xiao Yao's consciousness floated in mid-air, observing Xiang Liu.

XYC: Why do I feel that you are a little strange tonight? You are more talkative than usual. In the past, I would beg for you to talk but you would not say a single word more.

Xiang Liu seemed to have sensed something, and glanced over to the direction where Xiao Yao's consciousness was. Eagerly, Xiao Yao's consciousness waved her hand in front of Xiang Liu.

XYC: Can you see me?

However, Xiang Liu shifted his gaze and continued to stare at Xiao Yao lying on the pallet. Disappointed, Xiao Yao's consciousness pulled Xiang Liu's hair dispiritedly.

XYC: I thought you had seen me just now!
XL: Xiao Yao, do you remember Tushan Jing?

Startled, Xiao Yao's consciousness forgot about pulling Xiang Liu's hair.

XL (sarcastically): Of course you still remember. Wen Xiao Liu's Ye Shi Qi, how could you have forgotten?
XYC (also sarcastically): I remember him, but he may not necessarily still remember me. How could the clan leader of the Tushan clan be Ye Shi Qi?
XL: Ever since you were in a coma, Tushan Jing has also been unconscious, solely dependent on elixirs to sustain his life until now. Now, it is no longer possible to continue sustaining his life, he is dying.
XYC (shocked, grieved): Jing, unconscious... I had thought he... (anxiously) Xiang Liu, what is going on? What happened?

As Xiang Liu held Xiao Yao's hand in his, his heart and that of Xiao Yao's body once again started to glow.

XL (gaze fixed on Xiao Yao's body): If Tushan Jing died, would you be very sad, and hate me to the core of your being?
XYC (gazing at Xiang Liu): I don't want Jing to die, but why should I hate you? You saved me.

Xiao Yao's consciousness pulled Xiang Liu's hand urgently (the hand which was not holding Xiao Yao's hand). Xiang Liu seemed to have felt it, and looked down at his other hand.

XYC (expectantly): You can feel me, can you?

Following the hand that Xiao Yao's consciousness held, Xiang Liu looked up right at her face, their eyes meeting. However, just at that moment, Xiao Yao's consciousness feel a sudden pull, and merged back into her body.
Xiang Liu did not see anything at all. He glanced at the hand that had just been held by Xiao Yao's consciousness, then shifted his gaze back to the Xiao Yao lying on the white jade pallet. His soul was bared as he gazed at Xiao Yao, his eyes filled with such longing and reluctance, but unfortunately, Xiao Yao's consciousness had already returned to where she belonged, and just missed seeing it.

windiaaa041293

Dec 20, 2023 12:31 pm

@AH

And when they were at the edge of the lake, when XY asked XL to move the bug to XL, if I'm not mistaken, there was a red rope tied to the tree.

H19279

Dec 20, 2023 12:33 pm

liddi:
Could it be that the glowing of their hearts in unison signifies Xiang Liu initiating the process to wake her up using the lovers bug connection, which was why her consciousness was finally pulled back and merged into her body?

This part of the movie is very far different from the book. They made this happen just after the playing time without his treatment. In order to wake her up, he had to do drastic blood feeding in the novel. And she suffered a lot of pain to merge the spiritual consciousness with the body. What is depicted on the drama is just like she is reaching/ ready for the wakeup. Incidently, the merging happened after XL told her about Jing.

XL did not do anything to himself to activate/influence the bug . So,if they had kept the blowing bugs, it would give the impression that the bugs reacted when both of them faced the matter involved to Jing. What did they originally intended by the blowing bugs?

HeadInTheClouds

Dec 20, 2023 01:16 pm

liddi:
You had me all emotional too with the implications of the outfit and why he never wore it again, at least in S1. Not sure if we would see it make a comeback in S2, but I doubt it, based on the script.

I can see them have him wear it in the scene where he becomes upset after "experiencing" YaoJing intimacy. I still don't understand why they would include this scene. It's like they think he hasn't suffered enough so giving him more suffering. I never thought about whether he could experience Xiao Yao's reactions during those moments with Jing, although we know that he should be able to given what happened with Cang Xuan, but now it's seared into my brain. Another thing to torture us with :-(.

liddi:
Xiao Yao's healing did not come from anyone else, but through her own personal growth as she faces and overcomes all the hardships that came her way.

So is she saying that YaoJing isn't the "healing" love that the drama team is touting :-)? People can help and support you, but you do have to make changes on your own. I do think that Xiao Yao showed some growth in the novel through her effort - nothing that can be attributed to Jing despite what some fans would claim. However, I disagree with YZ's analysis that Xiao Yao is healed by the end of the novel.

liddi:
As for LMLMV, I don't know whether I will ever go back (I never watched past Ep1!) if rumours that the Gu Yun persona was purely for the MV, and not even in the drama proper, are true. Do you know? I will probably try and continue Are You Safe, or A Journey to Love (though I heard that was another massacre in the end) to distract myself. We will see.

The Gu Yun persona was only for the MV, we don't get to see him as Gu Yun at all in the drama. I can't recommend the series since I find it dull and lifeless. They should have shortened it by at least 20 episodes. In-coming major spoilers for A Journey To Love, it's a definite a massacre of an ending. Not one or two, but literally the entire squad that we started with cark-it at the end, including our male and female leads (at least they don't have to suffer from being separated, I guess). Does it make sense in the context of the story? Perhaps, but is it pleasant to watch? Nope.

liddi:
Whatever it is, I am still holding out hope that the leaked script was not yet finalised, and someone had the good sense to address the glaring issues.

