XIAO SE AND WU XIN BEST BROS!!!

I have a modern au idea that I'm 100% sure I'm not gonna write it so will left it here for everyone

So, it's been 15 years since destruction of Xianle business umpire and scandalous dismissal from FBI (or something of sort) it's heir Xie Lian. His friends turned from him, his former boss Jun Wu was merciful to drop all charges, but nobody could blame Xie Lian more than himself.

After years of picking up garbage Xie Lian is suddenly found by Ling Wen (president's secretary, why on earth is she doing this) who offers him a position of a war history professor in FBI Academy and Xie Lian is willing to try, hoping he'll not meet his former colleagues. Besides, he's always loved to tell people about ancient wars, to be paid for it seems tempting. First few days are alright – then Xie Lian finds himself in a middle of a mess with some maniac kidnapping young engaged girls.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin, of course, are partnered (not by their will, believe me) FBI agents whose case it is. They choose to ignore Xie Lian at first but he comes with new and new clues and evidence that really help (and sometimes they fight so much they miss obvious things. he doesn't). Some of them he definitely couldn't find without serious shadow word connections.

And soon enough they see Xie Lian in some incredibly expensive boutique with a man whose face they know all too good. Hua Cheng is convincing Dianxia that the clothes he's buying for him is not costly untill Xie Lian yields. Next time Xianle trio see each other, Xie Lian has a brand new phone with a two black dice trinket, new white hoody (Hua Cheng actually bought about a dozen for they're definitely gonna be torn, stained or something else), new jeans and Xie Lian seems to be absolutely okay with it.

Long story short, Four Great Calamities are four great crime lords: White No-Face is a drug lord, who, everyone believes, Xie Lian killed – with dozen other people; every smuggling operation is related to Black Water (no idea who he is, what he wants, what he looks like); Hua Cheng has greatest casino network in the country (there definitely are illegal ones too, but police can't find them) and he is closest to mafia cause he's protecting those who works for him and their families; Qi Rong is kidnapping people for money, he's not a big deal but quite a pain in the ass

Jun Wu is a president (former FBI director) with his exhausted secretary Ling Wen, Pei Ming is a present day FBI director. Shi Wudu is a treasury secretary, whose brother Shi Qingxuan finally stops escaping from bodyguard. Though new guy Ming Yi is gloomy, they seem to become friends

soo, that's it. what do you think?

Blorbo Bingo for your favorite MXTX character? :D

>:3 This is a tie between Xie Lian and Shang Qinghua (i know. you're so shocked by this information) so I did both xD Idk what to think about some of the categories but still xD

Xie Lian

Explanations and Shang Qinghua bingo under the cut because otherwise this is going to be very long and that will bother me lol

May be feral: my good dude spent an entire book going feral and burnt down a capital. like...he may have gotten over that but the potential's there xD

Can do no wrong: so a lot of the crimes were like...kind of orchestrated by someone else pulling the strings. but also Xie Lian should get to go ape shit if he wants. he's dealt with people and the heavens for 800 years.

Actually the Favorite: mine and also many characters in the book. this is not a good thing for him xD

Cryptid: the gods on his return "the fuck?! he's still around?!"

The adult in the room: specifically when around Feng Xin and Mu Qing xD

Accidental father figure: he saw Banyue and little Pei as humans and went oh these are my children now. and Lang Qianqiu. And then also took over taking care of Lang Ying

In desperate need of therapy: are they really an MXTX character if they aren't? (ok maybe some side characters don't, but not in TGCF!)

Angst machine: i'm once again just going to point to the entirety of book 4 and also anything with Jun Wu

Eats out of the garbage: this is basically just canon xD

Honorable mention: certified himbo. Xie Lian's not dumb of ass enough to actually be a himbo but he's close xD

And Shang Qinghua

May be feral: he did orchestrate the immortal alliance conference thing, and kicked lgj's ass. and successfully worked as a spy for at least a couple decades. like sure most of it was because of the system threatening to kill him again, but still!

Started out as a joke character: me at first: teehee hamster man is funny. after reading more: oh no...oh shit..i'm attached. aside from the fact i was already a little biased going in because i saw fanart of moshang before i read the book and went "yesss! the Height Difference, idiots to lovers rep we deserve" :3

Can do no wrong: he's a gremlin and i support him. also customer service and admin people should get to go ape shit every now and then. as a treat. yes i'm biased

bastard (affectionate): see above

pathetic meow meow, a soggy rat: i can't explain this one except that he's very sad and very pathetic

in desperate need of therapy: he needs some serious help with self worth, and the anxiety, and the everything from his first life/ family. and also to be blanket burritoed and given cookies and cocoa

angst machine: listen. he's funny and amusing on the surface but everything with his family and giving up on everything he wanted just to scrape by a living, and having no friends, and the (erroneous but he didn't know that at first) knowledge that the person he's closest too was going to kill him. again. like...please. i will cry

a muse sent by the gods: i have had so many fic ideas over the last year and written so much and that hasn't happened in a long time!

it's not their blood, i promise: see may be feral

relate to them maybe a little too much: oh look that one is a cynical, anxious MESS of a human being that has no idea how to be around other people because his parents fucked him up. mood. also living the height difference lifestyle ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Chihuahua energy: he is shaking in his little booties because someone looked at him and now he's spiralling wondering what weird thing he did. or a demon threatened to eat him. or both.

honorable mention: eats out of the garbage. like...the boxes of instant ramen aren't garbage, but they're certainly not healthy xD has he had a decent meal ever in either main sv events or as an adult in his first life? possibly but not often!

