- #1
*Ahem* Caution : Long-ass review.Webnovel Content - Vol 1&2 = 2/5, Vol 3 = 4/5Translation - 5/5
Summary - Follow our FL, Ji Xing from being a competent, yet frustrated & burdened white-collar worker to being a successful entrepreneur from scratch (with a huge Main Female Lead Character Halo, by the way).My two cents- This is actually my first Chinese BG novel that I am willing to read all the way through. After being fed up with how most Chinese BG Authors baby their FLs- no matter how smart or competent the FL is, but when it comes to her interactions with the ML, her IQ and EQ drops big time to minus 100 right from the beginning. Stop it.STOP. IT. It is not cute. Nor is it entertaining.
Talking about this work, did I come here for Romance? No. But not disliking it either. I came for the FL's genuine entrepreneurial prowess and especially her struggles as a little white collar worker who is slowly manifesting her big dream of being her own Boss, refusing to be just another corporate-s*ave etc etcBut what I got instead was her depending on the ML for almost everything..? Yeah, from providing the angel investment to hinting or straight up providing her with future plans of action AND advising her on how she should currently manage her newly established company. Like dude's everywhere. Every step of the way. And I have no problems with that - especially considering that she was what bearly 25 years old at that time. Nothing wrong about a senior taking a capable newbie under their wing. Plus he is actually her only investor. BUT.BUT!! here's when her (FL's) immature attitude towards others is clearly evident for the better part of the story:
- Her extremely sarcastic remarks towards her seniors - both the ML and Zeng Di. Now, Zeng Di isnt that great either. But she's still FL's senior and far more professional than her with years of experience and achievements under her belt. And talking about ML-FL dynamic - These sugarcoated jabs which she casually delivered to the ML were supposed to be playful banter, I guess? But these happened one too many times. Which is weird (and ultra-unrealistic) for a 15 manpower CEO to deliver to a CEO of an international conglomerate, when they are nodding acquaintances at best. In most of FL- ML's initial interactions, she's like an annoying younger cousin with gifted tongue-wagging skills. As another reader commented, she has a serious Princess Syndrome.
- The Author tried to make her a realistic character by adding attributes like Vanity and Hypocrisy to her personality. Which I appreciate - it is a far better option than making her into a sobbing FL biting her handkerchief at the sidelines (like most Chinese BG novels). But the way and timing of executing these flaws in the story is utterly self-defeating. Made the concept fall flat on its face. Like these flaws, if executed the right way could have made the FL realistic and more relatable.. but ended up doing the opposite - making her rather annoying. Sometimes I wonder if the archetype 'Annoying FL' was the Author's intentions all along? For what I know, the Author is quite experienced & often delivers profound ideas/dialogues in their work. For example, when the ML demands an (almost positive) answer from her about their romantic endeavours -- The FL didnt even try to hide her blatant hypocrisy. She knowingly acted cute around him for months, taking his money, support, guidance, and finally sleeping with him after she couldn't handle her ex-boyfriend being in a happy relationship with someone else. And lets be real. The biggest reason the FL dislikes Zeng Di is because Zeng Di was the only outstanding female interacting with the ML, be it business or otherwise. That is why the FL would always try to guess their relationship and secretly check her out. It is very subtle in the book, but you'll get it. FL was irked by another 'friendly' female hanging around the ML as FL had her own machinations for the ML. BUT when the ML wanted to further pursue their romantic relationship, FL did a complete 180 & says crap like "people will shun my Company, after knowing their CEO slept her way through"... Now, granted the CEO is the face of the group, but shunning a whole Company because of this..? Okay. This is simply unrealistic. Girlie was actually terrified about her own self being talked about and pointed fingers at, but masked it as her being a 'Considerate and Responsible Boss' for the sake of her Company employees. Tsk. And as the ML rightly points out - she clearly knows she isnt competent enough to stand out as a new and upcoming leader in the Business world to shut these rumours so she does what she can - play cute with people, get what she wants & later pat her bu*t and go.
- The Author never - NEVER made her act like a shrew or a hypocrite or even cunning enough when it comes to business and dealing with problematic people. Oh yeah, there's the ML for that - she just needs to act like a saint. On the other hand, while dealing with people in her inter-personal relations, where she should be somewhat genuine, she is elusive, inexplicably prideful, vague & avoids responsibility like a plague. And that is the lack luster and disappointing part about her character setting for me.
- Everytime her Mom calls her to ask about her well-being, FL roars and howls like she's being disturbed while executing an Earth- saving mission. Happens EVERY. TIME. At first it made me wonder if she actually had an abusive step-mother or something. This attitude isnt necessarily a character flaw, but is still unattractive for a FL. Just another example of FL being sloppy with her inter-personal relationships. AND getting away with it. Everytime she experiences mildly sly people across the business world, she is saddened and 'her heart is chilled' that their values are so different from her set moral attributes since childhood... Like what moral attributes? Being two-faced (for the worst possible reasons), and how to excel at being a chuunibyou? If being her own Boss and keeping her version of 'morally upright' was all she was aiming for she'd better open up an NGO, avoiding these situations 'making her heart chilled'. Huh? What do you mean no..? Oh yeah, forgot about the FL's vanity to strive for luxury. But when working for a higher income brackett, she also has to be superr judgemental and prideful. Like how she convinces herself that she hates women who make subtle use of their beauty and feminine charm, but copies them right the next week, while still deluding herself that she is better than them. *Sigh*
- Spoiler
Also, the FL asking the ML if he loves her enough to sacrifice his everything for her and die for her to prove his love when they've been dating for less than 3 months...I don't even know what to say T_T
[collapse]
- The Author was clearly contradicting ML's Character building. On one hand, they make the ML this Sigma Male with a difficult personality who has no time for BS and on the other hand, he has no problems babying the FL (even when there was no chemistry between them initially) ?
- Now, it was ML's calculative move to approach her (and her Company) but I think, given his Character setting, the Author made him fall for her willy nilly. It would have been much realistic if the Author made him repeatedly test out the FL first, till he figures her capabilities out and genuinely appreciating her as a person and as a reliable partner, rather than straight up spoon feeding her all the time and falling for her 'cuteness' that could only impress preteen boys.
- Spoiler
One of ML's inner monologues goes like "... especially her (FL), who is small-minded regarding matters of the heart". He knew she (FL) couldnt see things from a higher perspective. And he did the practical things needed to appease her in the background, hoping to keep her by his side, but he kept mum on his intentions about all these actions and his hopes for their future. And even when they break up, he stays emotionally constipated.
[collapse]
The trigger being ML almost dying for her for real, thus fulfilling her fantasy lol.
[collapse] Their make up was so cliche, but yeah.That being said, it is still very much different from the bulk of existing Chinese BG novels, where the FL is either sidelined, yet fantasizes about the ML with her rose coloured glasses on OR is actually a 3 year old annoyingly spoiled baby trapped in a mature body. *Sigh*