How to Survive As a Villain

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Xiao YuAn transmigrated into a novel as the homos*xual young Emperor imprisoning the Male Lead of a Stallion Novel.

This is indeed miserable, and sad.

Because of this, Xiao YuAn began to work hard to survive.

But!

“To those cannon fodders, even if you want to treat the Male Lead bad, can you stop sending him to my bed?” Xiao YuAn thinks that there’s nothing wrong in pampering the Male Lead, but that’s just because he wants to bathe in the Protagonist halo!

Xiao YuAn: “Don’t abuse the Male Lead ever again!!! You guys aren’t afraid of death, but I want to live!!!”

A story that starts out with the Shou taking care of the Gong, and then, the Gong takes care of the Shou.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Chuanyue Cheng Fanpai Yao Ruhe Huoming
HSAV
This Villain Emperor's Gotta Charm the Male Lead to Survive! (manhua)
To Be or Not To Be (manhua)
Xuyên Thành Vai Ác Phải Sống Làm Sao
บทตัวร้ายช่างยากนัก
穿成囚禁男主的反派要如何活命
穿越成反派要如何活命
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (14)
After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine (10)
Transmigrating into a Mob Character to Rehabilitate the Villain Plan (5)
Pulling Together a Villain Reformation Strategy (4)
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (4)
The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love (3)
Recommendation Lists
  1. BL with healthy relationships
  2. danmei novel i finished reading part 1
  3. Danmei
  4. On-Hold/Incomplete Readings
  5. -BEST HISTORICAL DANMEI-

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/27/21 Foxaholic c236
11/26/21 Foxaholic c235
11/20/21 Foxaholic c234
11/19/21 Foxaholic c233
11/06/21 Foxaholic c232
11/06/21 Foxaholic c231
10/30/21 Foxaholic c230
10/29/21 Foxaholic c229
10/23/21 Foxaholic c228
10/23/21 Foxaholic c227
10/15/21 Foxaholic c226
10/13/21 Foxaholic c225
10/02/21 Foxaholic c224
10/02/21 Foxaholic c223
09/17/21 Foxaholic c222
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trash_generalist
trash_generalist rated it
April 10, 2022
Status: Completed
(REVIEW EDITED After 2nd Reread on 01/24/2023)

Summary: This is a story about a man (the MC, Xiao YuAn) who ended up transmigrating into the body of a fatuous emperor from the novel he has just read. In the original novel, the original owner of the body had been a cannon fodder who tried to get the protagonist (who is also the ML, Yan Heqing) to join his harem. He wasn't a good emperor, and his ending was a bad one. The MC kind of acts arbitrarily after transmigration.... more>> Basically, he thinks it's all a play and constantly involves himself, both accidentally and purposefully, to change the plot. He didn't really have a goal outside of surviving at first, and the story proceeds to be easy going and care free for a while. However, in the end, reality comes knocking, making him realize that he was walking to an even more tragic journey than the original owner.

ANYWAY... If you like abusive romance, then this is not a bad read? XD It sounds horrible when put that way, but it's true. It's the kind of story that's both frustrating and heartbreaking. Making you want to tear down the script (and the author while you're at it) at the pure abuse, all while reading obsessively to find out how it ends. Like this, I guess you can say that the story is quite good at keeping the reader's engaged, even if the content may not necessarily be the best. In my old review, I gave it a 3/5 rating. I've decided to adjust it to a 3.65/5. Just enough to round up to four stars. I think it's worth it. Even if it's not my kind of read (I don't usually like abusive stories).

CHARACTERS:

There are lots of notable characters in this story. I thought it was interesting that they almost all share the same theme of "star crossed lovers." And that the author gives some happy endings and bad endings. Leaving a lot of room for exploration. All in all, the characters themselves may be pretty simple and 2D, they're definitely not the most realistic. But I think their attachment to the theme makes them interesting to read at least.

MC: Xiao YuAn!

