The MC ends up with an actual nice guy and not the scum, which is a huge plus.

Specifically, I really liked when the MC moves in with Zhou Chen, the doctor, and basically learns to love himself and the world again. This part consisted of several really nice chapters where the MC was basically an ab*se victim recovering from ab*se, and I think it was relatively well-written, and the MC and Zhou Chen felt really natural and great together! At a certain point, this story almost tricked me into thinking it wasn't going to be a dogblood melodrama and was instead going to be about MC's recovery (which I was really excited for).

... But then it reverted back to dogblood melodrama, and I got extremely frustrated, mainly with the author and the narrative. Because, at this point, I would've 100% preferred that the story focuses entirely on MC trying to find a new life for himself and just completely forget about the s*um as if the s*um had never existed (because he didn't deserve more screentime). But, nope, of course in this kind of story, we had to make the s*um suffer!! Unfortunately, this time, the suffering was really at the expense of the MC's mental health AND the story's previously built-upon themes.

Basically, the s*umbag ends up threatening MC's estranged (and a**hole) father into selling out his son, and the MC ends up making a deal with his father to return his other father's ashes to him if he goes back to the s*umbag. Now, instead of telling Zhou Chen ANY OF THIS (even though they had previously agreed to be honest with one another), MC just says that he's too lowly etc. and couldn't help but want to get back together with the ML.

And while I had really liked how accepting Zhou Chen was prior to this, I still did a complete double-take when Zhou Chen just... accepted this explanation?? He does ask a few times to make sure, but he doesn't like... try to stop the MC at all, which completely baffled me because, yes, you need to show him that his choices matter, but this is an ab*se victim who's going back to his ab*ser!! And who had, prior to this, shown no signs of wanting to go back at all; how could he not sense that something else was going on??!!

Honestly, more than the MC not coming clean, the ML's lack of resistance to all this was what annoyed me the most. Like, come on!!

And of course what followed were classic dogblood melodrama -- including a forced wedding! [eyeroll] -- and the MC slowly withering away until the s*umbag realizes that he's actually a piece of sh*t so he lets MC go.

So once MC goes back to Zhou Chen, it's actually revealed that MC had actually planned out this whole thing. He hadn't just returned to s*umbag in order to get his father's ashes back; he had gone back in order to cut all ties with the s*umbag, because he knew the only way the s*umbag would let him go completely would be if the s*umbag himself decides to. So he purposely went on hunger strikes, looked as pitiful as possible, kept referencing Zhou Chen, etc.

And I'm just so... baffled about this decision? Both as a writing choice, and as a decision a person would make in his actual life?? Like the MC even said he was risking his life (and, boy, was he) in order to do this. Like... there are so many better ways to achieve the same goals?? This is complete melodrama logic?? But I also kind of enjoy it more than the previous melodrama moments because it gave the MC a lot more agency.

So after the initial (very cute) reunion between the MC and Zhou Chen, of course the author needs to shoehorn in more melodrama to remind the readers that THIS IS A DOGBLOOD. So we get some family conflict! Whoo? It barely lasts like a chapter and consists of Zhou Chen's grandfather coming in and doing the typical spiel about a hussy seducing his grandchild, etc. Then Zhou Chen kicks the bodyguards' asses, threatens his grandfather, and then chases them out of the house. The end.

This sequence was actually such a rote dogblood moment that it left me wondering what even was the point in including it when all it did was interrupt my good time watching MC and Zhou Chen together. Like, is she just going down a list of melodrama tropes and applying them willy-nilly?

Anyway, then there's the reveal I didn't like that followed all this: that Zhou Chen knew all along that MC agreed to go with his s*umbag ex because MC wanted his father's ashes back. WHAT. This makes it even MORE BAFFLING that Zhou Chen just lets him leave! Like, Zhou Chen says that he had wished for MC to trust him enough to tell him, but you do not risk letting MC return to his ab*ser for that kind of thing!! That is a jerkass thing to do!! Holy shit. I mean, I'd probably be even angrier if MC hadn't had that whole plan of getting his s*umbag ex to throw him away for good, but since Zhou Chen didn't know about that plan, Zhou Chen still ends up looking terrible here!

And then, just when I thought we could finally forget about s*umbag ex for good, s*umbag ex shows up again!! It's a very quick meeting -- and not actually as dogblood as I expected other than the usual groveling by the s*umbag -- but I actually... really fail to see the point in this? Why do we need to keep returning to show how remorseful this s*umbag is? I know it's a usual s*um ab*se trope, but come on! s*um ab*se is definitely not this story's strength, and it just takes away from what is -- the MC finding himself again with the help of Zhou Chen.

