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When the Virtuous Male Lead Became a Scumbag Male Lord
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Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 82 votes)
5    45% (37 votes)
4    28% (23 votes)
3    23% (19 votes)
2    0% (0 votes)
1    4% (3 votes)
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2023
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Complete
88 Chapters + 4 Extras
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Completely Translated
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Release Frequency
Every 19 Day(s)
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Weekly Rank: #9676
Monthly Rank: #14069
All Time Rank: #7240
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On 1439 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #2890
All Time Rank: #6640

Description

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Living in the literary world of crematoriums, Zhou Yuan deeply understands one truth: every fickle radish has only the urgent crematorium as its final destination.

Finally, after three days and three nights of continuous overtime, he gloriously died of sudden death and transmigrated to the world of zergs.

Upon transmigration, Zhou Yuan became a useless male zerg who relied entirely on his mate for shelter and sustenance, fulfilling his dream of lying flat.

But not long into his laid-back days, he soon discovered—

The original host was a s*umbag!

He actually promised to marry another female zerg as his concubine!

Zhou Yuan’s face was full of shock: bigamy is illegal!!

And the original host even planned to cheat!

Zhou Yuan: Cheating will lead straight to the crematorium!!!

The original host also spoke ill of his mate to his friends, belittling his efforts at every turn.

Zhou Yuan: His wife works hard to earn money to support the family, yet he still speaks ill of him like this. Disgusting s*umbag!!!

—

Deeply reflecting on his pain, Zhou Yuan vowed never to be a s*umbag.

He will cut off all rotten peach blossoms for his hardworking wife, give him care and comfort, and eliminate post-marriage emotional ab*se!

—

Asta naturally dislikes male zergs, and his male master was only forcibly matched to him by the empire. He had always watched indifferently as his male master flirted with other female zergs, unmoved.

Until one day, he noticed a change in his male master.

The male master no longer sought after other flowers, but instead cooked fragrant meals for him when he returned home.

When someone mentioned him, the male master always stood up for him first, even resorting to violence against the other party.

He would smile gently at him and softly stroke his head…

Associated Names
One entry per line
当男德攻穿成了渣雄主[虫族]
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Home of the Zerg (3)
I’m Not Human (2)
This Male Was Forced To Support His Family (1)
After Transmigrating Into a Villain Cannon Fodder Male Zerg (1)
After Picking up the Fallen Female Zerg General (1)
Allocation Object [Zergs] (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Future times - Fantasy/Sci-fi
  2. Chrysanthemum Garden's Completed Novels Part 3
  3. Cute/Edgy BLs (mostly cute)
  4. BL > Zergs
  5. finished pt 2

Latest Release

Date Group Release
10/11/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c92
10/10/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c91
10/10/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c90
10/10/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c89
10/10/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c88
10/08/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c87
10/06/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c86
10/01/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c85
09/29/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c84
09/22/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c82
09/22/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c83
09/17/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c81
09/15/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c80
09/10/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c79 part2
09/08/24 Chrysanthemum Garden c79 part1
123…7
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Review
13 Reviews


Kerry976
Kerry976
Apr 08, 2024
Status: Completed
[Translator]

Rating: 4 🌟

When I first came across this novel, I was already picking and dropping every available Zerg webnovel on jjwxc.

... more>> I was obsessed, yet due to my obsession, I had read so many of them that I was fed up with how miserable the Male Leads (MLs) are in these novels.

I felt that the ML fell for the main character (MC) because he was the only option available. He fell so fast for simple things that humans are expected to do. Because the MC didn't let him kneel? Because the MC didn't hit him? Speechless. Jpg

Even though I loved it at first and even felt satisfaction from it,

Eventually, it got weird.

It wasn't sweet anymore. As if the MC wasn't working hard enough. He had it too easy. Haha.

During that time, I started this novel, ready to drop it at any moment.

But the novel started a bit differently. The ML was not on the ground, bloody and on his knees. The MC was not holding a whip.

It was different.

The MC seemed a bit silly even.

Then the ML appears, and I realized he was different. He was not someone who endures blindly. He had found a loophole within a system that made so many female Zergs miserable. He was not miserable.

And thus, facing the MC who suddenly changed, the ML didn't blindly feel ecstatic but vigilant. Another surprise.

And then the MC actually worked hard every day to care for and love the ML so much that it would make anyone smile.

They are so sweet together that it would blind your eyes.

