我抱紧你，便能在奈何桥上攥住你的衣角

Okay I think a lot of people actually start their unlimited flow (UF) danmeis with this one but I only read this close to the end of last year and MAN DID I REGRET NOT READING THIS EARLIER because it was insanely good! And deserves its spot as a big UF fave. A strong main lead who’s never forgotten about his childhood friend and that childhood friend who forgot him in memories but not in body or spirit. Yes this one is transmigrator x system!!! ALSO THE ART FOR THE AUDIO DRAMA IS DAMN GOOD

Summary

Chi Xiaochi, a talented actor who’s just won Best Actor award, dies on the stage he receives his award on after the hanging lights above him crash onto him - as he dies, he dies full of regrets, and sees flashbacks of the time he spent with his childhood best friend, who died years ago.

He wakes up in another world and is tied to a system 061, who guides him through his mission in each world. 061 is unlike most systems and is very caring towards Chi Xiaochi, and from the system, Chi Xiaochi feels something very familiar about the way the system talks and behaves as they go through each world together.

In each world, Chi Xiaochi transmigrates each time into the body of a main lead (usually the shou), who has died after suffering physically/emotionally from their asshole partner who betrayed them or caused them grief, leading to their anguish and resentment. At the time of death, their anguish and hatred is heard by the overall big system (that governs all systems) and they’re given a chance to let Chi Xiaochi take over their body, go back in time, and do things differently, and get revenge. His goal is to accumulate regret points from the gongs who have let the shous down.

Chi Xiaochi’s first world is indeed full of angst and gouxie, where the ML has been in a relationship with this closeted man, and in the original storyline, that man allows his sister to steal ML’s composed song, sells it to another artist for profit, and ML releases it as well a few days after under another company, only to be hit with plagiarism accusations and online bullying from netizens as a result. The man begs him not to ruin his sister’s future at his expense, and on top of that, has never introduced ML to his parents and was secretly seeing another woman on the side. ML dies with regret, depressed and in despair.

Chi Xiaochi knows how it goes, and as he comes to grips with his new reality now, he stares at the man before him - the man who says he loves the ML, the person of whose body he’s in right now, who keeps making the ML compromise for his selfish reasons - and resolves to make this man regret ever being born.

In the meantime, 061 teaches Chi Xiaochi how to love again, even if he doesn’t remember who he is. And through each ML in various worlds that CXC has to become and help, he forms unexpected connections and makes new friends with some of them too.

They have to figure out just why 061 lost his memories because technically all systems were once humans who then died after, and all come with their memories in their past life - and Chi Xiaochi has to deal with the animosity coming from one of the systems’ managers, that seems to have something against him.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) | Translations | Manhua | Audio Drama

Characters

1. 池小池 Chi Xiaochi - Incredibly strong acting skills and very bold, he knows exactly what to do the moment he sees the ML’s tragic story and very adaptable to different types of revenge strategies. He has a lot of empathy for the MLs whose bodies he inhabits while he helps them to take revenge. Personally, he’s had a pretty tough childhood with terrible parents, and Lou Ying, his childhood friend, has always been his shelter and strength, until the day he died, partially because of him. Lou Ying has always been his only worthy connection to life, and he was absolutely destroyed when he died. He gets a second chance with 061, and he’s quite sure that this man is Lou Ying after falling in love with 061 - but have to figure out how to get back to the living world together.

2. 061 娄影 Lou Ying - Absolutely devoted pre-system and as the system for CXC. He’s loved him all his life, and he was actually a system who remembered CXC and was rushing throughout thousands of missions with several hosts so he could hit his target and return back to the world of the living to be with CXC again. But as a system he also gets real-life updates for CXC, and when CXC was at his lowest point due to an incident with his parents, Lou Ying breaks rules and appears in the living world, wanting to meet CXC once after comforting him as an online friend, but is taken away and has his memories erased due to his infraction. The system manager also has an agenda of its own, and used this opportunity to make 061 work for him fully. When CXC turns up, he’s assigned to him, and with the help of his other system friends who actually know what CXC means to him, finds his memories back and fights against the system manager

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

The novel is honestly pretty genius because it weaves CXC’s past and his life with Lou Ying throughout the novel, and you don’t realize what happened between them, why Lou Ying died, until much closer towards the end, and it’s not confusing or jarring at all. He died while protecting CXC from his predatory teacher, but the teacher got to walk away scot-free as no one believed that a kind person like him would be capable of molesting a male teenager, of everything. Before CXC was almost r*ped by the teacher, Lou Ying burst into the house to save him, and was pushed off the balcony and fell to his death. Lou Ying’s family resents CXC as a result as well

The good thing is they get to go into a world where CXC can exact revenge against this teacher, and against his parents who let this happen, and in the meantime save the other boys who were abused by him

Really loved how the other systems who have been working with 061 for the longest time all know that the love of his life is CXC, and they both worry like 061′s parents as they’re conflicted over whether to tell 061 that he better hold onto this person without alerting the system manager. They both really do their best to make sure 061 is reunited fully with memories, with CXC, and help to deal with system manager in various ways as well

I do like that not every case is full on irredeemable revenge because some of the gongs actually do 100% love the ML but due to various reasons e.g. possessive nature they alienate ML from the rest of the world so they truly belong to them alone, and other cases where the ML actually still love the men who let them down, and CXC fixing the world and helping them to collect regret points from the gongs, means some of these MLs actually get a second chance at happiness in an environment and time where nothing went wrong

There’s a zombie apocalypse one, a spaceship AU etc., sooo many worlds they cover plenty!!!

HONESTLY another fave I found! Seriously, I’ve read almost 40 rebirth/second chance at life danmeis just this year alone and probably almost a 100 entirely, and not gonna lie sometimes the plot does get cliched or turns out weird at the end, but this one was my most recent read today that I found myself liking A LOT. It has all the usual expected makings of a rebirth danmei, but also tiny little twists here and there that keeps you going, and also overall being a really straightforward, comfortable but exciting read.

