Part 1 was more on Zheng Wei's youth. Part 2 is the beginning of Zheng Wei's adulthood.

Xin Yi Wu (the author) is very careful and deliberate when setting up the scene (yes she used a whole eight chapters), but if you are willing to endure (or skip aka me) then you will really get a lot out of it. I really really liked everything that happened in Part 1, especially how the author gives you insight into their more innocent way of life. The angst is really carefully built up... more>> within, without losing any of the humor or light-heartedness. But when the author wants emo, she gets it.

Our protagonist, Zheng Wei is really a very amusing person who does her best to make the most out of life. She does whatever she needs to do get what she wants but in a very cute way, and even now after her youth is over (in part 2), she is doing the most with her life. In a way, I really like her. Ruan Ruan is my favorite character though :P <<less

The novel is quite interesting. It’s like rollercoaster, ups and downs but yet very exciting. The author tries to show us what reality means. ZW youth (v1) is about how she followed her heart and did what she likes without fears and regrets. (V2) is how she became matured and did what she think is right.

I have previously read this author's other book and it was so angsty that I have stopped many a times and even after I had completed it, the characters were still revolving in my head. I was just contemplating their choices and the results they got.

And this book, *long sign*, it was so beautiful. Their journey from their youth to adulthood, god ! This author really knows how to write (even forcing the ever lazy me to write my first ever review afters years of silently reading) .

Zheng Wei.... more>> I had numerous times weighted her choices and decisions. I really didn't like when she went after him although he treated her so. It was like girl do you even want your dignity. And it isn't like he any god like person. He was just so frustrating at first. And selfish (not that being selfish is bad but he knew from the start that he would not be with her but for his selfish reasons he kept dragging and caused her so much hurt).

Even when she met him again and she started to trust him *again* I just thought how naive and childish she was behaving. I just can't digest the fact that she "loved" him. Like what good had he done for her. After all that fighting she just one fine day after seeing him with someone else came to realise that she loved him.

I believe that it was not that she loved him but she loved being with him and irritating him just became her habit. She saw it as a challenge to be around him and make him smile. And later when he was gone she was lonely and she just lacked that feeling of having a challenge and named it all on loving him.

But after I finished this book I came to realise that maybe there was really a kind of selfless love that made you give your everything to that person no matter how he treats you.

Ruan Ruan. I don't even know what to say about her. Like Wei Wei I do believe that at least at her last moment she was at peace and happy. She was really the best character I have ever read.

I just never felt bad for that person. I believe that he got more then he deserved. He didn't deserve Zheng Wei's love. I don't pity him or feel any sympathy for him.

Lao Zhang. I think her deserved more. That baby breaths!! And even more so that sentence ' I sent her to her death', it broke my heart and made me cry more than the main leads.

Honestly this book has many lessons. It was a heart touching book with thought provoking characters. And now these fictional people are going to live in my head space for a while.

And last but not the least a shout out to the translators. Thank you. Without you we wouldn't have been able to read this. <<less

In the 2nd vol at one point I just wanted Zheng Wei to just ditch both of "them". But one needs someone in their life for companionship I guess. And I strongly feel that she compromised or one could say that she become matured overtime to just accept the "one" by considering realistic situations.... also a heartfelt mention of Ruan Ruan (just love her and I think her end was very fitting for her situation as she could at least be at peace)

Also I want to say that Lin... more>> Jing's mom was very pitiful,

and I hate CXZ's character, also dont like LJ as much too but at least he is better than CXZ <<less

A beautiful novel with a lot of drama and angst, but also hope and positiveness. A story one can only appreciate after reading both parts. I know that the first part is difficult. And it doesn't help that the translation isn't complete. Several important chapters are only summarized. But what happens in the first part is extremely important to fully understand the reasons for the actions of all the protagonists in the end. I also love how the style of both the parts mirrors their age and life experiences.

Tbh, the person that FL ended up with is actually quite a surprise to me. Midway somethings just doesn’t make sense to me anymore with all the subtle hints here and there. Translator did well in bringing out the essential info but I feel maybe reading it in Chinese would make all the more sense. The difficulty in deciphering heartfelt sentences make it all that tough to understand the choices made.

This story is about a girl and 2 boys, their love story spanning from adolescence, teen to mid twenties. In... more>> between, the author included snippets of FL close friend, most prominent one would be Ruan Ruan (which is my favourite character, sorry leads). The thing that I don’t get from reading this is why doesn’t the FL just pack up her bags and leave everything behind (don’t get me wrong as I’m not encouraging her to hide her emotional baggage but to let lose and be free). As mentioned in one of the chapters, what she’s lacking after she matures and learn what not and so on, is courage. I feel that all of these unnecessary feeling of self inflicted torture could’ve been solve by simply letting go and have courage (obviously did not happen because the existence of this book).

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate this book (see the 4 star). But it’s giving me so much angst and it causes so much/a tons of negativity that I felt that reader should be cautioned with a ‘Tragedy’ tag on this book before they read. <<less