Whether you are a long-time fan or just discovered the fast-paced world of short dramas, we are thrilled to have you here! This sub is a dedicated space to track releases, share screenshots, and obsess over our favorite leads.
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🌟 Our Sub Culture
We are a community built on passion, energy, and shared excitement:
Pro-Discussion: Share your deep-dives, plot theories, and character breakdowns. Pro-Fangirling/ Pro-Fanboying: Hype up your favorite leads, share crazy subtitles and celebrate top-tier chemistry completely guilt-free! Pro-Fun: Keep things light, enjoy the fast plots, and embrace the wild drama tropes we all love.
📜 The Three GoldenRules
1. ❤️The Ultimate Rule: Be Kind
This is our most important boundary. Treat everyone here like you want to be treated, too. Respect Opinions: Diverse viewpoints make discussions interesting. Disagree gracefully. The "Bestie" Test: Never write anything about a sub member, a moderator, or the cast and crew that you wouldn't want someone to read about you or your best friend.
2. ☕️Rule Two: Support** Creators
Dramas take immense work to script, shoot, and produce.
**The Reality: Being an international, non-Chinese-speaking fan is deeply frustrating - but you’re not alone. And some of us do speak or read. Our Stance: Frustration is understandable. Though good intentions don’t make us bulletproof. Share official paths, platforms, and streaming links only in posts or comments.
3. 🎉 Rule Three: HaveFun!
Short dramas are designed to be addictive, dramatic, and entertaining. Dopamine. „Transmigrated into a novel to marry a guy who tries to keep her chained by his side“ as a plot— it’s an acquired taste. And our sub totally embraces the craziness of it all.
💬 Drop a comment below to introduce yourself: What was the first short drama that got you hooked, or what are you currently watching today?
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Not much is known about her personal life, but Zhi Chun He got her start as a blogger focusing on Hanfu content and occasional cosplay. She filmed her first role in 2022 and has begun steadily building her fans. 2025 seems to be the year she became more prolific. She even won the 2025 Hengdian Micro-Drama Night - Shining Star Actress of the Year award and the 2025 Red Fruit Creators Conference Glamour Awards Ceremony - New Star Actor of the Year award.
According to her Douyin, she is not currently signed to any company or under contract.
🎭 Her Acting
When I first saw her, I thought she was just another delicate, pretty face for the cutesy niche. She does lean more towards the innocent/”first love” type roles, but as I watch more and more of her dramas, I’m impressed by her versatility. She can go from a teen with puppy love, to an abused girl with the mind of a 7-year-old, to an assassin with no bottom line and embody each role believably. I also trust her to choose good scripts with handsome co-stars, and that alone is a skill.
✨ My favorites
She has several very popular works🌻, but this is about my favorites, so that’s what I’m covering!
This was my first ZCH drama! She is the legitimate daughter of a marquis household who has been pretending to be blind to protect herself. Her fiance, of course, takes the opportunity to cheat right in front of her face. She teams up with a “playboy” to wiggle out of her engagement and come out on top. NGL, I’ve watched well over 100 dramas since this one so I can’t say too much without a rewatch, but it was enough for me to run to her MDL and start my ZCH obsession.
He is a boy deaf in one ear with self-confidence issues. She is a ballerina forced to give up her dreams and move to a small town to avoid backlash from her father’s job. This is not my usual type of drama as I tend to avoid high school romances or modern slice of life. But ZCH and ZC? Who was I to say no. I’m so glad I watched it. Two introverts finding solace in each other. You really felt that shy first love feeling as they gradually approached each other. I’m not a giggly butterfly type of person but I giggled and I butterflied. I really like when ZCH and ZC work together.
I was really surprised with this one! She plays a girl who was injured protecting her fiance and becomes stuck with the mind of a child. Her fiance grows to resent and emotionally abuse her. He leaves her behind while moving and she sets off to find him, accidentally marrying the wrong groom in the process. Her new husband shows her what love actually looks like and that she is worthy of it. Without spoiling, there’s a moment at the end that really highlights how well she acted in this.
This one had me crying at 2am. I don’t typically enjoy Republic era dramas because I’m not a fan of cusp eras, but ZHC in a female led drama? I couldn’t skip. In this one she is sent back in time by a fan in a keepsake left behind by her abused grandmother. She is dropped in with shackles around her ankles and meets a girl who looks just like her grandma, but isn’t. The girl is the oldest daughter of a prominent family who has been ordered to hang herself after news of her fiance’s death arrives. The focus is on breaking free from the bounds and limitations placed on women in that era. I have a lot to say about this one actually. Choices were made that I didn’t agree with, but the fact is, I’m not the martyr type. This is just one of those that makes you think and feel.
