I'm with you on your take. I had the same thoughts. I don't think dev is likely to backpedal on the rework, as they clearly went to great lengths to quell the anger of the players. It certainly seems like they understood what players were upset about, and did a complete 180 on the characters. This is, after all, a porn game, which cannot succeed if players don't like the girls, and in the original version there was not a single likeable girl. Now the daughters, and even the secretary are very likeable characters.
MC was also substantially rewritten, and is no longer spineless. He made it clear he intends to cut his wife off financially, after hearing that she's spending his money on trips with her new boytoy. He is also taking a firm stance against Vincent's attempts to take over his company.
I have a strong feeling that the wife is going to show up before long, especially if MC carries through on his plan to cut her off. However, I think she will only be an antagonist, probably attempting to get his money by manipulating the girls(especially the one he chooses as an heir). I really hope she won't end up as an LI, particularly after Valery basically said she's the town bicycle, but if she does become an LI at some point, hopefully she will be avoidable.
Overall, I think the effort put into the rework is a great sign that the dev is trying to make a game that their target audience will enjoy. I think the dev has earned a good bit of trust already, but I would also like to see them engage with this community moving forward.
