Discussion post - episode 7

[yantantether]

The start of the episode gives us another gorgeous look at Tang Yi kneeling to kiss Meng Shao Fei's bullet wound, before Meng Shao Fei has a slight overload of feelings and horniness and goes to hide in the bathroom. But he's smiling once he gets in there so we know things are going to be OK.



When he comes out he and Tang Yi share the meal that Tang Yi has just cooked and I get mildly distracted by the way that Tang Yi keeps his apron on while they're eating, what a beautiful nerd. Then conflict arises between them as Tang Yi doesn't want him to get involved in the way he plans to deal with the attempted murder of Zuo Hong Ye and Meng Shao Fei, understandably, says that as a cop (and the actual shooting victim!) he can't not get involved.

There's a flashback to Tang Yi's lonely childhood with his horrible, abusive adoptive father. This part is so hard to watch, poor baby. Tang Guo Dong finds Tang Yi and Zuo Hong Ye being bullied by bigger kids in the street and takes them home to care for them. We see him and Tang Yi sharing food and Tang Yi gradually warming up to this new father figure.

Back in the present, Tang Yi shares his desire for revenge on Chen Wen Hao with Meng Shao Fei who, heartbreakingly, has to tell him that as a cop he'll always follow the rule of law and can't condone Tang Yi seeking vengeance.

The mood is lightened in the next scene by tiny failboat Zhao Zi googling "what to do when a man confesses to another man" on his work computer and being exasperated by the lack of good advice in the results. He then decides to ask Meng Shao Fei for his ~gay expertise in the middle of their shared office and Meng Shao Fei is just like "...omg." Although, bless him, he does try to respond by telling Zhao Zi that he was the one who kissed Tang Yi first.

Tang Yi have a conversation about business and some guy she might go on a date with and I get distracted by Tang Yi's pierced ears, which I've only just noticed and am very into. Tang Yi then tells Gu Dao Yi essentially to get over himself and grasp the nettle (the nettle in this case being his sister.)

Tang Yi is brooding in his room when Meng Shao Fei comes in with a birthday cake.



Meng Shao Fei has absolutely won boyfriend of the decade here because even though he and Tang Yi just had something of a disagreement, they've been together for about three seconds and Meng Shao Fei has a bullet wound, he still found the time to make and decorate a cake with their faces on it (and also happy birthday in English, for some reason.)

He asks to take Tang Yi's birthday wish and wishes to always be beside him on his birthday, and my heart grew three sizes.



Icing-covered make-outs ensue and we see Ah-De watching them from the garden. Which, creeper, but ALSO they are right up against the window with the light on. :D

Zuo Hong Ye is on a business date / date which has been set up by Tang Yi and the guy - Zhao Ren Guang - basically proposes marriage to her, while Gu Dao Yi has an aneurysm at the next table.

Next, Ah-De is driving Tang Yi somewhere and Tang Yi unknowingly drinks the water he's roofied. He tries to sexually assault Tang Yi and thank god he does it right by the side of the road and not somewhere more isolated - Tang Yi manages to fight him off, struggle out of the car and call Jack. Simultaneously, Meng Shao Fei is being attacked by some dudes in an alley.

A little later, Meng Shao Fei walks in on Tang Yi confronting Ah-De about his actions - Ah-De is defiant and unrepentant. Tang Yi threatens to kill him (or maybe just to beat him up really badly as the knuckleduster makes another appearance), but Meng Shao Fei bundles him out the room. This is a serious moment, but I'm also just noting that Meng Shao Fei can really manhandle him pretty effectively...

Tang Yi then asks Zuo Hong Ye to leave the country for her own safety and she reluctantly agrees, saying she'll go to Helsinki with Zhao Ren Guang. Thankfully this prompts Gu Dao Yi to finally confess his feelings to her in the parking garage.

The episode ends with Zhao Zi discovering that there must have been a secret connection between Li Li Zhen and Chen Wen Hao, as she and Tang Guo Dong jointly went to visit him in jail.

Comments

[doctorskuld]

Since "like" isn't that strong a term in English and certainly not something requiring an answer, I'm still getting used to understanding how serious these confessions are.
Confessing that you "like" somebody in Chinese culture implies that you want a result out of it, namely the willingness to be an item. This is why it requires a response, because you need a definitive yes or no from the other person on the willingness to see if you are compatible enough to be an item. When you confess, there is always the expectation of a response. It's not like American culture where you might just say it to get the feelings off your chest. If you have feelings, but you, for one reason or another don't want to actually try to be a couple (a la Gu Dao Yi holding out for the longest time), you wouldn't confess your feelings in the first place.

