It took me awhile to understand Meng Jinyang’s reaction. In America it’s normal for racecourses, rodeos, country clubs, or any place where humans and large animals interact to have a gun on hand for emergency situations just like what happened in this novel. So I didn’t think twice when Lu Chengzhou said to get the gun. I’m not from a hunting/gun-owning background, nor am I interested in guns at all, but it still felt like a very normal, reasonable reaction when a large, aggressive, untamed horse was involved. I honestly thought it would be the same overseas even if the country had very strict firearm regulations. But, I guess it isn’t?

Erotomania: the false belief that someone is in love with you

DO NOT SPEND COINS ON THIS! IT IS NOT COMPLETE! IT WAS DROPPED! I’m super pissed off. It’s an amazing story, and since it’s marked complete I happily spent a bunch of coins unlocking the whole series, only for the last chapter, falsely titled “The End” to end in a freaking cliffhanger at the height of action. The main characters haven’t even gotten together yet! It’s outrageous, and kind of unethical for a translation group to do this. If you don’t want to translate anymore, at least mark the series as “On hiatus”. Or leave an author or pinned comment to let people know!

Initially, it’s a very interesting story. However it quickly becomes repetitive. The author has an odd habit of revealing the conclusion immediately after foreshadowing, cutting the joy of the journey in half. It’s like watching a tv show for the first time with that annoying person who has watched it before constantly telling you spoilers of stuff that was supposed to be revealed in the finale. Where’s the fun with no suspense or anticipation? After reading 400 chapters the author has introduced 4 different love lines, 1 main character pair, and 3 sub-character pairs. The problem is that all 4 pairings are actually the same pattern. A straight, innocent, virgin man of enormous status who typically rejects contact with women falls in love at first sight with a woman, but doesn’t realize it. The woman is similarly attracted but burdened by their past making them think of themselves as not worthy/rejecting love altogether. The man is persistent in his pursuit, wanting to protect the “weak” woman. The woman makes a show of strength proving that they’re feisty firecrackers who know how to fight back. The woman is seen by the man, and is immediately embarrassed that their ability to defend themselves was seen by their love interest (why this is shameful I will never understand). The man’s interest in the woman soars, and they go to excessive lengths to protect their woman without asking said woman if they want/need the help. The woman is touched and all their problems are solved because their man provides them safe harbor and enables the woman to treat their various antagonists atrociously without fear of backlash (which inevitably only earns the woman more enemies due to envy and jealousy). As the enemy power increases the different pairings band together alongside their super powerful family members to collectively crush their enemies into dust, ruining many lives (but they are all villians so of course they “deserve it”) while the protagonist’s only become more powerful and outstanding, earning them another wave of enemies. This wouldn’t bother me if it was just once or twice, but it’s every time. The worst part is that the other 2 love lines (there are still 2 male sub-characters whose significant others haven’t been revealed yet) are going to be the same. I know because the author’s spoiler habit has already said so. I was planning to at least read until the main character’s relationship was revealed, but I really can’t bring myself to do it. The author has already told me exactly what will happen once it comes to light and has even revealed what will happen in the future with the various pairings children, and some of the pairs, including the main couple, haven’t even reached that level of intimacy- but I already know when the main couple are going to have a child! I even know what gender the kid will be! And what the kid’s personality is going to be like! If spoilers don’t bother you, then it’s a fine read. If repetitive storylines don’t bother you, it’s a great read. But for me, it’s a “meh” read, and I’d rather spend my coins elsewhere.

…That’s because it’s not meant to be a piano solo, it’s an orchestra piece.

In other words, "I'm just sulking a little, don't take my words seriously..."

Does a round table have a "head" position?

There’s a missing line here I think. According to the next chapter Xiao Han should have asked if Yu Ruo and Yu Miao knew the idiom ‘doves occupy the magpie’s nest’, and then proceeded to ask if they’ve heard of it.