Hi......if you don't mind me asking, can I ask, who are your top 5 favorite characters from TGCF? And why? And what are your top 5 (or top 3) fav moments from the novel? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks.....

Hello!! Oh, I don't mind it at all, I think it's a really nice question, thanks for asking :') I'm sorry it turned out long, but you asked why and I deliver. Spoilers ahead!

First, my top 5 fav characters!

1) Hua Cheng

I've talked about this in a couple posts, but I adore how love is his main reason to become a stronger ghost. Even though he is a "very very bad very terrifying" calamity, his character and who he is revolves around love and, to me, that's a very powerful and interesting motive. It makes me so emotional and his devotion for Xie Lian is just so touching :') Plus, it's extremely easy to trust him and come to love him, and I was very grateful for him while I was reading! I thought it was going to be more difficult to empathize with him but not at all.

2) Xie Lian

Just... Baby (very pair with Hua Cheng). I was pleasantly surprised with him because when I started reading I thought he was going to be more... generic? In the sense that he was going to be the good guy who does no wrong at all and is pure and clean. But his background is so so interesting and dark and he still is the sweetest bean ever. He gets angry, scared, violent. Cries and laughs, loses himself... But finds his way back and does what makes him happy (even though if it's collecting scrap). And you still can see the trauma.

3) He Xuan

I already liked Ming Yi so much, but when his true identity and purposes are revealed... *chef kiss* He's so complex and (even though his actions made me sad) I understood his reasons, his anger and his grief. I could read about him a lot and I love exploring and discovering things about him. I must also say that I have a weak spot for dark, silent, serious characters and that's what he is.

4) Mu Qing and Feng Xin

Mu Qing's so interesting and complex!!! The final confession on the bridge was great and all the mixed signals showed how conflicted, confused and resentful he was for eight centuries. I'm weak for that sort of mechanics. (I'm gonna add Feng Xin here as well because they share a place in my heart and because I'm a cheater and want to add a sixth character). Then Feng Xin, who shares a lot of past with Mu Qing, but they can be easily told apart. I just have a soft spot for him, tbh. He left Xie Lian but felt very guilty (and still feels very guilty). He's loyal, has a bow and is handsome (there's more but I don't want to write the bible).

5) Shi Qingxuan

I love them, that's it. Poor soul had bad luck and got into trouble without even knowing they were getting into trouble. I think I've come to love them more after reading some fics and exploring his character, because in the novel I didn't love them as much. Shi Qingxuan is a very funny, loving and caring character who surprisingly goes through a lot. I would love to write about them!

And now my top 5 moments:

(I don't remember all the things that happened, so I'm gonna list those that first came to my mind when I thought about it).

1) Xie Lian and Hua Cheng moments and goodbye after defeating Jun Wu (and Hua Cheng removing Xie Lian's shackles)

2) Book 4 in general and especifically the conversation between Xie Lian and fire ghost Hua Cheng about Hua cheng's beloved and why he's not resting in peace

3) Xianle trio moments in Wuyong Palace (especially Xie Lian rescuing Mu Qing from the lava and Mu Qing's f-f-friend confession)

4) The reverend of empty words arc!

5) 33 gods and Mu Qing vs. Xie Lian in the mountain and........ the multiple stabbing......... sorry (I didn't enjoy it, but it made me feel many things and understand everything better, I just really like angst)

Shoutout to Hua Cheng "teaching" Xie Lian how to roll the dice, Xie Lian's confession in Mount Tong'lu and the very big sword made of Pei Ming, Mu Qing, Quan Yi Zhen and Feng Xin. Again, this top would probably change if I read the novel again now, but I need time :') Thank you so much for asking and sorry this came out this long........ I hope I didn't scare you asdfg :__

Restless Rewatch: Nirvana in Fire, Episode 02

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 54 Episodes!

A Cunning Plan

Let's start by checking in with the in-progress schemes. Nirvana in Fire features many, many overlapping schemes that stretch across multiple episodes.

Princess Nihuang's Marriage: Princess Nihuang is betrothed to a dead guy, and that's fine with her. If she needs tender emotional care she's got Xia Dong. Xia Dong is married to a dead guy so this works well for both of them.  

The Emperor wants to marry Nihuang off, because she's got a loyal heap of troops at the southern border, and he's a paranoid old fuck, who doesn't like anyone to have the power to overthrow him. Marrying her will sort of force her to hand her troops off to her impulsive younger brother, or something.

The Emperor has a soft spot for Nihuang, however, so he's allowed her to set a bunch of impossible conditions on the marriage, including a martial arts contest. NIF is a hybrid palace drama and Wuxia drama, so there are courtesans and backstabbing and sneaky maids and sneaky eunuchs but also, people can fly.

