Thoughts-in-progress on Suspects list

Posts transferred from AF SIAC discussion thread - SIAC Suspects list 

epi 14: Opera singer/actor San Len Bo's name is once again brought up, this time by Ka Hin asking Ka Seng if he remembers SLB's coming over. (to the festival) Why so much attention put on this kalafe character? Very suspicious! Of course per another theory, Ka Hin himself could very well be the killer hence his concern and bombardment of questions, which of course did not go unnoticed by the very discerning Ka Yeung.

Bet in this themevideo scap Ka Seng finally recovered his memory of Hau Yee's death. Ka Sheng's brothers comforted him and together they grieved for their loss of their beloved sister.

scaps from tvbI SIAC sales presentation video

AF post# 19 Posted Today, 06:56 PM  Just thought of another suspect - that opera singer - San Leng Bo. Frankly when I was watching episode 1, I was puzzled by his scene, exactly what was the purpose of his grand entrance except to cause a stir among the guests (esp. the women) and to excite Ka Seng? (Truth be told I was a bit disappointed by this so called "yuk shu lam fung" opera actor/singer." ) I was further surprised by 2nd Uncle's warm welcome to a mere opera actor albeit famed, though Mr. Poon totally ignored him.

And now in episode 14 when Ka Seng brings up his love for opera again and how Hau Yee rebuked him for his fervor for opera -- condemning the arts as being beneath their status. In the episode 1, San came to the festival to say his goodbye and to thank the Poon family for their patronage. Could it be that San was the extortionist and when he went to meet with Hau Yee, somehow Ka Seng unexpectedly followed him (his idol) to the hut and saw everything without San knowing? And when fleeing the scene he bumped into Ka Hin at home, to cover up Ka Seng's crime Ka Hin made it look like suicide. That's why Ka Hin is so concerned as to whether Ka Seng can recall the day or night Hau Yee's death.  But what actually killed Hau Yee -- asphyxiation or poison (cos' of her bleeding orifices)

In the sales presentation Ka Seng kneels besides Hau Yee's body with his finger at her nose to test if she is still breathing. But understand that sp video is often differs from the actual production. And Ka Yeung is seen hugging Ka Hin -why?

AF post#16  Posted 03 March 2014 - 02:52 PM

After watching Ka Hin's drunken scene in epi 11 whereby he says it's not that he doesn't want to the dong ka status but that he doesn't want to fight over it, I find it hard to believe a pacifist like him would kill, deliberately or accidentally for gains. 

AF post# 16 Posted 27 February 2014 - 08:28 PM

I don't think it is Mrs. Poon because instead of killing her own daughter, she would have first put something inside the latter's food to induce miscarriage, after all Hau Yee was only 1 month into her pregnancy. If really want to kill Hau Yee, then poison would be the weapon to use instead of feeble Mrs. Poon asphyxiating the stronger Hau Yee with bare hands? with a cushion? What? And if it was a premeditated crime hence a pillow or a cushion (even then it is far-fetched because no way could Mrs. Poon be strong enough to overcome Hau Yee) then Mrs. Poon is a monster to have killed her own daughter in cold blood -- definitely not bear thinking -- don't think tvb would dare go that route.

edited: Dr. Poon (KY) has said that Hau Yee's death was due to asphyxiation, but why the bleeding orifices if poisoning is not the cause of her death? 

 

AF#12  Posted 27 February 2014 - 04:41 PM

(in response to AF post# 8) Your hunch that Hau Yee ratted on Ka Hin's plan to elope with Bik Wan to their father may be right but that has been so long time ago. Why now? Maybe because Ka Hin has just recently found out about her duplicity, but angered enough to kill? I've indeed noticed the scene of Ka Hin going ballistic on his dad but that doesn't mean he killed Hau Yee. It does however show he is capable of violence. His 'Ka Yeung will never return' is because I guess he somehow finds out about Ka Yeung being a deserter (so reported in tvb weekly), so to get rid of him he rats on Ka Yeung's whereabouts to the army authority hence Ka Yeung's arrest on his and BB's wedding day.

Since nobody but them three (Hau Yee, her husband and him) knew about the letter, there is absolutely no reason to incur his father's wrath by revealing that detail to anybody. Nobody could be any wiser to that fact. When husband implicates him he can simply deny.

AF#7  Posted 26 February 2014 - 12:00 PM

^The thought of parents killing their child for any reason is way too heinous for me to entertain so not going down that path.Well, episode 8 eliminates Chin Gan as a suspect. 

AF#5  Posted 25 February 2014 - 06:52 PM 

Guess I can scratch out Hau Yee committing suicide because in episode 7.KY and BB discovered that Hau Yee was not sick but pregnant, so no way would she be cruel as to kill her unborn baby by committing suicide. 

AF#4 Posted 22 February 2014 - 10:03 AM 

Don't think the killer is any of the listed names or BB's brother or the father.
Hau Yee's death looks like a premeditated murder given these tangible clues: the divorce letter, the raw opium, the prearranged rendezvous at such a time in such a remote area. Did Hau Yee bring along that divorce letter with her to the rendezvous? Also keep in mind, opium is not only expensive to buy but not easy to get hold of?

Ka Hin:- So far netizens have pegged him as the most likely perpetrator but I disagree -- besides being too obvious; he doesn't have the cool- headedness or the ruthlessness or the extremity in him to premeditate a murder or to kill in passion and afterwards behaved so normally in his daily life. Yes, a suppressed / oppressed person with an inferior complex can explode when pushed past his limit, but why now when Ka Yeung has come home, and it is no secret that their father favors Ka Yeung over him to take over the business? So he would have to kill KY too?

Ka Seng:- Though defiant, he has a gentle personality, moreover, he is not that strong physically weakened as he is from this unknown chronic illness. Can't picture him as a ruthless premeditated murderer or someone given to sudden violence to commit a crime of passion. Moreover, it is not likely he knows of the existence of the divorce letter or opium. But from his mental collapse afterwards, he has definitely witnessed something connected to Hau Yee's death. From the sales presentation, (admittedly PS storyline can/will change) there's this scene of him discovering Hau Yee's body.

Ka Yeung:- maybe, possibly, perhaps knew of the divorce letter through Hau Yee's letters to him, and since he was in Yunnan (easily get hold of opium) he may have resorted to using opium to numb himself over having to kill his mentor in cold blood, and so addicted to it, he has some opium in his possession when he's home. But I doubt this scenario.

As for the rest of the listed suspect I ruled them out based on the fact that none of them knew of the existence of the divorce letter or the opium.

I propose another scenario of Hau Yee's death - that it was a staged murder/suicide by Hau Yee herself.

