[Chinese BL novel] 和影帝上恋综后炮灰爆红了[穿书] by 王子鏖 / Cannon fodder became famous after appearing on a love variety show with a movie star

What a long title.

Summary: Lu Ren travels into a book where he becomes a cannonf fodder who failed to climb the male protag bed. This is a novel about a famous actor and interactions with many women that like him. Lu Ren was just a small guy who did not have any great roles in his world, but he definitely was serious about acting, yet now after a wild drunken night of "climbing the bed" he and actor signed a "Toy Agreement" and he must follow actor's wishes. The network went wild when they noticed infamous Lu Porcelean, who had scandals with numerous men before and now he appeared on a love variety show with Yin Beilin who everyone knows as untouchable.

I must say that on a scale of like and dislike, I disliked it more and all thanks to MC Lu Ren.

I also remember how I tried to start it several times, but failed and only now after skipping first few chapters I got into mood and managed to finish it (quite quickly actually, so props to being light-hearted). The problem might lie in how the original summary described this toy agreement, as if Yin Beiling drags Lu Ren around and uses him. But reality is different and most of my dissatisfaction came from MC's portrayal.

The story/plot itself is nothing new, Lu Ren arrived on the fateful night, next morning he signed the agreement. We don't really know much about original Lu Ren. Yin Beilin helps him solve his previous company issues who always marketed him in the wrong way. As it happened original Lu Ren wasn't as promiscuous as described.

Later Yin Beilin signed both of them to the love variety show, since one of the guests was after Beilin, but they ended up feeding people sugar instead. You get the idea that Beilin probably is an awakened character.

Before the last issue Yin Beilin confesses that they're together, so entire network blew up with news.

As in every novel of this sort there is a relative who is against the two of them and that is Beilin's dad. He judges the old Lu Ren. Later he let it go, but he always acts like a tsundere.

From one movie they shot together, next there is also a TV drama that Lu Ren participated in, not many details. Since they live under the eye of everyone, they're also under scrutiny of everyone, so it's not without discordant voices, but it is all solved.

The final is that Beilin's "aunt" takes upon herself to dig dirt on Lu Ren and presented it in front of Beilin, but Beilin knows the truth and it doesn't help, instead they get approval.

They also confessed before that, Lu Ren confessed that he is not original Lu Ren and Beilin explains that the book he always holds actually describes all the plots that changed, he was indeed awakened and found this book on the night stand the night Lu Ren climbed the bed.

As for the relationship.

Physically they progressed really fast, but mostly because Beilin made moves and Lu Ren reacted to them. Sounds bad, but it was not like that. Lu Ren spent time with Beilin, they moved in, after all Lu Ren basically had nowhere to go. Beilin liked to hug him to sleep and always had small actions like grabbing neck, pinching ears and also biting the neck. Because of previous Lu Ren, Beilin acted a bit frivolous I must say. But at first Lu Ren did not react and later got used and basically felt like boiling frog in the warm water. When Lu Ren reacted he didn't oppose getting physical. This physical contact evolved quite quickly. Later the confession to the public was made, but Lu Ren still stuck with the agreement in his head. Only later for some reason he felt heartbeat for Beilin. Basically, you can imagine some scenes of heartbeat and Beilin's constant sticking together with Lu Ren, just like the cover. So although Lu Ren had a period of uncertainaty and later wanted to test the waters he eventually confessed and they became official in the true sense. 

The portrayal of both characters could be better, but I don't know why MC rubbed me the wrong way more.

Now why MC kinda spoiled the whole thing for me.

Shortly he is dangerously foolish. I felt like I've read not a story but MC being emotionally cramped all the time. He is always in the state of being either embarrassed, shy. In other words he is a pushover that is easy to bully. Another bad side is that he is truly a fool. Some may find it cute, because he is like a silly goose, an airhead and maybe should be lovely. But I always thought he is dangerously foolish. He doesn't analyze anything, he believes everything is said, something like that. Most dissatisfying part is that he is straight at first, later he reacts but continues to think he is still straight and ML will eventually be with a girl (since the novel said so), he doesn't see changes in ML or think it's weird to get physical. Several times you can guess he made ML mad because of his "sharing the 'straight' logic". Mainly I don't like characters starting as straight, at least describe them as having no relationship and not feeling it and later meeting their "fated" one.

But honestly it felt like entire novel consists of MC blushing, cramping around etc. and acting fool. ML not once called him a fool and it is true. Some may say "but he's cute, he's so honest~". Whatever. 

If it wasn't for the novel who knows what would happen to him, like especially that part where he finally realized his feelings and decided to consult with another person. Again, never considers risk factor if it is safe to share, good thing it was safe. Also he listened to all the advice and of course because he is so cramped and a silly person not everything goes as planned. If he finally did not confess under pressure who knows what other silly ideas he would implement.

