criminal consumption of my time

also for personal context: my favourite kind of stories feature dry / witty humour, troublemaker / chaos characters, and very low internal angst but any amount of external angst (i.e., the characters may be in tumultuous situations but they are safe with themselves — they can trust themselves and each other)

which means gaming danmei’s often feel specifically tailored to me (happily) but also means i have a very wide tolerance for what i’m happy to devour (my taste it’s not refined so much as it’s curated). this is my only disclaimer o.o

first in my unhumble and very non-comprehensive opinion jiàng zi bèi is the absolute queen of gaming danmei’s! she gets the mix between comedy x gaming suspense x romance just right so reading her stuff is already the perfect place to be for e-sports yaoi

for anyone who wants to get into it i absolutely recommend starting with any of jzb’s gaming works, but especially i can do it. if you don’t become a road or soft mom-fan 2 chapters in, i’ll give you my kidneys and my entire collection of poetry books. unfortunately the online fan translation by Tiny Salt Translations has been removed as the book has been officially translated but if you know where to get books…..well you won’t struggle to find it.

but now onto gaming danmei’s that aren’t jzb works:

The E-Sports Circle’s Toxic Assembly Camp by Green Plum Sauce. absolutely hilarious, each character is distinct, easy to follow game play, and of course a naturally OP team causing unbridled chaos. this one is translated by Rainbow Mushrooms and is readily available online to read.

Later, He Became A Royal Healer by Yan Gui Kang. also a comedy show naturally! but also the cutest relationship between the two boys with one of them being a gentle giant determined to take care of his lover and the other being a serious quiet soul who is constantly bemused by his giant and the shenanigans. this one is translated by the Chrysanthemum Gardens team and is also readily available online.

My Teammates Are All Crazy by Hú Shēng Yôu Mèng. imagine a team sport but not a single player is in their right mind and each one of them wants to be more insane than the next? yea absolute recipe for disaster, hilarity, and trouble. literally what more could i possibly ask for? this one is translated by Foxaholic and you guessed it, available online.

and lastly, if the omegaverse is your thing then id recommend checking out All-Round Mid-Laner by Die Zhiling. it’s not as comedy filled as the previous recs but it is still comedic as is most gaming books when the barrage is present and the team has Character™️. the romance is especially funny and enthralling because the main character gets transmigrated into an ABO world and naturally does not understand anything which leads to some hilarious moments. also his gaming progression was particularly satisfying! i really enjoyed how he learnt the game and became stronger and the subsequent upwards strength in teamwork. unfortunately access to the translation for this is very messy (the link actually leads to Novel Updates not a fan translation site for this one) because there were multiple different translating teams and it seems the ones who started no longer have this available on their site. however, if you know where to get books 0.0 you will find a full epub version and be able to read it. alternatively scouring the internet will get you the full host of fan translations.

i didn’t give plot summaries because i’m terrible at them (anyone who has ever read even one of my fanfics can attest) but also because i love to go into things blind so would rather give people the choice to know or not know on their own.

as a side note (that i think to some extent may be at least slightly sententious) i do not make a habit of reading things i don’t enjoy. as in if i find i started something and don’t like it i will simply not continue; i am not the kind of person that has to push through to the end. so while the books i’ve recced here are some of my favourites, i would happily recommend all the gaming danmei’s i have read simply because i enjoyed all of them to the end. this is to say, if you do want the full list let me know. but these are my favourite amongst them :)

so here are ALL the gaming danmei’s i’ve managed to devour over the last 3 (?) years:

You Use a Gun, I Use A Bow by QiuQiu. A gentle streamer who usually plays an archer in a fantasy game tries a combat game for the first time. Unfortunately he finds he is genuinely abysmal at controlling a gun, but he learns there is actually a bow available as a weapon! Big professional league Captain is enraptured by the streamers progression and wants him forever and ever and ever! i fell in love with this one because the barrage was so soft and sweet and gentle to our little archer which is ! such a fun change of pace to the usual big mouth-ed streamers and their shameless ass barrage (make no mistake i ADORE that too). but they were really so gentle i was like “have i entered an alternate universe??” This is translated by the Chrysanthemum Gardens team :)