He's a CEO of a company that recently discovered that he had a terminal illness. His personality is very similar to WWX in his MXY form. Always smiling and carefree despite his dark past. He transmigrates into a historical (non-fantasy) stallion web novel he finished reading after killing himself. The role he receives is the Emperor of the Northern Kingdoms! Who is rich, tr*sh, and a shameless cut sleeve.

ML: Yan HeQing

He's the Protagonist of the web novel that Xiao YuAn read. The fallen prince of the Southern Kingdoms, who was being imprisoned at the Northern Kingdom Palace. In the original novel, he had a white moonlight — the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom's sister! Xiao YuAn tries to set them up but ends up earnings this stoic man's attention instead.

PLOT:

The plot starts off very similar to SVSSS. MC transmigrates into a web novel and tries his best to survive by hugging the protagonist's thighs. It ends up being quite dark though. There are lots of Major and Minor Character Deaths. There's no overarching plot here, outside of the war and enmity between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The main driving force of the story then is its characters. And the main theme is similar to Romeo and Juliet. From the very beginning, the ML and MC belonged to two different factions with innumerable hatred for each other. And, because of this, they could never be together. Perhaps, if the MC was a little smarter, and they suffered from less repeated misunderstandings throughout the course of the story, they could have had a HE. But from the very beginning, the MC had gone about it the wrong way, which resulted in a tragic story that was tempered by the comedic undertone and the fantasy HE at the end.

__________

MY OPINION (Old Review) :

A solid 3/5! It's not bad. But not a favorite. It has the same vibe as your average dog blood drama. One that you know is not the best but you can't help but keep watching anyway. Like a fast-food novel LOLOL. My favorite parts of the story? Hmmm, I think that there were a lot of strong characters in this novel. Like? They stood out! The overarching themes were also a very unique, mature take. And, I like the banter between the MC and the ML! They were quite cute! And the development of their relationship felt very natural as a result.

As for what I disliked??? It would have to be the fact that the story relied primarily on misunderstandings and sudden out-of-nowhere conflicts in order to develop. It made the story feel cheap.

All in all? A good read. It staved me over for a while, so I'm grateful! One that I may reread, but it will be a while yet before I do so. OH and this story has a manhua that I didn't finish reading. So I might read that first before rereading the novel. The development there is a little scrambled. But I think the story is similar. It had over 110 chapters when I wrote this review. <<less
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cygnusblack0303
cygnusblack0303
April 3, 2022
Status: Completed
I read all of it and it's an absolute masterpiece. Look at all those users giving bad reviews that they didn't even finish it. Like, the first few chapters made you think that "WOW it's just a dumb MC transmigration trope haha funny" NOPE. The slowburn is pain, my eyes are still burning and my nose is clogged and I was sobbing at 3 am and all I can think of is damn why did I thought it will be a funny novel. It's.. If you can't get past the... more>> fun parts (meaning the sheer dumbassness of the MC, he's fun, you just don't have a sense of humor) then maybe you don't have what it takes to enjoy this. <<less
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Yumeru
Yumeru
February 27, 2022
Status: Completed
MC thinking ways on how to get the ML good side ahhahaa and due to circumstances ML falls for MC antiques.

Palace intrigues + mc&ML love. There's a plot point wherein you'll feel the despair of the main charas. They suite each other actually. Characters are not 2d and villains got their due punishment.
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MAnon01
MAnon01 rated it
February 26, 2022
Status: Completed
You need to read this novel! The translator team did a great job in making the story come to life. I was also a skeptic when reading the tags and reviews. However, I am so glad that I decided to read it and give it a try.

It was the best choice that I could have made. The relationship between the MC and ML is amazing! Aka. You will fall in love with both of them because they each have their own personality.

... more>>
Spoiler
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Although they are separated for some time, it is a reasonable amount of time to keep you wanting more. They do meet up again and essentially learn about how the other person is feeling.

