After two episodes I’m feeling a bit conflicted about Dragon Gate (飛越龍門客棧). On the one hand, the storyline is a bit confusing and the ‘action’ scenes just do not have a sense of urgency. On the other hand, I am absolutely loving Tammy Chen’s Jin Xiang Yu and Melvin Sia’s Xiao Dao. (not necessarily as a couple, yet – but their interactions are very fun to watch and they have great chemistry!) But alas, this is not the purpose of this post, I’ll try to refrain from fangirling. I said try.
It’s fairly evident that Melvin Sia, who has more acting experience and on screen charisma than the leading man Sunny Wang, has been pretty neglected on the Dragon Gate promotion rounds. Even when he is at certain functions, the photographers seem to forget he’s there! So I was surprised to find him on the cover (along with Alice Ke) of TVBS’s weekly magazine! (And then found out the REAL reason why it happened, BLAH!!!) OK, so I’m not a huge fan of the actual photos (except the cover), but the article is putting interesting possibilities in my head. So far, there has been very little interaction between Alice Ke’s Mo Yu and Xiao Dao. However, when both their loved ones slip away, can love develop between Mo Yu and Xiao Dao instead? I see potential! They’re so cute together in the photoshoot video I’ve included at the end of the post – 0:12!!! <3
Inside Dragon Gate: Alice Ke cries into Melvin Sia’s embrace (TVBS Weekly No. 821 – 23 July 2013)
Dragon Gate will begin airing on the 26th July. Based on the heavy promotions, the relationship entanglements and struggles have boiled to the surface. After spending two months filming together, Alice is too immersed in her character. All the hurt Alice experienced in her relationship as a Xiao San (3rd party) interferes, she can only reveal them to Melvin Sia. In the drama, they portray a pair of good friends who can talk about anything. However, they will have romantic entanglements with Sunny Wang and Tammy Chen, causing much damage and scars. They can only find solace in each other, helping to heal each other’s wounds.
Third party steals her love, Alice Ke breaks down in tears
In Dragon Gate’s ending theme video (A Good Lover by Yen-J), the short 90 seconds revealed a complicated love square. Since she was young, Alice had intended to be with Sunny. But he meets the flirtatious Tammy and becomes undecided. With so much bitterness that cannot be released, facing someone entering their relationship, even though Alice choose to believe and stand by him, she is still in a defensive position.
For Melvin who has only loved two people in his life, he stood by waiting for Alice for a long time. But because her heart belonged to his good friend Sunny he decided to let go. Later on he fell in love with Tammy… but he didn’t expect Tammy and Sunny to grow closer and closer. Watching the girl he loves (Tammy) fall in love with Sunny again, seeing how much hurt this caused for someone he had loved before (Alice), you can see how much struggling Melvin goes through.
A few days ago they filmed a scene where Alice broke down in tears and Melvin couldn’t bear to see it but to hug and comfort her. Should he steal Alice back now? Or work with her to stop Sunny and Tammy getting together? That seems to be the key in this love square.
Like the character she portrays, Alice might seem gentle on the outside but she is tough on the inside. “There’re some aspects of Qiu Mo Yu which are similar to myself, I don’t like to discuss my struggles with others.” However, Alice is also very straight forward – if she loves someone she’ll say it, if she doesn’t, she will be clear about it. Qiu Mo Yu in contrast, has always retreated and endured in her relationship. Her feelings are so suppressed it was almost unbearable for Alice. Plus there are many crying and fighting scenes. “Actually it’s ok. But if this combines with filming outdoors under the hot sun, then it feels like I’m in hell.”
Being Da Ren Ge, Melvin Sia hides a secret agenda
Melvin’s character Xiao Dao is the only person remaining who Alice can talk about her true feelings with. They were in the police academy together, plus Xiao Dao had secretly admired her. When Qiu Mo Yu is in pain, Xiao Dao stays by her side to protect and encourage her. But Melvin smiles and says, “Actually this character is not so saintly, he has his own agenda. Of course in the beginning he hopes Alice and Sunny’s relationship can go smoothly. This way Tammy can be mine.” As the two have more interactions, is there a chance for their relationship to rekindle? He is tight lipped, “I will definitely have a sense of affection for my junior, but how this will develop, actually we don’t know…”
In love they’re both suffering from the same issues. Whilst filming, both of them also suffered. Alice was bitten by mosquitos when filming outdoors. Her right leg became swollen and infected. Melvin also injured his ribs while filming some fight scenes. His right chest hurt so much he could not straighten his back. When he fell on the ground he grazed his hands and legs. He endured the pain to finish filming for the day, only going to the doctors ten hours later.