Incredibly interesting read! This story is quite a bit more depraved than what I usually read but it’s really quite thought provoking and engaging. It depicts an extreme, but unfortunately true, picture of the sex industry, human trafficking, and objectification of women and children. The characters are, realistic, as in they are realists. Each character has a particular moral code of what they find acceptable, and what they’ll turn a blind eye too. The female lead pursues revenge but stands against injustice. Injustice mainly for the small voices who are trampled and silenced under the weight of those in power. However, her motivation comes from BEING one of those small voices in her previous life. She stands against injustice, but does so by being even more ruthless and cold-blooded than the villains, trampling the powerful villains under her might and forcing them to bear the same suffering of the small voices they once trampled. Is her approach wrong? Morally and ethically? Absolutely. Legally? Yes! In the grand scheme of things? Technically, no. An efficiency standpoint? Nope! Her methods are… dubious, to say the least. In 350-ish chapters the female lead has had a direct hand in multiple people’s deaths. Initially she was in it for the long haul. Everything was meticulously planned to force the evil-doers into tripping themselves up and revealing their wrongdoings to be punished by the law. However, there was a tipping point for her that turned it into “no-holds barred” mode. Once that tipping point came the female lead realized that she couldn’t wait for them to trip the trap at the expense of the truly innocent, so she started forcibly shoving people in her traps. She is directly involved in at least 3 murders, but hey, through those murders she was able to convict a few people to death row who had performed thousands of murders, rapes, pimping, and other heinous crimes. And that is what makes it so interesting! The characters are so complex! Both the heroes and villains have clear motivations, goals, and influences. No one is really “good” or “bad.” The protagonists have a mountain of really terrible faults, but I totally understand the reason they do bad, sometimes illegal, things. I understand why some of these “good” characters pretend not to see dark and dirty side of society, while other “good” characters use the dirty side to fight for “justice”. However, the female lead’s past life and her memory of the terrible things these people did in that timeline, really does not excuse the downright horrendous events and tragic endings she put some of her enemies through. But I get why she does it! Conversely, the major villains, really are pretty terrible people. Some of them are exactly that, villains, and deserve the horrible endings that they have the same way that some criminals deserve execution, because these villains are, in every sense of the word, criminals. Unfortunately, some of these villians are really just morally skewed, but backed by wealth, power, arrogance, and/or terrible role models, they might eventually turn into criminals. For some of them, it’s really too late by the time the female lead returns to the past. For others, the female lead directly pushes them into the pit based on her past life, she doesn’t give them the chance to change and acts as judge and executioner for crimes they might commit in the future. Let’s take one of the main antagonists as an example, the ”fake” rich daughter. She is not a good person. She has a twisted way of thinking and is a manipulative little liar. She makes things difficult for the protagonist as part of a superiority complex and is the main cause of the female lead’s incredibly tragic suffering in their first life. In round two, the protagonist is smarter and won’t fall for her petty tricks this time, so the protagonist starts tripping up the fake sister and pushing her into the mud. Their roles in this life are reversed. Does the sister deserve it? To a certain extent, yes. But I honestly feel a little bad for her. Although her personality isn’t the best (yours wouldn’t be either with parents like that) she is really forced by circumstances to make bad choices, leading to mental torment, and further skewed patterns of thought lead her to make even worse choices. Again, I totally understand why this antagonist does what she does and why she’s so hostile in the first place. Almost all the characters in this novel are simultaneously victims and perpetrators. Except …three at least, those three really are straight up unrepentant criminals. They deserve to die. I’m still waiting for two of them to be properly punished… From a psychological standpoint, the writing is fascinating. It’s really hard to strike that balance in portraying realistic characters that can be sympathized with and understood no matter which side of the conflict they’re on.

Why are the majority of foreigners blond haired and blue eyed in Chinese novels? I’m American, and although that color scheme isn’t rare, it certainly isn’t common. Most people in my area have naturally brown hair, with medium and dark shades being most prevalent. Eye color is crazy diverse - in my immediate family alone we have 5 different colors of eyes (brown, black, blue, hazel-green, and grey). Even in Hollywood, brown hair and brown eyes are the most common. …I guess if black is standard, all other colors and shades might seem “light.”

