Unfortunately in their first life, the villain hid too well and ML is too helpless and clueless how to ensure FL's safety.

Moreover, theres also the plot restrictions and power which is basically the main reason for their whole misunderstanding. Refer to FL's gold finger;

• • Can change a word/sentence/paragraph in the story as long as it doesn't kill the characters.

• • Said change will be implemented inexplicably.

In a sense, thats also what happened to ML in the first life. There was no one with the power to edit the plot therefore they had to follow the dictated storyline. They were not even aware that their world is a book. Thats why this big misunderstanding happened even though ML wanted to explain himself to FL; it's because he can't.

To summarise; the ML is also a victim and is really pitiful because he had to shoulder everything by himself. "Everything" because he was also very very very vaguely aware of the "hidden power" that hinders him from explaining everything to FL but hopeless against it cause he doesn't even understand it nor can he uncover it.

He even also had internal crisis when he got enlightened. And he let FL go on with her studies and career peacefully without hindering even if he got a bit neglected.

she gifted him cookies, or when he was outside of her house and she went with him, the reasoning was so dumb.

Going into this, I was already quite irritated. I was wondering how the novel was going to justify the ML imprisoning the FL and ultimately causing her death due to his selfishness and still make him the ml. This was probably the reason I kept reading.

I really thought there was not going to be a reasonable reason and so I was patiently waiting to ruthlessly slap a 1* for the novel, however there actually was a valid justification.

SPOILERS**The ML imprisoned the FL to protect her from harm from his uncle. Due to some higher power restrictions, the ML isn't able to tell the FL why he is doing these things, such as kidnapping her. His original character design is someone deeply possessive and jealous, this forcefully influences many of his behaviours.

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Also in this life, he still showed signs of possessiveness even when the control on him was removed, of course not to the degree of the previous life. In this case, it was a happy ending seeing that the FL agreed to be with the ml, but makes you wonder what he would do if the FL didn't agree?

The story is told by an unreliable narrator, the FL. She has very strong memories of her last moments of her last life. And in the beginning she describes her very problematic circunstances in a way that you believe her relationship with Lu Zhen was something horrible from the beginning.

To a point you even wish for other people to be the ML. And if you check it out, we are just as outsiders as her brother was. He didn't understand the circunstances and was very prejudiced towards Lu Zhen like most readers are in the beginning.

in the segment where she is playing billiards in a school match, and the author mentions that in the future he would get creative over some billiard table... if you got the meaning *wink wink*

Probably there is another post with the spoiler, but here it goes: The System was not the FL's originally, but the ML's. And just like she has many resctrictions on what she can change and how she can act, in his first life he was also obligated to follow a plot. And so, his cruel attitude was something dictated by the plot and also some psychological damages he received from the revelations behind his mother's madness and his father's death.

There was never a FL for Lu Zhen, he decided to give up his life when she died. :P

I've seen another comment saying the male lead is tr*sh since he manipulated and locked the FL up with him in the past life. While I do agree that ML was a paranoid possessive man at that timeline, it's because everything that he owned, everything he loved was either coveted or killed by his uncle. That night when he kidnapped FL, it is because she was being planned to be kidnapped, r*ped, and tortured by his uncle (because his uncle wants to take control of him and also, uncle was attracted to FL). The reason why the ML turned the way he was was because his uncle broke him, especially at the part where his uncle told him the reason why ML's mother has become mentally ill was because he (uncle) manipulated and used his mom to his heart's content. The ML didn't know what else to do but to kidnap FL and run far away with her, but he didn't tell her that reason due to trauma so FL just thought that he was out of his mind and became stressed at his very possessive actions to the point where she had died in anger (literally). It was never said that she was bullied and sullied by ML during the time they were together, they even joined meals, she was given education by him overseas, was taught martial arts by ML to protect herself, and was even said that she willingly makes him coffee and meals during his work hours. The only problem from their last life was miscommunication. If only ML told her about her situation to the outside world, she wouldn't be suffocated with his overly-doting and protective love he has for her. Also, did I mention that the reason why his thinking was f*cked up was because the author of the book literally made him think and act like a yandere? Once he knew that he was just in fact a character in the book that was made to have a f*cked up personality, he tried going against the character written for him. He also repented, felt guilty, and beat himself up even though it was not exactly his will to act that way, but the author's. That's just how much of a darling he is. And for the people saying that she forgived him easily in her second life (the life where she goes back in time to prevent the ML from falling for her), she did not? She literally doesn't develop feelings for him until he LITERALLY DIES just to save her from his uncles scheming (this part happens at the last 15 chapters of the story). Only then did she start to see him in a good light AND ONLY IN A GOOD LIGHT, not even in a romantic sense yet. At the end of the story you could see that she wished that she'd live happily ever after with the person she loves. She didn't exactly wish for a happy life with ML himself. That's how much she's a tuff woman and wouldn't depend on one man for happiness, so shame to the people who undermines her character and simply refer her as a "simp for the ML who would forgive just because ML's hot" 🙄🙄 anyways go ahead and read it, but I doubt u will after reading this spoiler anyway LMAO but I hope u enjoy it as much as I did 😊💕]

