Tracy Hu continues to impress me with the character writing, alongside the godly art and scene making of course.

I wasn't sure what this conversation would be about, but I like the way the tables turned on Yunduo, and the commonalities they found with each other, really unorthodox way to handle the "love rivals chat together" trope.

Her jumping and the sandals flying off got a good laugh from me, I love how comically expressive the art is. Also that serious conversation really hit hard.

Her jumping and the sandals flying off got a good laugh from me, I love how comically expressive the art is.

That last page looked kind of different--I feel like it's her version of "chibi".

So Xingyuan is gay, 100% lesbian, but Xiaoen is bi and only had had crushes on boys till now?

Well, male celebs. No real crushes on real people at all, apparently. And for that matter, we know very little about Yunduo's sexuality--we know she has a fixation on one woman, and it seems like she didn't marry for love, but that doesn't actually tell us for sure that she doesn't/can't like guys, just not the particular one she married.

So Xingyuan is gay, 100% lesbian, but Xiaoen is bi and only had had crushes on boys till now?
Huh. I wasn't expecting that.
For me it's more surprising than the reveal of Yunduo's feelings.

The thing is that crushing on some distant figure isn't an actual crush. It's a common mistake people make.

You can only really be totally sure when you feel romantically and/or sexually attracted to a person you meet, face to face.

This is especially common for homosexual kids. They want to fit in, and they're being gaslit from every direction about who they should like. So it can get pretty obsessive and weird on that front.

last edited at Nov 28, 2023 3:45AM

Yundao realizes that nothing she could have done would have changed anything. It's unfortunate. Xingyuan made the perfect point in that her and Yundao are the same. Xingyuan is basically going through the same thing Yundao did and teetering on making the same mistakes too. They really do mirror each other but by talking in the way she did, Xingyuan unknowingly highlighted some differences in how they view Xiaoen that seperate her from Yundao and I think Yundao could feel that.

Things didn't go the way Yundao wanted with Xiaoen because Yundao was/is a different person than Xingyuan and she realizes that there's nothing that would have changed that reality. Its really unfortunate since she's clearly retracing her steps in search of where the errors were in her life and she can't seem to firmly grasp anything that isn't tied to her own choices or lack thereof. Seems like she feels trapped by it. Maybe she'll get something out of this though, some closure.

last edited at Nov 28, 2023 6:42AM

... well the difference between them is simple and most important one, the light tries to come to Xingyuan, didn't happen to Yunduo apparently :P

That forehead kiss was chefs kiss perfetto

last edited at Nov 28, 2023 10:51AM

That was some tantrum. Even her flipflops went flying!

Never change, Xiaoen.

What a damn great chapter.
Also the last panel was the cherry on top.
Thanks for the o!

Did I forget something, or is Yunduo just bitter about getting friendzoned because she wasn't being honest and forthcoming about her romantic feelings when she had a chance? Because to me it seems like S.S. Yunduo-Xiaoen sailed like a decade ago.

Really liking these chapters though; getting to explore all of these conflicting emotions and uncertainties...

last edited at Nov 28, 2023 1:28PM

i feel bad that yunduo struggles with internalized homophobia, but god she pisses me off.

Excellent.

^^ REALNESS

i feel bad that yunduo struggles with internalized homophobia, but god she pisses me off.

Yeah. I get her feelings and her struggle, but it really bothers me how she keeps taking it out on Xingyuan. She's clearly jealous and angry that Xingyuan is getting the attention from Xiaoen that she wishes she had, and that's causing her to passive-aggressively try and squash their relationship. But while Xiaoen is too kind to realize it, Xingyuan recognizes exactly the kind of self-loathing she's struggling with, and cuts right through Yunduo's bullshit.

It probably bothers Yunduo, too. She's smart enough to know what she's doing with these comments and feeling incredibly guilty about them, but they seem to be somewhat impulsive, probably the expression of her repressed feelings too bitter to remain buried. She doesn't seek out Xingyuan to snipe at her, rather it's when she's already in a conversation with her alone and Xingyuan says something and Yunduo responds in a pessimistic way. She's not trying to be a bully or take things out on Xingyuan but the person who can do what she cannot has multiple times now come to her for advice on how to do that exact thing, and god it probably eats her alive to hear it.

Yundao has been putting everyone else over herself and putting off self care and stress relief this whole time. She's got so much pressure built up that it's amazing she's merely leaking a bit of hater instead of exploding after being poked by these events.

last edited at Nov 28, 2023 4:32PM

Is it just me or does the author somehow manage to keep the story really warm and cozy while also including bits of drama and excellent character development?

Is it just me or does the author somehow manage to keep the story really warm and cozy while also including bits of drama and excellent character development?

No, I'd say that is in fact happening. I am a happy man when I see a new chapter.

[...]
you know, i looked over it again and i think it's far less clear than i thought. based on the text it's completely possible that yunduo is upset because she feels like xiaoen didn't trust her or that she's been a bad friend for not supporting her or something. maybe she's even been trying to set xiaoen up with guys for years. i still think my original interpretation is probably the right one but this was an interesting lesson in how much you can bring to a text.

I really doubt the possibility of her trying to set Mu Xiaoen with guys, considering how she seemed to think of it as a burden when it came from her father. I think that with all that we've been shown so far, her being in love with Mu Xiaoen is the most plausible explanation. But we'll probably see more on this in the next chapter.

i agree, like i said i was just commenting on a different possible reading of the literal text given the conversation we'\d been having.

What a sweet scene of the dad trying to do better

Great chapter today, the conversation between Yunduo and her dad did a good job balancing the dramatic tension with a more grounded feeling, definitely made me feel emotional.

based dad

I'm just going to go...cry in the corner for a bit, don't mind me lol

Tracy Hu even delivers heartwarming dad speeches?!? Ugh!! So sweet. Damn. The other characters get lots of detail without feeling like it detracts or deviates from the main lovers plot. This is one of my favorite stories still.

Could Yundou be smiling any harder at the end of chapter 42, hahahahaha!
Thank you for all the chapters so far.

last edited at Dec 4, 2023 6:44AM