Back Then, I Adored You

Website : qidian china

Views : 12.46million

Rating : 9,3(21)

Chapters : 1030

Status : completed

Word count : 1.09million

Author : Ye Fei Ye

author level : Platinum

No of works : 9

Disscussion : 1617

Year started : 2016

Translated works : A billion stars, Bringing nation's husband home, Living with a tempermental adonis

Genres : Drama, Josei, Mature, Romance, Slice of Life

Tags : Abusive Characters, Adapted to Manhua, Caring Protagonist, Cold Love Interests, Cruel Characters, Female Protagonist, Handsome Male Lead, Misunderstandings, Modern Day, Rape, Secret Identity, Unlucky Protagonist, Wealthy Characters

Popularity : Almost all works from this author are popular in China.

Last edited : 24/nov/2018

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Website : qidian international

Views : 2million

Rating : 4.0(531)

Chapters : 104

Rank : 70

Status : ongoing

Schedule : 9ch/week

Translator : Nyoi-bo studio

Popularity : Nyoi-Bo studio

Last edited : 24/nov/2018

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Synopsis :

Qidian International :

One day, she slept with him accidentally. Two month later, she found herself pregnant, so they got married with baby.

"Mr. Gu, I like the dishes of this restaurant." Then the chef of that restaurant was hired as theirs.

"Mr. Gu, I like the bags of that brand." Then the designer of that brand was employed exclusively for her.

She thought of herself as a stranger to him after marriage as she had always been, but in fact he doted on her totally beyond her imagination. He would satisfy all her demands, except letting her find a job.

She kind of got anxiously bored at home, so she sneaked out to find herself a job. However, whichever company she was hired by would go bankrupt somehow or other.

Finally, she got to know it had been always him who had done mischief surreptitiously. She went to question him angrily, but he gave her a job with a smirky smile. The next day when she went to take the office with delight, she found her employee ID card on the desk said 'Name: Qin Zhi'ai, Position: Wife of Gu Yusheng'.

Novelupdates:

"I can clear all your debts, but you have to substitute me in my marriage…"

When Liang Dou Kou was diagnosed with cancer, she formed a contract with Qin Zhi Ai to substitute her in the time she would be absent, including her marriage with Gu Yu Sheng.

Initially, Qin Zhi Ai suffered under the cold and harsh attitude of Gu Yu Sheng, who mistook her for Liang Dou Kou. But his heart gradually softened and he fell in love with her.

Just when he thought that he could live happily ever after with her, it is time for Qin Zhi Ai and Liang Dou Kou to revert their identities, and Qin Zhi Ai evaporated from Gu Yu Sheng's life.

Months later, Gu Yu Sheng meets someone who possesses the gaze of Qin Zhi Ai who captured his heart…

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POSITIVE REVIEW :

Preface: I read the entire book, including the side stories.

Spoiler

I thought I signed up for mid-tier rollercoaster but then this book turns out to be some gargantuan loop-the-loop thrill ride. This author is a mastermind at playing with your emotions. Be prepared to feel anguish, warmth, giddiness, frustration, sadness, and everything in between. Be prepared to use up all the kleenex in the house. Seriously, I might need to see the doctor about some heart problems.

Don't get me wrong, emotional rollercoasters ain't a bad thing. I love melodramatic. I love a good tearjerker. In fact, it was pretty good at the start. The first ~100 chapters of anguish are worth the next couple hundred chapters of melodrama. In fact, you don't really get a good grasp on this novel til like ~100 chapters in. The tone of the first ~100 chapters and the rest of the book aren't really similar. Once we start seeing Mr. MC's point of view, it gets really good and really starts tugging at my heart strings. I love how balanced it is in sharing both MC and Mr. MC's point of view. Very few romance novels do that.

So you might be asking yourself, "should I read this novel?". All I have to say is, turn back if you are looking for a fluffy romance novel. THIS IS NOT A FLUFFY ROMANCE NOVEL. If A Slight Smile is Slightly Alluring is your golden standard for romance, you've come to the wrong place. I think a lot of the bad reviews and the negative reception are from people who didn't quite understand what kind of book this was.

This novel is for people who like (in no order) :

1. Melodrama: Ye Feiye, the author, is the queen of melodrama. Seriously. I dare you to find me a more melodramatic book. The main couple in the story reach the pinnacle of bubbly romance, only for the bubble to pop. And all this happens 3.5 times. Yes, 3.5 times. So buckle up, as you see love blossom and wither multiple times.

2. Tearjerker: When I read this, I shed tears of deep sorrow, tears from being moved, etc. Basically all sorts of tears. I admit I cry easily. But even the most coldhearted person is guaranteed to sniffle.

3. No filler and excessive descriptions: What other authors might take 2000 chapters to write plot-wise, Ye Feiye does it in 800. For fans of flourishing immaculate descriptions that paint the most vivid imagery, right down to polished cherry oak floorboards and the yellow-breasted warbler perching on the thousand-year-old gingko tree outside, I recommend Charles d*ckens and his lengthy writing. This book is about plot and emotion. No droning descriptions about superfluous things.

4. Excellent translation quality: Okay, this one doesn't factor into the novel itself. But I gotta say, StarveCleric does an amazing job translating the novel. Accurate translations. Good, clear writing. What more could you want?

