Link to NU: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/ive-transmigrated-into-this-movie-before/ I started reading this novel not long ago and it really hooked me. After discussing theories for pages with a friend, I thought it would be cool to have other readers join the discussion and come forward with their own opinions, analysis and theories. So I will introduce a few topics I had previously discussed with my friend but anyone please come and share your thoughts in any topic you want to discuss. (I'm writting in spoiler format bc it was very long, but all info appearing has been introduced before chapter 40. I have not read ahead so everything here is my opinions or theory, this is spoiler free to anyone who is up to date with last chapter posted) Spoiler: Past/current relationship with Wen Yu: -Past: from my pov, her feelings for wen yu is just caring for him as a child and even more bc to her he is like a mirror of her own life (starting from the first movie, where she acquired the 'trauma' of being called a monster and being looked at with disgust) -Current: it looks like WY's past with Wen Xiao Ning (Ning Ning in 2nd movie) deeply affected him and that's why he chose to be a psychologist. I want him to realize that Ning Ning is his aunty In my mind I have crossed out any possibility of romance between them, and calculated that there is and age gap between them of arounf 15 years, but I know there's people shipping them so you can also share your opinions on that. Still I want them to interact more, I hope WY will be giving counseling to Ning Ning. -Also still wondering why porter said not to get close to Wen Yu.... Spoiler: Director Chen Guan Chao and Phantom of the Theatre: - I strongly dislike him. Starting for his big obsession with Ning Yu Ren (NN's mom) in the first timeline, and also hated how he spoke so proudly of how his grandpa and grandmom (1st movie's MC and FL) killed Qu Ning (NN in 1st movie) and her dad (even if her dad did what he did, which was also horrible). -Looks like now (2nd timeline) he is really obsessed with Wen Xia Ning and her 'phantom', at the same time, NYR is also haunted by WXN's phantom and started imitating her, so far unable to escape. This also leads to CGC being obsessed with NYR. Spoiler: Butterfly effect (don't change past more than twice) -The past changed substantially after the 2nd transmigration/movie, the Phantom Theatre movie went froom being an utter sh*t to being a masterpiece (thanks to WXN/NN's influence). I wonder who ended up acting the phantom tho, I think it wasn't NYR since CGC doesn't seem to recognize her. Due to the big changes in this past, the reality and 'present of the 3rd movie' have changed a lot. Now that the original phantom movie changed, it will be much more difficult for NN to star on it above expectatives, before it was trash but now is a masterpiece so whe will need to put a lot of effort on it. NYR also changed a lot bc of WXN's influence, meaning the way she behaves now is completely different to the past. So now we are in a 2nd timeline quite different from the 1st timeline (before NN transmigrated to 2nd movie). NN is now following the clue that that Shin guy might have had sth to do with NYR's change and how she ended in the phantom theatre, is this past (present of 3rd movie) also affected by NN's 2nd movie's influenced? -Why did NYR warn her to not change the past more than twice? How did she change it? Did she change the past 3 or more times? Did sth important happen because of those changes? (Maybe a tragedy?) Spoiler: The porter of the Life Theater -It looks like our mysterious porter is Qu Ning's (NN in 1st movie) father. So it's already a bit of a mystery bc cannot really be human, he'd be too old (has he reincarnated with memories?), other staff of the life theatre (masks) are definitely not human (what exactly are they?). NN already has an inkling that he is his father from the 1st movie, but she seems afraid to ask? Also, the porter should know that NN 'possessed' his daughter for some time (so she robbed his daughter of her soul/freedom) but at the same time he also felt NN's love for him as his daughter during the movie, so he should love both QN and NN. -And I kinda get the feeling it goes beyond that, maybe he is NN's biological father (if he had been reincarnated then the ages could match) bc he reacted strangely (with concern? idr) when NYR was mentioned, so he must have known NN's mother, tho we still don't know which kind of relationship they had. So he might be twice Ning Ning's father (reality and 1st movie), or he might not. -about the life, theater there's a price to pay, and what better payment that what the name says, 'life'? paying with your life in order to live the lives of others... this is related to their low whit blood cells count... Spoiler: Ning Yu Ren - How did she get to the Life Theater for the first time? She said not to accept movie tickets from the masks, how did she get them then? (And why not accept tickets from masks? I think you might transmigrate as them (they are characters in history) but then they might be able to take over your body or sth? In the 2nd timeline, will she follow the same path to get there as she did in the 1st timeline? -Now that NYR has died in the present, we don't know what changed in her there might have been due to NN's 2nd movie. NN is looking into her mom's past, but now that this past has changed, is the past that she discovers about her mom (already 2nd timeline) the same as the original past she wanted to know (1st timeline, before transmigration into the movies). -Is the name 'Ning Ning' she gave her daughter influenced by people NN transmigrated into? Like Wen Xiao Ning who had a great influence in NYR... at the same time, this shouldn't be since this interactions didn't happen in the 1st lifetime where NYR already named her Ning Ning... Spoiler: The greedy grandma -Although she is a despicable character and has always been, it looks like sth ugly happened in the past. She stopped talking about sth at the last moment, like she realized sth (that NN presented the same change as NYR?). I'm sure NYR at some point had changed a lot due to a movie (same like NN after 1st movie), the grandma was probably very scared (might not cbe bc she cared about her tho) bc she felt that her daughter had been 'replaced' or 'possessed' by sth that completely changed her. And why did NYR never complain? maybebc she felt she owed 'her'? bc she herself felt she transformed into an 'acting monster' and had robbed grandma of her daughter? Spoiler: ML -I'm quite convinced that the ML is Director Chen's son, the guy who wants to crush Ning Ning in 2 minutes. I think as NN improves, he will feel threatened and feel inferior to her and develop some kind of obsession towards her, which at some point will turn into love (be it bc of admiring her acting, concern due to her deteriorating health, or falling in love with her during acting (where his chara falls in love his her and he can't avoid feeling the same while acting against her)). Can't say if this will be a healthy love/romance, it will probably be slow, painful, and quite late in the story. Can't say for sure this Chen brat will be ML, but after reading many novels it really looks like it will be like this. Spoiler: Ning Ning's father - he might be the life thater's porter or he might not, whoever it is i'm sure he will play a big part in the future About chapter 41, what will be this Shin guy's influence? Did he 'fall in love' wit NYR in the past, but now he fell for NN instead?
ML is Shin Zhong Tae. He acted in a movie with Ning Ning in the Life Theater and fell in love. The porter/doorman is not Ning Ning's biological father. The author answers all the questions throughout the novel.