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Series Group
Appearance and Departure
Type
Web Novel (CN)
Genre
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Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 82 votes)
5    40% (33 votes)
4    24% (20 votes)
3    18% (15 votes)
2    7% (6 votes)
1    10% (8 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2018
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
10 chapter + 14 extra
24 chapters in total
completed
36 Chapters + 2 Extras (jjwxc)
38 Chapters + 3 Extras (Qimao)
Licensed
Yes
Completely Translated
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
Release Frequency
Every 61 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #2000
Monthly Rank: #4380
All Time Rank: #11887
Reading List
[Graph]
On 763 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #45388
All Time Rank: #12031

Description

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Ever since an incident three years ago, art school graduate Shen Mo hasn’t been able to paint with his right hand. He’s currently working a desk job in a company owned by the Ji family, one of the wealthiest families in the city. Unbeknownst to his coworkers, however, he has a far more important role: the fake lover of the Ji family’s young CEO, Ji Mingxuan.

Ever the perfectionist, Ji Mingxuan makes Shen Mo put on the full act, both in public and in the bedroom. Their fake relationship continues this way, until Ji Mingxuan’s sister returns from abroad with her boyfriend—Shen Mo’s ex.

Once the four are reunited, the nightmares that Shen Mo has tried so desperately to escape catch up to him at last. As the lovers’ acting becomes more and more real, Shen Mo begins to learn about the things that Ji Mingxuan is keeping from him, as well as the truth of what really happened three years ago.

Only one question left:

What will become of a love founded on pretense?

Associated Names
One entry per line
Closer Than Strangers, Farther Than Lovers
Mao He Shen Li
The Missing Piece
貌合神离
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
N/A
Recommendation Lists
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  5. random tiktok finds

Latest Release

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Write a Review
7 Reviews sorted by


lilylili
lilylili rated it
April 3, 2025
Status: Completed
Good for when you're looking for something angsty to read. I personally just took this as just seeing MC's (Shen Mo) development because I do not vibe with the ML.

ML is presented as your typical s*um gong but a few hints of tenderness here and there. Then when it was revealed ... more>>
Spoiler

that he "exposed" MC and his ex's relationship to ex's family which caused ex's mother to harm MC so that ex would get together with ML's lil sister (has a crush on MC's ex since they were childhood). This HAD ME FUMING throughout the novel.

However, revealed on the CH 35 out of 37. ML didn't actually fully revealed the relationship but hinted ex's relationship (not specifically gay relationship) when wanting to drop the marriage arrangement between ex & lil sis.

[collapse]

At that point of the story it already feels like lackluster reveal like a last minute character cleanse. It would be better if it was revealed a few chapter after ML's confession so the readers doesn't stew with hatred for like most of the chapters just be flicked with "oh that's not what really happen" 2 chapters before the end of the novel.

Anyway, still made me tear up and got my angst dose so 4 stars.

Translation by Shanghai Fantasy. Quite fine & readable but confusing use of pronouns (lot of "I" instead of she/he or others; a few interchanging of she or he) which should be an easy fix but oh well <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Sloffins
Sloffins rated it
July 25, 2025
Status: Completed
I would have done a 3.5 rating if I could. Here's my thoughts on this novel:

I read the published version, so I'm used to the title "The Missing Piece", but "Appearance and Departure" is actually quite sweet for the story of these two. Via Lactea is not the best publisher in the world either, commonly having printing errors, but don't let that ever stop you from reading a book. It's their inability, not the author. The writing from the author was actually quite a smooth and nice read.

Our MC is... more>> Shen Mo. He is a graduated arts major with quite the history. While he is kind of shut in, he's also very willing to do things for people he cares about. Meanwhile, the ML is Ji Mingxuan, the attractive son of the rich Ji family. He has a cold exterior, and he only opens his heart up to those who he deems are important in his life.

There is a lot of deep connections between the characters. This review is difficult to write without getting into spoilers! What I can say is: the story is how Shen Mo and Ji Mingxuan finally found each other at the right time after many bad timings.

I honestly didn't dislike a single character. Each was very good with their own personality. I was particularly fond of Ji An'an. She was very sweet and devastating. Zhou Yang was even a great character too, and despite him being cold to Ji An'an and Shen Mo's ex, after you learn more about him and understand, it's easy to forgive him and see his side of things.

There are a few things I can complain about however that led to my lowered rating. For instance, Shen Mo is in a tragic incident which gives him PTSD, and Ji Mingxuan is the one who watches over him during that time. He held back for a while and respected Shen Mo, but I still didn't like how he did end up getting a bit intimate with him even while Shen Mo was sick. Overall with this issue, I've seen a lot worse, so this wasn't too horrible.

Another issue I had was lack of the current time. Even in the author's note it was explained there was some struggles with it. The choice of flashback placements was weird. I can't explain it. I'd rather the book have started off with their history instead of throwing through like it did. You start out with seeing how very clearly Ji Mingxuan is into Shen Mo, get some incidents happening that lead up to a big scare! And then are thrown into a flashback. After the flashback, you get thrown into a three year time skip. It was just a bit messy.