Spoiler
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By 100+ chapters they fall in love with each other and are wholeheartedly smitten with each other.

You will cry, I’m not gonna lie, but it will all work out at the end. Read it for your own impression and enjoy it! <<less
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spicy_congee
spicy_congee rated it
December 24, 2021
Status: c236
What a lovely novel!

I absolutely adore the MC and ML and their dynamic. The MC is refreshing, if as oblivious as every other MC lmao. The ML is very caring and sweet, if as stone-faced as others.
The misunderstandings between those too can be quite off-putting and are probably also the reasons why people might drop the novel, but once you get past those parts their interactions are SO sweet. And hilarious. I love the MC!

The beginning might be quite deceiving, because the novel is quite angst-y and tragic. Oh, so tragic. But everyone gets their closure in one way or another, it’s very heartwarming and satisfying.

I don’t regret that I picked it up for a second time (I couldn’t quite keep up with the upload schedule the first time around and a couple days ago I saw that it’s finished, so I read it again!)

Beautiful ending and definitely a happy ever after LOL with lots of papapa!

Big thanks to the author AND the translator for blessing us with this novel and pair!

I definitely recommend this novel!
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F.A.M.H
F.A.M.H rated it
November 29, 2021
Status: c25
The MC is too, too s*upid. He is too s*upid beyond normal way. He doesn't do anything beside "Ah, the plot. Ah, he's beautiful. Ah, why are you doing this. Ah, are you seeking death."
I mean, he is the Emperore. He can at the very least order others to do what he wants and to not do what he doesn't want, but all what he do is blaple and lament at what they do by himself. Even a normal teenager would understand this obvious matter, that he should take charge or others will go over him, not to speak of a president!
He's just like a fool who can't learn anything from his live.
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Berlin
Berlin rated it
October 5, 2021
Status: c1
I read the manhwa first before the novel and strangely, it's one of those super rare instances where the manhwa may be better than the novel as the MC's innocent obliviousness comes across as charming and comical rather than frustrating. Similarly, the misunderstandings are easier to close an eye on when you're busy looking at pretty pictures.

These weaknesses aside, the rest of the novel is really quite good. It starts out pretty light-hearted and you may find the MC annoying with how unguarded he is with everything, but trust me,... more>> come latter half of the book, you will be wishing he's back to his innocent, easygoing self. I won't lie that I was stunned when things took a serious, darker turn midway.

I like how not everything is listed in black and white. People behave the way they do for a reason, out of loyalty to a person or belief or some extenuating circumstance. You may hate some of the side characters at the start but come to sympathise with them later on.

It's also interesting that in the novel, the ML's feelings are left for the reader to read in between the lines, especially from the pov of the unreliable narrator, compared to when I was perusing the manhwa and could more or less see his expressions.

I haven't finished this yet so I'll come round to this again after I compare it to the manhwa. <<less
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fiffia
fiffia rated it
May 6, 2021
Status: c185
Soo... it starts off quite easy and humorous. At first, MC's and ML's relationship is progressing quite steadily, and next there comes the most angsty part. Later there's gonna be a lot of misunderstandings, but not really the painful ones- I'd say that rather funny. Overall there is some dog blood here and there, but I didn't feel that it was irritating, and rather (besides the actually angsty parts) quite entertaining. As for the actual angst- I was sobbing so hard fr. The CP's relationship is very nice and they're... more>> really doting on each other. The transmigrated MC introducing the modern love 'rituals' to the ML was also really cute. Oh yeah, also, the MC acts really s*upid sometimes but it's still bearable so no worries. Didn't finish the novel yet but that's my opinion so far :) <<less
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Moonriver
Moonriver rated it
April 27, 2021
Status: c185
The story starts off great but by chapter 120 ish it feels like things are happening just for the sake of creating new drama.

Spoiler

I hated how new tragic things kept happening to the characters. They would make up/get over the misunderstanding in 10 chapters and BOOM. Another tragedy. Rinse and repeat.

