100,000/Hour Professional Stand-in Chapter 111: Only I Can Do It

The story is finally finished! Whee~
It was a fun ride for me, and hopefully, it was a fun ride for you too! Thank you for staying for the ride thus far~

I want to give my own thoughts about this story since it's one of the few ones that really interested in compared to the other romance stories out there that paint a fantasy, so here goes nothing!

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I think this story is quite unique as there aren't many romance stories that explore the idea of stand-ins. This story is hardly dramatic or exciting compared to other stories in the same genre, but it has a fairly mature viewpoint toward relationships, for better or for worse.

Take Ji Fanyin for example, she has strict principles when it comes to relationships, and I think that it's really wonderful.

While she was working as a stand-in, she drew a line with Chen Yunsheng despite having a favorable impression of him. She knew that it would be wrong to lead him on when she was not in a position to be responsible for him. At the same time, she didn't force her opinion on Chen Yunsheng when she turned him down, choosing to respect his decision as an adult.

Her professionalism stood out to me as well. What she promised, she delivered. The fishes eventually got their karma, but she was professional to the very end, be it her constant reminders or the sharp breaks in her character. She is not a good person, but at least she's not hypocritical. She is what she says, and I can respect that.

It is these nuances of how they maturely deal with relationships that make me fall in love with this novel.

As for the villains... Ji Xinxin doesn't really strike out to me. I like how she has a backstory, but I don't think that she played an integral part in this novel. More like an extra domino piece to be knocked down along the way. Still, I enjoyed reading how Ji Fanyin cornered her. It's cathartic to see our villain getting outplayed at every step.

As for the fishes, I do think that they are relatable in some ways.

You might have met people who aren't good at expressing themselves, and that's what Bai Zhou is to me. He puts a lot of effort into his dates with Ji Fanyin, doing up guides to bring Ji Fanyin around the amusement park. His only downfall was his self-centeredness and inability to think in other people's shoes, which is why his efforts seem to initially fall flat.   

Song Shiyu is an interesting character too. I feel like it might have been possible for him to become a good husband to Ji Xinxin in a parallel world. His feelings for Ji Xinxin are as true as most married couples. 

Hiring Ji Fanyin as a stand-in was the worst decision he could have ever made. Stand-in Ji Fanyin was such a perfect lover that Ji Xinxin looked inadequate in comparison. That broke his illusion of Ji Xinxin. I believe that Song Shiyu was subconsciously aware of what kind of person Ji Xinxin was, but he allowed himself to be blinded by his feelings for her. That was why everything swiftly crumbled when the spell was broken.

If Ji Fanyin didn't come into the picture, Song Shiyu and Ji Xinxin might have had a happy ending. Song Shiyu would give Ji Xinxin all the affection she wanted, and Ji Xinxin would have fully relished the attention. There would be dark things beneath their relationship, yes, but those could be swept under the rug. Life is short anyway.

Li Xiaoxing's addition made the story a lot more fun. I love how his character slowly changed over time, as well as the underlying details behind his story.

He claimed that he liked Ji Xinxin because she saved him, but the truth was that he didn't care for that. As stated many times in the story, he loved Ji Xinxin for who she was, and the 'childhood' story was an additional touch that perfected his love for her. The confrontations between him and Ji Fanyin regarding his true feelings were nice to me; I could really feel Ji Fanyin's words cutting deep.

Last but not least, Chen Yunsheng is such a cute character! The ending was also freaking sweet! He remained steadfast to the very end, and I think we do need such positivity after seeing so many assholes.
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If you read till the very end, thanks for reading my two cents on the story hahaha! Do leave a comment and let me know what you think~

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ℭ𝔥𝔢𝔠𝔨 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔶 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰:
Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet With a Bad End
Library of Heaven's Path