This book is probably the closest I’ve found to BAB in terms of the emotional distress it made me feel. Huai Shang’s books tend to be pretty mainstream, but I actually prefer her older, lesser-known novels. Back then, she wasn’t afraid to write dark, unhinged stories, something that sets them apart from her later, more commercially accessible works. My friends always call her earlier books “old school danmei,” kind of like how “bodice ripper” is used in straight romance.
Unfortunately, the translation for this was dropped on NU, so I had to read it on AsianNovel, which, surprisingly, had a decent translation. I tried to access it on JJWXC, but the site completely locked out all the chapters. I mean, I’m used to their censorship laws and them restricting explicit content, but they locked the entire book. LOL, I can guess why.
If you enjoyed BAB, I definitely recommend giving this one a shot, along with Huai Shang’s older books. The angst here is sooo juicy. She has a way of writing obsessive characters that reminds me of Meatbun’s, though I wouldn’t say this one is as mind-blowing as some of her other works. Still, if you’re into that vibe, you’ll probably enjoy it. Just be warned—this is a dark, unsettling read.
I’m only giving it 4 stars, though, because I really didn’t like the ending.
I’ve never experienced a book like this. It’s brutal but not dirty if that makes sense. Yes, I can see every twisted action, but the reason behind it is explained later and understood to some degree. Even when those actions seem without reason, I still understood what emotions and mental shadows led to such horrific events.
This is a 5 star read and a best of 2025 tagged not because it has “perfect main characters” or “fluffy moments,” but because it shook something deep inside me. I kept wondering, and I’m still confused… is this love? What is love? The ML did all of that to the MC, then did all of this for the MC if it’s not love, it’s obsession. But even obsession has types one born from hate, another from love, and maybe a third kind entirely.. because what do I know?
You see my point. This book has me in my head, thoughts ricocheting left and right my head physically hurts, and I’m not sure it’s not because of this book.
Last thought I don’t think humans in real life who do such things deserve any grace, but this is fiction so yes, I can understand it, in this aspect only.
NARESZCIE SKONCZONE DANGGG to nie powinno miec happy endingu kurwa sory chu chi trzeba bylo umrzec plus wtf han yue itd kurwa lowke nah jesli o mnie chodzi chociaż kriminal watek byl fun itd to cos mi nie siedzi a jak ktos mi kurwa powie ze yan xie jes zly to niech zobaczy na han yue kurwa nie hejtuje han yue ale jeg zachowanie przez polowe ksiazki bylo dosc questionable bruh ale bruh zczail ze salvation is at hand and didnt pull a jing lin! nie wiem ile dac w danmejowym rankingu bo danmeje oceniam inaczej niz zwykle papierki kurwa wujaszkowi dalam 3 to to idk moze tez 3 chyba wiecej nie powinnam
In short, a caveman's journey to become civilized.
4.7 out of 5, this fic pushed my buttons (0.3 off for the last few chapters, which I thought wasn't handled that well). But damn, 有夠虐了! Even though the main character (the top) is totally a violent, abusive and immature bastard/rapist, I couldn't help but like him > <
Still, morally, aside from the rapist/abusive thing, he's not that bad. He's loyal, he doesn't like how his friends break the law and he's pretty clean from corruption etc, but he has some serious jealousy issues. Emotionally he's like a 5 year old. He wants to see 楚 smile and be good to the dude, but the dude hates him and won't smile (totally understandable considering how he pretty much ruined 楚‘s life), so 韓 just gets super angry and ruins things with threats etc. But still, for his love, he'd do anything, even go see a shrink to deal with his bad temper > < But, thanks to his violent ways, the 楚濨 was always cold and unresponsive no matter what, which made sense and what made it SO much better than all those unreasonable Stockholm Syndrome crap out there. But that's what also makes it so heartrending...I liked the main character > < Torturous, man. This fic was torturous.
TORTUROUS > <
一直看神經病的故事害我也快變成神經病
But yeah. Despite all the WTFeries and all the need to suspend my disbelief, and the rapist thing, this probably makes one of my top tens in terms of how much I enjoyed the fic~ What can I say lol this author knows how to push my buttons
Unofficial english name: Lantern: Behold the Bayonet. Length: 57 chapters + extras.
"I forgot my own surname the moment I laid my eyes on him."
I'd say that's a good line to summarize this novel and one that will stay with me because of the meaning around the entire story. I knew what type of work I was getting into, but I still didn't know what to expect from it. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. I started it because I couldn't resist listening to the recent audio drama adaptation. Despite finishing this with MTL, I thought overall it was a solid novel.
The plot is about Han Yue, a high ranking military official who becomes infatuated with Chu Ci at first sight. Chu Ci is an engineer who happened to cross paths with him, and from the day it happened his life went downhill. It centers around their relationship, how Chu Ci is forced to bear with Han Yue because he literally can't get away from the guy. He knows it very well after 2 years of knowing him, which is how the novel starts. But Chu Ci hides something, and once it's revealed to the reader, everything explodes.
The story mostly follows Han Yue, and while it's written in third person, the author focused a bit more on him. From start to finish, we see how Chu Ci becomes involved with him and all the things he goes through because of Han Yue's obsession with him. It isn't healthy, it is clear abuse, one that Chu Ci cannot escape. I genuinely wish the novel was centered around Chu Ci instead, it would've added the emotional element that this needed because at times it felt flat. The pacing was great, but I would've wanted to see more of the actual beginning, not only in one extra. Seeing the violence progress would have been painful but it would also add angst which is something I crave from this type of stories. I mostly felt desperation, which is great given Chu Ci's circumstances, but it would've been interesting to see more from the victim's perspective. It was still good though, just personal preference.
The themes explored in the novel were well presented. First, there's corruption and privileged families controlling justice. Another is depression to the point of suicide attempt as two of the major effects from (continuous) rape, harrassment and coercion. Finally there are revenge and betrayal. All of these elements are combined in a mature way, not only treated in surface but going all the way, especially regarding Chu Ci's physical and mental health as well as how protective people in power are about their own relatives, going to the extreme of shutting everyone down if that means their reputation and lives aren't disrupted.
The outcome from most of those elements was very satisfying. About the revenge plotline, . I felt resentment the most towards the mother and Han Yue's brother, because of the lack of responsability they were willing to take. I also despised Han Yue due to his treatment towards Chu Ci, although I confess at times I almost felt pity (due to his backstory) but then I recalled Chu Ci's condition and I hated him again. But this isn't to say the novel is bad due to having such character as the ML, nor that it's bad because I hate one of the main characters. Instead, it shows an interesting aproach about justice involving everyone that failed Chu C, whom represents the unprivileged ones. Even more so because this novel was written around 2010, but it has some relatively "modern" takes, which weren't as discussed before.
About the ending, although it appears as .
Tags: (can miss some, heads up that I don't tag everything) -POV: third person -Content warnings: -Elements: -Kinks: none -Sexual act(s): -Dynamic:
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