The two main power seekers, Prince Yu and the Crown Prince, have flunkies that they want Nihuang to marry, but their flunkies suck at martial arts, so if they want her to marry one of their dudes, there will have to be cheating.

Note that Nihuang's good friends Jingrui and Yujin are taking part in the contest to marry her, which might be weird, except they both know she can beat their asses so they seem to just be joining in for fun & prestige. 

The fact that she doesn't want to marry either of these loveable cuties means that she's pretty serious about staying betrothed to her first love, despite his apparent deadness.

(more after the cut!)

Recruiting Mei Changsu / Killing Mei Changsu: Team Prince Yu wants to recruit Mei Changsu. Team Crown Prince wants to recruit him or kill him, if recruiting him doesn't work. 

Mei Changsu acts like this is so tedious; all he wants to do is rest. But they only want to recruit him because he and his pal Lin Chen made them believe he is the answer to their problems.  Whenever Mei Changsu acts annoyed at something, it's probably something he actually orchestrated. "Pork chops again?" (secretly buys more pork chops).

The Duke Qing/ Landgrab Case: In Episode 1, the Jiangzuo Alliance protected some witnesses against Duke Qing in an enslavement/land grabbing case. It's difficult for me to find anything about historical land grabbing in China because Google is full of 21st century land grabbing information. Anyway Duke Qing works for Prince Yu, so the witnesses are (whether they mean to be or not) on The Crown Prince's side. The Emperor has an interest in this case, because land grabbing is bad, apparently, even by corrupt-emperor standards. Xia Dong is in charge of investigating.

The Chiyan Army Case: This is the big conspiracy that the entire show is about. 11 years ago, the Emperor received evidence that Prince Qi, Lin Xie (Mei Changsu's father), and the entire Chiyan army were going to rebel. This was supposedly reported by Xia Dong's husband, Nie Feng, before Lin Xie supposedly killed him. The emperor ordered executions for everybody.

Prince Jing thought this was a bunch of bullshit and didn't hesitate to say so, which got him sent off to distant regions to do army things for years at a time, and landed him a place high up on the emperor’s shit list.

The Hazelnut Pastry Scheme: This is a small scale, benevolent scheme, in which Concubine Jing will eventually stop making cookies with hazelnuts in them, because Mei Changsu is allergic to them. 

Ok, that’s the scheme roundup for this episode. On with the show!

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

After a quick expository chat between the Emperor and Gong Gao, laying out the reasons for the Nihuang Marriage Scheme, we go to Prince Yu’s place to watch superhot Meng Zhi, commander of the emperor's guards, whip some ass. Not, alas, literally.  Despite his leather shoulder thingies and his handsome beard, and his commanding ways on a battlefield, when it comes to interpersonal relations he is pretty much a labrador retriever puppy in human form.

Meng Zhi is kicking the asses of Prince Yu’s fighters to determine if they're qualified to compete in the Marriage contest. They are not. He points out to the Prince that they can't put such terrible wimps into the competition because it will make the country’s defenses look weak.  

This beatdown is observed by Prince Yu and by Xie Yu, who Prince Yu thinks is on his side. Xie is 100% on the Crown Prince's side, but is carefully hiding that fact; he has his son working for Prince Yu as part of his cover.

In determining how severe an ass kicking is, everyone talks about how many moves it takes to defeat someone, like it's chess. Meng Zhi can beat literally anyone else in the show. He's number two on the Langya List of fighters & we never meet #1.

Fe Liu Was Fast as Lightning

Mei Changsu is hanging out in the garden at Xie manor while Fe Liu jumps around. Fe Liu wants Mei Changsu to play Roblox with him, and pouts when MCS opts for staying in the garden and reading a book.

Fe Liu is utterly devoted to Mei Changsu; I really love their relationship. Fe Liu’s backstory isn't fully explained in the show, but apparently he was raised from an early age to focus on being extremely lethal, and didn't spend much time learning to talk or other skills, making him the epitome of the asynchronous/ gifted teen. Mei Changsu isn’t who raised him to be like this; MCS and Lin Chen rescued him, which is why he is now Mei Changsu’s personal murder pet.

Fe Liu is both a complete fantasy character and also a really believable teen, beautifully acted by Leo Wu, who DMBJ fans know from Tomb of the Sea, and who Xiao Zhan fans know from Battle Through the Heavens.

Fe Lui promptly gets into a fight with Meng Zhi, who's visiting Xie manor. All Fe Liu was doing was leaping about the rooftops like an assassin, but since Xie Yu is the sort of guy that a lot of people would like to kill, Meng Zhi doesn't think this is so good. They have a hilarious, entertaining fight with many, many wire-assisted moves.

They're pretty evenly matched, and Xie Yu watches them with extreme interest until Mei Changsu shows up and tells Fe Liu to stop. Xie Yu is watching because he needs to know how many dudes he should send to assassinate Mei Changsu. Answer: more. Always more.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately since it’s probably all part of MCS’s plan) Fe Liu's extreme skilz make it obvious that his boss is someone important. Mei Changsu discusses this with Jingrui and Yujin in an open-air setting where Jingrui's brother Xie Bi can totally hear them.  In no time flat, father and son have reported his identity to their respective princes.

