The very obvious final destination ML. Older, and imo, gross. Not because age difference, but because LZH is in a different life-stage than the XJ. People defending him has to know, he's dealing with his own company and deeply criminal actions from his relatives and her current goal in life is to pass college entrance exams. XJ has no experience outside of studying, while he's vastly more experienced and knowledgeable. He has the typical ML tropes where he avoids all touch, rejects all females, dislikes sweets, is a general ice block, except for anything to do with the MC. He stalks her a lot, too. It doesn't take long for him to find out anything that happens to her and is just conveniently there for her, solving her problems and offering advice. He cares a lot when his boundaries are trampled by his parents, but he still keeps an eye on her info, knows everything just as it happens. If he weren't the ML, parents would be seeing a red warning sign - older man, giving gifts, showing off his ability, daughter going to him for any troubles, meeting him at the evening alone with no chaperone and reluctant to give out info on who he is. We also see in his perspective, and yeah, he sees her as a love interest, gets jealous of all the teenaged boys around her. He helps her help her male best friend because he doesn't want her spending her thoughts on him. He sees her post a selfie with her brother and male best friend and he's suddenly at the same party...

a rich, immature fool, a bit wholesome but not in her league in terms of intelligence. The author gave him so much screentime but I believe the intention was basically a compare and contrast with LZH outside of having a shield to defend from Cheng Mengjiao. Look how a he depends on you, while you can rely on me. Look how he just resorts to force, while I CEO-style search and destroy someone. Look, I don't need to rely on my parents, while his parents spoils him rotten. YTY sees how nice she is, how pretty she is working hard and falls in love. Anything nice she does for him is like fodder for him to love her more, even if she has zero intention of it being that way. (Being nice is being flirty, amirite?) It's also fairly cringe how he ends up continuing to be seated next to her, even though the seating chart is based on exam rankings. His parents bribe his seat the first round, and for the second round, despite her parents requesting that they not be seated next to each other because of his obvious puppy love, he ends up being next to her anyway. I don't understand the author baiting him like this. XJ doesn't even care that much, but she's grateful for his assistance in defending her to her bullies, so she helps him stay in the class. I also read in another review that his ending is bad and he gets pathetically stuck on his unrequited love for her? 💀

As the original Ml, he's a little too perfect. He's kind and generous, smart and athletic... if only he wasn't MC's step-brother. 💀 Dislike how author makes him get inklings of feelings rather than allowing us a fully wholesome sibling relationship. I'll say that it mostly feels like a sibling pair, but there's a few of those one shot little sentences of "oh she's pretty... but that's wrong to think of her that way" that makes it seem like the author is planning for him to be a sis-con. He gets upset at other boys liking her like/with YTY. That can be explained as protective, since these are all rowdy/h**ny boys and he doesn't want her to fall into their clutches.

All the female characters are terrible except the ones the MLs' use as wingman props. MC's mom is easily influenced and manipulated to the point where we wonder why the step-dad likes her. She slaps people at the drop of a hat, MC included. Stepmom is (low tier) petty and manipulative, step-aunt is (mid tier) manipulative and hates MC and her mom for no reason except that they're outsiders and her daughter is same age. (What's wrong with remarrying??? Did the step-aunt like the step-dad for some reason???) Half-sister set her up, cousin baits and bullies her. Legit no female friends allowed.

Genuinely feels like the author really dislikes all females outside of the perfectly studious types. I don't think there's anything wrong with being slightly different, but the way they treated the original Gu Xuejiao was so terrible. Even XJ kinda disdains her, if she wasn't so preoccupied with studying to care.

I like the scene where she calls her stepfather dad. It was heartwarming and felt earned. Honestly, the best character in this novel is the stepdad. He's the father everyone wished they had.

When ML goes to see his friend because he's worried and says there's a girl he has taken interest in but she's underaged (16).

ML's friend's anwser killed me. Not an issue. In two years she'll be an ADULT. It' the same as saying 'In two years she'll be legal'.

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AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

The rejection of the second ML and death of Shulan...I mean what can I say. I cried like a b****. Especially with the second ML because he was there since the beginning and we actually got to see the sweet moments between MC and him. My heart really hurt for the guy. I felt so bad that even after he was rejected, he kept loving MC and that it was never mentioned that he found someone else later on in his life. Id like to hope that he did.

because usually stories end at the point where they finally get together and settle down with all their problems fixed. However, this novel ended with the extra chapters showing the life of MC and ML after the main story line up until their deaths. It was so sad to read. It was like watching them all grow for so long and then having to also watch their deaths. It was beautiful, but at the same time super ****ing depressing. I mean maybe I was just super attached to the characters in the book cuz that's something I find myself doing a lot (but also I wanna applaud the author for being able to make me so attached). Anyway, just a really great ending even though it was sad.

I don't have the specific quote but I remember two of them that really stuck with me that goes a little like this:1) those that are closest to you are the ones that you can hurt easily without realizing. and 2) You can easily unknowingly neglect those you love/are close to. I really like these two quotes as it really fit well with the plot and also because it fits really well with my life.

However, while I feel for her situation, I also very much understand her mother's in the first few chapters. She transmigrated into a character who has done nothing but disappoint and make trouble for her family. Gaining her mother's trust again will take time--not just 1 month. However, while MC felt betrayed when her mother didn't take her side (although it was somehow understandable), the author did not explicitly try to mend this anymore (MC had no more thoughts on the mother-daughter relationship).