This has to do with the scene that XY creates in the ice crystal ball that she sends to XL before her wedding…
There was definitely a moment where I thought to myself, rather than representing TSJ, one could decide to interpret this added man as representing FFB. The warmer side of XL who appears to be a deity rather than a demon. A version of XL that didn't live on the opposite side of an invisible "mortal enemies" barrier. A version that could smile at XY and take her hand, if only temporarily. Except that, by putting a representation of FFB in the crystal and gifting it to XY, XL was almost making XY's wish that FFB would stay with her forever come true. As if, rather than the two of them considering FFB to be "dead", his likeness would live on in the crystal, and accompany XY forever.
Based on the context, I think the only logical conclusion is that the man represents TSJ. But the novel doesn't say so outright. So who cares about logic? You can definitely decide to interpret the man as representing FFB if you want to.
Welp, I’ve finished re-reading the novel and noticed another heartbreaking detail that I didn’t catch in my…
This has to do with the scene that XY creates in the ice crystal ball that she sends to XL before her wedding with FL.
In chapter 31, the scene is described three times. Once when XY assembles the scene. A second time, after the ice crystal has been re-sealed (which took four years with the help of a powerful ice goddess) and shaped into a ball (which took a master carver three days and three nights to complete). And a third time, after XL receives the ice crystal ball and looks at the scene after being reminded of XY’s upcoming wedding. The scene is also described one more time in XL’s epilogue when XL carves his wishes for XY into the ice crystal ball before sealing it inside the big-bellied laughing doll. But that final description of the scene includes an additional detail.
-
Chapter 31 (carving and assembling the scene):
“Xiao Yao used all her effort to carve this piece of poisonous Ice Essence into the shape of a sea clam shell. She carved two sides of an exquisite white clam shell with wave ripples along the edges. When it was opened it resembled a blooming flower. Xiao Yao then used all sorts of exotic herbs and poisons to create two merpeople. She put the mermaid on the clam shell and she put the merman in the corner away from the clam shell. Xiao Yao also made red coral and colorful little fish.
After it was all completed, Xiao Yao brought out the ice crystals collected from the North Pole and had a specialist split it open and hollow it out. She put the red coral in first and secured it on the bottom. Then she mixed up a batch of poisons with Jade Mountain bone essence to create a blue liquid suspension that she filled the ice crystal ball with so it appeared like blue water. She then put the clam shell with the mermaid and the merman carefully inside the poisonous liquid and surrounded it with the colorful fish. She then closed up the ice crystal ball and used her spiritual power to temporarily seal it.”
-
Chapter 31 (describing the scene after the ice crystal has been re-sealed and shaped):
“The clear exquisite ice crystal, inside was the deep blue sea, and in the water were colorful little fish swimming and beautiful red coral. There was an all-white giant clam shell like a blooming flower and inside a beautiful mermaid sat on the clam shell. Her hair flowed like seaweed and her beautiful tail was half on the clam shell and half in the water. She had one hand on her heart and the other hand reached out towards the distance like she wanted to grab onto something or like she was calling someone to her. In the direction where her hand stretched there was a merman floating in the water. He appeared close to the clam shell but he was coldly staring outside the ice crystal ball so that it felt like he was actually in another world and not in the world of the peaceful isolated ocean with the mermaid.”
-
Chapter 31 (after XL receives the ice crystal ball and is reminded of XY’s upcoming wedding with FL):
“Misty raindrops fell on his palm and created an icy mist around the ice crystal ball. It made the blue water inside even more vibrant like the ocean under a full moon. The blue ocean depths, the isolated peacefulness, the mermaid sitting on her beautiful clam shell home reaching out her hand to beckon, to plead, to summon. But the merman just coldly looked out at the world outside the ice crystal ball.
Xiang Liu stared at the ice crystal scene for a long, long time. Slowly he reached out a finger and pressed it on the ice crystal so it looked like he was taking the mermaid’s outstretched hand. At a glance, it appeared that they were holding hands, but in truth the ice crystal separated them. They were from two completely different worlds. They could never truly be together.”
-
XL’s Epilogue (before sealing the ice crystal ball inside the big-bellied laughing doll that will be his gift for XY and TSJ's wedding):
“A clear crystal ball wrapped around an ocean tableau inside. The glittering waves had colorful fish swimming, red coral, and a large white clamshell open like a resplendent flower. A beautiful mermaid rested sideways on the clamshell, her hair flowing like seaweed and her entrancing fish tail resting half against the white surface and half in the water. A man stood next to her, holding the mermaid’s extended hand and smiling as he gazed down at the mermaid. In the corner of the tableau a merman floated in the ocean, he appeared close to the clamshell but his distant pose made him seem like he was actually in another world and not in the same calm and serene ocean.”
