Two young woman with complicated backgrounds meet and become the first true friend either has ever had. Our MC is detached, prideful, insecure and kind. Our FL is intelligent, hardworking, inexperienced and determined. Together they experience common everyday school adventures punctuated by moments that force them to face the darkness of humanity far to young.

The world building supports their story. The characterizations are deep even when a characters position in the story is shallow. The friends they eventually make and the family they form are touching. The pacing is languid... more>> without stalling out the momentum. The climactic final tragedy was perfectly foreshadowed the whole book but still came out of nowhere.

Peace and support are what the two girls offer each other. Their love story is ultimately hopeful. It shows that if you stay true to yourself and work for what you want, you will know moments of joy in the life you live not just the destination you are seeking.

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This author also has a twisted sense of humor if that last extra is anything to go by. :-P

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I recommend this to anyone interested in a true school age friends to lovers tale.

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It is a happy ending.

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Warning: this may be triggering to some due to

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instances of violence.

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I really liked this story it's cute there are some serious stuff but other than that it's a cute gl definitely recommend this I'm surprised no one else has written a review for this too bad it's dropped. So, I agree with the review done by "Cereal Is Life" but I still liked it, it was a heartwarming story. Also, the MTL is not hard to read at all

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I'm not sure why they did that to the extras, but I did read it on MTL so maybe it becomes clearer when it's properly translated

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Edit: Omg someone picked it up!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy <<less

I enjoyed the story very much. Both the MC and the FL’s situations are bad in different ways, but they didn’t wallow in their own self-pity and worked hard towards their future, and that makes me like them very much. Their interactions and care for each other are heart-warming.

The only complaint that I have is about the translation; the grammar, dictation, and punctuation all left a lot to be desired. It’s not to the point where it’s unintelligible and I could still understand most of it, but still, a good... more>> translation would’ve made the reading experience way more enjoyable in my opinion. However, I am still thankful that there is a translation to read at all (for free at that), so I don’t hold anything against the translator, and I only hope they can improve in the future <3 <<less

One of the best school life/ slice of life novel I read so far. The MC and FL character development during the novel is quite good and very subtle making it natural. Their interaction is very fluffy even though there is a bit of angst in between. The atmosphere set by the author is very slice of life like with a good pace.

I put 5 stars even though the translation isn't very good because I really appreciated the story and I didn't want to penalize it for it. There are... more>> many grammatical and dictation mistakes but I want to encourage the translator for his next works considering that without him/her I wouldn't have had the opportunity to read this novel. <<less

A touching story depicting two high schoolers who overcome their differences to become close friends, more than friends, and eventually lovers. It was a typical school/slice of life series, so there were many contexts describing school activities and silly things that the students did together.

You Yu was a fish that could have turned into a dragon in any ocean if she wanted to, but instead, she chose to stay in a pond. Despite being tiny, the pond was filled with love and caring that she had never tasted in her... more>> life. She could have chosen to go to the best two universities if she was the loner she had been and led a successful career in the future, but she would rather choose a smaller university and stay close to her lover. To her, Chi Tang was her entire sea, one large enough for her to flourish.

Chi Tang was a pond that might have appeared stagnant and undisturbed at first look, but deep down, she was an observant, caring, hot-tempered, and down-to-earth person. She had her strengths but also weaknesses, and had she not met You Yu, she might not have overcome several traumatic events that happened in her life. It would have taken her a long time to realize her talent, but with You Yu acting as a catalyst, Chi Tang found her purpose and passion. To her, You Yu was her entire mountain, one stable enough for her to settle down her pond for life. <<less

It portrays the 3 year life in school, 16-18.

Characters

Chi Tang

... more>> She lives with her divorced father who owns a construction company who would frequently bring his friends and women to gamble and smoke in the house. She hated him so much that she wished he were dead when she was 13. She got beaten up whenever she displays any signs of rebellion and stayed to get more money for her livelihood.

