Ellijay Cabin Trip

Haven't posted in a because life got busy. Then, it was the holidays, so I decided to take a break lol. However, I definitely wanted to talk about the cabin trip that happened a few weeks ago! A lot of my recent preoccupation stemmed from the cabin trip! Basically, I started dating again lol. 

I wasn't sure if anything was going to happen since he was super slow and cautious about hanging out for MONTHS, so I didn't know if he was actually trying to do anything or if I was overthinking for the longest time lol. Plus, I didn't know if I could get over the friendship hurdle since we've been friends since high school. Obviously, I got over it, or else we wouldn't be together now. 

Anyway, I was super hesitant about going on this cabin trip with his friends the closer it got to the date, because I couldn't figure out my feelings and because he hadn't said anything. But the group chat kept on blowing up with plans for the trip, and I felt bad about flaking last minute, so I went on the trip lol. Good thing I did, or else who knows when I would have gotten any answers from him lol.

Thursday, November 11: 

• He picked me up from my house and had a quick tour of the house
• We went on an adventure trying to find South City Kitchen to have lunch and meet up with everyone else who carpooled in a separate car. The restaurant was located downtown, but it was super confusing trying to get on the right road because of all of the construction redirections 
• Drove for another hour to Ellijay 
• Went to a coffeehouse to kill time since check-in wasn't for another few hours
• Walked around downtown and went into this soup store that had really friendly workers. Their policy is to give soap samples to all of their customers who come in so that they don't walk away empty handed. I was noseblind from smelling everything, so I let Tas choose something for me lol
• Finally checked into the cabin, which was huge and full of bear paraphernalia lol
• Since Alec won the tickets to the cabin trip, we were given the owner's suite, which was pretty big with a nice bathroom and had doors to the cabin, so we can checkout the awesome view anytime!
• Went on a Wal-Mart run to get groceries and snacks and got rained on when we left the store
• Used the grill to make burgers and ended up watching Dextor's Laboratory: Ego Trip in 4K on YouTube because we were so surprised to find it for free and in 4K lol
• Everyone went into the hot tub except for me because I forgot to pack it, so I sat on the side and played Hades and laughed at everyone who got attacked by the jets lmao
• The original plan was to watch a horror movie, but we forgot about that after watching the Old trailer and watched that instead
• Went to bed. Since everyone else was a couple, Alec and I shared the giant King bed lol

Friday, November 12: 

• Kept on waking up super early in the morning. I think it was a combination of unfamiliar bed, too hot under the blankets, and because Alec got up a few times to use the bathroom kept on waking me up after 4AM. Lol we both were suddenly wide awake and were on our phones trying to fall asleep.
• Watched Alec make breakfast before getting ready to go on a hike 
• Drove to the hiking spot but ended up at a parking lot near the middle of nowhere, so we went to another place called Tumbling Waters Nature Trail. It was so beautiful! 
• 
• Saw a lot of deer near our cabin when we came back. This is because we left a lot of deer food near the driveway after we left in the morning lol
• Rested and got ready to go drive an hour away to Dalton to eat an early dinner at Cherokee Brewery & Pizza and then go to a circus show afterwards, both of which were really good!
• Originally planned to make s'mores outside at the firepit, but changed our minds to making s'mores at the fireplace in the living room instead since it was so cold lol
• Watched Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping based on John and Kelly's recommendation but started falling asleep near the end because I was so tired. We went to bed afterwards since everyone was knocking out
• About to fall asleep in bed when Alec pokes me in the back and asked if I wanted to cuddle. I'm like half awake and didn't care anymore, so I was like "fuck it, let's see where this goes" and agree. He put his arm around me, and then I was wide awake while he was falling asleep. 
• Since I couldn't sleep, I asked him if he would ask to cuddle anyone. He said no. So I asked why he asked to cuddle me, and he said it was because I was comfortable. Then, I asked him the whole "What are we doing" question, but he was still groggy, so I had to ask him multiple times until I hit him on the head with a pillow for him to take it seriously. Then, we had a long talk about our feelings and hesitations and the impact a relationship would have on our friend group. We didn't sleep until 3AM :)

Saturday, November 13: 