Um, rough diamonds aren’t all that valuable compared to their polished and cut counterparts. A loose 2 carat raw diamond would go for ~$800 (roughly 5,500 yuan) if it was of good quality. It’s worth less the poorer the quality. In comparison, a cut and polished loose 2 carat diamond would start at $5000 (roughly 35,000 yuan) minimum. If Qiao Nian and Qiao Chen were to get their diamonds processed they would probably end up with a .25-.5 carat diamond (worth ~$675-$1300 or 4,700 to 9,000 yuan assuming it’s of good quality) but they would have to pay for, not only the polishing and cutting process, but also to have it set in jewelry, plus the additional materials for said jewelry - which would most likely cost upwards of $800. Turning around and selling the finished product would result in a net gain of $0 to ~$700 (~4,900 yuan) possibly more depending on the final design and material - you know, gold vs silver vs platinum vs purity vs plated, additional gems, etc. If the design is bad, the materials unbalanced, or if a mistake in the polishing process happens they could lose money or end up with something they aren’t willing to wear or a stone so small it can only be used as embellishment for another gem. It’s a time consuming hassle and a bit of a gamble since I doubt this uncle is good at appraising raw stones. It just looks good of paper that he gave them a “2 carat diamond.” What I’m really saying is that this is an awful gift unless the recipient likes raw stone jewelry (which is trendy in India from what I know). Personally I don’t care for that aesthetic, I’d be much happier with the money spent on the stone in the first place. He shouldn’t be tooting his own horn about how expensive it was, he spent about 10,000 yuan on both of them. Meanwhile Qiao Nian and her friends are tossing gifts between 100,000 to 100,000,000 yuan at each other

Uhh… you don’t have to look closely. The Western orchestral harp and Eastern konghou harp look very different. They have similarly shaped frames and similar sizes, but that’s about it. The konghou has two sets of strings, the harp only has one. The konghou has a much thicker resonance box too, filling about two-thirds of the frame and giving it that distinctly “Asian” sound and a louder voice. The harp is comparatively quieter and the resonance box doubles as the bottom base of the frame that leans against the performer, leaving the area behind the strings obstruction free. As mentioned, the konghou frame is made entirely of wood, the harp is a combination of wood and metal. But both instruments are large and heavy. It’s not something you’d carry around. Transportation is difficult - usually requiring a handcart/dolly, so it’s weird that it said Master Nie was holding one when he accidentally entered Qiao Chen’s party.

Is this a mistranslation or a creative creation of world building? There is no “meat” ganoderma. The most appropriate type of ganoderma would be the lingzi mushroom - an ancient component of Chinese medicine (although research shows it has very little benefit in human consumption) - but it in no way looks like “meat”. I’ll just assume it’s a mythical ingredient in this world where Traditional Chinese Medicine is part of the protagonist’s halo.

It’s pretty good. The pacing is decent and the story is well done. The characters are fleshed out and interesting. However, there is a glaring contradiction in the Female Lead’s character and a fatal flaw in the Male Lead’s character that I can’t get over and prevents me from enjoying the story. The female lead is reborn, her backstory and character are wonderful, after being betrayed she isn’t willing to suffer in silence and has a deep distrust of men, she is strong, independent, and capable, and ready to make her voice heard …And then she literary allows herself to be sexually harassed and taken advantage of over and over again. It doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t need a man, she doesn’t want a man, she doesn’t trust men, but on their first meeting he takes advantage of an injured woman, in a hospital, and she doesn’t scream for someone to come over? She just lets a strange man kiss her and walk away? Why? Because he’s rich? Because he helped someone willing to jump out of a car on the highway? Wealth is not a free-pass for horrid behavior, and I think anyone who witnessed someone roll out of a car would stop and try to help. He makes clearly unfair, morally and legally dubious arrangements in her housing and employment, and she doesn’t think it’s a problem? She’s obviously quite intelligent. Why doesn’t she find any issue with a 20 year contract she has no power to cancel? Anyone with a brain would realize that isn’t employment, it’s indentured servitude. And this is the male lead’s fatal flaw. He repeatedly forces himself on a woman who makes it known to him by both word and deed that she rejects and is uncomfortable with his actions, but immediately justifies himself that it’s all in the name of pursuing his love. It happens repeatedly. He makes a move, she resists, he restrains her and continues. The male lead is irredeemably selfish and refuses to control himself because he doesn’t want too. His self-righteousness under the banner of love is disgusting. I’m not saying he shouldn’t or couldn’t pursue her, but his overbearing manner of not giving her a choice in the matter is unacceptable. It is violence. No matter what, it is not okay to disregard the intentions of your partner regardless of gender. Am I interested in finishing the story? Yes. Will I be finishing it? No. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable condoning the romanticism of gender discrimination and sexual crimes. Perhaps this is a cultural difference, but it feels wrong to me to portray this kind of behavior as romantic or even remotely loving. If you really love someone, you should respect them and their boundaries.

