Revenged Love: The Blossoming Relationship Between Wu Suowei and Chi Cheng – And Why Their Unexpected Connection Was Exactly What They Both Needed In Their Lives

I recently decided to give BL drama series, Revenged Love. I’m not even sure what came over me. I’m not usually into watching anything remotely like this. But seeing clips of the show on Instagram got me curious. And you know what: I wasn’t disappointed…like, at all. The 2025 drama stars Tian Xu Ning as Chi Chang and Zi Yu as Wu Suowei. Tian Xu Ning recently found himself embroiled in a scandal after an alleged ex-girlfriend accused him of infidelity and ghosting her. For the sake of this particular blog entry, we’ll be avoid discussing this subject matter in detail. Instead, we’ll talk about the two main actors and the characters they played on the show.

As the story goes, Revenged Love follows a poor man, Wu Suowei, who plots revenge on his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, Chi Cheng, a rich heir, but his seduction scheme backfires when real feelings develop. I was personally shocked at how much I loved watching the series. I didn’t expect as appealing and interesting I found it to be. It was filled with intense emotional depth, charismatic cast, and a plot that blends romantic revenge with unexpected vulnerability. As a viewer myself, I didn’t see the love story between Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei as a gay love story. Instead, I saw it as a love story between two people; two great people who truly deserved the best in their own right.

The series was based on a Wattpad novel by the same name. Fans noted that the adaptation significantly improved upon the original novel, creating more likeable characters and a more “real” and less fetishized portrayal of the relationship, leading the author of the novel to even tell fans not to read the original. For the sake of this blog entry, we’ll be putting all our efforts in thoroughly discussing the TV series adaptation and then showcasing some differences made between the show and novel. Some of these differences were very much significant to how the story between the two men evolved.

It all started when Wu Suowei’s longtime girlfriend, Yue Yue, broke up with him. Yue Yue came from wealth. She came from money and power. She wanted to have someone by her side that could give her the life that she felt she deserved. She wanted someone could provide for her; someone that could pay for her lifestyle; someone she that could take her places that she wanted to go to and she liked; someone that could be by her side and for her not to be embarrassed about.

All those things weren’t anything that Wu Souwei could ever provide for Yue Yue. She couldn’t appreciate him for everything that he could give him, which was his love, attentiveness, care, compassion, kindness, and so much more. Instead, she only saw partnership as a means of image and purpose. Most of the time, she complained about all the things that, according to her standards, he did wrong, and most of the time, she was too embarrassed to ever admit she was with him to begin with. After a 3 year courtship, she she broke up with him.

Wu Suowei didn’t realize this, but his breakup with the woman he thought he loved was the best thing that could ever happen for him. It gave room for the right person to come along and actually appreciate him for the person that he is; flaws and all. Wu Suowei had a difficult time seeing it that way. All he could think about was how to get revenge against Yue Yue and hurt her just as much as she hurt him, if not more. When he saw Yue Yue getting close with another man, a rich man, he was more determined than ever to plot that revenge.

That man that Yue Yue was dating following her breakup with Wu Suowei was Chi Cheng. He wasn’t dating her because he necessarily wanted to. He was dating her because he was in the midst of facing the pressure of his parents expecting him to marry a woman. In actuality, he was gay. There was no question about it his mind whatsoever. Wu Suowei, on the other hand, always saw himself as being straight and ending up with a woman. But seeing that Chi Cheng was getting close to Yue Yue, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He made up an entire plan to get Chi Cheng to fall in love with him. He began to pretend to court him in order to get the attention of the woman of his dreams, get her jealous, and eventually have her all to himself again.

