whoissilmoy

As far as her "running away", I don't see it that way. She is no longer CEO managing a company but VP of an independent R&D group. She doesn't have to manage the day-to-day operations of a company. Her people are taken care of. Since the merger was a hostile takeover, she doesn't want to stay.

but there are ten chapters from kidnapping in Chp 70 to Chp 80,
so they will condense ten chapters into four episodes.

It's currently at 16,557 is extremely low user ratings. I've never seen a drama this low. I supposed it will eventually climb to 30,000 which is still low.

the Douban rating of 6.9 with 24% 5-stars is excellent for a modern romance but it's only based 16,557 user ratings. It would be better if the sample size was 50,000 and still maintain the same level of ratings. Go Ahead Douban is 6.7 with 15.8% 5-stars but 296K user ratings.

JX in the novel said she didn't feel safe with him anymore or in the drama, she said she's scared of him. She went home to sort it out which is not bad idea given how emotional she is.

for some reason, very low user ratings count for a drama that has 1.3B views

also, in their confrontation or show down scene, there was one point, she called him out and he swallowed (adam's apple moved) and his expression changed knowing she figured it out, and then he tried to rationalize from business perspective with her

"weird sister" is HT's cousin

JX has 33% shares. HT was willing to give her his 53% of XingChen would give her 86%. The remaining 14% is held by SZZ. She basically could call off the merger, couldn't she? But like HT says, you have no capital. So, she still needs funding from HT, so she cannot get away from HT, right? He was able to expose his cousin and save XingChen, but at the expense of losing JX. HT said that it was worth it because he still needs to work with his cousin.

It's okay. Han Ting is human after all. He's drank before. That's why he always has his medicine handy. HT's love for JX defies his logic but he doesn't realize it.

Sweetness again. This is the beauty of a drama.
https://x.com/i/status/1815238171850059893

https://x.com/i/status/1815244262897820083

The drama is so much sweeter how they get back together. The cat is a metaphor, the bridge between them since college.

Yichen pursued JX. HT pursued JX. Qin Li pursued JX. JX pursued her work.

which episode is the kidnapping?

hard to say. novel is only good because of the lines. drama is good because of visuals, metaphors, and the acting. There's been so many beautiful scenes you cannot get from a novel. Just watching the clips of Qin Li jealousy is so much more entertaining than reading it.

JX is a person who throws herself into her work that's how she deals with breakups. Well in Yichen's case, she got drunk then got herself together and got to work. In HT's case she went to Germany to reflect. In the novel, she was even more productive. she accepted VP position, went to USA for 3 mos. training, etc.

JX got over Yichen and threw herself into work. She also got over HT and threw herself into work. She's a strong person in that regard.

HT lost his parents when he was eight years old. Then he regretted not getting together with JX before he went to Germany and never saw her again. Now, she has left him again. I'm still struggling with why they show HT doing useless things like drinking and the ten things on the list, and the puppet show. HT in the novel was miserable too but he didn't do all these things.
(But that's okay, HT is human after all, not a robot who can turn off his emotions. In the novel, clearly, he was very miserable after the breakup, he felt a pain in his heart and had bad moods). But the fact that HT pursues her, and she does not pursue him, she is productive after the breakup, and he misses her more and asks for reconciliation several times while she doesn't appear to really miss him and does not ask for reconciliation matches the novel. HT pursuit, his words finally get through to her, she is willing to at least talk about it with him.

the novel the reader can read her mind, so perhaps the drama didn't do a good enough job on what is going through her mind? In the novel, JX has changed a lot after the merger and breakup. She is less confident, less idealistic, more conservative about her career choices, afraid to take risks in career or relationships, etc. I'm sure the final episodes, she will rise to the occasion? Yeah, i wised the drama showed that side of her, she fully understands what Han Ting did is right from business perspective, but she's dealing with relationship trust issues because she thought if HT truly loved her, how could he use her as a pawn?

Novel:
[At that moment, when she found out that XingChen was used as a pawn to deal with Han Yuan, the despair and frustration, the powerlessness and shame, no one can understand except her. In matters of love, there may not be a right or wrong, but there is always hurt. On the path of love, she wanted to dance the waltz with him, not become a puppet in his hands.]

Actually, in the novel, it has always been HT pursues her, not the other way around. I can't remember JX ever pursing HT at all. He even goes to USA on business trip so he can bump into her, of course the novel didn't say that was his intention, sometimes I feel the novel is covering up for Han Ting's real motives to make him appear so logical and unemotional (but I don't buy it because he is always thinking about her) where the drama exposes it. JX bounced back after she broke up with Yichen, she also bounced back when she broke up with HT. She actually very strong like that, she gets over things and moves on and throws herself into work again. HT is always pursuing her, both in the novel and the drama, so I don't' see a distinction.

Initially I felt the same way about HT's display of misery, so I went back to the novel. There was a line that the breakup caused HT to feel a sharp pain in his heart. He has bad moods. His poor assistant has to endure it. So, HT in the novel is miserable. The drama takes his misery to a different level because dramas are visuals not words - did they take it a bit too far? Just because HT can compartmentalize his emotions doesn't mean he doesn't experience them. It's just that when it comes to decisions, he can separate his emotions. The novel says he feels things but the drama shows his feelings when he is alone. In the same way, in the novel, JX is doing very well after the breakup, just like in the drama. So, I don't think they've deviated from the novel but just a different way of portraying it to the audience. I'm sure if I rewatch the drama without interruptions, it will flow better. My initial reaction to the puppet show is I didn't care for it, but I should rewatch before concluding. I may have missed something in the translations. The translation can make a big difference.

