song

In my opinion, there are two main reasons as to why XY didn't notice XL's love for her.
(1) XL's actions. XL hid his love very well, making deals and even resorting to harsh ways, ex: physically hurting XY.
(2) XY's mindset. XY is someone who would rather follow her mind than her heart. Because she thinks logically, she often dismisses any signs of affection and convinces herself that they don't exist.

That being said, I believe XY did have even a tiny suspicion that XL loved her. But because of how cruel he sometimes treated her, she refused to believe his feelings for her were real (and consequently, her feelings for him). It's her way of protecting herself, a defense mechanism where she keeps her hopes low so that she won't be as hurt if it turns out he never loved her. (She does this to Jing too)

Yes XL is most definitely more than just a friend this girl just likes to live in denial smhh. The mirror says it all, as well as the Lovers Bugs and her actions.
And a cat 🤣 Based on her companion requirements, she really could've just ended up with a pet like you said or a maid like Miao Pu. Otherwise, and this is the best ending for her imo, she could've chose no one and focused on herself instead. By ending up with Jing, she was basically feeding her fear of abandonment and creating an unhealthy codependent relationship between them.

I also wish XL and the soldiers stopped fighting and finally chose to live for themselves. From our perspective, it’s foolish to fight a lost cause. However, I understand that for the soldiers, their decision wasn’t just about survival; it was also about staying true to their values and cherishing the brotherhood they had built over the years. As XL once told XY, “We fought together, drank together, and gathered our comrade’s remains.” After doing that for so long, how could they just give up and live happily without feeling even the slightest bit of guilt about their fallen brothers? Plus, remember that another reason why XL stayed was to repay Hong Jiang, who saved him many years ago. I believe that if HJ stopped then XL would’ve also but he didn’t. Just proves how selfless XL is and how far he's willing to go for the people who showed him kindness.

“The only point she made well was that kids don't want heros, they want their parents to be with them.”
Yes! Good point indeed. (except when she ironically ended the story with XY and Jing ditching his kid nephew, causing him to become Tushan clan leader at a young age 👀)

Oh don’t worry about the long comment. Mine’s probably even longer 😂

I also saw Jing as the safe choice who would never abandon her. XL was her true love, the person she wanted but couldn’t/was afraid to be with. Maybe I’m on reddit too much nowadays LOL but it reminds me of this one question: would you rather be with someone you love or someone who loves you? Most people, like XY, would choose the latter because it’s safer. Nothing hurts more than loving someone who doesn’t love you back (since XY didn't know XL loved her back; he hid it very well 😭).

You made a great point about her showing more concern for XL than Jing. In that scene you mentioned, she was more focused on why XL asked if she'd hate him, rather than worrying about the dying Jing! And that mirror. Why didn’t she remove XL from it since she already has Jing? Why didn’t she record Jing? It’s not like she forgot she had it. After all, she let Jing use it to record evidence to solve the FFYY/TSH/baby situation in S2E09. So she could record that and XL but not… Jing… himself? If my partner did that much for “a friend who is not a friend” I’d break up asap. Only someone as foolishly devoted as Jing would stay.

Btw I’m not saying XY doesn’t love Jing at all. I believe she did learn to love him especially after they got back together in S2. It’s just that her love for XL was way stronger from the start. I always felt that if she ended up with XL, she won’t miss Jing at all (maybe just as a good memory like Qingshui Town), while if she ends up with Jing, she’ll forever yearn for and think about XL no matter how happy she is with Jing.

As for your what-if scenario, I thought a lot about that too. If XY never said that, could they have ended up together? But then again, XL is too loyal to his foster father Hong Jiang as XY is to Cang Xuan, so wouldn’t they just end up like XY’s biological parents? It’s too complex! This story hurts my brain sometimes lol but it’s also one of the reasons why I love it so much.

I never read the novel myself but apparently, yes. Someone said the ML raped the FL multiple times.

Generally speaking, the FL does get better or at least more tolerable than the early episodes. But in my opinion and some others, her development (as a character and romantic partner) could still be improved.

So... does she get better? Yes. Is it the best that she could possibly be? Not quite.

Opinions are subjective though so take this with a grain of salt. Only you yourself can make the final judgement.

I wondered for a long time what the lyrics of Xiao Yao's OST mean and who it's meant for. After analyzing the lyrics, I also believe it describes her feelings towards Xiang Liu.

Warning: Long comment incoming lol

Hanzi lyrics vs literal (using ChatGPT) translation vs Tencent/WeTV translation

“心系你”
“My heart is tied to you”
“My heart is connected to you”

- YaoLiu share the Lovers Bugs that connect their hearts together.

