First, the MC. On the runway, in front of the camera for a photo shoot, he is The King, yes the caps are necessarily. In his field even the ML could only be an equal. This is one of the best parts about this novel, you don’t have an ML that completely overshadowed the MC. But, what is best about the MC is that he’s realistic and down-to-Earth, he is peerless as a model but get him to act? He s**ked, where most actors have 5 NGs at most in one movie, he can get 20 NG in one scene. He can’t cook well, even tomato fried is hard for him, he recipe he posted for his fans on it was extremely detailed and the results weren’t that good. He even said it was difficult. His handwriting is bad too, his talents lie in modeling, he has a high EQ but he doesn’t have many talents. But he grows, he doesn’t stay a bad actor, he slowly improves so that while he will never be a good actor, he can, at least, act at a decent level enough for blockbuster films and such. His writing doesn’t improve though, and he relies on the ML fo home cooked food... Anyway, he is the type of MC who could stand on his own two feet just with his own talents and capabilities, the ML just sped it along and gave him a goal.

Now, the ML. First impressions are the typical cold, domineering and black bellied ML but he is more an artiste and craftsmen then a cold-hearted CEO. He has major sway over the industry, which is common, but he doesn’t interfere with the MC’s work. He supports him, doing things like buying a 1000 copies of magazines the MC featured on, and gives him little pushes, like making sure the company allocates suitable resource to him. He doesn’t open any back doors for the MC, anything the MC does, every cover shoot and movie, is of the MC’s own merit. The most he does in interfering with the MC’s work is helping him deal with people who aim to ruin his reputation, but in the entire series that only adds up to a handful of people. He isn’t overly vicious, true he ruins heir careers but generally what he does is legal and not particularly violent, in other words no torture or mu*der. There is a reason for why, which I won’t spoil, and it’s not cliche. Initially, the ML viewed the MC as his muse, his source of inspiration as a designer, and endeavoured to make the MC his personal model or “muse”, eventually their feelings grew and the naturally came together. He tends to eat vinegar though, and that translates to cooking foods with a lot of vinegar for the MC to let him know it. Although it’s not one sided, the MC gets jealous too lol.

The MC and ML don’t dance around their feelings and misunderstandings between them are minor and few in between, not really noticeable. They have a mutual understanding and trust between them, especially once they entered their relationship, and there aren’t any characters trying to get between them because they were in love with the ML or even the MC. Usually they are jealous of one or the other but never being in love with the person, which is logical if you think about the author’s interpretation of the fashion industry. Their relationship progression is steady and you don’t have to wait 200 chapters to see them get together, I think they’re already together by half way?

I should mention though there are characters who exemplify racism, but in the novel things such as gender equality and anti-racism is promoted and tranvestites, homosexuality and such is widely accepted with only a small minority of discriminative individuals in the population of the novel. One of the top female supermodels, I believe, was actually a former top male supermodel and gay marriage was legalise in most countries in the novel and Huaxia not before the MC and ML married. In addition the MC has worn dresses in official fashion shows, as well as a skirt that was designed by the ML and a wedding dress in one of the ML’s fashion shows, he’s also been photographed with long hair and mistaken as a girl several times.

Smut scenes aren’t prominent and initially not graphic, maybe R-15 mid way? Either way they’re easy to ignore if you don’t like that kind of thing, [

Plot development is realistic yet conforms to the MC’s abilities, also the end isn’t rushed, the MC will steadily make his way up from 3rd rate model to 2nd to 1st to a Supermodel to the top 50, 20, 5, etc... The end is very satisfying and the journey is just as incredible.

• Cultivators Supermodels develop their beauty and temperaments to immortal heights, hiding and unleashing their qi aura as easily as adjusting the heat on a stove. Ming Yu and Xi Ze are masters of this.
• Ming Yu's "development" is measured by a ranking system + Weibo and fansite popularity growth, in response to the rising quality of his endorsements and his appearances as both a runway and cover model. That's it, that's his journey. And not joking, half of the story is simulated social media activity and PR machinations. Never mind absent internal character growth, these "plot devices" only pretend to drive the story by teaching you how to count numbers, with the author literally acknowledging Ming Yu's INHUMANE (yes, author says inhumane at some point) career growth occasionally for emphasis.
  