It doesn't have a strong plot, though. Don't go in if you want a plot. That's what docks a star from me.

It's all for the dog food. If you are craving some, dig in. <<less
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AdalSaira
AdalSaira
May 31, 2024
Status: --
What trigger me to read this is not the actual content, title, or synopsis. But there are two review with different, almost opposite, explanation about this. So imma like "why not 😂"

..

The beginning is good tbh

... more>> I can feel that it's "full". Not full of word or full of literal something. But kinda like about the showcase of character's personality, the pace, etc.

Like how the other comment describe that ML didn't "fall" for MC right away and instead feel suspicious first also give more hmmm this new feeling. So I honestly expect ML to be somewhat tsundere, a bit of unreasonable sometimes, and have short temper for certain things. >> This is really just my expectations which resulted from how ML's attitude toward original body and MC at beginning (he is decisive even at decision which doesn't conform with norm and resolute in giving the original body two option of

Spoiler

whether let him work or he take another female.

[collapse]

But as I go up, it's all down the drain

Spoiler

As soon as ML feeling "something" from MC, the following progress become kinda generic. ML become sticky and coquettish.

He become someone like female zerg would expect or just any generic love interest

He become red at the touch of a hand. Limp with a bit of feeling up. Weak with gaze. And so on so goes...

[collapse]

The plot also become unrealistic and conveniently throw skill and power from the author's part.

Though since the beginning, this does lack details. But as a reader, even if I usually just read a fluffy no brainer fiction, feel like this really lack approach to anything else other than Main Couple's romance.

Maybe it's not the author's fault. Maybe it's just my taste doesn't compare with the author's writing.

The story after they become "understanding of each other" kinda like pink bubbles all the time. While I somehow expect dark fog in some corner...

The pink bubbles also doesn't taste as sweet as it supposed to shown. Maybe cause of lack villains? Or just ML is too amicable and accepting?

I really don't know.

It's just not a tasty dog food but still edible.

This is great fro filling time. And some scene also funny. So why not 🤣

Ah ah.. and I write this after encounter this dialogue

Spoiler

Zhou Yuan frowned and explained to Kate, "I'm sorry, I won't accept anything from other female insects except my female queen Astor. Please name a price."

[collapse]

Thanks 👍 <<less
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Ouryane00
Ouryane00
Nov 12, 2024
Status: c30
Maybe it’s because I’ve read a couple of zerg stories before so this novel doesn’t stand out that much for me.

I feel like the plot is just circling back chapter after chapter ... more>>
Spoiler

ML will do something that male zergs don’t typically do. ML doesn’t think anything of it because he’s from a different world.

Then, the zergs that sees what ML did will feel attracted to ML or think MC is so lucky to have ML.

Then, MC will blush or something.

[collapse]

I’ll refrain from rating this as to not affect the overall rating. After all, I didn’t finish reading the whole novel. <<less
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yuki_neko._
yuki_neko._
Jul 19, 2024
Status: c66
If you want some dog food after reading Angst story or to lift your mood after a bad day and make you smile than I DEFINETELY RECOMMEND this novel, every chapter I feel like I'll get diabetes!!

The MC and ML are soooo damn freaking cute together! Specially our adorable Queen and Male lead Asta! He is reallyyyyy strong, both physically and mentally, and I reallyyy love this strong willed nature the most!! And of course the way he behaves with Zuao Yuan is enough to get me butterfly and lets... more>> not forget our MC, he is DEF GREEN FOREST! And the thing he does is indeed what one should expect from their partner in real life, but honestly, BARELY any males do this for their wife!!! So I reallyyyyy respect Zuao Yuan!!!

Again Asta is just the cutest!! Although I think ALMOST EVERY female Zerg deserve husband like Zuao Yuan, and I DEEPLY wish the discrimination towards female and sub female zerg stop completely since the current order and law is extremely disgusting by being heavily biased towards male zergs and letting them run rampant, but I believe our male leads will surely make that happen!..

The story is VERY LIGHT HEARTED~

NO misunderstanding, NO argument, NO love triangle, NO love problem, just DOG FOOD EVERYWHERE!!~ <<less
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teagsho
teagsho
Mar 13, 2024
Status: Completed
It is a typical green flag seme transmigrated into a s*umbag male zerg body. 90% of them are lovey dovey interactions and the rest are how the Elder Council being so annoying and bad.

