This is a beautifully written book, that realistically portays a basic human trait often overlooked in other fiction - people cannot easily change their inherent inclinations. Yes it is possible but not probable that people will always move towards changing and improving.

Though there are certain shortcomings, in a piece of work that slowly builds and explores a world and relationships these can be overlooked.

There are many characters like Gu Xian or Fu Jiangnan, who are infuriating, they never change, and at times it seems like the author is being repetitive... more>> but it is a very realistic portrayal of such people who are a personification of - a leopard doesn't change its spots.

The relationship between the main leads is a admirable, but it is the most beautiful friendship woven over the years that truly depicts a soul mate (Yi an and Lin Qingshu) is what kept me hooked.

Another aspect of the book that I really liked was that as people grew so did their ambitions, and with the flow of time and circumstances their priorities and dreams evolved as well. The characters all had their flaws and strengths and actually faced and grew with the repercussions of their actions.

I usually shy away from such long novels because the get very one dimensional as they progress and also more often than not I dont connect or empathize with secondary characters, not so with this novel. Though I must confess I had misread the chapter count to be 300something instead of 3000something otherwise I might not have actually started reading this novel.

Definitely deserves a better rating. <<less

Thank god this book is so long because 200 chapters in, the heroine is still 3 years old. She was 3 when the story started. We’ve made zero timeline progress. Surprisingly it hasn’t been boring. I do enjoy childhood reincarnation stories but 200 chapters of 3 years old is a new limit even for me. A lot of the heroines problems of people being weirded out by her could be solved just by... aging. It wouldn’t be so weird for an 8 year old to act like her. It would... more>> be a very precocious 8 year old but it’s not impossible.. a 3 year old? Burn this demon child with fire. Even I would think it. Anyway.. I still have hope for this story. I just came to complain a little bit..

Something really new about this story for me is that our heroine technically has a loving mother but the problem is that she’s dumb and easy to manipulated by others. But she’s still her mom so she treats her like a child. So all the benefits of getting reincarnated are not there since the mom is too dumb to keep herself safe and 3 yo can only do so much. A lot of these stories really rely on the mothers trusting their children in these matters or at least having some abilities to keep themselves safe when they know of danger.. not this woman. This woman is completely oblivious. She has to be talked out of not giving all her money away to her evil mother in law kinda oblivious. And worse. Like almost lose her life but still not able to turn any life preserving instincts on. It’s frustrating but it makes this story unique to me. It makes some real sense that a person who gets tricked to death like this would have habits that keep them in danger even with a new chance at life. It’s not like they know they’ve reincarnated. They keep living with their poor people judgement and its just the job of their 3yo daughter to somehow keep them alive now <<less