So it's revealed that Zhou Chen actually knew MC as a kid (of course he did -- all these stories seem to take that tract) and I wouldn't take such an issue with it if Zhou Chen wasn't... nine years older and fell in love with the MC when MC reached high school. Like, the author makes vague allusions to how kind of f*cked this is, but ultimately it still becomes a turning point for the MC to become willing to admit his feelings to Zhou Chen. Which, OK, I guess, but shit. Zhou Chen kept a diary full of MC's pictures starting from when he was like 5, as well as a CD of all his performances. Like, if they were mutual friends, it'd be kind of understandable, but MC didn't even know Zhou Chen existed until they met at the beginning of this story, so... yeah, definitely stalker vibes.

And then, right when MC was going to meet Zhou Chen at the airport to confess his love, something happens -- I'll give you a moment to guess what, no points for correct answers. Did you guess "car accident"? Because, yes, you got it right! And then it turned out that the car accident was actually a cover for [drumrolls] a kidnapping! By MC's s*umbag of an ex's fiancee of all things. And of course the kidnapping ends with s*umbag and Zhou Chen being lured into an abandoned building and then it being set on fire because of course we have to have "escape from a burning building" in our soap opera!

And then, during this harrowing moment, just like a scene straight out of a cheesy melodrama (which this is), Zhou Chen and MC confess their love for each other! And then s*umbag ends up caught in the burning building (LMAO). I was excited for a split second, but he ends up surviving (bummer). [Though, real talk: I do like that he survived, since if he had died, it would've felt like the story was setting him up for a martyr moment since he was saving the MC. At least he's alive to continue beating himself up over his own mistakes.]

And I'm not a super big fan of how the author seems to be trying to excuse his actions after this because it's then revealed in a (hopefully final) conversation between him and MC that he's actually loved MC all along, but he thought the MC loved his old classmate (who MC thought was his white moonlight) ! Ah, the most soap opera of reveals. But at least this s*umbag isn't the ML, so I'll accept this, even if it's trite and overplayed. (And I'm still not over the fact that s*umbag almost killed our MC accidentally-on-purpose, so... Can't believe this dude is getting a last minute sympathy play; he should be rotting in jail instead.) Well, the upside to all this feeling infodumping is that hopefully we'll never see s*umbag again! (Please, author, have mercy on me just this once.)

The author, unfortunately, did not have mercy on me, and one of the extras is a quick diary-esque run-through of s*umbag's perspective on the whole string of events. It honestly reminded me of the diary entries from the extras in the original Like Love But Not: vaguely interesting, but largely disposable and frustrating, especially since the s*umbag was the most annoying part of the narrative for me. (And I didn't see why we needed to give him more screentime to push forth his excuses; I don't feel sorry for him, and he deserves everything he gets, and then some.)

The second extra is a diary-esque run-through of the cat that MC and Zhou Chen picked up at the end of the story. It vaguely covers what happened afterwards and ends with MC and Zhou Chen getting married. I don't mind animal perspectives, but I'm not a huge fan of "animal in love with human" narratives, which this kind of was, where the cat was in love with MC and saw Zhou Chen as a love rival (in a lowkey comedy way of course). It was kind of cute to see how MC and Zhou Chen's relationship had changed since the ending, but I would've liked seeing it from maybe Zhou Chen's perspective or something instead, since we didn't really get much from the cat. Still overall better than the first extra though.

Pros:

• Great ML who's not possessive or overbearing, said to be "black-bellied" but only insofar as he's harsh to his enemies. He treats MC like the sun and moon (and knows that love is also about the willingness to let the one you love choose for himself), but he's also polite/kind to others even though he does kind of keep them at a distance.
• Some really wonderful healing moments between MC and ML, who have a lot of chemistry together.
• Sweet ending.

Cons:

• Author literally went down a list of melodrama tropes and hit every, single, one.
• "Villains" were annoying and one-note. (But also mercifully quick to disappear.) Again, largely due to the melodrama, and the sheer deluge of tropes being used.
• Melodrama actively detracts from the pros of the series, and is more frustrating than painful in the latter half since the events are so rote.
• Extras aren't very good, in my opinion, and doesn't focus on the story's strengths (which is the MC and ML's relationship).
  