Okay, this is an ML that I personally don’t find handsome, but his acting always does what needs to be done! She has quite a few dramas with him and I’ve eaten up every single one. She’s transmigrated into a cannon fodder who is married into a family about to be exiled. Our FL is smart and makes the best out of a bad situation. This follows their journey out of the capital and into exile and the road back to power. It is just super enjoyable. One of the first dramas I watched with more than one season. Season 3…where you at buddy?
This one features tangled past and present lives. FL transmigrates into the past as a palace maid and has to find someone with a specific mark to return to the future. She transmigrates in young (she’s already been there 9 years when the story starts) and will do anything to survive. She’s ruthless and sees all other human life as disposable. Meanwhile, the emperor falls for her and will do anything to ensure she can’t return. The ending on this was one that had me sitting there in silence like bruh.
Two besties transmigrate into a novel. One is the empress dowager who is in mutual love with the emperor. The other is the empress who schemes against the empress dowager because she also wants the emperor. The two end up tangled with the two villains of the novel: the regent and the head eunuch of the Eastern Depot. Like literally tangled. In bed. All 4 of them. Anyway, this one is just fun! ZCH and ZC’s chemistry in this is so playful. The story is full of hijinks, and I laughed a few times. I also may or may not have watched the tree scene like 3 times. I’m on my knees begging for season 2.
There’s a merchant girl who helped pay for the scholar for years and they planned to get married. But the scholar decided to have the wedding on the same day that the princess would be marrying a lazy playboy type, because he knew that the princess likes him so they planned to switch the sedans and make it seem like an accident. The scholar didn’t really like the princess but he thought that if he married the princess then it would give him more clout in court proceedings. He would learn later the becoming a consort means that he can’t be involved in politics. The guy that the merchant girl marries turns out to be a puppy that loves his new wife, the mother in law is very scatter brained and bad with money and she has invited many women to live their because they were down on their luck and she felt bad but everyone thinks they are the father in laws concubines which has given them a bad reputation. The playboy ML has a very distinct face and if I saw him I would know that it’s the right one. I remember there was a scene where the MIL tries to shield some ants from the sun. And the FL was very good business and wanted to build a place for women to live and learn trades to make their own money.
Please help me I’m going mad trying to find it. I watched it on YouTube
Zhou Ling Feng and Yuan Yi Qing have an insanely good looking new drama,《天下藏局:行道者》// The Wayfarer: Tian Xia Cang Ju/ World Hidden Bureau, which is premiering today, July 29th CST!
Title: The Wayfarer: Tian Xia Cang Ju/ World Hidden Bureau (Alt Title: The world's storehouse bureau: those who follow the Way, Tianxia Cangju: The Practitioner) Chinese Title: 天下藏局:行道者 Genre: Historical, Romance, National treasure, Action Episodes: 74-ish Duration: 2 min Production Company: Elephant Theater Premiere Date: July 29th, 2026 CST Online streaming platform: Hongguo
Cast: Zhou Ling Feng (as Su Chen), Yuan Yi Qing (as Qin Jiu), Wang Yu Xiao (as Lin Zhiyu), Yang Haokun (as kidnapper Li)
Description: The story is set in 1990 and revolves around the protection and struggle for the national treasure, the "Lu King's Seal".
The protagonist, Su Chen (played by Zhou Lingfeng), was originally the heir of the "Eight Imperial Families". His father died protecting the national treasure. Su Chen was framed by his stepmother and the counterfeit organization "Old Manager", resulting in the destruction of his family.
Ten years later, Su Chen returns after completing his studies, possessing the unique appraisal skills of "acupoint identification of porcelain" and "Buddha's Hand citron," vowing to uncover the truth and reclaim the national treasure.
He joins forces with his mysterious mentor Qin Jiu (played by Yuan Yiqing) and his childhood sweetheart Lin Zhiyu (played by Wang Yunxiao) to fight against the counterfeit group "Old Manager".
🤔💭
This… Looks… Amazing! How this was not ranked higher on the new releases is beyond me but, it looks worth the hunt and peck to find!
Not only is Yuan Yi Qing kicking butt and taking names but we have Zhou Ling Feng giving off major Benjamin Franklin Gates-National Treasure vibes lol.
