This is a romance-focused novel with a bit of family conflicts and drama. Regarding the Lin guy that the MC and ML are supposedly "fighting" for, there was never a chance for him in the first place so no worries about dog blood from there. Although there is a slow romance tag, tensions are already high since the start.
The MC is a rich second-generation playboy that is somewhat bratty but not immature. He is hot-blooded, spoiled and straight-forward. I like his fierceness and how brutal he can be towards the ML because most of the time, the ML truly deserved it. Although the ML gets the upper hand most of the time, the MC never let him off easy and made sure he suffered for it. MC is also described as a very optimistic person who sees the positives in any bad situation.
The ML was described as a sophisticated scum in the summary but he appears much more like a cold and overbearing CEO as he drop his pretense. It would've been interesting if the ML's character was gentle yet ruthless instead of your usual cold CEO which I don't really enjoy because it felt generic. The ML is not a good guy so don't go in expecting a gentleman. The MC has called him beast many times not in a "good in bed" kind of compliment but a "are you nuts" kind of way.
Warning that there are some non-cons in the novel. The MC's first time is also non-con and under the influence of drugs which left a bad taste because it was never properly accounted for. Although it was the MC who wanted to plot against the ML first, it still wasn't right for the ML to force himself on the MC as retaliation. Anyway, after that they became friends with benefits.
It's nice how MC never let go of ML's behavior and calls him out for his actions, which the ML apologized for but I still don't think it was enough. MC is also very self-aware that he's in somewhat of a lower position (?) because he's always going with ML's rhythm. A significant non-con scene spoiler:
Spoiler
The MC and ML started as s*x friends and their relationship turned ambiguous later on. MC wanted the ML to confess first to gain an upper hand so he tried to make him jealous (very in line with MC's character). Note that the ML is possessive, overbearing and controlling so he went crazy with jealousy when he saw how MC was going to a blind date and gay bar. When MC was at the gay bar, the ML blindfolded MC, took MC to his car, drugged MC and forced himself on the MC (not till the end).
All this while, MC didn't know it was the ML and thought it was a stranger trying to r*p* him so he was very scared and fought back crazily. It's only when the MC subconsciously calls out ML's name asking him to save him, did the ML stop. After MC realized it was the ML he slapped and beat him up. From there, the MC called out ML's behavior and the ML apologized.
[collapse]
I thought this would be a turning point for the MC to make the ML grovel and call him out for his previous non-con actions but the ML just apologized for this one time and they got together. I was actually hoping for some wife-chasing-crematorium because I wanted the ML to regret doing those things despite how the MC was supposedly enjoying it so I was disappointed.
I don't think this novel would've been as light-hearted if the MC wasn't so optimistic and unyielding towards the ML. It's like the MC is releasing the breath stuck in me every time he punched the ML so I can continue reading.
There are parts that I liked and disliked at the same time throughout the novel so I couldn't say it was a satisfying read overall. In the beginning, I liked the rivals relationship but disliked the non-con situation. For the latter half, I enjoyed the couple's inseparable relationship but found the MC's family drama kind of draggy.
Rounded up to 4*s due to my bias for rivals to lovers kind of plot and this was alright but an honest rating would be a 3.3*.