At one point he literally gets horribly tortured and just. Gets over it?? Onto the new plot line.

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Feels like a shame since the beginning was so good.
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SageOfLegend
SageOfLegend rated it
March 9, 2021
Status: c166
This was the first story to really get me into Chinese novels, so there may be a bit of nostalgic bias in my feelings about it, but after reading a lot of other novels through this site, I really feel like this is one of the best love stories I’ve seen in this genre. It’s really easy to write a story where two characters spend time together and fall in love, but the author of this novel makes every single step of the love interest’s romantic progression so crystal clear.... more>> The main character and his love interest start as enemies, but even though the story is told mostly through the main character’s very dense perspective, I could see how every single action that the main character took lead his counterpart to develop respect, loyalty, and eventually romantic feelings towards him. It felt really organic, and not for a second did I have to stop and ask why the love interest liked the main character in the first place (which I find is more common that not in other stories). The extent of the love interest’s feelings is also made so clear in his more subtle actions and the tidbits of his thoughts that we do get to see. Only a few paragraphs throughout the novel are dedicated to his thoughts, but when he’s thinking about the main character, you can really feel the devotion and pining in every word.
Spoiler

There’s actually this one really specific moment where the main character is leaving to escape persecution under the mistaken belief that the love interest wants him gone, and when the love interest catches up to him, the main character tells him how he sincerely wants to leave of his own volition with a genuine smile, causing the love interest to stop in his tracks and wax poetic in the narration about how he wants to remember that smile forever and sear it into his memory, carve it into his bones, etc. It’s the sweetest thing, and he has multiple similarly heart aching lines T^T

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Also, weirdly the love interest appears to be kind of unique in that he’s not insane...? This is probably more commentary on the sample of novels I’ve been exposed to up until now more than anything else, but it seems to be the case that most Chinese BL love interests that I’ve seen so far are borderline obsessively codependent...? Meanwhile, here the love interest has so much respect for the main character’s boundaries. It actually kind of feeds into a number of misunderstandings, but the love interest is always trying to respect the main character’s wishes, so whenever the main character does anything to distance himself from the love interest (usually because of some well meaning misunderstanding), the love interest gets sad/upset/jealous, but he’ll never go against what the main character asks for. In fact, there are even times when the love interest tries to clarify the main character’s feelings to make sure he’s 100% sure about his choices, and yes those often end in misunderstandings too, but whenever the main character says he’s sure, the love interest accepts it. Although these two aren’t always on the same page, there’s clearly effort, and if the main character wasn’t so fixated on a certain worldview, then their relationship would have some of the best communication in the genre (in fact, they do kind of get to that point if you have to patience to read through all 100+ chapters). It ends up being such a healthy and loving dynamic!

And on top of all of that, the main character is so much fun as a stand-alone! He’s dense sure, but he’s got a strong sense of patience, responsibility, and tolerance. He’s a genuinely good guy doing his best, and his narration is sincerely funny and entertaining! Plus the side characters get decent development, and the main character’s interactions with them prove how caring a friend he is even outside of his romantic relationship. The burn is slow, but all the misunderstandings and tragedies are worth it <<less
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ImmaStealYeontan
ImmaStealYeontan rated it
January 15, 2021
Status: c56
DNF at chapter 56

Apparently I was having a blonde moment, because I thought there was only 140 chapters. I got bored around chapter 33, but then I was like I'm 20-ish percent through, and the chapters are short so I'll finish it! Jokes on, I didn't see that it hadn't been completely updated, which is odd because I try to not start novels that haven't been completed, so that's my mistake.

There was little to no world building, so for the most part I felt like I was looking at a... more>> comic with only speech bubbles in it.