Overall, the novel was alright, but it was stellar or anything. I don't regret reading it, but it's not something I would be like, "Hey, you have to read this novel!" but if someone asked for a novel with exes, miscommunication, angst and comfort, a good portrayal of a mental illness, and a happy ending with plenty extras, I would think of this one. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Tpsnd
Tpsnd rated it
August 13, 2025
Status: Completed
I won't go into details as the other reviews pretty much outlined everything.

What I would say is.. Don't get misled by how the story starts. I was a bit thrown off by the beginning but was pleasantly surprised as it progressed and mainly during the flashbacks.

The flashback placement seem to have kind of diluted the emotions the readers would have otherwise felt.

The more I think about the intention behind the order, the more I understood and was amused by author's choice of flashback placement because it felt like peeling out... more>> each layer and knowing more and more about the Protagonist Mingxuan as each chapter went by. So, I don't have complaints with it.

I personally loved it and this is definitely going into my re-read list.

I couldn't resist adding a spoiler about my favorite aspect that I usually have a soft spot for..

Spoiler

The inclusion of the kid's arc towards the end won me over. I always thought stories where the protagonists end up together while raising a kid or a sibling are just adorable.

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<<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
serenahuang
serenahuang rated it
August 6, 2025
Status: Completed
I'm surprised by the low reviews. I thought this story was a nice read, nothing groundbreaking but very enjoyable. A spicy romance with some angst and heartbreak, and soft (er) depictions of grief and PTSD that make this a less intense read - which is sometimes what you want! Pretty 'fluffy' in general with some angst to make the story more interesting and 3 dimensional. It falls into the category of a nice read and because it's not too long, maybe reread category for me.

As for the misunderstandings, yes there... more>> are plenty but not in the overly aggravating drawn out way that is common in webnovels or other romances. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
yinpooka
yinpooka rated it
December 13, 2025
Status: Completed
I thought about reading a random novel for fun and I found a gem with this one. The misunderstanding trope was so well written and integrated to the story, you don't even realise it's there until the very end, which is what I loved so much. Definitely worth reading if you like heartthrobs. ╰ (⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝) ╯
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Misswasteland
Misswasteland rated it
September 1, 2025
Status: --
I read this one without expecting anything. I didn't even know what it was about. And I can tell you it was a pleasant surprise. It's very emotional e focus mainly on the main couple's feeling. The author states she didn't know what to do with one of the characters at the beginning and it shows. His personality does change a little bit. But makes de plot twist more surprising.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
whatisoatmeal
whatisoatmeal rated it
April 21, 2026
Status: Completed
I just wanted to add a review here because the rating is lower than some other novels that I considered worse tbh. I will say that this novel is quite angsty, at least at the beginning, so if you're looking for a sweet, happy read from the start, you're probably not going to like the book. That said, I really REALLY liked the first half of the book, so much that I even re-read it after a year (I literally never do that).

As you can tell from the description, the... more>> MC (Shen Mo) is unaware of a lot of things,
Spoiler

he has amnesia

[collapse]
and you literally learn alongside him what happened in the past. My favourite thing about this book is that you feel entirely confused and detached the entire time, wondering wtf is going on. There's never any clarity offered as to the MC/ML relationship, and the entire plot seems entirely bizarre. That is all intentional!! As you learn what's happening in the story and what happened in the past, you realise how much the tone of the novel was entirely in pace with the MC's feelings and wellbeing.

If you'd like a detailed explanation:
Spoiler

MC's ex unintentionally causes MC to get kidnapped and injured. This causes him to have PTSD, manifested through him confusing ML for his ex. ML feels guilty for the incident (he was partially at fault), so he keeps helping MC, eventually entering a relationship with him, while unwillingly acting as his ex. Eventually MC recovers and realised he's together with a stranger... they break up, but during that time MC loses his memory again, entirely forgetting everything. ML finds him and thinking MC hates him and is pretending not to know him on purpose, offers him a sugar baby type contract to keep him close and live out a fake relationship. Except that MC really doesn't remember anything... and basically just accepts ML's version of the events: which is that MC got injured in the incident caused by his ex, and ML is a stranger who's pretending to be his boyfriend so that MC doesn't get back together with said ex (ex is also engaged to ML's sister, so that is his 'motivation'). Essentially when the novel starts, MC has like 3 memories in total, and has been living for a couple years with a sugar daddy who is super weird and upset all the time for no reason. It was amazing going from this, to realising how much ML actually loves him, and what actually happened throughout their relationship.

[collapse]

I was so impressed by this that I couldn't help but love this novel and the way it made me feel, even though the second part (after timeskip) is not that good. It's a happy ending (hope that's not a spoiler) so nothing bad happens... but the main point of the novel is the history between the two characters, that is hidden from the very beginning. Once that is out, a timeskip takes place - which imo lessened the emotional intensity of the book. It's not that it's a bad ending, but it's just.. boring. I think the author writes angst better or something, because the first part of the book is so good that it blows the second out of the water.

in any case, I really recommend giving this novel a try!! As I said... there's novels rated higher on here that are not nearly as good. <<less
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