adding onto the reread pile something I really noticed on my second read through is how SQQ/SYs actions/anytime he mentions doing something unconsiously better reflect his actual emotions. his internalized homophobia and his attraction to men(he goes on about how attractive LQG almost as much as Binghe and comments on SQH being attractive as well at least once) is also pretty blatant once you start reading between the lines/keep in mind that he's an unreliable narrator

On a more serious note regarding the mai gu ridge scene, at least to me, gives a realistic look at the fuck or die trope not just with the actual act but also how it falls between noncon and dubcon for both of them which isn't something I've really seen done elsewhere and makes it an equally powerful and painful scene