- #1
There are definitely good aspects to the novel. I think the plot, while not being particularly unique or interesting, is one of the better entertainment stories out there. At the very least it makes sense, and there's no unnecessary drama or suffering that the MC has to face that doesn't get resolved within a couple chapters. None of the "antagonists" are b*tchy women that are portrayed in a way that is inherently misogynistic (I am so god damn sick of this trope) and the side characters are interesting and relevant. As other reviewers have pointed out, the ML is also very unlike the stereotypical gongs you see in other BL, and he is not forceful, obsessive, or violent toward the MC in any way.But there are definitely some things that bothered me, and ultimately caused me to stop MTLing the novel all the way through. I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum but what constitutes a spoiler is different for everyone, so please proceed with caution.
- I enjoyed the MC's character, and for the most part, he was portrayed as a somewhat naive but still very clever, independent (in terms of his career), handsome young man. He's clear on where he stands with the ML as his "sugar baby", and he repeatedly tells himself/the audience that he won't fall in love with the ML. But then.... he acts completely different to what he preaches. As we progress in the story, it becomes obvious that he's crushing on the ML and thinks about him all the time, always wants to be with him and buy him presents, and it was really irritating. If he was so aware of everything then why would he still fall into this pit? And I know he will later Spoiler
confess to the ML despite him saying from the beginning that he will not cross the boundary
[collapse] which only highlights his contradictory nature even more. - I also enjoyed the ML's character for the reasons stated above (i.e he's not the psycho yandere lover in other BLs), but was thoroughly annoyed at how he insisted that he couldn't love the MC. Admittedly, this is may have just been a misinterpretation as I was MTLing and the text was barely legible, but it was very frustrating to see how the ML acted as if loving the MC was beneath him. When his friends pointed it out he was like "nonsense no way that I would ever love him LOL he's not that special" and despite being the one to complain that the MC wasn't taking the "initiative", when the MC expresses even the slightest bit of goodwill the ML is like "oh no he's crossing the boundary, he's falling in love with me" and tries to shut the MC down. It's supposed to be funny, because the ML is oblivious to his own feelings and has already fallen for the MC, but I just found it irritating.
- I don't want to speak ill of the translator, because s/he is doing this out of the goodness of their own heart and is not being paid for the work they produce, so don't take this as a slight against them. However, I would just like to point out that the translated chapters are more or less the edited versions of the MTL (meaning they are a lot more correct in terms of grammar and etc but not so comprehensive when it comes to Chinese slag and other references) so take this as you will.