(from DanmeiNews.com) Entertainer Li Luo has an unfortunate run-in with his cruel and manipulative ex-lover Duan Mingyang after five years of separation. Li Luo asks Duan Mingyang to contribute his wealth and influence in order to defeat a common enemy, and also to uncover the truth behind his jailed father’s wrongful conviction. The resulting partnership stirs up old feelings and old conflicts.
I gobbled this up in like a few days and could not put the book down. It reads very The CW vibes which is why I’LL STILL BE CONTINUING BC THIS MESS IS THE TYPE OF MESS I ENJOY IN THE RIGHT MOOD. 😂
My verdict is that if someone hates second chance mess and miscommunication and kind of a lack of buildup to the smut they won’t like this. I love second chance mess and miscommunication specifically in second chance mess, so I vibed with a lot of this. This is also a celebrity/rich people romance so there are discussions about fame and class as well.
While the main dynamic is pretty fun, I could see people getting really frustrated by how things are played out and also their not-so-meetcute & early foundation, and also the way the ML treats the MC. I want to hit him because he’s very cold and detached and you wonder why the fuck the MC even liked this dude even in their flashbacks and how he’s affected now years later. There’s family drama mess, relationship mess and lots of jealousy. Also there’s fucked up shit that happens in this w/ both on screen & mentions of
TW: revenge porn (which might be a misunderstanding), violence, dub-con, abuse, rape & SAÂ which also make it a bit harder to read.
There’s some comedy with the way the MC reads on weibo about fans shipping him and his other friend and other shipping shenanigans but most of vol 1 is the drama between the two exes and people kind of being dragged into it somehow at various points. There is a teeny tiny bit of OM/OW drama but as someone who abhors this type of drama, it really was bearable here. By the end of vol. 1, I feel the author didn’t do quite as good of a job I was hoping for of showing why the main leads are a good fit for each other LMAO…
But nevertheless, there is a lot of great things here and promising stuff for next volume!! The banter is funny bc the MC is bluntly self-aware about the ML’s coldness too and approaches things eyes wide open + pushes back against him too for stuff that happens. I just want to give him a hug and also hit him bc he keeps internalizing things and blaming himself and also being like the heart wants what it wants ~ and i’m like LOVE AND RESPECT YOURSELF MAN. But it’s like still clear that the ML cares too in his own way and has potential for yandere so I’m hoping we get that soon!!
