I read that Shen Junyi have a crush on Sheng Qiao and I cried. I realized that Shen Junyi is so goddamn cruel.

When I read a chapter that Zhao Yu said he likes her, what does she feel? Did she feel dejected or heartbroken?
It's too unfair. The author just wipe her hands on this conflict and let Zhao Yu accept Shen Junyi. Like wtf?

The 1st and 2nd novels didn't intersect with each other (edited: they do! I've just re-read the 2nd novel - the auntie & uncle love watching dramas acted by the FL in the 1st novel. And the 2nd novel's FL went to this 3rd novel's ML's (SJY) concert with her best friend^^).

In this story, we get to meet the 1st & 2nd novels' characters. In which SJY was the first to meet them all and ZY was introduced to the characters later.

1st novel: HX & SQ - HX is SJY's top rival in the industry (so he's also a senior, just like SJY & ZY). Transmigrator SQ had some sort of rumour with SJY (they filmed one season of variety show together) and also met with ZY in a travellog show later.

2nd novel: The new director YL - she's SJY's fan and QY's (FL) best mate. She introduced the script to SJY's agency. The screenplay was inspired based on QY & JR's (ML) love story. SJY & ZY also met QY & JR during filming.

When I first read about ZY and SJY in the 1st novel, I thought they were cute and were meant to be with each other. But now that I got to read their own story, I felt very reluctant. I want ZY to find her happiness and not dwell on the past. They have too much and too long of a past. It felt like they've wasted too much time ㅠㅠ

ML had a crush on another novel's FL. I don't mind that. But what mind is the timing. Like he had crush on Sheng Qiao (another novel's FL) after our MC (Zhou you) returned to China and was already at peak and they already met each other and were friends. Like the saddest part was when ML's grandma passed away. Our MC didn't know at first and after knowing his grandma passed away she was really sad and called him after all she also knew and loved his grandma. But he somewhat dismissed her. She didn't go to her funeral to avoid scandal in his hard time. But ML called Sheng Qiao to seek comfort and SQ dismissed him. They had scandal and he was in a hurry to prove her innocent and didnt mind exposing his own scars. I feel this part was really unfair for the MC. And MC waited for really long and she had thought he won't like anyone. But she had to find out he was really on love with another woman and see a side she never saw before. Her heart really turned cold then. I really hoped she will give him a bit harder time chasing her.

I'm also frustrated on how she supposedly is in love with the ML. Yes, she's considerate on not wanting to stir gossip for him by avoiding him, but she's also just being a bad friend. They've known each other for 10 years, he suddenly became a star but every time she messages him and he responds wanting to catch up, she rejects him. She's the one consistently pushing him away despite saying she likes him. I get the pride of the matter of wanting to stand next to him on equal grounds but despite knowing all his struggles, she doesn't offer any real support. There's even a line on how he thinks he shouldn't act so familiar with her since she doesn't like it or laments that since he's become a star, those he was close to before are no longer with him.

She realizes he became an idol to pay for his grandmother's hospital bills and remains cold in her messages to him. Going so far as rejecting him for a meal in person after not meeting for years. She claims it's because she's not at the right height yet or that she can't hide her emotions. However, as a friend who cares, shouldn't she show that she does? Then she gets frustrated when noticing he has developed feelings for someone else and that they're in the same boat of it ending before it started. That really pissed me off bc at least the ML tried in his interest of the other girl while all the FL did was run away from him trying to maintain their friendship that was from CHILDHOOD.

When his grandmother died her phone call to him ended with him comforting her and her basically saying nothing. She didn't go to the funeral since it might stir gossip but seriously? The person she claims to love just lost the only person who he really had as a family member and she didn't go support him. Even then, this grandma is also someone who really cared for her while she grew up. Even not for the ML, she should've gone for the grandma. They're in entertainment, she could've hid who she was with some great prosthetic makeup or something. Love is about showing up and she never did for him.

She stayed in the hotel room of a friend she knew for a few months who was hospitalized for days but can't go to a funeral of a woman who cared for her for 20 years? That did not sit right with me. It really didn't make me think her love was worth anything but selfish indulgence of a childhood dream.