In Hau Yee's episodes there are subtle hints to Hau Yee's health -- I've pointed that out in my episode summaries. Her headaches and her having to steady herself from dizziness -- what do they indicate -- pregnant or a terminal illness? Did she stage her suicide to keep Ka Yeung home? -- but that seems way too drastic of a measure - she should have at least waited until he was about to leave home, right? The last scene of a Hau Yee is her looking rather contemplative and solemn, and holding this silk cloth with her hands -- what was she thinking? And then she left home late at night with a lighted lantern to guide her towards the hut. Is that light inside the hut indicating someone's inside or just the windows lightened up by the full moon?

So is Hau Yee's death premeditated or a crime of passion or a staged suicide/murder by Hau Yee herself?

Only Ka Hin knew of the divorce letter but where would he get hold of the opium so quickly unless he is an opium user himself?

Ka Yeung remains a likely suspect cos' he may have known of the divorce letter and maybe is an opium user.

Unless Hau Yee had this divorce letter in her possession when she was killed, the killer must have access to her bedroom to retrieve it immediately after she was killed, and what's more, had to know where she kept it. That took guts, cool-headedness and decisive under pressure - don't see that in any of the listed suspects except for Ka Yeung but why would he arrange a rendezvous with Hau Yee in the first place?

All that conjecture and I'm back to square one cos' I really have no idea who's the killer is. Actually who's the killer is not that important to me -- the pleasure of watching the story gradually unfolds is .

Updated: weibo5/18/2014 Steven's latin dance moves

related post: Steven teaches you Latin Dance to the music of 最炫民族风 .

Steven reposting a video uploaded on Steven-ma.org weibo think it's tvb 2007 欢乐满东华

another source: youtube

6/12/2011 23:10 Hahahaha!  Interesting......but, my dance steps were off!  Should be on 2、3、4 and 1!  Heehee!   哈哈哈哈！有意思.....不過，我的舞步抓錯拍子了！應該是on 2、3、4 and 1才對！嘻嘻！

Applaud Steven as an artiste not afraid to try out new arts and stuff, and not bad at it too. Steven showing off the sinuous grace of a dancer in this unlikely crossover of East meets West.   Honestly, quite weird.  The couple were all angst when wailing out Dai Lui Fa but went all distant and cold when dancing their 'hot' salsa number.  Gotta say, Steven does have a lissome and lithe body like a willowy snake.  haha! 

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Comparatively, video below is Steven and Joyce singing the classic Cantonese opera song, Dai Lui Fa - (one of their numerous duet renditions on stage usually performed for a fundraising charity tv show.)

---see my comment on the latin combo dance when it first appeared online, + my much later conversation with an AF SM fan on Steven's different dances. ---

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My journey as Steven Ma fan Updated 2013 9/27:

Below is my 1st AF post on how I became a SM fan Self-intro AF 368 4/14/2007

I am a recent fan of Steven’s, well, since this summer. (Prior to that I had only watched these few tvb series:The Condor Heroes, The  Condor's Lovers, The Cadets (1), and Duke of Mt. Deer 1984 because I wasn't that fond of watching lengthy tv series to start with, plus tvb series were not readily available at where I lived.)  Last year, I happened to watch Healing Hands1 (friend's dvd) and, although his Dr. Joe left a deep impression on me at that time, it soon faded. Then this summer for want of something to do, I decided to download some TVB series to watch. Steven’s name was as good as any, so I browsed Youtube and found Better Halves. Just like that I became his fan. I turned to Tudou for more of his series. Since then, I have watched all his series made since 1998, while some series are better than others, I've enjoyed every one of his character portrayals. Of his series, Better Halves remains my favorite followed by "On the Track or Off",* "Where the Legend Begins" and "Safeguards". I’ve also enjoyed his latest "Steps" series. Of all his characters, appearance wise, Kangxi is the most memorable, but among my favorite characters, Quan Jia Fu & Gan Yuan are the most loved, Cao Zhi & Zhou Shi Xian are the most romantic while Shang Zhi is the most manly, and of course, Dr. Joe started it all. To my delight, Steven not only acts well, but also sings well, writes well and dances well too.

Since becoming his fan, I did some research on him. Discriminately separating the chaff from the grain, I read all reports on him with a grain of salt, but paid special attention to his tv and print interviews and excerpts of his published books. I like what I saw and heard. So when time permits, I will translate some good articles/reports on him so that his Chinese illiterate fans can also get a better sense of the man he is.

Addendum AF1054 Posted 04 March 2009 - 09:54 AM:
I keep switching between BH and OTOO as my most favorite Steven’s series, couldn't make up my mind, even now.

WTBL is not far behind, just that it's a tragedy loses points for me. Now that I think of it, that I remain his staunch fan is also in part due to his writings. His memoir and his candid sharing of his thoughts on his blogs touched me. I like listening to his live interviews too. But of course, I love watching his series best. All in all, I think Steven is a very gracious man - in his spoken and written words, in his expressions and actions; grace, which is greatly lacking in this world draws me to him.

---- eta 2013 additions: below are old comments reposted from AF----

Steven as a good husband discussion

Link to prequel post (Steven's flaws) 

Exchanges between Tamaya and Akazukin in asianfanatics post 1753

Posted 09 September 2009

Akazukin: Talking about a weakness, no matter how good he is, I never think he is perfect....Maybe his one weakness is he is not a good boyfriend.

Tamaya: In Steven's defence, his girlfriend knew what she got herself into when she accepted him as a bf. I guess the years he was freelancing for himself got to the be the best time for them, esp. without the media hounding him. (Me being batgua again.)

Akazukin: On me continuing to be a busybody: You're right that his girlfriend should know what she got herself into when she accepted him as a boyfriend. But then, I'm wondering, Steven has always said (with Tavia confirming that as well) that Steven will be a good husband. But the problem why he isn't a good boyfriend now is because he will sort of disappear and won't answer calls when he is on acting schedule. I totally understand his reason, but will he stay the same when he becomes a husband? Because I think that's pretty hard to bear for any ladies. I understand that he likes more mature women because they are.... more mature... in thoughts, so they won't pick on little things. But I believe even more mature ladies need someone they can sort of contact whenever they need mental support. It's just woman's nature, no?
[..]

Akazukin: I think there's also the issue I raise about whether he can manage being a good husband if he continues being an actor, provided that he continued his habit of switching off his cellphone during work. If he wants to have both career and family after he gets married, then something ought to change and the change can't be done overnight. If he thinks he can't give his all to his work by having his cellphone on now, I don't think he can give all to his work by having his cellphone on once he gets married too. That is unless he starts finding a way to change that habit now, which I hope he does. Giving more than 100% to his work is a good thing, but I hope he will put his 100% or more only during takes. Easier said than done of course, but he wants to keep both, I guess that's the only way to go.