I hope your optimism (or is it desperation:-)?) comes true, liddi. I'm more like H19279, I don't believe in what the cast is selling and I'm already bracing myself for the worst. But, at least we all have each other to (potentially) commiserate with :-)

H19279:
Yang Zi: she is FL. anyway she has to protect her role

I would say that Yang Zi, would want to push the 1:1 YaoJing pairing and downplay YaoLiu. There are already fans of the novel who are not fond of Xiao Yao's actions and behaviour when it comes to her relationships. If the drama makes her feelings for Xiang Liu too obvious, and yet still engaged in all those intimacy with Jing - let's just say it doesn't paint our female lead in the best of light.

H19279

Dec 20, 2023 01:22 pm

liddi:
As for LMLMV, I don't know whether I will ever go back (I never watched past Ep1!) if rumours that the Gu Yun persona was purely for the MV, and not even in the drama proper, are true. Do you know? I will probably try and continue Are You Safe, or A Journey to Love (though I heard that was another massacre in the end) to distract myself. We will see.

There is no Gu Yun character in LMLMV. If you means the clips with TJC and ZY in ancient costume, then it is only for the music clip, no business with the plot content.

For A Journey to Love, yes I saw the same information on facebook about the drama. So, be prepared.

I watched Wonderland of love. Althought it had a few unhappy episodes but it ends happily. I am currently following The Last Immortal. But I feel very furious that they added a lot of new content and didn't follow the book. I don't mind and I can understand that drama can always deviate from the original book. But the additional content changed characters' perception, personalities etc. It gets dragging. Since I like the novel (Shen Yin), I will try to follow it till the end but still very frustrated with what is going on the screen now. And that one will end with happy ending (if it follows the novel). On the other hand, TH already wrote "untragic" ending and the drama changed it in worsen direction. Maybe XY is XL's tribulation that he had to suffer and overcome to the next level of enlightment. I don't know if in the future I should read the novel before watching the drama. LOL

windiaaa041293

Dec 20, 2023 01:26 pm

@HeadInTheCloud

In-coming major spoilers for A Journey To Love, it's a definite a massacre of an ending. Not one or two, but literally the entire squad that we started with cark-it at the end. Does it make sense in the context of the story? Perhaps, but is it pleasant to watch? Nope.

I've watched A Journey to Love until the end. At first it was made sweet, but in the end it was very bitter. I couldn't stop crying, from the moment Yuan Lu died.

HeadInTheClouds

Dec 20, 2023 01:39 pm

@windiaa

Yup, I was not prepared for that ending. Saw spoilers online and thought it was just a joke. The joke was on me. I don't think it's bad, per se, it was just not what I expected or wanted. I wanted something to take my mind off Xiang Liu's ending and ended up with that. Do not want!!

H19279:
Maybe XY is XL's tribulation that he had to suffer and overcome to the next level of enlightment. I don't know if in the future I should read the novel before watching the drama. LOL

I hopped off the YaoLiu ship and started to view Xiang Liu's arc in this way. It makes it a bit easier to accept Xiang Liu's death.

I should have stuck to my original plan of not watching the drama, since I liked the novel and loved Xiang Liu and past experiences have taught me that adaptations of well-liked novels end up disappointing. This one is shaping up to be a major disappointment :-(

HeadInTheClouds

Dec 20, 2023 01:47 pm

AH :
The thin strip of red makes me think of 姻緣紅線, the unbreakable red thread of fate that connects destined lovers across time and space. Which feels like it has a bit of overlap with the Lovers' Bug connection. ^^

Yes. The love thread; the thread of fate that is used by Yue Lao to tie lovers together. Very much like the Lovers' Bugs tied the lives of the hosts together.

And I can't identify whose those sleeves in the picture belong to.

I just remembered that in the scene outside of the Bone Prison, when XY said that she was planning to pretend not to know him when they met again, he responded with "The Voodoo bug is still in my body, are you trying to go back on your promise". I interpreted this to mean that he sees the Voodoo Bug as a vow between them and she's breaking that vow. He's like a wronged/betrayed lover who is demanding she take responsibility for him. Does anyone else interpret this scene like this?

H19279

Dec 20, 2023 01:58 pm

HeadInTheClouds:
I interpreted this to mean that he sees the Voodoo Bug as a vow between them and she's breaking that vow. He's like a wronged/betrayed lover who is demanding she take responsibility for him. Does anyone else interpret this scene like this?

with the connection to the oath that she had to take to seal the agreement of moving the bug from CX:

Xiao Liu felt goosebumps run down his spine “You’re sure vicious!” He raised his palm to swear the promise “If I break this promise, then whatever I love will bring me pain, whatever I enjoy will turn bitter.” He put down his hand and thumped his chest “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.”

Xiang Liu had a slight smile on his lips “What do I have to worry about? If you can’t do it, you’re the one suffering.”

In advance, XL knew that he would give his heart away and never could take it back. He tied his heart and life to XY. He took full committment in the relationship. What kind of expectation did he have in mind? The bug is the promise of lifetime love. His only expectation was that she also loved him for lifetime. So, I think that the oath support to what you think. He had thought of this oath very carefully. He already suggested that she could try the bug on him in the previous meeting. And it took 1.5 month from that meeting, he came back with with the same suggestion and a oath in mind.

P/S: in the end, the bug was broken by external forced. XL paid with his lives. And for XY, the man she loved died --> becoming her pain. All the memory of accompany with him, places where they had been to turned into bitter.