[Taiwanese Drama 2020] Lost Romance 浪漫輸給你

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

Hi

 

Can someone explain to me why Vivian and Marcus call each other playfully in BTS wife and husband?

[JenL]

Gonna try to reply with no spoilers, just the general on-going theories, but I'll use the cut if there are:

 

@Yseia I agree with your ideas about He Tian Jian. I don't think he's technically bad, he likes Tian Xing and thinks his sister is out of line and he's being egged into action by Uncle Hu. As for the story version, not too sure - they might need a villan inside the story world (since there's now currently no mean second lead), but he might just also be the fun, bad sheep brother too. Haha, they heard your requests for more AR X QF bromance scenes! I think it's due to the new 'Qing Feng's heightened awareness' that he's more sarcastic and playful. Those smirks and sardonic gazes at both Aoran and Xiao En are killer! I laughed so hard at the acroyoga in the trailer...what possesses them to do that?! Strange choice of activity, but hey, if it brings on the steamier scenes between my faves, why not?

 

@Usi @Anjali Punia That's a cool idea that Qing Feng is part of Aoran's imagination as the romantic/ liking Xiao En side. I think it's less likely Qing Feng exists in the real world or is 'the author' based on some interview stuff, but not ruled out. Someone on Twitter gave me this theory: Qing Feng's flames signify that he is becoming more aware and developing his own personality. But since that is the case and he's deviating from the author's will, he might cease to exist/ or be 'erased' from the story as irrelevant. If Aoran likes Xiao En too and starts catching fire, I can see it would force Xiao En to find a way to leave the world to avoid hurting everyone.

 

@cheekychipmunk_stv Haha, they're just playing around and being cheeky. A lot of Taiwanese actors like to joke around and will call each other by their character's names off-set & make up silly scenarios for their characters or pretend to be married just for laughs because they don't have (as) crazy fans who will judge them on this kind of stuff. And the fans appreciate the fan service and shipping them together. Vivian and Marcus have also known each other for ages (both from the same agency), so they're really comfortable with each other like an old couple. And in the past, they have worked on projects where Vivian's character liked Marcus' character but was rejected or never got with him - so she's been joking in the interviews that she has been taking every opportunity to appreciate and make the most of finally gaining Marcus' "love" haha.

 

 

[Feby Valentiya]

I already watch ep 8, and still curious how they will be back to real world. There is no clue even a little bit in plot story.

I saw so many comment from viewers that they fall for 2nd lead, and willing Xiaoen end up with Qingfeng. I worried if they change original plot. Is it common for Taiwan drama to changed story ?

 

@JenLyeah i also curious why they try acroyoga, suddenly??? lol

 

I think Xiaoen still not have a feeling 'fall in love' with Aoran, she is only idolizing him because Tianxing's face. (idk why but to me Xiaoen feeling still ambiguous toward Aoran).

It can be easy for her to have feeling to Qingfeng. As we know on preview for ep 8, she said "you are the only person who is always by my side when i needed help or comfort".

Im rooting for overbearing CEO-Aoran who still stubborn with his feeling but Qingfeng really take care Xiaoen REALLY WELL. And i start to afraid they will change plot .

[JenL]

@Feby Valentiya Haha, doubt they will because Vivian Sung and Marcus Chang were cast as the main lead actors and the series is pretty far pre-filmed. They don't change couples in these stories - the only changes they might make is to extend the number of episodes for the series if it's really popular. Haha, I started watching for Marcus and Vivian, and don't mind Aoran and Xiao En getting together (as will happen), but I really like Qing Feng's character. I don't feel like Aoran has a unique personality yet (being hot, rich and having a childhood trauma is not a personality. It's a stereotypical romance male trope which is what he is in the story world). So interested in seeing some character development, otherwise not sure why Xiao En would like him apart from those shallow reasons.

[Usi]

When the imaginations of the some people within the fandom are true they reason bc AR is so shallow is since he is still only a character in the book. When QF is TX's romantic and devoted side there is a reason why AR still is flat. Probably THAT is the reason why QF starts to burn. AR starts to become TX and QF becoming a part of him again. There is no need for him anymore. I'm curious who could be is dark side, his anger. And will he wake up again when he finds all parts of his mind?