Tamaya: Steven's desire to get married and start a family is nothing new to his old timer fans, even as far back as 2001. undaunted-I-forge-ahead  Recently, I dreamt. In my dream I saw my left arm cradling a daughter; right arm, a zai (son). I laughed so loudly that I woke up! I really wish to get marry, really wish to have children with my beloved. I long to have a daughter first, then a son; [..]”

So why the postponing year after year? – it all goes back to your question of bf vs husband's attributes which I’ll get to by and by. Briefly, a married man will usually put aside his own desires before his familial duties and obligations vs a bachelor going all out to realize his dreams and aspirations. “but will he stay the same when he becomes a husband?”

Me being batgua too, not to mention presumptuous in my response to the above very valid question.  My succinct answer to the above question is that he will not stay the same as a husband, and below is my long answer on why I think so.

When Steven proudly claims that he will be a good husband, he did not say it lightly.  He knows exactly what a good husband entails; after all, he was brought up by one such man – his father.  From Steven’s own accounts, his father literally loved and cared for his own wife in sickness and in health till death do they part; likewise, he desires to do the same to his own, when the time comes.  When he becomes a husband and later a father, he will change his life priorities, accordingly.  However, the time is not now.  He is not ready to give up on his self-seeking, self-absorbing dreams just yet.  Of course, he knows (per his interviews) that he is being very selfish and very unfair to Vivian, but at the same time, he knows even if he marries her now, he cannot be the good husband to her the way he aspires to be; and in time, his insistent pursuit of unfulfilled dreams might result in what he fears most, a divorce.  For now, despite his guilt over the breakup, his dreams nevertheless take precedence over his yearning for a married life.  Like Ji Yuen, he too is walking on a tightrope.  And like Ji Yuen, whichever side he chooses to walk, he will commit 100%.  Therefore, life priorities will change accordingly and accommodatingly depending on the side he’s on.  As a bachelor, he is a free agent, accountable to none; but as a married man, self-sacrifices and priorities for the family good would have to be made.

Prior to 2006, in many of his earlier interviews, Steven had stated that he would retire from entertainment at age 40 and concentrate on his publishing company – guess at that time, 40 still seemed so far away.  (ref: news) He figured hopefully by then, he would have had gotten the elusive tvb king award, thus could settle down to a blissful married life, which he craved even then.  But of course, it was not to be. 

But now, Vivian’s biological clock is clicking ominously away.  Which is why I think it was no coincidence that Steven suddenly decided to publicly divulge that he was indeed in a relationship. (ref: post 475 AJCL radio promotion) ajcl-radio-promotion

It was his way of reassuring Vivian of his commitment to her, just not marriage.  And I believe that he specifically wrote the blog entry, Marriage? for her and, killing 2 birds with an arrow,  to also prepare his fans of his imminent marriage.  Like Akazukin has so wisely noted, Steven does not seem like the kind of guy to go for a love-at-first-sight affair, much less a lightning wedding based on it.  Unspoken question posed to Vivian: Marriage? If not to you then whom, love at first sight? Me?  Impossible!  Vivian, please wait for me!  2 more years?  (haha!  Me being carried away on a runaway imagination train of thought.)


Akazukin AF#1602: It pains my heart to read the article about him and Vivian. It's indeed very difficult for him to have a relationship. I mean, I understand Vivian's complaints. Actually, I feel she is already being very understanding and accomodating to go through that six years with him in that matter. But then, standing from Steven's point of view, I also understand why he can't give her more time. He can't talk lovey dovey on the phone and then get into his character right away. But if he is like Raymond Wong who kept talking about his wife, then his partner won't be able to get into their character too. It's sad that he has to sacrifice for acting, but then without this sacrifice, we may not have been able to benefit from his great acting.


Tavia said that Steven is not a boyfriend material but husband material type. Personally, I feel that a good boyfriend must be a good husband material type because if he is not, then there is no point in having him as a boyfriend. But then, either way, he would need to spend more time with his girlfriend/wife to be a good boyfriend/husband, which is what his career limiting him to do. It's sad. Maybe if he gets to be a director, the circumstances would be more favourable for him, but then we won't get to see him acting onscreen anymore. But if that is what it takes for his happiness, then I would be happy for him even though I will miss him onscreen. Anyway, no matter which route he takes, I hope he will be happy. On a side note, I would love to see the series/movie he directs. I think it would be good.

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On his breakup with girlfriend 2009 contract seesaw

Bringing up Vivian had Steven immediately open up his protection net. “Let’s not talk about her, ok?” After much words of persuasion and effort, he finally deigned to loosen his tongue just a little.

"We dated for 6 years. Our relationship came to a bottleneck. There were some problems that we didn’t know how to reconcile. I was too busy. Once a series starts, it’s like I totally vanished. Didn’t have too much time to spend with her. She had already endured much over a long period."

The outsiders like to describe this red wine businesswoman as a superwoman. Anyway, habitual practice becomes natural. After all, it had been 6 years, still had irreconcilable conflicts?

"No matter how one can get used to a situation, she is still a woman who needs security. Maybe she is a superwoman in her work but in her heart she still likes to be taken care of. We had discussed this problem for a long time. In the end, decided it was best to halt the relationship. It was a mutual tacit understanding born of our years of togetherness. No one dumped anybody,” says he.

Steven - a worry wart? AF discussion

AF repost 1718  Posted 18 August 2009 - 12:00 AM 

honeydaisy: Wonder what his shortcomings could be? .. he seems perfect, but he can't be, can he? Or maybe he is the last of the "good men" left!

Tamaya: 
 His friends' complaints of his shortcomings. 
1) too pragmatic, too levelheaded, too much of a thinker = not spontaneous enough
2) too calm and collected = distant 
3) not open with his thoughts = reserved
4) too cautious = boring. 

Allegations on Steven's work ethics/shortcomings. link1; link2
5) too punctual therefore too rigid?
6) too conscientious in pre-memorizing his script down pat 
7) don't condone fooling around during filming- no fun

Anyway, my biggest complaint about him is that he seems such a worry wart over his family and loved ones, so much so he once suffered panic attacks from over stressing. Good news is, Steven himself is much aware of that flaw, which if not properly tempered can lead to over controlling of other people's lives. He even wrote about how his over stressing and worrying led to his 1st of many panic attacks in his latest book. Today, his panic attacks are all but gone as he learns not to over stress himself with unneeded burdens that are not his to begin with anyway. 

