The Queen of the Entertainment Industry is Still Me

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there's this one particular phrase I use for book that's very interesting...  This novel is pretty schway.

After reading several novels, I confess I've been lurking around Chestnut’s novel page. They are an author with varying degrees of success in my eyes. Let me share my experience, as I’ve finished all her latest works, including this one.

I’ll partially use my review from my personal blog, but let’s go! I’ll put this here (with spoilers), because I didn’t like the final payoff, so if you don’t want to read, it basically summarizes it.

To be honest, at first, when I read the summary, I was thrilled because it’s a rebirth story set in the future, and there was a promise to solve the mystery of why and how she died. But my expectations were set too high, and the novel did not deliver. Even though I’m well aware that Chestnut doesn’t write dramatic plots—everything is nice and easy—there was no real investigation. The reason for the murder was too over the top and a bit full of loopholes. This question of "who and why" dragged throughout the entire novel, and the answer we get is right at the very end!

One note, though: I read the last part of the novel with a splitting headache because someone in the house was renovating and they drilled for half a day, which triggers headaches for me. So my overall impression was even worse than it should have been. I’ll talk about a few spoilers here to illustrate my point.

**Storyline: The Career Path.**
The novel didn’t have the best start for me. Personally, I don’t like when the original host, meaning the original Meng Canran, is described as a thoughtless idiot who chased a male idol, lacking in talent both in singing and acting. Sure, these things work as a springboard for Jin Mi herself, but I don’t like when the original host is almost laughed at by everyone. Sure, when Jin Mi acts, it’s Meng Canran who becomes popular and shines, not Jin Mi herself. But still, that need to write such beginnings is not for me. But we continue.

Because she was confused at first, she signed as Jin Mi and later changed her tune, refusing to continue calling herself Jin Mi to avoid trouble. She and Xie Chi (the male lead/husband) were on the verge of divorce, but this signature put the process on hold, which is explained later as Xie Chi suspected Meng Canran was sent by the Wang brothers. Who are these Wang brothers, and their involvement in Jin Mi’s case, is explained much later.

So we start at such a low point in her career. Jin Mi is part of a girl group, but she doesn’t want to stay, and singing is not her forte. It helped to divert attention from her when it was revealed that the male idol and the C position girl were dating. But because the company wanted to shift blame and did nothing to solve the PR crisis, Jin Mi took it as a chance to terminate the contract. Because she needed money and didn’t want to contact either the Meng family or her husband, she thought of her own wealth. She had a lot of money when she was at the peak of her career. She found their old house and coincidentally was found/recognized by her mother. The two of them covered their relationship as if she now became Aunt Pan’s goddaughter.

Mind you, Jin Mi did not start any investigation of her own case, probably because it felt too fishy and would alert people, especially with her new identity. After all, there was an intruder that night, but her death was ruled as an overdose. Here, I want to ask if the murderer was too prepared. I mean, you barge in, but what do you do if the person wakes up? When I read the final chapters, I thought to myself that things could have been different, and the way the author wrapped it up was a bit of a ‘no’ for me. But otherwise, we wouldn’t have the romance, okay~

Getting the money helped her terminate the contract and set up her own studio with the help of her previous agent, who had a bit of an unfortunate fate after Jin Mi died. Because it was a frame-up, only her parents and agent believed in Jin Mi, but there were others who used money to accuse her of taking drugs, though I think I understand why her parents didn’t start suing for defamation. The case was strange, and at that time, hardly anyone believed it; rumors are a horrible thing. Her agent is now 20 years older and a mother of two, her husband openly cheats, and she acts a bit bleak. Jin Mi’s return put her old character of a resolute person into action again. By the way, her agent didn’t guess that Meng Canran is Jin Mi, many people felt she had the spirit of Jin Mi, but nothing more. Though I’d find it weird if one person changes drastically one day :)

With the two of them, they started from an acting show where, because of the previous comparison to the spicy acting of Meng Canran, she received a great deal of attention. At least it opened the door to her favorite acting. She refused the chance to star in some big production due to friction between her and executives during a dinner, but instead, she chose a low-budget mystery drama titled **Amnesiac Queen** (it is one of Chestnut’s novels released earlier, now used as a script). So, nice homage there~ Despite the young crew, it didn’t bother her, and this show later became a huge success.

This show and Jin Mi’s hot search physique opened doors for other projects.

The variety show actually helped her connect with an actor who played with Jin Mi before, but now he’s a senior. He also helped to promote her, and she starred in a movie right after the show. By the way, the director also has a connection to the old Jin Mi. What a small world :) So while others wanted to see her ending badly, she got better and better, and the bad past was slowly forgotten. Well, at least in such cases of changes, the network starts to make theories if her original actions were a cover-up, etc. You know how the internet works.

