A very tough read. As of chapter 22, Cheng Suran hasn't finished college. The beginning of the plot is your typical PRC "Domineering CEO" romance, with a few small tweaks. The first is obviously that it's yuri, or Baihe for these web novels. The second is that our protagonist isn't an employee, but a college student.... And the third, which is honestly the only thing saving me from giving this one star, our protagonist actually entered into a physical relationship willingly with our FL from the beginning. It's a contract relationship, Cheng Suran is bought by Jiang Yu to act as her lover. "Lover" in this context refers to a bed warmer and a physical comforter, and not much else. While Cheng Suran enters the relationship willingly, and knowingly, Jiang Yu's actions towards her are still incredibly uncomfortable. Since there's censorship (thanks PRC /sarcasm), you don't get the horrible details, but we're given enough to know that Jiang Yu can get nearly abusive at the slightest provocation. I already mentioned Cheng Suran's willingness making this not as unpalatable, but... Well, I'm giving it three stars for a reason. I'm hoping that Jiang Yu's behavior turns around a bit. I'm not asking for a pure fluff romance, this story does tackle some interesting ideas (poverty versus privilege, minority discrimination, the struggles of social inadequacy, etc.), but I feel that if the writer wants anyone to root for the romance between our two leads, then more effort should be spent on making Jiang Yu at least a little more likeable.

It's not a bad story, and I really like the writer's style and story direction. I'm just uncomfortable with our two leads' "romance" as of right now. Might get better though. I'm definitely going to keep reading, but with a more cautious approach.

i like this. We have enough sweet novels out there, now time to bring in the darkness. Lets go!

why do I like this novel? Its different and brings something new. Jiang Yu is a scum with money. Cheng Suran is a college student desperate for money and love. I understand both characters from their own POV and why they do the things they do. I can already see the massive character development in these two.

while waiting for chapters to come out, I went over to read their shared world "There Are Always Teachers Who Want To Ask Out Parents." now I really appreciate it when this novel mentions Qi Yan and Lu Zhiqiao. Now THEY give me the fluff. Qi Yan is such a simp for Lu Zhiqiao lol. They totally deserved their own novel and I love the author for this. I also love the translator for translating BOTH novels! Thank you so much!

**EDIT Finished reading MTL**

i enjoyed it. At some point towards the end I got teary eyes lmao. And oh boy, this novel is full of age gaps. If thats disturbing to you, leave now.

If you're looking for fluff romance, this isn't it. The premise/plot of the story is bound to be dark. The characters have a lot of baggage, their relationship, although consensual (through a contract), is toxic, abusive and manipulative (at least on the earlier part of the story)

The abuse is downplayed, saving us the details which probably made it tolerable to read.

I haven't completed this yet, but I... as a reader is completely brainwashed. I tend to get swayed by tortured souls and Jiang Yu and Cheng Suran are both. So I symphatize and root for them to be each other's salvation.

And at some part, you can almost feel the conflict of emotions and the heart break (made me cry 😭)

Especially on chapter

Spoiler

68-70 and that scene where Jiang Yu impulsively destroyed Cheng Suran's gift but in the end she tried hard to uselessly fix it, it reveals how important Cheng Suran is to her but she couldn't admit it to herself, that scene just hurts the heart (imo).

To sum it up, it's so bad it's heart wrenchingly good.

_____

Edit: I'm done reading!!! I stand by my rating, though I think the wife-chasing was too meh. Cheng Suran could've made Jiang Yu suffer more but maybe I'm just evil.

Came for yuri, stayed for drama.

I probably won't ever cheer for the main cp, because it is so toxic and unbalanced, but it's a fun read whem you look at it as a drama and not a romance novel.

Came for yuri, stayed for drama.

I probably won't ever cheer for the main cp, because it is so toxic and unbalanced, but it's a fun read whem you look at it as a drama and not a romance novel.

Ooo, I regret reading this now. I wish I had started when it was fully translated because I now have to wait for it to be updated. How excruciating! lol

Anyway, loving the story so far. One of the character is really aggravating because she's so cruel and ruthless but if you can be patient, she'll get her just deserts. I've got about a third of the story left so I really have no clue how it'll end but I hope it will be good.

The back and forth can be rather repetitive but hey, who doesn't love a little drama, right? The writing is pretty clever and quite riveting. I like it. :)

Thanks to the translator... very appreciative for your hard work.

honestly I can recommend it. Story is really cute and it is just going smoothly. So nice and easy to read.

ofc the beginning of their relationship is kinda bumpy but it’s a nice touch and something more fulfilling to read than just usual smut.

Really good read! Lots of drama.

Spoiler

Thou at times at the ending wish the other women (Wen) she met & lived with for 5 years was the winner. After all, she had more times living together & growing into a close relationship, thou her love for RanRan wasn't known till the end. Where the CEO was only for like a half of a year & then pushed her away, even thou she already had a heart for her.