Honestly, imo, Elder Council is really powerful logically. It made of many high ranked males. But, their strength and cunningness is dissapointing. It was kind of anti climax when they are defeated. The evil male leader is too unstable. Well, that might come from how male looking down of female, thinking they will easily perish in his... more>> plan.

I like the fact that ML shou is really easy to change. In several transmigration s*umbag male zerg novel, many MLs still have this preknowledge and strong subsconcious to respect MC, like kneeling or say something in a rigid formal tone. But, from the first time I don’t see ML even kneeling. ML was so chill about MC, contrary to many stories I've read before. Well, many of them also chill but they still reverently respect male zerg.

I think this happens because originally, the OG male zerg actually not that domineering too. He is not the type that will hit or whip ML, and his provocation stay on cheats on several people and intice them to make ML uncomfy, that is why ML is not so keen being a “female monarch”.

That is all, it is a bland story. There will be male zerg cub who is so well behaved that I wish in the future my child will be like that😂

8.8/10🌻 <<less
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Mellowdew
Mellowdew
Feb 12, 2025
Status: --
Yeah this was cute. The MC is a literal green forest who loves and cares for his bride. Asta is literally the cutest, and his backstory is so sad 😢. The story is amazing, semi-lighthearted and it mainly focuses on the romance.

Spoiler

Asta and Zhou Yan's babies are so cute😍

[collapse]

The only thing that l don't like about the story is the damn censorship 😡. Like just give me my smutty scenes mister! But overall, it's good. If someone has the uncensored scenes please send them😊 (l'm desperate)
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Redle
Redle
Jan 05, 2025
Status: Completed
It's a feel-good, lighthearted kind of novel. It's just fluff and sweetness all the way through!

If you just want romance and wholesomeness this is for you, but if you want plot then you better pick something else because this is basically only a love story. I think this is good for when you don't want to think too much and just want see the MC and ML falling in love.

Though I think the novel could have been half the length because not much actually happens and the plot is fairly... more>> simple. <<less
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Irissska O_o
Irissska O_o
Nov 17, 2024
Status: Completed
It was ok, a little bit boring in the second part but better closer to the end.

The traditions in the zerg society were based on patriarchy, e.g. Some of them like chasing and dating male zergs by females were based on traditional dating culture there it is mostly men who take initiative when dating, but most of them were mostly based on chauvinistic attitude toward women in our society.

MC was caring and upright, ML was very strong but at the same time very insecure and dependent in their relationship. I... more>> wish he wouldn't be that sticky and coquettish though, I expected him to be a bit stronger in this relationship based on the initial introduction of his character.

All in all not a bad story, light and fluffy, but not smth I will reread. <<less
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psychofreak
psychofreak
Oct 24, 2024
Status: Completed
Just a nice fluffy slice-of-life ish type of novel. Fairly short too, so just a quick read. If you're tired from reading angst or heart wrenching heavy drama stories, I recommend this. But what really stood out for me was the translation I guess? Because finally, after reading a bunch of zerg novels, finally, the young zerg are called ZERGLINGS. I've always thought it was such a missed opportunity not to call little young zerg as zerglings. It was always zerg cub or sometimes just egg lol. I dunno it... more>> just made me inexplicably happy.
Spoiler

maybe because since I've played starcraft and whenever I used the Zerg, I affectionately call those zergling units as my babies lol. My very very lethal babies.

[collapse]
<<less
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jalouie
jalouie
Oct 18, 2024
Status: c92
A very cute story, not a lot of drama. I like the MC and ML, I think their relationship is just very wholesome. Chapters are also relatively short which was nice as a quick fluffy read. Deducting a star just because nothing wow’d me but if I loved the fluff genre more would give it 5 stars.
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Vyathra
Vyathra
Apr 25, 2025
Status: Completed
Enjoyable, but i've so many questions.

Should have been 3/5

(missclicked. Oh well)

((Idk if this is considered spoiler since nothing important happened that much tho, but i'll just still put the spoiler box then, just in case))

... more>>
Spoiler

My questions :

- why asta didn't wonder of why ML asked to call him zhou yuan instead of dixia (MC body's legal name) ?

- why does until the end, MC didn't tell asta that he's not dixia? I think everyone and not just asta will believe him since he can cook + ice skate so well suddenly. He's way too different than dixia. If I were asta, since I investigated dixia's past, ofc i'll know that he didn't have these hobbies in the past. I'll believe him if he said he isn't dixia lol

- asta said he wants to tell zy that he has a mega chain companies or it'll become a problem later (bcs he keeps secret). But untill the end, eventho their companies ended up cooperated, zy still didn't know??