Are Roman letters easier to pipe/write/draw on icing maybe?
This hadn't occurred to me previously, but now that you've mentioned this, I am absolutely certain this one of the reasons why he's chosen English. Traditional Chinese characters are a bitch to pipe.

The food fight is fun(ish) and the kissing is good, but what's with that smeary face rubbing/smash in the middle??
Oh phew, I am glad I am not the only person whose reaction to the face rubbing/icing smash was immediate disgust and revulsion. Because...OMG EW. I found the actual visual of the icing kisses kind of gross and not very pleasant to look at (it is very clear to me from this scene that Jake and Chris don't really want to kiss each other, because it's all protruding lips). The sentiment is cute, but this kiss between TY and MSF is a big DO NOT WANT for me.

It looks like he suspects Li Zhide of something. Does he know about the He Hang stuff at this point and suspects/knows that Li Zhide is involved? I'm confused by the gang betrayal shenanigans - and slightly surprised that TY let down his guard given how mistrustful he looked to me.
They never show us what's on the piece of paper that Andy passes to TY, but I strongly suspect that it's He Hang's name, instead of Li Zhi De's, otherwise I can't see TY letting down his guard and being willing to be alone with Li Zhi De, who he already knows has a super creepy crush on him.

This scene does make it clear, however, that He Hang is part of the Xin Tian Meng faction who still wants to deal in drugs and is more loyal to CWH...

But yeah, the gang politics make my head hurt too. I am not quite sure at which point what TY knows, what he thinks he knows, and what is actually happening behind the scenes. He seems not at all to know about the secret dealings between Unit Three and He Hang that get revealed later on...

(I'm very happy we see him so competent, although I'd like to echo others' earlier comments on a sad lack of seeing Jack in action.)
I'm going to write action!Jack now until the end of time to make up for this sad lack of seeing Jack in action.

[her_cool_aunt]

Oh phew, I am glad I am not the only person whose reaction to the face rubbing/icing smash was immediate disgust and revulsion. Because...OMG EW.
I also was repulsed by this. It made my skin crawl. Thank you for agreeing and sharing my ick pain! I WANTED to like the whole scene, because I'm a sucker for touching and intimacy, particularly when they're learning each other for the first time, but I really struggled. I'm half forcing myself to find the food fight amusing (not something I personally enjoy at all). I wasn't as negatively affected by the kissing as you - although it's not brilliant. Perhaps I'm just so relieved that the AWFULNESS before is over so anything (even an awkward uncomfortable kiss) is better. And we mainly see it at a distance so I can squint and think it's all OK.

[doctorskuld]

I WANTED to like the whole scene, because I'm a sucker for touching and intimacy, particularly when they're learning each other for the first time, but I really struggled.
I like the idea of the scene, I like the dialogue, I like the actions taken by the characters and the decision they make, it's just Jake and Chris kissing with all of that frosting was executed horribly. Something about the way they are actually kissing feels wrong. I am also not big on food fights or kissing involving food, so...maybe it's just us?

[clevermanka]

I like messy kissing and I would have even liked the icing, but the weird sloppiness of it (I can't help wondering if one or both of them are actually not that great at kissing?) and the terribly Foley effects make it a little unpleasant. It helps to mute it. =\

[satsuma]

Haha I'm glad that apparently none of us liked the icing kisses!

I do slightly question the decision to make this the very first scene the actors shot, I mean, wouldn't it have been easier to go for something where the awkwardness wasn't going to show so much?

[clevermanka]

Maybe that's what they were going for, but the actors and characters deserved a little better imo.

[doctorskuld]

I don't think it's the first scene the actors shot, but it is the first kiss scene they shot, which does make me question their choices.

On the other hand, the kiss on the stairs was the first kiss scene that Andy and Kenny shot, and that was an A+ good kiss, so...

yeah, the foley on the ice cream kiss did not help, did it.

[doctorskuld]

OH GOD, THE FOLEY.

I first read this during breakfast this morning, and I had to pause and just...the sound flashbacks of the foley came rushing back. Σ(O_O)

[yantantether]

You'll have noticed I skimmed RIGHT ON BY the cake kissing above because it's just... eek. Unlike the "seduce me" scene I definitely did not feel like going into any kind of detail about it 😂

[doctorskuld]

A lot of their other kisses are super cute, very adorable, incredibly domestic...but this one...A MISS.

[her_cool_aunt]

I forgot to also say thank you for explaining the significance of a confession of liking in Chinese culture. It's probably a result of watching too many romance dramas - whether BL or not - that I find this so fascinating. It makes characters whom I really wouldn't expect to express such things state their feelings out loud, clearly enough that the other understands (and can respond).