like the fresh take on existential dread speed through, and the cross dressing s*x, the example of good manners in commenting, realistic depiction of dread women feel when treated with kindness by strangers in big cities.

like not wanting kids, abandoned for the sake of having one, the dynamic started off interesting with the ML not really having a libido, but that was abandoned for the usual ML wants MC endures until the cross dressing s*x which was really fresh and nice to see.

the OG FL turns into a cannon fodder, and is shown as being the bad one all along, but the OG ML is an all around good guy, the stepmother is evil incarnate but the father well, he can be excused a little bit, the OG host not being given any real compassion by anyone in the plot and all of her likes and choices being shown as bad and tr*shy,

I have no idea why Jiu Jiu is getting so much hate in the comments? Like, one comment says that she is playing push-pull and purposely hurting the ML and I just...*eye roll*. The ML does nothing to properly convey his feelings to her. For her, this is purely a situation of convenience because that's how he allows it to be presented. He does not bother to correct her. He does not bother to change this mindset—not directly at least. He's a tsundere/kuudere sure. fine. but he does not communicate. Their relationship can't even really be considered close. Cordial and friendly. At times, sweet. But not at all romantic. And that is her point. She feels like he's attached to her because of what she offers him. The care. Sustenance. The company. He's no longer lonely. She takes care of him. That kind of stuff. She sees him as someone who is imprinting on her. So when she leaves it is not to play some kind of game. It is because she is trying to put some distance between them. Because they both need the space. Because maybe she is developing feelings but he most certainly has and she can't be sure if they're genuine or not, so the space is for them both.

He's emotionally stunted. Like, there's not much else to say. His mother died—the only parent he was close to—and his father is a massive POS. His stepmother is... well, a wicked witch. Not at all surprising. I don't think he's a bad person for not being able to communicate with the FL. He doesn't have the emotional maturity. He's emotionally hurt. He's trying his best. He looks up how to woo women online. He buys books. He even sets up a romantic dinner (that gets ruined bc of a misunderstanding but yuh). He's just not good at being vulnerable. He does basically everything from behind the scenes.

instead of being vexed by the slow burn (confession on ch 50-ish and it was a single sentence), the cold rejection from the FL satisfied me. The author emphasize that FL isn't someone who'll easily get swooned by pretty face, and mistakenly called them love. She did like ML's face, but that's it. No tender feeling of (mistakenly believed) love.