Yeah :( I am very Do Not Want about the trope, even if (as here) the author has put it to effective use and minimised the inherent grossness on it.

I really liked how the vibe of the novel was so 新青年! I don't want to give the impression that it deals with the historical-social aspect in anywhere as much depth as Ba Jin's Home/Autumn/Spring trilogy — this is fundamentally a romance novel, after all, and Mu Xing's family is much much more progressive and supportive than the patriarchal nightmare that's Ba Jin's Gao family — but the general themes of modernity, feminism and independence from traditionally family models still resonate pretty strongly.