LayarHijau — When I Meet the Moon is a drama adapted from the novel by Zhu Yi titled Zhé Yuè Liàng (Fold the Moon). This novel is the third installment of a highly popular novel trilogy in China. The two other novels in this trilogy are Hidden Love and The First Frost. Both have been adapted into two different dramas and achieved phenomenal success. The drama Hidden Love stars Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan, while The First Frost stars Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan. Meanwhile, When I Meet the Moon stars Lin Yi and Lu Yuxiao.
The Meaning of the Novel ‘When I Meet the Moon’
This third novel has the original title Zhé Yuè Liàng (Fold the Moon), which literally means to pluck or bend the moon. At first glance, this meaning feels strange if imagined literally. However, in the context of its meaning, Zhé Yuè Liàng refers to the effort of approaching and possessing something very beautiful or ideal, but a process that can actually change or damage its integrity.
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Meanwhile, the drama version chose to use the title When I Meet the Moon to make it easier for international audiences to understand.
The novel Fold the Moon tells the story of Yun Li, a young woman who is a graduate student as well as a food vlogger on a platform. She is a beautiful and intelligent woman with an introvert personality. Thanks to her appearance, she attracts the attention of many male fans on the online video platform. Uniquely, these male fans choose to call Yun Li “husband.”
However, what people do not understand is that Yun Li actually has a crisis of self-confidence. She was born with a disability, where her left ear is deaf. This has caused various problems since she was a child, where she became the target of ridicule from her extended family and school friends. Added to this is the harsh attitude of her father who treats her as if her left ear condition makes his daughter lack the ability to live normally and independently. This makes Yun Li grow up as a woman who is insecure, shy, and socially awkward. She has had a poor relationship with her father since childhood.
In high school, Yun Li found a viral video about a university team’s victory, where one of the members was Fu Shize. Curious about the figure, Yun Li searched for more information and learned that thanks to his genius, Fu Shize had skipped grades since the age of 15 and pursued education at the university level.
The video itself went viral because of Fu Shize’s handsomeness, leading netizens to nickname him “the moon in the human world”—something very beautiful, but like the moon, cannot be approached or reached. Yun Li was fascinated by Fu Shize’s handsomeness and inspired by his achievements, even though their age gap was not very far.
The two later meet again when Yun Li is about to go to graduate school. At that time, Yun Li is interning at the virtual reality technology development center where Fu Shize works. To make a long story short, Yun Li—who is insecure, quiet, and socially awkward—decides to pursue Fu Shize’s love. She tries to approach and reach the “moon” she has admired since high school. This requires all her courage as well as her mental and physical strength.
However, that effort actually hurts Yun Li, and their relationship ends. They separate for several years. Yun Li decides to participate in a student exchange program in England during this time. When she returns to China, she then meets Fu Shize again. The man then takes his turn to pursue Yun Li’s love back.
Yun Li’s journey is the basis for the title of this novel and drama. In her promotional material, Zhu Yi conveyed the sentence, “Fortunately, I am brave enough, at least I have met the moon.” This sentence was then often quoted by fans of Fold the Moon in China and used as the basis for the drama version’s title.
The Nanwu-Yihe Trilogy
The novels Hidden Love, The First Frost, and When I Meet the Moon can be said to be part of a trilogy. However, this trilogy does not have an official name from either Zhu Yi or her fans. But we think that the name “Nanwu-Yihe Universe” is an appropriate term.
Why does this novel trilogy deserve to be called the Nanwu-Yihe universe? The reason is because the stories in the three novels, which run parallel within the same timeframe, revolve around the two fictional cities of Nanwu and Yihe. Our main characters work, study, or live in one of these two cities. Sometimes they also travel to and from one of these cities.
There are several characters discussed in these three novels, which we divide into two large groups:
The first group consists of the two siblings from the Sang family: Sang Yan and his younger sister Sang Zhi. Then there is Duan Jiaxu, Sang Yan’s best friend since they were in college, who later becomes Sang Zhi’s lover. After that, there is Wen Yifan, Sang Yan’s high school friend whom he meets again when they start working, who then becomes Sang Yan’s lover.
The second group is the Fu family which consists of Fu Shize, Fu Zhengchu, and Xia Congsheng. As well as the Yun family which consists of Yun Li, her parents, and her younger brother, Yun Ye.
Hidden Love
The novel Hidden Love focuses on the life and romance of Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu from Sang Zhi’s time in middle school until she graduates from college. In this novel, characters like Sang Yan, Fu Zhengchu, and Xia Congsheng also appear. The figure of Wen Yifan is mentioned by Sang Yan, but her name is not mentioned explicitly and her figure does not appear.