For better or worse, Wu Suowei’s plan worked. Chi Cheng did fall for him – deeply. But things seemed to have backfired when Wu Souwei started developing real, genuine feelings for Chi Cheng too. He didn’t expect it. He didn’t expect to be able to feel everything he’d felt for Chi Cheng; because he was a man. It was all very new for him. Chi Cheng did things for him that Wu Suowei had never got around to experience before because he was never appreciated enough, particularly in his previous relationship with Yue Yue. All the small things that Chi Cheng did for him – like eat spicy food even though he absolutely hated it and keeping all of Wu Souwei’s gifts for him – were absolutely priceless. Their love story was a compelling “enemies-to-lovers” trope, strong character development, and the leads’ natural chemistry. The drama’s portrayal of vulnerability, societal class struggles, and the unexpected development of genuine feelings from a plot of manipulation.

Chi Cheng’s love and his ability to open his heart not only to Wu Souwei, but for anyone for that matter, was anything but easy. His heart was previously shattered by someone he loved once before. Before he ever allowed himself to ever feel love for someone else, Chi Cheng’s heart was broken into a million pieces by Wang Shuo. It was assumed that Wang Shuo had cheated on Chi Cheng, which ended up not being true. It wasn’t the cheating that hurt Chi Cheng to the core, but rather it was the fact that Wang Shuo left for 7 whole years without an explanation. It was only when Wu Souwei came into his life and he fell in love with him that Chi Cheng’s heart healed the wound left by Wang Shuo.

Suddenly, just as he disappeared all those years ago, Wang Shuo appeared again. Not only that, but he selfishly expected Chi Cheng to want him back as his boyfriend. When he realized Chi Cheng had moved on with Wu Suowei, Wang Shuo decided to take matters into his own hands. He sabotaged Chi Cheng’s relationship with Wu Suowei, making Wu Suowei believe there still was something going on between them. But there wasn’t; not on Chi Cheng’s part at least. It was at this time that Wu Suowei noticed that Chi Cheng was becoming more and more distant with him. But it wasn’t for the reason that Wu Suowei thought. It wasn’t because of any lingering feelings for an ex.

On the contrary, Chi Cheng’s heart was taking care of Wu Suowei’s mom, who was secretly battling cancer. She specifically asked Chi Cheng not to tell Wu Suowei of her battle with cancer, as she didn’t want him to mourn her while she was alive. She wanted to see her son happy for as long as she could possibly make happen. Chi Cheng granted Wu Suowei’s mother’s wishes. He didn’t tell Wu Suowei of his mother’s terminal illness, and instead, took care of her as best as he possibly could. The newfound secrecy that was happening in their relationship, which at this point was 100% genuine on both sides, came at a price, of course. Wu Suowei thought Chi Cheng was cheating, and Chi Cheng’s part couldn’t tell him the truth because he was respecting his mother’s wishes.

Things really escalated, however, when Chi Cheng figured out that it was Yue Yue that Wu Suowei was in a relationship with, as well as the original intention of Wu Souwei getting close to him. Yet again, Chi Cheng’s part couldn’t felt he’d been betrayed by the person he loved most. He was ready to forgive Wu Suowei for absolutely everything and move forward with the relationship. All Wu Souwei had to do that he did, in fact genuinely love him; that not everything about what they’d shared together was fake. But he didn’t….

He didn’t say he loved him. He said everything about their relationship was fake, and that he used him for his own advantage; not just to make Yue Yue jealous, but for the monetary gain and the connections that he’d made. And it wasn’t that Wu Suowei didn’t love Chi Cheng. He did – wholeheartedly. But he was too hurt by the mere thought of Chi Cheng’s relationship with Wang Shuo. This caused them both to say things they didn’t mean to one another with the intention to hurt the other. And with that, Chi Cheng’s part told Wu Suowei he never wanted to see him again, but before he left, he sent a video of Wang Shou which proved he didn’t cheat and told him to happily go back to his ex.

