The antagonist is set up cleanly and early. Shen Yu stole a role. We know she is a rival from the same period. We know Qing Jing hates her. This is clearly a character who is going to get a karmic slap in the face before the bombs drop, or during the chaos. It gives the reader a satisfying target to root against while the main focus is on prepping. I am very ready for the revenge arc.
2 I'm really wondering about the origin of the Woman in White. Was she wronged by the Chen family in the past? Is she just a random evil spirit attracted to the master's bad talismans? Her sudden defeat by a Peace Talisman feels a little too easy, but it was funny. Maybe she is more of a minor enemy.
The way Crain’s hobbies change is a nice touch. In the first life, he was a happy gardener. In the second, he’s immediately thinking about seed procurement and cold-resistant crops. The trauma of the first death forced him to become more serious. It's a subtle way to show character growth without him having to say it.
Okay, I'm only at the beginning and my heart is already clenching. That opening scene with Gu Yanzhi thinking about how Shen Weiyang 'never makes a fuss' is just painful foreshadowing. He's so proud of her for being quiet and undemanding, but that's exactly the problem, isn't it? She's been trained and conditioned to be invisible, and he's been happy to let her stay that way. That red coral hairpin feels like a slap in the face now. He bought her a bright, passionate gift for the woman he fundamentally doesn't understand at all.
I absolutely love how this story starts off - Su Nuannuan literally dying of hunger and then transmigrating into a body that's also starving? That's some dark comedy right there. The way she smells the braised pork before even figuring out where she is had me cracking up. You can tell this is gonna be a fun foodie adventure from the very first paragraph.
The three humanoid wooden figures the little girl is scared of are really intriguing. I hope that's not just a throwaway line.
The plot of being buried alive but surviving is intense. It keeps the stakes high and makes her quest for justice feel earned.