But unlike the MC who had a lot of screen time to showcase his red ears and blushing face, the whole story and emotions felt shallow actually.

I don't think I will recommend reading it, because it feels like you won't lose a dime if you won't read it.

RATE: 3/5 (more like 2,5/5).

[Chinese BG novel] 香江算命，一卦千金 by 易楠苏伊 / Fortune-telling in Hong Kong, one fortune is worth a fortune

I suppose it's a pun on words that one fortune-telling costs a lot of money.

It's not a conventional metaphysics novel. I thought it was due to the title, but it happened to be something different.

Summary: Su Nianxing passed through time, one moment she was a prosperous rich third generation and the next second she was washed on the shores of Hong Kong as illegal immigrant. In her previous life Su Nianxing actually had no high aspirations and spent her time in leisure, but now she has to fight for herself and her future, after all it's Hong Kong in the 90's when business is hard, prices are astronomical and you have to have ID and permits to work. She has none. When she was about to faint from exhaustion she was helped by an old lady who could understand Mandarin and fed Nianxing a bun and water, but during their contact Nianxing realized that she could see into person's fate and decided to follow this path.

Some may think it's metaphysics, but it's actually not. Nianxing is more like a medium who touches people's hands and can glimpse into people's fates, she can only take a peak at things the person seeking fate is most concerned about. But because she can't tell palmistry and faces, she has no idea who is bad or who is good before she touches the person (when it comes to common people you can't tell, because they are all neutral), this is the element of the unknown that the novel has that might intrigue the reader with "what is gonna be next?", so she may get involved with either good or bad people and because of it I find this novel very reactional and Nianxing herself is too involved into fireworks because of it. Another point of this novel is that it has a lot of crime going on, because it's not pure metaphysics, so Nianxing partially gets involved because her talent does not lie in protecting herself, feeling the aura/qi or anything like that, she does not know the consequences to her actions and fortune-telling. There is a lot of things going on and Hong Kong lives in gossip, so it's like a bustling market all day long. And Nianxing is actually not untouchable from it. What I mean is that unlike the novels I've read where protags are very impartial towards everything (after all for them things won't end up as easily and they will be involved in karma), Nianxing sometimes can also get quite judgemental. Maybe it exists to showcase that she will grow and realize that she can't be like others, but there was not enough emphasis on this idea in my opinion, so she can chew her tongue too sometimes. Maybe it's an attempt to portray someone who is closer to common people and does not act like an immortal, who knows. But sometimes she might act like she is angry with things that happen, at other times there are episodes that will undermine your opinion of her being a truly kind and caring person. E.g. in chapter 65 she is visited by an actress, as it turns out she has a stalker who lives in the same house one floor above, the actress was defnitely scared by these events and it might become a shadow for her, but you know what Nianxing laments when she leaves, she suddenly remembers she didn't take a photo together. I was baffled. I mean you know it's not time and place for asking for a photo when this actress is concerned for her safety.

Nianxing's portrayal is also specific, but I actually think her portrayal is kind of flat or not set in stone. One must say she is lucky, she indeed is lucky to have a golden finger that helped her to survive and she also admits that she was just a playgirl who did nothing and she was not cut out for studying and regretted for studying badly, but I don't think there is any potetial in her developing a true metaphysics talent like reading calligraphy or reading faces, although she studied it.. for some time, but it was not mentioned since. She also adapts to her situation, since she can only help 3 people a day. She is also lucky through twists and turns of fate to come out of predicaments when it came to her illegal status, so she solved it eventually and stayed in Hong Kong (there was no point for her leaving to the mainland, otherwise she had to start from scratch too). Because she didn't want to leave and also did not see herself being involved only in metaphysics (three clients a day makes it a limited income), she got involved into opening a small dining place, which also allowed visitors to take part in her fortune-telling. Either you are lucky to draw lottery or pay the price. If it wasn't for her reputation who would believe she can do it.

I've read only like 60 chapters and must say I have no idea where this novel will lead this character. The story so far consists of small episodes of people who come to see her, some we see later and see how their "fate" changes, others are just episodic visitors, but there is no "bigger picture" outside of these episodes, as I said it's been 60 chapters and nothing bigger happened yet, but who knows if it will, this novel is actually quite long (293+extra) and this is why I decided to write a short review right now, because I kinda float with it. This is why I say this novel seems reactional, as if today we write about this and the next day we mention this. She can tell fortunes, she has her own small business, sometimes gets involved with saving people, helping police etc. It's not a bad thing, I'm just stating facts in differencies between true metaphysics and her golden finger story.

Another thing might be mentioned is that you may have different reactions to those small episodes and people's fates, I'll be honest in first 60 chapters there wasn't a single story that would touch me, many are just average cheating stories etc. Maybe the one standing out was about a pregnant woman whose husband was going to poison her and she, allegedly, changed the glasses and he drank the poison instead. I think this was the longest to be mentioned so far. But we don't get a glimpse at emotional level or motivation of such actions. Maybe people will talk about it, but they only share an opinion or gossip, but there is no deep dive into the story emotionally, we are truly like spectators as if we are a part of the gossip crowd and can only make assumptions.

