sardonisms 's review for:

PUBG Online Romance of the Century [PUBG世紀網戀] by Jiàng Zi Bèi 酱子贝

3.75

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

---

This one is the weakest of JZB's "trilogy" IMO. The side CP comes out of nowhere and even with the extras I wasn't totally satisfied as to how they ended up falling for each other. The main couple wasn't quite insta-love, but I also wasn't entirely on board with how they ended up falling for each other (or, well, how ML ended up falling for MC). MC's financial situation seemed to be inconsistent and it undermined his tenacity and strength for me when he suddenly had enough money to spend four figures on dinner, when before he had struggled to spend a few hundred on a webcam, with no real explanation as to the in-between. Even if that was his share of the gifts, I have a hard time believing his story and struggles when he adapts so easily to having a lot of money. Yi Chen being as jealous as he was rubbed me the wrong way sometimes, and the complete lack of any attempt to deal with a relationship that does honestly carry a heavy implication of conflict of interest felt like a giant hole left in the story. I did like that for once ML's friends didn't need hit over the head with a clue-by-four and actually guessed right away what was up instead of wasting twenty chapters asking ML about his "girlfriend." That was a nice change. Overall, I really liked the first half of it, and the second half didn't turn me off, but it's by far the weakest and it's the one I'm least likely to reread.