 

And XE falling just for TX's face is not uncommon. That is how love on first sight works. She idolized him bc he was part of her dreams to evade her own sorry life. Only when he is a douchebag and she still is in love with him without any question after knowing him better I would raise an eyebrow.

[Feby Valentiya]

Regarding theory about Qingfeng also TX (TX personality split in novel world) really difficult for me to accept.

I saw on setdrama upload video, they translate the title when Qingfeng have flame again on ep 8 as "Qingfeng's completely out of author's setting". I think Qingfeng is himself not have TX soul. Based on wikipedia describing Qingfeng character :

'he has always had an unknown secret, and he has not said it'

Maybe the secret is he know that he life on novel character.

 

Spoiler

On Ep 8, scene between Qingfeng and Aoran. When Aoran feels relief when chuchu not show up for date, and still confused with that feeling. Qingfeng asked to Aoran about the reason Aoran like chuchu and got same answer as him when Xiaoen asked at restaurant before. Qingfeng said he already understand what Xiaoen explain about (author setting). I think from there Qingfeng already knew someone regulate their thinking or decision.

 

 

 

[Yseia]

19 hours ago, Feby Valentiya said:

Regarding theory about Qingfeng also TX (TX personality split in novel world) really difficult for me to accept.

I saw on setdrama upload video, they translate the title when Qingfeng have flame again on ep 8 as "Qingfeng's completely out of author's setting". I think Qingfeng is himself not have TX soul. Based on wikipedia describing Qingfeng character :

'he has always had an unknown secret, and he has not said it'

Maybe the secret is he know that he life on novel character.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

On Ep 8, scene between Qingfeng and Aoran. When Aoran feels relief when chuchu not show up for date, and still confused with that feeling. Qingfeng asked to Aoran about the reason Aoran like chuchu and got same answer as him when Xiaoen asked at restaurant before. Qingfeng said he already understand what Xiaoen explain about (author setting). I think from there Qingfeng already knew someone regulate their thinking or decision.

 

 

 

 

That could be one way to look at it... But he could also be the "brooding second lead" trope that most romance drama has. The one who seems ok but still hides a painful secret so because of this, he's more understanding of the people around him type. This is the 2nd lead that manages to help everyone but himself kinda guy . So far tho, QF hasn't been "brooding" enough but he's been the quiet, helpful knight in shining armor type

 

Spoiler

@Feby Valentiya For me, this scene was explained by QF recalling his conversations with XE, so rather than "knowing" anything, I think he's starting to believe what XE has been saying/ rambling about all along. Now he's starting to understand her POV and at the same time he's developing his own thoughts and consciousness so he's "out of the author's settings."

 

In this instance, I think that instead of being consciously aware of an omniscient presence (the novel writer) controlling/ directing his thoughts and actions, he's just becoming more aware and sentient of his own emotions at this point... Unlike XE who's fully aware of the circumstances and that she's in a novel world

 

[JenL]

@Usi Yep, I agree, it's normal for Xiao En to fall for Aoran's looks. And I think when she goes into the novel world, she probably puts the feelings she has for Tian Xing (the CEO in the real world who seems to have a somewhat nice personality) onto Aoran in the novel. And then she enjoys the competitiveness with him and has a few touching moments, but so far (and her character has realised this too), Aoran hasn't openly been nice to her yet, or been different to the 'domineering CEO.' So hoping to see this character development soon - I know he's going to get jealous next episode and pull her away which is is the start...but I'd nice to see him actually be more concerned for her or protect her from bad stuff, the way she is and does for him. No matter how good looking a person is, it's hard to love them if they don't give back and so far, Aoran has been too much into Chu Chu to do that. But I know it'll happen eventually - It's shown that Aoran does have a nice and tender side through Chu Chu, so it'll transfer onto Xiao En once he can understand he likes her. Just hope we see it sooner rather than later. As for Qing Feng being part of Tian Xing, I'm not sure he is? We'll have to watch more to find out.

