A clear example of this is when the ML buys luxury gifts for the MC. Instead of putting the ML in his place and reminding him that all that money is actually his own stolen inheritance, the MC simply accepts the situation without confrontation.

It would have been so much more satisfying if the MC had said something like: "You only have this money because you stole my inheritance. These gifts weren't bought by you but by me, with the money you took from me."

happens when the ML's father kidnaps the MC, and a near-death situation finally leads the ML to express remorse. However, this confession only happens under the pressure of a possible death, which raises doubts about the sincerity of the regret.

When the bomb goes off and the ML is presumed dead, the MC falls into a deep depression.

The explosion creates a false sense of sacrifice

Luo Yi is a pitiful character. Despite his super high IQ, his single-mindedness, his successful plotting, and ending up with both a lot of money and the love of his life, he's not a happy person. He's toxic and crazy, but the novel explains why he is like that. The 'antagonist with a sad childhood' is a cliché, but I think it works well here - better than in some of the other 188 books.

The ML has had the worst childhood ever. He has been completely isolated, with absent parents and a nanny who seems to have barely cared for him and couldn't even speak to him, a psycho gangster-like father who just wanted to toughen up his son and who ab*sed his mother in front of him (it's implied that besides inflicting torture-like violence on her, he likely also r*ped her - and Luo Yi had to watch), and a mother who wasn't able to care for him (she obviously loved him, but didn't show it properly). He had no other family and no friends. In view of that it's not unrealistic that he made it his purpose in life to kill his father. Although he acts unfeeling and pretends he doesn't even care for his own mother, that's obviously not the case.

Xiaohui decides in the end to go back to Luo Yi because despite everything Luo Yi has done to him - to the point where he's a broken person with severe trust issues - he learns that he loves Luo Yi to the point where he can't actually live without him. He's not blind to how terrible a person his lover is, but he realizes that love isn't rational and life without Luo Yi is far worse than life with Luo Yi.

It's similar to many of the other 188 MCs - they go back to the ML because the love that the ML gives is addictive - it's wild, crazy and harmful, but no one can ever love them more than the ML, and they are also hopelessly in love.

ML and MC are together and happy EVEN THOUGH MC RIGHTFULLY HATED ML. ML had repeatedly used MC, even sent MC to his triad dad.

MC still tries to help ML even after their breakup in the name of following Yaya's wishes and not letting ML go up against ML's dad. Oh and author wants us to feel sorry for ML for his really sad and pathetic past she must think we are the white lotus MC.

I liked it a lot!!! It's very well written, Luo Yi became one of my favorite characters, even when he made mistakes I didn't come to hate him, after all he is not a bad person, his father made him sick, he hurt and tormented his son to the point he became mentally unstable, if he had lived a healthy and normal childhood he wouldn't have gone to the dark side, he would resist and stay on the right path. He reminds me of the character fei du from modu, both suffered greatly at the hands of their parents and had to watch their father torment their mother to the point that they died, but while fei du knew he had improper and twisted thoughts and held back, Luo Yi didn't feel he was making mistakes and felt no guilt or remorse, he never regrets anything, he has no clear emotions, obviously in the end nothing is more important to him than making wen xiaohui happy, our MC becomes the most important person for luo yi, but if he could change everything and start over he would do it all over again, he would only change his methods to not hurt wen xiaohui, and don't worry he is not scum, just a psychopath? Lol, he makes mistakes of course, after all he is a gong of the 188 group, there will be heavy scenes, but in the end you are very happy that he can finally have a normal family with wen xiaohui, he has the chance to be an ordinary person with a quiet life. A child that went through everything he went through obviously would not be normal, but thanks to wen xiaohui he finally has someone to keep him on the surface and not sink into darkness, he has the chance to start over and forget the past, have a big, loving and peaceful family, they are very cute, I fell in love with this couple, they both deserve to forget the past and move on, the ending is very happy, wen xiaohui is one of the best characters he is fearless and kind, he doesn't care about others opinions and expresses himself as he feels best, he is not ashamed to be a effeminate gay man, he is proud of who he is, it is very inspiring, normally people despise shou when he is feminine) : and they think the only ones that deserve to be valued are the manly ones, I hate it, feminine shous deserve a lot of love ok!!!! Wen xiaohui is so precious, give him a lot of love <333 anyway, luowen became my favorite cp from group 188 <333

