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Mitu's avatar

Omg you've spelled out exactly what I've felt with Tushan Jing...

To me it seems like TSJ and XY is a love story that exists in theory and not practice?

I often feel like she's most naturally attracted to xiang liu and keeps trying to suppress it. Also it seems like they have a stronger personality connection/bond despite Xiang Liu being an asshole to her a lot of times. I feel like they both could relate to each other more than TSJ and XY.

even as wen xiaoliu I could feel her attraction towards him. and she seems most happiest with him.

Tushan Jings love is sort of like a response to the care she gave him and for saving his life. It seems like an obligation or debt. And when she proposes to her in the beginning she seems to just considers it pragmatically. and sort of wills herself to love him because he pledged himself to never abandon her. Otherwise she's only ever seen him as the guy she saved and a good companion. And on top of the red flag that he proposed to her without a solid plan to break his engagement, he never told her that he knew she was a woman. I don't get the vibe that he's enraptured by her personality. More like he was grateful she saved him and that because she was a woman he sort of imprinted on her (borrowing twilight vocab lol) . And over time his gratefulness to her is what makes him love her.

and yes...i thought it was hilarious too that he's supposedly the best chess player in town but can't seem to use any of those skills in real life.

and from Xiaoyaos side it seems like she's trying to make the love happen because on paper tushan jing is such a good guy . i can't see the passion or chemistry. it feels like an arranged marriage where both parties try their best to like the other. Whereas with xiang liu their connection is palpable. I get the feeling that xiaoyao is lying to herself and doesn't realise how much of her own feelings she suppressed.

I don't like that he mistreated her a lot in the beginning but they have a lovely chemistry...

with cangxuan, it's sad. I do feel for him. it's pretty clear xiaoyao will never see him in that light. But at the same time her loyalty to him is the strongest. It was nice seeing beautiful sibling love. Also while it's hurtful for cangxuan, he has strong sibling love and attachment towards her. and I like that they show that, that sort of love is not inferior to romantic love. People think it doesn't exist but I've seen it in my own family. My dad is very close to his sister. Unfortunately my mum suffered because he always put her first (they had an arranged marriage. I think you can guess my ethnicity hah ).

I think it's beautiful and a testament to how pure cangxuans love is that he loves her and protects her as a brother.

and they're in a catch 22. to protect her he needs to marry many women from powerful families and can't be her one and only. if she accepts him, he can't give her the life she wants.

I really like his portrayal. despite desiring her as a romantic partner, he doesn't seem lecherous. I can feel brotherly love from him for the most part.

tushan jing also comes across as spineless and overly polite.

when he was ye shiqi and came to know xiang liu was bullying her, he'd sort of just accept it and be tormented by it. I just don't like that reaction...maybe someone else can explain it better.

overall I really felt nothing for him. when he died, when he had a kid ...nothing...

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Dimplegal's avatar

Right from the start, I hated the fact that this is an adaptation because without any justification for it, the book readers all insisted we must love Tushan Jing (because apparently, he is a walking green flag). While CX is the supposedly the devil's incarnate, XL is the ultimate boyfriend. I had to rewatch the first few episodes because I thought I was missing something. All I saw was a "brother" that didn't recognise the sister, another guy is forcefully biting her without her consent, and a guy who walks around with a mopey smile on his face.

If I had to read a book to fully understand a character then either the actor was given little to work with, or the actor couldn't fully bring out his characterisation and all he could do is this bland imaginary boyfriend with no depth.

I just got frustrated that there was oomph from the other guys in the harem than the one that is supposed to be the master strategist.

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