It’s decently entertaining but has serious issues with continuity, story arcing, and setting. It feels like I’m reading a rough draft where the author can’t remember what they wrote so they make something new up instead of going back to check. For instance: Before transmigrating the female lead was an orphan who never knew family love. Later it turns out that she grew up in a very loving home and was ”orphaned” after she was a legal adult in university. Originally the female lead was a little genius who skipped grades and had already finished university (where she had met the trashy “original male lead” of the book). Later, she’s suddenly cramming for the college entrance exam. Originally the male lead was 23 with 5 years between them. Later, he’s 25 and there are 7 years between them. Originally the female lead was good looking girl, a sweet little beauty appropriate for her age. Later she’s some heaven-defying beauty with an impossibly perfect face. And many, many, more. It’s all very confusing and rather uncomfortable, but ultimately, it’s bad and lazy writing. The author is constantly distracted and can’t seem to follow through with a single plot point. The reader is constantly left hanging as one cannon fodder after another is paraded before the leads but no resolution is ever reached. Several characters, who you are led to believe are important, simply vanish into thin air. Others are randomly brought up again and you have to scratch your head and go “Who?” before remembering their insignificant existence only to have them vanishing again with the question, “Why did you bring them up at all?” remaining unanswered. The female lead is all over the place. Her character design is messy and inconsistent. Her motivations are either shallow or unclear. She doesn’t know what she wants and has no drive. The author wanted too many things. She bounces around like madwoman, cool, collected, and emotionless at one point, but sweet, bubbly, and innocent the next. She has too many personas, and too many skills, some of which directly contradict. You expect me to believe she’s a reclusive expert hacker who died of overwork while hacking, while also being an acting extra, sure, I can buy that. But wait! There’s more! She’s also a painter. And a pianist. And a stunt double. And an expert martial artist. And a gamer. And a vegetable gardener. And a rock climber. When did she have time to do all this? I think the author forgets that sleep takes up nearly a third of human existence, and just because professions have an overlap does not mean they are the same and can be mastered at the drop of the hat. Being a background extra is not the same as being a stunt double. Being a stunt double is not the same as being a stage combat expert. Stage combat is worlds away from competitive martial arts. Typing hand speed does not correlate to piano fingering. Conversely, the male lead’s character is two-dimensional, he’s very cookie-cutter and not very interesting. Like, seriously, there is nothing unique about him and zero reason he would be remotely appealing to the female lead. He doesn’t even seem to have a reason for liking the female lead but still decides to pursue her. It ends up feeling a bit chauvinistic and childish, like “The more I’m told no, the more determined I am to do it, because I always get my way!” The flimsy childhood engagement tying them together is unrealistic as both families clearly couldn’t care less. Even when directly confronted about his feelings, the male lead’s response is “Oh, hey, I guess I have feelings for her. I know because someone pointed them out. Guess I’ll start getting ready to marry her!” In conclusion, the story is distracted and poorly written, the characters and motivations are shallow, and the romantic relationship is unfulfilling. I do not recommend spending coins on this.

Hmm... I kind of agree, but I can also see their point. Trust goes both ways, they gave Lucy several hints, warnings, and chances to show she trusted the family as a whole so they in turn could trust her. She knew they were watching, she was explicitly warned not to commit a crime with their family name, but she tried to do it anyway. Elder George gave Lucy multiple chances to tell him she had found the FAMILY compass, that is the key to the FAMILY wealth, but she tried to keep it for herself like some "get out of jail free" card. I think it's fair to argue that the Goodman family showed they were willing trust Lucy and her father when they gave them the assignment to branch the Goodman family into the Beijing market. Unfortunately, the two were so wrapped up in their woe-is-me "we have no standing" routine that they both resorted to despicable means to quickly achieve their goal, which ended up tarnishing the family name, rather than using effort and ability to prove they deserved proper standing. Personally, I think they simply wasted the chance their family gave them. They were too self-centered to recognize the trust initially given to them.

But you can't deny an extraordinary level of elegance and class. It's only been a few sentences, so I can't say if I like this girl, but she's dripping with charisma.

That is such a nice way to say, "Oh, my granddaughter is psychotic."

About her being F.S.? Probably when they made a business deal a few chapters ago. About the surgery? She probably sent a message to him too when she asked Sister En and Master Yun for help.