I just stumbled on this last night and, I must say, this is the most powerful BL series I've seen so far. Others have been entertaining and enjoyable to watch, but Like Love really hits on something so important: namely, the effect of conservative parents and families on their gay children.

An's coming out to his family was very brave and unapologetic (good for him), but still brought out the worst in them: the sister was disgusted and even tried to hit on Maiding. An's father beat him and his mother tried cutting her own wrist as a result. And the blackmailing continued, especially on the mother's part. They all berated An for "shaming" the family and putting his own feelings above theirs. An's grandfather was the only one with common sense and empathy.

Maiding kept his secret hidden for much longer (along with flat-out pretense), which was understandable considering the pressure his parents were putting on him to "get a girlfriend." When Maiding finally admitted the truth, his grandmother had what looked to be a mild heart attack and his mother went bat-shit ballistic. At the expense of his own happiness, Maiding was ready to bail on his relationship with An, as a result of his mother's reprehensible behavior. (Thank goodness An refused to accept this and helped to change her opinion in the end).

To me, this is perhaps the most important--and unfortunately, realistic--issue that gay children face: feelings of shame and being loathed by and excommunicated from their families. Kudos to Like Love for approaching this topic head-on (especially from an ultra-conservative country such as China). The moral of the story is (or at least should be) that no one should ever, EVER be expected to live someone else's life. This type of pressure never comes from anything other than selfishness on the part of the family. The results can be absolutely devastating... and this happens every day, all over the world.