There were a few stumbles, but because Chestnut loves a laid-back storyline, they were not critical. First was an actress who was supposed to be promoted in the acting variety show, but because of unfair judging, it cast a shadow on the show, and many shady things were revealed later. The other one was the second actress from the same company as the previous one (belonging to the Wang brothers), whose agent is Jin Mi’s previous assistant, who also accused Jin Mi of taking drugs after her death. At this point, if you haven’t guessed that the Wang brothers had a hand in it, then I bless you to open your mind. They cut off Jin Mi’s magazine resources, but in the end, they chose another magazine, which was on the edge of bankruptcy. But because Jin Mi came into contact with the Xu family’s grandson, Shangshang, she was allowed to wear an award-winning necklace for the photoshoot, and the sales were amazing in comparison, so 2:0. K.O., b*tches. The last stumble was not serious, as it happened when her and Xie Chi’s marriage was exposed. They already had a good relationship and did not want to divorce; on the contrary, they became stickier, and the dog food was fed left and right.

Jin Mi, who had a great career in front of her, was the winner of it all :)

**Storyline: Xie Chi.**
Xie Chi actually has a deeper connection to the original Jin Mi, as we find out later. At first, it feels strange why such a person investigates Jin Mi’s case, as he was quite young when things happened. But around 30+ chapters, it becomes evident that Xie Chi was one of the few who was in contact with Jin Mi before her accident. He saw her and also saw a strange waiter who sneaked around her room. So after reading the news, he tried to report it, but no one believed him. With no influence and power, he could do nothing. The two met on a cruise ship; Xie Chi hurt himself when he fell and refused to call his parents, but Jin Mi offered help, and this is how they got to know each other. But don’t follow strangers, kids.

Jin Mi couldn’t connect the two together before she saw photos of the young Xie Chi. And at this moment, it hit her that unlike several other men who considered themselves her biggest fans but still either believed the report or did nothing to save her reputation, this small encounter made the young boy grow up with the idea of getting her justice. So you can guess that at this moment, Jin Mi was incredibly touched.

In the beginning, Xie Chi’s marriage was nothing more than a business marriage, although he didn’t mind having a good relationship. But who asked for Meng Canran to have such settings and act like a monster? Honestly, anyone would be repulsed by her actions of not even wanting to be in the presence of her husband, but he was the one who helped her debut. After the accident, when Meng Canran took pills and waved goodbye to the world, Jin Mi arrived. Of course, Jin Mi is different; she is more open-minded, humorous, positive, likes to bicker, etc. She became friends with the Samoyed dog Coconut and acted differently from the original Canran.

At first, Xie Chi thought it was some type of scheme, after all, they and the Wang brothers had enmity, and they tried to investigate Canran again, but things were unpredictable. She had no connection; it was as if a person was reborn. But this Canran attracted him much more.

Considering that the entire Chestnut universe is a shared universe, Xie Chi diluted the market of cool, handsome CEOs. He is quite a reliable guy, also generous, and if the original Canran did not act with such open disgust, things might be different. But otherwise, there’s no destined romance, so we wish Canran a better love in the next life. On the contrary, maybe Xie Chi saw what attracted him to Jin Mi originally, which is why things turned from having a casual good relationship to love. Although I still think the setting is a bit weird. Not to mention the past, but also their connection started from Xie Chi’s only very CEO-like trait, his insomnia, and Jin Mi just sleeping next to him cured it. Ahahaha

**Storyline: Romance.**
I suppose what initially attracted Xie Chi when he saw Jin Mi was her beauty and a glimpse of her character, that she was kind despite her high position in the entertainment industry and blinding glamour. So I suppose this is what pushed him to find the truth. But because he only caught a glimpse, he did not guess that the original Jin Mi was now in front of him, so he fell in love with the woman who was next to him before the mystery of Jin Mi was revealed. But basically, it didn’t matter who; it was the woman in front of him who made his heart beat.

Also, I personally do not agree when people criticize whether there is a solid base for romantic feelings or not. IT DOESN’T MATTER. People can start feeling affection towards the other person without any strong event in life. For example, if the male lead saves the female lead. In this case, I can argue that her feelings are nothing more than the thrill at that moment. You can rule it out either way; this is not even an argument, tbh. So the feelings between the two just came around. If you call it shallow, then what is deep? :) Many relationships do not need to be too profound to be reliable. Here is such an example. At first, to Jin Mi, her husband was just a handsome guy, and she could do with it or without, but seeing that he is the only one, besides her parents or agent, to believe and fight for her, she knew about his righteous heart. And the **Good Guy Card** goes to... XIE CHI! *cough-cough* You can discover many good traits without spending 300 pages describing them, and Xie Chi was reliable.

Like previous novels, this one has a more casual approach to relationships where two people just come together with mutual attraction, nothing hardcore. Also, this falls under the category of slow burn, as things develop in this direction by the last third of the book.

**Storyline: Murder Mystery.**
The biggest spoilers, folks.

Although when you read a bit, you understand that things are inevitably connected with the **Wang brothers**, as they are mentioned in connection with Jin Mi too often. When Jin Mi herself remembers the events on that cruise ship, the suspicion grows stronger.