Getting to watch the video of Wang Shuo was the best thing for Chi Cheng. It finally gave him the closure that he so desperately needed but didn’t find any way to make it through. It was watching that video that truly made him understand that his heart – his whole heart – belonged to Wu Suowei, and that no matter how much Wu Souwei hurt him, he’d always love him. Following his devastating breakup with Wu Suowei, Chi Cheng went back to Wang Shou’s place. It wasn’t to get back together with him. Instead, it was to say his final goodbye to him; to tell him that he’d waited long enough for him, but he’d moved on with his life; to tell him that he’d failed to protect his heart, and that it was Wu Suowei that healed him from the years of heartbreak that he’d caused.

It was at that time that Wu Suowei for the call from the hospital saying that his mother that his mother had collapsed. It was then that he found out about the severity of his mother’s condition. She stayed at the hospital to be treated. Wu Suowei was by her side day and night. His friends were there to support him too. Chi Cheng, even though he said he never wanted to see Wu Suowei ever again, was there too…from afar. He kept his distance, but he never disappeared. And while Wu Suowei wasn’t in the room with his mother, Chi Cheng said his final goodbye to her. It was then that she revealed to him that she always knew that he and her son were together; that she’d accepted them, but was worried that their life would be hard together in the future. As a final wish, she had Chi Cheng promise her that he’d take good care of her son after she was gone.

When Wu Suowei returned to the hospital room, his mother told him she wanted to go home; that she’d feel better there. So they left. She insisted on making him dinner. She said she’d never felt better; more energetic. As they ate, she tried to get Wu Suowei to open up about his feelings towards Chi Cheng. She desperately wanted him to tell her. But he didn’t. He missed the opportunity. Later that day, his mother passed away – peacefully – as she sat in her backyard. Only then was Wu Souwei truthful with her. He was more truthful with her in death than he was in her life. He told her of the company he’d started. He apologized for not being a good son; the son she deserved. But most importantly, he told her that he wouldn’t be getting married in his lifetime. He didn’t specify what he meant by it then, but at her funeral, he whispered to her, finally admitting that he didn’t think he’d be marrying a woman because he’d fallen in love with Chi Cheng. It was the first time ever that he’d admitted to himself that he was in love with Chi Cheng promise – not loudly, but certainly proudly.

Everyone came to Wu Souwei’s mother’s funeral; or so it seemed. People you’d never expect to come to pay the respects came – even Wang Shuo. Chi Cheng was there too. Yet again, he was there from afar. Wu Souwei never saw him, but he saw Wu Souwei, and he saw just how soulless Wu Souwei had become. Usually the emotional one between the two, Wu Souwei didn’t shed a single tear. He seemed numb; as though his soul had completely left his body. Chu Cheng left the funeral quietly, without saying a word to anyone. He did, however, come to Wu Suowei’s house at a later time. Confused as to what he was doing there since Chi Cheng was very adamant about never wanting to see him again when they broke up, he asked why he was there. Chi Cheng told him it was because he wanted to see him cry. He went on to deliberately make Wu Souwei cry so that he wouldn’t keep his feelings bottled up for too long. But when he saw Wu Souwei break down in tears, he couldn’t take seeing the person be in such a crisis that he immediately went to comfort him. As he hugged Chi Cheng, Wu Suowei begged him not to ever leave him again, and Chi Cheng made a promise he wouldn’t.

The couple finally reunited, and just as he promised Wu Suowei’s mom before her death, he took care of Wu Suowei as he was reeling from her death. As Wu Suowei began to smile again, he and Chi Cheng made a promise to each other – to never over complicate things. They were in it for the long haul. They were finally in a good place. That was until Chi Cheng was suddenly arrested for tax evasion. If convicted, he could face spending 3-5 years in jail. Knowing this information, Wu Suowei couldn’t let it happen, so he did everything he possibly could not to. The bail amount for Chu Cheng’s release was impossible; something his family couldn’t even come up with, but Wu Suowei came up with the perfect solution – use up all of his savings and sell his house, which was the only thing he had left of his mother.