• OP protagonist has a golden finger in the form of his obsessive, all-powerful ML & his former life skills of possessing the camera lens into capturing 60 perfect poses per second.
• In fact, Ming Yu is so OP that he's a better agent than his own agent, and can advise the PR director how to manage his public image. But it's just "suggestions" and "guidance".
• But he's well-rounded and not all-powerful like his golden finger ML because (1) he's too original to act roles, (2) his writing is dog shit, and (3) he's not a white lotus because he can't cook for his man, and isn't benevolent enough to stop his enemies from getting what they deserve. In one arc, Xi Ze destroys an American actress by leaking compromising photos and even forcing her to undo her plastic surgery - because she snubbed Ming Yu at a public event. Ming Yu finds out and feels a tiny bit sorry for her, but shrugs his shoulders like c'est la vie. Let that sink in.
• Ming Yu's androgyny makes him so versatile and universally pleasing that he can bend men & women with hair extensions. But don't dare mistake him to be feminine, his beauty defies gender categories.
• Ming Yu draws every powerful, high-status model/photographer/designer to him like moths to a flame, rendering their seniority and personal accomplishments and skills negligible.
• Every positive first encounter fosters an instantaneous, cult-like belief that his magical supermodel aura can challenge the best. Every negative first encounter sets up cannon fodder for career su*cide or a fall to obscurity.

I don't know how the same author manages to write a damn good first kiss scene, and then completely drop

the settings that make the characters unique to begin with - like Xi Ze's minor mysophobia went poof. Their romance devolves into a one-trick pony.

In this arc, American netizens are portrayed as being too blunt and dumb to comprehend the layered meanings of the Chinese language,

and only know how to flood Chinese forums with a bunch of crude profanities. Contrast with Chinese netizens' collectively higher moral ground & grace in verbal slaps to the face.

not only the #1 supermodel in the world, he's also concurrently the creator and chief designer for the #1 brand in the world. Seriously? He's so amazing he can design for 4 shows a year, never model or show his face, and yet still not be forgotten as the #1 model on a list that updates every 3 months? This author relies too much on suspension of disbelief.

MC's pretty similar to FOD's MC, in case you didn't read FOD -> MC transmigrated into a person in bad position, but unlike most transmigated MC, he got skill and knows it!

Which means he didn't feel the need to immediately show off/take revenge/does common face slapping.

MC is calm and smart, tends to be lenient but when someone ticks him, his retaliation is very cool/high class xD

MC's skill comes from his single minded dedication in his previous life, and it shows in which while MC is 100/100 in modelling area, he tend to suck at area other than that. He can't cook and his acting teacher throws the towel and ask him to just act less x'D.

ML is the best model in the whole world and also a major shareholder+famous designer in the best fashion company in china (Muse, the one MC work for).

Now what I really love, is that ML did work hard for his position instead of just being there cause author made him so.

That and the realistic fact that ML keep his "best model" title despite being busy is by "cheating" a.k.a designing his own clothes for fashion show and then model it.

Thus unlike most model that's busy with modelling, he just need to model 1-2 in a year and get [perfect/perfect] cause it's his design, so ofc he knows the best how to make it shine xD!

ML himself is a great character xD! (In fact I love him more then MC huehuehue)

ML is rather cold towards stranger and people he felt unworthy (which make sense since countless of people want to use him/his status for their own benefit).

He loves verbal trapping/trolling people he's friendly-ish with.

And if he dislike/hates someone, he is capable and ruthless enough to destroy that person.

So ML, as a designer, always wanted a muse (an existance that serves as inspiration source)

After meeting MC and watching him catwalking, he is 99% sure MC is his muse.

ML then directly tell MC so, and ask MC to become his exclusive model.

