Lying liar ShiGuang lied to Xia Fei for their own personal reasons smh. Xia Fei deserves friends who don’t lie to him 😔

But Cheng Xiaoshi didn't lie to him 😭 He doesn't know what happened to Vein =(

Oh, but I think he lied about not remembering anything at all to keep his promise to his mom. Also, he instantly negated Xia Fei’s assumption that maybe superpowers are involved when he knows for a fact that superpowers do exist...

I understand why he did it, but it’s still a lie of sorts...

Ok, I guess, he said he doesn't remember anything, but I think he thought "if I tell him his boss shot at me, it will probably hurt him (if he believes it at all)", and that still wouldn't have said anything about the death of him.

And he didn't negate the powers. He said "they wouldn't believe you", which he is correct about.

withholding information is still one way of “lying”

(…and the police would in fact believe in superpowers. They did in season 2 lol)

Yeah, maybe telling the truth won’t help, but it’s better than nothing. CXS should know this first-hand, having been abandoned by both parents without a word. Besides, it’s not his decision to make on how XF should handle the truth.

Yet, for his own personal reasons (promising his mom), he kept the truth from XF. He didn’t exactly withhold it for XF. It was mainly for his mom.

Remember when we thought they awakened their powers though trauma? Fun times. Turns out you can just clap and poof 🥲

That trauma line is still yet to happen in this arc, right? =O maybe they'll explain it. I think his powers awakened when he found the photo with his dad's name attached to it, and the emotional stress(?) of finally finding SOMETHING about his parents kinda activated it?

(I have no proof for this except that scene of cxs 'diving' into the photo for like 5 seconds when he found it)

Has the trauma theory been confirmed in the donghua? Wasn't it in the manhua? I don't remember.

So far, powers only awaken when someone else with powers is around. Maaaaaaaybe that's why Liu Xiao is interested in a partner. 🫣👀

I feel like the hereditary theory is more and more plausible. Imagine if Cheng Xiaoshi's parents left him behind in hope he never uses his powers? That would be tragic.

Lu Guang is still and will probably forever be a kitty with no background and family, I guess.

So i just went back to look for that tweet that translated it and in one of the earliest previews, there was a text line floating on screen that said powers are triggered by powerful emotions (well, it's about diving, but... i guess it is safe to assume that this applies to all abilities?)

ALT

So not necessarily trauma, but it kinda confirms to me again that his powers got activated when he found that picture to begin with.

(Though there's a lot of emphasis on the hot headed shaking his hand, so maybe that also played a roll. IF we find out that the other 2 also have powers, idk)

Regarding Lu Guang... there will be some lore drop next episode, apparently 👀. And while i don't think we will find out a lot, this paves the way for more in s3, so I'm hopeful.

Thank you for your detective work!

Oh so you think the fact Cheng Xiaoshi touched everyone's hand might be the reason why he was able to use his power? I really wonder how it happened in the original timeline since Liu Xiao wasn't supposed to be in Bridon and Vein wasn't supposed to be in this alley. But they still met Xia Fei in the bar since Lu Guang knew when they had to run for your life haha so is Xia Fei the key?

For a boy working his ass off to pay for his studies, I don't see him studying much so far but, again, he's working on Applied Physics and this can only be a clue.

Also, if powers were to be contagious, that would be hilarious. Cheng Xiaoshi has been all over Lu Guang since day one.

I think Cheng Xiaoshi's powers have been activated a long time ago, when he was a kid, and that might be the reason why his parents left in the first place, to protect him. That's only my headcanon though. Cheng Xiaoshi didn't clap when he found the photo and that's puzzling. Was it only a vision or was he actually there for a moment?

Again, Yingdu doesn't give any answer and we're even more confused about the lore lmao

Remember when we thought they awakened their powers though trauma? Fun times. Turns out you can just clap and poof 🥲

That trauma line is still yet to happen in this arc, right? =O maybe they'll explain it. I think his powers awakened when he found the photo with his dad's name attached to it, and the emotional stress(?) of finally finding SOMETHING about his parents kinda activated it?