5. Low key, quiet, nice, persistent girl lead: I know the trend nowadays is to have a kick-ass girl lead who can beat the crap out of all who annoy her. If you like that in romance novels, read Hidden Marriage. The MC in this book is quite the opposite, actually. But it's not a bad thing. She silently and persistently loves the male lead and it's incredibly moving. I would sum her up in the phrase "silent caring resolve". If you want a bold female lead, this is definitely not the book for you. Prepare to see MC suffer but hold it in, all in the name of love. And I think that makes the book all the more beautiful. After all, sometimes that's what love is. Yes, love is being caring and affectionate, like in those fluffy romance novels. But love is also unconditional. It persists through thick and thin. It means self-sacrifice, forgiveness, and holding on during the darker times, just to see a glimmer of the light. Through this novel, the female lead shows us that other side.

6. Brash nasty-tempered male lead: Nothing special here. Your typical arrogant CEO who drowns in money and power but not love. I'll just throw in a rape warning here, as other reviews have mentioned. Happens a couple times.

7. No love triangle: This romance is pure one-on-one love. Saves you the anguish of wondering who the person is going to get with. The side characters have a love triangle going on, though, but I think it's obvious who is going to end up with who.

8. Happy ending: Despite all the ups and downs, and then some more downs, everything fits right together at the end. The side story has an open ending, but it's roughly 50 chapters and not part of the main story so if you don't like open endings, you can skip it.

My one gripe:

The main character's love story should have ended a bit earlier. There was a perfect moment for it to end, but the author added one last loop-the-loop.

My other minor gripe:

I didn't care about the side characters' romance. Luckily the author tacked it on mostly at the end (chap ~800 to ~1000).

Book outline:

1-800: main characters' story, with snippets of side characters' story

800-1000: side characters' story

1000-1050: Another side character's story.

Other commentary:

This book won No.3 most popular girl's book for 2016.

The author has consistently won multiple top awards.

- No.1 most popular author (female) for 2015

- Most well-liked author (female) for 2014

-By Action(NU)

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NEGATIVE REVIEW :

I must be doing feelings wrong because everyone in this novel seems real in love. I give this story a solid 3 stars. Even though I wanted to roll my eyes most of the time, it wasn't actually a bad read. It got super hammy at parts, and was so full of coincidences it was like watching a soap opera, but it was fairly well written and the characters were more realistic than a lot of other novels, hence why I average it to a 3/5.

Pros:

1. Interesting some of the time

2. fairly well written (scene transitions aren't bad and you can actually follow the plot as unnecessarily complex as it is)

3. Xu Wen Nuan - you find out why circa chapter 830 but, let's just say, she has the reaction we'd except our MC -or any sensible woman, for that matter- to have

Cons:

1. The overarching romance. It's the type of thing that just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. In the end, I didn't care anymore, I just wanted them to get together and get the hell out of my face.

2. Honestly, the back story was problematic as well. I mean, seriously, how are there SO many coincidences that force the MC and ML to spin around each other for a decade? Everyone just so happens to go to school together, MC and the main villain just so happen to look nearly identical (except for aura, whatever the f*** that's supposed to mean) but no one ever notices, MC just so happens to become main villain's stunt double and, for some reason, no one was aware of it, yada yada yada. It's so contrived/hacky that I nearly got a migraine from rolling my eyes.

3. Honestly, the ML is just a d*ck. I can't even find words to describe how awful he is. Even after he changes I can only remember just how terrible he was. There's really no saving grace for him; all of his "justifications" for how he treated her make him look even worse. At a certain point, I just had to close off all thoughts when it came to the romance because I couldn't logically accept that the MC still wanted to be with him after all that.

4. Soap opera-esque plot developments. A character just so happens to be talking in her sleep during the one instance another character overhears. And in full, coherent sentences? Multiple times?!!! Come on! *eye roll*

So... yeah. The main cons are with the story set up while the pros actually have to do with the author's writing. I'd love for her to write something less dramatic, with less of a "gold finger" plot. She didn't murder us with flashbacks or confuse the story with too many convoluted timelines, and, most impressively, she introduced new details and/or secrets at proper times that helped move the story along. Ultimately, I'm giving 3 stars because she managed to turn a crappy story readable.

Here's a snapshot of my views on the story as I read through it:

Spoiler

-Chapter 100: At this point, I'd rather the MC end up with literally anyone except the male lead- even her own brother.

Yes, making him a d*ck to start only makes the gap wider when he's actually nice to her, but it's off balance when he's such a douche that I actively hate the character.

-Chapter 300: I can't stand the MC. I'm not even asking for her to have pride, but can she at least have some self-respect? Love shouldn't be able to overcome everything, especially not the lack of all basic human decency/courtesy. Just hurry up and get them together; it's annoying to have to look at them.

-Chapter 500: God, can't we even pretend she'd end up with anyone else? The author wanted to portray the MC as intelligent but her attitude towards the ML makes her seem more like a dumb puppy who keeps running back to be abused time after time.

-Chapter 800: Whatever. Just stop throwing in these half-assed dramatic interludes to separate them, shut the hell up, and move onto the side characters. I just don't want to see them anymore.

-Chapter 900: *flips tables* I just want to finish it and forget it.

-By Narutolvr(NU)

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In my library : No