Akazukin: 
All these sound like his strengths rather than his weaknesses. But I guess, like most stuff, there are always two sides of a thing. So strength can very well be weakness and vice versa. However, I would still regard the mentioned as good qualities as I think the opposite of those qualities could probably cause more problems than those qualities themselves. I have some reservation about point 7 though, I do believe he doesn't fool around during filming (as in between the calling for 'action' and 'cut'), but I believe he is not no fun at all during his presence on the set, because I remember Tavia saying that Steven can play very crazily sometimes that she even nicknamed him "crazy guy".


(eta:IKR? My point exactly! I see that as strengths too. Steven doesn't have noticeable weaknesses, so his strengths got turned into flaws by detractors.) Recall how during a job interview or any interview for that matter, when asked about one's weaknesses, one should always come out with a trait that can be viewed as either a strength or a weakness, for e.g. persistence/ tenacity / determination = obsession?  protective = controlling? etc.  And yes, Steven did mention he is only serious during takes. 

honeydaisy: On Steven's panic attacks
At least he's aware of it! Nothing worse than someone who can't see his own faults. And he seems to be doing something about it, rather than denying it, or continue doing something self-destructive like over-stressing to the point of getting panic attacks. That sounds pretty hard core. Worrying is normal, but I've never heard of anyone worrying to that extent!

Tamaya: Re-reading my above post about my complaint of him being a worry wart, I truly did not express my thoughts well in the post. May I amend that comment with this post: 

Granted that "worrying is normal" but celebrities faced abnormally high anxieties and stress incomprehensible to us regular people. Steven is a worry wart, he admits as much in his press and radio interviews. But what I neglected to mention is that besides his propensity to over worry more than other people, his panic attacks were set off not by one factor alone but by an accumulation of myriad factors such as: his unwillingness to share and his indiscriminate shouldering of burdens, whether they're his to carry or not. Just that as a worry wart, he may have magnified every anxiety or worry unnecessarily. Steven has been quite candid about his past anxiety attacks. I guess that is why he is so caring of his young fadan co-stars, having been through the stress period himself. 

Steven as Judge cum Celebrity Performer at 2010 Sydney Chinatown Beauty Pageant

AF posts from #609 thru 619
AF repost#613 01 August 2010 - 10:02 AM

2010.8.1.Fans sending off Steven at Sydney Airport tudou link

Went to lunch with friend, after which went down to ground floor and happened upon Steven in the abalone/seafood store buying abalone. Said to friend that today is a lucky day, should buy lotto. After some hesitation, decided to approach Steven. Asked if he would give me 7 numbers. Steven was taken aback. “What 7 numbers?" I guess he must have thought I was asking for his phone numbers. My friend said 7 numbers to buy lotto. Steven was totally ‘defeated’, turned to Hillman and other staff and said “They are asking me for numbers to buy lotto!” And they all laughed.

Putting on a righteous face, Steven said sternly: “No way, I can’t be an enabler of long term gambling ma.”
But then after a while, he relented: Ok, I’ll give you one number, 26.”
I quipped: "Your birthday bor."
He said: How did you know?
I said: Haha! Of course, I know lo. 10.26 ma. :loool:

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2010 Miss Sydney Chinese Beauty Pageant interview. tudou link

At the airport, Steven asks the fans who among them leaked the news about him buying abalone and saying Steven is so rich to have spent so much money on it. Luckily for the culprit, she was not among them.  Haha!  in my previous post I intentionally omitted the total amount Steven paid for the abalone (the blogger had disclosed that info on her post) I thought I'll give Steven that privacy. The blogger was the very same person who wrote with relish about them requesting Steven for lucky numbers.

Steven performing GW's themesong in Sydney. To read bloggers' entries, videos and pictures and comments on that event goto:

http://blog.windy-go...eant-steven-ma/
http://k-tvb.net/ste...#comment-127511





Related video:The whole segment on Steven on TVBA facebook

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AF repost# 611
More random Steven sightings in Sydney.
2010-07-30 19:04 sm baidu



During afternoon tea, saw Xiao Xuan Zi ~~ so handsome and low key. (note: Xiao Xuan Zi = character in DOMD)  Saw him when having afternoon tea, saw him walked inconspicuously into the restaurant; not many people noticed him. Super handsome, and looks very young; looks at most 28 years old, not at all like someone approaching 40. Not snobbish at all. When departing, he smiled and waved in acknowledgment at those who recognized him. Took a snapshot but it didn't turn out well because the whole encounter was too sudden.


related news report w/ pix

2010 SM Fans Mad at Ghost Writer's WC timeslot

27 April 2010 - 11:18 AM
source: Mingpao - tvb channel.com April 27th
translator: Tamaya @ asianfanatics.net
hkchannel
ref: AF fans discussion thread



Fans’ Micro Blogs Disagree. Steven Ma Not Afraid To Take On World Cup. TVB Dispatches Ghost Writer Into Battlefield. 

The 2010 June World Cup is already an attention getter but TVB is not idle, either. It has decided to once again dispatch its Lucky General, Steven Ma, into the battlefield to lead his Ghost Writer series (aka Pu Song Ling) based on Liao Zhai stories against World Cup. But Steven Ma fans complained online that TVB once again chose their idol to do battles, and to have him once again bite the bullet. Turn out that Ma Zai has prior experience of going head to head with World Cup. In 2002, “Where the Legend Begins”, a series he was in, though battling World Cup still managed to draw in impressive ratings; hence Steven comforted his fans on his weibo* that this second time around he still got 'it' as he has every confidence in his series.

As the male lead for the 1st quarter highest rated series, A Watchdog Tale, Steven will once again don the battle armor to pit against World Cup. The recent grapevine had Steven’s Ghost Writer airing right after Sisters in Pearl commencing June 7, which also happens to be the battle time for Word Cup, hence the heated discussions among fans online. On one hand, there were fans berating TVB for choosing Ma Zai to bite the bullet, and that whenever a difficult battle arises, it always dispatches him there. On the other hand, there were fans who think it is because Ma Zai was a “Lucky General” that’s why TVB dispatches him to this battlefield, in hopes of elevating ratings; hence, they should all unite to cheer Ma Zai on. "Ga Yao!"

Seeing his fans disparate opinions, Ma Zai wrote a blog entry*. (Steven did post a weibo entry but it is not the message written by this reporter hence not going to translate something that Steven did not even write let alone post.)

Actually Steven fans should not be too overly concerned because Ma Zai can be considered TVB’s Lucky General, plus Ma Zai has prior experience pitting against World Cup. His 2002 WTLB garnered impressive ratings for TVB - its average rating was well over 30 points, and was one of the highest rated series in its year; its ratings were not unduly eroded by WC. So it had to be that TVB thinks highly of Ma Zai thus decided to give him another opportunity to flex his muscles. As to whether he will win this battle this time around? Will have to wait and see if this series has the goods to entice!

