Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! I thought this was a pretty perfect shot to headline our post today, because I love so much, this carefree moment that the three friends share. 🥰

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:

1. ZERO SPOILER POLICY ON THE OPEN THREAD

We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.

The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD. ANY AND ALL SPOILERS WILL BE REDACTED to protect first-time viewers in our midst (although, I’d appreciate it if you would save me the trouble of having to redact spoilers, heh 😅).

*This includes (but is not limited to) how characters or relationships evolve over the course of the story. Just pretend that this is Past You, on this Open Thread!*

2. SPOILER ZONE AVAILABLE

HOWEVER!! If you’d like to discuss spoilers from a rewatcher’s point of view, I’ve created a SPOILER ZONE for you, where you can discuss all the spoilers you’d like, without the need for spoiler warnings. You can find it here!

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

Hyperawareness, growing feelings, confusion, and general discombobulation is the name of the game this episode – at least between Ziwei and Yuxuan, and I am eating it up with a spoon.

Despite Ziwei’s best intentions of taking a step back, so that Junjie can work to win “Yunru’s” heart, he just can’t fight his own reactions to her. The way he tries to fight himself on this is endearing (for actually trying to fight it, out of loyalty to his friend), and adorkable (for how he fails so miserably, ha).

Just the way he reacts, when Yuxuan grabs him by the waist, as he tells her to hold on tight, tells us everything we need to know. He’s so thrown by the sensation of her hands on his waist, that he doesn’t even realize that he hasn’t turned the ignition on his scooter. Hee.

On Yuxuan’s side of things, she’s definitely thrown by how Ziwei reminds her of Quansheng, even though she’s cognizant that they are two separate people.

How very, very curious, though, that Ziwei and Quansheng (again!) use the same turn of phrase, to describe their love for vinegar in their food.

First, the attitude towards 3rd birthday wishes, and now this? What in the world..? Surely this can’t be coincidence? But if it isn’t just a coincidence, then what could it be? How are Quansheng and Ziwei connected, to have such similarities between them?

Show isn’t exactly specific on this, but it feels reasonably safe to assume that Yuxuan basically lies, in order to get Junjie out of trouble with the police, right?

I mean, she doesn’t actually remember what happened that night, and it’s not clear that the hearing aid was actually in her (or Yunru’s) possession, when the attack happened. Which means that she made up an excuse, to get Junjie off the hook, yes? After all, Junjie himself looks confused, and appears to just be playing along as well. The detective lady doesn’t exactly look super convinced either, even though there’s nothing she can do or say, since this is Yunru’s testimony as the victim.

I really do wonder how Junjie’s hearing aid came to be at the crime scene. Most curiously, why doesn’t Junjie himself seem to know how it got there..?

I kinda love how Uncle decides to play along with “Yunru’s” story, that she’s actually from 2019, and uses this premise to get Yuxuan to apply herself at school. Ha. Sneaky. I mean, from Yuxuan’s point of view, I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate him pretending to play along like this, but otherwise, that’s a pretty Cool Uncle sort of way to handle the situation, isn’t it?

He gets “Yunru” to open up about what she’s thinking, stops her from feeling like no one understands her, and gets her to at least try to maintain Yunru’s grades, all in one fell swoop. I’m quite amused at how neatly his strategy works, honestly.

The other thing that I love, is how Show makes it a point to show us that Yuxuan has no idea how to do all of the schoolwork that’s before her. HAHA. I identify with this, so much. I’m absolutely certain that if you were to put a math problem in front of me now – whether the topic was even something I actually studied in school is irrelevant at this point – I wouldn’t have a clue in terms of how to solve it.

Therefore, I had to giggle at how Yuxuan skips over every question on that mock exam, and ends up just guessing at every single answer. That’s.. probably what I would’ve done too, in her shoes. 😅

How fun, that Yuxuan excels at basketball, and that causes her to become popular with the other kids, all of a sudden. I don’t know what this is doing to mess with Yunru’s life (like Uncle was saying), but I can’t help getting a thrill at the very idea that the wallflower is no long a wallflower, and that people are starting to notice “Yunru’s” charm and pretty looks.