No rating, might come back to rate if I finish it.

[update]

I've read a bit further (up to ch80+) and actually switched to the ending, nothing new and mainly it was written like I expected it to be. Very episodic, short-form style of telling fortune. The true metaphysics were mentioned not for gimmicks, she mastered it for real, although still relying on her golden finger more. She also became super famous etc.

As for personal life, by the chapter 60 we get to know Captain Liang and see him a lot, but he is too faceless and was called old, so I thought I might be wrong, but there were too many jokes about their relationship. They indeed came together, but I won't bother to find out how they did it. Both he and FL were quite faceless to me, like no description on looks and who knew what they were feeling.

It didn't feel like I lost anything if I haven't finished it, it wasn't as exciting for me. Maybe others will like it.

Still not rating, because of skipping a big chunk of text.

[SHORT REVIEWS] #13

Time for some short reviews, since there are several novels that I've read, but don't want to write full reviews, but mostly skipped through.

新婚燕尔 by 姜之鱼

(mtl: Newlyweds)

[BG] Completed. Summary: Story about Liang Jinrou who returns from abroad after hearing the news that her not so welcomed "sister" is going to be engaged and for so long the mistress who destroyed her family has been sitting comfortably as Mrs Liang for too long. But she also is entangled with Zhou Shuxing, current head of the Zhou family, who also has a baby kiss with her. Others know him as abstinent and other call him a King of Hell, but she knows too well that it's all bs.

I must admit that because FL is not to my liking, as a result I didn't bother to read this novel in its' entiriety. Maybe to some it may be cute, but I find willful characters quite annoying. Also she has a princess disease. And it has nothing to do with her showing dislike to the mistress and her daughter, she is simply often willful like everyone owns her and she's so pretty and deserving the best in the world. I asked myself why should I like her even? Did she do something for me to like her? No, more like she annoyed me before I had the chance to like her. Just the amount of wealth she got from Zhou Shuxing is actually astonishing, while she didn't bring much to the table. Zhou Shuxing truly dotes on her, but not with a dogleg appearance thanks for that, otherwise it would be a complete bottom. Well, their relationship should be marriage first and then love, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference, they happily rolled in bedsheets even before marriage.

As for the family drama, maybe idea was not bad, but honestly with how this novel is so long and it's also partially mtl's fault I actually didn't get at first that her family had her as first child, later her mother was pregnant but was told she had a stillborn, but actually the mistress changed her kid and sent this biological son to the Liang family, but as her own. So years later the "truth" comes out and first wife leaves with Jinrou, but leaves behind the son Liang Si, who is actually her own son, but because of deceit she had no idea about it and later died abroad. Only now when Jinrou returned this truth resurfaced suddenly. Quite a vicious move. 

But overall I didn't care about this novel, it didn't make me excited to care and read in full...

人设崩塌后我c位出道了[古穿今] by 七栖酱

(mtl: After my character collapsed I debuted in C position)

[BL] Completed. Summary: Fang Xunyu travels from ancient times to the modern age, but now he is a vase in the company that is about to be discarded and used as a foil for another artist at the company during draft audition. He was designated the script of a "waste" and he didn't mind, after all he was ready to do anything for the money to survive, but after a while he tried his character collapsed.

Another one that I didn't like. I just don't feel it for such characters. He seems a bit stupid and honest and also this is the butt of the joke, that he doesn't mind others taunting him and he is ready to do it for money since he knows he has nothing, but also because you traveled shouldn't you kind of enrich your knowledge about the modern times? Also when it comes to his talents he is unparalleled of course, take anything from classic dance to playing instruments he's too good to be true, this is why it's like a walking attraction for others and of course there is a bunch of professors who want to grab them to their own assosiation by the time of finale and debut, they're going crazy as if there was no one like him before and never will. Kinda silly setting.

I didn't read much, because it feels like it's a joke on repeat that he does something that others seemingly can't do, not as talented as him, but he also repeats the words his agents who doesn't care about him brainwashed the original Xunyu that he's nothing, that he's a loser, talentless etc.

Stupidly honest is the time when during his acceptance speech he basically told everyone he was given a script but no matter how he tried he failed the task and basically it sounded like he dissed everyone but he was honest. Maybe others will like such a silly goose.

嫁给反派后人鱼不想努力了 by 旧梦如霜

(mtl: After marrying a villain, the mermaid doesn't want to work hard anymore)

[BL] Completed. Summary: Jiang Yuan became a golden mermaid, one of the most precious in the base. But he was designated to the infamous general Qi who was famous for destroying three mermaids.