• Even though we went to sleep super late, we both woke up super early again and cuddled for a while before we got to see a magnificent view outside from the balcony
• Ate a quick breakfast before getting ready to go ziplining in Blue Ridge! It was so fun! But also a really steep walk just to get to the towers. I was too scared of dropping my phone from such tall heights and standing on a small ledge to take it out for pictures lol. Our guides were also super hilarious and fun, which made the experience even better!
• Went to downtown Blue Ridge for lunch but found out that all of the restaurants had 2+ hour long waits, so we decided to eat desserts at this dessert shop that won during one of the seasons of Cupcake Wars as a snack and have an early dinner when we get back to the cabins
• Went back and napped with Alec because all of the girls fell asleep in the car on the drive back lol
• Watched and supported Alec cooking chicken fajitas for dinner lol
• Watched a bunch of YouTube videos before calling it a night since everyone was falling asleep on the couches
• Alec and I stayed up late again talking. We decided to try going out and seeing where it goes

Sunday, November 14: 

• Checkout was at 11AM, but we took too long cooking breakfast and eating, so management came by to basically kick us out lol
• We frantically finished packing and cleaning up in 20 minutes and made plans to meet up at the nearest Starbucks to get drinks before going home. However, we got to Starbucks and found out that their menu was basically out of everything except for the basic coffees, so we decided to go to another coffeeshop 20 minutes away
• Almost didn't go to that coffeeshop because we saw Confederate flags in the parking lot lol. Luckily we did because it was a chill coffeeshop that had some card games you could play. We played two rounds of Exploding Kittens and burned a lot of bridges the whole time lol
• Then, we all headed home. Since it was still early, Alec stayed for a couple of hours and ate dinner with us before going back home

I actually didn't take that many pics during this trip. I'm pretty surprised. 

But yeah, a lot happened during this trip. I'm really glad I went. :)

Mini Reviews: When I Transmigrated for the Second Time, the Male Leads Got Reborn; You Use a Gun, I Use a Bow; Accidental Mark

Title: When I Transmigrated for the Second Time, the Male Leads Got Reborn
Author: 恕冬
Chapters: 66 chapters 
Publication: 2019
Summary from Novel Updates:

During her first transmigration in the book, Qi Qiu perfectly went through the plot. She refused her arranged marriage, hooked up with the movie emperor, redeemed the wolf dog, persuaded the flirtatious prodigal second generation, and waited for them to fall in love with her before ruthlessly dumping them like a slag woman, and then killed herself to give way to the female lead.

She thought she was done and that her mission was completed, yet, she was unexpectedly told that the mission had failed, and that she could no longer return to her original world, therefore, she could only be reborn in the book if she wanted to stay alive.

In order to live well, Qi Qiu decided to become a new person, stay away from the original male protagonists, and honestly marry the low-key big boss in order to spend the rest of her life with the status of a wealthy married woman.

However ….

The fierce and aggressive wolf dog looked at her with red eyes: Qiu Qiu, this time I will definitely protect you, okay?

The most popular movie emperor tugged her wrist with tears in his eyes: Qiu Qiu, the lowest point in my life was when left me.

The big boss’ brother asked her with a devastated expression: Qiu Qiu, why did I go back in time and find out you became my sister-in-law?

Qiu Qiu: ????

Crap, did all the people I slagged get reborn?!

No no no, this is scary. Husband, hug!

The big boss, the only one living this life as his first, walked on his journey of daily catching adultery. He slowly raised his eyebrows: am I your husband in name only or also in reality?

Qi Qiu: In reality! It must be in reality!

4.5 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I loved Qi Qiu and Gu Qingshi's dynamic! Their interactions were hilarious! Qi Qiu is usually an arrogant and elegant young lady, but her husband keeps on catching her in her most embarrassing moments! He not only remembers her remarks, but he also catches her in her lies and keeps on running into all of these misunderstandings between her and other men lmao. 

And Qi Qiu keeps on slowly falling for Gu Qingshi one second because of his sweet remarks, but then she immediately becomes angry with him because his "sincere" remarks are completely different from normal people's imagination and sounds insulting instead of sweet lol. 

I stayed up until 5am reading most of this book because their interactions were too funny that I couldn't stop reading!

Title: You Use a Gun, I Use a Bow
Author: Hú Shēng Yǒu Mèng
Chapters: 100 chapters
Publication: 2019
Summary from Novel Updates:

SGH is a multiplayer online tactical competitive shooting game.

When Wen Xi first came into contact with the game, like most people, he used a gun as his main weapon.

But his shooting skills were too poor, often having teammates vent about whether he was the master of outlining the human body.

Until one day, he picked up a bow.

