Forbidden Flower was a bittersweet drama that starred Jerry Yan and Xu Ruo Han. Both of them displayed great acting and chemistry. This 24 episodes drama on WeTV, was based on a novel. Some people say that the novel’s ending was heart-wrenching. But what about the ending of this novel adaptation? I found that The Forbidden Flower drama had an happy and also open ending. How is that possible? Let’s find out on this The Forbidden Flower ending explained. I will explain about the detail of this drama ending. Happy reading guys!
The Forbidden Flower Ending Explained
What Happened to He Ran?
He Ran always felt that her illness was burdensome for everybody around her. She knew that her cancer relapsed, but kept everything that happened to her a secret. Even Xiao Han did not know anything about her. One day she had a very high fever for days and only took antipyretics. Ran’s mother was busy and her nanny took leave because she was getting married. Xiao Han called her and He Ran asked him whether he could come to her house.
Under the heavy rain, Xiao Han came and they slept on the same bed that night. In the middle of the night, He Ran had a high fever. Xiao Han took her to the hospital. The doctor was suspicious and wanted her to take a blood test but He Ran refused. She only asked for antipyretic medicine and they left the hospital.
He Ran knew all along that her illness was relapsing. She started to get toothache and dizziness. He Ran did not let anybody know including her mother. When she met Qin Zhao who was about to steal Xiao Han’s painting, she fainted. At the same time, Han Yu called her. Qin Zhao answer the call and told him that she fainted. And now everybody learned that her illness relapsed. Everybody, except Xiao Han.
Because of her condition, He Ran decided to leave Xiao Han again without saying goodbye. She went to Xijing to get treatment and never answered his call. Days went by without any news from her. One day her nanny picked up a call from Xiao Han. He decided to break up with her. It was the saddest day of He Ran’s life.
The only person who always came to visit her was Han Yu. He often came to check up on her. One day he brought a lot of food ingredients including a soft shell turtle. He was determined to cook and as result, he got food poisoning. Thank goodness He Ran did not even try to taste that food.
They went to the hospital, and when they returned, He Ran saw a glimpse of Xiao Han. She chased after him but failed. When she cried incessantly, Han Yu came and comforted her. She told him to find a girlfriend but he refused. They did not know that Xiao Han listened to their conversation in the dark.
He Ran returned to the dormitory where she lived with three roommates. One of them was Ding Xiao Ran. One day she talked about a very handsome man who worked as a florist in a flower shop near their university. He Ran’s relationship was starting to warm up to them when she learned that the man was Xiao Han. She was jealous when she heard Ding Xiao Ran mentioned Xiao Han.
When Ding Xiao Ran went to the flower shop, she followed her and in front of her, He Ran and Xiao Han argued. Ding Xiao Ran was angry at her. He Ran told her that Xiao Han had a 9-year-old daughter and she was her painting teacher. Their roommates tried to put some sense in Ding Xiao Ran and told her that He Ran and Xiao Han must have had some unfinished business and told her to stay away from them. But fate brought them together again.
At Zhang Yuan Qi’s graduation dinner, they met again. Xiao Han had to sit between them because it was the only empty chair. Ding Xiao Ran gave him food and it ignited He Ran’s jealousy. She made Xiao Han’s chopstick fall to the floor and held his hand so he could not eat any food from Ding Xiao Ran. The dinner ended when the angry Xiao Han pulled her out of the room and took her to a hotel.
They almost had sex but Xiao Han stopped when He Ran could not answer his question about whether she loved him or not. He Ran sat by the bathtub, she cried in silence. Xiao Han returned and talked about the chrysanthemums. He said that chrysanthemums always bloomed later than other flowers. For him, He Ran would always be his last woman.
No matter how many times she left him, he would wait for her no matter how long it takes. They spent the night together. The next day, He Ran woke up in happiness. But it did not last long because her nose started to bleed and her hair fell. She panicked and left the hotel room.
He Ran picked up a call from her mother who was currently in the USA to find an expert to treat her. He Ran reassured her mother that she was fine and told her mother that her life should not only consist of two cancer patients. Qiu Jia Rong was a woman and she had to have a life of her own.
