The mom and auntie Ren definitely come across as exes, it seems like they on relatively good terms though which is nice.

I think that should be the case, yeah. Taking the elements we have and filling in the gaps with the simplest possible explanations in a Ockham's razor-y kind of way, I end up with something like this:

1) Mom and auntie Ren were lovers in college.
2) Mom dumped auntie Ren because, y'know, the usual reasons: "Gotta stop playing around, gotta grow up, gotta do my filial duty, gotta marry and have children!"
3) Mom married some guy and had Youzi. Then she divorced him because she's a lesbian and having to put out for him sucked big time and she couldn't take it anymore.
4) Mom became a famous actress, Ren became a famous singer.
5) They meet again (partly thanks to Youzi) and Ren finds out that mom is living alone and raising her kid by herself... and that she often sings to Youzi the secret love song she and Ren wrote together while in college.

Present time, Youzi suspects that mom and auntie Ren still love each other but are silly & useless about it. Maybe mom also feels guilty for hurting Ren before and feels she doesn't deserve to get her back.

This are my best guesses given the evidence we have.

Speculating based on likely scenarios is well and good, but keep in mind occam's razor applies to real world explanations, not necessarily fictional ones.

When analyzing stories, it's usually a better bet to go with that which provides the most satisfying drama, but it depends heavily on author preference. The simplest explanation is often NOT the correct one.

Another possibility is that Ren left Mom because her early career didn't actually allow for her to have a girlfriend. Idols in Japan and Korea are encouraged to stay away from romance, I don't know if China is different in that respect. They may also have just split up because of their careers. It's also possible that Mom wanted to have a kid, not just out of obligation or heteronormative paradigms. She seems to genuinely cherish her daughter, and artificial insemination is looked down on in some asian cultures. (again, I don't know enough about China specifically on this issue)

1) Mom and auntie Ren were lovers in college.
2) Mom dumped auntie Ren because, y'know, the usual reasons: "Gotta stop playing around, gotta grow up, gotta do my filial duty, gotta marry and have children!"
3) Mom married some guy and had Youzi. Then she divorced him because she's a lesbian and having to put out for him sucked big time and she couldn't take it anymore.
4) Mom became a famous actress, Ren became a famous singer.
5) They meet again (partly thanks to Youzi) and Ren finds out that mom is living alone and raising her kid by herself... and that she often sings to Youzi the secret love song she and Ren wrote together while in college.

Present time, Youzi suspects that mom and auntie Ren still love each other but are silly & useless about it. Maybe mom also feels guilty for hurting Ren before and feels she doesn't deserve to get her back.

I like the way you think. I don't know if all of this background will ever be shown to us, and in fact it's better if some parts like the hetero marriage are never illustrated, but the story between them was most likely like this.

Hard agree the Ren and the mom are exes, but I'm wondering if Youzi has realized that? I feel like she's either naively or willingly turning a blind eye to that possibility in order to push for, what she thinks, is an obvious answer to the current situation.

Hard agree the Ren and the mom are exes, but I'm wondering if Youzi has realized that? I feel like she's either naively or willingly turning a blind eye to that possibility in order to push for, what she thinks, is an obvious answer to the current situation.

As based as Youzi is, we can't forget that she's still a kid/teenager who essentially just wants her mom to be happy, if a little pushy/overenthusiastic. The finer details of her moms possible relationship history are likely escaping her

And now more people are being dragged into lil' Youzi's scheming. That certainly won't cause problems down the road :D

I'm all here for it though.

Ho' boy, things are picking up speed and Youzi's pulling in reinforcements. Seems like there was a speech bubble from her dad that is part of the memory that may play a role later on. Just have to wait and see.

honestly forget the mom and her maybe-ex-lover friends, I'm more interested in Caicai and Youzi. These two are so cute lol.

honestly I think that Youzi might just be gay and crushing on Caicai even if unknowingly and she's wholesale projecting on her mom right now, regardless of whether her mom is interested in women herself. Which like if I end up being correct would be very fun.

Alternative title: FAN SHIPPER, the Mahua!!

honestly I think that Youzi might just be gay and crushing on Caicai even if unknowingly and she's wholesale projecting on her mom right now, regardless of whether her mom is interested in women herself. Which like if I end up being correct would be very fun.

I almost wonder if it's CaiCai who has the crush and is helping Youzi as a way to get closer to her and her mom. Regardless, they are cute together and I want to see more of them.

It will be a real tear-jerker when she admits she's going to move them to Japan and voice Hibike Euphonium Season Three, is all I can say.

Also, I am a lukewarm Auntie Ren shipper, though Auntie Chen is also okay.

But Lil' Louzi/Cai Cai all the way, right?

last edited at Apr 12, 2022 3:10PM

The mom and auntie Ren definitely come across as exes, it seems like they on relatively good terms though which is nice.

