Embers Ad Infinitum - Chapter 2: Follow-up Review

There are always four kinds of people in the traditional Mary Sue world. The Male Lead, the Mary Sue female lead, the woman who never wanted to see the female protagonist live a good life, and the infatuated man willing to destroy heaven and earth to get the female lead.

The journey of a generation’s male empress started because of four words.

“Send a dowry escort.”

During the 19th year of Yuanqing, Qi Yunruo boarded a carriage and entered through a corner door of the second prince’s estate. Then, across the watery corridor, he gazed at the prince from afar.

Notes:

For aristocratic women in imperial China to marry into a family part of the upper nobility, they must be of the legitimate line and must also have an escort/dowry maid that married into that family. That escort would be a “ying” (媵) and could be considered a concubine.

- Description from Novelupdates

“Release faster! Why aren’t today’s chapters out yet?”“… Senior Sister, it’s only six in the morning.”“Then what about yesterday? There was only one chapter!”“… Romance slice-of-life stories rely heavily on the details. Inspiration is needed when writing.”“Then, where does your inspiration come from? You’re clearly single.”“… My imagination.”“In that case, why don’t you date someone? You can get some material too.”“… I need to write. I don’t have time.”“How about I help you?”“… Help me write?”“Of course not! I mean dating!”“… Senior Sister, stop joking around.”***This is a slice-of-life university love story between a struggling web novel author and a beautiful illustrator, in which they mutually suffer social death.Single female lead, no melodrama, no angst.

I’ve took the role of ‘that person’ who passed away long ago, someone who bears a striking resemblance to her. In a reverse harem fantasy novel set against a military backdrop, the title “Four Crazy Guys Obsessing Over Me,” or simply “F4,” unfolds. The narrative centers around the protagonist’s first love and former comrade who descended into madness following their demise, now fixated on the female lead. However, as the one who has taken on the position of ‘that person,’ I enjoy certain privileges. Could it be that my fate involves facing death? Alternatively, survival might lead to a twist in the romantic plot, with me becoming the object of obsession instead of the female lead. Personally, I’m not inclined towards being the center of such fixation. But then… “Hey, get your act together.” “The loser falls behind and gets left behind!” “These fools need to snap out of it! Can’t they get their act together?” Romance is nowhere in sight; instead, the harsh reality of the real K-military awaits me! Before I can fully escape this predicament, I had hoped that the male leads would become obsessed with me. However, this apocalyptic world consistently shatters my expectations. To worsen matters, it appears that the male leads are gradually losing their sanity in this chaotic world. What’s the only way to break free from this absurd exploitation? Naturally, it’s through a revolution! You corrupt imperial scoundrels!