Summary

The novel starts with Jun Huailang and his 300+ family members and servants about to be beheaded in the city square for framed treason, all because of the new tyrant prince regent Xue Yan. In despair, Jun Huailang dies, and then when he opens his eyes again, he’s in a strange place, and sees two immortals arguing over something. A book falls to the ground and JHL picks it up, and then realizes that it’s a book - a book of which Xue Yan and JHL’s younger sister are the protagonists of. It’s basically a gouxie, angsty porn with plot novel between them and JHL and the rest of his family are basically cannon fodder and plot devices meant to move this ill-fated love and romance along. As JHL reads, the angrier he gets, because Xue Yan incarcerates his sister and she becomes his play thing, and the worst thing is that she ends up falling in love with him and willingly letting him trample all over her body and herself. 

As the immortals realize that there’s a lone soul that’s not been collected, they’re about to collect him when an accident happens - his soul is sent back in time, a few years back, before tragedy happens. A bitter, resentful JHL is intent on getting revenge on Xue Yan, and because of this, he turns up at an event that evening that would change the course of history in his past life. Instead of never having know Xue Yan, JHL meets a much younger Xue Yan for the first time as a bunch of other eunuchs and the 2nd prince is bullying him.

Xue Yan is the neglected and initially abandoned 5th prince due to a deliberate prophecy that said he was meant to curse his father, the Emperor, and so Xue Yan grows up in another country owned by his uncle, who brings him under strict regiment and trains him for war. His uncle hates his father, and vice versa, and when he’s a teenager, the Emperor sends the army to eradicate his uncle under framed treason, and he would have died, but crawls his way back to the imperial city. The Emperor has no choice but to take him in, but that’s all he does - he cares naught for his son and wouldn’t care if he really died, and so lets all his other sons bully him, and even punishes him to the verge of death a few times without even checking if Xue Yan was maligned or not.

JHL has never seen a Xue Yan like this - a weak, abandoned dog that anyone can step on - and initially, he stands by as Xue Yan is obviously bullied, trying to convince himself that this boy will end up becoming a tyrant and his enemy, but the more he sees Xue Yan, he realizes that Xue Yan was also forced and manipulated to some extent to become the cold, crazy Emperor that he was in his past life. At some point, JHL decides to be a positive force of good in his life, and if Xue Yan doesn’t do any evil, he’ll not fault Xue Yan for his past life’s crimes.

To Xue Yan, JHL is a sudden, unexpected and treasured light for him in the darkest of his days, and he knows he will never let JHL go. He falls for him, as JHL also starts realizing that all he thinks about is Xue Yan in years of absence - and the more he falls for him, the more JHL thinks that the ‘book’ he read was farce, because he cannot think of any way that Xue Yan would have abused his sister that way, no matter how far he was pushed.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Translations) | Audio Drama (Slated for Nov. 2022 TBA)

Characters

1. Jun Huai Lang 君怀琅 - An intelligent young man who has a slightly weak physique and died in despair, before getting a chance to re-do everything and save his family. He also realizes at some level that it’s not just Xue Yan who drove his family to their doom in his past life, even though he was certainly the executioner, and in this life, he’s determined to drag every single person out of the shadows. In his past life, his father was framed first for taking disaster funds, and then his younger brother sacrificed himself and died outside of the city gates, before his entire family was sentenced to death. He was very isolated from plenty of important and critical happenings between Xue Yan and his sister in his first life, so much so that he has to piece together turning points in their relationship and try to prevent them in his second life. Tries to be a good cousin/friend for Xue Yan, not knowing that Xue Yan thought of him as more. He first discovers his feelings for him before Xue Yan confesses, and tries to distance himself from Xue Yan, and this triggers Xue Yan, and he cannot help but confess and kiss JHL to make his point clear. He puts Xue Yan at arm’s length, and it’s not until he’s down with the plague and Xue Yan goes to hell and back to save him, not afraid of getting the disease from close contact with him, that JHL tells him that if he lives, they can be together.

2. Xue Yan 薛晏 - A seemingly helpless and powerless prince who cannot protect himself from being bullied or harmed by others, but who is actually scheming bit by bit and can tolerate a lot of hardship to get what he wants. He didn’t know JHL well in his past life and instead knew his sister, and he resents JHL’s sister because of an incident that she could not have helped, and ends up sentencing her family to death, including JHL, because of that warped but detached sort of resentment years later. In this life, JHL comes into his life, and is the only warmth for him, a treasured thing that he will kill to protect. He insisted on being prince regent in his first life because he realized the man he looked up to, his uncle, only brought him up that way and manipulated him so he would kill his own father, who stole the throne from his uncle - and betrayed, Xue Yan refused to sit in the seat that his uncle so wanted before his death. In the second, he refuses to sit in the seat so he would never have to marry and would be able to be with JHL in public.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

Xue Yan really takes care of everything for JHL without him knowing in the first half of the novel because he realized that he only cares for JHL, and while JHL worries about things that happened in his past life and seem to be coming bit by bit in the second, Xue Yan is one step faster despite having no memory of the first life, just because everything that concerns JHL and his family concerns him too

Xue Yan is placed under JHL’s aunt, a favoured consort in the palace, and spends a few months with JHL, his new ‘mother’ and JHL’s super cute sister, and JHL makes sure his sister parades herself in front of Xue Yan and keeps calling him gege to make sure Xue Yan will never think of his sister as an actual woman

Everyone, including JHL’s aunt, are hilariously dismayed when they realize Xue Yan tops JHL lmaooo

XY dreams of their first life, where he indifferently beheaded JHL, and he wakes up horrified and guilty and destroyed, and then realizes that it actually happened when he tells JHL about it, and keeps telling him what a right bastard he was then, much to JHL’s amusement

At the end, after they win and get a few decades together, grow old together and die within a few days of each other, they both wake up in heaven and realize that their human life together was part of their immortal trials - AND THE BOOK THAT JHL read wasn’t even an actual book (i.e. not transmigration or even rebirth to be honest) because the deity who oversees these trials saw the actual story between JHL and XY and then in his free time decided to write fanfiction between XY and JHL’s sister, and that’s the book that ended up in JHL’s hands initially at the start of the novel

University meet-cute and falling in love with your dormmate and believing in his career and passon/hobby!!! Super adorable, pretty short and has a cute af manhua (still ongoing!) - I usually don’t go for school life but this one was a soothing read for sure, and has a simple message I think of not just following your passion but that you could pick something new up as a shared interest and that ends up changing your life and the way you communicate with someone you care about.