 

@Feby Valentiya Yeah, I'm not sure he knows he's a storybook character yet. I think the secret mentioned on Wikipedia is probably kinda shallow - I'm guessing it's his "secret love" for Xiao En.  Maybe it's also they he's getting a greater awareness and developing his own thinking (but not sure he knows that yet himself)

 

Spoiler

 @Feby Valentiya @Yseia Yep! Totally agree with you, Yseia! I think Qing Feng doesn't necessarily know that he's a book character, but more that he's developing his own ideas and realising his own feelings rather than following the story pattern set for them, as shown by the part where he realises he was saying the same things as Aoran about Chu Chu. In the past, he wouldn't question it. But now, he feels weird about it. And he's starting to understand some of Xiao En's weirdness, which signifies having his own mind away from the author's mind.

 

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

Interestingly ep 8 showed us that Mingli now will do her best to keep TianXing alive as she needs him to be alive or else her younger brother will inherit the company. She just bitterly realised that all her hard work at getting rid of TianXing is for naught. She is still back in square one.  She bitterly remarked that at the end of the day TianXing indeed is a useful tool to have around.

 

I wonder will the younger brother turned power hungry now that he realised he can win support from ground staff just like TianXing and that he is can be quite capable and not as useless as he was always told he is. 

 

Did TianXing sidekicks hide the family lawyer from MingLi?

 

It will be quite a plot twist if QF is actually TianXing in the novel.  We must remember that AoRan is just fictional character of TianXing in a novel written by XiaoEn. XiaoEn became 2nd Lead in novel so why not TianXing? XiaoEn think that the only way she can get out of the novel world is to be the FL in book and have AoRan fall in love with her. What if the plot twist is for her and QF to realise each other and fall in love and when that happened, only then they can go back to real world. As they finally kiss, QF will morphed into real image of TianXing at the last minute before they were sucked back to real world. In real world, TianXing will wake up to have fractured memories of QF love for XiaoEn ... like in a dream but he can't differentiate if it really happened or ... ? 

 

 Sorry my imagination run wild.

[Feby Valentiya]

@cheekychipmunk_stv Based on synopsis from viki. Xiaoen only begin editing new novel not as a writer but only editor before come to Novel world.  And she isnt know plot of the novel really well because its new novel to edit.

 

After re-watching, my opinion about QF secret that he know he live on novel world a little bit extreme and groundless. Because if he know he lives on novel, he will shock right ? lol

Mingli finally doing something right, not to kill TX. And Tianjian intention a little bit changed. Right now he have intention to have position in company, and want to show up. and here we go uncle Hu have celebration to make He family destroy.

 

Please give me another reason or red strings about theory QF is TX. Im really curious about it.

 

If QF finally out from author setting. its possible from him to vanish from novel world right? except Chuntian in real world can give the real writer suggestion to change the plot.

 

I think on ep 8, writer and director want to tell us (viewers) possiblity ways to Xiaoen comeback to real world.

[Anjali Punia]

As far as theories/possibilities go There must be some significance of xiao end friend in real world as well. She is around everytime xioen gets hurt. 

If the story is taking its own course . Is the manuscript changing as well?

May be if manuscript is changing the friend might correlate ? Weren't they jointly in charge of editing.plus they jointly used the drone.

I feel she will play some important role ahead. And if not I will be surely disappointed.

 

Qingfeng is likely realising that somebody else is pulling strings on their feelings or thoughts. I do feel he will realise soon that they are in a fictional world.

Lol after the preview with subs I felt even xiao En has second lead syndrome. The part where she says she won't let him be alone in end

 

[Slyphykougn]

Really enjoying everyone’s comments, including the off topic discussion of BYS which I totally concur with. Do we know what the episode count is for this? 16? 20? Even though it’s painful waiting week to week, I actually appreciate watching current Tdramas because it forces me to savor and think about each episode, unlike Cdramas where I just feel like I’m trying to stay afloat with each new wave of episodes.
 