You’re Causing Chaos Again [E-Sports] by Shīmián Diàndēng. Rebirth babeyyyy! Unlucky pro-league boy dies and wakes up in an alternate reality where he decides to become a comedy streamer who doesn’t take anything seriously. Until he accidentally beats a professional league player while streaming. Turns out that player is his idol and……his future boyfriend. This one is Typical Gaming Danmei Humour with hilarious player x barrage interactions, a lot of crass and witty jokes between characters, and the Adorable Romance. Translated by KNOXT. (if you find the website to be difficult…..there is an epub of the book available…..if you know where to find books)

Gold Medal Coach by Die Zhiling (see All Round Mid-Laner above). As per the author’s style this is another omegaverse one. This time all characters involved are very aware of the ABO world and are all active members of society lol lol. Serious omega coach takes the national team upwards but along the way he must naturally fall in love with his long time admirer and alpha apprentice who has been obsessed with him for the better part of a decade. honestly my fave thing about this one was all the side characters! they added so much fun and flavour to the story! I also adored the recruitment (read: poaching) method the coach took to gather the national team. so funny! This one is fully translated by Rainbow Mushroom.

You’re Too OP (aka You Boys Play Games Very Well) by Yi Xiu Luo. I actually read this between the previous rec post and this one and i am OBSESSED! it has tennis match humour (you know that back and forth thing where you feel like you’ve been thrown into the middle of a conversation and everyone is exchanging quips one after another?) which is my absolute FAVOURITE type of humour! of all the gaming danmei’s i’ve read this year this one might be my fave! It’s also very short (especially for a gaming danmei). I loved that it was two streamers and no pro-league plot which was a nice pace from the high intensity completion environment! the barrage was so funny! i was in teeaaarrssss! This one has been officially published by Rosmei but if you know where to find books….. i am also reading the other gaming danmei by this author (Little Antelope and Night Wolf) and it is also good but I’m only about 70% through and it’s not as ? game focused ? as You’re Too Op so i’m not diving into it here.

Does Love At First Sight Exist In E-Sports by Luxifa. The romance in this one is genuinely sickeningly sweet. I am talking you will need dentures afterwards because of the tooth-rotting fluff. It’s also quite unique in that its players from two different pro-league teams falling in love. I haven’t read much (if any?) gaming danmei’s involving pro-league players where they aren’t on the same team so that was a fun new element to explore. This one is translated by Goosberry Translations. And because i would never lie to you, i have two disclaimers: 1) I have read about 83% of this book but have not actually completed it (i tend to be much slower when i can only read via webpage uploads but also i think when i was in the midst of devouring this book the translator site crashed and my mental effort towards it plummeted): 2) the last 3 chapters and the extras are not translated (apparently translator is on hiatus). i don’t know how much this will bother you so just a warning here. the main reason i’ve added this book to the list is because of the tooth-rotting romance: if pure fluff and doting is your vibe this book is Up There.

I also want to mention Glory [E-Sports] by Long Qi. I started this one at some point last year and i was thoroughly enjoying it! but again its only available on web which means i have slowed down to basically not reading it at all because its just so much more effort to web read than epub read. but it is genuinely very good and very much ensconced in the Gaming Danmei™️ world. Typical over powered pro-league team with a shameless protag and a romance to kill all romance (dog food abound)! I’m reccing it because if you liked ICDI, you’ll likely enjoy this and you might get further than i did (sob sob). It’s translated by Chrysanthemum Gardens (they’re really the best!)

and for anyone who needs the links to Jiang Zi Bei books we’ve been mentioning here they are :)