(I have no proof for this except that scene of cxs 'diving' into the photo for like 5 seconds when he found it)

I'd genuinely forgotten that trailer line, but I had also been lowkey considering that CXS activated his powers when he discovered the Cheng Weimin photo considering he "heard" that photo. (I've also heard it being bandied around that golden-eyed CXS in ep 1 is golden-eyed because he's holding LG's hand then and so it's similar to LTC-LTX in their flashback and that's the first time we see their powers play out. I'm less convinced on this point but keeping it in the back of my mind as an option)

I’ve also considered the possibility of powers being passed on/triggered through holding a photo. Even in the Li Twins’ case, they had a photo in hand

Remember when we thought they awakened their powers though trauma? Fun times. Turns out you can just clap and poof 🥲

That trauma line is still yet to happen in this arc, right? =O maybe they'll explain it. I think his powers awakened when he found the photo with his dad's name attached to it, and the emotional stress(?) of finally finding SOMETHING about his parents kinda activated it?

(I have no proof for this except that scene of cxs 'diving' into the photo for like 5 seconds when he found it)

Has the trauma theory been confirmed in the donghua? Wasn't it in the manhua? I don't remember.

So far, powers only awaken when someone else with powers is around. Maaaaaaaybe that's why Liu Xiao is interested in a partner. 🫣👀

I feel like the hereditary theory is more and more plausible. Imagine if Cheng Xiaoshi's parents left him behind in hope he never uses his powers? That would be tragic.

Lu Guang is still and will probably forever be a kitty with no background and family, I guess.

Oh, I’m all in the hereditary theory. That would align with my own blood theory that powers are passed through blood

I don’t know why, but I have very strong faith in VeiFei

majority of fandom is saying they’re toxic. that Vein’s abusive. that there’s manipulation or exploitation involved. And I myself acknowledge that they’re the “toxic yaoi couple” to contrast the domestic, fluffy ShiGuang

Yet at the same time, I believe in them

I believe that Xia Fei is not just an abused 受 to the 渣攻 Vein, although they’ve been heavily coded that way so far*. I even think that, between the two of them, Vein is actually the one who cares more.

I know this sounds ridiculous. But as I was already preparing to put on my clown makeup way before VeiFei even debuted and the rest of the fandom saw what I saw, then what’s wrong with me being a little “delusional” once more. Who knows, my manifestation powers might work again. If not…well, the clown makeup is right there.

*I’m only referring to the tropes here. I don’t care what their bed positions are. They could be 互攻 or 反攻, and I’ll still ship them

@protect-namine oh no, no, no, I am NOT letting you hide this in the tags:

#would it be an unpopular opinion for me to say. i think they have a healthier dynamic right now than shiguang lol#maybe “healthy” isn’t the right word#but i think it’s interesting how lg is very adamant about keeping cxs in the dark#vein and xf kinda know what’s up with each other. flaws and all. and they’re aware of the power dynamics of their relationship#it’s a bit vague how much vein knows about xf’s side gig with lx but he DOES know both of them individually so#like i don’t think he’s unaware that lx is scheming or whatever and he’s roping xf in it. he knows lx#actually it’d be interesting if it was like. he knows how lx is and he trusts that xf can take care of himself. he told lx xf’s birthday#like there’s an interesting contrast to me with how when xf is in danger he can just ring up vein any time#cxs never knows when he’s in danger and lg never lets him know. lg is the one who keeps has to keep tabs at all times#i wouldn’t say veifei is wholesome or whatever. i like the mafia boss x model thing they have going on. there’s still a power imbalance#but there’s definitely a more open trust communication thing going on with them right now that’s highlighted#specifically because shiguang can’t do that with the secrets#truly me learning that vein hates lies has done wonders for how i view veifei. it’s key to them

Welcome to the VeiFei club, dearie. And yes, you are so right <3

And you know what, I’m gonna stop calling them the toxic yaoi couple for funsies. Canon has NOT showed them as toxic at all. People were just jumping to conclusions based on their PVs, which aren’t even completely true!

And replying to @pastorfutureletthembe‘s reblog here just to keep it one place:

Fandom saying a ship is toxic when all that happened in the canon is Vein saving his life at least twice and knowing his birthday and protecting his pretty face while Xia Fei is making heart eyes at his “big bro” and praising him to strangers he was sent to stalk (but not by Vein)

Yeah! Vein may be a little freaky (based on his PV and the language he uses), but so far he’s been very good to Xia Fei. Xia Fei doesn’t even fear him at all, and from the little snippets shared by Liu Xiao, Vein seems to genuinely care for Xia Fei too.