Tbh don't want to spend too much time on summary. Felt kinda meh. First of all nothing new. ANother guy who becomes a mermaid but is now so comfortable that becomes a salted fish, enjoys food and leisure every day. Others treat mermaids as treasures because of course it has something to do with mental powers and general Qi as the most powerful is also the most dangerous. Of course mermaids sing and others feel better, same for Jiang Yuan, though he didn't feel like he needed to do anything for general Qi at the beginning and this is what got to me. Even if mermaids are precious it doesn't mean he might not end with some perv if he goes outside, general Qi is his best protection so far and also even if he's dangerous, he's also dangerous for others surrounding them, I felt liek Jiang Yuan had such a dismissive attitude partially influencing my lack of care and the salted fish characters moved to the bottom on my list. Maybe for others he is a wonder, but because he is a human he is such a fraud :) I must say that general Qi himself was not as attractive to follow. Also did not care about any intrigue that were promised at the beginning. Really a lot depends on characters.

阴郁万人嫌重生了 by 小树撞鹿

[BL] Completed. Fully free. Summary: Jian Yu got lost when he was a child, but when he returned the family already had adorable younger siblings and there seemed to be no place for him anymore. Because of taking the blame for his younger brother he was ridiculed and when he died no one cared for him.

Basic rebirth novel. What a wasted cover, it actually represents a scene from the novel, but this novel sounds like a fanfiction on another novel. Pretty basic characters like almost villanous siblings who don't care about the newly arrived brother, also indifferent parents who care nothing about their found son who lived for too long outside and can't be put on the table. Very basic and very toxic.

This rebirth is a chance to make trouble for the Jian family who never cared to support him in anything. Why should he care for their feelings. Dropped it after reading for a while since sometimes it's hard to read about such characters.

小作精身患绝症后佛系了[重生] by 猫界第一噜

(mtl: He became Buddhist after suffering from terminal illness)

[BL] Completed. Summary: Mu Yang has always been arrogant and domineering, even used the long-cherished wish of the person he fell in love with to be bound with him in marriage. But tactics don't work in love and he spent 5 years in marriage with no good word from another person and even his terminal illness did not give him any privelege, because his spouse did not believe it and thought it was another lie before he closed his eyes and travelled 5 years before.

This story is a double rebirth to 5 years before when both of them were married.

I've started it, but never finished for a reason, it's not a bad story and it fits quite well to people who like knives and glass and angst, because MC actually humbled into nothing from regrets and self-blaming, part of it (if I'm not wrong) comes from ML's cold violence. When MC woke up and was married he only thought how his actions were despicable etc. He wanted to get away and let his life be the path of remorse. It's fine as it is. It was me who was not in the mood to read something so depressing and also it's a long story (144+extras) and I had no idea when it will come out of that sadness. Sometimes I welcome angst just to spend my emotions somewhere, but it wasn't the case when I was reading and I made a long indefinite pause, so it's all personal and does not indicate that the story is bad and might not be liked by people who are into this stuff.

A little more about the situation. Mu Yang indeed used means to get married to ML, but ML's response was cold violence, later this cold violence became a habit he couldn't get rid off and when it formed a habit it resulted in MC to think that he is always wrong and any attempt at fixing and making this marriage work is futile, even if later ML actually started to have feelings for MC, but the conflict and the habit he formed were between them. Since ML is also reborn, so you could say this is chasing wife.

豪门大佬们为什么都用这种眼神看我 by 公子于歌

(mtl: Why do all rich people look at me strangely?)

[BL] Completed. Summary: Ruan Xingyu entered a novel world about wealthy families, his supposed to be future husband on the day of the wedding chose the son brought by his stepmother. Original Ruan Xingyu should have been left at the altar and become a joke who failed to enter the rich. Ruan Xingyu worked hard and the most famous scene in the novel of the grand wedding came, but after the two people escaped Ruan Xingyu noticed that all groomsmen looked weirdly at him.

I started it but felt a bit out of it. Ruan Xingyu falls into this ridiculous world which is actually full of novels, it's like stumbling at characters from another novel each 5m. Ruan Xingyu wore a beautiful body, which should serve as a control group, you know the basic, beautiful but empty and vain. His fiance fell in love with his step-brother who is like a wild flower staying strong in the wind. Pretty basic plot. Also what I don't like is the foreceful following of the plot, meaning Xingyu must stay and follow the path even if he deviates in his actions and is not completely empty-headed and too open about being a money-worshiper, but he must go through nodes. This cooled my interest down. The next thing that cooled me down is the obvious "heartthrob" that author likes and I usually don't prefer such novels. I also have no idea if this new Ruan Xingyu has something behind his back, because reading it makes you think that many just pay attention to beauty and nothing else. Yeah original story he takes part in should say that beauty is not everything, otherwise why fall in love with a step-brother who is not as half as beautiful, but the novel itself does, otherwise why make every friend of this scumbag fiance fall for new Ruan Xingyu.