PUBG Online Romance Of The Century translated by Chrysanthemum Gardens

Guide On How To Fail At Online Dating has been officially translated by Hai Tang Books (very easily accessible epub if you know…)

and i mentioned I Can Do It in the previous list

10 | You Boys Play Games Very Well~[official title: You’re Too OP] by Yi Xiu Luo

Chinese title: 你们男生打游戏好厉害哦~ [Nǐ Mén Nán Shēng Dǎ Yóu Xì Hǎo Lì Hài Ó~]

Tags: modern, esports, livestreaming, comedy, university, fluff

Personal rating: 3.75/5

English publisher: Rosmei (Note: cutomers outside of Singapore have to buy through a partner form this list)

Chinese publisher: jjwxc

Novel Updates

Personal remarks:

And that something would be Kaleidoscope of Death (the 2018 gay webnovel) and the Spirealm (the 2024 drama based on it). You can read the more detailed rec posts for both Kaleidoscope of Death and the Spirealm (as well as for some other media, all of which you can read here), but I wanted to come in and do a specific post about why I think fans of Guardian would really have a good time with these two.

This isn't just my observation -- other people who are fans of both have commented on how they scratch the same itch. They're just similar enough to one another to feel familiar, which still different enough that nothing feels repetitive/derivative. It's also funny to me how much the relationship of Guardian the book to Guardian the show is like the relationship of Kaleidoscope of Death to the Spirealm. They're both spooky gay stories that lose a lot in the adaptation to television, but also gain a lot in the process, until it's hard to say which one is the superior telling of the story.

So I'm coming in here with an extremely quick, spoiler-free-as-I-can-make-them five reasons why fans of Guardian in particular might be inclined to enjoy this book/show combo.

1. These boys are not normal about one another

I know you love it when the boys are not normal about one another. Ruan Nanzhu (cunty, well-dressed, on the left) and Lin Qiushi (sporty, cat dad, on the right) are extremely not normal about one another.

(Guardian lucked out in that when the drama was made, shows hadn't yet started doing the bullshit of changing the danmei boys' TV names. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei no matter where they are -- but these two are Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi in the book, and Ruan Lanzhu and Ling Jiushi in the show. I'm going to be using their book names just because I've seen them written more often and they look more correct to me now.)

There's a Reason they're together. Maybe they don't go back as far as Ye Olde Haixing, but rest assured theirs is not a random encounter. Also, just like in Guardian, the Reasons in the book and the show have some surface similarities, but play out very differently.

This is a slow-burn gay love story that's a freak4freak relationship featuring two completely different kinds of freak. Lin Qiushi is the only person Ruan Nanzhu's ever let get close to him. Ruan Nanzhu's the only person who's ever pierced Lin Qiushi's cat-loving veil of obliviousness. Theirs is the true love of being willing to burn down the world for the same person you love annoying the pants off of. They're hot-and-cold messes who can't live without one another.

Obviously, as in Guardian's case, the boys-kissing parts are textual only in the book, not in the show. But keeping them from kissing actually ends up making them way less normal about one another. Yes, tell the guy who's technically your boss to platonically call you "daddy." What's not heterosexual about that?

also for personal context: my favourite kind of stories feature dry / witty humour, troublemaker / chaos characters, and very low internal angst but any amount of external angst (i.e., the characters may be in tumultuous situations but they are safe with themselves — they can trust themselves and each other)

which means gaming danmei’s often feel specifically tailored to me (happily) but also means i have a very wide tolerance for what i’m happy to devour (my taste it’s not refined so much as it’s curated). this is my only disclaimer o.o

first in my unhumble and very non-comprehensive opinion jiàng zi bèi is the absolute queen of gaming danmei’s! she gets the mix between comedy x gaming suspense x romance just right so reading her stuff is already the perfect place to be for e-sports yaoi

for anyone who wants to get into it i absolutely recommend starting with any of jzb’s gaming works, but especially i can do it. if you don’t become a road mom-fan 2 chapters in, i’ll give you my kidneys and my entire collection of poetry books. unfortunately the online fan translation by Tiny Salt Translations has been removed as the book has been officially translated but if you know where to get books…..well you won’t struggle to find it.

but now onto gaming danmei’s that aren’t jzb works:

The E-Sports Circle’s Toxic Assembly Camp by Green Plum Sauce. absolutely hilarious, each character is distinct, easy to follow game play, and of course a naturally OP team causing unbridled chaos. this one is translated by Rainbow Mushrooms and is readily available online to read.