The drama did a better job of showing the human toll of a breakup. The novel didn't dwell on it at all, but the novel did a better job of sharing what was going through JX's mind, so the reader connect with JX. The drama focused a lot on human emotions and neglected other side of JX, at least for now, probably in later episodes, her growth will be more evident.

Both the drama and the novel are good. I can't say one is better than the other. They are different but I like both.

The novel said Han Ting felt a sharp pain in his heart and that was that.
One month after the merger, HT bumps into JX at the first company Hanhai-XingChen meeting that her attendance was mandatory. HT asked her to come back to work for him. She declines. She gets an offer from CEO of Hanhai-XingChen to be VP but needs to go to USA 3 months training. HT knows she went to USA and could have gone to seminar in USA but does not follow her but happens to have business trip in USA later, and bumps into her (I tend to believe he wanted to find her too). They keep bumping into each other, lots of good exchanges between them, and HT tries to get her back, but she still refuses him.

JX: Would you be willing to marry someone you met on a blind date?
HT: If it's a good match, then yes.
JX: Aren't you afraid of regretting halfway and not being able to stay together till the end?
HT: The people who talk about 'till death do us part' are often the most uncertain. Most of the people who demand 'till death do us part' do so not out of love, but out of the need for survival. Otherwise, there would be no one to cooperate with, to help each other through the difficult road of life with so many problems.
JX: Could you elaborate?
HT: Those who truly stay together till the end won't talk about it and won't use it as a bargaining chip in marriage. However, most people can't do that because they can't freely and accurately choose their lovers and partners. If they're not satisfied or incompatible, their initial love will gradually diminish, making it difficult to reach the end.
JX: If that's the case, what do you think love is?
HT: The love I believe in probably lasts until the end of life. When I look back, I will have a definitive conclusion.
JX: I'm different. If I don't feel enough love from the beginning, I'm afraid I won't be able to continue. Even if I have to walk alone, it might be better.
HT: How do you judge that it's not enough love? Different standards lead to different judgments - your judgment is just your subjective feeling.

He was someone who could separate principles from emotions, so she couldn't figure out his true intention behind those words. She didn't think he cared about her so much but couldn't make up her mind. She couldn't help but build a wall in her heart again.

HT takes every opportunity on his trip to USA to get her to get back together with him, but she is still upset that he used her to deal with his competitors.
HX: I have my own difficulties in my position. Love isn't everything in my life. Sacrificing the overall situation of Dongyang for the sake of love", he shook his head lightly, his voice low, "I can't guarantee that my life will only have you, but I can guarantee that in the aspect of love, it will only be you. I don't know what proof you want... I might not be able to give you a love that sacrifices everything and dies for you, but I can give you a love that accompanies you in a plain and simple life.
JX: I don't feel safe being with you. It's not your fault, it's mine. My heart is not strong enough.

Those who had never been in contact with someone like Han Ting, who had never lived with him, would not know that being with him would only make you love him more, and fall deeper and deeper, unintentionally and completely out of control. But her heart wasn't strong enough, forever guessing but unable to see how deep his love and liking for her went, and how she compared to him. That's why she was so concerned and entangled, losing her original intention bit by bit. At that moment, when she found out that XingChen was used as a pawn to deal with Han Yuan, the despair and frustration, the powerlessness and shame, no one could understand except her. In matters of love, there may not be a right or wrong, but there is always hurt. On the path of love, she wanted to dance the waltz with him, not become a puppet in his hands. What can we do even if we reconcile today? She's not ready yet, and she's afraid she'll repeat the same mistakes. She can't handle getting hurt again.
JX: Right now, I just want to focus on myself and get my own affairs in order. Hanhai-XiChen is also under a lot of pressue.
HT: I won't ask it again. Are you sure you don't want to get back with me?
JX: No

HT was already endlessly frustrated.
Tang Song quietly looked at HT. The boss had been in bad mood since morning and looking so gloomy that even flight attendants didn't dare to greet him.
HT felt their breakup seemed to have shattered her entire confidence.

They both return to USA and since JX is working at Dongyang, she and HT keep bumping into each other especially in the elevator. Enters Qin Li and the flirting between them which makes HT jealous. Qin Lin and JX go to dinner. HT was told a Miss Tan Yuni, female celebrity wanted to dine with him, but it's at the same restaurant downstairs that he knows JX is at with Qin Lin at this time. HT normally decline but chose to accept probably to make JX jealous but when he sees JX in the restaurant, he backs off and goes not go through with it. JX still gets jealous just watching Miss Tan Yuni and wondering if she's with HT. But since HT still let her track his location on her mobile phone, she was relieved. There is a scene of HT, Yichen and Qin Li with JX on some business meeting (all men who have liked or likes JX). Zeng Di shows back up in another scene which really makes JX very jealous. HT never acts out his jealousy, but JX does. She really can't' stand seeing Zeng Di talking to HT and it was her silent 'tantrum' exchange between JX and HT and he finally gets through to her head and she says she'll talk to him about possibly getting back together with him.

The story also goes into JX's new work as VP, and HT continues to give her good career and business advice.