Over at Prince Yu's place, Qin Banruo and her awesome eye makeup join the party. She's Prince Yu’s advisor/manipulator, working for the (fallen) Hua kingdom, led by the (deceased) Princess Xuanji . She has a network of spies who work for her, that she deploys for Prince Yu's schemes. Her ultimate goal is not to help him, however, but just to fuck up the Da Liang Empire, which conquered the Hua.

(Nearly) Everybody Hates Jingyan

Xia Dong heads out on her assignment in the Land Grab Case, and Nihuang goes to see her off. They talk about gender expectations and how annoying it is to have to marry a dude, and briefly hang out being WLW goals with their mutual devotion, excellent fashion sense and deadly fighting abilities. Nihuang, in particular, wears the prettiest things and also stands at attention like she's commanding an army; I adore her.

They're interrupted by the arrival of Prince Jing, who is greeted cheerfully by Nihuang and eye-rollingly by Xia Dong.  

He's wearing an awesome brass-and-blue armor that we never see again after this episode. It's too bad - it's a good color for him and it has a cool vampire cloak with a high collar.

Prince Jing takes the opportunity to snark at Xia Dong about her investigation and the Xuanjing Bureau’s penchant for inventing finding conspiracies, and then rides off before she can reply.

This leads Nihuang and Xia Dong to get into their chronic argument about the Chiyan Conspiracy and the Lin family, and then Xia Dong hits the road.

Prince Jing and his subordinates stand around outside the palace waiting to report to the emperor while the emperor ignores him. They get sweatier and sweatier while they wait. which makes me like the Emperor a little bit more.

Prince Yu and CP Xian are busy sucking up to the emperor as they look at a manuscript. They are a bunch of assholes and you can see that Gao Zhan isn't a fan of this bullshit.

Eventually Gao Zhan reminds/persuades the emperor to summon Prince Jing, whose brothers snark at him like a couple of 12 year old girls while he radiates manly vigor and handsomeness.  

Consort Jin is bummed that she can't see Prince Jing for another 5 days, and her maid sidekick says random comforting things. This maid, Xiao Xin, is actually a little snake, who works for Qin Banruo's network. We don't learn that until sometime later.

All of the maids have this same hairstyle. If you are a westerner and you think this hairstyle is crazy, have a look at some Roman and Byzantine historic hairstyles. I'm not saying this hairstyle is NOT crazy, mind you; just that crazy hair was a feature of many, many historical empires.  

Consort Jing has someone deliver her hazelnut cookies to Prince Jing; she doesn’t know about Mei Changsu yet so hazelnut is still on the menu. Nicest mom. Also smartest, helpful-est mom, as the story develops.

Suck-Up Contest

At Xie manor, Xie Bi tries to get Mei Changsu to go meet the Empress, who has stopped by with Nihuang specifically to meet him, as part of the Recruit Mei Changsu scheme. Jingrui says nope, fuck that, he's not going to be a pawn in your political games, fuck off. We get to see Jingrui being steely and righteous, which is both cool and hot. Nihuang should totally marry him.

The Empress is annoyed that Mei Changsu doesn't show up, and Nihuang is like, it's ok, I don’t actually give a fuck about meeting new men. But I did want to meet his murder puppy Fe Liu.

Grand Princess Liyang says they don’t need to bother meeting pugilists, despite her son being one and her supposed best friends/co-parents also being pugilists.

Grand Princess Liyang will probably be glad Mei Changsu didn’t come to her little party, once she realizes what tends to happen when Mei Changsu comes to a party.

Then we go to the suitor tournament, in which everyone more or less sucks.

The princes really want to go over to Mei Changsu’s balcony to meet him, and they have a hilarious silent interaction where they both try not to be the first one to move. They finally cave, and go together.  

Then they compete to see who can be the most cringe and blow the most smoke up Mei Changsu's ass.

They ply him with gifts and flattery, which he mostly manages to resist.

Cookie Time with Granny

Then they get summoned to go meet the grand empress, who is (I think) the mother of the previous emperor, the grandmother of the current emperor, and the great grandmother of basically every highborn character of the current generation, including Nihuang and Yujin, although it’s not clear where they sit in the family tree. Historically, cousin marriage - particularly of maternal cousins - was no big whoop in China, so it's not surprising that a lot of nobles would share a great-grandmother.

The Grand Empress is a sweet lady with dementia. She can’t figure out who the hell anyone is. First-time viewers feel the same way.  

Her dementia is pretty well depicted, unlike a lot of TV dementia, or at least it matches up to my experiences with my own elders. She remembers the distant past more vividly than recent times; when she understands who’s in front of her she connects with them emotionally, but she falls off track easily. And she projects the identities of people she misses onto people who are around her.

