aside for the mind reading thing, there's also almost an element of emotional manipulation (sort of) and sometimes I feel like Jiang Zi pressures Tang Yuan during some of their intimate encounters which is :/

Jiang Zi a judge for a dance competition when she barely has any experience in the field? Like wow, I can take mind reading and transmigration but be more realistic here.

The chemistry between the female leads is very present and ties in very well with the mysteries surrounding their circumstances. The progression and hitches in the evolving relationship between the two very much rely on their slowly exposed backstories, and overall felt believably meshed. The reveals and foreshadowing, while definitely not the most subtle, are well paced and pull some fun tricks. The progression of the cultivation reveal, for example, was enjoyable; starting with the show, hinting then revealing the idea that the show corresponds to something real in different ways from each female lead's perspective, then following up by giving the full story through a "what-if" scenario written in-story by Jiang Zi and revealing that rather than the original backstory, it was just one part of a greater whole, and at the same time peppering in how their past experiences affect how Jiang Zi and Tang Yuan think and act in the present time.

However, some aspects could've been further explored. In terms of worldbuilding, considering how much the system is involved, it wouldn't have been amiss to delve a bit more into how the system functions and similar bigger picture details. It could be argued these would be unnecessary details that distract from the actual plot, but noteworthily, Tang Yuan is said to have wanted to make their entire world independant rather than just Jiang Zi and herself, which seems to suggest that Tang Yuan cares about the bigger picture and the overall morality to some extent.

An aspect where I think catharsis is missing rather than just potential, however, is that Jiang Zi's self-destructive thoughts and Tang Yuan's past trauma from her short lives in the past 10 worlds could have used a bit more of a conclusive moment. As is, these just kind of just fade away as the relationship progresses, which makes it feel as if the setup is somewhat unresolved.

Several other plot points revolving around side characters also seem to feel like they got unnecessary setup that never resolved. For example, it really felt like the stunt double Tang Yuan took notice of during filming and the characters in Chu Yu's company's talent show were introduced only to do nothing. While Meng Yao'er and Su Qingyao actually did get an arc and payoff for their setup, the issue still remains - the arc felt kind of short and didn't give enough catharsis to pay off how much setup Meng Yao'er got and how front and center their relationship became for some chapters. When considering the themes of freedom and rebelling against the rules of the world, it would have helped solidify these themes if we got a bit more focus on characters who haven't managed to awaken their self-awareness being oppressed by the rules.

Another reason the themes don't come across as strongly as they could have was how smoothly the main mission went. Chu Ying ended up folding like a house of cards; really the only thing he actually did was make the CP mission slightly more annoying to complete. It was implied pretty hard that he would take more direct methods to deal with Tang Yuan at some point, which matches with his underworld boss persona, but nothing ever came of it. The fact that Lin Xiuyu, the final member of the gang of four, simply folded along with Chu Ying with no other interaction showcases this pretty strongly.

When Tang Yuan "reveals" that she is a transmigrator and Jiang Zi confesses she can read her mind. Idk, maybe I'm used to seeing grand reveals in other novels. It felt off/rushed ever since that junior from Tang Yuan's university said she was a fan of them ever since. Obviously, her saying that makes them uncover that they are in their original world and were given tasks to help them set free of the story. But there could've been a better way. It felt as if I skipped a paragraph or something.