Since then, SGH has had another archer assassin named “Wency”.

It’s said that his arrows never miss their shot, a hundred shots and a hundred hits, killing with one blow.

It’s said that only the first ranked sharpshooter “Mac” succeeded in killing him.

It’s said that he likes “Mac”.

Wen Xi: …where did this rumor come from? Mac, come out and clarify!

Mo Chen: En, it’s a rumor. Actually, I like you.

A shou who wholeheartedly wants to make money through livestreaming vs. A gong who wholeheartedly wants to trick the shou into joining his team.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Not the most exciting eSports novel I've read, but it was still enjoyable. 

You could tell that the author was running out of ideas/wanted to wrap up the story quickly since they pretty much rushed through the domestic and global championships towards the end. There were no more exciting fights :( 

The romance was pretty standard and go with the flow. No big waves or crazy revelations but plenty of dog food with each interaction. I felt like Wen Xi was a passive, obedient little wife, which got boring at times. Luckily, he's actually black-bellied at times, which made situations funnier.

The team interaction was also pretty fun! Poor Cat got abused all the time lol. The side character plots were nice and made them more interesting. I didn't know the author also wrote My Teammates Are All Crazy. I definitely prefer that book since it's a lot more funny and entertaining lol.

Title: Accidental Mark
Author: Die Zhiling
Chapters: 99 chapters 
Publication: 2020
Summary from Novel Updates:

Pei Shaoze unintentionally heard about a novel called Accidental Mark. Once he woke up, he found he had transmigrated into the alpha scumbag in the book, Pei Shaoze. The omega protagonist of the novel, Cheng Xia happened to have his pheromones out of control. The original scumbag not only took the opportunity to mark the protagonist but also killed the protagonist’s parents and ruined his reputation. The protagonist was completely blackened and returned five years later to stab the scumbag to death.

Pei Shaoze, “……” What type of melodramatic plot was this? Why not invest well in movies and TV shows when he was the boss? His brain was used to bully the protagonist. No wonder why he would be stabbed to death.

Therefore, he thoughtfully sent Cheng Xia home and helped select a school drama for Cheng Xia. “This drama is suitable for Cheng Xia and has the potential to be popular.”

It turned out to be really popular. Cheng Xia said, “Thank you, President Pei!”

“Cheng Xia should expand his shows and challenge himself.”

Cheng Xia whose fans soared to the tens of millions. “Thank you so much, President Pei!”

“Do you want to try this drama? I think you are talented enough to handle this difficult role.”

At the awards ceremony, Cheng Xia said, “The person I want to thank most is President Pei!”

On Pei Shaoze’s birthday, all the stars of the company came to congratulate him. After the party, Cheng Xia personally sent Pei Shaoze home. The young man’s cheeks were slightly red and his eyes were shining as he stared at Pei Shaoze. “President Pei, in fact, I know your feelings toward me and I like you very much.”

Pei Shaoze, “……?”

Later, it was found that Pei Shaoze was a producer in every one of Cheng Xia’s shows.

The fans said, “This alpha is pretty good. Xia Xia, hurry and chase him!”

Cheng Xia answered, “I’ve caught him :)”

—Give you the most tolerant love and help you spread your wings to fly high.

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Super cute and fluffy! Full of sweet misunderstandings, respect for each other, and a hilarious system that gave up on his job lmao.

Also, it was nice that the main character was the gong, which is rare in ABO novels. I feel like it's usually the omega's POV in these types of novels. Instead, Pei Shaoze was a mature, steady main character that was originally only trying to help out Cheng Xia since he knew that the original character went through a lot of trouble because of him. I also appreciated how Pei Shaoze had no clue about ABO settings like going into heat and markings and was always startled by the ways of the world lol.

OCT: Digital Detox Prelude Fail, Visiting the Parents, Weddings, Getting Sick, & Signs

This month didn't go like how I'd planned, but it's okay. When does everything ever go to plan?

The first Saturday of the month, Shelle forced me to run errands with her. First, we went to her dentist appointment early in the morning. However, we were running late, and by the time I realized that I forgot my phone at home, we were already halfway there and couldn't turn back. My driver's license was also with my phone, so I didn't want to drive home in Shelle's car without my license either. 