Like many other grannies, no matter who is visiting, she wants them to 1. get married 2. produce offspring 3. eat something, you’re so skinny

When Mei Changsu meets Granny she immediately calls him Lin Shu, either because she recognizes him or because she really misses Lin Shu, or both. She calls Nihuang over and joins their hands, and Mei Changsu grabs onto Nihuang's hand and holds it for a while.

Everyone thinks it's adorable that Granny has dementia and is confused about that guy who was horribly killed, except Nihuang, who was already checking Mei Changsu out and is somewhat verklempt. She might have to revise her anti-man feelings a little bit.

Everyone leaves, and Nihuang hits up Mei Changsu to take a walk with her, casually mentioning that she could have his hand cut off for touching her, but since she's not in the mood, he's ok.

She prods a bit to find out what he's doing in town and what he's up to. “Do you have a girlfriend? Like a serious girlfriend or just a stalker who works for you?” She asks him which of the two princes he's going to support, but they’re interrupted by a eunuch beating a slave child. That’s the price you pay for trying to have a date in the palace, I guess.

evidence of a lost past part 3

(chronologically before part 1 or part 2)

“Xie-gege?” Lang Ying calls from behind the cold storage. “You’ve got some friends here for you.” Frowning, Xie Lian straightens up from where he’d been crouched to organize the oatmeal shelf and dusts his hands off on his jeans. He doesn’t really have friends, to say nothing of people who would surprise him at work. He steps around the shelving unit at the same time that Lang Ying brings the visitors through the crowded entry hall. Spotting them, Xie Lian freezes. Skepticism is painted in broad strokes across Lang Ying’s face as he looks up at the men beside him before turning toward Xie Lian. “So,” he starts, eyeing the two sidelong again. “Nan Feng,” Feng Xin blurts out, as if answering a question, “and Fu Yao.”