He Ran met the disheveled Xiao Han at her campus. He said that he loved her and wanted to take care of her. He Ran gave up and they got together again. They cherished their time together. They walked on the beach, went to buy dresses, and played with fireworks. Xiao Han proposed to her in Xiaozhou village. They got married at Chunxi. Xiao Han gave her a grand Qiong wedding.
They had a heart-wrenching goodbye near the lake. It was a snowy day and everything was covered in white. They laid on the snow before He Ran slowly closed her eyes.
What Happened to Xiao Han?
Xiao Han was left in the dark when it came to He Ran’s illness. He never got the chance to know because He Ran never let the secret leaked. When she had a high fever, Xiao Han took her to the hospital. The doctor wanted her to take a blood test, but He Ran was adamant to refuse.
She said that she knew her body well and she only needed an antipyretic medicine. Xiao Han took her home. Inside the taxi, Xiao Han held He Ran very tight and told her not to frighten him.
Qin Zhao kept the fact that He Ran was sick from Xiao Han. He was also busy with his job at the construction site that he could not come to see her. When he was not at home and He Ran was in the hospital, Qin Zhao tried to steal the painting again. This time she succeeded. She took the painting to the buyer that turned out to be Uncle Han. He asked where did she get the painting and knew that Qin Zhao lied.
Uncle Han told Qin Zhao that the painting was fake and sent one of his men to follow Qin Zhao and made sure the painting was returned to its original place. He did not say a word to Xiao Han because he knew that Xiao Han only liked the painting without knowing that the painting was worth a fortune.
Xiao Han was busy making money when suddenly He Ran never appeared at his house. He called her and she promised to come, but she never did. After that, He Ran went missing. She never answered his call, until one day when her nanny picked up the call. With a desperate voice, he broke up with her. In his eyes, He Ran was never sincere. She kept many secrets from him. Her identity was fake, her feelings were fake, therefore their relationship must be fake too.
Xiao Han left his rented house in Xiaozhou village and went to Xijing. He opened a flower shop near Xijing University. One day He Ran followed her friend Ding Xiao Ran and barged into the flower shop. She was angry and jealous because her friend liked him. After she left the shop, He Ran cried by the side of the road. Zhang Yuan Qi picked her up and they left. Xiao Han found an empty medicine bottle near that place. He took it and kept it.
They met again at Zhang Yuan Qi’s graduation dinner. During the meal, Xiao Han sat next to He Ran. Ding Xiao Ran kept giving him food and He Ran did the same, but he could not eat because He Ran held his hand and refused to let go. He got angry and the emotion that had welled up inside him exploded. He pulled her from the dining room and took her to the hotel.
Xiao Han thought that He Ran always acted flirtatiously with him. If she wanted to have sex with him, then so be it. But he stopped after he asked He Ran whether she loved him or not and she could not answer the question. Xiao Han left the hotel room but returned and they spent the whole night in bliss.
The next day, He Ran was gone but Xiao Han found a clump of hair on the bed. He got panicked when he found more hair. Xiao Han took the bottle pill from his pocket and cried. I assumed he had guessed He Ran’s condition when he remembered He Ran’s dizziness, her high fever and determination to refuse the blood test, and her wish to live in health.
Xiao Han went to Uncle Han and asked for the truth. Uncle Han asked him whether he would leave her, and Xiao Han said he wouldn’t. The next thing he did was to call Qiu Jia Rong. He asked her permission to take care of He Ran. Qiu Jia Rong explained that she believed in He Ran’s judgment and let him take care of her.
Xiao Han waited for He Ran at the university. He told her that he loved her and explained everything. He intentionally went to Xijing after he saw the words that she drew on his t-shirts. They got back together after that. Xiao Han proposed to He Ran and gave her a grand Qiong wedding in his hometown.
He Ran left Xiao Han in China and went to the USA to get her cancer treatments. She went there with her mother while Xiao Han went back to live in Xiaozhou village. One year later, a man came to his salon and asked about the flower painting on the wall. That time, Xiao Han realized that He Ran had changed the replica with the real one. After he learned about the real name of the painter, he realized that He Litao was He Ran’s father. Xiao Han still cried every time he remembered He Ran.
When Xiao Han worked at the flower lake, a familiar voice called him. When he turned around, he saw He ran walking towards him in a polka dot dress. He reached out to embrace her a thin smile appearing on his face.
