They are together as of now. The ML is very possessive. The s*x scenes fade into black but that doesn't make this novel lacking in any way. Although I would have preferred smut.

But their love is very intense and they way that they get together is very natural. So far there is slight drama and it makes it interesting instead of plain dog food, although I don't mind that.

There is an upcoming side cp ig. Their relationship also is very healthy considering their financial differences. I am looking forward to complete this novel.

I love the concept of this book! However, at the moment I don’t think it’s executed very well.

As much as I want to root for Liang Jin and Ji Xiuyuan, I can’t, which is a surprise because I usually am empathetic towards most characters in novels. I think this is because:

1.) There is no clear motive for either protagonist. They are just floating around and are not being very proactive. It’s more-so that the world pushes them to take action to move the plot forward, or they take action as an occasional reminder to the reader of their characters as model and painter respectively, rather than the protagonists actually living out the story.

2.) The novel is very simple and is “badly written”. I am unsure if the author has this type of writing style, or the translation is unable to translate the emotional depth and description across language barriers, but the novel is extremely straightforward in the sense that it lacks nuance. It is weird how the personalities of the characters are slightly convoluted whereas the the writing is very straightforward. Maybe in another novel would this have worked to achieve a sense and mystery and intrigue, but the way this was executed makes the book boring to read for me. The characters’ personalities, feelings and thoughts are spoon-fed to me, rather than shown throughout the novel.

To be honest, the reason why I put apostrophes on “bad writing” was because the writing itself is not bad. Rather, it’s just incompatible with the premise that was promised. I think what would improve the book would be to just describe the scene a bit more- the book is fast paced, but for characters like the alluringly strange Ji Xiuyuan, I think it would be better if the book slowed down its tempo for the readers. I think this would make Ji Xiuyuan interesting to comprehend. From my impression of him, Ji Xiuyuan is an enigma. He has a range of personalities and switches between them based on his mood and inspiration as a painter. The writing style of the book is fast-paced, which makes Ji Xiuyuan’s changes feel too abrupt and takes me out of the book. It’s difficult to create the illusion that he is an actual person like this! Instead he is rather like a book character with no/an inconsistent personality. It’s as if the author had tried to fit in many ideas and tropes, tried to make it work despite the contradictions, but made it over incessantly complicated. Thus by slowing down the tempo of the book, it makes Ji Xiuyuan‘s decisions, thoughts and actions more deliberate. Making him more interesting to explore.

I hope the issues I have with it is just because I have just started reading the novel and is just unfamiliar. Or it is just a translation mishap (although I think the translator is doing a good job!) because I really adore the premise and I like the thought (though not the execution) behind the book.