What's funny was that a week ago, Archana and I were talking about having a digital detox weekend sometime in December so that we can get off our phones and read some of our physical books instead. So, I decided to start a prelude to that digital detox that Saturday since I didn't have my phone on me. The only problem was that I started reading a REALLY good esports web novel the night before and wanted to continue reading while Shelle was at her appointment, so I immediately failed my digital detox prelude by reading my webnovel on Shelle's phone lol.

However, I didn't really need my phone though for the rest of the morning and afternoon since we were shopping. We were trying to find dresses to wear for an upcoming wedding, but I couldn't find any that I liked. :( By the time we finally got home, I was paralyzed from exhaustion. But! I also got a nice pair of boots to replace my old ones that were falling apart lol.

The next weekend, Shelle and Kyle went to Asheville to get tattoos, so I drove down to visit the parents by myself. I also drove to Macon to visit Jackie at work to get measured for my bridesmaid dress for her wedding next year. I stuck around until closing to hangout with Jackie and catch up since it's been a while. Lol she's so funny. She really hates her coworker who was with her that day, so she kept on making all of these smartass comments. XD

The next Sunday was our distant cousins' wedding from our grandma's side. We hadn't seen most of our family members from that side since before the pandemic so it was nice seeing everyone. I can't believe how grown up some of the kids were! I swear they were only 5 not long ago! It was also really great to see our grandparents. Apparently my grandpa just recovered from Covid, and my grandma also just recovered from being sick, too. They looked so old and tired. :(

The next couple of days, I started getting a sore throat and coughing, which was terrible because Archana and I were supposed to fly out to California Thursday night. We made plans around two months ago to go to skydiving in California to celebrate our birthdays! We also made plans to go to camping at Yosemite and go to a comedy show! We planned so much only for me to get really sick the day before we left. 

Luckily, it was just a cold. I took a rapid test to see if it was Covid, but it turned out negative. The doctor prescribed me steroids and some other medicine if my coughing didn't go away, so I was taking a bunch of medicine for the next week and a half.

But yeah, I decided to not go to California since I couldn't stop coughing. I can't even imagine how bad my coughing would be when I got on a plane and breathed all of the dry air in there lol. I tried to convince Archana to go without me since we already booked so many things, but she and Suhas called multiple sites and were able to get refunds or cancel our reservations, so everything panned out okay.

Archana actually talked to her mom about cancelling the trip, and her mom consoled her by telling her maybe it was a sign to not go. We joked about that saying that the universe doesn't want us to travel this year lol. But then there was news of a bomb cyclone in North California that affected a lot of people! And then I was like, "Huh, maybe your mom was right. We weren't meant to go to Cali yet lol."

I also got better by the end of the next week, which is probably the fastest time I've ever recovered from a cold. Must be all of the drugs lol. I got better just in time for the parents to come up to pick up dad's new car that he's been looking for the past few months. Shelle and Kyle stayed with Dad to do all of the paperwork while I drove mom around to pick up food for lunch. Then we met up with everyone at home to have a late lunch.

I had already made plans to go to Archana's birthday dinner at Aziza that night, so I had to get ready pretty early, since it was a long drive. Since Shelle and Kyle were also going to a wedding at night, mom and dad decided to go home early since we agreed to come down and visit them next weekend lol.

Archana's birthday dinner was really fun. I got to see everyone from work and Lee Ann, Archana's manager who recently left the company, for the first time in a while. We kept on making plans to hangout throughout the year, but we kept on cancelling or moving dates around because we were busy. It only took Archana's birthday to make us come out lol. But I finally got to try Turkish coffee! Archana and I tried to find this popular Turkish coffee cart when we were in New York in May, but we couldn't find it, so it's hilarious that we got to try it months later when we weren't expecting to find it.

Overall, it was a fun night. I'm glad I got to catch up with everyone. We also made plans to have game night at Lee Ann's place next month, so I'm excited for that.

Mini Reviews: I Married the Male Lead of a CP-free Novel, Why The Big Villain Hasn’t Run Away, Salted Fish Transmigrated Into An Apocalyptic Book

Title: I Married the Male Lead of a CP-free Novel
Author: Ten-Tailed Rabbit
Chapters: 79 chapters 
Publication: N/A
Summary from Novel Updates:

Chi Zhengzheng became vegetative, lying in bed, motionless.

A CP-free novel suddenly appeared in her mind …

In the original novel, a car accident left the Chi family’s daughter in a coma.

The engagement had to go on, and Chi Zhengzheng’s fiancé, the younger son of the Wen family, was not willing.