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TN: When rumors of Ghost Writer being slotted to air in the lower half of the year (June-July) first surfaced in early April, other fans rejoiced but my suspicious antenna instantly shot up to its highest alert, no way TVB would be so 'nice' towards Steven so I googled World Cup's schedules and sure enough they overlapped with Ghost Writer's timeslot. I brought that info to Steven-ma.org for discussions, which later spilled over onto sm baidu and sm weibo. 

Steven asked weibo fans which series they prefer airing first on tv:-
Clamine (Tamaya) weibo response:
2010-4-24 10:20 喜欢蒲松龄先播但不要在 (6/11 -7/11) 播出，因为是非洲南非第十九届世界杯足球赛还有最好不要跟林峰杨怡谈情说案对争(5/24 - 6/25)

2010-4-26 04:15  回复@程颖曦:天呀！我知道你是无意的怎么你这话看得那么刺眼呢？蒲松龄档期撞世界杯,知道吗？ //@程颖曦:今天看到一则消息说蒲松龄会接档掌上明珠于6月7日播出。本来以为是小道消息不足为信。刚刚看到江荣辉在微博发了这个好消息。恭喜马仔的蒲松龄逃过呗海发的命运！

2010-4-26 04:19 唉！我还以为蒲松龄档期还能改，看来是不会了！好吧！蒲松龄就跟世界杯打个漂亮的仗吧！！

baidu fan discussion thread1 baidu thread 2

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Tamaya: What Steven actually wrote in his weibo is what I have posted previously in Steven Ma AF Thread:

*Seeing how much thoughts you all expend on my behalf, I am truly touched. Frankly, 4th brother* I have never minded how other people treat me. What fear there is, is the fear that I am the one at fault. If not, then why fear anything else? What’s there to worry? Life is like that, can’t expect to have the whole world’s approval. Only hope that before the eyes are shut (died) there are no unfulfilled wishes, then at least can depart with no regrets! (Mutual sharing of thoughts) link

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Tamaya AF310
Is this what they call "double" talk? Double back to back dispatching of his series overseas! Double (three if not for SITS overseas dispatch) back to back dispatching of his series to graveyard New Year's time slots! Now double dispatching his series to battle World Cup? "Lucky General" or "Not welcome in homes" (per Ms. Lok's label) , Whatever! Just meaningless labeling. And about TVB thinking highly of Steven's series? Yeah right, who are they kidding? 

eta:
Note: Steven never said he is unafraid to take on World Cup. In fact, he did not comment on PSL or World Cup at all when this article was posted online. The said reporter put words into Steven's mouth. The above Steven's weibo message was what he wrote right before this article came out having read his fans' angry comments on GW's timeslot. 

related AF discussion thread

----- in Chinese ------

Dogs discussions

AF#1924 Posted 17 November 2009 - 04:46 AM

Tamaya: Steven says he will not eat dogs or monkeys or rabbits or any house pets. Once while working in a restaurant he was shocked to see hotplate rabbit on its menu. He talked about pet sitting his younger sister's rabbit in his house while she was on vacation. Said the rabbit was as big as a small dog. (He actually wrote about this rabbit in his prose essay book.) Said he used to love to eat crabs but ever since his friend who is a devout Buddhist (Ah Ying Zai) persuades him to 放生 (fong sang, release captived creatures) the crabs, he has since given up eating them. Eating one less kind of food is no big deal to him. Steven is truly a very compassionate man. 

Oh, he also warned against eating shrimps with Vitamin C. Haha! I myself have received several emails on that warning too. So take heed of that warning!

Akazukin: Didn't know Steven's kindness spread to even animals. Eating meats maybe cruel to animals, but then, in nutrition point of view, is the nutrition in vegetable enough? The last time I went to China, the famous medicine company advised people to eat as much variety of food as possible to promote health and immunity because of the diversified micro-organism contained in different food. But anyway, don't know how true that is. I don't know what's wrong is eating shrimps with vitamin C? So that means can't eat shrimps with oranges and chillies too?

Tamaya: Neither did I until I received emails stating that as a fact, and then to hear Steven repeating it. Both he and I have been duped for I just now verified that claim on snopes.com. Turn out it wasn't true at all. Debunk in 2005. Wonder if there is a counterpart Chinese snopes.com website. How to let Steven know he's been had. Guess only through his yahoo blog. 

Nip Ji Yuen as the red rose

AF link lots more discussions
Steven as red rose

Akazukin: And once again awed by Steven's charming demeanour there, how could Sing Suet not fall in love with him?

Tamaya: Reminds me of a Steven fan's Sits article (SM Warm House) whereby she uses blood red rose and white rose to allegorize JY and Hin, respectively.

Inspired by her writing, I came up with my own version.
Jiyuen is a wild, blood red rose. Its blossom, glorious in its unbridled beauty; its fragrance, alluring and enticing. The rose is an entrapment to unsuspecting admirers for its beauty conceals an insidious thorny side. Secured in its superiority, the red rose stands tall and haughty, its beauty for all to see. Over endowed, it becomes self-absorbed, self-centered, and self-willed. Suet, never one for flowers, was inexplicably drawn to such sublimity; its exotic beauty awakens in her a full blown passion. She seeks to posses the red rose, and in her naivety, pricks her fingers on its thorns drawing instant blood, and inflicting immeasurable and irrevocable hurt. In return, the red rose is bruised and transformed by her touch. Once bitten twice shy, Suet is now forever changed; her innocence destroyed, her family destroyed, her past destroyed, her life as she knew it, all destroyed. A different kind of passion now burns deep within her heart, where love used to reside, hatred now reigns supreme. However, as time passes, the passion scale of hatred and love mixture slowly but inevitably once again tips towards love. For indeed, the ardent of the red rose cannot be denied.

Hin is a white rose inside a vase. Its beauty, pure and understated. Its fragrance, mild and pleasing. It is tranquil and serene as it stays prop up inside its vase, content to just light up its surrounding with pure beauty and to impart its mild aroma to its appreciators.
---------------------------

The response to the rose allegory from another Steven fan:
To say JY is a blood red rose, might as well say
he is a warm and gentle poison
once taken, the pain is immeasurable
and the poison, irremovable.
and as for Er Shao as a white rose, might as well say
he is like the moonbeam shining on one's bed
cool and clear, its ray of light bringing warmth
to the darkness surrounding oneself.
who could bear to let go of the moonbeam
that brings warmth to oneself?

**********************
Akazukin: I would rather Suet travelling on her own in spring season and then she stopped when she saw a field of chrysanthemums, before a firefly flew to her and she followed it shortly before she saw Ji Yuen who has been petrified looking at her. And all their reactions remain the same. At least the scene won't throw me off from its unrealisticness.

