Appreciation for Hewen
This is purely just an appreciation post to put my thoughts somewhere because I really like Hewen and think he's a great guy. My favourite participant of s8 was Duoduo, and I felt almost attached to her as I watched s8, and I felt the same way watching s9 about Hewen so I think he's my fav participant this season.
I just think he's a great person with a great heart. And he is so considerate. During their first day in the colour rooms he kinda took the lead and kept the conversation going. Same with their first dinner together, he took the initiative in a group of strangers and got the ball rolling, like being the first to stand and start picking each other's cards. If it wasn't for him, it probably would have been slightly more awkward. Of course Kaiyi the female extrovert helped as well.
What really stands out about him is how often he takes the initiative, which is a little contradictive since a lot of people say he's the opposite when it comes to Yue'er, but I'm not even going to go there lol. I remember in the starting days at the cabin/house, he would be so inclusive of everyone and get everyone involved in the group conversations. He looked out for Sisi while she was still very much in her shell and didn't have her sister, and many viewers also noticed that hence their ghost ship lol. During that scene where Yue was in the study and all the guys were crowding her, Hewen was one of the first to break off and join the rest of the women to not leave them alone despite his urge to obviously be near his crush. He took the initiative by being the first person to use the fountain date, and the first man to active both the stargazing & city date. During the theater/simulation experience, he was the first person to volunteer for the compliments activity. There are probably multiple other instances where he steps up first that I don't remember. But all of it shows how natural of a leader he is. He is definitely the 'Class President' of the group because of how he's constantly reading the room, elevating others, making sure everyone feels okay. He has always put others' feelings above his own and steps back for others to do what they want, which obviously has it's downfalls especially in terms of his love life, but it just shows how selfless of a person he is. Something Xiaoyu noticed and praised him for, while Yue'er hated him for.
What prompted this post was watching him in episode 9. His conversation with Xilun and his words were so so kind. Idk, the way he fussed and told him to sit on the bed and just how warm his words are. I also think Xilun spoke greatly in that conversation too. And finally, when the guys all reflected on their HS journey after >!reading Xiaoyu's letter!<. The way Hewen spoke about the others' relationships and how much he admired and rooted for them, pointing out moments of other couples that remained in his heart, just showed how insightful and attentive of a person he is. Just like how he had a little notebook where he wrote little facts about all the participants. That's a person with a genuine caring heart.
I think he, Meng, and Xiaoyu are such lovely people. I find it fitting that Hewen has become the>! sole bachelor !<of the friend group. It just suits him really well, he has that carefree vibe and it suits the natural leader/male MC (Kaiyi is obviously the best female MC) position he has too.
Perhaps a bit of Xiaoyu possessed me as I wrote this lol. It only comes from a place of admiration, I'm not a crazy fan that's in love with him and thinks he can do no wrong. But from what I've seen onscreen, I think he is a person with a wonderful heart & soul and deserves so much kindness and love. He's the type of person I'd love to be friends with or just have in my life. Hope a lot of happiness comes his way.