Thousand Autumns - Meng Xi Shi

It's been so long since I last finished a danmei novel. I have to admit, despite my preference for the genre, I'm not typically impressed or even mildly hooked by most danmeis. I mostly just read such to pass the time. Thousand Autumns is by no means perfect. It struggles in pacing and world immersion but is still a notch above quality of most danmeis. What I really liked are the characterizations of the leads. Yan Wushi, a privolous i-only-care-about-myself-and-my-benefits domineering and malicious person and the goody-two-shoes-always-yielding-but-proud Shen Qiao (who is better characterized than Yan Wushi btw) are an interesting match. Their relationship is not harmonious nor is it full of friction. The novel is said to be about how two people of different worldviews can work together which it answered as through being true to themselves and having similar goals. I highly recommend it if you want not just fluff or melodrama but an actual examination of what it means to be moral in the face of difficulties. Again, the novels says, just stay true to yourself.

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