Summary

An Ning runs into his elusive dormmate, Qin Wei Hang, on the stairs one day, getting his first look at the handsome student who’s rarely in school and doesn’t stay in his allocated dorm at all. An Ning, who’s by all means a great, smart and nerdy student, is intrigued by this handsome dormmate, who’s also a rock climber who’s popular on social media. And it is these two people of seemingly different worlds who are somehow drawn to each other. Through more consciously asking QWH out for group gatherings and getting insight into QWH’s world, An Ning decides to pick up rock climbing as well, and their relationship progresses.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Translations) | Manhua 

Characters

1. 安宁 An Ning - A poor law student who’s at the top of his class and very, very intelligent. A little blur, shy, but kind and generous - he’s very expressive and simple in his intentions, but also very willing try out new things, e.g. with rock-climbing. Discovers a lot about himself and also QWH through rock-climbing. Brave and determined as well, for the people he cares about.

2. 秦威航 Qin Wei Hang - Very blunt and level-headed, a cool guy who rarely attends class, but ends up going back to stay in the dorm and attending classes so he can spend time with An Ning. Has a rock-climbing shifu who he feels guilty towards, as the man was paralysed from serious injury after a fall on a climb they were together on. QWH still keeps in contact with his teacher, as his teacher worries that QWH will end up becoming reckless or careless in his climbs. Thinks that An Ning is very cute.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

It’s very short at 60+ chapters, and it’s simple university life. It might be a tad bit boring for most people ngl, but even though this isn’t the type of danmei i usually go for, it ended up making me smile at all the really sweet parts! Definitely makes me regret not dating in university LMAO

I think it was seeing someone like An Ning being willing to step into QWH’s world and making a effort to understand him, and wanting to protect him that surprised me a little

My first esports danmei!!! I know there are plenty going around like AWM or FOG but gosh these aren’t usually the first ones I pick if there’s like reunion or separation first that type, so I’m been getting into a bunch of amazingggg esports danmei, most of which have to do with rebirth/transmigration/going back in time like I FRICKIN love transmigration or second chance things and plus esports - that’s a combi I didn’t realize I liked!!!

Summary

Lin Yan, a previous top esports player turned top esports team strategist, transmigrates into an esports-themed career novel by accident. He realizes that this is the story of a genius, talented captain who is unable to play to his fullest potential in a team that doesn’t value his skills, and various other players, both new and old alike, who also missed out on their best playing days because they joined a wrong team or missed out on opportunities; as a previous top player who had no choice but to become a strategist due to injury, Lin Yan hates to see talent being squandered away like that. It happens that his character in the novel is actually a rich heir, and so he sets up the GH club and starts his plan of attack by recruiting the captain Jing Yuan Zhou. Lin Yan repeatedly chases after him to convince the man to join his club, even setting a record for club transfer fees paid for Jing Yuan Zhou in the industry. 

No one takes the club seriously at first; Jing Yuan Zhou was a captain who unfortunately, due to club arrangements, politics and other reasons, could not bring their club and team to sustained glory and had to leave in the face of netizen vitriol and hate. Lin Yan recognizes his talent and also starts building his very young team; they all happen to be really good-looking - and it is this very new club that immediately overturns the status quo amongst supposed champion and losing teams.

Lin Yan gets to re-live his dream as a player before he was injured, and forms a special relationship and connection with Jing Yuan Zhou, who thinks that he’s finally found his best friend/muse with Lin Yan.

A cute romance that is focused on esports gaming (that’s easy to understand) and teamwork, of second chances and getting the opportunity to do what you love to the fullest.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Translations) | Novel (Print) - Simplified Chinese 

Characters

Lin Yan 林延 - A talented esports gamer who hates to see others waste their potential away as he did, and since he already knows everyone’s regrets from making wrong decisions in the original novel, Lin Yan has no qualms putting ‘his’ money to work and starting a new club. As he’s an expert coming from another world and has a set of a different gaming experiences, his addition shakes up the entire esports world in the reality he’s transmigrated to, and he’s not particularly bound by any supposed rules, typical strategies and styles. He doesn’t really realize that he likes Jing Yuan Zhou until much later, as in the first part he’s just trying to play a guiding role, but realizes that Jing Yuan Zhou is his partner in more ways than just gaming itself. 

