In the bright and dazzling entertainment circle, the older one is, the more fetters one is shackled with. As such, Gu Yan makes the most realistic choice — accepting the help of big financial backer Qin Zhiyuan and becoming a flower vase.Satisfying a financial backer in bed isn’t anything too difficult, and Gu Yan even has a knack for maintaining such a relationship over the long years — smiling when he has to, and feigning ignorance when it’s necessary, no matter if it’s overlooking gossipy sex scandals or the sweet-sounding fake-real words spoken by that man…The flower vase’s heart is elsewhere, the financial backer’s love is absent, all debts are bought and paid for. With his mouth curved into a perfect arc of a smile, Gu Yan does his utmost to play the most flawless role in his life, all the while hiding those feelings that he shouldn’t have in his heart…

Content warnings:A sexual assault/drugging scene (committed by a third party) occurs at one point, and Gu Yan’s history, which also includes assault/drugging, is mentioned a few times.Sex scenes are also not fade-to-black, though they’re not super explicit.

Characters Guide

Protagonists

Gu Yan (顧言)Our primary protagonist. Twenty-eight-years-old at the start of the story. A fairly popular celebrity but also a flower vase with zero acting ability. Has been in a transactional relationship with Qin Zhiyuan for seven years. Knows what he wants and will plan things out carefully in order to achieve his goals.Qin Zhiyuan (秦致遠)Our secondary protagonist. Thirty-years-old at the start of the story. The eldest son of the Qin conglomerate and CEO of an entertainment company. He provides Gu Yan with resources, while the other provides him with companionship. Always wears a flawless mask and is kind and courteous to everyone.

Supporting Characters

Xiao-Chen (小陳)Gu Yan's assistant, newly appointed at the beginning of the story. Very chatty and into gossip and super enthusiastic about his work.Qin Feng (秦峰)Qin Zhiyuan's younger half-brother. A prodigal son who spends his days partying, and even more fickle in his affairs than Qin Zhiyuan. Has a crush on vendetta against Gu Yan.Tang Anna (唐安娜)A famous female celebrity in the same entertainment company as Gu Yan. According to Gu Yan, if he was into women, then Tang Anna is the kind of woman he'd go for.Zhang Ji (張奇)A newly debuted singer that Qin Zhiyuan has just taken under his wing at the beginning of the story. Referred to by Qin Feng as a "little fox" -- though Gu Yan finds his schemes just a bit too juvenile.Zhao Xin (趙辛)A famous director of literary films, and Qin Zhiyuan's childhood friend. Terrified of Gu Yan because the other once almost ruined his film with awful acting.Wang Yali (王雅莉)A lawyer and childhood friend of Gu Yan's. A very chatty person who can instantly get familiar with anyone she meets. Gu Yan considers her one of his few close friends.Lin Jiarui (林嘉睿)A director famous in the entertainment circle for his background as the littlest young master of the Lin conglomerate. Has a babyface but is also cold and expressionless most of the time. He and Gu Yan get along very well because they're both good at offending people.Qin Jing (秦勁)Qin Zhiyuan and Qin Feng's father. Very fickle in his love affairs.

Story Breakdown

While Flower Vase has nominally been listed as a "wife-chasing crematorium/scum abuse" story in a few places, it's really not quite that, though it bears some of the hallmarks, mainly in its general premise -- the main character and the love interest become separated due to the actions of the love interest, and the love interest then later works to win back the main character's love.However, what really sets this story apart for me is the characters. Gu Yan, the protagonist, isn't a pure and unsullied white lotus, while his love interest Qin Zhiyuan isn't the scum of the earth before redemption. Instead, they both feel like real people with real problems who are trying to make a relationship work.In particular, the actions which eventually lead to their separation are understandable and result from carelessness and cowardice on the love interest's part, rather than any actual cruelty or suffering. As such, at no point in the narrative is the audience baffled or confused about why Gu Yan loves Qin Zhiyuan because Qin Zhiyuan is a genuinely good person -- and even an excellent sugar daddy -- but whose fatal flaw is the very understandable human fear of vulnerability. And instead of the excessive groveling and repentance you get in traditional "wife-chasing" novels, in this one, the readers instead see the love interest slowly learning that love requires effort and courage, and then slowly put what he's learned into practice, which lends itself to some nice character growth, especially as the author's framing really captures what I personally think love is about -- Qin Zhiyuan treats Gu Yan well out of love, not out of a desire to win Gu Yan back.It also helps that Gu Yan and Qin Zhiyuan play off each other extremely well, and their banter is always a delight to read. They have an enormous amount of chemistry, and I was honestly rooting for them to reconcile before I even knew it.In short, Flower Vase is a much more straightforward romance story than a scum abuse one. So if you're looking for knives, this probably won't satisfy you. But if you want some real, genuine people trying to form a real, genuine relationship with one another, then this one delivers in spades.

Related Works

Old Dreams (舊夢)Summary: Most people in the world are like this: when you allow them to take advantage of you, they’re cold and unfeeling, but when you turn cold yourself, then they turn around and want you to take advantage of them.Relation: A story centered on Lin Jiarui who appears in the latter half of Flower Vase and his uncle. The third extra in volume two is actually the prologue + first chapter of this story, so if you've read that, you've probably already gotten a taste of how this story will go.Content Warnings: This series is much heavier than Flower Vase and touches on topics such as depression and suicidal ideation, so reader discretion is advised.

Support

While Flower Vase is free on Jinjiang, it is also censored and missing entire scenes, making the story feel a tad more disjointed than it actually is.This translation is made from the uncensored LN version, which is available from Myrics. I've included a guide below about how to register and top-up on Myrics. If you encounter any issues, feel free to contact me, and I'll do my best to help.Unfortunately, the print editions of this book are out-of-print, though you might be able to find it secondhand floating around on third-party sites like shopee.If you're interested in the author's other works, they actually have an official book out in English, The Missing Piece, which is translated by the folks over at Via Lactae.

Contact

This carrd was made by emiliers, who translated the novel into English over at Shrimp Chips Translations.If you have any comments or questions about this carrd specifically, feel free to shoot me an email via this wordpress form. I am also open to private messages on NovelUpdates, if you prefer that method.If you want to discuss anything about the translation itself, please refer to this FAQ and contact me via the methods listed there.I also have a personal Carrd for my other socials, but beware that it's not fandom focused.