This is probably the final translation on this drama I'll be doing to be honest. I've very much enjoyed the journey of this drama and through the interviews and the final product, it is a fact that this drama really is a passion project for many involved. Although the role was written for Alice Ke, she no less demonstrated skillful acting, highlighted by her perfomance in the last 2 episodes.
On Alice Ke:
Source: Douban. Originally translated by Quynh Giao Tran from C-V.
After high school graduation, Alice Ke became a nursery school teacher, who worked in the morning and went to night college. She decided to quit studying and went in the entertainment business to earn more money and also to take care of her 2 brothers.
Alice was very much under pressure as she had to worry about not only her tuition fee, but her 2 brothers’. At the time, they mostly relied on their mother’s salary and had to ask for loan to pay for high school, her brother(s) had to work during secondary school. When she was 20, her father passed away and it cost 50k (RMB?) for the funeral.
They lived in a rented place and although her first younger brother had a job, it wasn’t enough and they had to borrow from relatives. Alice blamed herself a lot for not being able to do more and realised how important money was. After she started working, she didn’t have a credit card, was very frugal and learnt to manage her finance, the family gradually started getting better financially.
Until now, she has never had a credit card to avoid overspending and because she feels like she has no need for them.
Her father passed away quite early so she didn’t think much about it, but one time, when she played a 30 year old talking to her dad, she didn’t know how to act it out. In one interview, she admitted that she used to look quite unapproachable and was shy so she got bullied, was even accused of stealing, causing her to be scared of the crowds. Her family was patriarchal, so only her brothers got to play with toys and she ended up watching mostly cartoons for boys. Alice feels that she plays Chen Yun Ru well because she used to be like her but fortunately, she grows into “Huang Yu Xuan”, becomes a famous actress and married the love of her life. It is said that the director asked her husband, Xie Kunda, about her as he had not worked with her before and he told him that she used to be like CYR, now HYX so she’s going to do well.
t/n: Alice Ke used to major in Japanese (Language?) and she was married for a year or so with her first love at 18.
On Patrick Shih:
In the drama, Patrick plays a smart but poor student MJJ but in real life, he’s not only smart but rich. He went to a prestigious private (aristocratic type) school for high school where a lot of affluent children went to and the tuition fee is expensive. He then went to a Catholic university, graduated with a degree in Chemistry, and would have gone to the US to study abroad had he not gone for acting. His relationship with his parents is great: his father drove him to work, his mother had his photo as her home screen and bought his merchandises =)))) The only thing was that he used to be bullied for a long time until he went to uni because he was short, weak and wore glasses. He then retaliated by started playing basketball and grew to 1.85m =))))))))))
Patrick did have a similar love triangle like MJJ-CYR-Li Zi Wei. In real life, his friend had a crush on a girl but was shy so he dragged him along, but the girl ended up liking Patrick instead. Patrick chose friendship so he maintained distance and cut off contact.
He had a lot of experience chasing girls and used to do a lot of cheesy things you’ve seen in idol dramas =)))) (t/n: I don’t quite understand how to translate the next part because of the lack of context).
His type is older women. Apparently, he already accepted a new drama in Taiwan but it hasn’t been announced yet.
Other facts:
- The location of the murder scene is well-known to be cursed. Patrick got a stomachache whenever he went in. While filming the jump scene, Patrick almost got injured but the medical team was there. Yan Yu Lin (Xie Zhi Qi) felt like he was choked. The director said sometimes the light equipment won’t turn on.
- In university, Greg had a girlfriend and he was quite romantic during Valentines’ Day. He gifted his girlfriend cake at the dormitory, but he couldn’t go in so they both went to a snack place to celebrate.
- His earning was honestly very low and was acting for a while but still couldn’t get popular. He did think about whether he should quit or not. His personality is more low self-esteem and emotional but also similar to the old Li Zi Wei. Acting as young Li Zi Wei makes him a bit more relaxed and open.
- He was also trained to be in a group in the past but the plan never materialised and he had a contract dispute for a while so he went a whole year without work apparently.
- One time, his manager asked if he needed a bodyguard to block crazy fans but Greg said there wouldn’t be any and it would already be great if 20 people showed up to the event.
SPOILER***
The most touching feedback for the scriptwriters: Viewers wrote that they used to be Chen Yun Ru.
The scriptwriters commented that the dialogue between CYR, Huang Yu Xuan and Mo Jun Jie in the last episode has been written in consulting with psychology professionals. Moreover, CYR is very much used to show just how powerful cyberbullying can be and how we are all the perpetrators.
When CYR seeked death, MJJ constantly told her: “I really love you, please don’t do this (t/n: to me? according to Viki sub)”, HYX wanted her to “try a bit more”. Looking at these 2 sentiments under psychological view, these are the final straws that cut her life short. Chi Feng Chien said: “When facing this situation, don’t tell her that you love her, tell her that you believe in her”
Last year, a lot of young people took their own lives, whether it was because of bullying or something else so the scriptwriters simply want to use their small power to make a change.
When first introduced, CYR looked like a victim and people took pity on her but when she changed and became mean-spirited, netizens started attacking her, calling her sly. (t/n: a green tea b*tch probably).
By the end, CYR screamed out the pain in her heart, CFC said frankly: “I like reading comments on PTT (Taiwanese Reddit basically), I like creating a space for audience to engage in coming up with their stories. However, at the end of episode 12, CYR was under everyone’s criticism and I think only until the netizens go through that experience, do they realise that while being busy seeking for the killer, they, too, are the perpetrators.”
Until now, the most touching feedback he got was not about how great the script is, or the drama is, but “more and more people confess that they used to be like Chen Yun Ru.”
On the drama, is this the no.1 work for the scriptwriters? CFC said that each work is no.1 in different categories. For example, the drama he wanted to thank the most is “Ex-Boyfriend”, the drama that he wanted to thank the audience for is “What Is Love”. As for Hsin Hui Lin: “My no.1 will be left to the next project.”
t/n: It’s very interesting to see how SDOD approaches these topics. Other than wishing that they give the original WQS more spotlight and closure, SDOD is very lowkey but punches your guts unlike how Japanese drama Class 3-A, they were really in your face about it which I honestly think makes the drama preachy and less effective.