-
How is this last description different from the earlier descriptions? “A man stood next to her, holding the mermaid’s extended hand and smiling as he gazed down at the mermaid.” This man wasn’t there before. It was originally just the mermaid and the merman. Somehow XL unsealed and resealed the ice crystal ball and adjusted the scene inside. But he doesn't change the scene so that the merman (who represents XL) turns around and takes the hand that the mermaid (who represents XY) is extending to him. Instead, he adds a new humanoid man (representing TSJ). This new man faces the mermaid with a smile and takes her hand.
No matter how much he wanted to, XL couldn’t face XY with a smile and take her outstretched hand. They were from different worlds. They could never truly be together. So he gave her a man who could be in her world, who could truly be with her, who could face her with a smile, and who could take her extended hand. And when she is about to marry that man, he sends this updated scene and his well-wishes to her as a wedding gift. But sealed inside a doll, where she will never, ever see them.
The drama goes as a far as part way through chapter 28 if you want to stop and not spoil yourself for the parts that will be covered in S2. The scenes from XY's childhood are scattered throughout the novel rather than all shown at once in the beginning.
Somebody help 😭😭😭😭If I had known I'd be this devastated after completing this I'd have watched it…
I binged the first 26 episodes like that, and then when I had to wait for new episodes I binge-read the novel. Highly recommend reading the novel as a stop gap against not having new LYF content to consume. I'm re-reading it now (slower this time, with no skipping) and will probably read the graphic novel next.
Well this is a throwback. It's been so long, watching the anime feels like something that happened a lifetime ago. Having a live drama version of it after all this time is a bit surreal.
This is making me think of a period from the novel, but I feel like it's probably not the phase you're thinking of? Are you referring to her character in BoC?
"Xiao Yao. You are beautiful and fun to drink with. And your brother is so amazing. Through our engagement, we…
Given all the things I mentioned, I basically wrote it as if FL was writing this letter from the grave. I'm assuming the actual letter is written from FL's perspective at the end of S1 (after the engagement but before the wedding), so I'd be very surprised if all the content was close ^^"
"Xiao Yao. You are beautiful and fun to drink with. And your brother is so amazing. Through our engagement, we…
people are going to read your comment and go up and open mine thinking I've provided a proper translation ^^"
Friends, please don't be disappointed - it's just some tongue-in-cheek fun. Not a serious translation (and the timeline for certain references is a bit iffy). Also... novel spoilers, so please beware!
Bonus: Feng Long's love letter to Xiao Yao. Little bro Wang Hong Yi conveying his heartfelt feelings for our heroine…
"Xiao Yao. You are beautiful and fun to drink with. And your brother is so amazing. Through our engagement, we helped support him in achieving his ambitions. If we had gotten married, I could have spent even more time with him, Xin Yue and you. How nice would that have been? I don't regret arranging the world's most extravagant wedding for you, even if you ran away in the end. Now I wish you and brother Jing every happiness.
P.S. Sorry for conspiring against you that one time. I didn't want to. Like you said, let's call it even!
I agree with Sirry Usly, there's no point trying to make others take a certain view - everyone is entitled to…
"It's a love triangle (even if I don't like to use this word since it's not quite the habitual love triangle) whose conclusion as it exists in the novel is only possible because of everyone's combined choices and XL actions that led to a bittersweet outcome."
I agree with this.
"It's quite possible that XL wouldn't have given up on Chenrong. But XY, in my opinion, could have been more indulged in her feelings for him, which would have put them both in an even more tragic and heartbreaking situation."
That's pretty much exactly what happened with XY's birth parents. She was lucky to mostly avoid repeating their tragic fate.
"P.S: English is not my native language and I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts well so sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes or awkwardness in my comments."
Your spelling and grammar are clear and your thoughts are well expressed, but even if they weren't - no need to apologize! ^^ Writing in a second language (especially so well) is an admirable skill. It would take me ages to write so much in my second language, and it would likely be very inarticulate and full of errors.
I agree with Sirry Usly, there's no point trying to make others take a certain view - everyone is entitled to…
Even if TSJ was a major obstacle between XL and XY... then it's an obstacle that only remains in place because of XL. He sends XY to save TSJ's life, he comforts XY when she can't be with TSJ and still creates romantic moments for them, in the drama he very explicitly helps change her mindset so that she is willing to hold onto hope for her relationship with TSJ, he helps XY realize who is responsible for TSJ's death, and he brings TSJ back from the dead. Without XL's intervention, TSJ would be dead twice over (same for XY) and even if they both survived they still might not have ended up together.