I can’t even blame Ziwei for (clearly) falling for her even more, because there really is something very attractive about the way she throws herself into the game and is so willing to put herself out there. On that note, I have to confess that I am loving Greg Hsu’s smitten looks, and that smitten look, even as Ziwei cheers “Yunru” on, is pretty great. 🤩

It’s too bad that this has also gotten the attention of the girl who was trying to confess her feelings for Ziwei. She does not look like a happy camper, with all the attention that “Yunru” is getting from Ziwei, and I worry that she’s going to do something to make life miserable for “Yunru.”

Meanwhile, Class Monitor is definitely giving me creepy vibes. Why does he have what looks like a stalker photo of Yunru, and why is he gloating over it with that ominous look of anticipation in his eyes..? 👀

AND, what is that scene that we see from his perspective?? Is that some sort of flashback? Or some kind of fever dream? And, if it was a flashback, why would Yunru say such a thing to him?? 😳

Given what Yuxuan remembers of the attack, where Yunru’s attacker was a guy wearing their school uniform, this surely puts Class Monitor at the top of my Suspicious List!

Episode 6

Oh, Mo Junjie. Even as I can’t help myself from spazzing over Ziwei’s growing feelings for Yuxuan, I can’t help but feel for Junjie, as he gets slowly overwhelmed by such a complicated web of emotion.

First of all, Junjie had noticed Yunru first, and he’d liked her first, and so, as the hyperawareness begins to grow on Ziwei’s part, it feels like a betrayal of sorts. After all, Ziwei himself has said before, that he would never like a girl that his friend likes. It’s like a brotherhood code of honor, and now, that seems to be breaking, slowly but surely.

Secondly, Yunru herself feels like such a different person, that it must be hugely confusing for Junjie. I’m sure that he’s wondering if she’s still the same person he’d liked in the first place. The Yunru whom he’d felt a connection with, had felt out of place in the world, and had hated being in the world. Like her, he tends to feel different from the rest of the world as well. But now, Yunru is nothing like that; she’s grown popular, and is no longer an outcast.

I’m guessing that Junjie must be uncertain of what to do, in the face of that. Should he keep on liking her, because love shouldn’t change, and it’s not Yunru’s fault that she hurt her head and underwent a personality change, or should he re-evaluate his feelings, because she’s so different compared to the person whom he fell for, in the first place?

It’s all very confusing, for sure. And, it’s exacerbated by the fact that the three of them are supposed to be friends. How should Junjie navigate this, such that he won’t hurt his friends, and yet stay true to himself? Such deep, complicated questions feel so burdensome, for someone so young, right?

One of my personal highlights, this episode, is seeing “Yunru’s” family relationships mend and improve, thanks to Yuxuan.

I never thought I’d say this, but her relationship with Siyuan is turning out to be pretty cute and endearing. The way she ropes in Ziwei and Junjie to save Siyuan from his bullies is pretty epic, and the 3 of them really do make an awesome little gang. 🤩😂

I love that thereafter, Yuxuan manages to get Siyuan to open up about why his classmates bully him, and that that leads to some important conversations about how they feel about Mom’s job.

Although we hear from Siyuan that Yunru had felt ashamed of Mom’s job, I do love how Yuxuan smooths it over and emphasizes the more important conclusion, which is that Mom put aside her pride, in order to protect her children. What a difference a change in perspective can make, right? (This is why I always advocate checking our viewing lens, heh!)

I love that this has the ripple effect of Siyuan and “Yunru” bonding as siblings, and that eventually strengthening the family relationships overall, with Mom.

