Thread by @naoyai_k, Wu Xingzi from You've Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale is a character [...]

Wu Xingzi from You've Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale is a character that unknowingly burrows deep into your consciousness and soul. I've read a lot of fiction in my life, and most of them have grand tales of adventure, redemption, revenge, an epic love story

that sometimes spans across lifetimes. And I deeply enjoy them all, I cry at their pain, I am furious at their defeat and I sympathise with them. But there's always that part in me that goes 'but it's fictional, it's fantastical, this won't ever happen in reality'

and obviously there's that disconnect and you have to suspend your disbelief to immerse yourself into that wondrous story. But with YGMCT, leaving aside the extreme endurance of the two main characters in the bedroom (my low energy ass can't relate) it's deeply rooted in reality.

Wu Xingzi's fascination and single minded focus on his Peng pictures is a result of trauma and betrayal. Is this trauma akin to those of other characters in stories who have gone to war, killed a person, died and come back or betrayed by their country and the likes?

No, but no one should invalidate his trauma as lesser than. The betrayal he received was personal, it was not for the greater good of the country nor anything overtly grand. The simple fact that his sincere love was played with and used, and he was discarded with a string of lies

lends a factor of reality to the story. This could and has already happened to many of us unfortunately. And I appreciate the fact that he's not become bitter but at the same time his sense of defeat and him 'knowing his place' pierces right through my senses. He's an average

person that has never thought of rising through the ranks, but the events in his life has also ultimately cemented his stand on never dreaming big, and staying in your lane. How often have we had these same thoughts? In my case, a lot. I get told this a lot.

But I, for one have an urge to prove them wrong. Wu Xingzi doesn't, he simply takes it, doesn't let it affect him greatly and moves on. Even with all these critiques supposedly bouncing off of him, he fantasises about his final resting place as though that were his greatest

accomplishment in life, and that broke my heart. When I tell you I cried as I read that part where he details the lengths he went through to gain the plot of land with a great view, his pride at having enough money to afford a nice coffin, it really broke my heart.

I have cried while reading a lot of tragic points in stories. But this particular one hit hard and it hit deep. He spoke of it with such fondness and none of the jilted pain, it made it even more impactful. How much has life battered you, for you to think, that is the magnum opus

of your life? And for Guan Shanjin to barge into his life along with the Peng society magazine, giving him a new leash on life. Having seen him satisfied and re-invigorated with such simple things was bittersweet. YGMCT has a light story with lots of steamy sexy scenes, but

underneath it all, the essence of the story is about a man that had been ready to give up on everything, life included, ask for something for himself finally. Nothing too grand, nothing too ostentatious, just amiable companionship. To be not lonely anymore.

And for me, this makes it so beautiful, pure and poignant, despite a majority of its content being explicit. YGMCT is one of the purest and heartbreaking stories I've read, not because of its grand plot but in its simplicity.

This has been my TedTalk on Wu Xingzi and how he absolutely destroyed me, then pieced me back together in YGMCT.

Disclaimer: This is in no way an objective analysis. It is a highly subjective and personal opinion. This character as a whole, appeals to me in a way no other

character has. So, if you're here to complain about how surface level and vain he is, how the story is just pwp then you missed the whole point, and please feel free to remove yourself from my sight. Thanks.

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