...body odor is apparently a kink I did not know about

Previously, I expressed a confusion of ABO popularity in cishet romances and wondered if body odor was some kind of kink.

Welp, as I read more and more and more of 《君子无咎》, I'm starting to get the sense that body odor is, in fact, some kind of kink. Because apparently these super tops are able to smell other people's lascivious intentions... (I should clarify that the story is not an ABO setting. These are regular ass normal humans set in IRL Tang dynasty. Doesn't stop super sniffers from existing.)

The BL parts are seriously a turn off. The constant ability to smell competition or feelings is...I don't have words for how much I hate it. Especially in contrast to the actual plot of government corruption, which is actually entertaining enough that I want to keep reading.

I'm so frustrated that writers are just falling down over and over and over on the BL relationship parts of their story. (I've also noticed the same problem with cishet romances in mainstream stories; it always ends up being the stupidest take and ruins an otherwise enjoyable plot.) I don't even hate romance as a rule. I just want the romance not to be intensely stupid! Why can't people just act awesome instead of turning into petty little shits (with super dog noses while they're at it) when romance is on the table?!

(Basically, why can't romance be more similar to the Steve/Peggy dynamic? Awesome people who are more awesome together.)