Ten Years Are Not That Far

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On that fated day, Qu Xi watched the suave, young and talented Gu Yan present on the lecture theater in her high school. From then on, she grabbed on and never let go, while he tried his hardest to force her away. In the end, when both of them have been reduced to their lowest points, will he truly repent? And will she accept him again?

Associated Names
One entry per line
十年不远
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
A Love So Beautiful (1)
A Slight Smile is Very Charming (1)
Hear My Heart: My World Falls into the River of Love (1)
Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love) (1)
My Mister Ostrich (1)
Still Not Wanting to Forget (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Priorities
  2. From admirer to lover
  3. All My Bookmarks
  4. FL's with mature mindsets
  5. Get my Het on

Latest Release

Date Group Release
01/19/18 Meraki Translations c5-6 (end)
01/18/18 Meraki Translations c4
01/17/18 Meraki Translations c3
01/16/18 Meraki Translations c2
01/15/18 Meraki Translations c1
Write a Review
15 Reviews sorted by


sharon.nayoung
sharon.nayoung
August 15, 2019
Status: --
It was good but there were so many turn-offs for me that I didn't know whether or laugh or just stop reading. I would have really enjoyed the premise because I adore age gap relationships (between consenting adults of course) but the two main characters were just so.... weird.

The female lead is a perfect example of a creepy, overly-obsessed girlfriend except she isn't even the male lead's girlfriend. She's possessive and stalks him every chance she gets, works in his office building and attended his former college because she wanted... more>> him so badly. She reads every book he reads, comes to his blind dates, and harasses the male lead's potential love interests. It's amazing to compare the reaction of those around her to what they could have been if it weren't a young, pretty female stalking their love interest.
Spoiler

This isn't even me over-exaggerating her actions, she literally breaks into his car while he's on a date and almost causes an accident. She could have killed him and his date, and her reaction is that "he needs to drive more carefully."

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It's ludicrous, and I get that it's supposed to be funny but from the reviews that I see, girls are idealizing her behavior and from their inability to acknowledge her creepy and inappropriate behavior they allow it because it gives them a laugh. The male lead is even described as "furious" and kicks her out of his car because of how angry he is at her reckless and dangerous behavior. She will literally go to any lengths to be near him, and she didn't even bother apologizing for almost totaling his car and killing him.

I actually sympathize with the male lead. Since he was 26, he has been relentlessly stalked and pursued by a girl who he feels no attraction for and is basically an annoyance and burden on his everyday life. He grows steadily used to her unwanted presence and he expects her to be near him every time he goes somewhere. At some point he is numb to her advances and only really shows a reaction when she does something out of routine or reckless. Such as when she shows complete respect for him and his autonomy and tells him that she won't pursue him anymore. His reaction of wanting her to be around from that point is clearly connected to how numb he is toward her stalkerish routine. Like Stockholm Syndrome. He literally only falls for her because she is constantly around him and traps him into a sense of need by her overbearing and inappropriate behavior. After years of knowing that the female lead is the only constant in his life, he feels like he loves her when in reality it's his commitment issues and past trauma with the female lead and past relationships that is making him feel this way. He should have just taken this chance to escape from her dangerous and obsessive behavior.

And can we talk about how disrespectful and backwards it is for her to never take "NO" for an answer? It's not like he had unresolved feelings for years; he literally couldn't stand her and ignored her for 8 years before the Stockholm Syndrome. She ignores his feelings and just invades his privacy for YEARS because she thinks they're perfect together. It's psychotic. How is this heartwarming or a love story in any way? She's a relentless stalker who finally got what she wanted after 8 years of stalking a man who has told her no every time she's asked. Lord, the people who rated this 5 stars without discussing her disgusting behavior are the most delusional people I've seen. Do yourself a favor and read something that doesn't normalize and romanticize stalking. If she were a male, this story would have been seen as terrible and awful. The bar must be set really low if people are saying this is a "good novel". <<less
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Miumiu
Miumiu rated it
January 17, 2018
Status: Completed
First of all who are the three idiots who rated this story 1? It's a short story, not even a half of it is completed, and you've already decided it's a 1?

Anyway, ignore those people, and if you are into cute happy ending with a bit of angst, this is the story for you.

What I love about this story is that the characters are quite complex. Take the male lead. On the surface, he seems to have this really irrational resistance to a ten year age gap. But is it... more>> really the age gap that's bothering him ? My read was, that this man was one who had been hurt before, and he wasn't prepared to trust his heart to someone till he was absolutely sure. But our MC, she just loved wholeheartedly and without any reservations.. When asked why she loves him, she can't answer ! So this is a cute short story with very relatable characters.

And thanks to the wonderful translator and editor who make the translation flow so smoothly.. <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Tikkitumble
Tikkitumble rated it
January 16, 2018
Status: c1
Ahhh I adore this author! Her stories always manage to sucker punch me all the way to my stomach and then lift my heart so high I feel like it'll burst.