Unwilling to offend the Chi family, the Wen family lets the unpopular eldest young master, Wen Yu, take over.

The indifferent Wen Yu became a joke in the circle.

The young man, Wen Yu, was the male lead of this CP-free novel, has built a huge business empire.

In just one year, with a wave of his hand, he destroyed both the Chi family and the Wen family, opening the way for the CP-free male lead’s road to dominance.

His nominal wife, Chi Zhengzheng, also passed away quietly after being a vegetable for a year.

After reading the whole story, Chi Zhengzheng shivered in fear and suddenly opened her eyes – just in time to lock eyes with Wen Yu.

Oh, so handsome.

Chi Zhengzheng: “… Husband!!!”

Wen Yu: ???

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

This was hilarious and sweet! I kept giggling because of Chi Zhengzheng's behavior, especially when she lashed out about her ex-fiancé in the beginning lol. Girl can go off! Lmao! 

I especially loved Chi Zhengzheng and Wen Yu's slow romance. It was super cute watching them being embarrassed and cute with each other as they realized their feelings. 

Chi Zhengzheng's thought process when she started working at Wen Yu's company at the end was also hilarious. She read too many novels and got the wrong idea lmao. 

Overall, a super satisfying read!

Title: Why The Big Villain Hasn’t Run Away
Author: 车厘酒
Chapters: 99 chapters + 10 extras
Publication: 2021
Summary from Novel Updates:

Yan Luqing was reading a heart-abuse novel of the year when she was on the plane.

Among them, the most popular is not the male lead and female lead, but the villain who has been persecuted by countless lunatics, Gu Ci.

When Gu Ci was young, his beauty was infinite, but his family’s financial situation fell behind and his parents were retaliated by their enemies. His beautiful obsidian-like eyes were blinded by poison. And in the end, he was secretly ‘hidden’ by a mentally ill woman who had a crush on him.

After experiencing all this, the young man who was originally like a breeze and misty moon was completely blackened.

Who does not feel heartache for a beauty who was strong but miserable? Yan Luqing also felt her heart ache and scolded that mentally ill woman very angrily.

Who knows that when the plane crashed, she became the female partner, who tried to monopolize Gu Ci, that everyone shouts to beat.

The time happened to be the first day of the ‘Hiding Gu Ci In The Golden House’.

Recalling the female partner’s end that was more inferior than the pigs and dogs in the original book, Yan Luqing: …Oh?

***

The female partner in the original book deserves that kind of ending, but Yan Luqing can not commit the same mistakes.

From the first day onwards, she will serve delicious food and drink to raise the big villain well. It was called ‘Hiding Gu Ci’ but in reality it was actually enshrining and worshipping him.

She treats Gu Ci’s eyes and buys whatever he wants to eat, even if he wants the stars she will pick them for him. If he wants flowers, she will pull them out and make a wreath for him. Even the flowers at home are all pulled bald.

So two months later, according to the original plot, it was the day for Gu Ci to escape.

Yan Luqing breathed a sigh of relief. The big villain doesn’t have to do it himself because she opened the door wide in a very proactive and catering manner, and said to him: “Congratulations, you are free now.”

Gu Ci looked at her for a long while, his beautiful black eyes darkened, and he suddenly smiled: “What if I said, I don’t want freedom?”

Yan Luqing: “???”

What about your business empire?

What about your ambition for revenge?

D*mn, that’s not how the script was played!

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I really liked this! Yan Luqing and Gu Ci's whole relationship was so cute and sweet and sad once you found out their backstory! 

Yan Luqing really is a sand sculpture, just like her random thinking and unusual naming conventions lol. Her continuous obliviousness of her own feelings while Gu Ci silently chases her while simultaneously roasting her was also fluffy and hilarious. 

I freaking LOVED Yan Luqing's constant metaphors of their relationship lol. The faint king and his virtuous concubine! The head of the family and his beautiful wife lmao. The role reversals in their relationship were super cute. Yan Luqing was always being seduced by her wife lmao. 

Also, the system actually has a personality in here, which made the climax really interesting. 

The Panda King and Princess extras were super cute! The vampire x vampire hunter extras were fluffy, too! All of the extras were really sweet.

Title: Salted Fish Transmigrated Into An Apocalyptic Book
Author: 奶香味哒
Chapters: 54 chapters + 4 extras
Publication: 2020
Summary from Novel Updates:

Jiang Miaomiao transmigrated into an apocalyptic book and became an insignificant cannon fodder. Considering all the brutal encounters behind, she decided to lie down and peacefully wait for death. She stayed at home and lived as long as she could.

