I shaved a star, since I find that for a storyline where the main villain appears and everything becomes clear and you know how things will end, since it is too obvious, becoming long. Tbh I struggled through the last 1/3 of the novel because of that. I'd honestly shorten some events along the way too. Also the reason for the NPC to want to go outside and live a real life is kind of weird, sure he realizes that his life is just a game and events of his life are all fake, but will going outside and live a life in someone else's body not fake enough? He used He Zhou's body when he went out, since he stole his player's identity when he planned his car crash, that's why emergency exit transferred his data back into He Zhou's body, but it's basically a fake life too to me, which is ironic AF. Plus his behavior when coming out from the game and occupying He Zhou's real body, but not proceeding with your plans, but stalk QYZ I found weird, sure he was afraid that if the HZ will be dealt with and his data will be erased inside the game he himself might lose his life. But there was one episode that totally doesn't fit at all. It concerns the episode of bodies switching. Real He Zhou who came out was a bunch of data actually, it was proven by him slowly disappearing when he was close to turned on holographic cabin. Then QYZ who was threatened by Qin He/aka fake He Zhou hit him with a vase, which knocked him out, but the one who woke up was real He Zhou and his body solidified, meaning he occupied the real body. He checked it was solid by again touching the cabin, but he didn't disappear. He disappeared from apartment and turned out here in an instant. THEN when it was a moment of truth dare I say, real He Zhou was hit by a car, his body disappeared and here is the biggest plot hole of the century. Since the disappearing real HZ again happened to be in a body of his own, the only thing he and the villain occupied it at the same time, before he took control over, meaning it's the third body. My question is hwo HZ' previous body that was proven to be real, it's the one the villain woke up in became fake and the third body appeared, it simply doesn't make sense. Basically this plothole haunted me for the rest of the novel and actually spoiled the whole ending. The death of the NPC villain when his data was erased was truly uneventful, like oh I'm a bunch of data, that's why it is easy to erase me. Basically I didn't like the ending because of this.

It was also weird why HZ when he received all his memories and realized that he is Qin He, he just forgot, was so stuck up of not saying it to QYZ just because QYZ tried to reassure him he is only one for him.

Once again for this type of story I found it rather long. There were really not needed episodes that occupied quite a space or details that played no role, unlike those that revealed QYZ's life and actually were relevant. For example, when villain NPC kidnapped his mother and made her almost fall from the roof, which 1) reminded QYZ of his real mother who committed su*cide like that and 2) the mother in this game was truly loving, like a dream parent QYZ longed for and it actually was tragic for him to not yield to villain's demands and see the mother in the game be pushed to her death.

Also because QYZ's past comes rather later than sooner, his character is hard to like at all at first, it's oly because you know the reason for his lies in the end and why he won't want to give those feelings to an NPC as he thinks, you realize his motivation, but before that it's a bit uncomfortable to read about a character like that.

That's basically several things I'd like to point out. And why I think it's relatively good, but not enough for 5 stars :)

The ML spends a majority of the book eating his own vinegar. This is no mystery -the author has foreshadowed it enough for us -there are no secrets in front of us readers. Nor is there suspense but they wrote it in an interesting manner such that you turn the pages -you know the main plot but how will it be resolved ?Will MC and ML know it in time ? How did it come about to be.

I love the fact that MC fell for He Zhou before he knew that he was Qin He and He Zhou fell for MC before he recovered his memories. Really reinforces the fact that will fall for each other again and again. MC said that he regrets their seperation, ML said he's glad that he got MC's sincerity the second time they fell for each other. Personally, I loved that they had two different but interwined stories. ML is always helpless when it comes to MC. I am glad MC choose him in the end.

I usually only tolerate yandere gongs but the ML's transformation from uninterested to infatuated to yandere and then to maturity, I LOVED. I even rooted for the yandere because it makes so much sense. At that point in time, MC was his only lifeline in the real world and, as a string of data, his only purpose of continuing to live. Still not a big fan of yandere personalities, but this one, this I liked.