Jing Yuan Zhou 景元洲 - A captain who was forced over the years to match his playing style to the needs of the club’s team and the new members that the club was trying to nurture over the years, so much so that he’d almost accepted that he would not be able to play like himself ever again. Under his leadership, the club lost a few times and he was blamed for it by the fans even though it was never his fault, but always took it in stride - he was still pondering over his options when Lin Yan turned up. Lin Yan was very persistent despite JYZ saying no to him a few times, not certain that this rich young heir would have the correct mindset to lead his new team to victory, but caved after Lin Yan presented a really good package. Understands Lin Yan as a person and as a professional player like no one else can, and Lin Yan gives him the space to return to his actual self.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

Jing Yuan Zhou has a young disciple who he trained to one day take over him, Lan Min, and he actually sticks to JYZ a lot, so was really devastated to learn that JYZ was going to leave the club and that he would have to be responsible for the future of the club - that disciples is sooo clingy it’s as if he was JYZ’s son - and JYZ fully accepts that it’s normal for the club to give up on him and start pushing resources to the younger players due to the short lifespan for pro esports players, even tho he has two years+ left in him yet

The novel starts off with Lin Yan literally parading himself in front of JYZ a few times even after a few rejections and JYZ is like “i just don’t get why you are so insistent on getting me?!” and then barely a year later when reporters ask why he chose to join, he told them that Lin Yan harassed him everyday 

After an important match, JYZ’s fans were all crying in the seats because just as commentators and other spectators/netizens were commenting on JYZ’s ‘new’ style of playing, they suddenly realized that it wasn’t new, that this is exactly who JYZ is and how he played before he was forced to match the pace and roles of his team members, and the fans were so grateful to the club and Lin Yan for giving this to JYZ and JYZ was also sitting in his seat, feeling a little bit surreal, but also so overwhelmed with feelings for Lin Yan

And Lin Yan gets to play in a few matches, and he slaps everyone in the face by being actually really damn good?!?!?!

This one has transmigration 80 years into the future, reunions between shixiong and shidi (not the main CP), a lot of feels and accomplishment in reviving an old, cultural art, entertainment industry, old vs. new juxtapositions. Overall a sweet, short and ABSOLUTELY healing danmei! Involves xiangsheng, aka crosstalk (you guys can google what xiangsheng is in general if unfamiliar), and a heck lot of poetry.

Summary

80 years ago, Qi She Jiang roamed the streets and made a living with as a skilled xiangsheng artist - he didn’t earn much all his life, and during the political strife and dangers of the republican era, he was separated from his young shidi, and ends up dying with regrets a few years later, having soft regrets about the inevitability of time and death.

He wakes up in the body of a same-named young idol-to-be 80 years later in the same setting, who’s known for being a flower vase who has mommy issues as his mother is a well-known singer, but his original self isn’t all that talented at ANYTHING at all, plus is adamant on not living under the shadow of his mother’s name. Qi She Jiang is wow-ed at the current scale of entertainment, and wonders, “Isn’t this like when he performed at teahouses back in the day for xiangsheng?”

He ends up on his first performance out of nowhere, and returns to his what he’s best at - xiangsheng. He’s great at traditional instruments as well with a lovely voice for chinese opera to boot, plus an incredible sense for music and art, and wows his first stage. Everyone is amazed, and that motivates him to actually move from idol work to xiangsheng work, reviving the art and performance in modern times.

There’s just one thing though, who’s that band singer who has an open, public beef with him? Zhang Yue has always detested Qi She Jiang (who similarly detested him) for his lack of talent, and they openly make scathing vague remarks of each other on social media and even on stage. The new Qi She Jiang finds Zhang Yue incredibly cute, and they find each other’s muses in one another, even though their music styles are seemingly world’s apart.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Traditional CN Ver. + Simplified CN Ver. | Novel (Translations)

Characters

1. Qi She Jiang 齐涉江 - Kind with soft ambition, who ends up being thrown into modern times and getting a second chance at life performing again, to a different but similar audience. He goes on variety shows, is definitely way more mature than the previous QI She Jiang was, and immediately repairs the relationship between him and his parents. Everyone thinks that he can’t make it, as he only has a pretty face and is known basically for being terrible at everything, so it takes some time for people to warm up to the idea that hey, this flower vase is really going to move into traditional arts?! Not afraid of hard work as there’s so much more to learn and do now, and he hits back playfully at Zhang Yue’s public banter from time to time in his xiangsheng performances, so much so that the man becomes embarrassed, but also intrigued by this new Qi She Jiang.

2. Zhang Yue 张约 - A band singer who doesn’t see eye to eye with Qi She Jiang, but finds the man completely changed. They get on a variety show together and realize that he and Qi She Jiang can sing in perfect and absolute harmony, both technically but also emotionally. He starts getting interested in Qi She Jiang, and almost always turns up at the man’s physical events and gets poked fun at in QI She Jiang’s script. Ends up falling in love with him.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

Qi She Jiang obviously makes a bunch of uncle/grandpa friends who respect him a lot as he makes his way through prestigious xiangsheng associations as the very style and technique he has always practiced all his life is a lost art in the modern times

THE CP is so sweet?!?!?! Like Zhang Yue is famous for his comment on Qi She Jiang when he was asked if he heard Qi She Jiang singing, and he said, “I listened, and he looks very handsome!” - Very much shading him that he cannot sing - he really gets on with him later though, and becomes Qi She Jiang partner in both music and life

Qi She Jiang of course, coming from a more traditional/conservative time, is wrapping his head around liking a guy, but it doesn’t take him long to be like fuck it, I do like that dude

Qi She Jiang’s shidi, now a 90+ year old man of a prestigious/wealthy family realizes that this is his shixiong just from his performances, and not gonna lie I fucking bawled during that chapter because they were separated during conflicts and both lived with so much regret and worry all their lives

If 成化十四年 is your jam then this might just be totally up your lane, it has the same doses of crime-solving, political strife with just a bit more of angst and sexytimes with a gorgeous happy ending!!! One of my fave reads of the year no doubt. You guys know I love my tropes and I am more than happy most of the time to get brainrot from simple danmei as long as it hits all the right buttons, but once in a while a masterpiece like this comes along and I’m like YASSSSSS!! 