Just watched episode 8 on Viki and really enjoyed the development of both real world and story book plots. I’m finding the comedy and the mystery so perfect and entertaining, unlike melodramas which I get glued to but stress me out (BYS!), or pure comedies that rely too much on physical comedy. I love shows with some level of mystery like Some Day or One Day and Back to 1989 even if it goes into fantasy world.
 

He Mingli is pure evil in the show, and I can’t wait for them to reveal what this incident in the past was. I’m curious if and what her redemptive arc will be, especially given that they’ve already given us one reason to feel sorry for her.  Is Taiwanese culture still this patriarchal, or is this just a drama thing?

 

Also, I just found all the BTS and interview videos at NewShowBiz and went down that rabbit trail!! I really enjoyed this one.. so cute and playful!

 

 

[Anjali Punia]

I do get where Mingli is coming from.

In most Asian cultures Girls are not considered heirs even if their respective country grants them the legal right to be.

 

Now she is sidelined not only for her own brother but for an illegitimate step brother.

Children out of wedlock are also not easily acceptable in Asian cultures. Strong patriarchal boundations exist. 

 

Girls have to work twice hard to get even a fraction of recognition their brothers get. Sometimes it gets frustrating and can manifest. I feel same happened with Mingli.

 

She wanted acceptance which she probably didn't get and then went for being the Chairwoman. Well she is slowly realising the crown comes with thorns.

I don't expect her to be the good girl at the end but atleast develop a brain of her own and do smart thinking .

 

Plus I like the Slow burn of the show.

@Slyphykougn mydramalist says 20 so may be 20 episodes .

[JenL]

@Slyphykougn Haha, good to see you've read all our comments including off-topics XD 20 episodes is pretty standard for Sanlih dramas (This TV station). Yep, I agree - the waiting can be agonising, but gives me time to analyse and reflect. The slow burn also gets you more excited for more episodes!

 

Love what you said about Lost Romance's mystery. I think it's always best to have something for viewers to figure out rather than just serve up the story straight away. We must have similar tastes - You're not a fan of BYS and enjoyed Back to 1989 & Someday or One Day?! I started watching Someday or One Day because I saw the Simon Lien - haha Qing Feng - cameo and needed something to fill in the wait for Lost Romance....And I'm glad I did because I think Someday or One Day is possibly my favourite drama of all time (Recommended for anyone who likes Back to 1989!)

 

As for Ming Li's dilemma, I'd say Asian culture on the whole is still quite patriarchal - I think the Taiwanese are more chill these days, but it'd definitely still be a thing for the older generations, especially those with money. There's always this idea that boys should be left to inherit the family wealth.  

 

I love Newshowbiz - here's a clip when the show preimered that I wish I'd included. The crew all watched the first epsiode together - wonder if it was in someone's house or at work (have only skimmed the video so not sure if they mentioned)

 

 

@Anjali Punia Yep, in a weird way I do kind of understand Ming Li's position because she'll always be second place in her family - her father favours his illegitimate son and her mother favours her real brother. No one favours her, and she seems quite ambitious....But it seems silly because, if she really was ambitious, as opposed to greedy, she could just leave her family and start her own company? But as implied by her father, she doesn't have the skills or right attitude/ behaviour to do it.

 

@Yseia Wow upon a rewatch of ep 8 - there's a scene which implies Tian Jian pushed Tian Xing off the building. I think it was to save his sister, and still don't think he's generally evil, just more that he's always gone along with the crazy sister. But that does make him more bad than I initially pegged him for.

[songielove]

Awe, loving all the discussion! Although not too keen on the idea of Qing Feng being Tian Xing... if that's the case, all the characters in the novel shall represent something of Tian Xing, which doesn't make too much sense now that we're this far in to the show. I still like the idea that Qing Feng is the writer of the novel, but maybe only because he should be relevant in the real world. However, for the purpose of this story, I want what's in the best interest of Xiao En. And Xiao En wants Ao Ran. No doubt, the way she views Tian Xing plays a major role in how she feels for Ao Ran. It's really his only saving grace at this point, since there isn't much to him beyond his unoriginal character description. So even though it's the minority, I'm Team Ao-En!  Qing Feng's self-awareness seems to be confirmed by his conversation with Ao Ran, but something about it is still ambiguous to me. As a viewer rooting for the domineering CEO, it has been a torture! But Ep08 was refreshing-- just like Ao Ran, I felt relieved to see him nonchalantly walk away from Chuchu.  The cheetah has awoken, I want to see his flames soon!!