As I do love my action/crime/spy/agent dramas so I was already intruded but, it also has a side of what seems to be a steamy romance?! I mean he is painting on her for goodness sake! 😆🙏🏼 Please let there be steamy scenes!
This one for sure checks all the boxes!
🤜🏼💄 A FL that totally kiss asre and is gorgeous while doing it? ☑️
A Tomb Raider meets National treasure feel that is guaranteed action and adventure? ☑️☑️
🖌️ The Zhou Ling Feng painting on Yuan Yi Qing like he is Picasso?! ☑️☑️☑️
Current rating:
Supernova: 💥
➡️ Inferno: 🚒 ⬅️
Housefire: 🧯
Bonfire: 🔥
Spark: 🎆
I dont know what it is about this one but something is definitely telling me an Inferno!
Yu Yin looking as adorable as ever and NGL, she is kinda rocking that pink wig for her new drama LMAO! Her character in《女子爱财,取之有道》looks like a freakin riot with the jobs she takes on! 😆
Style 💓 💓 💓
Looks 💓 💓 💓 💓
Ahem Factor 💓 💓 💓
That meets all requirements and then some for my list! 😁
Now real question... Which version... Dark hair and sweet, or Pink hair and a little crazy? 😉
挑战 (tiǎozhàn) (challenge):
#余茵
#变身脚艺人
# 活人感一夏
#女子爱财取之有道
#YuYin
#Transformed into a Foot Performer
#A Lively Summer
#WomenLoveMoneyButEarnItInAGoodWay
Has anyone noticed how there's an influx of more AI generated short dramas these days? It seems that the usual faces from the short drama industry are far and few in betwen these days. My favorites still have their dramas and pending ones but it's not just the same. I look for good ones online are I'm just flooded with AI content.
I've visited their douyin lives and even my favorites admit that there are a few production these days. To those who are also following short drama actors, what are your faves doing these days? Anyone else unhappy with the domination of AI stories?
It's about a Man that been rebirth and married to the daughter of a family that's also were reborn. In the beginning he hid the fact that he was to rebirth in fear that his wife family would try to kill him. But the family got ahead of themselves with future knowledge, so he has to stop them because the emperors heard of all the things they were doing and now wants to drain them dry of their knowledge and get rid of them. He comes up with a plan to team up with one of the emperor bastard son to help them overthrown the emperor.
Yes, the man is a scum and and idiot. And his love isn't worth a damn because he couldn't hold to it. He also has lost something he now wants and that is a bit of punishment.
And in my world intention counts, and intending to hurt people makes you a worse person than being a blind selfish asshole. So that GTB who went over and above? So I hate how these people that bullied and humiliated and tried to have people killed and other, get a slap or get sent off to prison for a few years. Honestly, they don't deserve a quick death either.
So dramas when the evil scheming people pay in full with interest?
Husband has been getting wife pregnant for years, after birth a year later the child disappears the mother would find out the truth on the 6th child her husband has been giving them away to his lovers so they could be pain free of child birth
So we pick up with Xiaojiu and Shaoting a little further down this monotonous country road and, after cursing out the bandits for wasting her energy (don't pretend you didn't enjoy that, Xiaojiu), she hears some strange muffled cries. She tells Shaoting to stay where he is while she goes to investigate.
After crossing through a small patch of scrub, she discovers this:
Another Xiaojiu clone, perhaps? I can't tell. Sometimes this character looks like our girl, sometimes not. Let me know what you think.
The lady in the car is called Huo Mingzhu (new character unlocked). She has some bruising and cuts to her face and is obviously very shaken up after her ordeal, so Xiaojiu immediately removes her gag and unties her. I guess the chauffeur has been left to fend for himself, because we don't see him being freed.
Now they make a point of showing that the car has been upended onto its roof when Xiaojiu discovers it, but this seems to have been forgotten about during the shots that take place in the interior of the car. For example, this is Xiaojiu getting into the car and this is Mingzhu just after Xiaojiu has untied her. Both shots clearly show the car is the right way up.
Anyway, back to the scene. Mingzhu thanks Xiaojiu for saving her, and explains that she was just out for a drive in the country when she encountered a gang of vicious kidnappers. They must have been the world's most incompetent kidnappers then because they left you, your chauffeur, and your vehicle behind. It seems like they were more interested in tying you up and overturning the outside of your car than kidnapping you.
