I thought of the love triangle scene. I think of the scene where Xing Wang becomes different types of people and stalks Yu Li. There's the subplot that made everyone think that Ya Yu had accidental incest with Yu Li (suggesting that they were paternal half-siblings) but it was later disproven. Xing Wang knows the real truth but lies to Yu Li about Ya Yu's father. Jealousy much? Xing Wang isn't too happy with Shin He because she's prostituting herself to feed her siblings. This moral grayness in the story is similar to The Outsiders which came a year later. Funny how Esther Liu and Ady An would later be in Chinese Paladin.
Ya Yu is the genetic product between a flimsy teenage woman and his real father (Ti Wu Cheng) who comes later. At first, we think Dr. Lan (Yu Li's father) is his father but it's revealed not to be him. I think his tenacity here is better than what Yu Hao had in The Outsiders. He becomes the rival of Xin Wang. He's not the ideal guy because he's obviously a gangster - except he's the show's protagonist and an anti-hero. He's attracted to Yu Li's tiger spirit too. However, he thinks Yu Li is his younger paternal half-sister until his real father is revealed later on. A messy situation considering that Ya Yu has a half-brother Ya Wa coming from a different, unidentified father. Oh boy, one has to admit their common mother Lan Lan is one messy woman!
Xing Wang seems to represent Wallace Huo's problem when he's cast into the role of the other guy. Do you remember how At the Dolphin Bay had a love triangle between him and Ambrose Hsu for Angela Zhang? Said show also promoted Westside Story with the 5566 guest-starring as themselves. Wallace lost to Ambrose because by default - he shouldn't get the girl. Back then, I was already vying for Ambrose (or Xe Ya in Dolphin Bay) because he was a much better pair for Tian Bian. Wallace's character Xiao Gang wasn't the ideal man. Though in Westside - I think of Xing Wang as the ideal man for Yu Li. Xing Wang is a bored 18-year-old Gary Stu - the almost perfect guy. He has parental issues considering his mother committed suicide due to an extramarital affair and a cold father. Him lying to Yu Li about Ya Yu's father though is something. I don't blame him because who can't help but lust after Yu Li?
How can love triangles be developed into a messy polygon? You can have Ya Yu and Xing Wang who are both in love with Yu Li. Then you can have Shin He likes Xing Wang but Xing Wang likes Yu Li. I think more about why I even shipped Xing Wang x Yu Li but only because the two looked good together. Other than that, Xing Wang would make the ideal husband for Yu Li. I always disliked the whole idea of Xing Wang having Shin He. I think Shin He should've been given more development to find a decent job along the way. I also didn't like Ya Yu x Yu Li for the same reason I didn't like Yu Hao x Yu Yan (preferring Li Jie x Yu Yan) in The Outsiders. Ya Yu is obviously a guy you should avoid yet he provides heroic characteristics.
Did you have any pairings going on while you watched the show?
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