重回我爸少年时 by 梨橙橙

(mtl: Returning to my dad's youth)

[BL] Completed. Summary: Lin Wangye was reborn 20 years earlier. Not being able to come in terms with poverty he decided to find his father, who now should be an 18 yo rich second generation. What a great fantasy, but when he found his father Lin Shen was playing games and losing, not being able to watch it further he took Lin Shen's place and showed off his skills, almost losing his footing when Lin Shen on the side called him 'dad' and asked him to take him along to win. This is how they met. But then he figured that this dad actually had a falling out with grandpa, not to mention the most shocking is his dad did not like women at all? So where did he come from?! Wangye decided to follow Lin Shen around in the name of his friend to figure things out.

I only read the synopsis, so I haven't even started, but was intrigues, I know for sure that Lin Shen has his own love story and Wangye also has his own love interest. So it's like two love stories going on. It also has high ratings on JJ, so it looked promising so I bookmarked it :)

万人嫌养子被迫联姻后[穿书] by 惗肆

(mtl: After thousands of people suspected the adopted son being forced into marriage)

[BL] On-going. Summary: Genius investor Bai Xu enters a novel and becomes the disliked adopted son of the Bai family. He was adopted because a master said that Bai Xu will lead their family to prosperity, but when Mr. Bai who believed it passed away his son and daughter-in-law for benefits instantly used their connection to give a "happy" wedding to Shang Yanxiao, who recently got into a car accident and became comatose. Bai Xu couldn't be happier, he cheated the Bai family out of money to use it for future gains and now he has a handsome husband who lies there and does not obstruct him. Shang Yanxiao was in coma before he woke up, but he knew that his accident that killed his parents and made his younger brother disabled was man-made, to dig those people out he pretended to be in a coma, but now he had to handle this new husband who always teased him that he will touch him.

The vibe of this novel is close to previous Acting a fool and marrying the blind villain one. Though thankfully Bai Xu does not pretend to be anything, he showed his sharp edge right away. He may actually pretend, but those in the know can see that he is pretty smart in doing things. I've read a bit so far since it's on-going, but it's quite exciting and also touching, since like in the Fool one here ML is given a connotation and does not belong to "being an empty blackboard" category. Actually there's a lot on ML's plate right away, he just survived a tragedy and had to give his younger brother a wake-up call. He might wake up and handle everything, but it will not allow his brother who was supposed to be a sunny young man to come out of trauma of losing parents and becoming disabled.  In original story things of course don't happen like this, original protag is the younger brother and he had to go through depression and blackening. Original Bai Xu would not help in any way, because he was brought up with a submissive character and eventually would have been taken advantage of and die in a muddled manner. New Bai Xu is a cunning fox who managed to create his own legend in investment world. He also helps the young Shang to stop mopping around and start getting stronger, so he becomes a support in a passing way. I kind of like such queenly characters. He had his own ideas that Yanxiao might have woken up, after all Yanxiao himself showed his feet when Bai Xu was drunk. At first he just appreciated to having such a handsome husband who doesn't nag, but later he started to tease, so you can guess that Yanxiao who could handle many things could not handle that.

怀了渣攻白月光的崽 by 墨声如昨

(mtl: Getting pregnant with scumbag's White Moonlight child)

[BL] Completed. Mpreg. Summary: Worst from the list, big nope from me :) Fu Tingmian enters a bloody novel that was bashed by readers, he becomes a substitute and a lover of Pei Qian, scumbag who could never forget his white moonlight Jiang Shen and used him as a substitute. After several years of being together Pei Qian dismisses Tingmian on the grounds that white moonlight is finally back. Tingmian plays along and leaves, but when celebrating he drank a spiked drink and asked for help from a stranger. He had no idea who it was, but actually it was Jiang Shen, the infamous White Moonlight. Later Tingmian found out that he has the hidden Omega body that allows him to get pregnant and he will have reaction to someone "fated" like Jiang Shen. Considering opinions of both father they decided to leave the child and moved in together. Jiang Shen who suddenly felt for his supposed stand-in took action in making Tingmian fall for him.

Nothing new, but honestly I could do without what was written in the novel itself.

First I couldn't get the actions of Tingmian, was he scared to be retaliated, but he has basically nothing of his own, what a barefoot person should be afraid of? Also he played along with infatuated persona when he left, what was that for? Instead it made the Pei Qian annoyingly entangle later and not matter what Tingmian said it didn't work. Result of your own bad decisions. Pei Qian is a basic scumbag but even worse, self-centered and full of "I know you love me but I won't be able to answer, so leave" and "Don't fight for me", which is too ridiculous.

later of course there was a misunderstanding between Jiang Shen and him, since one thought it was planned. 

It also didn't feel like love, since the hidden omega has pheromones and stuff like that. It is just so muddled when it comes to relationship. Sometimes it felt like characters are not consistent. Except Pei Qian, he is simply manic and crazy, easy to portray him being always like that. But the mains did not cut it for me.