There's also little plot, or at least it takes a while for the plot to get going, yet the book is rather fast paced. No characters spend ten chapters thinking about one comment another character says, they just get over it and live their boring ass life. I'm a character-driven reader, so this shouldn't have bothered me, and well it didn't, but it was a large factor in why I decided to DNF this book.

I decided to write dot points, because why not lol.

Spoiler

The Bad

    • I didn't appreciate MC's comment about how only thin, small men should be the shou/uke/bottom, and by doing otherwise they're defying the Gods.
    • The coincidences! What type of bullsh*t that MC can't sleep without breathing sounds! You need to get used to breathing sounds to need them to fall asleep, you've never been in a relationship Xiao YuAn!!!
    • The MC references the original novel a lot. And he actually reveals to the ML pretty quickly that he transmigrated into that world. Completely understandable, I would do the same thing, but it came off as rather juvenile writing.
    • The MC gets comfortable was too easily! He himself gets agro when the FL (Yongning) doesn't get introduced to the ML (Yan HeQing) like the original plot had her be. But yet he's slowly taming the ML so he (Xiao YuAn) doesn't die.
    • Xiao Fengyue's 'death', or 'deaths'. We didn't even know much about him, yet the author was trying to juice sympathy out of the readers with 'Xiao Fengyue horrible and depressing backstory!', , , over these lazy tropes dude.
    • That trope of, 'he looks so thin with this clothes on! But then- oh my, with his clothes off, Haulk who?'. This doesn't work, I'm afraid. MC notes that all LI owns is "thin clothes" (ch43), and they're most likely white, so no muscles could be hiding under thin, white clothes.
    • The author likes the ProstituteXMilitaryMan doesn't she.
    • ^ seriously though, 3+ relationships have that dynamic

The Good

    • I liked Yang LiuAn, she's probably one of the first female characters (who is close to the MC) that I actually like. ((And also the fact that she's a female bodyguard and not a male bodyguard, even better!))
    • What little plot there is, moves rather quickly. And the shorter chapters are a plus.
    • Xiao PingYang and Princess Yongning- I've never shipped two women before, but these two were just so cute together
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Warnings (spoilers for first chapter)

Spoiler

References to r*pe/noncon. And the MC being insensitive to a possible r*pe victim in the original novel.

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Nihilestenim
Nihilestenim rated it
October 15, 2020
Status: c107
I thought this would be tr*shy and lighthearted. Boy was I wrong.

o (;△;) o

Spoiler

I know misunderstandings are annoying, but the writing is really nicely done and I'm very emotionally invested.

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orangecultivator
orangecultivator rated it
August 22, 2020
Status: c84
This novel is a roller coaster of emotions. The only thing to describe how I feel while reading this is like eating my favorite food sprinkled with broken glass. It hurts so much but I can't stop reading. ?? The current translator (ch84) is the best!

This novel (is) also:

✔️Really funny

✔️Does not degrade women

✔️Has character development even on the minor characters

✔️Has a heart wrenching plot ?
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jcn38
jcn38 rated it
August 20, 2020
Status: Completed
edit
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choerrybomb
choerrybomb rated it
August 5, 2020
Status: c76
This novel is one of my top faves, as it rightfully should be. It has everything you need. Fluff? Yes. Action? Yes. Plot? Yes. Angst? Yes. The beginning might seem dandy and all, but prepare for some heart-wrenching scenes. The translator is also very good and consistently updates. All in all, it's worth a whole 5 stars.
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Q3APo
Q3APo rated it
July 19, 2020
Status: c74
This one is promising. The romance and flag are gradually thicken. You could see the growth of the characters too. The MC from deattachment to accept his role and think for his country future. The ML from cold to realize whats important for him, what will he lost because of his origin and people hope. I hope it wont end in tears.
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Sahloknir
Sahloknir rated it
July 6, 2020
Status: c60
This story is excellently written and absolutely hilarious. The characters are just so loveable and plenty of pairings to cheer for without detracting from our main couple. If you enjoy funny quips interspersed with some great plot twists, this is the story for you. The MC is hilarious (while being a bit clueless as to how he's becoming very attractive to the ML). In amidst the sweetness is a a gathering storm that highlights how much you have come to love these characters. I'm looking forward to the rest of... more>> this story.