Her mother left home, dating countless men while ignoring her. She grew up to be taken as everyone's burden, thus she created an invisible layer of isolation to protect herself from harm.

She has a childhood friend who chases after her desk mates, causing her to lose all her other friends and being socially inept.

You Yue

She came from the village and takes studying seriously. She wanted to change her life of being married off.

During the holidays, she would work part-time jobs to pay for her livelihood. Because of her exceptional ability to study, she gained a scholarship to study at school.

Not much intimate stuff. Kind of like a slice of life with trauma elements. Just like the author has said, it's a both-side healing process. <<less

EDIT: the section about the translation is NOT about hazevie's version. This was about the only other translation we had by the time I finished reading the novel. So please keep that in mind when you read the last paragraph!

this was my first school/slice of life baihe and I will say it was a very cozy read, mostly because the two main protagonists; chi tang and you yu. These girls are going through terrible home lives while getting through high school. Chi tang and you's relationship (both platonic and romantic)... more>> was so very easy and casual, the two of them just fit together so seamlessly that you can also feel comfortable with them and not have to worry about anything major trying to break them apart. The saddest moments of the novel involve their fathers proving every time they're on the page that some people dont deserve to have children, and especially didnt deserve to have wonderful daughters like chi tang and you yu.

i just want to say that I came out of this with so much love and affection for these girls and spent a couple of hours every day just reading more. Wanting to see their dynamic, wanting to see the moment when they realize their feelings are more than just friends, and wanting to see how it ends.

i will say that the translation left something to be desired with the way pronouns would routinely be changed from she/her to he/him, as well as narration changing from third person to first person, and it would happen enough to take you out of the story. So keep that in mind if any potential readers decide to read and find that it would be an issue for you. <<less

This novel is quite nice.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read a slow, slice-of-life story. The two main leads are wonderfully written and likable, and their relationship is really adorable as well. The supporting cast is full of personality, and I feel like the author has perfectly captured the beauty of high school youth.

However, I, personally, want to see more romantic scenes of the two leads. I feel like the part after they fell in love could be stretched out more, and it would be nice if... more>> we could get more explicit kissing scenes (though this may be due to censoring.)

All in all, this has been a really pleasant read. Finishing this novel makes me feel all fluffy and happy inside. Chi Tang and You Yu have such a green-flag relationship fr. <<less

Oh my goodness it was such an amazing read. Logical and detached characterisation though, so it's not everyone's cup of tea. The MC and FL interaction are meaningful and touching. I braced for the twist but still shocked in the end. Idk, I like the extra a lot, I wish the main story would touch their romance more.

Recommended for people who likes school life first love romance. But have slight dark themes.

Read in original chinese, so cannot comment on translation.

Love the story (progression feels abit similar to bloom into you. Story is different though. But I guess all first love stories progress similarly haha)

Rated 4stars because wanted to read more. Want to see their life after being together. Although the extras are kind of fun to read. But hoping for more.

overall its a very cute novel. The translations are sometimes a little wonky but I found it easy to read still. Near the end things kind of sped up. But I thought it was well paced and cute. Except for chapter 65, which honestly gave me a whiplash lmao. But if youre a little prepared, just bear with it, the endings rlly cute.

tw on ch 65, tags, marked for spoilers bc ill literally be spoiling that chapter:

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blood, mu*der of a few months old BABY and his mom, severe child ab*se and neglect, very VERY graphic content like dismemberment.

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This is good. It's well paced and the characters are written well. The main issue with it is that it suffers from high-school anime romcom syndrome (HARS), in that the main leads don't actually confirm their relationship until the last episode of the series. But even if it does have stage 3 HARS it's still a good story. It's not a fluffy happy story, but a bittersweet sunshine among the rainclouds sort of story. The translation is slightly dodgy at times but it's not the worst I've seen as far... more>> as translation quality is concerned. Overall it's a solid 4/5, and the only reason why it doesn't rate higher for me despite it's overall really good quality story is that it suffers from HARS. I wish it had another 20 chapters of story after the last few chapters. <<less