But compared to Alice who doesn’t like filming outdoors, Melvin prefers it because he has claustrophobia. “When I feel that the air isn’t circulating, I will immediately have trouble breathing. There were times when I could not say a single line. When filming indoors, there have been several times after the director yells ‘cut’, I sprinted outside.”
Friends more important than his girlfriend, Melvin had been dumped twice
Interestingly, both of them has a good friend of the opposite sex in real life. Alice’s good male friend not only can stay overnight at her house, he also has a good relationship with her family. “He has been a good friend of mine since high school, we can talk about anything. Sometimes he will come over to my house to chat for several hours, so I let him stay over in the guest room.”
For Melvin, he had fought and broken up with two girlfriends because of his good female friend. “For me, a good friend is a good friend, it has nothing to do with whether they are male or female. But girls seem to really take these things to heart. I did introduce my good friend to my girlfriend, but it was no use, in the end we still broke up.”
Hearing this, Alice couldn’t help but to offer some advice to Melvin – the line between a romantic relationship and a friendship must be very clear. “Introducing them is only the first step. The more important thing is not to let your other half feel like they are placed behind your good friend, especially when your friend is of the opposite sex. You need to be more careful. If it was me and my boyfriend has a very good female friend, I would be worried too. So the position of the person in the middle becomes more important.”
Not afraid of 3rd parties, Alice is honest to win trust
In the drama, Qiu Mo Yu has many worries, secrets she doesn’t dare to tell her boyfriend but she tells her good friend Melvin. In real life, even though she can talk about anything with her male best friend, Alice emphasises, “I think it’s important to be honest with the person you love. If I have issues with my boyfriend, I will definitely talk to him about it. I cannot suppress it.”
Dealing with the outwardly flirtatious Tammy in the drama, even though they are on opposite sides, Alice does not say bad things to her. If there was a Xiao San (third party) in real life, Alice’s method is actually “not care about it all”. “I’ve always thought if a relationship is going well then there won’t be possibilities of a third party. If things change they will change, it depends on fate and the obstacles they face.”
Melvin confesses he has been a Xiao Wang (male third party) before, “In the drama, Xiao Dao thought Sunny is a good person, good enough for a girl to spend the rest of her life with. So he retreated, allowing Qiu Mo Yu and Sunny to be together. But if it was me and I met someone I like, I will probably keep fighting. In the past I met a girl who already has a boyfriend, but I still fought hard to win her heart. That’s because when dealing with love matters, it’s hard to judge right or wrong…” Even though he’s single now, this hasn’t changed his perspective. “Unless she is married. If she isn’t married, I think I will still fight for it. Of course you have wait until one relationship ends to start another.”
Even though their views on relationships are different, Alice and Melvin’s ambiguous relationship in the drama extends to real life. They became good friends because of their common interest in food. Alice gladly became Taiwan’s tourism ambassador, recommending many places to eat. On the day of the photoshoot, Alice even bought some snacks which are her childhood favourite. When she finds something that doesn’t taste nice, she immediately shouts “Melvin you can’t eat it!”. The reason being she doesn’t want Melvin, who came from Malaysia to have a bad impression of Taiwan.
From threats to opportunities
Things in life are always so unexpected! This magazine cover was originally scheduled for Sunny Wang and Alice Ke. So everything was prepared based on their style. But on the day before the photoshoot, suddenly Sunny had to go to Zhong Li. Just when everyone was wondering how to best deal with this situation, an interesting idea came to mind. Why don’t we break the original combination and make a new one? So Melvin came to our rescue. He even has a model-like physique which meant all the outfits we prepared fit him like a glove. Due to this change, now Alice and Melvin became a pair!
Photos and Original Chinese Content from TVBS Weekly & Alice Ke’s fan blog, translation by DramaPot.com – please credit if reposting.
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