If XY never met TSJ... well the story would be very different. Would XL betray Gong Gong and the resistance army to be with XY in that version of the story? If he did, would ZX and the rest of the world accept their relationship? I feel like the answer would still be no...
I would just like to post a comment to say:Regardless of who you prefer (whether as a character or as a couple),…
I agree with Sirry Usly, there's no point trying to make others take a certain view - everyone is entitled to their own interpretations and head canons. We can each express opinions and give our reasoning... sometimes most readers / viewers will agree and sometimes they won't. And I don't see much value in engaging in ship wars or fan wars.
That said, based on my own interpretation, I would suggest that the last two conclusions at the end of your post might be overstatements. IMO, TSJ and XL's relationship is not so antagonistic.
In the novel, TSJ and XL clearly respect each other. TSJ asks FFB for help saving XY from a loveless marriage. TSJ tells XY that he is grateful to XL. And XL points out to XY that "Tu Shan Jing... He’s not a vindictive person, but he’s also not a weak fool. In hundreds of years, I’ve never once taken any advantage from him." And XL saves TSJ's life.
The drama is a little less clear (e.g., they added a line where XL calls TSJ "useless" in a moment of frustration when XY is injured while she is with TSJ), but XL definitely sees TSJ as the right person for XY by the time the 37 years of healing rolls around. Which is why he wakes her up and sends her directly to TSJ in time to save his life.
Although XY's promise to TSJ (to wait 15 years for him) is one of the reasons XY refuses to kiss XL in order to get air when they are underwater after she regains her female form, TSJ's existence as a romantic interest for XY is not the main reason XY doesn't choose XL. Even if TSJ didn't exist, there would still be huge hurdles preventing them from being together.
So have the fan wars calmed down yet? Can I move back in?
The trick is to make and interact with the types of posts you want to see in the comment section and ignore the rest. Eventually every old post will get buried as long as the comment section stays active.
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Based on the context, I think the only logical conclusion is that the man represents TSJ. But the novel doesn't say so outright. So who cares about logic? You can definitely decide to interpret the man as representing FFB if you want to.
In chapter 31, the scene is described three times. Once when XY assembles the scene. A second time, after the ice crystal has been re-sealed (which took four years with the help of a powerful ice goddess) and shaped into a ball (which took a master carver three days and three nights to complete). And a third time, after XL receives the ice crystal ball and looks at the scene after being reminded of XY’s upcoming wedding. The scene is also described one more time in XL’s epilogue when XL carves his wishes for XY into the ice crystal ball before sealing it inside the big-bellied laughing doll. But that final description of the scene includes an additional detail.
-
Chapter 31 (carving and assembling the scene):
“Xiao Yao used all her effort to carve this piece of poisonous Ice Essence into the shape of a sea clam shell. She carved two sides of an exquisite white clam shell with wave ripples along the edges. When it was opened it resembled a blooming flower. Xiao Yao then used all sorts of exotic herbs and poisons to create two merpeople. She put the mermaid on the clam shell and she put the merman in the corner away from the clam shell. Xiao Yao also made red coral and colorful little fish.
After it was all completed, Xiao Yao brought out the ice crystals collected from the North Pole and had a specialist split it open and hollow it out. She put the red coral in first and secured it on the bottom. Then she mixed up a batch of poisons with Jade Mountain bone essence to create a blue liquid suspension that she filled the ice crystal ball with so it appeared like blue water. She then put the clam shell with the mermaid and the merman carefully inside the poisonous liquid and surrounded it with the colorful fish. She then closed up the ice crystal ball and used her spiritual power to temporarily seal it.”
-
Chapter 31 (describing the scene after the ice crystal has been re-sealed and shaped):
“The clear exquisite ice crystal, inside was the deep blue sea, and in the water were colorful little fish swimming and beautiful red coral. There was an all-white giant clam shell like a blooming flower and inside a beautiful mermaid sat on the clam shell. Her hair flowed like seaweed and her beautiful tail was half on the clam shell and half in the water. She had one hand on her heart and the other hand reached out towards the distance like she wanted to grab onto something or like she was calling someone to her. In the direction where her hand stretched there was a merman floating in the water. He appeared close to the clam shell but he was coldly staring outside the ice crystal ball so that it felt like he was actually in another world and not in the world of the peaceful isolated ocean with the mermaid.”
-
Chapter 31 (after XL receives the ice crystal ball and is reminded of XY’s upcoming wedding with FL):
“Misty raindrops fell on his palm and created an icy mist around the ice crystal ball. It made the blue water inside even more vibrant like the ocean under a full moon. The blue ocean depths, the isolated peacefulness, the mermaid sitting on her beautiful clam shell home reaching out her hand to beckon, to plead, to summon. But the merman just coldly looked out at the world outside the ice crystal ball.
