Having followed the drama from the first episode to the current one, Qin Ran noticed that the core idea of the show had diverged significantly from the original novel. The novel was a typical time-travel romance with a heroine wielding golden fingers, centered on a tangle of love affairs. But after being reworked by the drama's crew, the series had developed a deeper, more poignant theme.
Women empathizing with women.
As the female lead had remarked, "As long as you're a woman, there are no winners." Even the princess, who stood just below the emperor, couldn't win. Her marriage was a political move to secure the emperor's trust in the young general. Once the emperor was assured of the general's loyalty, the princess became disposable.
The emperor wouldn't allow her to tarnish the royal family's image, which is why she was sent to live out her days in a temple, away from the public eye after the divorce.
If even a princess couldn't escape her fate, what chance did a mere farm girl have? The female lead sighed and chose a path similar to the novel's, yet different: she continued running her clinic, treating the poor, especially women who had no other recourse.
Her focus was on helping people, not on rebelling against the male lead. The drama highlighted the struggles of women and the female lead's compassionate heart.
Without the princess, the love story between the male and female leads still faced many challenges. Noblewomen, attracted to the young general's status and charm, constantly caused trouble. Even without external interference, the couple experienced their own conflicts.
The male lead didn't want the female lead to be so publicly active, as it didn't align with the expectations of a noblewoman. But the female lead countered, "I was born a wildflower in the mountains, never a noblewoman. When you vowed to spend your life with me, you knew that. So why are you making it difficult now?"
The male lead was left speechless by her retort and stormed off in anger. The female lead occasionally sought out the princess, both to check on her health and to seek advice from someone who had seen through the world's illusions. By the series' conclusion, when the female lead donned a red wedding dress to marry the male lead, she was still running her clinic and had become a renowned doctor.
The princess, now wearing simple green robes, came to give her blessings and presented her with a string of prayer beads and a phoenix hairpin as wedding gifts.
However, none of these scenes had aired yet. That night, Qin Ran was so moved by Yu Shuman's performance that she cried her eyes out, using up half a box of tissues, which were now scattered across the coffee table. She kept replaying the scene, even as her eyes turned red and puffy like a rabbit's.
When Yu Shuman finished her live stream and came out to grab a drink, she found Qin Ran curled up on the couch, crying like a little ball of tears. Yu Shuman was momentarily stunned and then approached her.
Not wanting Yu Shuman to see her in such a state, Qin Ran quickly turned her head away.
Yu Shuman sat down beside Qin Ran and gently poked her. "Junior, are you crying?" When Qin Ran didn't respond, Yu Shuman glanced at the TV, where the scene of the princess pointing her sword at the young general was playing. Understanding dawned on her, and she couldn't help but smile. She pulled Qin Ran out of her self-imposed cocoon and into her arms, comforting her.
"Junior, it's all pretend. Look, I'm perfectly fine, nothing happened. It's just a drama, just acting."
Of course, Qin Ran knew it was all fake—she was fully aware. But whenever she saw her senior in that state, her tears just couldn't stop flowing. Yu Shuman's embrace was warm, and Qin Ran couldn't help but snuggle into it, mumbling, "I know it's fake, but Senior, you acted so well, I just couldn't help crying."
Hearing that, Yu Shuman's smile widened. "Is that a compliment? Thank you, Junior. I'll work even harder in the future."
Qin Ran remained silent for a moment, clinging to Yu Shuman's waist and refusing to let go. In truth, she didn't want her senior to act even better, because then her heart would ache even more. Yu Shuman's current level of acting was enough to make her cry uncontrollably; if she improved, her eyes would probably swell like dumplings.
After a bit more snuggling, Qin Ran felt embarrassed by her own actions and quietly told Yu Shuman she was fine now, asking what Yu Shuman had come out for. Only then did Yu Shuman remember she had come out to get some water and asked Qin Ran to wait a moment while she went to grab a drink.
As Yu Shuman left her embrace, Qin Ran felt a pang of loss. She watched as Yu Shuman, fresh from her live stream, walked gracefully in her white dress, a stark contrast to the oppressed noblewoman on the TV screen.
Qin Ran pursed her lips. She would never let Yu Shuman meet a tragic end—she would make sure her senior got the happy ending she deserved.
Yu Shuman returned with two bottles of water, and while Qin Ran was lost in thought, she pressed the cool bottle against Qin Ran's cheek, causing her to startle.
"Senior!"
Yu Shuman chuckled. "Drink up. You've cried so much, who knows how much fluid you've lost. You need to replenish it." She twisted the cap off her own bottle and took a sip, then grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "It's getting late; make sure you don't stay up too long just because you're young."