Later, He Became A Royal Healer by Yan Gui Kang. also a comedy show naturally! but also the cutest relationship between the two boys with one of them being a gentle giant determined to take care of his lover and the other being a serious quiet soul who is constantly bemused by his giant and the shenanigans. this one is translated by the Chrysanthemum Gardens team and is also readily available online.

My Teammates Are All Crazy by Hú Shēng Yôu Mèng. imagine a team sport but not a single player is in their right mind and each one of them wants to be more insane than the next? yea absolute recipe for disaster, hilarity, and trouble. literally what more could i possibly ask for? this one is translated by Foxaholic and you guessed it, available online.

and lastly, if the omegaverse is your thing then id recommend checking out All-Round Mid-Laner by Die Zhiling. it’s not as comedy filled as the previous recs but it is still comedic as is most gaming books when the barrage is present and the team has Character™️. the romance is especially funny and enthralling because the main character gets transmigrated into an ABO world and naturally does not understand anything which leads to some hilarious moments. also his gaming progression was particularly satisfying! i really enjoyed how he learnt the game and became stronger and the subsequent upwards strength in teamwork. unfortunately access to the translation for this is very messy (the link actually leads to Novel Updates not a fan translation site for this one) because there were multiple different translating teams and it seems the ones who started no longer have this available on their site. however, if you know where to get books 0.0 you will find a full epub version and be able to read it. alternatively scouring the internet will get you the full host of fan translations.

i didn’t give plot summaries because i’m terrible at them (anyone who has ever read even one of my fanfics can attest) but also because i love to go into things blind so would rather give people the choice to know or not know on their own.

as a side note (that i think to some extent may be at least slightly sententious) i do not make a habit of reading things i don’t enjoy. as in if i find i started something and don’t like it i will simply not continue; i am not the kind of person that has to push through to the end. so while the books i’ve recced here are some of my favourites, i would happily recommend all the gaming danmei’s i have read simply because i enjoyed all of them to the end. this is to say, if you do want the full list let me know. but these are my favourite amongst them :)

Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know - Cyan Wings

NovelUpdates [link] My review [link]

Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me - Qing Duan

NovelUpdates [link] My review [link]

His Little Deer Wife is Very Fierce - Little Baldy

NovelUpdates [link]

How to Survive As a Villain - Yi Yi Yi Yi

NovelUpdates [link]

Silent Reading - Priest

NovelUpdates [link] My review [link]

The General’s Vampire Omega - Little Baldy

NovelUpdates [link]

The Last Dragon in the Cultivation World - Marshmallow Bunny

NovelUpdates [link]

The Virtuous Omega Disguised as the Vicious Colonel - Little Baldy

NovelUpdates [link] My review [link]

Where is Our Agreement to be Each Other’s Arch-Rivals? - Poplar Breeze

NovelUpdates [link]

Non-Human Sub-district Office - Drunk Long Song

NovelUpdates [link]

Peerless Immortal Surrounded by Demonic Disciples - Dao Xuan

NovelUpdates [link]

Record of the Missing Sect Master - A Lifetime Of Beautiful Clothes

NovelUpdates [link]

The Whole World Is My Crematorium - 比卡比

NovelUpdates [link]

They All Say I’ve Met a Ghost - Cyan Wings

NovelUpdates [link]

A Real Man Isn’t Afraid of a Little Demon - Little Baldy

NovelUpdates [link]

My Junior Still Hasn’t Killed Me - Zi Lu

NovelUpdates [link]

Something's Not Right - Cyan Wings

NovelUpdates [link]

Today Prime Minister Also Wants to Bang His Head on the Pillar - Bazaodashe

NovelUpdates [link]