Summary

A story between a Prince Regent and a new-to-court scholar who’s just made it past the imperial exams and catches the eye of said prince regent. Li Shi is prince regent and rules the empire with an iron fist in the place of an emperor who’s too young to hold onto the reigns of power just yet, and meets Sui Cen for the first time at an eating house. Li Shi and his guard, Qi Lin, are chasing a member of an assassination group Qu Ling Er, and Qu Ling Er manages to hide behind Sui Cen. Sui Cen has no idea who Qu Ling Er, Li Shi or Qi Lin are, but he’s got one hell of a temper and can see the way Li Shi is smiling coldly at him, and so defends Qu Ling Er, causing a scene to protect him, from Li Shi and Qi Lin. A few days later, during the last round of his examinations, he sees Li Shi - prince regent known for being cold, aloof and merciless - and the man gives him a difficult question to answer in everyone. He’s sure he must have failed the exam, but Li Shi passes him, and after a round of political plays where the top three scholars are invited to various factions within the imperial courts and forced to pick a side, Sui Cen decides to go with Li Shi, and the man places him with the department that clears crimes and conducts investigations. 

Sui Cen then realizes that Li Shi, that old, sly fox, has basically dumped him to do paperwork rather than be allowed to step into any cases - he’s angry, and chances upon a murder case, where his immediate supervisor is rushing to close up the case, and interrupts. But he doesn’t have any power or authority to conduct this investigation, and so he looks for Li Shi, remembering the way Li Shi eyed him and his body during their first meetings, certain that the man was attracted to him, and likewise. And so begins something like the historical times s/ugar daddy kind of arrangement, where they sleep together when Sui Cen wants something. Li Shi is more than ten years older than Sui Cen, and is looking to guide and train him to be his lover and also a useful sword in the shadows of the fight for the throne. 

They both fall in love with each other with every case, but circumstances are beyond them with multiple conspiracies and groups of people vying for the throne at play. They end up separating for a few short years, in which time Sui Cen grieves over knowing that he and Li Shi can never be together after what transpired, and almost moves on, almost marrying another woman, knowing that Li Shi is safe and sound in the imperial city and if they have to be apart, then so be it - but right before his marriage rites, he gets word that Li Shi has been thrown into jail and is due for execution.

Conviction to justice, knowing that he might never be able to be with Li Shi properly, Sui Cen knew he had bring the truth to light, and he was thrown into prison as a result of that. Li Shi, who gave up 50% of his authority and power in court just to get a promise of Sui Cen’s safety for the next few years even if they might never be together again, because he loves him. So much longing but being forced to let each other go, almost coming to terms with that, but all that changes when the news of Li Shi’s plight is known, and Sui Cen drops his to-be-wife, willingly is disowned by his parents and family, just so he can go back to the city and save Li Shi, even if they end up dying together.

A solid HE, plus there are two other couples!! One ends up in tragedy due to conspiracy and it’s pretty heartbreaking I cried a bit, and the other one is between Qu Ling Er and Qi Lin - super sweet!!! I’d say the angst is only like 30% more towards the last arc. And although we don’t need deaths to make a danmei a good one and yall know I hate it when I get BEs, but the overall rollercoaster I got from this was so worth it; every single part was so juicy!! Age difference yessss so if you’re not into that you might wanna skip this, like I said, historical s/ugar dad vibes.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Simplified Ver.

Characters

1. Sui Cen 苏岑 - An intelligent young man looking to change the world and do good, a little naive at times, but only due to his age. Has a strong sense of justice, and is willing to give his everything if the truth comes to light. Begins a transactional relationship with Li Shi in the beginning, but ends up loving the man for real as time goes on, as he sees this older man who’s seen so much and sees way beyond what he sees, tries to protect him at every turn in his own way, but never compromising his self-growth, even if it comes with hard lessons. Devoted to Li Shi, and is devastated when saying the truth on his last case inevitably means the end of him and Li Shi, and a one-two years later when Li Shi meets him again in a friendly, diplomatic setting, Sui Cen finally makes the decision to let the man go emotionally, and marries whoever his older brother and parents have in mind for his future wife. He would have gone through with it too, burying feelings for Li Shi deep down in his heart for the rest of his life and giving his to-be-wife the highest level of respect he can muster, never thinking about Li Shi again, but that was only if Li Shi was living well and fine in the city. And when he realized that Li Shi basically planned for his safety, for everyone’s safety, at the cost of his own, Sui Cen leaves his bride at the altar and cuts off ties with his family, because all is for nothing if Li Shi is dead. 

2. Li Shi 李释 - Middle-aged, cold and merciless prince regent who holds a majority of power in the imperial family and has been tutoring and teaching the young emperor how to be a good emperor who acts for the welfare of his citizens. It’s a tough job, considering that there are other princes who are vying for the throne in the shadows, and the emperor’s mother, the empress dowager, wants Li Shi dead so all power can fully be transferred to the young emperor. With so many forces at bay, Li Shi has never once seriously taken in a lover, after his wife died many year prior during their first year of marriage while was at war. Sui Cen is the first young man he’s taken to his bed for long, and one that he’s been so patiently indulging in decades. He protects Sui Cen in the only way he knows how, and is insistent that Sui Cen plays political dodgeball, but Sui Cen is a stubborn man who Li Shi can never plan or account for. After a few times of ‘punishing’ Sui Cen for disobeying him, he realizes at some point, as the crimes unravel, that their end is inevitable. But Sui Cen always surprises him, and they both love each other more than the other thought they did.

3. Qi Lin 祁林 - Li Shi’s lead guard. Very muscular, huge build, he and his fellow team of guards are loyal only to Li Shi, and he falls in love with Qu Ling Er who he hated in the beginning. They get together, and work past their differences considering that Qu Ling Er worked previously for the enemy. Was ‘forced’ to rat Li Shi out towards the end as Qu Ling Er was being held hostage.