Now here's what I love about MC; MC refuse that offer, even though he knew it is the quickest way to become high tier popular model.

Why? because his goal is to surpass ML, and he can't do that if he works for ML. (10/10 I love your confidence MC ♡)

ML didn't force the issue, but he began to insert himself little-by-little to MC's life because to him, 'a muse is an existance that stands in the pinacle of beauty, if he didn't chase that, then what will he chase?'

ML make opportunities for MC because he believe inMC's strength, but whether MC succeed or not, depends entirely on MC himself.

MC is smart and humble enough to not reject ML's help, but never ab*se it either.

It's refreshingly straightforward ^^♡

ML pursues MC, MC knows and play along with it until just for a while to make some things certain, then they date :p

#no misunderstanding, miscommunication, 3rd person interfering, etc etc #god bless the author

Mature adults in healty relationship ^^

On top of mutual love, they respect each other's decision and didn't keep secrets.

... well except for one

ML start a (secret) hobby of mass buying product/item that feature MC, then he bought a house to be used as a garage just because he ran out of place to store them.

ML then make a new social media account, "Z God" and flaunt those items.

When MC found out, he make a new account named "halting my wife's leg" just to make snide comments to "Z God", lol those two!

After ML found out, MC (semi jokingly) said that all ML's purchase beyond certain digit need to get his approval xD

Sadly, even in our world, the strong using/trampling the weak is very common. That is what happen to most of this story's antagonist.

Most of the antagonists are either misinformed/ill-informed about MC's real status in showbiz world, they think MC is lower than them thus they use the MC as a stepping stone/scapegoat/etc. They don't deliberately target MC because he is Ming Yu, if MC is exchanged with other "similarly status-ed"model, they'll do the same thing too.

I can't say they're good nor smart (since good and/or smart people won't want to/dare antagonise MC :p), but they're not cardboard 2D completely brain-dead antagonists who are oddly fixated/created just to make MC suffer (like god knows how many novel spawn them like c*ckroach).

Immediately after you start reading, you'll know the name Cheng Su.

Cheng Su was a small model who deliberately get close to the real Ming Yu in order to take real!Ming Yu's resources.

Now the catch is, Cheng Su is straight and homophobic, while real!Ming Yu is gay.

Because of that, Cheng Su felt disgusted by real!Ming Yu's advance so after he got enough foothold in the industry, he ditch the real!Ming Yu and trade his broker for a better broker.

Real!Ming Yu is too naive/s*upid, he falls too deep for Cheng Su and even though Cheng Su show his true color and coldly/harshly treated him, he continue his pursue futilely.

In the end the real!Ming Yu can't take it, and commit su*cide in order for Cheng Su to forever remember him.

Enter MC who honor real!Ming Yu's wish. But he did it in "the best revenge is massive success" way. He is determined to make Cheng Su regret his action by being better off than him.

Cheng Su is the first, the most heartless and the last antagonist.

His most heartless action is when he got very fed-up with real!Ming Yu's advances, he lied and gave drugs to real!Ming Yu to set him up to be discovered and taken to jail.

Luckily (?), real!Ming Yu is so dead set on pursuing Cheng Su, he only use the drug once to try and "tempt" Cheng Su, and then stashed it away when it doesn't work.

In the end, the drug that real!Ming Yu stashed is "returned" to Cheng Su's place, police find it there and Cheng Su got interrogated. The lawyer he got arranged had no interested to protect him, purposefully lead him into saying his wrongdoing and then making sure he paid it in full.

Cheng Su got thrown into jail for years, his career un-salvageable, and we know what happen to pretty/good looking man in jail.

He came out of jail looking awful completed with androphobia.

the blatant propaganda (and racism) really threw me off. I couldn't stomach all those overgeneralizations and the xenophobia, which was pretty much present from the beginning, but gradually got worse.