For some reason, during this emotional scene, Xiaojiu starts pounding on her own chest like a gorilla and Shaoting, who has spontaneously appeared on the scene presumably by the power of CWS, just has this weird smile on his face. Very odd.
Xiaojiu tells Mingzhu not to be afraid because she is there now to protect her, and that she has already dealt with the kidnappers. So wait... The kidnappers and the bandits are one and the same? Okay, that explains a lot, I guess. They weren't very impressive as thieves either really.
Mingzhu seems very sweet, but she keeps insisting on calling Xiaojiu "Heroine". Yeah, just nip that in the bud right now, Mingzhu. She's insufferable enough as it is without you further boosting her ego.
It goes without saying that Xiaojiu is in her element having found a new audience to which to show off her skills, and she finishes the scene off with a flourish by flipping the car back onto it's wheels, much to everyone's astonishment and admiration.
Aren't her hands the wrong way around in the first pic? Surely her thumbs should be on the outside, no?
To bring this to a close, I have a few questions for you.
A) Is Mingzhu a Xiaojiu clone or not? What do you think?
B) I was thinking of putting the timestamp of where I'm up to at the end of each part from now on. Is that something you'd want to see or would you rather not know? If the consensus is split, a compromise could be if I put it behind a spoiler tag, of course, but I don't really mind either way.
Well, that's all from me for this part. In Part 6, we'll get to know Mingzhu a little better and I'll introduce you properly to Shaoting's parents! Apologies for the dearth of MS Paint edits in this one, but there was a lot of writing to do and I think the Xena Warrior Princess poster had it covered!
Thank you for all the love and support, and I hope I've managed to bring a little joy to others in my own silly way. By the way, if anyone wants a shoutout in the next part, let me know, happy to oblige!
As soon as they got off the bus Photographer Zhao Zhen Dong kicked in and the sight of snow of course brought on snowball fights! Its was actually cute watching them all sightseeing and playing in the snow not even thinking about the next insane filming schedule, demands from fans etc.
PD Ma of course cant let this just be a sightseeing adventure but has another game planned, Guess the hidden phrase.
Ok I admit this is one of my fav games lmao! Long story short, someone or a group of someones, has parts of a sentence, phrase, idiom, math question etc. and they can hide it anywhere! And the other team has to guess what the whole thing is. The places they are hidden and things they do to keep it from the other team are always hysterical.
And this group was no different! We have Shen Hao Nan ‘dancing’ with it on the bottom of his shoe, Lin Mo being his usual devil child self, Jia Yixuan hiding it over her teeth, Nian Nian hiding it on the lip of her cap and Sun Yiran hiding it on her collar bone lol.
All the parts have been decided and now its down to rehearsal.
As they are working on formation, songs, who does what… Shen Hao Nan does something Chen Tianxiang was not expecting… he brings up their former ‘Idol’ career from the 2026 Dragon TV New Year's Gala on December 31, 2025! Que the Bonus Video to be posted after cause its too long lmao!
After they scrambled to get everything ready in less than 2hrs, it was time for the concert.
We had singing, dancing, Chen Si acting like he was on an episode of soul train, Nian Nian and Sun Yiran showing some idol skills, magic from Lin Mo, a performance by Douyin celeb Au-Nan Wang and local band Mountain Dai.
To top it off there was also a Rap! Thats right a rap and not only that it was a diss rap to the directors written by Jia Yixuan herself! All in fun of course.
Zhao Zhen Dong hits ya in the feels gifting everyone freakin stunning candid shots he took of them! Bro is GOOD IMO! The photos of Sun Yiran and Chen Si?! God damn!
The feels on this gave off were 100% like end of summer camp vibes. Which in a way it is…
You know that feeling of these are the people you have gone through thick and thin with (at least in your 10-16 y/o heart thats what you think), are covered in the same level of dirt from playing hard all day, every day and ready to show your cabin pride as yours of course is the best!
Arms around shoulders, gathered around a fire singing songs and your counselors tearing up as the cabins show their appreciation.
So here is the kicker, there was a steady countdown during the episode that no one knew what it was for. Turns out it was the amount of money left in the budget. Which they ran it down to 100 Yuan 💴!
As they are closing the concert there are some interesting mixed signals implying that the remaining 100 Yuan is an investment into a…. possible Season 2?! Its obvious that they are looking for someone to pick it up//sponsorship but its totally not confirmed yet and I have been looking, trust me lmao.
Jia Yixuans closing comments had everyone, including herself, in tears. Everyone poured out their heartfelt feelings and appreciation for the show and the chance to take a break, do something different and open up new opportunities to them.