The sight of Mom tearing up, at her two children actually getting along and eating breakfast together, really touched me. It must have hurt her so much, for so long, that her children didn’t get along. What a wonderful gift it must be for her, to finally be able to have a cozy, cheerful meal with her kids, where everyone gets along with everyone. ❤️

On another note, we get TWO MORE instances, where Ziwei is, again, just like Quansheng; this time, in his taste in desserts, and then later, in his preferred method of turning down love confessions. This is getting pretty freaky, isn’t it? I mean, this is the third and fourth times, that he’s said something uncannily similar to Quansheng.

How is this at all possible, if they are two distinct people? Could Ziwei and Quansheng have known each other, and that’s why Quansheng picked up all these quirks from Ziwei? After all, we have Ziwei meeting young Yuxuan, when he goes off on his own, this episode.

On that note, I wanted to say, the concept is tropey (like, I could guess this, right away, no lie), and the execution is really quite cheesy (and stilted, oh boy, little girl is cute, but is she stilted!), but the idea’s a nice one.

It’s an interesting thing to think about, that Yuxuan had met Ziwei, when she’d been a little girl, and he’d been the kind Big Brother who’d come to her rescue. It makes me wonder if Yuxuan actually has memories of this – or if this is a new thing that’s happened, and will therefore be added belatedly, to her memories..?

Would this encounter with Ziwei have shaped Yuxuan’s taste in boyfriends? Like, did she like Quansheng because, subconsciously, he’d reminded her of the very nice Big Brother who’d once rescued her and brought her home?

From Ziwei’s answer to Little Yuxuan’s question about the kind of girl he likes, it’s clear that whether he’s cognizant of it or not, his description of his ideal girl is literally a description of Yuxuan herself. I think it’s safe to say that he definitely, definitely likes her.

In other news, what is UP with Class Monitor?? Gah. The way he has an actual hallucination while trailing “Yunru” is extremely disturbing. It’s clear that this guy has psychological problems. How worrying, that he seems to be fixated with “Yunru,” and is likely the person who’s taking stalker photos of her. I’d be worried for Yuxuan (or Yunru, for that matter) to walk around alone, if this psychologically unstable guy is obsessed with her. 😬

I’m glad that she’s got Ziwei and Junjie looking out for her.

At the same time, though, man, oh man, are the feelings getting complicated, between the two boys.

As conflicted as Junjie feels, about Yunru being different, and about Ziwei developing feelings for her, Ziwei is conflicted too, because he doesn’t want to be disloyal friend.

The little snippets that we get, say it all: Junjie noticing from afar, Ziwei and “Yunru” clearly sharing A Moment, at the piano; Ziwei trying to give Junjie the opportunity to be alone with “Yunru,” by saying that he’ll stay at the pavilion to wait out the rain; Junjie, thinking back to Ziwei’s Moment with “Yunru,” and saying the exact same thing.

Augh. It’s so bittersweet, seeing these two besties trying to do right by each other, while struggling with their own hearts.

That moment in the rain, though, when Yuxuan’s umbrella gets blown away, is exactly the moment we know that Ziwei’s a goner. That entranced look in his eyes says it all; he’s completely and utterly in love with “Yunru,” and he can’t help himself, even if she’s the girl that Junjie likes.

It’s such a liberating, heartwarming moment, with all three of them running together in the rain like that.

..And then it feels like such a sobering moment, when Ziwei takes his first moment alone with Junjie, to tell Junjie that he’s pretty sure that he likes “Yunru.”

On my first watch, this had felt a little rash, in the sense that I hadn’t wanted anything to break the magic of the moment. But now, on my second watch, I appreciate that Ziwei had wanted to be honest with Junjie, from the very moment that he became cognizant of the fact that he likes “Yunru.”

Even if it feels like an inconvenient moment, he doesn’t want anything to stand in the way of him being honest with his best friend, and even though this is very likely going to make things really awkward between them, I can’t help but appreciate that desire to be real with Junjie, because Junjie deserves that much.