There may be some power imbalance due to Xia Fei being Vein’s employee, but please, Xia Fei doesn’t give a shit about Vein being his “boss.” He’ll summon him like a pokemon and talk back at him if he wants to, and Vein will just confiscate his snacks and flick his forehead in “punishment.” It’s like… Xia Fei calls Vein 老板 lǎo bǎn (boss) in the same way one would call another as 大哥 dà gē* (older brother). With affection and admiration/respect. Not really out of corporate courtesy.

*I’ve explained the nuances of dage two times before, but in case you guys missed it:

大哥 (dà gē) = actual term XF used to refer to Vein in YE3. meaning is literally eldest brother, but it’s also just a more respectful term than 哥哥 (gēgē, general older brother). However, it could also mean boss/gang leader—which can sound a bit crude on our princess Vein lol, but he technically is a 大哥

what if powers actually get passed through a person's blood

Qiao Ling and Lu Guang both had their hands stained with the blood of the one they got their powers from

And so, Vein, named after the blood vessel—

WAIT

VEINS BRING BLOOD BACK TO THE HEART

HEART IS UP

RED IS UP

VEIN IS BRINGING THEM BACK UP

oh, traffic light theory, we're really in it now

traffic light theory aside, I feel like blood really is relevant somehow to their powers

Vein is named after a blood vessel

Liu Xiao has…heartbeat hearing powers

So, yeah, there’s something here. Maybe not literal “blood,” but at least the concept of it.

The role of blood in the body is to transport oxygen and nutrients. So, blood as a medium for power transfer doesn’t seem that weird.

Just one question: we got a vein and heartbeat, but where is the “heart”?

That... that might be actually a reason why they still haven't given us Lu Guang's blood type?

Idk how that will or could be connected, and maybe they just forgot to begin with, since none of the new characters have a blood type assigned either but...??

I immediately checked CXS’s blood type because I feel like he should be an O (universal donor), but was disappointed to find that he was a B (but hey, at least we’re the same). But apparently, type Bs in the Chinese dating scene are thought of as the most “sociable” and the rule-breakers. So, yeah, very CXS.

actually, I think blood types won’t be relevant. I don’t know how important it is in China, but their neighbors, Japan and Korea, associate blood types with certain personalities. So maybe Link Click just chose blood types with that in mind as well

Well, I'm just wondering out loudly why they wouldn't reveal Lu Guang's blood type then. They said his age and blood type aren't revealed because "they're tied to the future of the story", I can't really see many things that would make the blood type relevant enough to hide it 😅

hjsfghsgdxhfgs I was late to the news

Just saw this on Twitter, and yeah, I guess blood types will be relevant… I just don’t know how they can incorporate it into the power system

I’m thinking it has something to do with who can receive the powers?

Right now, we only know CXS’s and QL’s blood types. QL is a type O, which means she can only accept blood from other O types. So I looked up Li Tianxi’s to confirm it, but eeey we don’t have her blood type info yet

Cheng Xiaoshi is a B, and he can give blood to B and AB types.

If LG is a fellow B, I don’t think they’d have to keep it a secret. But him being an AB (universal recipient) would definitely invite questions…

what if powers actually get passed through a person's blood

Qiao Ling and Lu Guang both had their hands stained with the blood of the one they got their powers from

And so, Vein, named after the blood vessel—

WAIT

VEINS BRING BLOOD BACK TO THE HEART

HEART IS UP

RED IS UP

VEIN IS BRINGING THEM BACK UP

oh, traffic light theory, we're really in it now

traffic light theory aside, I feel like blood really is relevant somehow to their powers

Vein is named after a blood vessel

Liu Xiao has…heartbeat hearing powers

So, yeah, there’s something here. Maybe not literal “blood,” but at least the concept of it.

The role of blood in the body is to transport oxygen and nutrients. So, blood as a medium for power transfer doesn’t seem that weird.

Just one question: we got a vein and heartbeat, but where is the “heart”?

That... that might be actually a reason why they still haven't given us Lu Guang's blood type?

Idk how that will or could be connected, and maybe they just forgot to begin with, since none of the new characters have a blood type assigned either but...??

I immediately checked CXS’s blood type because I feel like he should be an O (universal donor), but was disappointed to find that he was a B (but hey, at least we’re the same). But apparently, type Bs in the Chinese dating scene are thought of as the most “sociable” and the rule-breakers. So, yeah, very CXS.

actually, I think blood types won’t be relevant. I don’t know how important it is in China, but their neighbors, Japan and Korea, associate blood types with certain personalities. So maybe Link Click just chose blood types with that in mind as well

Why is everyone on Twitter/X saying that this code means: "Dad is already dead" 💀

Since it was shared by a Chinese speaking person, I assumed that it's something about the way the numbers are pronounced 🤔 but idk, i have no knowledge of that

爸爸已经死了 the supposed "translation" of the code

Hmm I don’t know how they got 爸爸已经死了 (bàba yǐjīng sǐle)

lemme try...

