So I've been thinking about how this section is structured, and honestly, the author is playing with pacing in a really interesting way. Let me break it down. The chapter opens with this intimate, almost quiet moment—Gu Zhanran listening to the ring, childhood memories flooding back. It's slow, reflective, almost melancholic. Then we cut to An Juexiao getting the role, her banter with Gu Keqing, the whole "I can't wait to see her expression" energy. The tone shifts instantly from introspective to sharp and combative. That contrast is deliberate, and it works. Then we hit the set. Director Wu's scheduling sabotage, the hotel room situation, the whole workplace harassment thread. This is where the pacing quickens—short scenes, quick conflicts, An Juexiao snapping back at Wu, then the assistant director's cold delivery of the schedule. Each beat is a small escalation. The author doesn't let us breathe, which is exactly what you want when the protagonist is being cornered. But then—Gu Zhanran steps in. The hotel room fix, the message exchange, the line-reading setup. The pace slows again, but this time it's a different kind of tension. Not external conflict, but the quiet thrill of two people connecting through text messages. The author uses the messaging format brilliantly here. Each ping from "Gu Lucky Star" becomes a mini cliffhanger. "jj?" "Open the door, my people have arrived." The brevity creates urgency. And then the chapter ends with An Juexiao preparing to send voice messages of Witch Qing's most emotional scene. The author basically puts us on the edge of a new emotional beat and cuts to the next chapter. Classic hook. My only complaint? The Li Lingyin scene felt slightly rushed. We get her backstory, her motivation, her manipulative calculation—all in a few paragraphs. It works for plot but I wish we'd lingered a bit more on her complexity. Still, the overall rhythm is solid. The author knows when to sprint and when to stroll.
There's this one scene that I keep coming back to and it's not even the most dramatic moment in the chapter but it HURTS the most. Xue Ning returns to Xiyan Yuan and finds that her swing — the one she loved most, the one beside the courtyard — has been dismantled. All the evening glories have been dug up. In their place, Madam Wen is personally instructing gardeners to plant peonies. Let that sink in. The mother who never apologized, never acknowledged her, is now in HER courtyard, replacing HER flowers with flowers that suit someone else's feng shui. And Xue Mingzhu's excuse? Evening glories bloom only for one night before withering — not auspicious. Peonies symbolize wealth and prosperity. So the mother literally cannot stand the thought of her daughter's unlucky flowers existing in a space that now belongs to the favored cousin. The visual of Xue Ning standing there, expressionless, watching this happen, while Xue Mingzhu hides behind Madam Wen's sleeve like a guilty child — it's so cinematic. You can see the whole thing like a film frame. The gardeners moving around, the uprooted flowers on the ground, the new peony seedlings waiting to be planted. And Xue Ning just... watches. She doesn't cry. She doesn't yell. She just looks at her mother and says "Mother." Two words that carry the weight of an entire lifetime of being second. The contrast between the two flowers is basically the entire theme of this story in botanical form. One night beauty versus eternal prosperity. The overlooked versus the celebrated. Xue Ning versus Xue Mingzhu. It's devastating how much the author does with just a garden scene.
Dear Author, I'm a big admirer of your writing! After reading your book, I was blown away by your talent. I have some ideas on how to take your book to the next level and expand its readership. Would you be willing to listen to my feedback and suggestions?
Nice story and plot it needs some push a little bit but i am thinking this story has a lot of potential looking forward to this story and world building of this story is quite good
I'm so glad I've found this hidden gem. Keep up the good work I've really enjoyed it so far.
love the story and the rate in which it is progressing, please keep it up, I look forward to every release!
A great novel. It had potentials to reach the top. I appreciate the author for his effort in writing this story. It is a good one. I love the characters.
just started reading it. it got my interest . female protagonist is strong should describe her emotions more as well. looking forward for the updates.
Really enjoyed the first 12 chapters and I hope to see more!
Rather interesting story that suffers a lot from poor writing quality. Story would benefit a lot if it followed the standard dialogue format instead of this abomination that it currently has. It also has wrong spelled names and misused pronouns that is pretty common in this platform. Anyway if you can get past those story has potential.
Mi piace già prima di leggere l'unica pecca è che non tutti i capitoli si posso no leggere direttamente su web invece si deve scaricare l'applicazione
bro no way you ended it there, my heart jumped, literallydope novel perfect world and character building and development. what can I say except....... MORE CHAPTERS !!!