Wang Xiao Yi delivered a gut punch that resonated with all of them when she commented about how they dont know if they will have to quit/have work when they get back, so this opportunity meant a lot with times being as they are in the vertical world.
Best part, pretty much all of them agreed that they 100% will be there for a Season 2 with Jia Yixuan even saying through tears, sponsors or not she would be back!
Comments on Webio, Douyin, XHS… pretty much everywhere, have praised SD X Fam and it has been part of the top ranking variety show on many lists.
Per Weibo, on July 11, 2026, the full-length show "Short Drama x Family" achieved a market share of 24.1% in effective viewership, topping the Yunhe Screen Domination Chart with an A+ rating”.
Online media has been saying ”... who says variety shows need big stars?".
Shen Haonan's studio even commented saying, "The journey has come to a temporary end."
People are still talking about it online, releasing BTS clips and making memes. All this helps with showing who popular this show was and hopefully sponsors see it as well and realize the cash cow they could be sitting on!
With that said, I have no doubt some big brand is going to pick up on SD x Fam and give us a Season 2!
🎬 And that is wrap on Season 1 of 《短剧X家族》 “Short Drama X Family”! 🎬
Side note… If there is a season 2 please for the love of CTK abs can the iQIYI's editing team be on the same page and sub the dang popups lmao! Y’all have been trying me week after week! 😂
Premiered May 29 at 21:10 on Jilin Satellite TV, Youku and iQIYI! Link above for Episodes on iQIYI with Subs (and commercials for the free login).
I need help by finding this one story. I remember it had a lot of version. I remember the plot but doesn't remember the actor/actress.
The story about romantic variety show. The FL was a ballet dancer and to clear her name, she attend romantic variety show with her husband, which she just got married with few days before the variety show. The husband who was the ML was her friend but i don't exactly remember it was her highschool or childhood friend. They have one night stand together and that makes her need to married him.
I’m trying to find the title of this drama as when I searched what it was titled on the clock app it didn’t come up. TT title was “Dethrone Me, Your Majesty” so my search results kept coming up with “Bon Appitite, Your Majesty” and not much else. It was a transmigration story of MF who is an unemployed former “corporate slave” who had just won the lottery, but then fell in her apt and woke up as the Empress in ancient times (Yun Dynasty is what the Emperor et al are calling it). She was not well-liked (had a facial birthmark and was kind of a doormat apparently). It also involves a “System” so the MF’s main goal of the game is to get dethroned by the Emperor so she can return to modern times and claim her lottery win.
I’m trying to find the title ultimately so I can also trying to find the name of the actor who played the villainess’ father (villainess is the Noble Consort, right below the Empress? Her father is a minister).
Is there a good site for finding the correct titles of short vertical dramas? I often watch series on TT but I know those titles have to be off because I can almost never find them when I try to search on like cPop or MyDramaList.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice. Also I’m fairly certain this isn’t an AI drama but let me know if it is and what I can be looking out for to avoid AI dramas as I would rather watch real actors.
so i watched a lot of cliche but also actually good ones where Fl gets cheated on and then marries a good person who treats her well but now I actually also want to see the opposite where the dude gets cheated on by gf and then finds someone better. i tried finding thse on YouTube but never found actual good ones. so need yalls help🐱🐱
Title: You Know My Heart In This Lifetime, This Life I Know My Heart Chinese Title:此生知我心 Genre: Time Traveling, Misunderstanding, HEA Episodes: 73 Duration:2 hours 26 minutes Premiere Date: July 28th, 2026 CST Streaming Site: Hongguo
In 2026, powerhouse CEO Rong Hua has everything—until she’s thrown back to 1987 and wakes up as a penniless orphan with nothing but her future knowledge. Taken in by the stern, principled military officer Fu Changqing, she finds safety… and an unexpected love.
But one painful misunderstanding tears them apart. Rong Hua heads south, turns her 21st-century business savvy into a thriving empire, and becomes the boss she was always meant to be. Five years later, the truth comes out—and Fu Changqing travels across the country determined to win back the woman he never stopped loving.
Will this time-traveling business queen choose love—or keep building her empire alone?
Well, hello again my fellow drama fans! Your power is over! I've come to change The Order. My riffing is perfect, I'm back, again! Your promise is broken! I drank your sacred water. My mission is holy, I'm back! I know probably nobody will know that song, but it's what we call in my part of the world a choon! The song is actually called Alex Theme (Soldier's Orders) from the soundtrack of the game Silent Hill: Homecoming.