I also found it interesting that Xiao En could physically return to the real world had she not been found by Qing Feng. Or is it that no matter how close she is to returning, in no way is she allowed to-- that somehow the story will keep rewriting so that she is saved every time. It really makes me believe that she has a mission concerning Ao Ran (because Tian Xing is the one unconscious and he's the lead male) and can only return when she's accomplished it.

Ming Li and Tian Jian's confrontation in Ep08 seems to support my hunch about little bro's involvement in Tian Xing's fall. Based on her remark about guilt, he can't be completely innocent. I really liked that they gave Ming Li some alone time. All this time, we've seen her reacting to and plotting with others in the room. This time, she's figured it out, talking/ thinking out loud to Tian Xing, ironically. I do feel sorry for her, but that doesn't erase the root of her intentions.

 

My favorite scene of the episode happens to be of Xiao En at her part time job. Not specifically any scene, but just her in her cat act. Vivian was so cute and hilarious as the very conscious Xiao En, I had a good laugh! But CEO, please come get your prey! 

 

Spoiler

I tend to gravitate towards melodrama, but not the heavy kind that can be too draining and hopeless. That's why contrary to most, I liked Ep01 and miss Tian Xing a lot, haha! (To be fair, regarding BYS, it has an air of delight above the melodrama, so the mood was a perfect balance between light and dark for me. Before We Get Married is on my list!)

 

The drama fanmeeting is tomorrow! Most of the leading cast will be present. We can catch it live here or through Vidol, and Sanlih's social media. Yay!

 

 

@JenL So strange how that feels so long ago, but it wasn't! It looked like they were in their hotel suite. It was fun and a bit frustrating because Sanlih went live and then Vivian and then Li Ang all at once!

 

[Anjali Punia]

@JenL definitely agree on that.

I would have appreciated Mingli if she really had the capability . Right now she just seems a petulant child not getting her sweet. Raised to power infinity.

 

 

[Usi]

Cool! SET TV will show it live. I don't think I will wake up that early (6:40 am in my area).

 

[JenL]

@songielove Haha, glad to see you, someone who also writes long responses! I totally agree - I doubt Qing Feng is part of Tian Xing because then Aoran starts falling for Xiao En, so that would mean he would be fighting with himself ?! Also every character being a part of him seems unlikely since he barely knew Xiao En's friends. 

 

9 hours ago, songielove said:

No doubt, the way she views Tian Xing plays a major role in how she feels for Ao Ran. It's really his only saving grace at this point, since there isn't much to him beyond his unoriginal character description.

 

Agree with you here, since I feel like Aoran needs more development. I also think you have a point about the story being about what Xiao En wants, which is Aoran (a storybook version of He Tian Xing). Eh, I guess, that's love for you - it's illogical and the heart wants what the heart wants - Even if something good is within reach...(But the girl is missing out. If it was me, I'd just stay in the story world with Qing Feng forever, haha.) To be honest, I'm more interested in He Ting Xing than Aoran - he seems to have a cool personality, fighting against massive challenges. I'm looking forward to seeing how he meets with Xiao En.

