That sounds great! One thing that bugs me in the drama is so far Pipi seems just to be the damsel in distress, how awesome to know that she has a lot more agency in the novel.

I actually thought about the Christian Grey character for Helan the other day and couple weeks ago in the What We Are Watching mentioned the similarly with Twilight! No wonder the story reads like crack!😆

Do you think that make the fox tribe into an alien race because the PD wants to pitch it as the new “You from Another Star” ?

I really have no idea why the PD changed the fox spirits into aliens. Someone (I think on A Virtual Voyage) mentioned that it could be tied to SARFT’s restrictions but as far as I know, webdramas aren’t subject to the same restrictions as network TV. And since Moonshine and Valentine is aired on Tencent’s streaming platform, QQ, it’s a webdrama.

Regarding the SARFT’s restrictions, there’s a long list of banned content or limitations. And one of them is that the productions can’t promote superstition:
https://qz.com/630159/chinas-new-television-rules-ban-homosexuality-drinking-and-vengeance/

Anyway, so now I’m totally lost as to why they changed it to an alien race. Will keep digging around for more info.

As far as I know, the first book in the Love Knot series was published in Jan 2010 and it’s more likely to have Twilight’s influence. Yea, it is like crack! I’m reading the 3rd book now and it is so addictive.

Books 2 and 3 delve deeper into the politics, not just between the north and south foxes but between the foxes and other races as well.

It’s such a pity that there isn’t an official English translation or fan translation yet but the books really delve deeply into environmentalism, animal rights, the food chain, and other issues and you’ll find yourself questioning whether Helan’s actions are even wrong at all. And whether Pipi’s outrage is justified. Book Helan does some crazy things but when I put myself in his shoes….

Though I don’t agree with everything he does, I can understand his actions and even empathise with him.

The show barely skims the surface of these issues.

@kimbapnoona I have no idea how the SARFT affects Moonshine and Valentine anymore.

Apparently, on-demand video service providers like Youku and Tencent Video (QQ) and iQiyi are supposed to self-police and examine their own content because there is so much content being produced nowadays and the SARFT can’t possibly examine them and approve them all apparently. Which is why C-ent viewers have to wait for months and even years before we get an air date.

See this link for greater context: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e3f52d5d-7192-48b7-935f-95d4234d1ef8

At OT last week @alessar mentioned that they are lovers in the story. It is too bad that with Chinese censorship this plot line is not possible….

It was also fun to muse with @egads about the three of them being polyamorous which of course, is not even possible on US basic cable let alone Chinese TV! This is where I am hoping that this is a web drama!

The Chinese webdrama Go Princess Go explores gender identity and LGBTQ issues. This was also a sleeper hit! Really hilarious and romantic. And the actor who plays Zhao Song also has a supporting role in Go Princess Go.

Johnny Huang (the actor who plays Helan) was also in a boy love drama called Addicted.

Dunno if the Chinese censors had anything to do with the change in Kuan Yong and Xiu Xian’s relationship. And yea, I think Xiao Ju should just have them both!

Kuan Yong and Xiu Xian are gay in the book but their relationship is only briefly acknowledged and they also have way fewer scenes in the book.

The producers prob tweaked their relationship to make it more palatable to viewers since some viewers may not be open to a gay couple. Sadly!

@pettynoonawhobuysherselfkimpap and @zoeraindasherbenji I don’t know if you have caught up to the latest episodes, but Xiu Xian in one scene basically says to Xiao Ju that she should just move in with the two men. Like forever. It’s written, or at least the subs were translated, kind of offhandedly, and the scene goes quick, but I was surprised at how up-front he was. And my take was that he knows she conflicted about her feelings for both of them, and this is a solution. Could be though that I’m reading my own wants into it, but for a Chinese drama (or any nationality for that matter) to suggest one girl and two guys living together is pretty risque.

@egads I haven’t watched ep 20 yet. I’m trying to force myself to work before I watch ep 20. LOLOL.

I think I know which scene you’re talking about. They’re celebrating Xiao Ju’s birthday? That scene?

@egads yea but how is that a solution for their situation though?

Xiao Ju being Xiao Ju wouldn’t want to lead Xiu Xian on. And the feelings will just grow deeper on all ends. From my POV, Xiu Xian’s approach is just delaying a confrontation between all 3 of them.

Living together wouldn’t really solve anything. If they actually admitted their feelings and agreed to be polyamorous, now that’s more like a solution.

@zoeraindasherbenji Episode 16 is the latest I have available on Dramafever, and this is the when her father shows up at the cafe. I rewatched the scene, and Xiao Ju makes a couple of statements that loosely imply she may be open to non-standard romantic solutions. Again, this may be me projecting, but it seems very non-standard drama conversation. I agree that the only way the three could live happily together is if in an open and communicative polyamory situation.

@egads I should rewatch Xiao Ju’s scenes with Kuanyong and Xiu Xian.. There’s a lot of room for subtext

@zoeraindasherbenji To be honest, these three are what is keeping me interested in the show.

@egads I totally understand. These 3 are so adorable together. At first, I was wondering if it was really necessary to make Xiao Ju a part of Xiu Xian and Kuanyong’s relationship. I mean, the boys were just fine on their own. I could watch Xiu Xian tease Kuanyong all day.

They probably had to make those changes to the script because Helan does some pretty extreme stuff in the book. And they wouldn’t go over well with all viewers. And maybe because of ep count as well and budget and other things like that. Really hope we get another season of M&V.

Have you tried looking in the Soompi sub-forum for the M&V show?
https://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/414498-current-mainland-chinese-webdrama-2018-the-love-knot-his-excellencys-first-love-结爱·千岁大人的初恋/

Soompi has a lot of users who are fluent in Chinese. I’ve been avoiding the Soompi thread for the show because there are some spoilers there.
Maybe someone in Soompi/Shusheng Bar/Novel Updates is already in the midst of translating the books.

I just skimmed through the Soompi thread (Thank you!!), but there doesn’t seem to be any talk about the original books or translations. It’s all about the drama. *sigh*

I’ll just keep coming back to search for the translated novel every once in a while…