- what happen later about zy's relationship with his mother (carlos) ?

- why does everyone convinced and believed that ML "repented and regretted it" so suddenly, in a short time so easily without reason (besides he got beaten up I reckon?), with characters, habits, abilities, soooo differently? He can also ice skate so well like a pro so suddenly, for example. The ice skating techniques in that world aren't that sophiscated and developed well like ours. But he can do many techniques that the zerg's world doesn't know yet. Why is no one wondering?

[collapse]

Yeah with so many unsolved questions, I feel like this novel isn't finished yet. Feels like I didn't finish my meal completely <<less
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starcake
starcake
Apr 21, 2025
Status: Completed
3.5 stars: A light, relatively humorous (though not really a comedy), fluff-filled romance with a dash of food focus. As typical of transmigration stories, the main character Zhou Yuan's background is only vaguely referenced as convenient background reasons for why he's so virtuous and/or experienced in this or that business area or dealing with these kinds of people: he exists as a "virtuous" monogamous male who is courteous and respectful to everyone in a society where males are rare and at the apex of the social and political hierarchy and... more>> societal expectations are for them to take multiple mates, exploit them, and generally treat all females like expendable tr*sh. If you're familiar with BL zerg stories that involve "females" and "sub-females" that are basically men that can get pregnant and are subservient to "males", you know exactly what I mean.

I'm not usually into BL zerg stories of that type, but I (relatively) liked this one, perhaps because it was light-hearted fluff rather than drama and angst. There's not much plot and any obstacles or drama that happens is, of course, either eventually or very quickly resolved in the CP's favor. A few things came out of nowhere (such as Asta's elevation to a certain status in the end, uh, okay, sure, didn't even realize that was a thing he had going for him) and others had a lengthy development and seemed like there was going to be more but the story ended up relegating those plot threads to the background (Zhou Yuan's business ventures were a pretty big part of the story and then the focus drifted away from them).

As such, I couldn't quite bring myself to rate this as a 4-star as it was feel-good fluff that frequently seemed like it was angling toward bigger plot and more depth (revolutionizing zerg society via internet technology as well as revolutionizing zerg culture in terms of gender equality) —only to shy away from such things and keep things pleasant but shallow. Not that I needed there to be a Marina Trench of depth and psychology and thematic relevance (scroll down for a semi-serious analytical review I wrote for funsies), but I kept feeling like I was getting teased only for the story to back down. Though I will acknowledge that at one point Zhou Yuan tells Asta that changes such as monogamy and gender equality won't become established practices in their lifetime, yet still he hopes for gradual change—but aside from that one open acknowledgement, Zhou Yuan doesn't actively do anything to drive such change, despite enjoying such massive galactic popularity and privilege with the political and social status afforded him by being a rare A-class male zerg and the husband of the Marshal of the military.

I didn't need him to be an activist or a champion for the cause or be preachy to his millions of Starnet followers because that would be a totally different story and possibly an even more shallow and unrealistic and probably very annoying one. But I would have appreciated something as minor as the story mentioning him working to subtly change common attitudes via his #1 hit super amazing popular gacha otome game, or using some of his trillions of dollars toward establishing some kind of welfare system for abandoned female zergs. But no, he just uses the game to make money by capitalizing on how female zergs are treated as disposable by males and presenting them with a fantasy of males that actually care about them—and if the story had taken it one step further and gotten into how this could enable the eventual upset of the gender hierarchy by planting the seed for female zergs to gradually realize that they deserve better, I wouldn't be sitting here feeling so many opportunities were lost. But no, the story doesn't go there at all, so I have to do the work myself to try to make the story better based on my own thesis, as if I'm writing a term paper. My analytical brain won't shut up, alas.

I know I'm picking on a silly fluff BL novel for not going a bit further. It's just that the setup is right there and the premise is right there and things range from hinted at to overtly right there and the story... doesn't ever go there. Other silly fluff BL novels I don't think twice about them lacking depth because they're not lingering on the precipice of right there.

That aside, the story doesn't take itself too seriously and mostly focuses on Zhou Yuan taking assiduous care of his queen and sole mate Asta, in particular in the beginning trying to make up for the fact that the original body owner was (as per the title) a s*umbag who used his queen as a wallet for gambling and wasted all his savings and apparently died of alcoholism, which is why Zhou Yuan was able to take over his body. Zhou Yuan pampers the cool and OP military general Asta, who is startled and suspicious at first at the 180 degree change in his lord and mate, but gradually warms to him and slowly gets used to being pampered.