What Happened to Qiu Jia Rong and Zhang Yuan Qi?
Qiu Jia Rong felt her life was torn. When she hesitated in her relationship with Zhang Yuan Qi, she learned that He Ran was secretly in a relationship with Xiao Han and did many things behind her back. And it was not over yet. Han Yu called her that He Ran was in the hospital. That night, she went to visit He Ran.
They had a heart-to-heart conversation in the dark corridor. Slowly the mother and daughter regained their relationship again. Now He Ran could see her mother’s point of view and understood her fear and how important she was in Qiu Jia Rong’s life.
Qiu Jia Rong always put He Ran on her priority list. She went on a date with Zhang Yuan Qi and also went to his home. They had a great time Zhang Yuan Qi was very happy and Qiu Jia Rong always had a smile hanging on her lips. But then in his studio, when Zhang Yuan Qi was talking about their future, she decided to break up with him.
Qiu Jia Rong went to the USA to find an expert for He Ran. She asked Zhang Yuan Qi to come with her, but he decided to not go at the last minute. Zhang Yuan Qi sent Qiu Jia Rong a note and told her that he would be waiting for her until she was willing to be his woman again.
Zhang Yuan Qi spent his days in Xijing while waiting for his graduation. He met with He Ran again when he saw her sitting by the road crying and blood smeared on her face. They both laughed when they found out that they were brokenhearted.
On his graduation, He Ran met Xiaoli, Zhang Yuan Qi’s sister. She thought that He Ran was Zhang Yuan Qi’s girlfriend and told him not to be with her. Zhang Yuan Qi laughed and told her that He Ran was not his girlfriend.
A year had passed since Qiu Jia Rong went to the USA. Zhang Yuan Qi was a little bit mature right now. He had worked in another company. Qiu Jia Rong and Zhang Yuan Qi met again at a fried chicken restaurant. Qiu Jia Rong wore the pink dress that she used to wear on their last date.
Although Zhang Yuan Qi never mentioned it, he missed her. Qiu Jia Rong asked him whether he still wanted her to be his woman. He answered that he was always waiting for her. Both of them cried out their sadness and happiness that day.
That is it, I just gave you The Forbidden Flower ending explained. I hope my explanation can help you understand more about The Forbidden Flower ending, just in case you missed on something. Please comment below if you have some opinion it.
By the way, I also wrote The Forbidden Flower drama review a couple of days ago, you can read it to find out about my opinion of this drama. Thank you. See you on another ending explained post!
So……did He Ran die in the end? Was it Xiao Han imagination or wish full thinking…that she came to him and called out his name??? Or was she still alive after her treatment in the USA..??
Yes I also want to know this. Please answer this someone
For a number of reasons I believe He Ran lives. After a week of being back from the US the mom is not looking grief stricken, but is in fact, enjoying fried chicken and moving on from being a mom to a woman.
If He Ran, had a bone marrow transplant, this is the quote I found from MedlinePlus “A bone marrow transplant may completely or partially cure your illness. If the transplant is a success, you can go back to most of your normal activities as soon as you feel well enough. Usually it takes up to 1 year to recover fully, depending on what complications occur.”
So since the mother had only been back a week being away for a year, it seems that He Ran would’ve also returned to Xiao Han. Xiao Han had been spending the year creating the beautiful flower garden, awaiting her return. When he heard her calling his name, he looked hopeful. So I am in the camp of the happy movie endings & the book can keep the sad ending.
I’m on your side, all I can see is His face lightened up when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him . If the ending was really like how you described it . I will be so happy .
I was like why the ending ended like that ??? Such a guessing game .
Well, I really wished He Ran was still alive. She was able to cheat death before, then she must have been doing it again this time.
Although the novel said she was dead (but I haven’t read it yet), the drama seemed to intentionally make the ending as such so the viewer would have multiple interpretations.
So it was up to you how you want it to end.😉
For a number of reasons I believe He Ran lives. After a week of being back from the US the mom is not looking grief stricken, but is in fact, enjoying fried chicken and moving on from being a mom to a woman.
If He Ran, had a bone marrow transplant, this is the quote I found from MedlinePlus “A bone marrow transplant may completely or partially cure your illness. If the transplant is a success, you can go back to most of your normal activities as soon as you feel well enough. Usually it takes up to 1 year to recover fully, depending on what complications occur.”