Wen Xiaohui and Li Shuo kiss, though they don't go too much further. There is one moment where they almost sleep together but Luo Yi calls at a critical moment and disrupts the moment. Honestly it's a good thing they didn't have s*x because I'm pretty sure our resident yandere Luo Yi would have mu*dered Li Shuo for it.

go from such energetic person to the one that Luo Yi turned him into was devastating

depiction of a controlling relationship

During 3 years, he acted like a kind and sweet person to him in order to steal the inheritance his mother left to Xiaohui. So he even became his boyfriend in order to do that.

When Xiaohui discovered it, he was destroyed in his heart and soul, but bc he loved Xiaohui's mother as a sister, and bc the ML still has importance to him, he still decided to help him deliver something to his father on the part as the ML, and became betrayed a second time by him, the father's ML (and enmity of the ML) making him on hostage and using violence against the MC : the ML knew what was going to happen to the MC but still let him to the delivery.

First, no cheating. And this is what I hate the most and what make me immediately abandon a novel if I see it so it's good for it.

The ML stay loyal from the start to the end, he was ab*sed from his father (and also from his mother verbally a little) since he's young, and if that doesn't excuse him, that make the lectors understand how he became such a monster.

But he revealed it multiple times (and we can also see it in his thougths) that he fell for the MC almost immediately, bc he was the first in his life to show kindness to him so he didn't fake his feelings, "just" other parts of his personnality.

His love knows no boundary : jealousy, spying on him, wanting to be with him all the time, wanting everything from the MC and I know it sounds st*pid, but when you read it, you know that beside everything, he loved him.

But don't worry : a lot of groveling !!! I also hate novels when there's like a day of difference then the MC forgive him.

Here there's months / years of groveling from the ML's part and honestly, the MC never really forgive him and even at the end, says that he can't help but both hate and love him.

They meet when the MC inherits a house from his recently deceased estranged friend. Included in her will is a request to take care of her son, the ML, who is 15 at the time. (The MC is 19, so there's a ~4 year age gap.)

The first 50 chapters take place over the course of about three years. The MC and the ML get along well and the ML confesses at around chapter 40, pretty sure he's already 18 at that point. Once they're in a relationship everything seems to be going great, until the ML's dad appears out of the blue to reveal the truth to the MC:

The ML forged his mother's will, stealing a massive amount of money that was left for the MC. The ML's mother left the money to the MC to try to protect the ML from using it to go after his father. The ML's father is responsible for his mother's death, and he's out for vengeance.

After that truth is revealed the MC is able to reflect back and realizes just how many times the ML lied and manipulated him. Even the confession was done in an attempt to control the MC. The MC breaks it off and leaves, but becomes concerned when he realizes the ML is making a play against his father. While attempting to help the ML he gets tricked and gets taken hostage by the ML's father, resulting in the MC getting injured.

After that the MC loses any remaining trust in the ML, believing every part of the person he fell in love with was a lie created to manipulate him.

lying in an attempt to avenge a loved one is practically saint-tier.

approaching the MC just for inheritance was definitely scummy esp since the MC gave up his v*rginity to him and we could clearly see how important it was to him

he f*cking made him a hostage and betrayed him? f*ck that

he 'died' and only let the MC go once he achieved his goal of destroying his father. I doubt he would ever let the MC go

Like how what happened in Sissy, WX still has some defenses up against LY when getting back together in the end. Even the bomb stunt where LY gambled his life, WX knew it was LY gambling his life to test WX's feelings. I think the greatest revenge is for the ML not being able to fully regain the shou's trust, because that is something you truly can't buy, kidnap, or force to get (unless there's a case of Stockholm Syndrome, then never mind).

He [Wen Xiaohui] thought to himself how it was unlikely there would be another extreme relationship like theirs in this world.

Reading that after reading Sissy be like: 👁️➖👁️

Cao Hai noticed how Wen Xiaohui's eyes were swollen and red from crying and sighed. "I haven't seen a relationship plagued with more misfortune than yours in all my life. Are all gay relationships like this?"

Cao Hai you don't even know the half of it LOL!