One thing I really disagree with is the way people compare Luke’s communication with Flora’s behavior and…
For me personally, I think that equating Flora’s quiet distance with Luke’s active verbal degradation is a bit of a false equivalence.
I feel like distance and avoidance are often defense mechanisms for Flora. They tend to be survival tactics when a partner's baseline response to conflict is hostility, demeaning remarks, and explosive anger. It's hard to compare someone retreating or withholding for emotional safety to someone actively firing shots and tearing down their partner's self-respect.
Blaming Flora for 'not communicating enough' sometimes overlooks why people shut down in the first place. The fact that she came forward to file a complaint about her SA to the entire company instead of telling him first really stood out to me. A secure, healthy partner is usually the first person you run to when you're hurt; the fact that she couldn't confide in him suggests she may have instinctively felt he wouldn't be a safe space.
To me, insults are an offense rather than a communication style, and treating them as equal to a trauma response misses how emotional safety in a relationship really works.
There are plenty of Cdramas where characters have massive communication barriers, keep secrets, and cause total viewer frustration. But there's a huge difference between standard angst and actual cruelty; those characters might fail to talk, but they don't use insults or character assassination to punish each other.
it’s not always Luke’s fault 😭😭 And “he has nothing to lose, she has everything to lose” is absolutely…
I agree that's not ALL his fault. Just mostly. I can understand why he isn't close to his family or friends. They don't want to be a verbal punching bag.
The male apologists on here are insane. I can bet anything nobody would be defending the ML as hard if it weren't…
I will admit that I occasionally love a red flag ML so I get it. Plus, it's Jing Boran. If bad, why hot?
However, if this was real life, this is the textbook starter pack for an emotionally abusive relationship, and that’s honestly why it makes me so mad to watch.
When someone's gentleness and affection are entirely conditional on you being agreeable, but you get explosive reactions, belittling, and harshness the second things don't go their way, it creates a constant state of walking on eggshells. It forces the partner into secrecy and self-preservation just to survive.
Seeing this framed as a romance, especially with only a few episodes left to magically fix years of psychological wear-and-tear, just feels heavy because I know what this looks like outside of fiction.
yes.💯 and idk why few are saying she was young and she is innocent justifying her wrong doings when both of…
I would have a lot more empathy for Luke if he communicated openly, or if we ever got moments of him not exploding when things don't go his way with Flora.
It’s not always bad like when he quit his job, which was extreme but also highly effective. But the fact that he can't turn off that defensive, explosive switch toward people he actually cares about is crazy.
However, even with his psychotic ex, he showed a gentleness that he does seemingly possess (granted, it was a life-or-death situation) when he stayed after getting slashesd. He was held (restrained) her in a way that was sympathetic and took her to the hospital.
I just feel like his gentleness toward Flora is entirely conditional on her being agreeable and keeping him wrapped up in a lovey-dovey bubble.
Overrall, I love the discourse and it awesome to see everyone point of view. I like everyone's comments more then the drama.
yes.💯 and idk why few are saying she was young and she is innocent justifying her wrong doings when both of…
The issue for some viewers missing the mark with Luke is the power dynamic and his own behavior. Luke is punishingly critical. He gets mad and degrades her. Flora naturally pulls back and is reserved. She basically has to walk on eggshells for self-preservation.
I also think his cruelty gets minimized as just "vulnerability." Flora’s defense is passive in nature, while Luke is actively aggressive toward Flora through his words. He is the main problem here. Let's not forget, this man literally dropped her dog off at her event just because he was mad. People don't weaponize a pet and pull toxic stunts like that and get to hide behind "oh we're both just bad at communicating." No, he's straight up toxic. I mean every big conversation said or not said causes Luke to blow up. I mean he brought up her moving on together in a causal way and she basically brushed him off. But she also didn't insult him. 🙄
Hello friends. My next comment is a rant and contians spoliers.
Full disclaimer: I love both actors, but especially Jing Boran. This will have spoilers and it's a rant. If you are gonna get mad or really love Nian... skip this.
⚠️⚠️SPOILERS!!!
These two are not the same. Here's the thing. Nian is constantly rude and degrades Zhitao when he is mad. Zhitao doesn't communicate with him because he criticized how she talks the entire show.
She's smart not to disclose their situationship with her boss. Let's be real, if it comes out, the company is not gonna get rid of a mid or senior level executive over a lineman employee. And when she was under another leader, Nian threw a piss fit and was so butt hurt. This could have been an 'oh great, now we may be more open to dating since she's not my direct subordinate' moment. Nope, he took it personally. When she didn't tell him about the SH, he got mad at her for not telling. Most partners would have been hurt by that, yes, but also given their partner space.
Now, her creating the fake dating app, Nian was right to be mad, but instead of saying, why can't you communicate these things to me, he calls her cheap and a scammer. He is super dismissive even from the beginning. 'Stop apologizing, be more direct. Do I have to train you? Next time I'll charge tuition.' He is supposed to be the more mature adult and her mentor. But Zhitao is supposed to be sympathetic when he talks to her rudely because that's just how he is??
Zhitao is not blameless, but she also is young. The lack of communication is clearly mainly towards him. We know that because none of her friends or family are calling her a jerk. She clearly was able to express to her ex that she wanted to move and they broke up amicably. She opens up to people who are not just gonna dismiss her or insult her because she may have a different opinion. She doesn't want to tell people who she is dating because she's ashamed of him and lowkey... she should be. He's a jerk. I think he likes that he is her center and can't imagine if he wasn't.