**********************
Tamaya: I prefer your field of mums to snowland for ending. But in my neck of the woods, fireflies only appear during summer time and travel in swarms rather than solitarily. And they are most visible at night because of their glow. But of course, these are the American fireflies, don’t know about China’s own particular type. How about this: Dusk. On the way to no-where or half-where or some-where, Suet happens upon a field of wild, yellow daisies lighted up by a swarm of hovering, sparkling fireflies. One detaches itself and flies towards her, stops and dances before her eyes. It then flits away, purposefully. Suet follows, certain it is Hin’s spirit leading her to a warm shelter for the night. Even as she approaches the safe haven of a cave, a familiar aroma wafts towards her, instantly evoking warm memories of the past: spuds roasting over open fire, hmm yum yum! Stomach rumbling, she hurries expectantly and nervously into the cave, following the light emanating from inside. Voila! Surprise! Surprise! two pairs of eyes widening with surprise, with hope, and with love; eyes met, locked and tear-up. Time stands still. Yuen opens wide his arms and Suet stumbles dazedly into them. Embraced. Then they partake the roasted spuds that JY has so thoughtfully roasted for two. The end!

Akazukin
 The reason why I mentioned spring rather than summer is because it left a bit of surreal feeling while it is not too far-fetched and impossible like fireflies in winter/snow. It could be the end of spring and towards the beginning of summer. Dusk sounds reasonable, although I would prefer to have just one firefly instead of many. So that too many fireflies won't take the attention off the flowers (LOL, I'm selfish). And OMG, how much I love them to hug! I remembered saying that what's missing in the ending was a hug when I first finished the ending. I think a hug would give a complete closure to the series. But I get that TVB wants an open ending, so that Hin's fanatics won't be too pissed off or those that oppose the idea of marrying someone who 'killed' your parents won't be too pissed off too. I guess that's why they left off the hug. May I know why Yuen was roasting for two though?

Akazukin:
Wow, comparing roses to males is quite new and original to me. However, the description seems fitting. I have always preferred red rose to white rose, although I do like both (applies to both the flowers and to the characters). I'm reminded that Yuen's thorn didn't only prick Suet but also Ting Yin's. The other day rewatching SITS, I was once again impressed by Steven, and this time I would want to talk about the scene where he first met Minister Yiu. Yuen and his godfather were just passing shadows until Minister Yiu called To, but somehow, you do feel these two passing shadows are different from the rest. There is something with the way Steven walked and his posture that gives off the vibes that he is not just normal average citizen. I feel that all over SITS, he did give off this vibe that he is from a military background and I applaud him for that. Such little thing, such little scene, but it makes difference.

After reading someone said that Steven was supposed to play the role of Hin, I start wondering whether I would have preffered Yuen or Hin if Steven acted as Hin instead. And after imagining how Steven would act as Hin, I think I would still go for Stevia. I realised that the large part of the reason why I love Yuen-Suet so much is because of their chemistry, and when it comes to chemistry, it takes two keys to make noise. Even if Yuen was acted by someone of awesome acting skill like Wayne, and he does a great job in the role. He might not have the same chemistry level with Tavia. As the case with Raymond Wong. Raymond did a great job as Hin, but his chemistry with Tavia just can't beat that of Stevia, where they can communicate just through eye contacts, or the feeling that they are connected even when they were just walking together side by side.

Maybe I would have loved Hin even more if Steven took the role (not saying RayW didn't do a good job, he did a great job, just that I think I would prefer Steven), but if I'm to be asked whether I prefer Steven as Yuen or Hin. I prefer him as Yuen. I just love the masculinity of Yuen, someone who is usually cool (even with his friends, let alone strangers), can be so passionate when falling in love is just full score attraction. I like the fact that Yuen is a righteous and good person and overall nice, but he is not downright useless nice, like how he didn't bother to let way for Ting Yin when she tried to embarrass him. But if Steven took the role of Hin, I would imagine he would add more masculine blood to the character, while Raymond Wong's Hin is more gentle overall.


************************************

Tamaya: His original words in the spoiler. It could be interpreted either way. That he accepted to act in Sits as JY, or that he chose JY over Hin as his choice of character to act. Read in context with his whole entry, I think it was probably the latter. I recall a news report saying how Hin character was tailor made to salvage a misbehaving tvb artiste's reputation and jump start his career - something like that. But I guess the character was further polished after Steven had rejected that role. As an artiste, Steven must have considered screen time and whatnots, and in spite of them, he still went with JY character because it struck a chord in him and challenged his acting skill. Anyway, imo, JY's male lead status could have been easily ascertained with a revised script to include some sweet flashbacks on Yuen/suet romance, and like you've suggested,  some indication of JY's inner struggles when planning the demise of Dou camp etc etc. I wonder if the aired Sits in HK will differ from Astro's in that Yuen/Suet screentime has been added in.

-----Steven's yb entries in Chinese ---

AF discussion on Steven's yahoo blog on "marriage"

Steven yahoo blog on "marriage"

AF#1673  Posted 02 August 2009
Tamaya: I guess Steven is subtly preparing his fans to the possibility of him getting married in the near future, so that it comes, it will not be too much of a shock to them. Steven is being considerate to his fans. Well, at least, his marriage won't be until a year or two later. A baidu fan says his future wife got to be someone he falls in love at first sight, with that in mind, she urges his fans to buy train tickets to meet him.   Fans!!!

Akazukin: LMAO, the fan is so funny. But I wonder who said before that look is not important? So how can someone saying that have love at first sight? But then, there is a miracle in this world, so maybe the fans should continue on their lottery venture. As for Steven's part, if that ever happens, it's sure so sound like a million blind date or a Bachelor show.


Hmm! Who indeed? I 'bet' Steven wrote all this for 2 reasons:1) to hint to fans he's getting married soon. 2) Maybe ex-gf is still unrelenting, Steven's trying to soften her up with his promise of marriage. Pls. wait for me, love. You go, Vivian, make him beg on his knees.  Love at 1st sight is so totally not for the Steven I know. 

Most of his fans, those not delusional, are urging him to get marry with their blessings.  Let's hope he is not this pig - Once a Pig has come to a decision, nothing can stop him from carrying it out. But before he arrives at it, he spends ages weighing the pros and cons, which sometimes gives the impression that he is indecisive. Nothing could be further from the truth, but to make sure he is avoiding any possible complications, he will sometimes ponder for so long that he destroys his own case. 

Speculation on the Link to "Temptations" scene:
More like Steven's trying to make her listen to his pov. Fala has said Steven's constant pestering of her is so annoying that she gets out of her way to avoid him.

