The recently released C-drama Tender Light aired episode 6 on April 29, 2024. It features Zhang Xincheng and Tong Yao in the lead roles. The episode focuses on Nan Ya’s (played by Tong Yao) past. Fanglu is awakened by a memory of his younger days. He and Nan Ya used to be close and wander around the town happily on their bicycles. Fanglu remembers Nan Ya as an intelligent girl with profound ideals about life. She wanted to major in literature at the university. But Nan Ya’s mother never allowed her to continue her studies after high school.
The next day, Fanglu goes to interrogate Chen Ling in the hospital after finding out that the reports of Nan Ya being beaten are missing. He suspects that someone deliberately got rid of them to save face. He desperately asks for Chen Ling’s help to find some sort of proof of Nan Ya seeking treatment at the hospital. But it backfires, and Chen Ling accuses him of suspecting her. Furthermore, she blames Fanglu for being enticed by Nan Ya’s beauty.
As Fanglu persistently follows Chen Ling, she finally starts to open up. She tells him that she firmly believes Nan Ya murdered her husband. She recounts how she and Nan Ya became each other’s reliance on school. Nan Ya was the sort of girl who never bowed down in the face of bullying. She was also nonchalant about her father’s death, which was caused by her own negligence. This is the exact reason why she believes Nan Ya took revenge on her husband for abusing her.
Tender Light ep 6: Snippets from Tong Yao’s past shed light on her character
Nan Ya cut all ties with her abusive mother and started working at a factory. Chen Ling’s family always stood by Nan Ya. According to Chen Ling, even though she was a good friend to Nan Ya, she had enticed the guy Chen Ling liked. Later, they married, and Nan Ya never spoke to Chen Ling again.
Fanglu visits Nan Ya at the prison, bearing the news of her daughter. When asked what she really thought about her husband, she says that he was overly possessive and didn’t know his limits. Fanglu asks her why she betrayed Chen Ling. Nan Ya casually answers that she had wanted to escape from her miserable life. She says it is human nature to take advantage of situations.
Flashbacks show how Zhou Lou (Zhang Xincheng) tried to get close to Nan Ya by giving her gifts. Despite Nan Ya telling him to stop visiting her shop, he keeps barging into her life. Nan Ya opens up to him about her miserable life and urges him to stay away from her. In a desperate attempt to keep him away, Nan Ya starts to get close to her husband.
Jealousy prompts him to confront her in the library. He asks her why she forgave her husband. He desperately begs her to be his friend. Nan Ya firmly tells him that she won’t leave her husband. Her answer shatters Zhou Kou’s heart.
Tender Light is available to stream throughout the week on Youku.