“每一晚孤零零的月光里
前尘如烽烟起 回忆里满是你”
“Every night, in the lonely moonlight
The past rises like smoke; my memories are full of you”
“Under the moon
Memories flash, I only hear your voice”

- The moon is one of XL and YaoLiu’s symbolisms, as they shared many moments under the moon. XL’s sword is also shaped like a crescent moon (S1E28).
- The only person XY kept in her mirror is XL. She would watch them fondly and was devastated when he removed it.
- Reminds me of Ch 22 from the novel when they spent 37 years under the sea together. The comatose XY couldn’t see XL; she could only hear his voice.

“集齐天地间的桀骜和不羁”
"Gathering all the wild and unruly from heaven and earth”
“You look obstinate and unruly”

- These words best describe XL. Many times, XY (and other characters) tried to convince him to give up fighting alongside Chenrong but he stubbornly refused.

“每一刻孤单单的时光里
思念它弥漫起 天地间只有你”
“Every moment, in the lonely passage of time
Thoughts of you spread, and there's only you in all of heaven and earth”
“When I’m alone
I will miss you, I only have eyes for you”

- Again, the only person XY kept in her mirror is XL.
- The novel comes in 3 books, respectively titled Lost You Forever, Love You Forever, and Miss You Forever. Lost = CX loses XY forever. Love = XY ends up with Jing. Miss = XY loses XL and misses him forever.
- S1E21. XY has FFB imprinted on her eyes.

“兑换骄傲 执手一生去”
“I trade my pride, holding your hand for a lifetime”
“I’m willing to spend the rest of my life with you”

- XY is willing to let go of her pride to care for XL and spend her life with him if he is also willing. Many times, she was harsh towards him but her actions afterward prove that she truly didn’t mean it (ex: saying goodbye but still made poison for him or wished she never said cruel words to him.)
- S2E06/Ch 32. XL to XY: Are you willing to marry Fenglong? No. Tushan Jing? No answer. Ye Shiqi? Yes. Who do you most want to spend your life with? Can’t answer because it hurts… why? (While I was writing this out, I just realized the drama had XL also ask if XY was willing to marry Jing. Interesting since this wasn’t in the novel.)
- If she couldn't even say yes to marrying Jing, then why would she say yes to wanting to spend her life with him? And if she can say yes to marrying YSQ, then why couldn't she say yes to spending her life with him? Only answer is XL and/or FFB.

please 😭 im trying to not give myself false hope but also still hoping it'll air

i have the same exact thoughts as you. i really want to see this drama but if it means it'll have to compete with so many other dramas and not be promoted properly, then i'd rather they not air it until then. i'm still disappointed that they didn't air it earlier in the year... now it's gonna be harder

so many dramas coming out but mentally im still here

Anyone out there who loves the music played in this drama? Here's a playlist with the OSTs and some of the BGM. My favorite BGM is《人間》a beautiful rendition of my favorite OST《最是人间》by Yao Xiaotang.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m60K9jCp0K9k6cxZBL80Zf3UeMhANTY2E&si=OK3AalYH_EYazHFV

all the highly anticipated dramas are getting aired this season except for this one 🥲😭

perhaps the minutes are longer? my journey to you (which has the same director) had only 24 eps but each were roughly 50-65 mins long

this clip i found on douyin HELLO Y'ALL? THE HAND PLACEMENT? THE VISUALS? oh i can't wait for this drama
https://v.douyin.com/iBWrScJT/ (bts)
https://v.douyin.com/iBWrW2Wk/ (original scene)

that's why i had to stop watching 😭 it sounds so monotone to the point of robotic. it's off-putting to watch if i'm being honest. also doesn't help that her facials aren't very expressive. like that scene five mins into ep 1 when she told the servants to do stuff after seeing a fainted person on the road was just not good. i had no idea what emotion yining was supposed to feel in that scene. concerned? shocked? curious?

I stopped watching 10 mins in ep 1 of TRON and it's been a while since I watched The Double so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

One similarity I noticed immediately is that both dramas depict a character being blamed for injuring their stepmom. In The Double, young Jiang Li was sent to that place because she "pushed" her stepmom down the stairs and caused her to miscarry. In The Rise of Ning, young Yining was punished (or also sent away?) for doing the same thing. Ofc both of them didn't actually do it, the stepmoms lied.

lowkey same. it's getting boring now, we needa spice it up by reigniting the fanwars 😂

can't wait to watch 🥳

so real lmao just give us the drama at this pointt

me too 😭 sad to hear that we'll have to wait til next year to see another of her drama

can't wait to meet li yi fei and qian fei <3