4. Qu Ling Er 曲伶儿 - An assassin who defects from his organization, and finds refuge in Sui Cen’s house, becoming his guard and assistant. Falls in love with the brash caveman-like guard Qi Lin.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

The young emperor is really cute and I think it’s really nice that with Li Shi teaching him, he’s internalized his teachings and has learnt to discern right from wrong for himself, rather than be susceptible to his mother’s ulterior motives. He likes Sui Cen a lot too, and actually didn’t want to be emperor for the first few years, always crying when things go wrong, but Li Shi would scold him and then he composes himself, agreeing to make decisions etc. with the most pouty and sulking face ever

There’s a bit of a hot and cold situation because Qi Lin and Qu Ling Er both like each other, are attracted to each other, but because of their identities and the way Qi Lin is naturally suspicious of everyone, he ends up stabbing Qu Ling Er by accident and blames himself for it. Qu Ling Er forgives him as it was a complicated situation, but Sui Cen isn’t as kind - he ‘exchanges’ his body again to Li Shi for the promise of Li Shi punishing Qi Lin (he does, but then Qu Ling Er is sulky after that because he doesn’t want Qi Lin to suffer)

The cases are intriguing as well and are very well connected; pacing is undoubtedly a tad bit slower and the connecting dots definitely lengthens the whole thing by quite a bit, but overall a healthily packed piece

By now I think I can really safely say that my favourite trope is transmigration and second chance at life, and this one is all in one!! One of my favourite, satisfying revenge plot danmei!!! 

Summary

Ling Xiao transmigrated into historical times with his classmate and also crush Mo Qi, and willingly assists her journey to become the empress. As the “main character”, Mo Qi enjoys a smooth ride to the top with the help of Ling Xiao, garnering the love and affection of all the men around her and Ling Xiao is happy to help her - until she kills him after having made complete use of him.

Resentful of this woman he used to love, Ling Xiao manages to get a second chance at life and is determined to ruin everything that Mo Qi managed to so easily get in his previous life. It’s only in this second life that he sees just how spoilt and terrible Mo Qi has always been, and that without his help - example finding out what the emperor likes to eat, teaching her how to act and what to say to best get his attention and more - she would never have made it so far and so smoothly previously. This time, he strings Mo Qi along and lets her think that he still supports her, but is in fact finding all sorts of ways to ensure her downfall.

Using his wits and putting himself in the spotlight, Ling Xiao suddenly realizes that all the men who chased after Mo Qi in his previous life are now looking at him - even the emperor. He panics, because he thinks he’s straight (apparently not).

He doesn’t know that the emperor, in their previous and this life, only ever had eyes for him. The stoic, cold and aloof man always knew that behind Mo Qi’s tactics and apparent affection for him, that it was always Ling Xiao who was behind all these little initiatives. This time, they end up meeting each other for real without Mo Qi between them, and ends up becoming one of the emperor’s most trusted eunuchs, combining all that he knew in his previous life and applying it in his second life. They spend more time together, with Ling Xiao putting his modern times knowledge to good use and helping the emperor conquer more empires and land (and falling in love properly!)

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Translations) | Novel (Print) - Thai 

Characters

Ling Xiao 凌萧 - Smart, meticulous and sneaky, and catches the attention of everyone in his second life. Using knowledge from this previous life, Ling Xiao is determined to get to the emperor’s side to prevent Mo Qi from getting a chance to get there first, and manages to squeeze away the shrewd eunuch who’s been serving the emperor for years. Thinks he’s straight, but as with all novels like these we all know where this goes - he falls irrevocably in love with the emperor.

The Emperor - (He has a name but it rarely comes up in the novel I’ve literally been ctrl + f for about 45 chapters and don’t see his name anywhere!!! His uncle calls him 崇儿 and the surname is 牧 and yeah if I find it again I’ll edit this, but seriously he’s referred to as the Emperor like 95% of the novel) He’s always had his eye on Ling Xiao even in the first life, accepting Mo Qi if it meant seeing a hint of the Ling Xiao, who always followed Mo Qi around. When he finds out Ling Xiao died at the hands of Mo Qi, he flies into a devastated bout of rage. In the second life, even though he doesn’t remember anything about his first life, this time he gets a chance to spend the rest of his life with Ling Xiao at his side.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

The Emperor has a few other concubines, and at the end of the novel, he dissolves his harem out of jealousy because Ling Xiao makes friends with some of the women, leaving Ling Xiao basically his one and only other half despite objections from officials and his uncle

Ling Xiao has no idea that he’s attracted/likes the Emperor, and the Emperor is very certain of what/who he wants - kisses Ling Xiao into submission basically out of nowhere

Interesting to see Mo Qi start failing the moment Ling Xiao gets a second chance in life, and at some point because Mo Qi dies in her first life for killing Ling Xiao, her soul transmigrates back into current timeline Mo Qi, and at first she’s immensely happy to have a do-over but she then realizes that the current her has already fallen to the depths of despair and no return at the revengeful hands of Ling Xiao

The Emperor’s uncle doesn’t approve of Ling Xiao from start to end, and even like five years later, after five happy years of marriage and Ling Xiao having proven his worth to the empire just to prove a point the uncle, uncle is still nagging at Ling Xiao to allow the Emperor to at least have one kid and the Emperor ends up writing a decree to get his uncle married and for him and his wife to have a kid within the first year of marriage XD

Very satisfying as you see Mo Qi get her just desserts truly, and a bit bittersweet for the men who were chasing after her and ended up realizing in the second life that Ling Xiao shines brighter than she does

I literally just finished this one today and if you’re in for 70% angst coloured with sweet moment and a happy ending between a young to-be director and a seasoned actor who’s known for his bad acting skills, this one is it for you. Honestly the original summary and the title made it seem like this would be a comedic piece but it was slightly darker than I thought, but within reason! The love between them has to be vocalized but they understand each other quietly anyway and I just LOVE.