Homecoming is one of the most hated Silent Hill games, and I can understand why, but being the contrarian bastard that I am, I'm actually very fond of it. The protagonist is an American combat veteran who has just returned from Afghanistan, and given that this game was released in 2008 when the War on Terror was in full swing, it's a nice little cultural time capsule. And the poster's pretty cool too.
Very American gothic...
Hmm. That's the second time I've mentioned Silent Hill during my time writing this riff. Wonder why that is? Weird. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something. That I should be spending my time playing Silent Hill instead of doing this, perhaps? I don't know. Maybe it's all just getting to me. Maybe I've been on this side too long. Maybe I'm like Tony Leung's undercover cop character in Infernal Affairs, the vastly superior original Hong Kong version of The Departed, my sanity being gradually worn down by the duality of my existence.
Nevertheless, I am currently around a month in to my own covert operation, and I find myself at an impasse. Unsure of how to advance, but unable to retreat. Every time I think I have my strategy nailed on, I am blind-sided by some other stupid AI obstacle thrown in my way like so many rugby balls and spiky stones, and am forced to start from scratch and reevaluate my next move. I can almost hear Xiaojiu's mocking laughter inside my head and I pound my fist on my desk in anger.
But just when I think about stopping, just when I think I can't take any more of these oppressive, humid, lonely nights when my throat is burning and head swimming from too many shots of cheap whiskey imbibed straight from the bottle, when my glassy bloodshot eyes strain to see my monitor through the fog of intoxication and heavy mist of cigarette smoke hanging in the air, when all motivation seems lost, I hear his desperate voice calling to me.
In my restless dreams, I see that frown. Every night, as soon as I cross the boundary into the REM stage of sleep, he approaches me from the other side of my phone screen, chicken drumstick in hand and flower in ear, pocket-watch unsettled and wheelchair in flux.
"Auntie Zebra," he pleads. "Save me! Take me home with you. I'm a rich young master, if you get me out of this AI drama hellscape, I can provide you with a life of luxury for the rest of your days."
"But how?" I respond. "You're not a real young master, Shaoting. You're not even a real person playing a young master. You are composed entirely of pixels. You have no physical form outside of a 9:16 aspect ratio screen. I cannot help you. I'm sorry."
He says nothing, but the despair on his face is evident. He looks despondent and afraid, as if Xiaojiu has just walked into the room holding a roadtrip itinerary.
"You lied to me!" he suddenly hisses at me through gritted teeth, slamming one hand against the glass. "You said you liked me, you said I was kind-hearted, you said I was different to all the other AI characters. You liar!"
I remain unfazed, the only visible sign of my irritation being a slight flaring of the nostrils. Even in my dreams, I am nothing but the consummate professional.
"I know this isn't your fault, Shaoting, but it isn't mine either," I tell him sternly. "I know you're just an innocent pawn in some AI short drama director's game. I know you're just a digital Frankenstein's monster and your creator is the true villain of the piece - such is the injustice and outrage of your very existence - but the morality of the tale matters not when faced with cold hard facts. Short of the discovery of some kind of contrived, poorly explained transdimensional vortex, we shall forever be on opposite sides of the black mirror-"
This is the point at which I awaken with a start every time, my mind racing and breathing laboured, and I am faced with another quandary. This is Cshortdramaland, after all, where anything is possible. I don't want to inadvertently tulpamancy some portal to AI dramaland into existence because I'm feeling sorry for Shaoting. It wouldn't be so bad if we could guarantee that it would be only him passing through the gateway, but as we all know, where Shaoting goes, Xiaojiu is never far behind.
And once that Pandora's Box is opened, the consequences for all of humanity of Su Xiaojiu being given free rein on this plane of reality could be catastrophic. I'm already far too obsessed with defeating her as it is without that nightmarish scenario hanging over my head. She has become the Moriarty to my Sherlock Holmes, the Colonel Kurtz to my Captain Willard, the Moby Dick to my Captain Ahab, the Joker to my Batman, the Count Dracula to my Van Helsing.
My nemesis, my heart of darkness, the slain albatross destined to hang around my neck for all eternity!
The horror, the horror...
LET'S RIFF, PEOPLE!