"You sound like a nagging mom."
Qin Ran teased Yu Shuman, which earned her a playful tap on the arm with the water bottle. "And who was it that was crying like a little girl just now, huh?" They laughed and joked for a bit longer before Qin Ran, under Yu Shuman's watchful eye, obediently headed to bed.
Since moving in with Yu Shuman, Qin Ran's schedule had become much more regular. The late nights of gaming in the living room had become increasingly rare. Qin Ran didn't mind being looked after like this—in fact, she enjoyed it.
A few weeks later, with the start of the new school year in September, Qin Ran returned to her routine of balancing school, work, and home. The only difference was that now she looked forward to coming home, where she could see Yu Shuman. If she was lucky and Yu Shuman wasn't busy with work, they could even have lunch together.
Back at school, Qin Ran noticed the boy who had badmouthed her in the group chat. He glared at her with resentment as she passed by, but Qin Ran didn't give him a second thought. She wasn't about to stoop to the level of a mad dog who barks for no reason. Besides, most people were friendly to her, and her three dormmates, who knew her situation, only teased her into treating them to a meal. They didn't ask for anything fancy, just a 69-yuan all-you-can-eat hotpot place near campus.
After the meal, they patted her on the back and reassured her, "Don't pay attention to those boys. They're just jealous. If they inherited a fortune, they'd be showing off way more than you ever did."
"I don't care about them."
Her dormmates waved goodbye, and Qin Ran returned home to find Yu Shuman curled up on the couch with her laptop, watching TV. The table was set with dishes covered by lids. Yu Shuman smelled the hotpot on Qin Ran as she walked in. "Did you eat out? I cooked for you, but you can save it for tomorrow's lunch."
"Okay~"
Qin Ran agreed, mentally kicking herself for not knowing Yu Shuman was cooking that evening. She wouldn't have gone out if she had known.
As Qin Ran's peaceful life continued, so did the drama, steadily gaining popularity. Although Yu Shuman's character had finished her scenes, her popularity continued to rise. On D Station, fan edits of her scenes became increasingly popular. Recently, a video titled "Born Noble | Yet Unable to Control Her Own Fate" held the top spot, featuring clips of the elegant, noble, and graceful woman who couldn't escape the oppressive forces of the patriarchal system, leaving viewers with a sense of melancholy.
As Yu Shuman's solo edits gained traction, fan-made couple videos also began to surface. Interestingly, these weren't about her and the male lead, but rather her and the female lead.
When Qin Ran first stumbled upon one of these videos, she was stunned. The video, through clever editing, portrayed a seamless romantic development between the two women, ending with them escaping the confines of power together and living a peaceful life in the countryside. Qin Ran found herself questioning whether she had missed such a storyline in the drama.
Some particularly skilled fans of Ronghua even created a past-life and present-life video, splicing together interview footage, brand event appearances, and other public moments to craft a modern-day happy ending. With Ronghua's large fanbase and their impressive editing skills, the couple pairing of Yu Shuman and Ronghua quickly became the most popular ship in the fandom, even surpassing the male and female lead pairing.
When asked why, fans would simply say that the male lead wasn't good enough for the female lead, and they preferred the female lead to stand strong on her own.
As Qin Ran watched these videos, she went from being surprised to feeling introspective, and eventually, she was left with a deep sense of jealousy. She couldn't stand the idea of Yu Shuman being paired with someone else, even if it was a woman. It especially bothered her when she saw comments like, "I think Ronghua x Yu Shuman really works! The older, composed actress paired with the younger, fiery rising star—wow, I'm all in!"
A surge of sour jealousy welled up in Qin Ran's heart, and the words "No way" echoed in her mind.
—No, that's not okay…
She could accept the idea of Yu Shuman falling for a man, even though she would undoubtedly badmouth him to sabotage their relationship. But if Yu Shuman ended up with a woman… Qin Ran couldn't handle that. She would keep asking herself, "If you can be with a woman, why can't that woman be me?"
Qin Ran felt a wave of frustration. What's the point of shipping them? Why not ship the boss with the artist instead?
But after a while, she sat on her bed, staring at the phone screen still playing the couple video, and lowered her head in defeat. Qin Ran knew that the couple pairing was fake, just a fan's fantasy. Their pairing wasn't real, but her feelings were.
It was because she genuinely loved Yu Shuman that she couldn't tolerate seeing her paired with anyone else, even if it was all make-believe.
The fans knew it was just a fantasy, and they were content with it. Only Qin Ran was stuck in the sweet trap of unrequited love, unable to break free.