Warnings: BDSM (not the main part of the story and not between the couple), a whipping fetish (once again not between the main couple)

Summary

Ke Yu is a popular actor for his looks and he’s been in countless of movies over his 7 year career, but there’s a catch - everyone agrees that he sucks at acting and is unable to act out his characters well. He’s still popular because he’s absolutely good-looking, and also because of his boss, Tang Ye, who has over the years secured roles for him over and over again, in exchange for control over Ke Yu. Tang Ye is a sick, twisted man with a whipping fetish and over the years has slept and ruined countless of pretty young things by threatening/blackmailing them, and while some of these men have willingly played by Tang Ye’s game, Ke Yu only entered the entertainment industry to pay off the gambling debts of his grandpa, and ended up stuck with Tang Ye after the man drugged him and took photos of him naked, threatening to expose these pictures. If Ke Yu didn’t do as he said, and basically allow the man to do whatever he wanted with him, he’d have to pay penalty fees that he couldn’t afford if Tang Ye exposed the pictures.

7 years pass by and Ke Yu finally has enough saved to pay off the penalty fee for breaking the contract with Tang Ye, ending the torturous, hellish days between them. At the same time, Ke Yu meets Shang Lu as roommates in a village - Ke Yu is immersing himself into his next role with this stay, and Shang Lu has just returned from France to begin his directorial journey. Shang Lu has an eye for talent and is able to tell that Ke Yu isn’t a good actor now, but only needs detailed guidance to get to the peak of his acting career. Ke Yu is his muse, and after spending time together for 2 weeks with mistaken identities, Ke Yu expects to never meet Shang Lu again.

But they manage to find each other and get into a relationship as they work on improving Ke Yu’s acting skills, and the man debuts in Shang Lu’s very first movie, which is received with critical acclaim. Throughout this time, however, there are plenty of secrets Ke Yu is hiding: his unwilling past with Tang Ye, humiliation he doesn’t ever want to recall while the man continues to harass him, and his illness that makes him unable to imagine things visually in his head, the reason for his very stiff acting.

And as all these secrets come to light, Ke Yu and Shang Lu have to overcome obstacles - Tang Ye who insists that he loves Ke Yu despite what he did to him, Shang Lu’s rich parents who want their son to be happy but prefer him to still marry a woman and Ke Yu’s past, and two people who are also chasing after Shang Lu. When his past catches up with him, Ke Yu and Shang Lu have no choice but to separate, but finding their way back to each other again after 2 years, having come to terms with themselves.

*The abusive parts don’t make up the bulk of the story, and Tang Ye isn’t a crucial contender for Ke Yu’s affections as Ke Yu is very sure that what he and Tang Ye had before wasn’t love at all. Tang Ye does create crisis a few times throughout the book, but at the ultimate climax before the full breakup and reunion, he exits the story! Nothing too graphic either, but the darker sides to entertainment are fleshed out in the novel. The novel starts with Ke Yu and Shang Lu’s meeting, and all the other details of his past are revealed sporadically throughout the novel, so it’s easy to read.

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Simplified Chinese, March 2022

Characters

1. 商陆 Shang Lu - At the start of the novel he’s 24 and the second son to the wealthy Shang family, looking to make his first directorial debut in China after returning from years in France. He stays in this village and rooms with this guy who he mistakenly thinks is a male prostitute, and videos his monologue, then uploading it online as a short film. He realizes that the man is an actual actor called Ke Yu, and is determined to make the man his actor, his muse. He’s an incredibly astute director and is able to tell where Ke Yu is lacking and pushing him towards it, giving the man the confidence he needs, and then when they confirm their feelings for each other, they have 3 years of a sweet relationship, working with each other, moving past Ke Yu’s inner demons, but at the end of it, he’s unable to keep Ke Yu after finding out about what Ke Yu went through with Tang Ye as the man is determined to leave him. He’s found the love of his life, and lost the love of his life, but they reunite and he moves past his fear of being abandoned by Ke Yu once again.

2. 柯屿 Ke Yu - An aloof, depressed and sulky, beautiful actor who meets Shang Lu for the first time under disguise by accident, and falls in love with Shang Lu, learning to trust him and give himself to him completely after 29 years of hell, distrust and lack of warmth in his life. His grandpa is a gambler who almost sold him to brothels in Thailand when he was just a child, and was manipulated and blackmailed by a boss who he thought he could trust early on in his career with no way out as the man knows about his sick grandma, who’s living in a nursing home. He went through bouts of depression in his career and life, and when he could finally leave Tang Ye, he met Shang Lu. To him, his 29 years of hardship were worth it if it meant he could meet Shang Lu, but years of abuse and distrust made him feel inferior, and after pictures of his time with Tang Ye were sent to Shang Lu, Ke Yu ran. Shang Lu was unable to forget the photos completely, and Ke Yu couldn’t get over the fact that the part he wanted hidden most was laid out bare in front of the person he loved. Two years later, during which he focused on his career and got to a place where he could finally accept and love himself, he begins the arduous journey of chasing Shang Lu back.

3. 汤野 Tang Ye - An entertainment company’s boss who has a whipping fetish and before Ke Yu, ruined many celebrities under his wing in the same way. Ke Yu however, was defiant and refused to accept him, rely on him and give himself to him throughout the years, and Tang Ye believes that despite how he’s treated him, he actually loves Ke Yu and is willing to do anything for him as long as the man allows him to control him. He tries to destroy Ke Yu’s career after he leaves the company, and even kidnaps his grandma to ensure that Ke Yu goes to meet him, and then later plays mind games with Ke Yu, because he’s sure that someone like Ke Yu can only belong with someone as twisted as him, because no normal person would love him. 