Smollstarks Translations has done a brilliant job, updating at an amazing pace - they have moved over to Foxaholic in an effort to protect their work from theft. It's very upsetting to see the hard work of translators not being respected. I'm really glad this hasn't demoralised Smollstarks and they're going to continue with this lovely story.

Note: If you like plot-heavy, angst-ridden work this probably isn't the one for you. It's not without angst or plot, and the humour both highlights and offsets it, but it's lighter in 'tone'. A very well written and well translated work that keeps you reading. <<less
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mangaotaku
mangaotaku rated it
June 20, 2020
Status: Completed
This novel was really nice to read, I loved it! The characters, the plot, the pacing, I liked all these aspects.

For the readers, who are on the fence about reading this/think the characters lack depth or maturity, trust me, they all show character growth and character depth as the story goes. Tbh this novel gives me Founder of Diabolism and Heaven Official's Blessing vibes in terms of character portrayal. MC is seemingly very happy-go-lucky but hides a world of pain behind his nonchalance, and the ML is a tortured dude... more>> destined for greatness, and both of them are ADORABLE together.

As you might have picked up from the comparison to the works of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, this novel deals with a lot of dark stuff, and in a pretty realistic manner, so if you're looking for a light read that's purely fluff, I don't think this one will fit the profile. I loved the fanwai sm, they offset the heartache from the main novel and it was mostly fluff and sweetness \ (^_^) /. So yeah, give this novel a try when you're in the mood for a funny yet sad (it's HE, dw) novel.

Also, the translator did a pretty good job with the translations, and I especially appreciate their detailed footnotes. Thanks a lot for your hard work, TL san! I finished the rest of the novel by MTLing it and it wasn't bad at all. Apart from a few cultural references and names that got translated literally, the rest of the novel was pretty easy to follow. <<less
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hy-d-ra
hy-d-ra rated it
June 5, 2020
Status: Completed
The story is nicely built and the conflict is beautifully woven. The further you read, the more you appreciate it.

You follow the MC, who gets transmigrated into a novel, with basic knowledge that he has, he wants to change the fate of his own along with others. But because he's not cruel-hearted, he decides to do it the soft way, like sitting on two boats, which further lays the foundation of upcoming changes. He entertains you with his inner monologue and fanboying the characters, with occasional drama occuring that foreshadows... more>> that not everything will be as good as it is now. And it turns out to be true. Some parts really broke my heart tbh.

Several points I especially liked from the get-go:

  • Transition of MC, his realization. Although while reading it is pretty obvious that he treats everything as a story, that he is not truly a part of it, his reactions are quite comical. But things change with the following events that pull him to realization that he's not the president anymore, he can't treat it as a passer-by;
  • The conflict is beautifully put together, in a way that it fits really well and puts both characters in a difficult position, inevitably and not depending on their own wishes and desires;
  • They actually have a female pair. There's a part which I loved is for one of them to say - I hope she will be free to choose. Which in one phrase embraces many aspects.
The main hint to enjoy this novel - is to not to drop it early and wait for changes that will surprise you. The later parts are quite dramatic and emotional. The only thing that lowers the rate to 4, 5 for me is that sometimes MC's comic relief inner monologues were out of place and ruined some of the mood. But in general it was an interesting read. I MTL'd it, it was understandable, I also appreciate that you can read it quite fast. <<less
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nanassan
nanassan rated it
May 13, 2020
Status: c39
The novel and the manhua are not exactly the same but that is understandable.

In all honesty, I think I prefer the MC in the novel so far. The MC is hilarious! He keeps making references that no one understands and his reactions are so real. I absolutely love him!

Looking forward to the following chapters.
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