As an adult reading the past events unfold in a sad spiral, is so hurtful bcs now you know better that there are some things that you can let slide but when you are younger you tend to let these things ruin you. But they grew up, not as what they expected but the best that they can be and you can read their POV where the world has tempered them but they are still the kids you love in the flashback.

Priest's writing and chai's TL brings the best out of Guomen, so many quotes that bring me to tears. In fact after finishing Book 2, I cried as I went to sleep.

In the beginning it's always Xu Xilin giving in and trying to reach a resolution. He's the one who's better at relationships and Dou Xun was super stubborn when he was young. Even when they made up after fights they never truly resolved the problem. I think that's one of the reasons why the breakup was inevitable among other things. When they later reconcile, it's clear how much Dou Xun has matured and their relationship just makes you melt ahhhhh.

I was so sad when she suddenly passed away T_T. Just like in life, your loved ones can pass away without warning. She worked so hard and never had time for herself.

'And today, he realized that there was something he was unable to achieve—he wanted Dou Xun but he didn't want to be gay.'

At the same time, following his usual way of thinking, Xu Xilin again thought of the uncountable difficulties that lay ahead, of the pointed fingers he had endured more than ten years ago, of the labels like "freak, " "AIDS, " "Hepatitis B" and "reform camp inmate" that he would not be able to peel off for the rest of his life.

"For a while, he felt happy, but it was followed by a bout of worry. His habit of worrying was surfacing again and he started to think about things far in the future. If the two of them continue to go down this way, what will they do when they reach the age where other people got married and had kids? What would happen when Uncle Dou and his godmother found out? If either one of them had a change of heart and the relationship could not last, how would they continue to interact with each other in the future?

I took away some stars for the accident that happened towards the end. I feel like a lot of authors use the "in an almost fatal accident" to quickly resolve those characters who would otherwise get in the way of a perfect happy ending with a bow on the top. Also, get that last bit of tears squeezed out from an already dehydrated reader, before opening up a grand vista to a happily ever after. It was not necessary in my opinion.

coming of age story where MC and ML fall in love during their high school/university days but circumstances and differing priorities pushes them apart for nearly a decade. They meet again after they've each gone through the ups and downs of adulthood and both matured miles beyond the childish temperaments from when they first started dating. Younger ML was outlandish in his affections and oftentimes overbearing; whereas younger MC had difficulty accepting the fact that he's gay and he often see-saws between loving ML and worrying about its implications. After the time-skip, they reconcile. ML learns to slow down and go at mc's pace, and MC learns to accept himself and ML wholeheartedly. They are much more content now, and they begin a new chapter of their lives together again now that their relationship stood on sturdier grounds.