JJJ

This is not shade towards any of the actors/actresses but pronunciation/tone should have been developed even as they were rookies. As their acting gets better, so should their voice. But unfortunately, a lot of the actors/actresses neglect this aspect and don't care enough to improve on it. Because they know they have the option to get dubbed and practicing voice is something that needs actual effort and time (it is not something that can get better in a day or two), it is not something that looking handsome/pretty or being filmed a certain way to cover up average acting can cover up.

It is not something non-Chinese speaking/hearing audience might pick up but for those who understand Chinese, voice IS a part of acting. Good actors/actresses can adjust their tone and pacing to suit the characters. A lot of the current generation actors/actresses sadly don't have that ability, they either say the words inaccurately or can't say the dialogue at the correct pace so they run out of breath. It ends up affecting the overall presentation of the character. It is also why we need Chinese subtitles too, even if the dialect spoken is standard, a lot of the current actors/actresses' dialogue is very murky so without the subtitles, you can't even understand some of them sometimes. That's how bad it is.

His communication skills LOL. Jiang Ci has asked him around 2-3 times to share his past and she really only found out while they were at Yue Luo and saw his interactions with others (not coming from himself). Then there is the whole thing with her master. At this stage, Wei Zhao sharing that her master might be involved in the truth he is seeking and that he needed to find her would probably have led to Jiang Ci working with him. I saw some script spoiler about what happens later on and I am like... Wei Zhao!!! Use your words. 😭 Jiang Ci is willing to listen and understand but you got to let her know. At least their misunderstanding later on didn't last long but still.

I do get why he is like this though, he has kept too much to himself for years and it is hard for him to truly share things in words. He does so via actions but well, he will get there as they get through the angst part of their journey.

One aspect that Wei Zhao probably has to work on (though I also get /why/ he can't):

There is another scene where a kiss would more likely happen (on the swing in later episodes based on the opening song). Jiang Ci plotting in that preview, so they weren't meant to kiss in the first place. 😔

Lmao yeah, the songs are usually written after, so they don't match half the time if the characters happening to be singing those songs.

Yeh, they need to contain it though because this drama is not really blowing up big yet and this drama already got a "bad" rep due to the beginning part of the drama. And you can't really avoid them now since they are starting to leak into Douyin promo videos (aka outside of the episodes where people have the option to turn off the screen comments). I am starting to see them on XHS too which is not great. And there were some even going into the main ship's Weibo supertopic to try to cause a scene. I do wonder if part of it is people trying to nitpick on purpose to get the fans to start fighting.

Love of Nirvana hit over 300 million views according to Maoyan data. 🎉

And episode 25 wasn't even bad either LOL. She just decided to leave, didn't even express any strong negative emotion.

Dreading when the scene with her master comes up though. But I have heard people said the misunderstanding between our two leads don't last long so hopefully that stops anyone from jumping the gun and start dragging. I adore both characters and I enjoy seeing things from both of their POVs. It did be unfortunate if fans ruin it just for the sake of defending the character because their fav acted as the character.

Chinese fanbase. I don't watch the episodes on the official Chinese websites but I am seeing comments second hand about it too about those comments on the episodes (on Weibo/Douban). I saw some of these comments firsthand though on Douyin videos of these clips and you have comments talking about how it is Jiang Ci's family fault, how she gets to live in the light, etc. But yes, they need to chill because if this gets big, I just know this will give the YXHs (marketing accounts) another reason to drag this drama (fans loving the men so much they drag the women, male loving fans, etc.).

Yikes... some RJL fans + Wei Zhao fans need to chill (emphasizing on some because I do believe most are logical):

I think they are getting upset at people not liking Wei Zhao at first and him still lying to Jiang Ci at this point (so people are not loving it) that some are then taking it out on Jiang Ci. Saying how it is her master's fault that he has to live with the burden (reminder that we have no idea what the master knows/doesn't know) while she got to live without knowing the truth at this point (and blaming her family for it all). Some drama fans (C-side official streaming platform) pointed out they had to turn off the comments of the episode (they usually show across the screen) because they were getting annoyed at the negative comments against Jiang Ci for leaving (after finding the clay cat that Wei Zhao took from her). I just know Jiang Ci is about to get dragged heavy when she slaps Wei Zhao in future episode (based on preview) over her master. It really isn't easy being a female lead huh. You can love the male lead and show all kinds of positive traits, but you dare to get upset at the male lead? It is over for you. But they need to chill because a lot of people watching this drama are not fans of any of these actors/actresses, so it comes off as weird fans doing this.

Jiang Ci always try to escape (as she should) but she will always come back to save others when needed because she is always able to set aside her own feelings for the greater good. I just love her so much. That scene of her on the bridge and on the horse carrying Elder Hong away??? Chef's kiss.

Then we have Elder Hong. He really represents the spirit of Yue Luo to not give up. I hope Pei Yan wakes up a bit from that fight with Elder Hong because like Elder Hong has said, Pei Yan doesn't understand what it is like to be a slave who can only submit. For Pei Yan, it is easy for him to tell the Yue Luo people to knee and "negotiate" but for Yue Luo, there has never been equality in these discussions.

Jiang Ci and Elder Hong were SO cool. Spoilers below:

Episode 24 is all smiles and then there is episode 25...

The fight scenes were great though but 😢.

As we know, giving flowers in Yue Luo tradition = expressing love. Not only did Wei Zhao basically confess to Jiang Ci, but he basically also showed others she is already with someone, so others won't be giving her flowers during the festival... power move.

That flower Wei Zhao drew on Jiang Ci's face...

Wei Zhao being so much more expressive now (as of episode 24) wow...

I think the latest update I saw was the episodes hitting on average 10M views per episode.

You can definitely tell this drama is being suppressed though. YXHs still pushing this as a terrible drama and how could the FL fall for ML, etc. Plus this drama really didn't do promo lmao. A lot of people said they only found out this drama aired because they saw clips on Douyin.

Lmao at least it rose, I still remember when it was 7.8 at one point. 💀 Hoping it will rise more soon. I think a lot of people who can't get past the enemies aspect dropped it and also put a low rating.

He is doing great with portraying the creepiness. 😲