Basically she makes me get the feels. I expect no less of this short story.

So far there's not a lot of action going on; we only know the male lead is 10 yrs older than our MC, and he has some sort of resistance towards the age gap. She, of course, as our stubborn female lead, doesn't give a crap... more>> and pursues him relentlessly, especially upon finding out he's broken up with his ex. We shall see what happens next. <<less
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Kagebutts
Kagebutts rated it
August 18, 2019
Status: Completed
Ten Years are not that Far

If there is one thing I have to point out it is that the male lead is kind of an as*hole and the female lead is young and persistently dumb. It's a simple short story that tries its best to pull the emotions out of you. It can easily be done in one sitting, read if you have the time and can handle the cringe and cliche scenes that the novel brings.

Also, don't think too deep into everything because that'll only make the bad points... more>> of the story more prominent. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Nom de Plume
Nom de Plume rated it
August 11, 2020
Status: Completed
5 star 5 star 5 star

Important things must be said thrice. This tearjerker was truly heartwarming. QwQ

I have to say I don't usually sympathize with the struggle of an age gap in novels, but in this particular instance the author pulled it off.

Honestly, most age gap struggles have to do more with disparate maturity and experience levels rather than the actual separation of years so the "oh he/she is 10 years older/younger" argument usually comes off quite silly. What we have in this plot is instead a man who has... more>> been hurt by someone he loved. He is shy of starting something new. A young woman approaches him with sincere feelings, but he can't trust that it's nothing more than a passing crush. She has known him a while, but she is new to him.

They both want a serious commitment, but unfortunately for this couple he doesn't see the depth behind her 'happy' smile or the efforts she has invested into being able to simply accompany him. He resists her advances to protect at first himself and eventually her too.

Let me say something unpleasant for a second. If or when they commit, they could still end up breaking up like any other couple despite their feelings for each other. Committing to a relationship is hard work, mostly because people have unrealistic expectations. He could become disillusioned and annoyed with her one day once she starts revealing her real emotions, because emotions are *uncomfortable*. People have trouble coping with their own let alone another persons. She has an even stronger chance of becoming disillusioned due to her very strong 'hero' image. I guess what I am saying is that his fears are realistic. This is what the seemingly distainful older generation means when they say something like "You're too young."

Now that I'm done with the reality check, let me just say that this is a HAPPY ENDING and this couple has a strong chance of surviving. She has suffered through his 'bad points' already and he will slowly discover and learn to love hers during his own pursuit.

Love for the entirety of the person and not just your rose colored perspective of them! This is what makes love both very easy and very hard. A healthy relationship would bring balance to those 'bad' character aspects rather than trying to remove them entirely. Think of the bickering old couple common in film. They have gone through thick and thin together. The nagging is expressing love too. The old man would inexplicitely miss it after it's gone, just like the ML in this story who finds it too quiet when she distances herself.

A bonus of this story is that he somewhat acknowledges his feelings and is trying to force her away despite this. Shoujo and such has too many Male characters who force the love interest away out of pure unadultered ignorance. People in love are s*upid, but not usually completely unaware. I have to admit that shoujo DOES capture how painful the disregard of another human being can be, so I'm not insulting that aspect. I just find it refreshing that the major crime of the ML in this story was that he put her in a dangerous situation due to *PANIC* rather than ignorance and he came back as soon as he calmed down. This flaw completely fits the plot, his character, and the emotions contained within.

I'm getting close to writing a review with more content then the story so I will stop here, but this was a particularly enriching read. Give it a try! <<less
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KichiX
KichiX rated it
April 10, 2020
Status: Completed
A bittersweet novel that is not quite bitter enough, and not quite sweet enough.

A rare case in which the FL's continued love of the ML despite everything he does is not irritating. It's short but you can sense the investment, energy, love and pain the FL has put into the ML over six years and her unwillingness to give that up despite not knowing if she can continue.

The ML's behaviour wasn't all that reprehensible either - he had no contact with the FL before she entered his company and had... more>> no idea about the depth of her feelings; he never lead her on and was careful to not take any actions that would give her hope when he knew he couldn't reciprocate. But even the best laid plans of mice and men go astray and her presence permeates his world before he realises. The end if hopeful but not conclusive.

The translator decided to put chapters five and six together because

Spoiler

in chapter five the FL is hurt badly and decides, finally, that she can't/doesn't want to continue anymore

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so posted chapter six which is the redemption, at the same time. Honestly, I feel like this is the only failing of the story - it doesn't push the bitterness far enough. There needed to be more emotional fall-out and time for to process what had happened before the redemption came. <<less
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
earlgreyt
earlgreyt rated it
January 31, 2020
Status: Completed
Tons of CN / romantic novels play on a 2nd ML to chase after the female lead and show the main ML competition. Frequently, even if the ML/2nd ML confesses, the FL will ignore him until he shows his sincerity.