But let's all say it as it is. Nian took advantage of his superiority towards a new employee. He hots and gets away with some 💩. He's a toxic boss and boyfriend.
Zhitao is wasting her 20s on him and I'm assuming after the break up he's gonna be like, oh snap, maybe I should treat her right because I'm a 30-plus-year-old man and I can see that she is amazing and flourishing without me. Gosh darn... I'm rage watching until the break up. May none of you have a partner like this in real life. I would put him in the same category as MLs from Master of My Own (Cdrama), Playful Kiss (Kdrama), and Boys Over Flowers (Kdrama). They all can go to dramaland 🗑
Have anyone watched the show Couples Therapy? It's one of my favorite shows but it has more stakes because the participants are real.
Dr. Orna is who these characters need.
I feel like distance and avoidance are often defense mechanisms for Flora. They tend to be survival tactics when a partner's baseline response to conflict is hostility, demeaning remarks, and explosive anger. It's hard to compare someone retreating or withholding for emotional safety to someone actively firing shots and tearing down their partner's self-respect.
Blaming Flora for 'not communicating enough' sometimes overlooks why people shut down in the first place. The fact that she came forward to file a complaint about her SA to the entire company instead of telling him first really stood out to me. A secure, healthy partner is usually the first person you run to when you're hurt; the fact that she couldn't confide in him suggests she may have instinctively felt he wouldn't be a safe space.
To me, insults are an offense rather than a communication style, and treating them as equal to a trauma response misses how emotional safety in a relationship really works.
There are plenty of Cdramas where characters have massive communication barriers, keep secrets, and cause total viewer frustration. But there's a huge difference between standard angst and actual cruelty; those characters might fail to talk, but they don't use insults or character assassination to punish each other.
However, if this was real life, this is the textbook starter pack for an emotionally abusive relationship, and that’s honestly why it makes me so mad to watch.
When someone's gentleness and affection are entirely conditional on you being agreeable, but you get explosive reactions, belittling, and harshness the second things don't go their way, it creates a constant state of walking on eggshells. It forces the partner into secrecy and self-preservation just to survive.
Seeing this framed as a romance, especially with only a few episodes left to magically fix years of psychological wear-and-tear, just feels heavy because I know what this looks like outside of fiction.
It’s not always bad like when he quit his job, which was extreme but also highly effective. But the fact that he can't turn off that defensive, explosive switch toward people he actually cares about is crazy.
However, even with his psychotic ex, he showed a gentleness that he does seemingly possess (granted, it was a life-or-death situation) when he stayed after getting slashesd. He was held (restrained) her in a way that was sympathetic and took her to the hospital.
I just feel like his gentleness toward Flora is entirely conditional on her being agreeable and keeping him wrapped up in a lovey-dovey bubble.
Overrall, I love the discourse and it awesome to see everyone point of view. I like everyone's comments more then the drama.
I also think his cruelty gets minimized as just "vulnerability." Flora’s defense is passive in nature, while Luke is actively aggressive toward Flora through his words. He is the main problem here. Let's not forget, this man literally dropped her dog off at her event just because he was mad. People don't weaponize a pet and pull toxic stunts like that and get to hide behind "oh we're both just bad at communicating." No, he's straight up toxic. I mean every big conversation said or not said causes Luke to blow up. I mean he brought up her moving on together in a causal way and she basically brushed him off. But she also didn't insult him. 🙄
⚠️⚠️SPOILERS!!!
These two are not the same. Here's the thing. Nian is constantly rude and degrades Zhitao when he is mad. Zhitao doesn't communicate with him because he criticized how she talks the entire show.
She's smart not to disclose their situationship with her boss. Let's be real, if it comes out, the company is not gonna get rid of a mid or senior level executive over a lineman employee.
And when she was under another leader, Nian threw a piss fit and was so butt hurt. This could have been an 'oh great, now we may be more open to dating since she's not my direct subordinate' moment. Nope, he took it personally. When she didn't tell him about the SH, he got mad at her for not telling. Most partners would have been hurt by that, yes, but also given their partner space.
Now, her creating the fake dating app, Nian was right to be mad, but instead of saying, why can't you communicate these things to me, he calls her cheap and a scammer. He is super dismissive even from the beginning. 'Stop apologizing, be more direct. Do I have to train you? Next time I'll charge tuition.' He is supposed to be the more mature adult and her mentor. But Zhitao is supposed to be sympathetic when he talks to her rudely because that's just how he is??
Zhitao is not blameless, but she also is young. The lack of communication is clearly mainly towards him. We know that because none of her friends or family are calling her a jerk. She clearly was able to express to her ex that she wanted to move and they broke up amicably. She opens up to people who are not just gonna dismiss her or insult her because she may have a different opinion. She doesn't want to tell people who she is dating because she's ashamed of him and lowkey... she should be. He's a jerk. I think he likes that he is her center and can't imagine if he wasn't.
But let's all say it as it is. Nian took advantage of his superiority towards a new employee. He hots and gets away with some 💩. He's a toxic boss and boyfriend.
Zhitao is wasting her 20s on him and I'm assuming after the break up he's gonna be like, oh snap, maybe I should treat her right because I'm a 30-plus-year-old man and I can see that she is amazing and flourishing without me. Gosh darn... I'm rage watching until the break up. May none of you have a partner like this in real life. I would put him in the same category as MLs from Master of My Own (Cdrama), Playful Kiss (Kdrama), and Boys Over Flowers (Kdrama). They all can go to dramaland 🗑