BL fans from across the world are still recovering from the trauma caused by banging their heads against a wall over Wen and Alan’s Relationship. I, myself, was close to flipping a table at the hideous living arrangements. Why did they stay so long in a toxic relationship? This is a perfectly acceptable question that I feel needs further examination because it isn’t that simple.

Wen and Alan

Wen doesn’t want to hurt Alan any more than he has already. He still cares for him even though the love has died. Why else would a sane person agree to live under the same roof as their ex? I dare say, guilt was also a factor as he was the one responsible for initiating the breakup. He felt like The Wicked Bitch of the West. 

Wen once thought Alan’s sarcasm was adorable, his controlling tendencies were protective, and was convinced into having the beef. Crazy in love can truly affect even your taste buds. 

There was laughter that made that tiny apartment so spacious and the connection between them was adorable. Melting moments were made and loving experiences were shared. There was a warmth that wasn’t only generated by The Sun.

Then, skip ahead five years, we find a bleak and grey world where fighting is their only form of communication, the oppressiveness of the apartment compounds the toxicity, and the only meat that Wen will eat is another man’s chicken. The only affection between them is those nights when Alan takes advantage of a drunken Wen. You’ll take any form of affection when it is in short supply.

Full Moon Drinking

Speaking of a drunken Wen, did anyone else notice his alcohol consumption? By the end of the series, that man had accumulated a pile of beer cans that he could have used to start a bowling tournament with the staff at the Moonlight Chicken. Leng would have made a ton of cash.

When someone drinks like Wen they are usually avoiding their own reality. He was clearly in a lot of emotional turbulence that was further compounded by going home to that oppressive apartment and feeling trapped in that relationship. 

Wen was also using alcohol to avoid facing those difficult decisions that he knew deep down would have to be made. He was not getting out of this relationship without additional pain and suffering.

The Cost of Living

There is a very practical reason why people don’t leave a relationship. As ABBA once sang, Money! Money! Money! You can’t just walk out the door if your finances are tied together. What will you use for the next apartment? Hugs and kisses. The universe doesn’t work like that.

Yes, Wen has a good job. Yet we really don’t know what other financial commitments he has beyond the apartment. He admitted that some months, he lives pay-check to pay-check. His beer tab alone must cost quite a chunk of change.

Then, of course, the dread of having to divide up five years of assets that can easily destroy the last vestiges of human decency. Every item brings up gut-punching memories to the feels, a civil war over who truly has ownership or discarded out of pure revenge. Sometimes it is easier to light a match and just walk away. 

Sugar Papa

Yet walk away with what? Wen still needs finances. What about papa, surely, he can help. A conversation like that comes with trepidation having to admit that his relationship had died a painful death. Is he ready for that level of honesty? Probably not. He is still processing everything that has happened between them. 

Oh, and did you notice that papa didn’t even refer to Alan by name, “The one with the Chinese look.” I find it strange. They have been in a relationship for five years and the parents don’t know the boyfriend. So, papa and son may be close, but they aren’t that close to sharing the intimacy of their relationship. 

The Complication

So, Wen ended up staying in that toxic environment out of convenience, an unhelpful dose of guilt, and the fear of what waited on the other side of that door. 

The solution came with a serving of chicken rice, several cans of Full Moon ale, and a drunken one-night stand with an almost 40 years old hottie. The ear nibbling, torso licking, and intimate confessions were additional encouragement to make a change. There really did need to be a catalyst for Wen to step beyond the only world he had known for the last five years. 

One-night stands are never the problem, they can be a liberating experience for those wanting to start again. What makes it a complication for Wen is that the previous relationship is still tainting his mind and body. It is as if he was sharing a bed with two men except Uncle Jim wasn’t aware of the other man. 

After Thought

The moment Wen left the apartment was the healthiest choice he had made in a long time. Another positive step, he took Uncle Jim’s advice by accepting the floor and not the bed too soon. He needed time to clean the sheets and air the mattress before getting into bed with another man. Soiled sheets are no aphrodisiac. 

Of course, Wen and Alan are not unique. They are following the trail of heartbreak and grief that many couples have walked over the years. They aren’t bad people. They just made bad choices that complicated their lives. But shit happens, and some days the best you can do is keep calm to avoid emotional upheavals, eat lots of chicken for comfort and it doesn’t hurt to carry a condom.

Recommendations

Moonlight Chicken is part of the Midnight Series produced by GMMTV. This article is a continuing coverage of this top-tier BL series, and we invite you to read these related posts as well:

The Great Wall of Uncle Jim: A Character Study

Moonlight Chicken: Of teen angst, generation divide, and infidelity

Moonlight Chicken Analysis: Too much to chew or too little time to explore?

The post Keep Calm and Eat Chicken: The Exploration of a Toxic BL Relationship appeared first on PsychoWeird.