I first saw this novel months ago but I wasn't ready to read it then. The first few chapters of how Gu Yu and Zhang SiYi met... I can't remember why I didn't continue on back then.

A couple of days ago, I reread one of the author's work 'The Daily Life of Being the Campus Idol's Fake Boyfriend' Finding it entertaining I went to search for more of the author's works.

Maybe it's cause I was once interested in architecture plus the previous novel put me in a good mood. I decided to try it again.

Before I started, I saw a review describing about it being relatable to reality. Being also around that point, I'm wondering about my future *laughs*.

Reading this simulated me.

I keep listening to others talk about how it is not easy to get a job. And that makes me wonder what sort of certificate may be able to have better chances.

Reading this two days, the thing that spoke out to me was about effort.

I feel that Zhang SiYi is a good example of what I feel.

When he started working at Boundless and realised that the company had people much better than him. That each and every one has their own strong point. So what does he have?

Zhang SiYi put in his efforts. Although he had a rocky start, when he improved further, his strength showed for itself.

No matter what, I feel that effort is important if you want to further yourself. Like what others say, what you put in will be what you are cultivating.

Honestly, I'm envious that ZSY has such a good environment. My nightmare would be having a situation like Su Yuan's.

Parents of MС are presented as positive characters, respected in society. But something is wrong with this, the MC's mother constantly calls him s*upid and fat, tells all his secrets to a stranger (ML) and directly states that compared to ML, he is a nonentity and they are completely on different levels. And this is exhibited by the author as harmless jokes among family members.

The MC's father is presented as a respected official with strong principles. But he's not that kind of character at all, he's not honest, he just cares about his "face". He never supported his son, just like his mother, raising him in constant criticism, reproach and humiliation.

The result was an adult version of the MC - a deeply traumatized person, constantly looking for someone else's approval and attention. He is not confident in himself, he cannot stand up for himself. He grew up among parental ab*se and humiliation, so in adulthood he found himself a partner who fully met these criteria.

ML insulted and humiliated him many times, but MC always quickly forgave him and always apologized first, even where he was not at all to blame. Minimal attention was required from ML and MC immediately, like an obedient dog, ran to meet him, wagging his tail. Their relationship is not equal. ML found himself an attractive and comfortable s*x doll, not a partner. Several chapters of the novel were devoted to the fact that the MC is in pain after s*x and he is very tired. He tried to talk to ML about it, but he just got back into bed with him, gaslighting "You like s*x, you're making it up".

MC with ML only because as a child he lacked parental approval and received attention and some verbal encouragement from ML. I don't believe in this love. The author passes off terrible things that traumatize the psyche as love.

in the last chapter, when he was 29, and interviewing someone fresh out of college, I almost cried. When he was in that seat at 23 he had looked at GY incredulously because how could someone so young be so successful. And now he's in the exact same position he once thought was impossible.

like when he snuck a photo of him napping durin ga meeting, and then submitted that photo to a company-wide photography competition.

I remember after thsi one argument, ZSY stood up from the couch, ready to be the one to apologize, but he found GY all crouched over sitting on the staircase, because he was sad that ZSY was mad at him, but didn't want to confront him while he was still angry. So he was just sitting there in the dark waiting for ZSY to calm down.

When GY decided to follow ZSY abroad. And when ZSY wanted to hide his admission letters so he could stay with GY. Initially, I felt frustrated, felt annoyed, because at core I'm the type of person to not like it when someone makes unrealistic decisions out of love. But then both of them revealed their thought process, they expressed how little they were willing to let the other go. Because regardless of how much they love the other, and regardless how much faith they have in the other, no one can be sure what will happen two years from now. And it just made me feel a little silly because here I was thinking --ZSY is only going to study for 2 years or so, right? How hard could it be to just wait for him to come back. And it's all because of all those novels with the "I will wait X years for you" trope. Because, really, in this world. With this limited of a lifespan. No one can tell what will happen next week, much less in 52 weeks, or in 104 weeks, etc etc. I'm not even talking about cheating. I'm just simply talking about the timezone difference, the lack of physical intimacy, the inability to be there for each other. Can video calls really replace an honest to god embrace? And, like GY and ZSY in this case, one could avoid a long-distance relationship, why risk it? Even if the chance of their relationship falling apart due to the logn distance is 1%, is that risk worth it? And to them, it wasn't. Because although GY had a high position in the industry and a stable leadership job at a good company, he also has the ability to develop in London, and then come back to China after several years to start his own place. And although ZSY had the opportunity to quickly improve his abilities by continuing his education, he can also take it step by step in China, improving, but just slower. But if by some chance, they lose this relationship, if they lose this other person from their life, there will never ever be a second chance. And aflijd;FDJ goD They just love each othe rso f*cking much

• Fujoshi mom?! I died laughing, I think this is the first time I've seen it?!
• Wingman little sister! And then also Tao Fei being the unfortunate witness to way too much PDA lmaoo
• Gu Xiao keeping the pumpkin preserved!! Also the childhood story with the pumpkin baby, he's too cute!
• Truth or dare... but the dares are just stripping... while they're in bed together...
• The confession scene was beautiful. Gu Xiao truly has a way with words, he's so eloquent.
• The relationship reveal to Gu Xiao's parents, perfection. I love when parents are just like "we knew you were gay since you were X years old" lol
• Fujoshi mom accusing herself for turning her son gay with her novels like I can't hahaha. It's an unfortunate reality though that even some fujoshis are not as tolerant of actual gay people and prefer it only in fiction.
• I do love how she said she would approve if they were still together after 6 years though. Shows that she's just worried about her son facing societal pressure and wants them to be certain.
• Going to study abroad together!! Love how both of them made plans on their own to stay together. And now they can be open with their relationship!
• The fact that Zhang Siyi and Heartless Han are basically brothers in law by Gu Xiao's sister marrying Fu Xinhui's girlfriend's brother haha! I love all the couples.
• The poor oblivious father Zhang oh my god he's so unintentionally hilarious?! "Let him believe he was the first to know" oh my god
• Also the fujoshi mom lowkey shipping them kills me lol she's trying to not support it but she can't help herself. I am in tears.