This mystery stays a mystery for the entire novel, so only at the very end do we find out WHO, but we don’t really get an explanation of WHY. And this is why I say they’re not really cut out to write mysteries.

At first, Jin Mi remembers the cruise ship in connection with Xie Chi. Later, when she hears more about the Wang brothers, she remembers that she had dinner with them on a cruise ship, which she couldn’t shirk from, but she still left early.

Next, Jin Mi remembers that for protection, she had a voice recorder in her bag, which she completely forgot about. When she came to her apartment, the recorder was missing, so she ruled out that this recorder was taken away. Basically, it solidified the motive, but to me, it wasn’t enough. Why? Because compared to the Wang family back then, Jin Mi might have been a big star, but her background was insignificant. They could have simply threatened her, and that would be it. This is why I say that otherwise, we wouldn’t get the destined romance. This reasoning is a bit weak to me.

Jin Mi had no idea that she might have recorded something, so she was mainly a victim. Thus, we find out who did it by the end, but the why is not fully answered. Like, yeah, there was a recording, but the contents were not explained, which is a bit of a bummer and a letdown.

The one who was mentioned a lot in the novel was the Wang brothers’ crony who escaped when they thought they might deal with him too. But when Jin Mi saw him, she knew it wasn’t him. When the perpetrator was finally arrested, the Wang brothers were taken away, and the one responsible for the murder was on the loose for a moment. Was there a need for this episode or not, but because they met coincidentally, this is more like a moment of liberation that now Jin Mi could protect herself, unlike that fateful night where she fell victim to the same man.

I still put the last fig leaf on this big spoiler :)

So, the motive that was not explained in greater detail was a bit of a letdown for me, as the mystery was kept until the end. The next part, which I think was unnecessary, was Shangshang’s ability to predict the future. Shangshang is a boy belonging to the Xu family, a smart 5-year-old. He was sent to Xie Chi and Jin Mi when they had a quarrel. This kid can predict the future, and Jin Mi thought it was a system too. But I saw no need for it because, in two scenes, it was "crucial," but to me, it was questionable why put it there. After all, these two scenes could be rewritten with the same result. The first was the ex-assistant, the one who grew in power under the Wang brothers' protection, and Shangshang saw him badmouthing about his godmother, Meng Canran. The last one was the prediction that Jin Mi would meet the guy on the loose. But honestly, to be on the safe side, she could just have something to protect her, btw, after all, for some reason, she had a utility knife which she used, so I saw no need for this prediction ability. It was weird and unnecessary. You could just leave the boy who managed to bring the two together. Because his role in creating an opportunity for the two to be parents for some time allowed them to imagine if they liked such a picture. If it wasn’t for these things that stuck as a thorn in my side, I would have enjoyed this novel more, tbh.

Also, it is not the first and maybe not the last time when Chestnut used this sort of mystery where the victim has no idea why they were implicated.

I haven’t seen if her other latest works were picked up, but I can say for sure that **False Love** I didn’t like; it was very flat. It follows after the queen, and Chestnut showed a tendency to flop. But then they released **Three Days of Spring**, and it rehabilitated in my eyes. I loved this one.

I read the majority through MTL from the raws, so there were a few details that were a bit off, but it didn’t significantly detract from my enjoyment.

I liked that she transmigrated to the same world, rather than an alternate reality, novel, or game. Her outrage and understanding of how she and her agent were smeared after her death were entirely understandable. Being in a different, unrelated identity meant she was safer as she investigated her murder. However, she didn't do much investigating, making this a rather tame story overall, not overly dramatic.

Why she transmigrated into Meng Canran is never explained, but her connection to her now-husband was very useful, as he had been persistently investigating her death. I found it more realistic that there wasn't a complicated plot behind her death—major spoiler below.

She was forced to go to dinner with two bad guys and brought a recorder just in case something happened. She managed to make excuses and leave halfway through, so nothing actually occurred, and she met little Xie Chi on her way back, completely forgetting about the recorder since it wasn't needed. The bad guys learned about the recorder from her staff's slip-up and sent someone to steal it. First, the waiter, whom little ML saw, which sparked his lifelong crusade for justice, and later a thug who broke into her house. Her murder happened because she wasn't sleeping well and saw the intruder, who knocked her out and injected her with an overdose of drugs. In response to another review, that was indeed the plan if she saw him—that's why he had the drugs. It seems reasonable for the bad guys to take this approach, as simply threatening her wouldn't have been enough—they wanted the recorder, which, as it turned out, recorded nothing, to ensure she had no evidence.

It's nice but a bit complicated that her parents recognize her in this life—now she has two sets of parents (and is closer to the original ones). If they leave everything (originally hers) to her, I imagine the relatives will fight. The precognitive abilities of the godson were a bit unnecessary but added a touch of humor. I’d love to see a story with him and his system.

, it was a nice, non-dramatic romance.