Note, although not important. Original Tingmian is biological, but his parents expected too much from him, like becoming a big person, so when they gave birth to a younger son who was more promising their attention shifted drastically, this is why original Tingmian lacked love and fell for Pei Qian, maybe the only person capable of loving him. But because his parents found out and mooched off Pei Qian and Tingmian, of course it left a bad impression on Pei Qian too. Later when the conflict broke out they tried to make Tingmian bow his head for benefits again, basically not shying from selling their son. So yeah... we didn't click with this story, so I just skipped through it and dropped.

本能痴迷 by 小吾君

(mtl: Instict obsession)

[BL] Completed. ABO. Summary: Everyone in school knew that Luo Yu and Chi Mu did not deal with each other. From kindergarten to school they considered each other rivals (mainly Luo Yu). Luo Yu who lived his life as an A for 18 years suddenly has a reverse gender happening to him and becomes an O. Not to mention there is no inhibitor for his group and things look grim. Only a person fully compatible can help him, otherwise he will make the A loose his mind in reverse attack. And the one who is actually 100% fit with him is Chi Mu.

This novel has a lot to do with MC having a different mindset because he lived like an A for 18 years and he does not want to succumb to instincts of O. He does not want to be with a person just because they're fitting, there must be feelings involved. As a result he deals with Chi Mu who agreed to help. Even if Chi Mu was also suffering from the instinctive reactions of an A, he did not cross the line. Which allowed Luo Yu to trust in him. This allowed them to look at each other and slowly develop feelings.

The main text covers their school life and the story of the two, also the backstory of Chi Mu himself. So it's a pretty neat story despite being ABO genre.

Luo Yu always wanted to become like his father who died, he saw his mom suffering as O. But then he became one himself and was trying to be sane and not fall for instinct. Chi Mu who he thought was his rival actually just always had this stoic personality due to upbringing and Luo Yu thought to crack that hypocritical mask. To Chi Mu what Luo Yu did actually helped him inadvertantly. So they both stuck together in this relationship, finding what they cherish in each other.

So this is it, slowly cleaning up previously bookmarked novels and new ones. Honestly, there are so many bookmarks. But I just add novels if I feel relatively interested and later choose to read or not :) Yet making short summaries helps not only sharing, but also helps me, especially if I read something and then.. forget the events. Can't blame me, many of the novels have similar settings or premises or events that happen, so they look like copy-paste material. SOmetimes I get really lost without short notes.

[Chinese BG novel] 我想尝尝有钱人的苦 by 挠时光 / I want to taste the suffering of rich people

Summary: Sheng Wang crosses into the book and becomes a cannon fodder female, a supporting girl of infatuated girl coming from a wealthy family who has money but can't get love. The tragic short life that refused an arranged marriage by her late mother and lived for the sake of supporting the man she loves, but burned out suddenly and her life was lost after being hit by a car, but those who stayed enjoyed the privelege of money that were left behind, yet they continued to preach - She had all the money, so what?

Shining points for me. This had several aspects that I'm usually not a fan of, these are 1) salted fish type of character and 2) old-fashioned type of characters that seem a bit stupid to be true. But one side that I think I particularly appreciated was that it showcased and explained in more details how fragile the supposed to be superior love of original protagonists was, that without certain conditions it did not survive the scrutiny and even the original work was beautified. Another point is about entire world circling around a protagonist when some protagonists do not support correct three views and basically ar enot worth following. And that all "characters" should have their own fate that does not revolve around protagonists.

That is.. it reminded me of the harem and reverse harem novels. When you look at it closely you will know that protagonists of such novels basically got help from several romantic interests, but they're not such in the eyes of the protagonists,  they do not explain the point of exploitation, on the contrary may even say that the MLs or FLs are just this charming and other people want to help, no one asked them it is all voluntarily actions from all those side-kicks, if they don't get any love and god forbids may even suffer from it, then it's their own fault. I don't mean to generalize, but in some novels such things exist.

Similarly in this novel the original protagonist Jiang Song actually got help from original Sheng Wang and this point is explained and brought up several times to make a statement of some sorts and it is actually true. original Sheng Wang was an infatuated girl really lacking in love, to get love she did what she thought was the best she could - provide. She provided connection with people, financial help etc. Jiang Song in original line did not appreciate work done for him, it was more like he expects people to fly to him, but doesn't feel sorry if anything happens, with original Sheng Wang he felt quite annoyed, which is quite hypocritical, he used her connections but took it for granted. There were few characters in the novel like Sheng Wang who were charmed by Jiang Song, but in Jiang Song's life only Shen Jiao (original female protagonist) mattered. This Shen Jiao is the true white flower, she thinks that money don't matter, feelings can't be bought, you should seek spiritualism, but at the same time she arrived and lived on Sheng Wang's territory and spoke thos ethings without hurting her back. She was lovable and in the end when original Sheng Wang died in the accident she was benefitted from this, after all Sheng Wang's fathe rinherited all her money and with it she had a smooth life not even realizing where it all came from.

