I loved the first half of this book, but found that I can't finish it after getting to the first fight. The way the couple acts starting around the 45th chapter annoyed me to bits. I guess I have to remind myself that even the "old cow" eating tender grass isn't that old (or mature). It's funny how in her rationalization, she thinks she is the nurturing adult who can help accompany the other to grow up. She was more correct when she was rationalizing dating the college student - she's never grown up mentally, so isn't honestly that different from the college student.
I also agree with the translator, the fl's comparison of her chosen love and the more mature love option she had was pretty distasteful, and just goes to show how immature her views on relationships are. It's also a bit disappointing that this comparison suggests that she knew intuitively that the mature guy was pursuing her, but did nothing to dissuade him. She waxes lyrical on how she wants the young, passionate, single-minded devotion from a young man rather than the rational, responsibility-juggling feelings from an older one. But relationships between most couples evolve, and a stable relationship takes into consideration each partner's career and responsibilities. As someone who has made career decisions and done calculated stints of long distance with my partner, and whose partner has in turn applied for jobs with my career in mind, the way the FL reacted to realizing her fervant fan-turned-private-gaming-booster-turned-boyfriend actually had a life and aspirations outside dating her was mind boggling.
I guess this is a fictional romance, so I can't judge the FL too harshly. These traditional romances always have passionate love stories where the couple puts each other and their love above all else. Where they immediately know they're soul mates, tell each other everything, and sacrifice everything for each other. If I had only read the first half, the story would be sweet and fluffy and inspiring. Look, love transcends age and status, it can blossom without either having even met. Isn't this sweet?
I am usually not a fan of younger guy-older girl pairs, or generally any romance with some age gap. However, this one is fine. Both of them met as adults, in a situation without power dynamics (i.e. in-game). Been reading lots of entertainment industry-centric romance fiction lately and this one is nice :")
明枪易躲, 暗恋难防 (Míng qiāng yì duǒ, ànliàn nán fáng), or It's easy to avoid a sharp gun, but it's hard to prevent a secret love (Machine Translation, MTL, title); or better known by it's adapted title for the cdrama, Love Scenery.