Rewatching revenged love is realising what an absolute mindfuck of a character made with messy tropes and subverting expectations that Chi Cheng happens to be.
This man is the poster boy for bad boy “I care about no one” sex-hell to poundtown classic dark romance male lead. When you start that’s PRECISELY what he is. My man has a room full of snakes for god’s sake, snakes. My Tumblr account from 2018 was less emo than his fuckboy ass
So it works, the idea of him being the usual dark romance male lead archetype works until you reach episode five and realize no.. this guy isn’t the cold-blooded mafia leader top.. this guy is that one dumb character who falls in love within like five days of knowing someone and then draws hearts around their names together
His entire character does a complete 360. Because not only is he not the “I don’t commit” type, he is quite literally the “let’s get married in the course of three days and have seven children and five cats” type. Guys, if you really think about it, he’s basically a masc lesbian.
Anyway, this is what makes him so compelling. He’s 100% in before he even knows there’s a chance to be in and he’s not ashamed of admitting it. Usually, a character of his type will be vehemently trying to hide their feelings but no this guy, no snake daddy will transfer you 200,000 yuan then tell you he can’t bear the thought of you being mad at him and then cuddle you to sleep.
He’s not some brooding, messy asshole. He’s probably been depressed for six years and now for the first time in a while he’s happy. And his happiness is contagious. It’s not something he feels the need to hide.
You’ll notice how easily chi cheng laughs and smiles, those are not coveted things like other male leads of his kind. He’s just happy and there is no Thou Shalt Noteth Know I Haveth Feelingeth melodrama surrounding it
Another thing is the fact that he cares about other people. The cold male leads archetype only cares about his partner and no one else. They’re incapable of forming connections with those around them . I know some people find this compelling but I’m not one of them. Ofcourse, Chi Cheng cares about Suowei more than anyone else but isn’t it nice he also really cares about Guo Chengyu? He still cares about his parents and their well being? That he loves his nephew? That he has a great relationship with Gangzi? That more than anything he wants a family and he wants Wu Suowei to be the center of that family
This is a male leads capable of emotions and nuance. He cares about a lot of people, he smiles and laughs whenever he wants to and he actually has other colours than black in his closet. Chi Cheng isn’t a well written fetish, he feels like a human being with vulnerability and space to grow. He is a part of Wu Suowei’s story that can’t be replaced with a wooden log like most male leads because his actions are so central to his personality
Anyway yes, Chi Cheng was the ideal Playboy Cold Mafia Boss Emo Male Lead TM that got turned into boy next door insanely in love baby and I have no complaints