So since the mother had only been back a week, it seems that He Ran would’ve also returned to Xiao Han. Xiao Han had been spending the year creating the beautiful flower garden, awaiting her return. When he heard her calling his name, he looked hopeful. So I am in the camp of the happy movie endings & the book can keep the sad ending.
I think it portrays her death in the end, though I wish it didn’t. After the credits of the finale, Xiao Han hears He Ran calling him while he’s in a field of flowers working. The scene is blurry, like a dream, and when he turns to look at her, she’s smiling with her long wavy hair and wearing the same polka-dot dress she wore the day she covered him with the yellow umbrella years before. I think it was a beautiful memory of her that he was having and that’s all it was. It was heart wrenching.
I believe she went with her mother to the USA and got help and when her mother can back she came back with her. Her mother went to the restaurant with the same clothes on and she the daughter went to see her husband with the same clothes on. Her mother didn’t seem like someone who lost a daughter, both of them was happy in the end.
Beautiful drama.
Can i get second part of story. He stands in the gorgeous summer flower. In this story has all about this drama.
I was thinking she died but when i saw the set of blue and pink towel and toothbrush at Xiao Han’s bathroom and He Ran ‘s mother spent 1 year in the US, my questions were answered
Did He Ran die? I’m lost at the end. Did Xis Han finally realize He Ran ‘s father of the painting he had on his wall.
Sadly, she passed away. It’s very clear that that is what happened. Xiao Han is shown a year later, alone and grieving. Qiu Jia Rong is alone when she meets Zhang Yuan Qi in the restaurant and asks if the offer from Zhang is still valid, that he wants her to be his woman when she is ready to be a woman and not just a mother again. Both of these events signal He Ran’s death. We see Xiao Han’s very devastated reaction when the Epiphyllum blooms, remembering their wager before. Every scene after the one in the snow shows Xiao Han very sad and depressed. If He Ran had lived, he would be happy and close to her, not sad, depressed and looking devastated. The after-credits scene is simply a daydream of Xiao Han of his beloved. Portraying all of his grief and depression and her mother’s sadness at the table eating friend chicken (out in the open, instead of hiding it) clearly signals He Ran’s death. If they would have portrayed all that grief and depression only to have a “gotcha” moment at the end, showing He Ran alive, it would have seriously cheapened the drama; plus it doesn’t fit (at all) with the tone and execution of the entire series. This series presents a very believable and realistic romance, portrayed with all the foibles and faults inherent in the human condition. This is no fairy tale, and having He Ran miraculously alive at the very end, after giving us every cue she’s dead, would be a very fake and fairy tale-type ending that doesn’t fit thematically with what we’ve seen throughout the entire series. He Ran is dead and her death makes everything that preceded that much more powerful, poignant and meaningful.
This series really wrecked me. It’s pretty melodramatic and a bit cheesy in places, but the amazing performances by Xu Ruohan and Jerry Yan are nothing short of spectacular. Their chemistry is incredible; every moment they are together on screen is electrifying and pulls in the viewer in a very profound and unique way. It is almost as if we are Xiao Han or He Ran ourselves, living out this exciting and sensual romance. I absolutely loved the very aloof way Xiao Han acts in the beginning towards He Ran. It’s exciting to see the woman in the role of the pursuer, as most romantic movies and shows feature the man doing the pursuing. Her mix of innocence, naivety, boldness and confidence is so compelling as she pursues her powerful desire to experience love. When it first starts, we know that He Ran has some kind of illness that is now under control. What we don’t know is that her desire to experience life is not only due to the fact she has been cloistered for her entire, young life, but that she is also living on borrowed time. She is acutely aware that she has a short window in which to experience life in a way that most healthy people take for granted. It is her profound luck, or perhaps the machinations of the gods to grant her this one, deeply rewarding experience before she shuffles off this mortal coil.