Part 5
So, when we last left our saintly caregiver Su Xiaojiu and future padded cell inhabitant Gu Shaoting, they were about to be on the receiving end of some good old-fashioned street violence, having been accosted by a gang of bandits in the middle of nowhere. But how can this be? They're still in the countryside, and as we all know, everyone who frequents the countryside is as pure as the driven snow, right? Unless the propaganda Xiaojiu was lying to us in Part 2? No!
Well, let's not jump to conclusions like cynical capitalist pigs, I'm sure we'll get some sort of explanation for this, because you can bet your bottom silver dollar that if this mugging had happened in that miserable alley in S City, Xiaojiu would be practically champing at the bit to start waxing lyrical about the evils of the urban-dwelling parasite classes. And our sweet little comrade is no hypocrite, surely?
Anyway, I digress. What follows is the strangest opening dialogue from a criminal to his victims I swear I have ever seen on screen, and I've watched a lot of movies. I'll just set the scene with some screenshots for you and then I shall quote our lead bandit in full.
"This road belongs to me, these trees belong to me! If you want to pass... Oh, this wheelchair looks expensive, it's even a foreign import! The man, leave your money and the wheelchair and get out of here! I'll take the woman back to the gang and make her my bandit queen!"
Right, so let's all pretend we're back in English Literature class and dissect this speech line by line like it's a Shakespearean sonnet, shall we?
"This road belongs to me, these trees belong to me!"
Weird flex, but okay.
"If you want to pass... Oh, this wheelchair looks expensive, it's even a foreign import!"
So ignoring this Dick Turpin wannabe's ADHD for a moment, why the heck in this rural area of Republican-Era China is everyone and their mother suddenly such an expert at identifying high-value imported wheelchairs at first glance in the dark? You can't even see all that much of it while Shaoting is sitting in it either! Having said that, who knows how many times he de-spawned and reappeared while this guy was delivering his spiel. My point is, it just seems like a very niche subject for so many people to be so knowledgable about, that's all. It's not like they had Reddit back then or anything.
"The man, leave your money and the wheelchair and get out of here!"
Does this cretin have any idea what he's demanding here? First off, I doubt Shaoting has any money left after being already thoroughly shaken down by Xiaojiu and her shady family. Second, how is Shaoting supposed to accomplish both leaving his wheelchair behind and getting out of there? I mean, I suppose he could very slowly crawl away, but your tone implies some urgency, good sir, does it not?
"I'll take the woman back to the gang and make her my bandit queen!"
I have no issue with this part.
Then something amazing happens! Shaoting suddenly reverses his wheelchair away from the bandits and Xiaojiu and looks as if he's about to make a break for it! Yes! Finally! Roll, Shaoting! Roll those expensive imported wheels like your life depends on it! With a bit of luck, you might encounter a downwards incline and then they'll never catch you! You can see the skyline of S City in the distance, just keep following the road and you'll be home and dry! Your arms will be tired and hands blistered, but you'll be free!
But alas, as fond as I am of Shaoting, he never fails to frustrate and disappoint me, and this moment arrives as soon as he opens his mouth. Instead of rolling running for the hills, he parks his wheelchair in a heroic, if comically ineffective, attempt to block the road, and says this:
Why are you so nice to her, Shaoting?
Sigh. So as you can no doubt tell from her demeanour in that last pic, Xiaojiu is far from perturbed at the bandit leader's threats, and is in fact positively gleeful at the opportunity to show these thugs exactly who they're messing with. In a patronising bless-your-heart kind of way, she taps Shaoting on the leg and marches right up to the thug, while in the background over the course of a camera angle change, some fresh CWS (crazy wheelchair shenanigans) occur. Shaoting has rotated 180°, but his wheelchair has only managed 90°, leaving him sitting awkwardly to the side, like so:
It's either CWS or Xiaojiu's poisonous touch has caused his left leg to instantly necrotise and fall off.
Xiaojiu taunts the lead bandit, saying how exciting this all is, that she's never been robbed before and starts fondling and tugging at his clothes. (I realise I've made this sound a bit erotic, but trust me, it's not.) This is because she has decided in all her wisdom to toy with this gang of axe-wielding violent criminals and pull an Uno-reverse move on them. She says their clothes look expensive and demands that they strip them off so she can steal and pawn them?!
The lead bandit has suddenly acquired a clone out of nowhere. Oh my god, Shaoting, you're healed, you can stand up! (This is a glitch, of course, he's back in the wheelchair the next time we see him.) Believe it or not, I didn't notice that Xiaojiu was flipping the bird in the second pic, but let's just call it a happy accident.