It’s Not Easy Being a Master - Jin Xi Gu Nian

NovelUpdates [link]

The Omega Can’t Pretend to Be a Beta After Accidentally Witnessing the Major General’s Susceptible Period - Fei Tang

NovelUpdates [link]

Worship Me, I Can Make You Rich - 向远飞

NovelUpdates [link]

The General Loves to Collect Little Red Flowers - Kun Cheng Xiong Mao

NovelUpdates [link]

More Danmei Recs (lighter reading / more fluff)

A Guide to Raising Your Natural Enemy - Jue Jue

NovelUpdates [link]

Transmigrated As a Villain, I Rely on Sand Sculpture to Survive - Ma Hu Zi Jun

NovelUpdates [link]

Carrying a Hoe to Cultivate - Little Baldy

NovelUpdates [link] My Review [link]

The Disabled Tyrant’s Pet Palm Fish - Xue Shan Fei Hu

NovelUpdates [link] My review [link]

After Being Turned Into a Dog, I Conned My Way Into Freeloading at My Rival’s Place - Zi Jin

NovelUpdates [link]

Number One Lazy Merchant of the Beast World - Shuishan

NovelUpdates [link]

Transmigrated as the Villain’s Cat - Xishan Fish

NovelUpdates [link]

Do You Want to Touch My Fish Tail? - 系辭上

NovelUpdates [link]

Live Broadcasting Raising Dragons in the Interstellar - Yu Zhi Shui

NovelUpdates [link]

My Vampire Faints at Blood - Three Thousand Big Dreams To Narrate One's Life

NovelUpdates [link]

The Film Emperor’s Daily Live Cooking Broadcast - 砚楚

NovelUpdates [link]

⚠️ Content Warnings (with a grin)

Possessive ML: If you like your love interests murderous but loyal, you’re in the right sect.

Violence: Cultivation battles, murder, and the occasional “oops, I eliminated your enemies for you” gesture.

Power Imbalance: Senior/junior dynamic with the junior holding most of the actual danger.

Romantic Tension: Fast‑burn compared to most cultivation novels; expect early clinginess.

Sexual Content: Mild: mostly fade‑to‑black or implied intimacy. The heat is in the stares and the “you’re mine” energy.

Zhong Yan transmigrates into a cultivation novel as the most forgettable of cannon fodder: a low‑level senior brother destined to die the moment he witnesses the villain’s first murder. His mission? Stop said villain, Gu Xuanyan, from going full mass murderer and help him ascend. The problem? Gu Xuanyan is beautiful, terrifying, and increasingly convinced that Zhong Yan is the only person worth keeping alive permanently.

My Junior Still Hasn’t Killed Me is part survival comedy, part cultivation adventure, and part “oh no, the murderous junior is making heart eyes at me” slow burn.

This is a short, fast‑paced danmei that plays with the “transmigrator changes the villain’s fate” trope but keeps the tone light and snappy. Zhong Yan is a reluctant babysitter with a death flag the size of a mountain, constantly scheming to keep himself alive while nudging Gu Xuanyan toward the righteous path.

The fun is in the tonal whiplash: one moment they’re in the middle of a cultivation trial, and the next Zhong Yan is internally screaming because his junior is smiling in that I could kill you or kiss you way. The romance develops quickly compared to sprawling xianxia epics, but it works here. The banter is sharp, the devotion is intense, and the plot never lingers too long in one place.

≪ 他的蜜 ≫ by 千十九

✤ 25 chapters + 3 extras

✤ danmei, modern, short, mature

My Rating: ★★★★☆

My Short Review:

"His Honey" was suggested to me by a Twitter mutual. I was in a reading slump and needed a book to reignite my passion for reading, so I chose this one. The brief description wasn't very informative, so let me give you a quick introduction.

The story centers on two mature single men searching for "the one." It begins with a blind date, avoiding the typical love-at-first-sight cliché. The plot follows a lawyer and a journalist who gradually fell for each other as they got to know one another. It was an intriguing read with a hint of mystery, which I enjoyed.