There were a few things I didn’t like, for example her cavalier manner in which she leaves Xiao Han. I understand that she felt this was the best way to end things as she didn’t want Xiao Han pitying her or suffering as she withers and dies, but really all she accomplishes by doing this is robbing them of precious time they could have been spending together. It’s realistic that an young woman like He Ran might make a very foolish choice like that, but in doing that they only succeed in undermining the hard work they’d done to portray He Ran as a mature foil for the older Xiao Han. It makes He Ran come off as immature and capricious. One of the main reason why the age gap here works, besides the fact that Jerry Yan looks much younger than he is, is because He Ran is bold, confident and very powerful in her pursuit of Xiao Han. There is absolutely no hint that Xiao Han does any “grooming” of the much younger and inexperienced He Ran. She is absolutely driving the bus here and Xiao Han is just along for the ride for much of the early stages of their romance. In fact, in the beginning he pretty much does every thing he can do to dissuade her from her continual pursuit. So when he finally does reciprocate, there is no doubt that He Ran is in complete control of her agency and choosing to be with him with every fiber of her being. It’s not a schoolgirl crush, this is a strong, independent young woman who is experiencing real love for the first time in her life. The clever use of a quote from Les Miserables – “The first symptom of true love in a man is timidity, in a young woman, boldness.” – by the writer of this work was really adroit and a deft juxtaposition to He Ran’s pursuit of Xiao Han. The use of that quote was a uniquely savvy way to harness a much revered and loved classic to help legitimize this May/December romance and it worked well. So, when they have He Ran do such a silly, immature thing as leave Xiao Han without even a goodbye, in some foolish attempt to spare him the pain of watching her die, it falls flat and almost dooms the remainder of the series. It is only due to the fantastic performances by Xu Ruohan and Jerry Yan that they are able to pull the third act out of the ashes and once again get us fully invested in their doomed love affair.
Some people have criticized the inclusion of the blossoming relationship between He Ran’s mother and Zhang Yuanqi. I thought it was an exciting inclusion and a really shrewd mirroring of the age gap relationship between He Ran and Xiao Han. Qiu Jiarong and Yu Xiang did a magnificent job of investing us in their clandestine relationship and probably helped to quiet some of the potential backlash of some who would have criticized the portrayal of yet another older man/younger woman romance. In giving Qiu Jiarong her own May/December romance with a passionate young man, the writer and producers have succeeded in making a statement about love transcending age and social status at the same time. After the poorly executed separation of our main couple, the romance between Qiu and Zhang really buoyed the weak second act and kept things lively until Xu Ruohan and Jerry Yan could later drag it out of the mud and get us reinvested. In fact, I would have really enjoyed seeing more of Qiu and Zhang instead of many of the scenes between He Ran and the dismal and annoying Han Yu character that really added nothing to this great romantic series. I think Han Yu was meant to be the comic relief, but he only succeeded in being a continual annoyance and each scene with him in it just pulls you right out of it and seriously threatens the suspension of disbelief necessary in a work like this.
I think the ending was exactly as it needed to be; her death makes everything she did all the more poignant and impactful. Also, if she would have miraculously survived then all of Xiao Han’s actions after they reunited are robbed of their meaning. He does everything he can to make her last days as sweet and lovely as possible and his efforts are all the more significant once she passes. Believing He Ran survived is just wishful thinking, and that dreamlike, after-credits scene was probably included to sate the desires of what is sadly the largest contingent of romance readers: those that demand their HEA. When Robinne Lee’s wonderful, The Idea of You was first published it created a firestorm of criticism by the powerful cabal of HEA adherents. Two of the most unwavering commandments for romance books and their adapted works is that it must include an HEA and no extramarital affairs. There are definitely exceptions, but if one wants to have a best seller it better have an HEA and no adulterous hanky panky. So, I think the tacked on, after-credits scene was the producers genuflecting to that powerful group. To any fairly observant viewer, it’s clear He Ran is dead, but adding the after-credits scene allows those that must have their HEA to pretend all is well. I think they know what the creators of this work intended, and that her death provides the most logical and meaningful ending, but the after-credits scene allowed them to pretend it’s all unicorns and rainbows. I think believing that lie cheapens the drama, but hey, to each his or her own. Regardless of what one believes about the ending, there is no doubt this is one of the finest C Dramas ever produced and frankly one of the best Asian dramas as well. I would love to see Xu Ruohan and Jerry Yan in another drama series like this, or frankly anything as long as it’s the two of them with their amazing chemistry for us to savor. This will be a perennial re-watch for me, perhaps every year around Valentine’s Day.