In order to eat and drink well before she dies, she stored a lot of supplies.

Unexpectedly, one day a man broke into her house and was even more salty than her. He stayed and refused to leave. Her three boxes of potato chips were eaten up by that man. Her six boxes of river snail rice noodles were eaten up by that man. Her ten boxes of walnuts were also gnawed by that man!

Jiang Miaomiao was furious and decided to drive him out. So she secretly followed him in the middle of the night and saw him walk into a horde of zombies with a knife on his hands. He looked handsome as he easily killed those zombies.

The man came back and washed the blood stains. She was pushed to wake up while she was pretending to be asleep, “Give me a spicy duck neck.”

Jiang Miaomiao gave it to him decisively with both hands, “Eat, it’s all yours!”

A magical thing happened since then, her supplies… Why is it continuously increasing?

2.5  STARS - IT WAS OKAY

MY REVIEW: 

It gets a bit slow and boring for me in the middle. There wasn't much motivation or tension to keep my attention, and Jiang Miaomiao's personality started irritating me.

This is a slice of life apocalyptic setting, but Jiang Miaomiao's personality started getting on my nerves. At first, her "I'll just commit suicide before the zombies get to me" attitude was normal and understandable because she already knew that she was going to die as a cannon fodder character in a book. However, her constant fear of being alone and inaction unless instigated by Lu Qiming got annoying after a while. It takes her a REALLY long time to change her attitude and to stop being so useless. 

Also, she didn't have a lot of cooking common sense and wasted a lot of materials creating basically poisonous dishes because she didn't think things through, which annoyed me even further.

Weekly Haul 142

Some more of my preorders from Rightstuf came in!

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? vol. 16 by Fujino Omori & Suzuhito Yasuda

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! vol. 8 by Satoru Yamaguchi & Nami Hidaka

Yona of the Dawn vol. 30 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Webnovel Review: Why are the Protagonist Gong and Shou Fighting Because of Me? by 甜画舫

Title: Why are the Protagonist Gong and Shou Fighting Because of Me?
Author: 甜画舫
Chapters: 147 chapters 
Publication: 2020
Summary from Novel Updates:

Tang Bai was born into a wealthy family. His body was soft and slender, and he loved to act spoiled. His family searched far and wide to find him a handsome and rich prospective fiancé. However, the prospective financé liked independent and strong omegas and was very resistant to this business marriage.

One day, Tang Bai’s brain short circuited, causing him to believe that he lived in a book. He was the cannon fodder shou, and his prospective fiancé was the protagonist gong. The protagonist shou, Xie Ruhang, was a strong, independent omega of the new era who pretended to be an alpha. In the future, he would become a marshal and the light of the omegas.

No wonder the love-filled bento that he worked super hard to make was rejected by his prospective fiancé who didn’t even look at it. Tang Bai’s eyes reddened as he turned around. He saw that Xie Ruhang was eating the horrible tasting training meal. How could the future light of the omegas eat this kind of devil’s cruise that was fed to the pigs?

Tang Bai shyly said: “This was personally made by me. Us omegas need to pay attention to our diet and take care of our bodies~”

Xie Ruhang: ……?

The first time Xie Ruhang saw Tang Bai, he thought that even when this omega cried, he was still like the omega of his dreams. Although Tang Bai was virtuous, delicate, beautiful, and cute, he already had a prospective fiancé!

Xie Ruhang expressed with grief: “I won’t be the third party.”

Tang Bai was extremely moved, thinking that Xie Ruhang had already become good sisters with him and wouldn’t come to steal his man. There was a saying that Alphas were like clothes and good sisters were like one’s hands and feet. Don’t worry, I will definitely take good care of you!

Xie Ruhang: ……

Very soon, Xie Ruhang heard a rumor. Tang Bai’s prospective fiancé hated Tang Bai, but he couldn’t defy the orders of his family, so he could only create trouble for Tang Bai everywhere.

Xie Ruhang: This is the omega of my dreams that I want to hold in the palm of my hands, and you actually don’t cherish him? tr*sh!

Xie Ruhang: Isn’t it just stealing a man? So sweet.

Tang Bai found out in horror: Why are the protagonist gong and shou fighting because of me?!

Tang Bai: Oh! They must have a love and hate relationship!