The arrival of Sheng Wang only extracted one element from the future "perfect life" that supposed to happen - herself. Which also means her wealth.

She listened to Sheng Fan's (biological mother) last wish and married the arranged husband Xiao Yiyun (I chose Yiyun and not other translations of his names, because it appeared the most often).

Next she simply took back all the things that belonged to her, because thankfully the Sheng mother was a smart person and entrusted her wealth to friend's son (ML) and by her will all the things belonged to Sheng Wang.

The characters in the novel have that feeling of unhinged characters that act like they've come from a family melodrama. The novel itself is actually pretty okay in content, it's just some characters that make you feel like they're the only weirdos and they also don't realize that they're actually weirdos.

But only this element brought everyone to a new development.

Sheng Wang unlike the original doesn't have feelings for this so-called family and also doesn't have any scruples.

She chased the family of Wang Chen (father) Wang Lian (stepmother), Shen Jiao (supposed protag, daughter of Wang Lian from the first marriage) and Wang Ning ("adopted son" whom Wang Chen brought, but Sheng Fan was on her deathbed so she didn't bother to continue arguing). It's one thing from frugality to luxury, but it's completely different the other way around and all these people soon realized the difference.

Only Shen Jiao came to intercede, but acting like she has no logic behind her thoughts, her kindness is based on others. And here we start to see her white flower essence, which later develops into black lotus or something even more poisonous. But unlike her actions that follow the route looking like everyone is bullying her, world around her doesn't live in an idol drama and everyone has a head on their shoulders not just to wear hats, but they have brains and this world is real. maybe if it was a novel it would have followed the brainless novel route where everyone would praise their pair like golden boys and girls, but it stopped being a novel.

Sheng Wang actually wanted to be a salted fish. I gave her a chance and continued to follow this novel even if this type is not my favorite, to find out that she is quite fun to follow and pretty realistic. She also has a reason to do so and has her own story to justify her character and decisions.

Sheng Wang witnessed her parents divorcing and from lovers turning into enemies, for children it indeed may bring a psychological shadow. She was unwanted for both parents and only grandma brought her up. When grandma was sick these people did not want to pay to help but only looked after grandma's inheritance. Sheng Wang sold grandma's house and saved grandma to let her live longer. Even if she eventually left now she witnessed the hypocritical acting of her father who sold the filial son face to those at the funeral. Later she entered the workplace and worked a lot, but stayed a loner and her wish from childhood to adulthood was one - money. Some consider it vulgar, but for her only money were real, they don't betray and you can live happily with them. Similar Xiao Yiyun was future richest man and he could make a lot of money,w as handsome and had a great character, so he was a perfect canddate for a partner. To her arriving into this world where she can live without the burden of her sick body was the best. But her life experience completely settled her outlook on money and people. This is why her indifferent husband she happily slept with and lived by his side did not pose a threat to her heart. Until later.

Xiao Yiyun wasn't actually indifferent, he suffered from trauma when he almost died in fire with his mother, from that moment he had troubles with feelings, because he didn't feel anything and nothing helped him, so he mostly lived like a machine. He reached the peak when he took back the Xiao family (with the help of Sheng mother) from his father who happily remarried, had soft ears for his wife and doted on his second son who was nothing more but a playboy who knew only drinking, partying or racing. He didn't care whom to marry, so he agreed with Sheng mother proposal to marry Sheng Wang. Original Sheng Wang tore this engagement and tried to chase Jiang Song, not getting it she was hit by a car and died. Now Sheng Wang refused to cancel the engagement and proceded to marrying. But her actions and how she interacted with Xiao Yiyun helped him feel again. His feelings slowly but surely started to return.

This is where "conflict" of their feelings lays. Sheng Wang was not bothered by Yiyun's condition and she helped him as much as she could, but when he confessed she was uncertain and only being led by black-bellied Yiyun to come back they made progress and a certain situation allowed her to feel that she was tempted by Yiyun for some time and if she doesn't confess to these feelings she will regret it for the rest of her life. This is quite touching, because both had problems prior to finally becoming true partners and lovers. They had respect, understanding and love.

One part from author's notes is actually quite touching, where they mentioned a quote about love being like a train travel, you can look around and see beautiful views and even can stop at any stop, but you choose the other person when you reach the final destination. The point is despite everything choosing your pertner.

On the contrary to them, which serves as a big contrast and explanations of such romantic plots (I feel like author takes a diss, but not sure :), there is Jiang Song and Shen Jiao. She doesn't strive to become better, but lets the poison of jealousy to exist in her heart. She feels like she is targetted, like world revolves and is against her, those who were born better have it all and don't know the suffering of their poor people etc.