The First Frost
This novel focuses on the love story of Sang Yan and Wen Yifan from their time in high school until they are working. Sang Zhi appears several times from when she was a child until she graduates from college and becomes an important part of the novel’s story. Duan Jiaxu’s name is mentioned several times but only appears at the end of the novel and in the extra chapters.
Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize only appear in the extra chapters. Fu Shize is introduced to readers with Zhu Yi’s unique signature style, as a very handsome man who is capable of making Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu jealous. Wen Yifan and Sang Zhi, who are already used to being alongside these two very handsome men, are made curious by Fu Shize’s attitude.
This is a great achievement because these two friends are known as campus idols while studying at Nanwu University because of their extraordinary good looks. Both were adored by female students at that time and even entered the highest ranks in the list of the most handsome students on the campus forum.
The Relationship of ‘When I Meet the Moon’ with ‘Hidden Love’ and ‘The First Frost’
As discussed previously, the characters in these three novels live in the same world within the same timeframe. So their life stories take place parallel to and overlap with each other in the three novels.
The character who serves as the bridge between these three novels is Fu Zhengchu, Sang Zhi’s school friend and Fu Shize’s nephew. So that the explanation of the relationship between these three novels can be understood, the explanation below will include his role in the three novels.
Hidden Love
As explained above, Sang Zhi and Fu Zhengchu are school friends during middle school and high school. Fu Zhengchu has liked Sang Zhi since middle school and searched for ways to approach the girl.
In middle school, Sang Zhi offended one of her teachers during a lesson in class. The teacher asked Sang Zhi to tell her parents to come to school. This moment became the beginning of the closeness between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. Afraid of being scolded by her parents, Sang Zhi planned to ask her older brother, Sang Yan, for help to replace her parents in meeting the teacher at school.
Sang Yan refused, until finally Sang Zhi asked Duan Jiaxu for help to meet the teacher by claiming to be the girl’s biological older brother. Fu Zhengchu knew that Sang Zhi sometimes had problems with teachers and was punished and her parents were called to school. So he deliberately made trouble so that he was also punished so he could have an excuse to be close to Sang Zhi. Like Sang Zhi, he asked his older sister, Xia Congsheng, to replace their parents in meeting the teacher at school.
Xia Congsheng was interested in Duan Jiaxu when the two met at school and braced herself to ask for the young man’s WeChat number. But Duan Jiaxu rejected her in a unique way. In the novel version, Xia Congsheng’s name is not mentioned. Meanwhile, in the drama, Xia Congsheng’s presence was removed.
Fu Zhengchu also once declared his love for Sang Zhi during high school. Sang Zhi rejected him because the girl already liked Duan Jiaxu at that time. Unfortunately, the moment Fu Zhengchu declared his love for Sang Zhi and was rejected was seen by Duan Jiaxu. Moreover, Fu Zhengchu cried when he was rejected, causing a commotion.
Duan Jiaxu, who misunderstood, thought that his best friend’s younger sister was dating Fu Zhengchu. Feeling responsible for his friend’s sister, he scolded and advised Sang Zhi not to date yet while she was still in high school. Sang Zhi felt like a victim of a misunderstanding and explained the situation to Duan Jiaxu. That moment made Fu Zhengchu create a negative impression for Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. In her heart, Sang Zhi blamed Fu Zhengchu for causing the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, in Duan Jiaxu’s heart, his figure was considered the guy who once declared his love for Sang Zhi. So when Duan Jiaxu finally dated Sang Zhi, the figure of Fu Zhengchu created a bad impression in the young man’s memory.
The First Frost
Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize appear in the extra chapters of the novel The First Frost. At that time, Sang Yan, Sang Zhi, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan were shopping at a shopping center. Fu Zhengchu appeared and accidentally met Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu there. He then approached them and was introduced by Sang Zhi to Sang Yan and Wen Yifan. It was then that Sang Zhi introduced Duan Jiaxu as her boyfriend.
Apparently, when Sang Zhi saw Fu Zhengchu, she remembered the events that occurred at the airport some time before. The young man saw the intimate interaction between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. At that time he felt that this was a deviation, because to his knowledge Duan Jiaxu was Sang Zhi’s biological older brother. So it felt strange to see the woman he loved having a relationship with her own brother.
He even sent a message and advised Sang Zhi to return to the right path. Sang Zhi apparently felt offended by the message. So she decided to clarify her relationship with Duan Jiaxu so there would be no misunderstanding. Sang Zhi then introduced Sang Yan to Fu Zhengchu and said, “This is my biological brother!”