Xiang Liu stared at the ice crystal scene for a long, long time. Slowly he reached out a finger and pressed it on the ice crystal so it looked like he was taking the mermaid’s outstretched hand. At a glance, it appeared that they were holding hands, but in truth the ice crystal separated them. They were from two completely different worlds. They could never truly be together.”
-
XL’s Epilogue (before sealing the ice crystal ball inside the big-bellied laughing doll that will be his gift for XY and TSJ's wedding):
“A clear crystal ball wrapped around an ocean tableau inside. The glittering waves had colorful fish swimming, red coral, and a large white clamshell open like a resplendent flower. A beautiful mermaid rested sideways on the clamshell, her hair flowing like seaweed and her entrancing fish tail resting half against the white surface and half in the water. A man stood next to her, holding the mermaid’s extended hand and smiling as he gazed down at the mermaid. In the corner of the tableau a merman floated in the ocean, he appeared close to the clamshell but his distant pose made him seem like he was actually in another world and not in the same calm and serene ocean.”
-
How is this last description different from the earlier descriptions? “A man stood next to her, holding the mermaid’s extended hand and smiling as he gazed down at the mermaid.” This man wasn’t there before. It was originally just the mermaid and the merman. Somehow XL unsealed and resealed the ice crystal ball and adjusted the scene inside. But he doesn't change the scene so that the merman (who represents XL) turns around and takes the hand that the mermaid (who represents XY) is extending to him. Instead, he adds a new humanoid man (representing TSJ). This new man faces the mermaid with a smile and takes her hand.
No matter how much he wanted to, XL couldn’t face XY with a smile and take her outstretched hand. They were from different worlds. They could never truly be together. So he gave her a man who could be in her world, who could truly be with her, who could face her with a smile, and who could take her extended hand. And when she is about to marry that man, he sends this updated scene and his well-wishes to her as a wedding gift. But sealed inside a doll, where she will never, ever see them.
And my heart is broken all over again.
The drama goes as a far as part way through chapter 28 if you want to stop and not spoil yourself for the parts that will be covered in S2. The scenes from XY's childhood are scattered throughout the novel rather than all shown at once in the beginning.
Friends, please don't be disappointed - it's just some tongue-in-cheek fun. Not a serious translation (and the timeline for certain references is a bit iffy). Also... novel spoilers, so please beware!
I think you express yourself very clearly. Better than many native speakers ^^
P.S. Sorry for conspiring against you that one time. I didn't want to. Like you said, let's call it even!
-- Feng Long."
(I kid of course ^^).
I agree with this.
"It's quite possible that XL wouldn't have given up on Chenrong. But XY, in my opinion, could have been more indulged in her feelings for him, which would have put them both in an even more tragic and heartbreaking situation."
That's pretty much exactly what happened with XY's birth parents. She was lucky to mostly avoid repeating their tragic fate.
"P.S: English is not my native language and I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts well so sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes or awkwardness in my comments."
Your spelling and grammar are clear and your thoughts are well expressed, but even if they weren't - no need to apologize! ^^ Writing in a second language (especially so well) is an admirable skill. It would take me ages to write so much in my second language, and it would likely be very inarticulate and full of errors.
If XY never met TSJ... well the story would be very different. Would XL betray Gong Gong and the resistance army to be with XY in that version of the story? If he did, would ZX and the rest of the world accept their relationship? I feel like the answer would still be no...
That said, based on my own interpretation, I would suggest that the last two conclusions at the end of your post might be overstatements. IMO, TSJ and XL's relationship is not so antagonistic.
In the novel, TSJ and XL clearly respect each other. TSJ asks FFB for help saving XY from a loveless marriage. TSJ tells XY that he is grateful to XL. And XL points out to XY that "Tu Shan Jing... He’s not a vindictive person, but he’s also not a weak fool. In hundreds of years, I’ve never once taken any advantage from him." And XL saves TSJ's life.
The drama is a little less clear (e.g., they added a line where XL calls TSJ "useless" in a moment of frustration when XY is injured while she is with TSJ), but XL definitely sees TSJ as the right person for XY by the time the 37 years of healing rolls around. Which is why he wakes her up and sends her directly to TSJ in time to save his life.
Although XY's promise to TSJ (to wait 15 years for him) is one of the reasons XY refuses to kiss XL in order to get air when they are underwater after she regains her female form, TSJ's existence as a romantic interest for XY is not the main reason XY doesn't choose XL. Even if TSJ didn't exist, there would still be huge hurdles preventing them from being together.