There are four two’s, and 2*4 = 8. Eight in Chinese is pronounced like bā, which sounds close to 爸 bà, which means father/pa.

Next to the two’s is 9, which I assume should stand for the Chinese particle 就 jiù

Next are 4 (sì) and 5 (wǔ), and together they sound like… 死物 sǐwù (dead thing)? 祀物 sì wù (sacrificial object)??

So from the 2’s to 4, we already have a sentence saying Dad is dead.

I don’t know how the rest should be read or combined to get something coherent:

4647453 pronunciation is sì liù sì qī sì wǔ sān

hmmm….

gaah, I got nothing. Chinese number code always gets lost on me coz I don’t hear the similarities much. Like, for example, the numbers 520 (wǔ èr líng) is supposed to be code for I love you 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ), but I don’t hear it at all 😭

summoning @rainibao for help

edit: I checked, and ISBN should contain only 13 digits.

22229454647453

There’s 14 here, right???

this might be relevant

Oh god

Ok so after I did it I realised someone in the notes already posted a demonstration but basically

Each number represents a letter in the hanyu pinyin, and inputting it via the 9key method (which I've actually never used before this for Chinese. But I saw 2222 and baba and got reminded of my fliphone days):

(pressing 2222 gives baba=dad)

(pressing 945464 gives yi jing= already)(sorry for not including tones check miya's for that haha)

(pressing 7453 gives si le = already dead (if we're interpreting 死了 on its own)

For e.g. by pressing 2 four times, since both b and a are in that key, it will automatically guess what you're trying to type

Same for the other letters (y is in 9 and i is in 4, etc.)

....IM DEVASTATED I WANTED A REUNION FFFFFF

somebody give Vein a different weapon. that gun is a waste on him 😩

He needs a gun or he wouldn't even catch up to a guy u_u they were in like a three foot cramped apartment and he couldn't even make it to the door before it got shut. Tragic

I'm sorry to say but he's a loser even in lu guang's dreams. lu guang keeps outrunning him in that hallway that's narrower than the time photo studio. there's barely any space for him to miss? vein can't aim for shit

@protect-namine your tags 😭😭😭

everybody go home! nothing can top this

I desperately need to hear what Vein said during the call, because what does Xia Fei mean here???

Why would “bluffing” suddenly come up when he was just trying to negotiate skipping the gig?

Is Vein trying to keep him from going home???

Lastly...

WHAT ON EARTH DID HE SAY HERE THAT XF INSTANTLY CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THE GIG???

He looked surprised, then sad, and suddenly he’s being agreeable

VEIN! WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU TELL HIM???

Woaaaa I interpreted the last bit of this call totally differently.

I'm with you about not being totally sure what he means by "bluffing" - maybe Vein said something along the lines of "If you don't do this gig [threat of some kind] and I'm not bluffing". But it's clearly not a serious threat, or at least not one directed at Xia Fei, because he reacts so nonchalantly to it. More of a yeah yeah I know.

But after he tells off the girls (and I guess they were talking about him?), he apologizes profusely to Vein and promises he won't do it again - and *then* Vein says something that calms Xia Fei down. I actually thought it was something reassuring because it got him to stop apologizing and it seemed to convince him to do the job (in the Crunchyroll subs he says something like "so about that job -" which if accurate makes it sound like a transition unrelated to whatever Vein said before that).

The way Xia Fei was apologizing didn't seem like he was scared but more like this is a flaw that Vein has pointed out to him before and he clearly values Vein's opinion/orders (like not "sneaking food" even when they're not even in the same country together). So I interpreted that scene more like Xia Fei beating himself up over something and Vein reassuring him in some way, which was touching for Xia Fei and reminded him of why he follows and admires this man so much, which is why he then of his own accord brought up the job again but this time clearly willing to do it.

