The cold open of the rebirth is perfect. We don't get a long flashback of her death scene in the past life, but the phantom limb ache of it is present in every action she takes. Her tears with her mom, the strictness of the list, the paranoia of the bunker. It lets the reader fill in the blanks with the worst possible scenarios, making the contrast with her current safety more stark and emotionally resonant.
The world feels active, with events like the "robbery" that Walkins mentioned. It suggests the world has crime and adventure beyond the household. I'm curious to see how Regis will experience that. The potential for exploration is high.
I have to mention the phrase “Oh wow, little friends✦✦✦” which appears twice. It’s a very distinctive transition phrase that feels like an echo of a Chinese web novel trope (like xiao ke ai). The use of asterisks and the interjection mark makes it stand out. In the English version, it retains that quirky, meta feeling. I like it as a callback to the source culture. It makes the reading experience feel playful, like the author is winking at the reader. It’s used right before major shifts (the paint discovery, the corridor fight, the elevator encounter). It works as a punctuation of chaos. It’s not overused (only three times in three excerpts), so it retains impact. Such small stylistic choices can define a novel’s voice, and I appreciate this one.
I like that the story doesn’t shy away from showing Yuan Ziyou’s dark side. She’s not a pure innocent saint. In her first life, she killed her second uncle’s entire family, disfigured herself, and lived as a kitchen maid for years just to get revenge. That gives her a ruthless edge. This time around, she’s thinking strategically about how to split the family up to prevent the framing. She knows she can’t just kill everyone because of her grandmother’s attachment, so she’s going for a political solution. That shows growth and caution.
I was shouting when Song Rui’er called Qiao Yunni “not my mother” and said his sisters are now Song Dahua and Song Xiaohua. That’s some harsh stuff for a ten-year-old. It’s clear he’s been manipulated or he’s just desperate to survive. But it still hurts to read. Later, when Old Man Qiao asks him and he confirms, I felt a second wave of anger. The character has the potential for a redemption arc later, but right now I just want him to feel bad about his choices when he sees how much his mother and sister suffered.