Lang Ying’s eyes narrow a moment, but he just gives a slow nod. “I’ll be in the pantry if you need anything, Xie-gege,” he says. Xie Lian smiles reflexively, a silly sense of gratitude easing through him at Lang Ying’s quiet protectiveness. Aside from the cold storage, the pantry is the closest room to this back storage. “Thanks, a-Ying,” he says, waving him on. When he’s left, Xie Lian takes a bracing breath and turns to his old friends. He doesn’t know if there’s a polite way to tell them that no one in this community center would recognize the names of ballet stars, no matter how prominent. If anything, their fake names and…disguises make them far more suspicious: Mu Qing is wearing a suit, clearly tailored and accented with silver metallic embellishments, while Feng Xin wears a windsuit set that would better belong to a 90s boy band. “Ah,” Xie Lian says, struggling to think of anything to say, and rubs his forehead with the knuckle of his thumb. “Hi.” “You work in this place?” Mu Qing demands. His arms are crossed, bunching up his jacket, and the tail of his long ponytail catches on his shoulder. The last few inches are a surprising platinum blond, and Xie Lian vaguely recalls hearing something about a commercial deal last year or so. “Why do you have to say it like that?” Feng Xin demands. “So what if he works here? What do you have against a—a…” “Community center,” Xie Lian offers when it’s clear he doesn’t know what to call it. “And I do. Puqi’s been my home for the past year or so.” Feng Xin’s face does something complicated at that which Xie Lian can no longer wholly read. He thinks part of it at least is embarrassment, which is alright. It must be strange for them, to see him here in jeans stained with gravel dust around the knees and a t-shirt with a tubby cartoon tiger declaring ‘STRIPES ARE BEAUTIFUL.’ “Here, would you rather sit? There are some chairs in the lounge we could pull in,” he says. The lounge isn’t really a lounge so much as the storage room for donated furniture. Still, sometimes he and Lang Ying will take a breather back there and split a sweet bun from the bakery down the block, and it feels like a secret spot just for the staff. “No,” Mu Qing says immediately. His lip has pulled back a little, as if disgusted by the prospect. “We aren’t staying.” Oh. Xie Lian can’t quite help the disappointment that sinks through his chest at that. It’s not like he expected them to stay or try to be friends again, not after how he left things, but—well, with them coming here, he’d almost thought— “Oh, that’s alright,” he says with a bright smile. “Is there something I can help you with?” The two of them share a look that Xie Lian really can’t read at all. Back when he left, Feng Xin had only been speaking to Mu Qing to tell him to fuck off, and they certainly hadn’t been sharing any meaningful looks unless they were glares. It’s…it’s good, that they’ve found a friend in each other. He wishes they’d gotten along better when they were young, but it’s nice that they can be friends now. “Jun Wu said you were here,” Feng Xin says, grudging, dropping his gaze. “And we just—well, it’s been a long time. Figured we should check on you.” That phrase again. Eight years feels like a millennium, long enough that his past life feels more dreamlike than real most days. Long enough he certainly wouldn’t expect them to check in on him. He smiles. “Ah, that’s very kind of you,” he says, “but there’s no need to worry. I’m quite well, and you two must be so busy. Rehearsals for Nutcracker must have started by now, haven’t they?” He remembers when they were all young and dragging through endless rehearsals, when Feng Xin would grumble about having Tchaikovsky’s score stuck on his head all hours of the day and Mu Qing would scowl at him from across the costumes he helped sew as an after school job. “Yeah,” Feng Xin says. “They have. We get Sundays off for now.” Xie Lian nods, maintaining his polite smile. He’s really not sure what they want from him or why they’ve stopped by. This stilted half-conversation can’t actually be it. “You really live like this?” Mu Qing demands. “Puttering around this concrete floor, looking like…that.” Blinking once, Xie Lian folds his hands together and firms his spine. He’s gotten used to the trajectory of his life by now, and it doesn’t bother him even if no one else understands it. He knows why he’s here, knows he made the right choice for himself. Before he can answer, the bell over the front door chimes, and bootheels clip across the concrete floor. There’s a polite rap at the doorframe leading into the storage area where only employees are allowed. “Gege?” Xie Lian flushes at the way Mu Qing and Feng Xin stiffen and whip around toward the door and silently exhales a breath of relief at Hua Cheng’s timing. Probably his arrival won’t make it less awkward, but he’d rather have Hua Cheng here than handle this alone, even if that makes him a coward. “Ah San Lang, come in,” he calls. “There are just a couple visitors.” “San Lang?” Feng Xin echoes, twisting to gawk at the door. It’s obvious the moment he spots Hua Cheng, because his entire back goes tight and still, and Mu Qing bristles like a cat, fingers digging into his jacket sleeves. Hua Cheng passes around the far wall of shelves and doesn’t pause even as he gives the two of them a quick, unimpressed once-over. “Hey gege,” he greets, brushing past them to smile at Xie Lian. Xie Lian can’t help returning the look, delight bubbling up in him at the easy happiness Hua Cheng wears in his expression. “Hi San Lang,” he replies. “These two are—um. Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Old…school friends of mine.” Hua Cheng doesn’t bother looking at them before turning to Xie Lian with an eyebrow arched as if to ask ‘are you serious?’ Xie Lian is helpless to respond except for a casual shrug. If Feng Xin and Mu Qing insist on using false names, he’ll respect their wishes no matter how nonsensical it seems. “You—!” Feng Xin hisses, hands balled up into fists at his sides. “Me,” Hua Cheng agrees flatly. “Gege, are these new volunteers? I bet that one could sweep out the storage rooms while I take you to get lunch.” At the obvious look Hua Cheng sends him, Mu Qing’s lips pull back in blatant disgust and indignation. Biting his lip, Xie Lian holds in laughter. It isn’t nice to tease like that, but—well, it is kind of nice to have someone willing to do it for him. “Ah there’s no need,” he says quickly. “They were just stopping by to say hi.” He thinks. He’s still not really sure what’s going on here. “Oh?” Hua Cheng says. “So you’re leaving, then.” He says it straight to Feng Xin and Mu Qing, and despite their spluttering, Xie Lian has to hold in a startled laugh. He tugs gently at Hua Cheng’s elbow. “San Lang,” he scolds without any heat. The grin Hua Cheng tosses him is carefree and boyish, and it makes something funny and bright burst in Xie Lian’s chest. Maybe it’s alright to tease a little, if it earns him such cute looks. “Fine,” Mu Qing says. “Whatever. I have work to do.” He pivots on his heel and starts stalking toward the door without waiting to see if Feng Xin is following. Left behind, Feng Xin hesitates a moment, lips parted as if to speak. Finally, he swallows and purses his lips. “Just—be careful, okay?” he says like an order instead of a request. “If you need anything—I mean. I still have the same phone number.” A softer smile slips across Xie Lian’s lips at that, and he gives a little nod. “Me, too,” he admits. “Be safe getting home.” Feng Xin grunts and waffles a moment longer before hurrying after Mu Qing, his windsuit pants rustling away. Xie Lian can hear him all the way to the door. When the bell chimes, he sighs and turns back to see Hua Cheng leaning against the corner of the wall with his eye narrowed in amusement. “You get such interesting visitors, gege,” he says cheerfully. “San Lang ah,” Xie Lian complains, helpless. It’s impossible to feel at all cross when the whole situation was so absurd and Hua Cheng seems so childishly pleased. His grin broadens and turns brighter, more honest, as Xie Lian finally lets himself laugh at it all. “Ah, enough,” Xie Lian says, covering his eyes briefly. Shaking his head, he drops his hand. “Have you eaten? I brought some leftovers we could share, if you want.” “Gege’s cooking?” Hua Cheng asks, offering out his arm like a gentleman. “It must be my lucky day.” Xie Lian laughs at that, bright and easy, and lets himself be led.

Unrecorded Memories & Missing Taiwan #5

Today’s post will be a continuation of my exciting weekend in Taiwan. We went to a lot of places for the weekend that I don’t think I can retell it in one post. So I divided it into the previous post and current post, our Saturdays Adventure can be found on my 4th post while in this post I would be telling you more about what we did the day after. 

On Saturdays, we went to a lot of Taichung’s tourist spots thanks to Iris (my roommate) who planned out the itinerary. The next day, me and my roommates went out to spend more time in the city. We met with Iris’ Taiwanese friend too, though I forgot her name. You can say that our Sundays outing is much more laid-back compared to yesterdays since we mostly sit down to eat and talk. 