Realizing that he had misunderstood, the awkward and embarrassed Fu Zhengchu said goodbye, but Fu Shize appeared instead. Fu Shize’s presence attracted the attention of Sang Zhi and Wen Yifan because of his handsomeness and cold attitude. Even Fu Shize dared to ignore Sang Yan when Sang Yan recognized the man as his junior from school.
Wen Yifan felt this situation was something new because there was a very handsome man who dared to ignore her boyfriend, who is also very handsome. This was also something new for Sang Zhi. Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu, who saw that their respective partners seemed to take an interest in Fu Shize, felt jealous of the man.
This story was not brought into the drama The First Frost. So the bridge between the second and third novels was removed. In the drama The First Frost, only Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu appear. Sang Zhi appears in the story from when she was a child until she graduates from college. Different from the novel version, Duan Jiaxu appears from the time Sang Yan and Wen Yifan share the same apartment.
In the novel, Wen Yifan considers Duan Jiaxu a rival in romantic matters with Sang Yan. This is because rumors and suspicions once arose during college that Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu were not just best friends, but also a same-sex couple. Several times Wen Yifan showed indirect jealousy when hearing and then seeing the closeness of the two.
When I Meet the Moon
Yun Li first met Fu Zhengchu at the Nanwu airport. She was in the city to attend an invitation from the virtual reality technology development center in her capacity as an influencer with a massive number of followers.
The young man immediately felt an attraction to the beautiful Yun Li and tried to approach her. This made the introvert Yun Li feel uncomfortable and suspicious that Fu Zhengchu had bad intentions toward her. After successfully rejecting Fu Zhengchu, she instead met Fu Shize who was actually assigned to pick her up at the airport. Fu Shize turned out to work at the same company that invited Yun Li.
By chance, Yun Li’s childhood friend, Deng Chuqi, also lives and works in that city. When Yun Li stopped by her friend’s apartment, she was introduced to Xia Congsheng who became Deng Chuqi’s colleague as well as apartment mate. Xia Congsheng became the connector who made Yun Li closer to Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize.
So besides at the virtual reality technology development center, Yun Li also met Fu Shize through Xia Congsheng. On one occasion, when Yun Li visited Deng Chuqi’s apartment, Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize also visited Xia Congsheng. The four of them decided to eat together at a hot pot restaurant.
There, these young women discussed the experience of asking for WeChat numbers from men they found attractive. Xia Congsheng admitted she had only done that once when she was in college. At that time, she replaced her parents in meeting Fu Zhengchu’s teacher. She said her experience then was a bad experience.
Fu Zhengchu then asked, “Sang Zhi’s brother?” So they discussed the incident at the beginning of the novel Hidden Love that we discussed above. On the way back to the apartment, they stopped by a shopping center. They shopped separately between the women and the men. Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize met Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan.
But this moment was not told in detail. While in the car, Fu Zhengchu was angry at his uncle for being cold and ignoring Sang Zhi and her group. These women were curious about what happened. Fu Zhengchu explained that Sang Zhi’s brother whom they met when he was in middle school turned out not to be her biological brother. Meanwhile, their uncle turned out to know Sang Zhi’s real brother, Sang Yan.
In that novel as well, we see the events that occurred in the novel Hidden Love from Fu Zhengchu’s perspective. He has been in love with Sang Zhi since middle school and actively searched for ways to approach the girl. In high school, he even declared his love for the girl and was rejected. This scene is depicted in the novel and drama Hidden Love.
Apparently, since being rejected in high school, Fu Zhengchu still harbors feelings for Sang Zhi. Even though Fu Zhengchu later dated several girls, his feelings for Sang Zhi did not fade. They then met again when Sang Zhi lived in Nanwu. Sang Zhi’s name was mentioned several times by Fu Zhengchu throughout the novel, but her figure was not shown.
In the novel, Fu Zhengchu’s love story will also be discussed. Yun Li and Fu Zhengchu apparently go to the same university, but they have different majors. Fu Zhengchu is taking undergraduate studies while Yun Li is taking a graduate program. Yun Li’s roommate, Tang Lin, falls in love with Fu Zhengchu and pursues the young man.
Casting Changes
In the drama The First Frost, the actors for Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, and Duan Jiaxu were changed. Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan did not return to play their two iconic characters in the drama The First Frost. Victor Ma, who played Sang Yan, was replaced by Bai Jingting in that drama.
The same thing also applies to the actor for Fu Zhengchu. In Hidden Love, Fu Zhengchu was played by Zhang Jiong Min. In When I Meet the Moon, he was replaced by Li Ge Yang.
Several overlapping plotlines from Hidden Love and The First Frost also underwent changes. This raises the question of whether the When I Meet the Moon drama team will also do the same: removing or minimizing the possibility of Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan appearing in the drama. We will only know when the drama airs.