The summary alluded to him being "too late" and I might not have gotten to the point where something he does makes her think so. However, in my eyes, it seems like she never tried from the beginning and her love is nothing but fear of rejection rather true affection.

She always interacts with EVERY OTHER MALE in entertainment but keeps him at arms length. She's invited other of her guy friends that are also in the industry but never had him until he showed up with another friend of theirs. If I were him, I'd think she only tolerated me. If it weren't for the ML's puppy like personality, another person would've already assumed she didn't want anything to do with them. That's just a really bad way of expressing love. She really doesn't do anything to shows she likes him. It's really frustrating and honestly I don't think she deserves to claim that she likes him by how she treats him.
Once he realizes his feelings for her, he begins to test the waters but at that point she had decided she wanted to let go. It really didn't make sense why she was letting go when he had already said he didn't like the other girl anymore (before he realized he liked the FL). She never hinted her feelings for him and had only avoided him as much as she could in the 10 years she'd been working as idol.
She constantly rejects his advances and even cruelly tries to give back a necklace he gifted her for new years when he's slowly expressing his intents. I'm usually much more lenient on women than I am men but how she deals with love is one thing of her character I quite detest. She pushes all this emotional blame onto him without considering the core of their relationship - a beautiful friendship.
It could be considered tsundere in some ways but really it's just callous. He's trying and she doesn't even give him a chance though she likes him. She only cares about protecting herself and viewing everything from her own perspective without considering that all she's done is keeping her distance.
It was such a missed opportunity to explore her non-actions when they starred in a movie that had a tragic ending to a romance. I'm surprised she didn't think about how regretful it would be if she didn't just at least convey her feelings to him once when the movie's characters had missed out on love because of death. Too lazy to explain the movies plot but it does target regrets.

When she finally realizes he liked her after he gifts her a love song, she goes silent on him. She explains her frustration as him not having been clear enough because he didn't explicitly confess so I can slightly let that go. But once he did, she still said he's not allowed to like her. It's tsundere like but it's still really hurtful of her to do so.

Again all her tantrums are one sided, based on only knowledge that she knows. She feels wronged that he suddenly likes her after all her hard work and choosing to let go. BUT HE NEVER KNEW BC SHE NEVER TOLD HIM ANYTHING. It's really gross in my eyes that from his perspective he's trying but all she does is say hurtful things to him when he's showing his affections for her. Maybe some people think that's cute but I find it abusive. Sure, we say the opposite when we're embarrassed sometimes but when someone is being that sincere and being brushed off, I don't think they deserve that sincerity.

When he finds out that she used to like him, he apologized for not knowing. She said it right that neither of them did anything wrong in their actions. However, it rubbed me the wrong way when he said to makeup for it, he'd chase after her. Besides working to become an idol and that one snowball gift, she didn't do anything to pursue him. Even becoming an idol in the end she realized she loved the stage it it's her career dream. So really, she worked hard for herself and he was just an inspiration that helped her get there. Besides that, she didn't do anything real to show him her love. She always rejected hanging out with him. She tried to make sure no one knew they had any prior connections, even her best friend. She literally never was by his side when he was going through hard times and now she's owed his pursuit bc she worked hard to be near him? In the end, that hard work was really for herself so why is she acting like it was only for him. I'm sure the pursuit will be fluffy and cute but I don't think she's entitled to it, which she seems to think she is.

Honestly, a more satisfying ending for me would be that she keeps pushing him away and he gives up as a healthy human should. I don't like this message of just because she worked hard all these years without him knowing, she has the right to trample on his sincerity. That's an unhealthy representation of love. I admire her character as an idol, friend and family member. Just when it comes to him she's so disgusting. I don't get it. It ruins the love story for me. It feels so contrived and forced.

Her journey to becoming an idol with the her experiences in South Korea and the friends she made on the way were excellent. I also loved how she stayed true to herself and her love for performing.

He gained her love too easily for all the heartache he caused her. Like another reviewer did, I also read Get to Know the Wife Fan and knowing that he loved the FL in that story rather than Zhao Yu made me feel so bad for ZY. She deserved more groveling from him (though I know you can't help liking who you like and it's not his fault, but still :<).