-Aprillen-

This drama will also air on Gagaoolala starting July 19 (first two episodes) https://x.com/gagaoolala/status/2075565798546903121

I had problems with Phuwin in both FUTS and NLMG (I actually dropped NLMG), but then I watched We Are and thought it was a vast difference. Partly because I think his characters in the first two were extremely annoying and badly written, and he didn't have the skills to make them lovable. But he won me over in We Are, and I really liked him in Me and Thee. The characters in the latter two are much more down to earth, competent, calm people — it was Pond who played the OTT character in Me and Thee! So as someone who used to have the same problem as you before, I'd say give it a chance, there's a huge difference and Me and Thee is actually really funny.

WDYM, do they know each other?

Big Jane acts like such a green flag, but then at the drop of a hat it's like he shifts into black mode, and then it's all smiles and sweetness and we're left reeling from the whiplash. It's like a human mask superimposed on a demon, and sometimes the mask fails just for a brief moment and we see a glimpse of the darkness beneath... He's definitely Bad News and sometimes I feel like I'm watching a psychological horror story. Is it hot? Oh boy, yes. But in real life, I'd run as far as possible in the other direction, and I advise all of you to do the same.

I can see how she turned out like that, but she's taking it out on the wrong person, and she acts like a psychopath with no empathy or sense of right and wrong.

It's right there on top of the page in the cast list...

He has super super low self-esteem. Remember that he comes from a poor rural family and didn't even finish middle school. Everyone around him has money, power, status, influence, education, connections. He has none of that and doesn't know the first thing about moving in those circles. When he tries and gets it wrong, people make fun of him or bully him. He's an outsider and totally isolated.

He is trying to push all the blame for his feelings and actions on Lu Xiaofan, basically saying, "what I'm doing to you now is your own fault for being so alluring". It's typical privileged male behaviour. None of what Xiaofan did was "on purpose" (ie, with the goal of seducing BLQ—Xiaofan simply doesn't have the awareness, confidence or agency). Especially not being drugged and handcuffed and almost gang gr*ped by a bunch of reprobates led by his own nominal wife.

Normally I think it would be within expectations since they're now family, and family is very important in China. But they also know that the marriage is a sham, so they are really being a bit shameless here, and are putting a lot of pressure on someone who they basically sold off for money and doesn't really have any status in his new family.

You have very good points, but if you flip the perspective you can also say that Bei Luqing grooms Lu Xiaofan by being the only person who shows him any kindness in his new family. He is constantly being either abused or sidelined, so of course he would gratefully latch on to the only person who helps him. LXF thinks of himself as useless and a burden, so all he can do is try to be of service to BLQ. And BLQ obviously enjoys being waited on hand and foot. He protects LXF but he also enjoys the fact that LXF is depending on him.

I'm not saying this is necessarily intentional, but he's absolutely taking advantage of a very vulnerable person who has no one else to turn to.

Both perspectives can be true at the same time 😊

It's been several months, if not a year, I think?

And thank you for letting us know what the novel says! I just still don't think it makes any sense, that's all 😅

My father never talked to me about gay people, but that didn't keep me ignorant about it until I was 24

Like, even if he's an orphan who doesn't know his genetic lineage, the fact that alphas, betas and omegas exist in his world doesn't seem to be a big secret? They even offer walk-in testing for it at any hospital. Even his best friends have secondary genders, but somehow it was never once mentioned in the years they've known each other? It never came up in conversation? It was never mentioned in school, never on the news? Maybe if these "wolf-spirit descendants" lived in secrecy and seclusion from the rest of society, but...that definitely doesn't seem to be the case...

I wouldn't hold my breath.

They even said that alphas emit pheromones that can suppress others, and Nakhun being a "true alpha" should easily be able to suppress those lowlife thugs without having to fight, even if they were alphas (just like Sheng Shaoyou does in Desire). Why even put that into the worldbuilding if they're just going to ignore it later?

The lesson I learned from My Stubborn is that MFlow lucked out massively when they signed Boat and Oat. They're the only reason to watch anything coming out of that production company. The writing, the other actors, the direction, the camerawork, the editing...none of those are worth watching for.

I agree, it was awful writing. There's no reason why a smart, clever, educated person like Phatsa grew to adulthood without knowing about A/B/O when it's something that affects many people massively and can even be tested for easily in any hospital. Even his friends are tested and know their secondary gender, but somehow this never came up in conversation? It just doesn't make sense. Like you said, in such a world all teens would go through a standard test to show if they are pure humans (no differentiation) or alphas, betas or omegas. It's not like the latter are a small, close knit group living in seclusion from the rest of the world, which would be the only plausible reason for Phatsa being clueless. They're obviously everywhere.

And I agree, the exposition was incredibly clunky, like it was written by a middle-schooler. It could have been done so much better.

I admit that maybe my expectations on MFlow were too high. Boat and Oat deserve better.

Boat and Oat were the only redeeming factors of My Stubborn and the only reason I'm watching this.

I guess they just ran MTL for the subs because they are so bad it's even hard to make sense of them. It really drags it down. That's not what I pay an iQiyi subscription for.