I think that should be the case, yeah. Taking the elements we have and filling in the gaps with the simplest possible explanations in a Ockham's razor-y kind of way, I end up with something like this:

1) Mom and auntie Ren were lovers in college.
2) Mom dumped auntie Ren because, y'know, the usual reasons: "Gotta stop playing around, gotta grow up, gotta do my filial duty, gotta marry and have children!"
3) Mom married some guy and had Youzi. Then she divorced him because she's a lesbian and having to put out for him sucked big time and she couldn't take it anymore.
4) Mom became a famous actress, Ren became a famous singer.
5) They meet again (partly thanks to Youzi) and Ren finds out that mom is living alone and raising her kid by herself... and that she often sings to Youzi the secret love song she and Ren wrote together while in college.

Present time, Youzi suspects that mom and auntie Ren still love each other but are silly & useless about it. Maybe mom also feels guilty for hurting Ren before and feels she doesn't deserve to get her back.

This are my best guesses given the evidence we have.

Agree with everything except for 2/3 as we have no evidence for that. Could be right, but from what we know in manga it says Ren went abroad for many years (in the flashback when Youzi is 6 years old, Ren says she came back a month ago). So whatever happened between them to break up could be either before Ren left(causing her to leave), because she left, or after she left. And for now I didn't see anything to suggest either of those is the way it was.

Ohhhh, HERE'S the actual love interest. Ren's an ex, and Chen's just a touchy friend. CaiCai's mom has a crush on Youzi's mom, or they're tentatively dating.

Ohhhh, HERE'S the actual love interest. Ren's an ex, and Chen's just a touchy friend. CaiCai's mom has a crush on Youzi's mom, or they're tentatively dating.

Oh god, I was kind of shipping CaiCai and lil' Youzi based on chapter 2, So I guess I hope that doesn't happen if they end up as sisters in law lmao

A new/actual love interest could be fun, what if she's another ex though?

So many options... I'd be fully on board with CaiCai and lil' Youzi parent trapping them though.

Wait.. isn't Caicai and lil youzi cousin? I thought i read somewhere that theyre bff and cousin?

Wait.. isn't Caicai and lil youzi cousin? I thought i read somewhere that theyre bff and cousin?

You are likely misremembering chapter 2, I think. When Mom was talking about totally normal ways "good friends" are close Youzi was thinking of Caicai. When Mom mentioned the cousin the image shown was a different girl.

So, basically, Caicai and Cousin are different girls.

last edited at Apr 13, 2022 12:27PM

The wait is killing me
(:」∠)_

I’ve come to make an announcement!

Well...this is getting intriguing. Looks like some of the other characters are also going to be playing matchmaker.

I’ve come to make an announcement!

Shadow the hedgehog is a bitch ass MF

last edited at Apr 29, 2022 2:07PM

lol, she's found a shipping ally, even if she's in it for the reactions xD

last edited at Apr 29, 2022 2:12PM

Oh it was kinda cool to see a first-person perspective for the first half, pretty creative!

Looks like everyone is getting in on the shipping game, this should be fun :D

Ohhhh, HERE'S the actual love interest. Ren's an ex, and Chen's just a touchy friend. CaiCai's mom has a crush on Youzi's mom, or they're tentatively dating.

I’m guessing CaiCai’s mom is getting in on the shipping operation because she invited Auntie Ren to be on the same show as Youzi’s mom last minute after seeing the picture Youzi sent :o

last edited at Apr 29, 2022 2:31PM

Ohhhh, HERE'S the actual love interest. Ren's an ex, and Chen's just a touchy friend. CaiCai's mom has a crush on Youzi's mom, or they're tentatively dating.

I’m guessing CaiCai’s mom is getting in on the shipping operation because she invited Auntie Ren to be on the same show as Youzi’s mom last minute after seeing the picture Youzi sent :o

Eh, it could be a couple of things. This chapter established a few things for sure: Caicai's mom is "President Chen", who is a different person from "Auntie Chen." Ren will go against type for a chance to be on the same stage as Mom, and Auntie Chen is definitely just a friend, (And a bit of a troll.)

But what we don't know is what President Chen thinks of Mom and Ren. It could be that she's on board the ship, or it could be that she thinks it'll make good television, OOOOOR it could be that she's the one Mom is actually dating and she's putting them together to see if she has anything to worry about. Too soon to tell.
(oh, actually, fourth possibility is that Pres Chen didn't make the call here at all. It could be that it's just Auntie Chen stirring the pot.)
Edit: (wait, nevermind, it did say President Chen personally called to make the arrangements.)

(I busted a gut at "Youzi.exe has stopped working.")

As for the speculation about Youzi and Caicai, eh, I could see Caicai having a crush, I don't think Youzi is thinking about her own feelings for anybody, and I definitely don't think she's projecting. She seems pretty genuinely concerned about her mom's happiness, and the flashback to her mom and dad's fights probably informs her conclusions more than we know. I don't think Caicai is even on her radar as anything other than an accomplice as of yet.

last edited at Apr 29, 2022 3:14PM

TRY TO SAY NO THAT FACE! I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DARE YOU MF