Eating Donuts with Friends~~

20) For our relaxing Sunday, the four of us went out to the train station to meet with Iris’ friend. Then we proceed to go into a mall (which I completely forgot its name and have no picture of it, unfortunately). Since, Iris is an avid fan of books, we went to a bookstore and DAMN, what a big bookstore it is. It was filled with books (of course!) but there were also vinyl records, CDs or DVDs. There were even a book event going on when I went there. We dispersed when we arrived there and looked at the books we’re each interested in. Most books at that bookstore can be read, there were even a lot of people sitting or standing while reading the book. I remember seeing a chair somewhere too. This is so unlike my country, where most books are covered so we can’t read it until we buy it. Unfortunately, since most books are in traditional Chinese, I can’t read any of it because my Chinese skills weren’t that good and the one that I learnt is simplified Chinese which is mostly used in Mainland China. Hong Kong and Taiwan used traditional Chinese. So, I can only walk around and enjoyed the bookstore’s atmosphere until my friends were satisfied looking around. 

21) I can’t remembered clearly the order of our itinerary on that day, but that day we ate donut and also cheese cake. We ate the donut on a Dunkin Donut store at the mall, but the cheese cake came from a store specializes in Cheese cake. It was a beautiful and relaxing cafe but unfortunately when I searched it on the internet, it was permanently closed and only accept online orders. The store is called Koucheese or 光之乳酪 (which can be translated as ‘Light Cheese’ or ‘Light of Cheese’). 

“Koucheese” Cheese Cake

22) After eating that light snacks as our lunch (I don’t remember us grabbing lunch at that time), we spent our time walking around, going in and out of stores or supermarkets before arriving to a park. We don’t really eat heavy meal for our lunch because my roommates have told me beforehand that we were going for a hotpot dinner. Iris had made a prior booking and Karen were especially excited for it. Vincy, on the other hand, makes sure that I was okay with that and to be honest I was equally excited and didn’t mind any of their arrangements. 

After walking and enjoying the park, Iris’ friend had to part with us because she had another appointment. The four of us then walk to the hotpot restaurant as it is not that far away from the park. I have to admit that this hotpot dining experience is the most expensive meal I had when I am in Taiwan but it’s also the most unforgettable one for me. The name of the restaurant we went is called Wu Lao Guo or 无老锅 (translated as ‘never old pot’). What makes it unique for me is the twin hotpot in which we can have two kinds of broth. For someone who never tasted those kinds of hotpot, I was filled with curiosity and excitement.

“Wu Lao Guo” Twin Hotpot

The night went by as we talked and enjoyed our food. I love both broths, the service and the foods are amazing too. I would love to go back to the restaurant again if I have the chance. Especially since two years have passed since then.

After eating, we stopped by at a souvenir store nearby the restaurant, where I bought souvenirs for my friends and relatives. I was really satisfied that weekend because I visited a lot of places and I guess that’s one of the advantage of being in an exchange right?

23) The next day, I’m starting a new class which is called “Creativity and Entrepreneurship”. Once again, I got very nervous with the idea of meeting new people and being in a new environment but I’m glad that some of my classmates from AI joined that program too so I’m not completely alone. In fact, before this program, I was not really close to them during my AI class (because I’m usually with my group mates) and being in the same program twice made me a tad closer to them since we’re always in one group and we mostly sat together throughout the program too. 

Xin Feng also have another new class which is related to her design major (I think it was a product design program) and her classroom coincidentally was next to our classroom. So, from time to time, the former AI classmates (me, Thai students and Xin) would have lunch together during our class breaks. Since we’re comfortable with each other and known the area for two weeks, it was easy for us to decide what to eat together. 

Creativity and Entrepreneurship program consists mainly of Indonesian and Thai students. I even met three students who came from the same university as I am. Before, we only knew each other through names and group chat that was set up by our campus international affairs staff. Later, I realized that the three of them we’re actually from the same major or faculty so I’m sure they have group chats without me. *cue Ba Dum Tss sound* Ah, but that’s nothing to be sad of. 

Creativity and Entrepreneurship Program Classmates

Anyway, since most of the Indonesian students came from the same university, I can feel that they’re already close to each other, at least it’s easier for them to bond that way. On the other hand, I felt foreign to them. Maybe it was just me but I have the impression that I am not “Indonesian” enough when I am in that classroom. So, I spent most of my time during the program with the Thai students from the AI class. Yeah, maybe one of the reasons why I can’t immediately get along with the other Indonesian students is because I didn’t live in one dorm with them nor do I hang out with them most of the time. I’m quite the loner too at times. 

There were also two other Thai students aside from my AI classmates and it was the first time I met a trans woman in person. The atmosphere of being in the AI class and Creativity and Entrepreneurship class differs a lot, mostly because of the classmates and also how the professors taught. I had to admit that our professor in Creativity and Entrepreneurship speaks better English than the previous professors. However, I personally felt that I would get along better with the AI professors than the Creativity and Entrepreneurship professor.

