this is gonna be a painful series

This will hurt all of us ;-;

One of these days i’ll read something where the mc will have a backbone and move on from playing second fiddle..

The dream that will never actually happen :/

Nina is pretty funny so I'm down with almost any direction

it's either gonna destroy me, or leave me feeling great. Either way I look forward to this series

how is mao a red flag for....being in a toxic, but not too unusual by college standards relationship and...smoking? what? the protag is the real red flag, putting mao on a pedestal and basically stalking her. i can suspend my disbelief though and understand that since this is manga the protag's behavior is exaggerated and will read as somewhat bizarre. i don't really understand what everyone is on about.

This always happens when the protagonist is in love with a straight girl, Mao is kind and sweet to her and it is immediately interpreted as “she is intentionally sending mixed signals = red flag”

Going on a date to show how she should properly be cared for? Honestly a pretty fair and good approach, kills all sorts of birds with a single stone too, really.

Seems with the guy it's just a FWB type thing but she's crushing on him for some reason. I don't feel bad for Mao getting given some random ass lotion that isn't hers maybe this could be her wakeup call (I doubt it).

I also kinda don't expect her to take a date with Nina very serious either Mao just seems straight AF.

I guess we got a slightly less angsty feeling chapter though this one felt super small. I'm still glad this is only seven total chapters because I still see Nina being heartbroken by the end of this all.

You fucking go girl!

It guess where this goes partially depends on whose perspective the title comes from. Is it just the MC or also other characters too? It's been interesting so far.

last edited at Apr 15, 2026 1:31PM

Time to roll in the angst tag people
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/i_wish_it_had_just_been_love_ch03#9

If yesterday we had the unnamed ex-GF of "A New View of Things" doing a Valeria and coming back fom the dead to save the MC ("Do you want to live forever?"), today we have right here Nina-chan going all Grace Jones doing a full-blown Zula's "Grab her and take her" on Mao-senpai.

That's two days in a row that yuri manga characters choosed to actually DO something instead of following the course of "yuri characters never ever acting upon their feelings" - and they did so by bloody enacting Conan tropes in the name of yuri

[Anvil of Crom intensifies]
That means it's time for a prayer:
Crom, I have never prayed to you before in the Dynasty Scan forums. I have no tongue for it. All that matters is that today (and yesterday), two stood against (the customs of) many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me YURI! And if you do not listen, to HELL with you!

last edited at Apr 15, 2026 2:38PM

Maybe this won’t be as painful as I thought..?

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/i_wish_it_had_just_been_love_ch03#16

This is going in the right direction

Huh, the contrast between the happy "just finished shopping, on my way now" from last chapter and the really awkward interaction here made me think initially that she might be hooking up with someone else and the guy we've met is an ex situationship, but the comments seem sure it's the same guy so now I'm not sure. Either way, this is a cool development, which with only 7 chapters you kind of have to have a proactive protagonist. Good luck Nina! This looks like it'll still end poorly for you!

I dont have the stomach for this pain, I know Mao is friends with benefits with that guy, Nina needs to leave her alone and find someone who loves her cause all the signs point to doomed yuri. I am out but for those who stay to read good luck.

last edited at Apr 15, 2026 5:46PM

No hate, but I wish we got more “I got bullied for not being conventionally attractive” instead of the typical “I am beautiful so I suffer”

last edited at Apr 16, 2026 12:29AM

my previous comment mentioning a flag seems to have been interpreted as me calling mao a red flag but i actually meant a flag like in an otome game because im hopelessly corrupted by villainess manga. I meant that its a point of interest that might indicate Mao has some other reasons for spending her time on pretty shitty guy(s?) beyond just the regular violence of heterosexuality

to build on this ^ doesn't it seem likely that "i wish it had just been love" could easily refer to Mao's reasons for spending time with these guys? If she had just liked the guy, maybe she could be won over by Nina, however if it's not just love but something else alongside that...

♫ I know I can treeat yoou beeeetter, than he can!~
And any girl like yoou dee-serves a, gen-tle-man! ♪

(sorry, I just HAD to do it)

Jokes aside, LETS FUCKING GOOOO!! They may be on completely different pages, but Nina shootin' her shot is a massive W imo

I think her saying "How" isn't a "How am I supposed to be treated?" It's more like a, "How can I expected to be treated better?" Which imo adds to the FWB theory. I'm curious to see how it goes

And I'm also happy to see that others see where I'm coming from with my theories

to build on this ^ doesn't it seem likely that "i wish it had just been love" could easily refer to Mao's reasons for spending time with these guys? If she had just liked the guy, maybe she could be won over by Nina, however if it's not just love but something else alongside that...

I could see that being the case, but the only counter would be that in the first page Nina says "these feelings", and if she were referring to feelings that weren't hers, wouldn't she use "those feelings"?

That being said, I REALLY like that idea. And to counter my own counter, "these" could also be referring to both of their feelings. Nina wishes Mao loved the guy instead of sticking around for some other reason, Nina wishes she just loved Mao instead of whatever they end up being (my guess is obsession)

i didnt really expect any projection but wow mao bad af im also seething at this guy

Oh my..
The senpai looks so petite, so cute..(⁠☉⁠｡⁠☉⁠)

Trope, but good.

to build on this ^ doesn't it seem likely that "i wish it had just been love" could easily refer to Mao's reasons for spending time with these guys? If she had just liked the guy, maybe she could be won over by Nina, however if it's not just love but something else alongside that...

this is what i'm thinking too. Nina for better or worse is the naive, never-been-in-a-relationship, type protag. Mao will probably end the date knowing she should be treated better but a hook up is a hook up, and Nina will learn the hard way, heartbroken. maybe it's pessimism but it's not an uncommon reality either.

either way... OL at her limit and college girl may be due for a reread after this...

Shit just went from 0 to 100 real quick