Akazukin: For the benefit of point 2, maybe he should have let out the love at first sight part. Yeah, I bet we all know, all the more Vivian know, that Steven is not the type who goes love at first sight. But you know, women, they can be pretty irrational when it comes to love, just in case she is thinking too much, he may want to omit that part so she won't think that he has changed. 

SITS discussion reposted 2009 AF

reposted from SM thread AF Feb 26 -Mar 1 2009
post 1027-1049

终于把《碧血》看完了。长篇大论有待整理,说点小感想先。
前面的剧情发展非常之纠结,但最后的结局令人大爱,虽然没有点明,但总是有柳暗花明的苗头,有爱有希望,很好! 如果说看前面还觉得不甚入戏,那么看最后一集彻底被俘虏了,被致远的眼神、表情俘虏了。sm baidu link 桔子.我是猫 09-02-06 04:06

Akazukin:
First time seeing someone liking the ending more than the beginning. Though I enjoy the screentime and the acting from the last episode, I was rather different from what I first preferred.

Tamaya:
As a Steven fan, I totally can see where she's coming from. She likes the ending because Steven owned the last scene with his outstanding performance. 前面的剧情发展非常之纠结,但最后的结局令人大爱,....... 如果说看前面还觉得不甚入戏,那么看最后一集彻底被俘虏了,被致远的眼神、表情俘虏了。The ending was bs to me, but I love the last 2 scenes because finally I got my belated big dose of Steven's acting. Like I said, the progression of the series distressed me, but the last 2 scenes captivated me. One major reason why our perspectives on the series differ so greatly is because our perspectives departed from two disparate points of view, from a Steven fan's pov and from Tavia fan's pov. You've no idea how very 'painful' it was for Steven fans to watch the whole series from beginning to the end: like how this Suet/Yuen fan wrote: "Do you how very painful my heart was at that moment to watch that scene when you wallowed in drunkenness (你自责、你内疚，你用酒精来麻痹你自己，你知道那个时候我有多心痛嘛，应该说你是自食其果吗？但如果你不是那么正直，也就不必那么痛苦了。)

Akazukin:
Our perspective did depart from two different points of view, as I start watching the series as a Tavia's fan and you start watching as a Steven's fan. Since Steven's fans didn't really enjoy the beginning and how the series progressed, it's only natural that they prefer the ending (which has more Steven) than the beginning, as compared to Tavia's fans who have enjoyed the series since the beginning.

However, I don't think our feelings for the ending differs that greatly. You guys love the last episode because we get to see full scale screentime of Steven showing his acting skill. I love the last episode for that too. And surely, the script has a part in allowing Steven to do that. But somehow, I feel it's still a rather choppy from the rest of the earlier episodes. I guess after all the Suet/Yuen heartbreak, I wanted the ending to have more happy scenes of them to make up for the sore feelings I have in all those episodes. But we are faced with further turbulence in their relationship. In the end, my heart couldn't feel resolved because I feel this dying thirst for their happy scenes.

I guess, I had more expectation for the ending because it is supposed to be a closure so everything should fall down perfectly in place in the end (ideally). The beginning is not happy is okay, because it's where the problem started. It's fine as long as it makes the punch. But I was hoping that the ending will not only make a punch, but also a closure, a resolved feeling, and a happy ending (especially after what Suet Yuen had to go through). Of course not everyone will hope for the same ending as I would.

Given that Hin died in episode 23, chances is that Steven will have more screentime to dominate onscreen however the story swings, whether it's on his relationship with Tavia or on his further personal character development. I was hoping they have more full scale of Stevia in episode 24-25 (personal character development wise and romance wise), but they didn't have much scene in episode 24. And episode 25 storyline feels a bit off to me, perhaps because they did everything within one episode.

The ending is okay, but definitely not the best I have seen from TVB. Let's just say the ending could have been better. But I'm glad that they didn't have the ending like Square Peg's.

Tamaya:
Yes, yes, yes to all that you have written.

But know this, Steven fans and Tavia fans not only departed from different pov origins but also traveled different journeys to the same destination. Whereas Tavia fans' journey was taken inside a luxurious Orient Express, whereby throughout the ride they wined and dined in a resplendent setting, passing through beautiful and interesting sites and sceneries, and accompanied with two good-looking, superior males to boot. But for Steven fans, their journey was more was like taken in a pioneer caravan traveling over wide stretches of barren and dangerous landscape; food and water were scarce as well as uplifting and beautiful sceneries, not to mention traveling discomfort and the occasional panic and anguish attacks.

So the mindsets of these two kinds of travelers naturally were different, to say the least, when they finally arrived at the same destination. So, replete with the goodness of life during their pampered journey, Tavia fans found the offerings of the destination lacking. Whereas, poor Steven fans made almost insane by their journey of angst that they were just grateful to finally reach the end of their journey in one piece. Go ask Yoyo, only a Steven fan newbie, but already inflicted with the onset of insanity that she had to roll off the wagon. Haha! So, having ‘suffered’ so much, the destination with its generous and ample offering of luscious Ji Yuen was more than like an oasis to them. So what if the ending was lacking and it was, it quenched their hunger and their thirst, and that’s that. Steven fans wanted everything, well most everything that you have so written, but we were just too weary to even demand more, our initial expectation and anticipation being already dashed by our harsh journey, we were just grateful to have some anything Steven. Of course, I can’t say for all Steven fans but my scenario holds true for most Steven fans, from reading their comments. What say you, Yoyo? And then there are the more reserved fans like strawberry67 and honeydaisy. :tricky:

And I have to retract what I said about wanting Ji Yuen to die, I really didn’t. I must be insane when I wrote that. Maybe still am.

honeydaisy:
Actually, I've been quiet on this topic because when I started watching SITS, I was neither a Tavia fan, nor a Steven fan. It was only after I started watching this series that I sat up and took notice of the both of them.

[..]I would consider myself a neutral observer because I started watching SITS without any expectations. So I simply let myself be carried by the storyline, without wanting or expecting a particular outcome. I enjoyed every step of the journey; I appreciated the dilemmas faced by Sing Suet, caught between duty/love/obligation, and I remember thinking this a lot: "Gosh, how in the world is she ever going to choose??" It was like an emotional tug-of-war: it seemed to me that for each touching scene between Ji Yuen & Sing Suet, there would be something equally emotional for Teng Hin & Sing Suet.