 

I'm not sure if I'm a specific 'team.' I'll put it this way - I expect Xiao En to get with Aoran and that they'll make it a fun ride, but I didn't expect to have a second lead like Qing Feng, who exhibits the behaviours and attention of the type of guy you'd actually date So I guess that makes him seem more attractive - also knowing he's not going to get the girl makes you feel so sad for him!! While I think it would be cute if there was a Xiao En x Qing Feng possibility, I think it's not so much that I'm sad he won't be paired with Xiao En - it's more that he doesn't deserve the typical second lead treatment (ie, if there was an almost equally good second lead girl that he could go off with, I'd be perfectly ok with that...but the other girls in the story world pale in comparison to Xiao by a lot and I'm still not a huge fan of Chu Chu's damsel character, so his ending is looking dire in my eyes...which is making me fan over him more XD) 

For Those interested, I've been translating the behind the scenes for Episode 6 (was lazy the week it came out and it's still not finished - but have done a third of the video so far)

 

Read  Episode 6's Behind the Scenes Translations here :https://thesedramaticdays.blogspot.com/2020/07/lost-romance-episode-6-behind-scenes.html

 

 

 

 

[RAWR]

Hello everyone! 
The slow-burn-ness of this drama finally convinced me to sign up for soompi since I needs to talk to people about this!

 

I have several theories - one which people have already touched on - that Qing Feng is part of Tian Xiang. Specifically because in episode 3 TX is being interviewed by someone and they ask "meaning that you have many other sides that not everyone sees?" and he's all "of course...." " In a storm, you have to be like an adult. In beautiful weather you have to be like a child".
I'd argue that Situ Aoran is typically the adult in the storm, while QF is typically the child in beautiful weather (or in the spring breeze even). But Xaio En brings out the child-like qualities in Situ Aoran and the adult in QF.

Personally I'm rooting for a story-line in which XE falls in love with QF in the novel world, and that is the trigger which makes SA so unhappy with how the world is panning out that it motivates TX to wake up. 
I'm also hoping that in the real world he has strong memories of XE whereas she has vague ones. This is entirely so he ends up actively pursuing her like the cheetah he is. (With plenty of kabedon since Marcus is so good at it). After all she's ended up doing so much of the pursuing in the novel world.

But one of my other theories is that QF is kinda the dream-king. He is built from the dream and sustained on the dream, so if he can keep XE and TX happy in the dreamworld then he can live together. So he has to make the heartbreaking choice between his own existence and giving the woman he loves (and his best friend) a chance at true happiness in the real world. 

Whatever happens I really don't want a heartbreaking ending for QF. He is just too sweet.

Cannot wait for the next ep!

[JenL]

5 hours ago, RAWR said:

I'd argue that Situ Aoran is typically the adult in the storm, while QF is typically the child in beautiful weather (or in the spring breeze even). But Xaio En brings out the child-like qualities in Situ Aoran and the adult in QF.

Personally I'm rooting for a story-line in which XE falls in love with QF in the novel world, and that is the trigger which makes SA so unhappy with how the world is panning out that it motivates TX to wake up. 
I'm also hoping that in the real world he has strong memories of XE whereas she has vague ones. This is entirely so he ends up actively pursuing her like the cheetah he is. (With plenty of kabedon since Marcus is so good at it). After all she's ended up doing so much of the pursuing in the novel world.

But one of my other theories is that QF is kinda the dream-king. He is built from the dream and sustained on the dream, so if he can keep XE and TX happy in the dreamworld then he can live together. So he has to make the heartbreaking choice between his own existence and giving the woman he loves (and his best friend) a chance at true happiness in the real world. 

Whatever happens I really don't want a heartbreaking ending for QF. He is just too sweet.

 

@RAWR Welcome! Love having new people come to share their theories! I think your ideas are both very valid and interesting - totally things I hadn't considered and both beautiful ideas. I feel like I agree with your main ideas in the second theory - Qing Feng will have to be a sacrifice for both Xiao En and Aoran's happiness and it's going to hurt! I also don't want a sad ending for Qing Feng...but I also don't want him with Chu Chu (that count's as a horrible ending also!) 

I'll be watching the live-stream of the Lost Romance fan meet today. Hope you guys are too! Love a good fan meet! In the past I have actually flown to a few of these, but with the current pandemic there's no chance, so I guess I'll make do with YouTube. (Funny story, I have actually met and high 5-ed Deyn Li [Ming Li's assistant in Lost Romance] since he was at another fan meet I was at back in 2014. The drama was Pleasantly Surprised - Pictures and story here if you're interested.)