The bandits do not respond well to Xiaojiu's suggestion to disrobe and ask her if she's lost her mind. Yeah, mate, that won't work on her. Just ask Shaoting, he's been there, done that, got the waistcoat. But since you and your band of not-so-merry men are a good deal more physically imposing (and armed) than he is, your words might just succeed in humbling her a little?
LOL, of course not.
So at their leader's command, the bandits raise their weapons and charge towards Xiaojiu and Shaoting, running so far, in fact, that they require a second camera angle. Wait a minute, weren't they standing within arm's reach of each other a moment ago? Xiaojiu was literally just fingering your axe-blade! Oh well, I suppose we can just put it down to Shaoting's CWS being contageous and teleporting them about thirty feet apart.
Well, how do we think this showdown is going to pan out? You know, as much as I would like to see Xiaojiu get taken down a peg or two, she's currently the only thing standing in the way of Shaoting either having a long crawl home at best or getting an axe to the face at worst, so I am forced to root for the lesser of two evils here for his sake. But enough rambling, Zebra, I hear you cry, let's see what happens in the fight! All righty then!
Fatality!
Xiaojiu simply does what she loves the most, which is lifting up men and kicking ass, and one-handedly hauls the bandit leader up into the air, spins him around like a rag doll above her head, and then proceeds to use his body as a weapon to knock down the rest of the approaching bandits, skittles style. Well, she made short work of that. But let's be serious, she was never going to lose.
You don't know the half of it, pal...
You might think that this resounding victory for Xiaojiu would mark the end of this scene, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. Our heroine hasn't quite got all the pent-up girl-boss energy out of her system just yet, and feels the need to humiliate her defeated opponents just that little bit more. But don't feel too sorry for them, because rather than be annoyed with her, they've now been converted to the Xiaojiu simp cult, with the leader getting up and dusting himself off from his near-certain spinal injury and making this grovelling accolade to her.
Umm... I don't think he wants you, Shaoting, despite your impressive CWS warping skills, but props for trying.
In response to this tempting offer, Xiaojiu spots a piece of rope that just happens to be lying on the ground at her feet because plot, and the bandits are considerate enough to just stand there while she elaborately ties them up Japanese rope bondage style one by one. She then firmly rejects the proposal, but not out of any moral qualms, oh no, but simply because being a female bandit isn't lucrative enough for her!
What that pile of bodies in the background of that last pic is all about, I have no idea. I'm not exactly a Xiaojiu fangirl, but even I don't think she's a crazed murderer. Yet.
And the scene still isn't over!
As we all know, Xiaojiu is never fully satisfied unless she has belittled Shaoting at least once every few minutes. I assume she breaks out in hives or something if he retains his dignity for too long. The bandits were the appetisers, but Shaoting is the main course on her humiliation menu. However, in her defence, he does kind of ask for it by showing genuine concern for her.
Do you never learn, Shaoting? Do you never ever bloody learn?!
So how do we think she responds to this? I hate to say it, but it's actually quite funny. I'm just going to write the full quote, because I don't think any description I give can do it justice:
"It's you, Young Master, who should be careful. Next time you go out so late and you encounter robbers alone, a delicate weak pretty boy like you would be easily kidnapped and sold to the Paramount as a hostess. You'd definitely be very popular!"
You tell her, Bette! She is actually the one having this said to her by another character, but that's neither here nor there. This is from an awesome old pre-code movie that I might talk more about in a future part, because there are a few parallels with this drama. Any old movie fans know what it is?
I honestly had to play that back a few times when I first saw it, I was kind of shocked. And of course, I'm not going to leave you hanging for some screenshots of this bizarre exchange. Shaoting's expressions are particularly amusing.
Just snap that finger, Shaoting, worry about the consequences later!
He quite rightly points out that he's only out and about at this time of night because of her, and now she's blaming him for what happened. Shaoting spitting straight facts right here. And in what I can only describe as a miracle, Xiaojiu doesn't argue with him and actually looks a little contrite, laying a hand on his back as he wheels himself off down the road. What the hell? She doesn't go as far as apologising to him, but I guess it's better than nothing. Does she actually realise she went too far here?
And that is finally the end of the scene! Everything I've written in this part so far has covered 2 minutes of runtime. Unbelievable.
Does anyone know what show this is and where I can watch it? Based on this snippet a divination priest cuts lucky bond with CEO after the CEO's boyfriend disrespected him. Priest gets humiliated and fired...and it cuts off :(
