This story could have easily been about 2 rich besties falling in love with 2 poor besties.
Shuai is a doctor who works at a clinic and owns his own apartment and has his shit together. That's awesome. He doesn't need money from Chengyu. He doesn't need his power. He doesn't need his protection.
Which makes Chengyu's acts of love even that more pronounced.
He hears about Mengtao because of the aphrodisiac. And he deals with him. He sends sweet deserts because, who doesn't love those? He feeds Shuai gossip because it's obvious that that's what will help Suwei (Shuai's friend).
None of it has to do with the fact that Shuai is In-Desperate-Need-Of-Money ™.
This allows Chengyu to come to Shuai on Shuai's terms. It's not some power imbalance that renders their entire dynamic icky. It's two guys who just happened to click.
I mean, even our resident pauper manages to get by without being sad, and dependent on his boyfriend's money. He has a mother who has a comfy home. He's living with his bestie sometimes. And he doesn't approach Chicheng because of money. The money just happens to be part of the scheme.
And this doesn't even last long. Because soon enough, Suwei has his own money, his own business and control of Chicheng's money.
Poverty isn't part of the story line. Neither Suwei nor Shuai need Chicheng nor Chengyu's money.
Wu Suowei absolutely needs money. The shame of poverty is probably one of the reasons he doesn't ask for it and is reluctant to receive financial help, like from Xiaoshuai to help free Chi Cheng. I feel like the inevitability of poverty is even part of the reason he decides to sell his mother's house: he knows he can survive it, but perhaps he also believes he can't really escape it. For me, money is mostly too easy in Revenged Love.
I was trying to figure out why this scene had so much power to it and I realized this is the moment Ray figures out Sand’s feelings for him. It is so beautifully written and executed… I have so many thoughts on this:
Firstly, Sand is the one to bring up the elephant in the room that is RayMew. This is not surprising, given Ray’s lack of accountability and avoidance of serious matters.
What IS surprising is Ray’s immediate reaction to this - he completely discredits the seriousness and validity of RayMew’s relationship to Sand:
“… we need to see if it’s gonna work.”
He’s (consciously or unconsciously) trying to reassure Sand that he’s not entirely unavailable - that him and Mew are just “trying things out”. That there’s still room for Sand and this thing between them.
He follows that discredit with a comment that can be read as direct criticism and comparison of Sand’s own “just friends” boundaries during their time together:
“At least he let me cross that friend zone line.”
At least HE did, at least HE let me try.
Sand returns this thinly veiled snide comment with a double entendre of his own:
“Good. You can finally end the secret crush.” To which I don’t think Ray picks up on Sand’s true meaning until Sand finishes with “Such a waste of time, right?”
THERE. RIGHT THEN. THAT MOMENT is when Sand’s true feelings finally become clear for Ray.
Because why would Ray’s secret crush be a waste of time if it worked out and he is now with Mew???
Sand is talking about himself… and Ray knows it.
You can literally see the lightbulb moment clear on Ray’s face. Sand likes him, Sand has a crush on him, Sand doesn’t want them to be only friends, and possibly never did.
But Ray didn’t know that before, how could he? And how unfair that he finds out now, finds out RIGHT as Sand is telling him that he’ll end his secret crush on Ray, and that he’ll let Ray go now that Ray has Mew?
All of the times Sand said he would never take Ray as his boyfriend or lover - insisted that they stay friends and nothing more. Possibly even hurting Ray with these words during the brief time when Ray was properly trying to move on from Mew.
And now that the man Ray has loved for years is giving him a chance - now that it’s seemingly too late, Ray is figuring out that he was wrong - that Sand did want him, like him, love him.
You can see the wheels turning in his head - trying to figure out his next move - and in that moment, he can see himself in Sand. Because at the end of the day, Ray understands loneliness and rejection better than anyone.
And so finally, he decides to next ask Sand the question he wishes someone would ask him:
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