Growing Anticipation for Wallace Huo & Yang Zi Pairing in Battle of Changsha

- January 18, 2013

Gu Qingming shields his young pregnant wife, Xiang Xiang, from the impact of aerial bombing

Today marks the end of shooting for the cast and crew of Battle of Changsha after three months of hard work. According to the main lead actress, Yang Zi, we should expect to see the release of this World War II family epic next year.

For some odd reasons, I rarely get excited about Wallace Huo's onscreen pairing. I found all of his past onscreen pairings to be only passingly okay. His onscreen pairings always become secondary to the plot. I love Tang Yan and Wallace Huo's story arc in Chinese Paladin 3, but I just can't imagine them together again in another drama series. The Ruby Lin and Wallace Huo's pairing in Qing Shi Huang Fei was also subpar in my opinion. I never watched The Vigilantes In Masks, so I can't vouch for his pairing with Liu Shi Shi. And based on the trailer of the upcoming Swordsman, his pairing with Yuan Shan Shan doesn't look too promising either. In general, I prefer Wallace Huo to be paired with fresh new faces. Though Yang Zi isn't exactly a newbie in the entertainment industry, I actually never watched any of her onscreen performance. The fact that Battle of Changsha is adapted from a well-written novel and directed by a well-respected TV director in mainland China, I have confidence that Wallace Huo and Yang Zi can pull off the bickering love between Gu Qingming and Hu Xiang Xiang. I just love watching a onscreen couple that matures in their relationship. Falling in love is quite easy compared to maintaining a long lasting relationship. Thus, I really want to see how the scriptwriter of this drama will flesh out Gu Qingming and Hu Xiang Xiang's marriage life.

My anticipation for this pair is growing stronger by every newly released photo of them. Unfortunately, the production hasn't released any official photo of Gu Qingming and Xiang Xiang together. I can only depend on unofficial sources for fuzzy photos of this pair, and I still get all giddy by them. LOL.

Brief Summary of Gu Qingming and Xiang Xiang's Relationship (from the novel)

Gu Qingming and Xiang Xiang reminds me of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's first meeting in Pride and Prejudice. They both start off with very negative impressions of each other. To Xiang Xiang, Gu Qingming was a privileged arrogant ass. While Gu Qingming sees Xiang Xiang as a spoiled 16-year old brat ignorant of the harsh reality surrounding her. But time always manages to change things. Despite his initial distaste in Xiang Xiang as his potential wifely candidate, Gu Qingming unknowingly develops an interest in Xiang Xiang's feisty character. He always finds ways to gain Xiang Xiang's attention by infuriating her.

They eventually get married in a haste without even notifying Gu Qingming's family. Gu Qingming then takes his young wife home to meet his privileged family and introduces her to the world of the rich and powerful. Like all fairytales with evil stepmothers and stepsisters who always try to break up the OTP, the "villains" in this story are Gu Qingming's snobby older sisters. They feel the "uncultured" and "average" Xiang Xiang is not good enough for their precious baby brother. Henceforth, Xiang Xiang's married life living with her in-laws becomes a nightmare. Hell breaks loose when Xiang Xiang "accidentally" discovers her drunken husband in another woman's bedroom. They get into a bitter fight with the enraged Gu Qingming abandoning his young wife at his family's estate to go off to war. The devastated Xiang Xiang returns home to seek solace from her own family and becomes determined to detach herself from the Gu family.

During Gu Qingming's absence, Xiang Xiang catches the attention of a young promising doctor. When Gu Qingming learns of her family's desire for Xiang Xiang to divorce him and their intention to marry her off to another man, he finally starts to panic. LOL. With a few bullets still stuck in his body, Gu Qingming drags himself back to Changsha to see his estranged wife. Xiang Xiang doesn't have the heart to leave him after seeing his poor physical conditions. The young couple eventually reconcile and become proud parents to a son. During Xiang Xiang's second pregnancy with twins, tragedy strikes...

Though I have been focusing mainly on the OTP, keep in mind that Battle of Changsha is definitely not a love story.