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

Usually I don’t pick up books like these i.e. angst, separation and reunion, blackmail and multiple contenders for the main couple’s affections, but this was done really really well, you don’t get that cliche love trapezium feeling because through it all the struggle is real, the painful but irresistible love between the main couple shines through

The suspense is incredibly real because the novel goes through pockets of scenes where the bad guys including Tang Ye try to break Shang Lu and Ke Yu up, and you can see them almost falling into the trap

Shang Lu and Ke Yu are really really sweet; Ke Yu’s celebrity name is Xiao Dao i.e. Little Island, and the ‘lu’ in Shang Lu means land, so they have their own secret Weibo account where Ke Yu will type “I am Little Island” and Shang Lu replies, “And I am your land.” - Even when they were not together, they used this account to cope with the loss of each other until they were reunited

It’s really bittersweet as well because for the first time I felt a lot for Shang Lu’s childhood friend who’s always been in love with him, but because Shang Lu treats him only as a friend and due to family politics, this genius violinist never sees Shang Lu again for the rest of his life after a fall out, even though he still loves him, but he isn’t allowed to. Shang Lu used to sit in the front row of every concert he played in, and after the fall out, the man’s concerts would have an empty seat in the front row, always for Shang Lu, but they never meet again - Honestly this is pretty sad but it hurts so good because it really reflects the inevitability of time, fate and life, the people you were close to for years at some point, you may never see again even though you live in the same world, always moving in parallels only

When Ke Yu tries to chase Shang Lu back, he tries everything he can - And his growth stood out to me so much from before their breakup to now, because he was always quietly insecure and ready to flee at any time, not willing to share his thoughts or come clean with Shang Lu, but after 2 years, he faces his feelings and verbalizes everything he wants, everything he’s willing to do, because he will love Shang Lu for the rest of his life even if the man found someone while they were separated, or if the man didn’t love him anymore </3

You guys know my jam - transmigration! I didn’t realize how many transmigration ones I read until I did up the full list at the end of 2021, and here’s continuing on the transmigration danmei streak!

Summary

Technology has evolved until a point where theatres can offer a virtual simulation of movies via mental transmigration - it’s a hit with movie-goers, who put on headsets and enter the world of the movie truly and act along the main characters and cast of a movie. They usually enter as a sidekick character, and if they are able to change their character’s intended destinies, their ‘successful’ versions get the chance to be rated for a new version public premiere, with them as one of the main leads.

Su Min, a university student, goes to the theatre with his dormmates, and much to everyone’s surprise, tries out a horror movie. Who wants to personally immerse and transmigrate into a horror movie where scary things are bound to appear? Not only that, but most horror movies have ridiculous vague and brief synopsis, so they don’t even know what they’re getting into. Su Min doesn’t really find that a problem, however, and is the only single person to try out the transmigration experience into the movie, a school horror film. Everyone, including the theatre’s staff, are skeptical that he can even live past his character’s intended demise, and even make him sign all sorts of indemnity forms.

The moment he’s in the movie, he standing in front of a mirror in a dark toilet wearing a horrifying red women’s one-piece lingerie nightgown, and in his hands is an apple and a knife. His character’s background is downloaded into his brain, and he curses out loud, because his character is supposed to literally die right now because of this stupid game he’s playing. Similar to Bloody Mary, it is said that if someone peels an apple with a knife without breaking the apple peel (as the apple turns), one can see their future spouse in the mirror. However, break the peel and they’ll die. Obviously Su Min’s character doesn’t finish the peel properly and ends up dying as the first victim of the movie. In order for his immersive experience to become successful, he has to live past his intended demise AND get to the end of the story and mystery, even solving the horror case. 

He finishes the peel against all odds, and sees a ghostly figure in the mirror, but the figure doesn’t do him anny harm, and instead gropes his butt instead. 

Su Min: “What kind of setting is this? Why would you have a pervert ghost in a horror movie wtf?!”

Unbeknownst to him, this ghost is friendly only to him, and even saves him from fatal blows, not just in this movie, but across several other horror movies in the future later. As Su Min gets to know this ghost, named Shen Su, the feeling that he and Shen Su actually know each other get stronger and stronger, and as they date their way through movies (even sleeping with each other), Su Min’s desire to see Shen Su, who he’s certain is a real life person in reality and is someone powerful that has a say over movies and the theatre, gets stronger and stronger.

Su Min gets through all his horror movies successfully and becomes the only legendary movie goer who gets his new version of movies premiered in theatres, and he gets famous because...

All other movie goers, after watching his movie: Wtf is this horror movie? Can this even be considered a horror movie? You’re lying it’s a fucking love story-

Shen Su, smug and secretive: He’s mine~

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Novel (Online) | Novel (Translations) | Novel (Print) - Thai version only!

Characters

1. 苏悯 Su Min - A university student who has balls of steel and is entirely unfazed by horror movies. Easily completes one movie after another, and is helped by Shen Su in movies on and off at critical moments, and finds himself dating Shen Su in different settings. He’s sure that he knows Shen Su, and is even more convinced when his grandma, senile and dazed, calls out Xiao Su Xiao Su, and his mother quickly dismissing it when Su Min asks - but he can’t figure out when he forgot Shen Su, because every part of his life he remembers and is seemingly intact in his head. Very calm, composed and aloof even, and only displays larger reactions when Shen Su teases him.

2. 沈宿 Shen Su - A mysterious ghost that turns up in all of Su Min’s movies, even non-horror ones! Su Min can’t seem to escape him, and Shen Su obviously knows him and likes, even loves him a lot, but is unable to reveal his identity to him for some reason. He’s very daring, and he and Su Min end up having sex even in movies, and Su Min in the beginning was really worried because his movies end up premiering, but all the sexy times are usually tastefully cut out and edited fully by the time it premieres. Utterly devoted to Su Min and has been waiting for a chance to reunite with him.

Other Things I Liked in the Novel

Su Min gets so annoyed by the way Shen Su follows and harrasses him in each movie that he decides to go for a love story and he has to exit that movie, his face all red, because obviously Shen Su 1. Had sexy times with him 2. Turned the love story into a horror movie

After their feelings are known and Su Min is sure they know each other, even though he’s not very certain when, where and how, Su Min accepts Shen Su and starts badgering the man to turn up in front of him

The last immersive movie Su Min goes to before the story ends is a story based on his and Shen Su’s meeting, and then we find out that Shen Su is a sort of a special existence

Shen Su is the head of an R&D organization, and actually runs a mental health institute; he developed the movie immersive tech, and thus is a VIP of the theatre