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

First of all, I really loved the cover. I thought it this book was going to have a fantasy setting until I read the summary. But I was fooled because this was actually an ABO interstellar/sci-fi comedy! And I enjoyed every part of it! 

There were so many hilarious misunderstandings in the first half of the book because of Tang Bai's belief in what he saw in the future. Poor Xie Ruhang was SUFFERING and ended up learning green tea tips while trying to catch a man lmao. 

This was essentially an omega/female empowerment novel. Novels with omega protagonists typically describe how they're the outlier for their gender and are loved even more for being different from the stereotype. There's not much change in society because it seems more like an isolated incidence. 

In this book, Tang Bai draws courage and inspiration from his idol (Xie Ruhang from his the book) and starts creating change for all omegas by being his most authentic self. He used his strength and skills to prove that omegas are more than just homemakers but still allowed himself to dress up beautifully and cry whenever he felt sad. He used his popularity and influence to speak out and create change, and it was incredibly moving reading all of this happening. That moment when he realized that he no longer wanted to be a canary in cage and wanted the freedom to do whatever he wanted was such an incredible turning point in Tang Bai's growth and the overall direction of the novel. 

Xie Ruhang, in turn, was a really great partner. Even as his friend, he never exhibited negative alpha stereotypes and always supported Tang Bai's decisions. Poor guy thought he was just being toyed with but still wanted to surrender to Tang Bai lmao. After they finally got together, he was even more sweet and cute! Tang Bai quickly realized what a vinegar jar Xie Ruhang was behind his cold face lol. 

The side characters were really well written, too. There was a lot of focus on other omega characters near the end, which can seem like filler to some people who are only interested in the protagonists. However, they played an important part describing the direction of the future and how difficult it is to take the first step to change your destiny in a repressive society. Not everyone redeems themselves and has a happy ending, which was also realistic.

Books I Want to Read This Month

I'm determined to do better this month and read at least one book off of this list! I mean, I have a lot of vacation days and holidays this month!

1. StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
2. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle 
3. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
4. A Man & His Cat vol. 3 by Umi Sakurai
5. A Man & His Cat vol. 4 by Umi Sakurai
6. Seven Days: Monday–Sunday by Venio Tachibana & Rihito Takarai
7. The High School Life of a Fudanshi vol. 1 by Atami Michinoku
8. Hitorijime My Hero vol. 1 by Memeco Arii
9. The Rising of the Shield Hero vol. 1 by Aneko Yusagi
10. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? vol. 12 by Fujino Omori
11. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? vol. 13 by Fujino Omori
12. The Anatomy of Being by Shinji Moon
13. Home Body by Rupi Kaur
14. The Sun Will Rise & So Will We by Jennae Cecelia
15. Euphoria by F.S. Yousaf

October in Retrospect

This month was pretty eventful. I hungout with my parents a lot and ended up watching Squid Games with my dad. Because I was sick, I read a lot of books and ended up marathoning another Korean drama as well lol. 

I read: 

• After Regenerating Into An Omega, Everyone Is Dying To Marry Me by 啾咪啾咪兔
• The E-Sports Circle’s Toxic Assembly Camp by 青梅酱
• Lovely Allergen by Zhìchǔ
• Why is the Holy Son So Delicate? by Gu Yan
• Male god, are you here too? by 喵喵喵就是我
• Can't Resist The Offensive of the Paranoid Hero by 纸谣
• I Must Be a Fake Alpha! by 番茄不吃檸檬
• Know on the Third Morning by Shiina
• That Villain Has a Crush on Me by Cong Wen
• In Order to Support Me, Big Shots Kneels Down Before Me! by 凉皮就面包
• The Daily life of the Apocalyptic Passerby by 对游绝
• After Being Dressed as Cannon Fodder in the Last Days, I and the Villain HE by 对游绝
• The Male Lead Wants to Destroy the World [Transmigration] by Walk on Water
• After Being Dressed As a Cub, I Was Picked Up by the Male Lead by 心水于你
• After Rebirth in the Last Days, I Picked Up the Villain Boss by Bai Gu Gu
• The Paranoid Big Brother Relies on Love to Continue His Life by Aoki Mountain
• Luobei of the Last Days by Su Su Xiu
• Female Match-End Day Raising Cubs Everyday by 桃汲

I watched: 

• Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
• Squid Games (2021)
• Haikyuu!! 2nd Season (2015)
• Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning (2021)
• Sweet Home (2020)