This being an interstellar BL story, of course the star net exists and plays a crucial role as a Greek chorus with all netizens frenziedly following the story of this extraordinary and bizarre male zerg who is *GASP* considerate and loving toward his sole (?!) female!!! And of course every female in the galaxy is now super jealous of Asta and vying to become another mate of Zhou Yuan's, only to become startled and even more jealous when he declares that he will only ever have and revere Asta.

Etc. etc. He cooks delicious food for Asta, and defends other female zergs from the whims and cruelties of other male zergs, and what plot there is has him dealing with the Male Zerg Protection Association after getting on their bad side for assorted reasons, as well as dealing with other powerful families—either befriending them or offending them due to his (virtuous) behavior. Oh, and of course he has to make money so his wifey doesn't have to work so hard to support him, he should contribute too, so he invests in stocks and starts building assorted business ventures that of course end up being wild successes due to his previous experiences with these things in his past lives.

The story's plot is mostly slice of life although it dabbles in showing politics, the government, and military, along with dealing with a bit of corruption—though all dabblings are surface-shallow to the point that even a dramatic siege during war against tides of vicious space insects are vaguely covered in a few summarized sentences while the story focuses on... Zhou Yuan leisurely reading a book in a bunker until Asta comes back having lead the military to unilateral victory. Although I'm usually the first to complain about scenes being summarized or just plain not shown and only vaguely told, it didn't bother me in this story because it's not going for drama, doesn't even pretend to be action, and you know everything's going to turn out just fine.

I found the ending not exactly abrupt but it did feel a bit like the author didn't quite know how to finish things, so they just quickly wound the story down with a sweet if cliché scene and had characters verbally summarize their thoughts and feelings for each other, and then slapped a THE END on it—except not quite the end, because there are of course extras, which briefly cover the genre-necessary mpreg and token super duper cute egg-baby-child. Only this story goes a step further and rather than the child being hilariously mature and obedient for their age, literally the egg is mature and obedient, lol.

Overall though the story was a pleasant way to pass the time, if not interesting enough for me to ever want to reread it. Sometimes you just want a simple slice of life story that's mindless and predictable in its tropes and clichés, and this story fits that bill.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

If I were to put on my Literary Analysis Cap again (lol for a Chinese BL zerg webnovel), it's both interesting and crushingly sad to view this from the angle of contemporary female oppression—the overt presentation of a Single Courteous, Compassionate, Considerate Good Guy being universally shocking in a society in which the male hierarchy is treasured and endorsed by both s*xes and in which female oppression and subservient behavior is considered natural and correct; additionally polygyny is the standard. The possibility that a single male could basically be a nice guy is utterly shocking and provokes immediate responses sharply divided by gender: females are openly extremely attracted to him and jealous of his dedication to monogamy and therefore his sole female significant other, while males are offended, ready to put down this atypical male politically and socially and physically by exile if necessary, and eager to protect the status quo.

The fact that this is a fluff-and-feel-good story paints it as the fantasy of women (broadly speaking considering the author's probable gender and intended audience), and it's really quite a downer to realize that the fantasy ultimately consists of one good guy who treats his partner well and is willing to stand up for them, and is the unique exception rather than the norm.

On the other hand, the story also involves a society in which women AKA "female zerg" are the pillars and strongholds of basic societal functioning and protection—they are the worker bees that keep daily lives as well as the government, military, and economic sectors running. Considering how highly revered the military and military service is in China and is oft reflected in webnovels (this one included of course), the fact that the military consists entirely of women, who fight on the front lines against brutal alien aggressors (hmm, maybe a bit on the nose there if we're taking this as a reflection or metaphor of the real world) and are the strategists, warriors, and heroes that keep the rest of society safe—viewed through the female gaze, although superficially subordinant to a few token males who have the majority of the power and/or are figureheads, it's equal parts commentary that women are just as brave and capable if not braver and more capable than men. At the same time, it is a weary acknowledgement that no matter how skilled, talented, and heroic women may be, the most mediocre of men still rise above them simply due to their s*x.