The ultimate reason for dropping it was the whole the Sun scandal. The author pretty much assumed that all of the Western media and Western opinion was represented by a single (most likely tabloid and unsophisticated) newspaper which presumably had so much bearing on all Westerners (which is frankly ridiculous and offensive). The way the ML resolved the issue was just over the top.... and all that for a very petty reason (snubbing the MC)

He can barely act. He can barely cook. And aside from his signature that he already perfected in his previous life (even better than Xi Ze's), his writing is near horrible.

He needs to work hard in acting because he's actually interested in it, you know. He takes classes and improving his acting little by little, first by acting in an ads, then later in a movie. You can see his gradual improvements in time.

Shen Xiang, "?"

Xi Ze replied to the puzzled Shen Xiang. "Since you have to divide the models in accordance to level and Ming Yu's level can't be judged, then... he is at the highest level."

Shen Xiang, "（⊙口⊙）!!!"

Ding Bo drinking water, "Cough cough cough... "

Acting as if he didn't notice his agent and the director of Muse's Pr department's aghast eyes, Xi Ze raised his right index finger to his lower lip, speaking as if he was embarrassed, "Temporarily set it to the highest level."

Shen Xiang, "!!!!"

What do you mean by temporary?

It seems like you are still very dissatisfied with the highest level!

Come out, say what you aren't satisfied with! I will let you know who is at the highest level!!!

（/"≡ ＿ ≡）/～┴┴

About half way through, there is some very, very, very blatant pro-China/anti-Western propaganda that really threw me for a loop. I was not expecting actual propaganda in the middle of this very not straight Chinese BL novel. I was completely immersed in the story up till that point.

I can gloss over the Huxia (aka China on steriods) thing even though that was a spectacular bit of potential world building that was completely ignored by the author who probably just added it in for minor background propaganda. But I cannot deal with a "us Chinese are so much superior over these white Western barbarians" and also our exclusive industry parties are only for people who are from China and not even other Asians are allowed to join.

Honestly, I'm here for the BL so I can easily gloss over bad euphemisms and minor background propaganda. But this was very obviously inserted into the novel for no apparent reason and since it was the first time I encountered such blatant propaganda, I was unable to mentally gloss over it. My enjoyment of the second half of the novel was completely ruined.

It wouldn't have been so bad if I had been prepared for it, so future readers, consider this your warning!

On a positive note, the novel also has a trans character and their situation is actually dealt with rather respectfully and low-key which was a very nice after-dinner Chinese propaganda dinner mint.

Really people, stop killing reader counts when the novel translation has just begun!!! You are making people miss out on great novels! Temporarily rating this 5 stars to make up for the 1-star rating made by some prejudiced person.

There is absolutely no conflict or obstacle in this story that gives readers a sense of real suspense. It's hard to experience that 'worry' for how things will turn out when there was never a single doubt from either the writer's standpoint or the character's own view of their eventual success. Every single conflict is resolved swiftly and beautifully by the MC, he doesn't even bat an eyelash in worry. Even when he is being wronged, he doesn't show anger, just shakes his head, sighs, and then turns things around so he comes out on top.

This lack of struggle and lack of the MC or ML taking any threats seriously makes it so that I, as a reader, was equally unable to become invested in the storyline. From start to finish, there was only a smooth ascent - the conflicts along the way were too small to even be described as molehills. Every single person trying to stand in the MC's way were fodder characters with no actual strength and an inflated sense of their own value. There was not a single competent villain character in the entire novel.

The lack of real struggle also hampers character growth in the story, and I would argue there was very little and possibly none at all for the MC and ML. From start to finish there is only competence and complete self-assurance, no "can he?" but only a "when will he?" win. In their relationship with each other, they fell into roles easily that never had to shift again. Even with MC's only 'real' problem in being a bad actor, there are no unpleasant consequences and he rather smoothly improves while winning the good regard of those around him. There was no learning or change, only (a) high-handed, overpowered god character (s), which, if you enjoy just reading your mains effortlessly plowing everyone over because they are and always will be the unchallenged kings of the throne, then I guess this wouldn't be a con for you.