It starts with her participation in a Star Girl show. Originally she would play better, but Sheng Wang came in as investor and a mascot judge, so Shen Jiao felt she was targetted, so her endurance was really weak. In words by Sheng Wang - that's it? And Sheng Wang didn't play dirty, she did nothing, she was actually a fan of several contestants.

Shen Jiao shoot herself in the foot when the glue accident happened and the nickname of glue actress stuck with her till the end. She witnessed, reported, but did not report the accident on time and one contestant who placed higher was eliminated due accident, giving her chance to debut. But of course it did sow discord, after all such a person may go to extremes.

Another point for entire novel are her fans, who are extreme and are not led with the help of anyone, so they not only make everyone think they're brainless followers, but also let passer-bys have a truly bad impression of Shen Jiao.

This was only beginning. After the accident was exposed she also left the group. She had nothing and joined the agency, but signed a contract and was mostly held down, because company belonged to a relative of the girl whose hair was ruined due to glue accident.

Next she asked for money to leave the company and joined another. By this time she and Jiang Song went through several conflicts because Jiang Song instead of being a simple protag actually has a ruthless side to him and he realized that some things indeed came to him thanks to Sheng Wang, but Shen Jiao is like a dodder flower who brings him nothing in terms of career, but instead he has to continuously help her get rid of troubles. And her comforting when somthing happens also means not that much.

Joining new company Shen Jiao thought she'll be a blockbuster and actually joined some shows where Sheng Wang appeared, but public didn't buy it. First she had a big scandal still circulating, next is that she had no work behind her and she wasn't so spectacular as Shen Jiao thought about herself.

Fail after fail more and more things appeared about her.

The biggest I think is the travel show she joined with Jiang Song. Prior to it she married Jiang Song, but not for love, they were both completely disappointed with each other. From one point she wanted to return and become a blockbuster again, from his side Jiang Song wanted to promote his company and game they created.

But this wall could not be held and completely collapsed when news after news started to come out. And they were critical hits.

As said Shen Jiao did not consider she did anything bad when she didn't report the glue accident on time, thought it was apparent that she bore selfish intent. But many things happened after that. She defrauded Wang Chen of his wealth and used it as investment, but with her lack of business acumen  of course she did not realize how easy it was to defraud her too. But she did not take Wang Chen seriously, so when teh scandal of her fraud came out it was another matter and this stain was hard to wash off. On top of that her father hit the three of Jiang Song, Sheng Wang and Xiao Yiyun with a car (the secret of original Sheng Wang death, she was also hit by Shen Jiao's father, but was not prosecuted, since interests), so she was hooped into this case too. Her reputation did not exist anymore and she entered the game. By this time she was mentally unstable and had a dream of original plotline, so she thought she was robbed of her life and her protagonist halo, but everyone considered she went crazy.

To talk about Jiang Song we need to backtrack to the beginning. Jiang Song comes from grassroots, but he actually has a dramatic fate, being a biological son of a wealthy Ning family. But because of an accident he was not recognized and became just the lost son instead of mixed babies. He created his own company producing holographic games (same as Xiao Yiyun), but was on a lower level and showcased his absence of care for players etc. He wanted to succeed so badly that he agreed to a mad plan from Han Yuan (another main character who was chasing Xiao Yiyun) and include her research into the game. Only later realizing it was a trap. He hit the wall with the game he created not once and eventually his company was ruined and the game and pods were called off. Due to Han Yuan's experiment he became blind after an operation. But Jiang Song unlike others truly repented for his past actions. He knew where he went wrong, who brought him benefits, how unfeeling he acted etc. He also had a dream, but unlike Shen Jiao he wasn't obsessed with his life being robbed, he truly felt that their relationship was actually fragile, how they changed and without support he doesn't weigh much, seeing this dream influenced him to see his mistakes even more.

And Han Yuan, she is simply a psycho, self-indulgent. She fell in love with Xiao Yiyun abroad and she wanted to "help" him, but her methods were extreme. She thought that Xiao Yiyun just imitated a perfect husband, when actually Yiyun was getting better by that time. Yet how could a character like hers believe anyone but herself. She thought Sheng Wang did not deserve being close to him etc. Crazy jealous female pratner. This is why she agreed with Jiang Song for experiments but in the end used drugs on him as a test subject. She was a dangerous element before they got rid of her.

So this is what happened, although this is basically what happened to the characters, but there were many twists and turns to follow, which were quite entertaining. I left out a lot of things too :) 

Note: After reading it I realized that I actually had read it before, but it wasn't bookmarked, although I realized it soon, but I still re-read the entire novel :) And I think I might get the different feeling from reading it again, because when reading most of it I now think more of the novel's focus on how f'ed up the original work was, how everything revolved around protags without any logic, how those characters lacked correct three views.

RATE: 4/5. Be aware that some character will act as if they're in idol drama, others do have brains. Ups and downs and entertaining.