Riya

By that logic, why have a plot at all? 😭 They could've skipped the breakup, the misunderstandings, the years apart, and just had them meet, date, get married, and roll credits.

Nobody's saying she *needed* to suffer. I'm saying that's literally the storyline the author wrote. Her getting harassed, losing her job, and him finally seeing what she'd been through is what drove their reconciliation. You can't cut out half the emotional buildup, replace it with the most copy-paste office rivals trope, and then act like it's the same story.

So they cut out the entire storyline of her being harassed at work and eventually getting fired? The very thing that put her at her lowest and made her reunion with Lu Xixiao actually mean something?

He took her in when she had nowhere else to go, and her staying with him. Plus how cold he actually was to her is nothing in comparison to drama. Their relationship started healing because he saw how badly she was being treated and finally understood everything she'd been carrying.

Instead they gave us the millionth "ex-lovers reunite as office rivals" storyline... because apparently that's more original?

Why do I feel like they have changed a lot from the novel? Even from the trailer, it didn't had the hint of Murong Qing Yi's toxicity and how he was a walking red flag. Plus, I also feel that even if they didn't change the storyline, they'll probably tone his character down by a lot or else he might qualify for one of the most hated ml of all time.

How do you know that he never went to find him. They have same friend circle, maybe he knows where she is. You expected him to stay abandoned and never move on? The FL literally left him. He cried, begged her to come back, and even said he'd forgive her if she returned, but she never did.

Yes, her life turned out to be miserable, but from his perspective, he was there for her and she still chose to leave him. He can't be expected to put his life on hold forever.
And did he even date the other girl? He only agreed, and in the very next scene he told her to stay away from Zhou Wan's things and rejected her. That doesn't exactly scream "he moved on" or "he replaced the FL."

Of course he isn't Sang Yan. Sang Yan had a loving family and no major personal trauma. Lu Xixiao is an 18-year-old kid who literally ran away from home with Zhou Wan and built his whole world around her. Losing her was bound to hit differently. it was a coping mechanism born out of hurt and anger. Expecting him to react like Sang Yan ignores that these two characters have completely different lives and trauma.

yes

Jiang Yan gave me major flashbacks to Gao Jian Hong from Lighter & Princess. Both started as friends of the main character, both had a massive inferiority complex, and both ended up betraying the people they cared about by revealing someone's location to the bad guy. Jiang Yan exposed the FL's whereabouts, while Gao Jian Hong revealed the location of the ML's sister. Different stories, same frustrating pattern of insecurity turning into betrayal.

the scene with whole "check the camera", it seemed unscripted 😂

have to say that both of their parents are perfect match for each other. two selfish evil people, with their personality and history of abandoning people it makes sense why they are in relationship

The dynamic is pretty different tbh because the characters are very different. the romance in drama is very high school compared that in novel where it's very intense

Lu Xixiao is still the one who's more openly in love in the novel, but the difference is that the novel doesn't make him seem as pitiful as the drama does. He's more of a bad boy there. Instead, Zhou Wan is the character you're supposed to feel bad for, so her actions make a lot more sense and she doesn't come across as cold or unfair.

Bring back novel Zhou Wan. The drama completely watered her down. In the novel she actually had leverage, she could corner her mother, control the situation, and there was real psychological pressure in how the truth about identities changed the whole dynamic.

But in the drama it feels flipped. She’s no longer intimidating, the blackmail angle has no real weight, and the mother just isn’t affected or threatened the same way. Instead of Zhou Wan being the one holding power in those moments, she just comes off like she’s constantly at a disadvantage and struggling to keep up.

I get that you're speaking generally, but you've made this same point under this drama before too. That's why I'm saying this isn't really the hill to die on, maybe under real pseudo-incest drama comment section like speed and love or dazzling.

I mean, I actually agree that a lot of dramas use the pseudo-incest angle for no reason and it could easily be replaced with a childhood friends storyline without affecting the plot at all.

But I don't think this drama is the best example of that. The leads aren't related, their parents aren't actually married, and they weren't raised as siblings, so it's already pretty different from most of the cases people usually complain about.

Also, in this story, the complicated family connection is actually an important part of the plot and the characters' conflicts rather than just being thrown in for shock value. You can still dislike the trope, but I don't think it's really comparable to the dramas that use it purely for the taboo factor.

A few of the changes from the novel are honestly bothering me more than I expected.

First, Lu Xixiao. In the novel, he wasn't a nice guy at all. He smoked, messed around with girls, got into trouble, and acted exactly like the spoiled rich brat he was. He was intense, reckless, and honestly kind of a menace. The drama version feels way softer. They basically took away most of his bad-boy traits and gave him a motorcycle instead.

Then there's Jiang Yan and Zhou Wan. From what I remember, they were familiar with each other because they were both top students, but they were never that close. The whole special birthday ritual thing was blah

And don't even get me started on the arcade arc. They cut so much of it. A lot of the small interactions and character-building moments happened there, but the drama had none of that.

My biggest concern, though, is how much they're toning down Lu Xixiao and Zhou Wan's relationship. In the novel, the sexual tension between them was insane from very early on. They were constantly pushing boundaries, kissing, and there was always this intense attraction simmering beneath everything. Obviously, because of censorship, I doubt we're getting much of that during the school arc.

The problem is that the school arc is important. That's where you see how obsessed Lu Xixiao actually becomes with Zhou Wan. A lot of what happens later in their relationship only makes sense because of the foundation built during those early years. If they keep softening him and cutting those moments, newer viewers might never fully understand just how intense his feelings were in the novel.

read it a long time ago, i forgot

They sort of are but not really. Their parents are married but FL severed relationship with her mother. Plus ML's father don't even know that his new wife has a daughter who is abandoned

I can understand why he wanted her out of that place, but inviting those people to dinner was where he lost me. They literally left his daughter stranded when she needed them. The fact that he's still trying to keep a good relationship with them is insane to me.

That's what I said. No innocent person would just accept the blame, but no guilty person would immediately confess and blow their cover either. FL should've found his reaction suspicious instead of taking it at face value.

As for not exposing his brother, I assume it's because Yanfang did protect him back in the days, even if it wasn't entirely selfless. Yanlai probably still feels some sense of debt toward him or we never know.

This drama is addicted to making its characters miserable. Every other day it's a new tragedy, a new disaster. We already know the ML has suffered enough to last three lifetimes, do we really need a weekly reminder?

There are only 6 episodes left and we're still stuck in the misery cycle. At this rate they're going to dedicate 4 episodes to suffering and then speedrun their entire adult life and happy ending in the final 2 episodes.

I understand that Xiao Xun gave her trust issues, but I thought she'd at least be smart enough not to immediately label Yanlai as the enemy. And even if she was suspicious, why on earth would she go confront him directly? Girl, what happened to all that supposed scheming and planning? The first rule is not to alert the person you think is your enemy.

What makes it even worse is that Yanlai basically agreed to the accusation without putting up much of a fight, and she didn't find that suspicious at all. Not once did she stop and think, "Why is he admitting this so easily?" or "Why isn't he even trying to explain himself?" If he's guilty, he will try to act innocent instead of just taking the blame.

At this point, I'm sorry but the FL is not nearly as smart as the drama keeps insisting she is. Most of her plans either fail or backfire.