Wu Suowei couldn’t wait to tell Chi Cheng the good news. He was so eager to tell him that he found a way for him to get out. He thought Chi Cheng would be just as happy as he was. Instead, when Wu Suowei told him the good news, Chi Cheng’s response was ‘I hate you!’ It wasn’t that he actually hated him, though. On the contrary, he loved him. There was no one in his world that he loved as much as he loved Wu Suowei. What he meant was that he hated that Wu Suowei loved him as much him as much as he did; so much so that it wasn’t that he was willing to give up everything for him, but that he LITERALLY did. Wu Suowei gave up the one thing he had left of his mom for Chi Cheng’s freedom, as well as his life’s saving that he’d worked for practically his entire life.

Chi Cheng was so moved by Wu Suowei’s actions that he cried. For the second time ever in his entire life, he cried; like, really cried. The first time was when he broke up with Wu Suowei after he told him that everything about their relationship was fake. This, however, was the first time he truly, truly cried. He just couldn’t believe that he could experience such a love in his lifetime. So as soon as he got out, he made plans to buy the house back…as a surprise. As they were leaving for the house with Wu Suowei blindfolded and Chi Cheng said no on would even want him if he’d left him on the street, he asked, ‘Am I really that worthless?’ What he didn’t know was that he was worth $7 million, plus the effort he put in to have EVERYTHING he had in the house as it was before he sold it.

The ending saw Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei living a happy, domesticated life in their new home. As they laid in bed together, embraced in each other’s arms, Wu Suowei, smiling ear to ear, said, ‘I have a home again.’ This didn’t just mean the house, but the person that he was with – Chi Cheng. As William J. Bennett once said, ‘Home is a shelter from storms-all sorts of storms.’ A home isn’t a place. It’s the people that make you feel safe; that make you feel the happiest in their presence; that make you feel loved unconditionally; that make you feel whole when you’re around them. For Wu Suowei, that person was Chi Cheng.

Chi Cheng was the last person Wu Suowei expected to fall in love with. But Chi Cheng made him feel like he could finally be able to be himself with someone beside him without feeling judged or misunderstood. Chi Cheng made him feel alive again. But perhaps the best part about the entire premise of their story together was that Wu Suowei’s mother knew of their relationship and would’ve accepted them as a couple had Wu Suowei had opened up to her about it before she passed. This was the biggest change made in the series from the novel. In the novel, she had no idea about her son’s sexuality.

Wu Suowei wasn’t gay. He was a man who happened to fall in love with a man. Only Chi Cheng could make him feel the way he felt when they were together. The greatest thing a parent can do is accept their child’s choices whether they like it or not. To know that she would’ve accepted Wu Suowei’s relationship with Chi Cheng had she’d gotten the chance to be opened up to… it’s everything. She knew Chi Cheng was a good person. She knew Chi Cheng treated her son right. That’s all a good parent wants for their child’s- to love and be loved. And Chi Cheng… he didn’t expect to fall in love either. Not with Wu Suowei or with anyone. It just happened, and meeting Wu Suowei and getting to know him changed him completely. Chu Cheng’s parents weren’t so accepting of his relationship with Wu Suowei. His mother, however, after seeing herself just how much Wu Suowei loved her son and getting to understand all the reasons why her son loved him, accepted Wu Suowei as part of their family.

Love shouldn’t be based on gender, race, religion, class, disability, etc. Love just f*cking happens. It changes you. It makes you want to be a better version of yourself. It makes you want to give it your all. It makes you look at the other person and see them; really, really see them for who they are. It makes you feel beautiful because they see you as beautiful. It makes you feel like you matter because they make you feel like you matter. In a nutshell, I think that, to its entirety, is the whole point of Revenged Love. Love is unexpected. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is the only emotion that can make you feel alive. Sometimes, it takes the person you least expect to give you all the answers that you needed. For Wu Suowei and Chi Cheng, they were each other’s answers.