I think I can understand why they limited the Stevia moments, even to the last moment. The less you have of something you want, the more you yearn for it. In that way, I think the writers were being quite crafty indeed ... they drew it out to the fullest, made sure you really felt the pain and yearning. I have some minor issues with the way they handled the ending of SITS, but I didn't have any problems with the ending per se. I can't say that I analysed it very deeply, but I did feel like there was a resolution in the love story. The looks on their faces was enough for me. To me, this was the beginning of a happy ending. They finally found each other! Sing Suet's face, soft and forgiving in the light of the bonfire, told me that she still loves him and that she has forgiven him. Ji Yuen, tears and relief in his eyes, is choked up with emotion at having found his one true love who has finally forgiven him.

Naive? Over-simplified? Maybe! That's why I like these sort of open-ended endings. You can read it however you want! And of course, it gives the fans the opportunity to discuss it to death.

Akazukin:

Tamaya: Whereas Tavia fans' journey was taken inside a luxurious Orient Express[..]

My turn to laugh out loud reading this. A very fitting description for the different journey we went through, although being a fussy passenger I am, I have to say the beautiful blissful sceneries are hard to come by in the journey and they are often very brief. It is mostly interesting sites, which often passed too fast when it came to let us even fully enjoy it, with the exception of few occasions.

honeydaisy: I did feel like there was a resolution in the love story.

This is exactly how I interpret the ending too, and from Ji Yuen's tears I can feel he had gone through a lot searching for her and so there is a tint of accomplishment in his smile (my interpretation).

I guess you are right with the writer making people yearn more by giving less, because up til now, I still crave for their happy scenes. Somehow I feel there are not enough of their scenes even though they have considerably many as compared to some other series. But the heartbreaking scenes just make me crave for happy scenes and there is definitely not enough of happy scenes.

Tamaya: 

honeydaisy: I think I can understand why they limited the Stevia moments, even to the last moment. [..]

I disagree. But if it is as you said then the scriptwriters/director had greatly miscalculated the finicky fans' reactions. For it's also out of sight, out of mind. While Steven fans stayed put in Suet/Yuen camp, most Tavia fans didn’t stay around yearning for more Stevia moments. In fact, the dearth of Suet/Yuen’s scenes, sweet or otherwise, caused many former Stevia fans and Tavia fans to flock in droves into Suet/Hin camp, lured as they were by the latter greener pasture of bountiful sweet moments and screentime and their richer storyline.

Akazukin: 
Actually, I think a lot of Tavia's fan got turned off by Steven's betrayal which was thrown to them at the very start of the series. And in some sense, they were introduced to Suet/Hin first with the heartwarming scenes of them in the very first episode. Making the illusion that Suet/Hin is the original pairing while Suet/Yuen was a sour past. That's why I think it could be more beneficial to Steven if they had started the first episode on their life in Tao village and ended with his betrayal at the end of the first episode. So audiences could be led smoothly to feel the deep lingering love Suet/Yuen are feeling. In fact, my rooting love towards Stevia in SITS is almost wholly based on their chemistry. But I can't deny that the lack of Stevia's sweet scenes makes a hole in my heart that make me yearn for more sweet scenes of them and to an extent can't accept that they don't have more scenes after the ending. There is a thirst unsatisfied here.

Tamaya:
That may be, for of course you’d know Tavia fans’ mindset better than I, but what I was getting at is that if the purpose of Suet/Yuen’s limited screentime was the scriptwriters’ attempt to heighten Stevia fans’ yearning, then overall it had failed, because instead of yearning for more former Stevia deserted in droves to Suet/Hin camp. A lot of Tavia fans may have skipped camp due more to Yuen’s initial betrayal but I think if an appropriate amount of screentime and a richer Suet/Yuen storyline were accorded them in the series, fans migration might have been stamped. Yearning certainly didn’t help. Respect your opinion that "had started the first episode on their life in Tao village and ended....." but disagree, an ample flashback screentime would have helped more.

Akazukin:
Yeah, we have touched on that different opinion back in SITS thread before. I agree that ample flashback screentime would probably make us understand why Ji Yuen, someone who seems to love Suet so much, could do something that put her safety at stake. But I'm not sure whether it can do much better in making Suet/Yuen fans out of the viewers. The thing, is most shippers to Suet/Hin camp did that as early as the beginning of the series. There is a 先入為主 feeling. In fact, I think one of the reason why the scriptwriter decided to have the series start like how it is is because they are afraid people are too hooked into Suet/Yuen to appreciate Suet/Hin. They wanted audiences to feel Sing Suet's dilemma in choosing between the two. It's okay that we have different opinions, otherwise, there would probably not much discussion and I do respect your opinion too.

I guess the yearning more by having less is only applicable to those that do love/root for Stevia in the series.

*************************************************************************************


credit to: tracywoo @steven-ma.org
欲语还休，有话说不出--第七集感动的一幕
第七集末感人的一幕，胜雪在村子里找寻她二叔的时候看见致远将缴获的盐分发给老百姓。致远回头，和胜雪四目相对，那一刻，两人心中是怎样的心情啊？肯定是很复杂。他们都有话想说，可是都说不出口。

此时的致远，心里还是很矛盾，他分不清什么是真正的黑与白。或许这世上除了黑与白之外，的确还有另外一种颜色--灰。他不停地拷问自己内心，究竟自己所做的是对还是错。他内心也许真的很希望胜雪能告诉他，究竟什么是对，什么是错，但他终究不能。因为他明白自己对胜雪造成的伤害，他不敢奢望胜雪能原谅他所做的一切，唯有自己承受一切。而此时的胜雪，心里也一定有很多问题想从致远那里得到答案。为什么他要这样做？为什么他所做的事会如此i矛盾？究竟他心里想的是什么？。。。太多太多的为什么了。然而她却没机会得到答案。胜雪刚刚要上前问清楚，致远一个转身离开了，留下了迷惑的她在原地。

欲语还休，有话说不出，那是如何地这么人啊！虽然他们都没有说出口，但他们心里想必在想，希望你能懂我！

看着致远那会说话的眼神，忧郁的背影，心就酸了。他把所有的一切都独自承担了，哪怕被胜雪误解，他也没有解释。唯有马仔，把致远如此复杂，细腻的内心感情演绎得如此到位，真是感动啊~~

reposted AF#1500
Akazukin Yeah, JY and SS do have too much to ask that they probably don't know where to start. I love their speechless expressions in the end of that episode though. Like I said before, I loved Steven's quick turns of expressions.

Lately, I have been rewatching SITS like you know right. And in episode 24, I found something that I didn't notice before. It was during the scene where Ji Yuen, Sing Suet, and Sing Suet's uncle were sitting in a tea stand outside the city, before overhearing people talk about a strange man and woman looking at the wall of the ancestor house To built. It was before the two cameos enter, if you pay attention to Steven, he was taking the bread from the plate to offer it to Tavia. It was such a short sweet moment. It was such a small detail that I missed it the first time I watched it. But I love how he really put details into his acting.