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This is a 换攻 novel meaning it's a change in gong/top. The ML is not the s*um "ML", neither is this a story focused on the scummy "ML" trying to redeem and change himself to reclaim the MC.

MC really needs a backbone. He also needs to stop leading the ML on! But I get it, the author is only intentionally doing this to add more angst. MC was so eager to please his s*umbag of a lover but suddenly it doesn't apply to the ML? Why is he so hesitant and pretending to be so oblivious to the signs that the ML obviously had romantic intentions! ML also worked so hard to return MC to their original state through recuperation, but one threatening move from his lover, MC immediately follows back to his lover's bidding - without consulting with the ML who had spent so much time and effort on him! UGH the one-sided treatment is real!!

Qu Shi was supposedly 'nicer' or 'better' to the MC than his other lovers, because holy sh*t was Qu Shi over the top abusive to the MC. So he was actually worse to Wen Ziqing? And then why in the world was WZ upset that the guy who ab*sed him horribly didn't want to marry him? Why would you want to marry a violent abusive a*hole when you're from a rich family and you don't love him, and you obviously would have other options? It wasn't explained and there was no logic to it.

Just reminded me of 'Alpha Predator', which is ABO dogblood setting done right.

And WZ's reveal just highlighted how absolutely awful Qu Shi treated the MC - and all his other lovers.

Qu Shi did in fact fall for the MC, but pushed him away and ab*sed him because he was absolutely clueless about love. I get that a long term abusive relationship can chip away a person's self-esteem and make them co-dependent so it's harder to leave their lover. But it doesn't make sense that the MC stays with Qu Shi in the beginning when he's basically r*ped during their first time, and QS proceeds to treat him like sh*t for the whole time they're together. Wouldn't that make any sane person leave the relationship in the early stages? Realistically, for the MC to stay, QS should have had periods where he's actually nice to the MC, or at least the s*x should be good. But QS is all-around horrible to him.

Of course the MC might be biased and we see the relationship from his perspective when it's coming to an end and the ab*se has gotten worse, but even when we finally get QS's perspective he reveals that he was actually never nice to the MC at any point in time.

Zhou Chen has been obsessed with the MC since before he was born?! And sure, it's a point that Zhou Chen doesn't try to take advantage of the MC when he's young and struggles with his feelings, which could have been interesting if it had been developed more (recently read an untranslated novel by Ka Biqiu that handled this trope much better and made the gong an interesting character). But it's just thrown into the story to 'prove' how loving, kind and selfless Zhou Chen is. Which... I guess is okay, but it just doesn't make him more interesting.

And also the fact that he forged over a 100 letters and pretended the MC's deceased beta mother had written them was just weird and ethically wrong. Also why watch over a lonely child instead of actively providing love and care for him? Why was ZC so passive when the MC could have obviously needed him in his life at an earlier date?

Call me crazy or whatever but at first I read this novel purely because I expected this novel to be a redemption story of the s*um gong. But, I liked Zhou Chen the more I read into the story and AM VERY HAPPY AND GLAD THE MC ENDS UP WITH HIM wohoo it is kinda rare for shou in s*um gong novel like this to end up with someone else who is truly kind and care about the shou. Though, I wish the author would focus on the MC's recovery rather than all those dogblood drama in the later half of the novel.

The MC usually forgive and goes back to the s*um ML no matter the ab*se and hardships they went through. Most of the novels I read ended up like this and I grew my dislike for it. As bad as it sounds, I actually preferred a BE for the MC (simply because I lost all hope of MC actually turning a new leaf over and left the ML for good), aka them dying, leaving those s*umbags to wallow in regret all their life.

THE MC ENDED UP WITH A GOOD DESERVING MAN! Finally! A MC who actually value himself enough to leave the toxic partner for good and stayed with the good man until end! That part is important because most MC I've seen left the tr*sh for a while, only to end up with them anyway. WHERE IS YOUR SELF-WORTH, MAH DEARIE?!

Too much time trying to explain the s*um gong's shitty behavior. Qi Shu's reasoning for treating MC like sh*t was ridiculous and I have no sympathy for him. Thinking that MC liked someone else isn't a reason to treat him like that. The extra in his POV actually made me feel sick. Author tried too hard to make Qi Shu sympathetic and it just made me angry instead because he deserves no explanation.

I feel like having the doctor be ML was such a good move that it makes this novel rating higher just because of the unique premise. Their shared backstory was also very cute and I liked that ML didn't just start liking MC out of nowhere.