I can’t help comparing these two programs especially because I get to experience both of them. While AI class can be very serious, quite and fast paced because everyday we have modules that the professors adhere to; Creativity and Entrepreneurship class is very light, slow paced and I don’t think the professor have a strict modules he adheres to. During the class, I remembered how he kept on emphasizing on how he wanted all his students to enjoy Taiwan and his class so we always have all sorts of light discussions, team building activities and excursions. 

I’ll leave the details on this program on the next post. Stay tune!

-Reina

2016 Drama Year End Summary

I’ve been a very bad drama watcher this past 2016, as I’ve completed a measly 5 dramas, and one of that is a 3-episode drama only lol. Does it count that tvn hits Reply and Goblin are really much longer than the 1-hr episode length? For setting up new records, this is probably the year I’ve checked out more shows that I can handle but has either dropped them halfway or put them on hold. Really bad drama addict habit as this has been a pretty good year for dramas. First reason being it gave me Moonlight Drawn by Clouds. Without further ado, here’s my 2016 drama viewing in hindsight.

2016 Drama Epiphanies 1. Park Bo Gum is EPIC. 2. After a long drama drought, Gong Yoo is still squee-worthy and amazing at this acting thing. Commence the Gong Yoo drama drought again (most probably) 😢. 3. Kim Yoo Jung is great. She’s known for her dramatic side but she is also very good in comedy which is A++ for me. 4. Kim Go Eun is another actress I look forward to following. Happy about this as the fangirl in me occasionally make me overlook the actresses. 5. Lee Dong Wook is great at deadpan comedy, why I haven’t watched him more all these years? 6. Seo In Guk continues to be awesome. He is so versatile. I love both his portrayal of conman in Police Squad 38 and shopaholic doofus in Shopping King Louis even though I did not finish both those dramas. 7. I used to find her songs over-the-top, but I’m a believer now. Gummy’s voice will forever be etched in my brain and my heart. Jo Jung Suk + Gummy make a very talented couple. 8. I may cheat with the occasional cdrama, but kdrama still owns my heart. Kdramas have perfected the art of romantic drama cinematography. A lot of dramas have been outstanding in this aspect this past year. 9. Sageuks can be fun. And so much more prettier than modern times when done well. 10. With all the issues this past year about age gap, when tempers have cooled down, I’m glad there’s discussion happening as it broadens everybody’s perspective as long as it remains respectful. For me, I’ll always look at it case-to-case basis on how the drama handles the relationship. Different strokes for different folks—at the end of the day we all just want to have fun and be entertained, right?

Dramas I still plan to complete (On Hold): 1. Legend of the Blue Sea Park Ji Eun-Jeon Ji Hyun’s pairing of comedy is still sparkling. But I can’t feel any chemistry at all between JJH and Lee Min Ho. Maybe I prefer LMH in badass action roles, but it’s fun seeing him lovesick. 2. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo Makes me reminisce about Sassy Go Go in a good way. I’m still slow on the Nam Joo Hyuk train (is he really starring in Bride of the Water God) but heard very good things about the OTP so I need to catch up soon. 3. The Good Wife Second consecutive year I’ve put a good Yoon Kye Sang drama on hold. Cast is superb and it’s done very well, I just don’t want to handle a crappy bigamous husband right now. 4. Mirror of the Witch I find Kim Sae Ron still unbelievable as part of a romantic OTP, but I might still watch this later because fantasy and Yoon Shi Yoon. 5. W I applaud the ambitious premise and hope for more of the same in the future. But this is the drama where I fell out of love with Lee Jong Suk a little. Just cannot warm up to his character Kang Chul. 6. Another Oh Hae Young The chemistry between Seo Hyun Jin and Eric is electric but the premise about him messing up her planned marriage due to some misunderstanding bothers me a bit.

2016 Drama Disappointments (Dropped): 1. Cheese in the Trap Most sad about this drama’s lost potential as I loved this drama from the start. Too much real problems behind the scenes affecting my enjoyment of the drama. Great OST though and discovered Kim Go Eun, so all is not lost. 2. Descendants of the Sun Looks beautiful, but didn’t feel the Song-Song OTP on-screen sorry. Are they couple for real though? Their chummy friendship until now looks tight. 3. Moon Lovers Too tragic for me. 4. Uncontrollably Fond Looks depressing there at the end. But Noh Eul was an interesting heroine we don’t often get. 5. The Mystic Nine cdrama Good premise but not much story. 6. Chinese Paladin 5 cdrama My longing to see more of Elvis Han cannot get me past the blah OTP.

2017 dramas I’m excited for: 1. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik. Enough said. 2. Tomorrow with You Time travel and romance—yes pls! 3. While You Were Sleeping Can’t miss one of my fave kdrama writers. 4. Bride of the Water God Having serious fantasy romance withdrawals after Goblin. Is this showing this year? 5. Wu Xin 2 cdrama Pls pls subs subs, need to start my prayers early.

As the real world gets crazier by the day, here’s hoping for another great year of drama watching for all of us to keep us sane and give us much-needed comfort. That’s it folks for my look back at 2016!