absurd

You know, I get it, maybe he didn't actually have an intention (though, to me it didn't look like that). But. And to me this is a big But. There is such thing as too far. That and the public humiliation - that was too far. What he can't talk? Everything he said to her at the end of this scene, he could have said without forcing himself on her. Sure she was kind of obtuse, but she was still obtuse even after the "scene" and only got it through her head after he clearly said that he doesn't care.
And also, I think it was ep 15, not 11.

About Prince Bo. I get that he is trying to distance himself from Zhai Xing, but does he have to go that far?? What he can't let her die, but public humiliation and depression are fine? What kind of bs love is that? He was the one who encouraged those three idiots at the banquet and then he punished them for doing what he wanted. What a hypocrite.
And what, pray tell, was he thinking before when he got close to her? Just "kind of forgot" that he was lying to her about her family massacre and manipulating her for the sake of politics?
Oops, sorry, that was a rant. Ep 15 just made me so mad. I just really dislike those typical plot twists of "keep her safe, but miserable".

On episode 16 so far (no spoilers, promise!). This drama is actually really interesting. For those who don't much care about the love story, give it until episode 5 or 6, the plot thickens and gets more intriguing. They do go back and forth from love to politics, but it's balanced in my opinion.
As for the characters:
I don't really like Prince Bo as a character as of ep 16. His motivation is kind of unclear (to me), hopefully it will get better later. Can't really explain without spoilers, so maybe I'll add it under the spoiler tag.
Ji Chong is a classic "bad boy" trope, not much else to it so far. But it's a good trope, always works on me )))
Ma Zhai Xing though, her character kind of gives me a whiplash, it goes so rapidly between "spoilt princess", "damsel in distress" and "smart independent woman", I can't keep up. I am torn between liking her a lot and trying really hard not to facepalm sometimes.

The funny thing is, last week I stumbled over the pictures from this drama and thought: damn, it's too bad that this will probably never be released, I really want to watch it because it looks like they've actually put a lot of work and thought into it. And then it's out Just. Like. THIS! I'd say the best surprise ever!

Stop posting spoilers people! After more than 3 years it's not that difficult to wait 3-4 weeks for official release and subs

I am not sure why you feel the need to argue, since none of us actually disputed that XZ is very popular. The whole comparison in general is so pointless, IMO. They are both great artists in their own right and also (hopefully still) friends. It's not like one of them being successful takes away from the other's success. Spreading rumors is not the way to go, spread love :)))

I don't think he's unpopular. The trailer for this drama posted on some official Chinese platform (I don't really know which, sorry) has 200 million views (baidu says), if that's unpopular, then I don't what people would consider popular then.
My comment was not meant negatively, I replied directly to what was posted, my meaning: "he's not unpopular, just has less public appearances, so it might seem like Yibo is more successful". In my opinion, being silent for half a year and still having the kind of impact he has, actually speaks volumes to the amount of his influence.
In fact from what I've seen, it seems that the the whole "scandal" thing was blown out of proportion by the press, while in reality it died down pretty soon after it happened. Press just keeps brining it up as if he's the only famous person who has haters. Everyone has haters, people just need to stop paying attention to them.

I don't think it's a question of popularity, it's just that Wang Yibo has more projects now and is more visible (sometimes I feel like his management is actually going too far with the amount of endorsements he has, does the poor kid even have time to sleep?).
But in terms of fanbase, there isn't much difference. It also feels like Xiao Zhan (at last for now) prefers to be more lowkey, which is understandable.