However from what I could make out from the raws MC was the one who owed ML a lot.

The leads experienced 3 lifetimes together, the current plot time-line is in their third life.

During the first life which MC, ML and MC's brother remembers, therefore thought ML as an as*hole who was practically a bastard that deserved to die.

However it all turned out it was everything was a misunderstanding and it was because ML was trying to protect MC from ML's uncle (who's the villain of the story.)

Due to the lack of communication between MC and ML, the hatred was carried through to the second life and third life.

This part was confusing but I think MC rebirth into someone else in the 1st life time and went and took revenge on ML (but the novel classed this as their 2nd life together so am confused.)

Anyways from what I could tell she was trying to take revenge on ML but gave up and left him which completely broke him down because he either fell in love with her or took her a replacement for the dead MC.

So in theory although she was the ML's little moonlight flower she was also/maybe the heroine of the novel because the System said that the heroine was the MC's replacement.

Okay now thinking about it this entire 1st and 2nd rebirth probably happened during one time line and the 3rd life is the official reincarnation (2nd rebirth) of the MC and ML because the world collapsed cos the ML broke down after MC left him twice.

Now that's outta the way, during the current time line MC and MC's brother only remembered the 1st life therefore they hated the ML.

Can't remember when (I think when the ML confesses to the MC, ML began to dream about fragments of his previous life, it got to the point that he remembered the 1st and 2nd life (same time line I think) and somehow concluded that MC had rebirth and tried to kill him in the 2nd life... Bloody confusing.

Sh*t happened, everything got revealed and MC found out that she had misunderstood the ML... Used her golden finger here and there and finally changed her ending.

Love how MC was alway making trouble for ML, I think some people didn't like how she was ruthless trying to kill ML when she made his car go outta control but remember this was the guy she probably suffered a lot of mental abuse from (although it was a misunderstanding) but MC knew it was impossible to get the script to kill the ML so maybe that's why her means are a lot worse than it should be.

I think she's trying to inflict the same amounts of pain ML had given her... Well that and she just wanted to kill him.

ML was kept by MC not bc of obsession, but because ML was protecting her.

The ML and FL truly loved each other even in their previous time. The FL misunderstood the ML due to her insecurities and the ML worsened the misunderstanding because he and the FL was bound to the novel's story. The ML's awakening as the male protagonist of the novel lead the novel to grant permission to the FL to change the story as he wanted her to live the life she wanted. At first, the story was just full of comedy with the FL using her golden finger to bully the ML secretly. I even wondered how they'd end up together when she seems to hate him so much. After knowing about the full story from the ML and how the ML acted after remembering the past timeline, I felt so much pity for him :< They were able to resolve things in the end which is great.

Please don't judge the ML too fast!!! He genuinely loves her no matter how she changed herself and did his best to restrain his impulsive possessiveness on her. As what the caption said, he was willing to die for her as he attributed all her pain in the last life to himself (although it was the fault of the novel). I really like how much they love each other uwu