Recently, a lot of the BL comics I follow have ended. I've been trying to read new ones, but most of them were toxic, and the plots were almost nonexistent. So, I tried searching for completed ones under the Shounen ai category. Mostly, if I want to read BL with a much better plot, searching for shounen ai is the way to go.
While searching, I stumbled upon a Webcomic originally from Bilibili. Only the original version is available, but luckily, I still found the English version online. It's called It's Not As If I Wanted to Dress Like a Woman.
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The story is about Lin Zicheng, a straight man who decides to accept a job offer that requires him to dress like a woman for a tripled salary.
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His only family is his grandma. He decided to take on the job to help her. She took some loans from her neighbors and acquaintances to send Lin Zicheng to school, and now they're in debt. She's not as healthy as she used to be, so she's no longer able to work as much as she used to.
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Although reluctantly, he took on the job. He happened to be very beautiful in women's clothing. Now the question is, why does he have to wear women's clothing?
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The CEO of the company, Gu Fang, is allergic to women. Well, it's not a physical condition, but more of a psychological one.
He had a traumatic childhood experience related to his mom, which later developed into fear and distrust of women. Although psychological, he feels uncomfortable and even physically ill whenever he's in close proximity to women.
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When Gu Fang first saw the woman version of Lin Zicheng, he was confused because he didn't experience the usual symptoms. And to top it off, he found "her" really attractive and fell in love at first sight.
What will happen to Lin Zicheng and Gu Fang? Will Gu Fang find out Zicheng's real identity? Or will the "straight" Zicheng develop feelings for the CEO?
It was such a fun read. The plot was interesting, and the characters were all so amusing to see.
I like how the story explored not only the budding romance between the two main characters but also their life situation. Zicheng's family matters, and Gu Fang's past trauma... and how the two actually had a connection in the past.
And oh, the other guy is quite likeable, too... and the side pairing was so funny and adorable.
It's heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. I consider it a great healing after reading toxic and frustrating BL comics. hahaha
It's so interesting because there were a lot of misunderstandings... but for some reason, I didn't feel frustrated watching the scenes unfold.
Also, the art style is so pretty! I guess this kind of art style is common in Chinese manhua. It's soft and beautiful.
I've read a Korean comic that also involved crossdressing for important reasons, and I really liked that one too. It was harder to read, though, because it was the serious, darker type. In contrast, this one is more lighthearted and even comedic at times. I love both of them, though... :)
Overall, it was a fantastic read.
I'll end this post here. Thanks for reading, and see you around! (^^,)/