The plot point involving Asta's corporal punishment by the Male Zerg Protection Association based on zero evidence beyond their own suspicions and aggressive policies to put females in their place the better to bend to the sadism and careless indifference of males who enjoy seeing females (typically including their queens/primary mates and sl*ves/sub-females (note that the text repeatedly calls them "sl*ves") is, the story insists, due to a lack of oversight and innate corruption within the association—implying that the brutality of being whipped bloody based on suspicion cobbled up out of whole cloth is due more to corrupt individuals freely wielding unquestioned state-sanctioned power than it is due to systemic oppression.

Asta is not only the queen of a rare A-class male zerg but also the marshal of the military (a rank that the story vaguely implies to be akin to supreme commander as he has appears to have no superiors and is the spokesperson for the military in government meetings and councils) and his brutal punishment shows that no privilege is afforded to him despite these statuses because he is, after all, still a mere female. If anything, the story shows the torturer and his own superiors' delight in taking such a high-ranking personage down a peg, as if possessing high rank makes a female all the more deserving of punishment for daring to rise above her station—which means rising at all. Females are the bottom of the hierarchy and are meant to stay there.

Yet who are these torturers, these sadists, these corrupt officials wielding the whip both literally and metaphorically? They are females themselves: the army of enforcers behind the rigid patriarchy, given the power to freely punish their own kind as long as it's in the name of protecting the interests of men. These female agents of the Male Zerg Protection Association are feared by the populace for good reason—and are secretly reviled for the same. Females who are fired from the Association are subjected to harassment and discrimination, forced into the underbelly of society in order to scratch out a miserable living.

A female-majority society that enshrines male whims alongside privilege and power while women are restricted servants at best and disposable sl*ves at worst cannot exist without the complicity of women in their own oppression. Whether they can see the oppression for what it is and are determined to carve out power for themselves even if it comes at the cost of stepping on their sisters, or simply unquestioningly accept the status quo with which they have grown up, learned and lived, women are part of the problem—and therefore women must be a part of the solution.

Unfortunately, the novel falls short of presenting the latter. The story stalls out on Zhou Yuan being unique and special and the envy of all females, while glossing over nearly all male reactions to his unusual behavior. Zhou Yuan makes no effort to change public attitudes via his vast social influence, much less champion change; he is content to love Asta and treat everyone, male or female, decently. A limp argument could be made that he is teaching by example, but as the story never really delves into the male perception of his behavior beyond the couple token antagonists and his own supportive parents, there is no evidence of this.

Nor does Asta attempt to affect any social or cultural change: he is content to be adored and when he gains more power, the best he does is to root out the corruption in the Male Zerg Protection Association, ultimately leaving the association—and its policies—intact. Male zergs must be protected, after all, and female zergs should be subject to investigation and punishment based on their masters' claims—as long as the investigation is conducted properly, the evidence reviewed, and the punishment is appropriate. State-sanctioned discrimination and oppression of females is still an institution that neither Zhou Yuan nor Asta are interested in changing.

For Asta, this makes some sense, as this is his world, his society, and his culture. Despite his unusually loving and considerate husband, Asta simply may not think beyond the bounds of what he has grown up with and the ideas of male supremacy that have been entrenched in him since birth.

For Zhou Yuan, the hypocrisy and irony are particularly rife: a self-proclaimed title-proclaimed virtuous man who is happy to live in a society built and upheld by women that also tramples women as long as he has his own beautiful and obedient wife. (Note that the story more than once from Zhou Yuan's POV praises Asta for being "obedient" to his wishes, and that his main attraction to Asta is largely based on his physical appearance; the fact that he's a military commander who has fought bravely in many battles, is intelligent and disciplined, and has many other qualities are admired by Zhou Yuan but rarely mentioned compared to how often he gazes into Asta's amethyst eyes, strokes his silky white hair, or holds his sweet-smelling body.)

Sadly, it turns out that the so-called "virtuous man" and heroic protagonist of this story is yet another failure and criticism of real-life society: he is masculine, courteous and assiduous in caring for his wife (as long as she's beautiful and obedient), and is completely uninterested in fomenting societal change toward gender equality despite his own immense power, privilege, and social influence. The only times he ever makes any attempt to challenge the status quo regarding female oppression is when it involves his wife (such as Asta's punishment by the Male Zerg Protection Association), and his challenges largely involve standing up for Asta and demanding minimal changes in policy, then moving on without bothering to follow up on his demands or expending any actual effort in seeing greater policy changes.

