TBR Challenge Review: 第六次攻略 (My Sixth Mission of Love) by 林湾湾 (Lin Wanwan)

I tried to win over Zhou Jingxu’s heart five times.

Each time, I appeared in a different form.

Each time, I was a beautiful woman.

And the last time, he looked down at me, distant and above it all, and said, “Zhao You’en, stop fawning already. Even if you turned to ashes, I’d still recognize you.

“Let me be honest with you. Even if I jumped from here, I still wouldn’t choose to be with you.”

I resigned myself to yet another erasure by the system.

When I awoke again, the system asked, [Host, would you like to choose a different target to pursue?]

The prompt for this month is “do the hustle” and honestly I think the task through five lifetimes is enough to be considered a hustle. I’ve noticed a trope that’s pretty common in cnovels is a protagonist who is “attached to a system” where you’re given a task you must complete – I tend to read historicals so I generally see it with transmigration stories … but anyway this was a rare read for me as it was set in modern times – I’m more willing to do that with these short shorts that are almost more like vignettes. This was broken into six parts … I think each “chapter” was only like a paragraph or two – they were so short I didn’t even clock them. Anyway the entire premise is in the blurb. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cover or publisher site/couldn’t find it on the site the person listed.

Our heroine is Zhao You’en – who transmigrates into a different body and identity each life … but her target Zhou Jingxu never falls for her … or never admits it anyway. (Asshole.) The sixth life … she switches to Cheng Xingye, our delightful hero. Each lifetime Zhao You’en is a gorgeous woman and she did love Zhou Jingxu for the first three lifetimes … what’s interesting (and sad) is each time she fails her mission she immediately dies in an incredibly violent and tragic way. Oof. Aggressive cancer, getting shot in the head, hit by a car, literally run over by a truck … and she remembers each time. I mean, it’d be enough to ruin any love. Especially since he’s such a fucking asshole about his rejections.

What’s equally sad is … Cheng Xingye has been in love with Zhao You’en each lifetime as well, and he always recognizes her. (She keeps a number of the same likes and habits – e.g. little movements when she’s reading or in thought, liking the same manhua – graphic novel – same ringtone and taste in music. Which of course makes sense since she’s the same person just … different bodies/identities. You get hints about his feelings for her – the times he’s helped her, their (few) interactions … which she didn’t notice at first but this lifetime she realizes … maybe there was something.

Another thing that I loved was how welcoming his family is to her. Immediately his grandmother and parents are like “live here! Stay with us forever! You’re so pretty and sweet!” They’re so excited their son/grandson “finally” has someone he likes. (And they think she’s delightful too.)  We first have slightly awkward then sweet interactions between Zhao You’en. Obviously she recognizes Cheng Xingye, but he doesn’t recognize her at first. He’s also a bit cold because he’s almost afraid to hope – and you can’t blame him, watching the girl he loves die over and over again – once literally in his arms.

I don’t imagine you’ll read it – though I hope you do! You can probably get through it in like an hour! So … spoiler! Anyway, I absolutely loved that his sincerity moved “the system”/the powers that be to give the two their next five lifetimes together in blissful happiness. And we all know that I’m a petty vengeful bitch, so I also loved that Zhou Jingxu actually eventually fell for Zhao You’en but she’s like “fuck this trash ass man” – and then he gets stuck with a system and even gets a choice of targets … and always picks Zhao You’en and fails. Continuously. Suffer, asshole.

I’d love to read more by this author and am super crushed I can’t find anything at this time. Hopefully the translator that first found this short story posts more by [her]!

Grade: A-

You can read the story here. Or a direct link here.