Self Respect

This type of thing doesn't usually bother me in dramas, unless the person on the receiving end of the love is downright abusive or cruel. This doesn't apply to Lin Yang because she was always very clear in how she saw Lu Zheng An. In My Fated Boy, you find out throughout the drama that Lu Zheng An can see right through Lin Yang. He knows she has feelings for him even when she's in denial about it. In his case, he refuses to give up on her because he knows she just needs to acknowledge and understand the feelings she already has. I think if Lin Yang really didn't have feelings for Lu Zheng An, he would've moved on from her. We're dealing with a couple who literally grew up together, which is a very different type of relationship compared to a couple who met as adults.

I don't think a redemption arc for Lin Yang was needed. She didn't do anything wrong because she acted according to her feelings as she understood them. The only mistake she really made was taking so long to recognize the true nature of her feelings. As for everything Lu Zheng An did for her, she saw that as something he should be doing as her younger brother. She thought the way he treated her was appropriate for their "platonic" relationship. For me, Lin Yang redeemed herself by immediately confessing to Lu Zheng An when she realized her feelings were not platonic, instead of continuing to be in denial or leaving him hanging. I think Lin Yang's a truer repentance than the cartoonish kind of the reversed chasing we often see because she showed right away that she was not going to repeat the same mistake.

A lot of this is a matter of preference, though. I usually dislike the reverse chasing trope because it takes forever and I don't find it realistic at all. I really like the way My Fated Boy handled it, but not everyone does and that's ok. We're just bound to have different perspectives on what the problem is and different ways we would personally fix the problem.