... more>>
Spoiler

How do you create opportunities to show sincerity? Stalking, duh! Usually MLs will have underlings to keep track of the FL's movements with the excuse of "bodyguard/protection" or his power is so OP that he will generally just know her location from his OP IQ.

(Our MC is not an OP ML so unfortunately, she has to do the legwork herself.)

[collapse]

It's so rare to see the MC doing the chasing, so this is a great reverse trope.

Honestly other than the car thing (for humor), I don't think her behavior was at all out of line to what is normalized in these types of CN novels. (Whether or not that type of normalizing is appropriate is another question.)

We know that the MC followed the ML through all those events (school, class, work, etc.) because we see her internal monologue. The ML definitely had no idea that the MC liked him all those years, so when she first confessed, he persistently thought that she was just a kid and that her confession wasn't serious at all.

Spoiler

It's definitely not illegal to have the goal of going to the same school, major, etc as your idol and then joining his company. I don't categorize that as stalking.

[collapse]

Thus, the big majority of the novel is the MC trying to ask the ML for a chance and to prove to him that her "like" is real and worth considering.

Spoiler

This is what basically happens in regular "romantic" novels, except they won't show you how the persistent/stalker ML will create opportunities to bump into the MC. If novels were really like RL, those "random encounters" would definitely not happen in such frequency.

[collapse]

There's no stockholm syndrome because

Spoiler

the ML was not shut in by the MC and forced to only interact with the MC for an X amount of time in order to create dependency. The ML actually has the power in the relationship (as the top BOSS) economically and socially, so if he was truly annoyed, he could have ended the MC's chance to buzz around him at any time by telling her to cut it out or be fired for harrassment.

This is very very different power dynamic from your typical ML-chasing-the-FL who will bother the FL no matter what she wants because in those situations, the person-being-chased is lower on the socio-economic ladder and has no power to prevent the chaser.

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Translation is great, do give it a chance if you want to read a short role reversal romcom. <<less
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jasminefever
jasminefever rated it
April 9, 2024
Status: --
FL (of broken family) falls for ML and pursues him (even though they have age gap of 10). FL follows his path and joins his company as an employee. FL witnesses ML get dumped by his ex girlfriend. FL helps ML in wreaking his blind dates. The ML eventually starts to love her when FL choose to give up. FL quits her job. ML misses her and meets her in her college where he was asked to give a lecture. FL tells him she gave up the pursuit when he... more>> replies that he likes her. The novel ends with an open ending where she tells him to pursue her. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Serena12195
Serena12195 rated it
April 24, 2019
Status: c1
Theis story is beautiful. I nearly cried at the end. It was perfectly short and well balanced and it had a sweet happy ending of Hope's being met.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
xuexin
xuexin rated it
September 17, 2018
Status: Completed
Good story. The ending was not bad, but it could have made for a promising sequel if it was changed. If you want that modern love story with heart wrenching pain with a good ending, this story is for you.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
MelindaSue1
MelindaSue1
July 27, 2022
Status: --
I love and hate this story equally. I’m frustrated with FL and want to knock the the ML in the head to see if it has an echo. On the other hand it made me both laugh and cry. And I’ve reread it a dozen times. So I guess this makes it a good one. It’s short and quick. I also have it to thank for introducing me to the translator, Meraki. She has a lot of other good reads on the website. As an American reader, I can tell... more>> you it’s one of the best translations out there. <<less
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chande
chande rated it
April 15, 2022
Status: Completed
The story was actually quite sweet and cute but it wasn't perfect. I love FL's determination to love ML for 6 years although she got rejected many times but I couldn't agree with her stalker-ish behaviour, that was: following ML to his blind date and even tried to wreck it. She also didn't give ML any chance to breath and think calmly about his feeling.

ML also had his own flaw. I don't like how he belittled FL's feeling for him just because she was young.

The ending was a bit rushed.... more>> I mean, after 5 chapters of unrequited love, I really want to see what it would be when they're getting together but the story ended just after:

Spoiler

ML promised to pursue FL this time.

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Ahhh...I wish this story could be a little longer. <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Sisi_Lisa
Sisi_Lisa rated it
October 8, 2019
Status: Completed
this was supposed to be 5 star
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
mielru
mielru rated it
August 20, 2019
Status: Completed
Bitter-sweet love story. Not particularly like.
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Arie Sun
Arie Sun rated it
January 19, 2019
Status: Completed
One word to describe this, it is cheesy. Definitely a shoujo type not josei. I went through everything trying to search other reviewer's comment that said there are heart wrenching moment and I found none.

If this is heart wreaching, you either in your teenagerdom with angsty days, never read real heart wrenching novels with good plot or your bar is just set low.
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