Female oppression only bothers Zhou Yuan when it comes to his wife. Otherwise, he doesn't mind it and reaps the benefits of it daily. All of his successes and advantages in his new life are sourced from female oppression: women are conditioned from birth to worship and obey men, and he has no trouble getting investment money from his doting female brother and finding superior talent to work for his business ventures thanks to his novelty and notoriety as a courteous male zerg, and his bestselling otome game and its subsequent merchandising are based upon featuring romantic male leads who don't treat women like garbage—and yet rather than inciting a growing desire and demand for better treatment within the female populace, the game remains an indulgent fantasy that elicits no social or cultural change and has no effect or purpose beyond lining Zhou Yuan's pockets.

In the end, some small things have changed and there are hints that things could be better—but not due to the intervention of either side of the CP. It is simply because corruption had been rooted out and proper law and order reestablished; the heteronormative roles, rigid caste system, and gender inequality of the zerg race remain solidly in place, with Zhou Yuan and his eventual son as the unique outliers while Zhou Yuan remains, if not entirely an accomplice to the system, at least an accepting beneficiary of it.

The story is a microcosm of Chinese values being that Zhou Yuan's idea of "virtue" = "monogamy" is something to which he strictly adheres and decries the polygyny of the rest of society, which is incredibly ethnocentric as he's imposing his own singular alien values upon an established culture and society. Although he doesn't attempt to force others to adhere to his idea of virtue (beyond teaching his values to his son, with the approval of his mate Asta), there's something mildly distasteful in the story treating his holier-than-thou attitude as both righteous and a point of comedy (it's literally the title of the novel), even if he isn't inflicting his righteousness on others beyond openly and repeatedly declaring his devotion to his single mate. The majority of the population, which is to say the females of the population, overwhelmingly regard his attitude positively with great admiration and jealousy; scorn is given solely by the male minority. This lopsided black-and-white presentation encourages the idea that the Chinese virtues Zhou Yuan reveres should be universal and positive, considering their reception into a literal alien society that held different (to wit: inferior) values (or lack thereof).

Not that monogamy is exclusively a Chinese virtue or practice, of course. But Zhou Yuan is very clearly a Chinese man in terms of name and culture, and more than once the story states so, with great emphasis upon his national origin and country's values. With very few exceptions—possibly only one or two—Zhou Yuan is the only character with a Chinese name; all other characters either have western names of varying origins (Nathanial, Alyosha, Angelo, Neil, Edwin, Carlos, Tucker, Hector, etc.) or more unusual names with fantasy/sci-fi flare (Asta, Wengel, Keli, Ashur, Dek, Jueke, etc.). The diversity in names of zerg society along with the general embracing of Zhou Yuan's espousal of monogamy feels like subtle commentary on if not outright indirect condemnation of western societies and their supposed lack of virtue.

As such, the portrayal of a society in which powerful lazy males subjugate women who aren't all that unhappy to be subjugated and become willing cogs in the machine of oppression, wherein one modern Chinese man breezes in to near-universal acclaim to succeed nigh effortlessly in all areas (socially, romantically, financially, culinarily) and lead a life of both dedicated work and for-granted luxury (after all, hard work is yet another virtue), can't help but be read as yet more commentary on the superiority of Chinese morals over western inferiority—while at the same time still being a general criticism of the patriarchal attitudes that still dominate much of both eastern and western cultures.

I now doff my Literary Analysis Cap. I hope you enjoyed this review and detailed analysis of a novel that's about a guy who dies and randomly wakes up in a mostly-human-but-technically-alien body with a hot male wife and so much financial security he could spend his days drinking, gambling, and gaming at home, which is what the original body did, but instead he has the drive become an entrepreneur and start up multiple successful businesses while wooing his hot male wife into loving him by cooking him delicious food. <<less
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Yumeru
Yumeru
Dec 31, 2024
Status: Completed
Just read all good reviews 👇, good story and quick read, female zergs were ostracized in this story. MC such a green flag 🌲 and a good matchfor our cold beauty ML ehe[ Asta's such a cutie in front of Mc]. A good reward if I may say for MC since in his past life he's such a goodworking man hahaha finally he has his own family. Not too much intrigue, I like how the story was paced. Dog food here and there. MC showing his love and a Good... more>> example of being a good Male/zerg for the people. Not too much fighting, more on their unfolding sweetness in their relationship. ^^ Chill and a nice read if you are looking for a zerg/interstellar story <<less
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