Weren't those conversations between Ren + Joy, and Fangmei + Xiuying a gift?
I'm almost certain we never see Fangmei and Xiuying directly interact in the game. So much was conveyed about their relationship in less than minute - a sense of mutual respect, but also of familiarity: Fangmei's line "I sensed your room would need cleaning" I read as an earnest poke at Xiuying's untidiness, and adds this delightful cheekiness to Fangmei's character which we didn't see so much of in the game [teasing Xiuying may only be a freedom that Fangmei enjoys] plus her gentle teasing of Ryo's insufficient kung-fu - serious 'lol dude, you got your ass handed to you' energy from this kid. Hanhui scolding her for butting into Ryo and Xiuying's business, but then later seeing them eavesdrop together outside Xiuying's room was delightful. Love that we get to see this almost "stern parent-pesky child" dynamic between Hanhui and Fangmei.
I loved the short flashbacks of Ziming. They were enough to capture how haunted Xiuying is - creeping up on her (and the audience) when she is reading, but they didn't give too much away, so they were immediately compelling - given that it's one of the most compelling aspects of the game, I'm glad the first steps did it justice.
Joy and Ren. Their banter in this episode basically confirms to me that they must have boned at some point, right?! Their prior relationship is left to the imagination in the game. Friends, frenemies, exes - whatever they are - I loved to see the back and forth. I like that Ren is introduced to us before he meets Ryo here. The scene with Joy establishes Ren as bit of a jerk with a slightly extra personality [e.g. throwing the knife into the road before Joy, loved it!) but also shows he has status and is strategic, implied by Wong running to him and blabbing about Ryo, his subsequent interest in Ryo and Joy's willingness to help Ren out with finding Ryo. Getting a flavour of Ren's personality prior to meeting Ryo only adds to the anticipation of the moment when the two heavyweights Ryo and Ren finally meet. Plus it does flip the formula of "Ryo hears about this person > Ryo tries to find said person > said person is finally revealed" which is a structural freedom the anime can enjoy, and is already used effectively with Shenhua.
(I still want to see Ren step out of the shadows and try to knife Ryo though, that reveal gives me goosebumps each time!)