I guess??? Will have to rewatch, esp on Bilibili where the subs are better

Ooooh I like your interpretation better. I declare it canon <3

I guess I was just so quick to judge it as Bad because I’m hyper-aware of the imbalance in their relationship (and the phone also got in the way of his mouth, so maybe he was actually smiling softly here)

ALT

Forgot to point this out here as the resident Chinese trivia sharer, but yeah. Aunt/uncle are just common ways to address older people (remember when CXS called Emma’s mom “aunt” when he picked up her call in S1E1?)

but damn, is blonde lady CXS’s mom??? XF and CXS being related just got closer… Yellow gang unite, or something

Somebody also made a theory before about how CXS’s mom’s soul must be living inside blonde lady’s body. If this is true and XF and new lady (the original body’s owner) are indeed related, I wonder how XF is gonna interact with CXS...

I think this is another time of "pv putting a voice line over a different scene". I'm pretty sure the sentence will be said by cxs's mum to the Qiaos when they're leaving him in their hands. (And ql listening in from the half closed door like we saw in the teaser).

I don't think the blonde woman is related to cxs in any way. Unless the "mum is lost in time" theory is true, and then I'll really look at @mykingdomforapen like 👀

Even linguistically, Vein and Xia Fei are contrasts 😭

Both the V and F sounds are labiodental fricatives*. V is the voiced sound and F is the voiceless one. To put it simply, a voiced sound is one which you can feel vibrate in your throat when you put your hand over it as you make the sound.

Try making the V and F sounds while putting one hand over your throat. You can feel a vibration for V but none for F.

Man, the more I think about this, along with my VeiFei Song Analysis, the more I feel like Vein and Xia Fei are essentially two sides of the same coin

* Labiodental fricatives are produced when there is a narrowing in the oral cavity and the tip of the tongue is placed behind the ridge of the lower teeth and the blades of the tongue make contact with the upper teeth. There are two consonant sounds in this category namely; /f/ and /v/

萧未影

+ future shadow/reflection/image for his first name

夏斐

(weird, I swear it used to give me fēi, but yea can be pronounced both ways)

Vein’s CN name would align well with that caption in his poster, something something shadow of the future

But Xia Fei… why does he have such a normal name 😭

Hang on, lemme check Felix—

welp, at least it contrasts with Xiao HAHAHAH

@catguangcorner!!!

#oooh i think xf having a ‘normal’ name fits him quite well#one of the meanings of his name could be summer beauty which is a stark contrast to 'miserable/dreary’#and an interesting counterpart to one of xf’s name meanings if u could read it as dreary/miserable reflection#wah its once again coming back to that idea of truth/lies and facades …. they’re such good foils for each other wtf

Dreary Reflection vs Summer Beauty

But in reality, it’s Feifei who’s always miserable and VV who’s always smiling sjgjhfgsjgfjs

Even linguistically, Vein and Xia Fei are contrasts 😭

Both the V and F sounds are labiodental fricatives*. V is the voiced sound and F is the voiceless one. To put it simply, a voiced sound is one which you can feel vibrate in your throat when you put your hand over it as you make the sound.

Try making the V and F sounds while putting one hand over your throat. You can feel a vibration for V but none for F.

Man, the more I think about this, along with my VeiFei Song Analysis, the more I feel like Vein and Xia Fei are essentially two sides of the same coin

* Labiodental fricatives are produced when there is a narrowing in the oral cavity and the tip of the tongue is placed behind the ridge of the lower teeth and the blades of the tongue make contact with the upper teeth. There are two consonant sounds in this category namely; /f/ and /v/

萧未影

+ future shadow/reflection/image for his first name

夏斐

(weird, I swear it used to give me fēi, but yea can be pronounced both ways)

Vein’s CN name would align well with that caption in his poster, something something shadow of the future

But Xia Fei… why does he have such a normal name 😭

Hang on, lemme check Felix—

welp, at least it contrasts with Xiao HAHAHAH

One fear: Link Click gets a happy ending, but everybody forgets their memories

funny thing is, I'm actually entertaining this idea. it's a very low probability. but! there is a non-zero chance in my mind that they go with the "lu guang learns to move on and then finds a happy ending with a reincarnated cheng xiaoshi with no memories" ending

I keep thinking about this bridge in one of the chibi episodes. some chibi episodes are canon, so like....... there is a non-zero chance this episode is canon, maybe?? idk man. I'm waiting to see if vein introduces mythology concepts in the show before speculating further. something something meng po's soup

alternatively, it's lu guang who loses his memories and starts over (to free him of the burden of remembering so many timelines)

Oh, if it’s Lu Guang forgetting, I think I can accept that