i like the novel, there is no isekai / game system / cultivation power ups etc. just sometimes i feel lost in the novel or like the feeling of reading MTL. or is it just me?
No, i can get you. Tbh i used to read this a very long time ago and now im just waiting for it to be finished and then i will binge it all at once.
The translations aren’t very good, but yeah it’s a very good novel, shame the translation quality isn’t great
Spoiler: I've only read up to about chapter 180 IIRC Jinshi is really obviously in love with Maomao from early on, but at times is often like "why the heck am I in love with that of all things" as Maomao does something weird or gross. He makes progressively more aggressive attacks to try and get her to notice, but Maomao doesn't pick up on it, partly because she's maybe not that interested in love, partly because she figures "no way would he go for someone like me", and partly because she's as dense as the densest of male harem protagonists. The non-romance plot does kind of tend to take over the story somewhat. Maomao gets shuffled around from the inner palace, back to the slums, off on business trips, recruited by the court, sent back to the inner palace, etc. As a result of both that and the growing cast Jinshi gets somewhat less airtime than in the first arc, even if he is still the main (only, really) love interest and has a lot of sweet moments.