English title: He Rode the Evening Wind / Have You Slept Enough? (on JJWXC)
A modern day romance about a mangaka FL dating her editor ML. The FL, Shi Yin, actually met the ML, Gu Congli, in high school. He went to the same high school as her and returned a couple years after graduating to help guide senior art students, so technically he was there as a teacher while she was a student. Even though the FL was in the science track and had zero art experience, she fell in love with the ML at first sight purely based on his looks and did everything she could to interact with him however possible. Eventually the ML leaves the school due to some rumors that circulated based on pictures of them that were taken from an ambiguous angle, and many years later when they reconnect in a professional capacity, the FL still feels guilty about that incident.
Part of the story, especially in the beginning, is spent on flashbacks describing their interactions back in high school, to set the setting for their reunion several years later. There is a 6 year age gap between them, so when they meet again, the ML is 29 and the FL is 23. It takes a while for the romance to take off, because 1) the FL is so flustered every time she meets the ML and 2) the ML has no notion of romance and his idea of "chasing" after her isn't obvious to anyone, much less the FL.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
The romance is cute enough, but the ML definitely gives off some red flags at times. Once they start dating, he's incredibly possessive about the FL and gets jealous when he sees her as much as smiling at another guy. In retaliation, he'll bite on her lips and other body parts hard enough for the pain to last days. I wasn't super into overly obsessiveness part of the romance. He does get a bit better about this later on, especially when the FL starts treating him as an equal in the relationship and gives him confidence that she won't leave him, but it's painful to read for a while.
As for the FL, it takes her a while to find her position in the relationship, because to her the ML is her white moonlight and someone she's held up on a pedestal for so long. But eventually she realizes that attitude isn't good for the stability of the relationship and tries to communicate better with him and learn more about his unstable family situation.
The romance starts on a weird note for me from the high school days. I don't understand why the FL is SO into the ML after running into him just once or twice on campus, to the point where she'll behave shamelessly for a chance to interact with him. And on the guy's part, I also don't understand why he started dreaming about the FL after he left the school and can't forget about her even after years apart. It would make more sense if they had more interactions in high school, but they really didn't, so it didn't feel like there was a basis for either of them to have such strong feelings that they can't forget about the other even after 7 years apart.
The story doesn't entirely focus on the romance; it also follows Shi Yin's career as an up and coming manga artist and the struggles that come with that, between the constant deadlines, online attacks from anti fans, and even sabotage from other manga artists. I enjoyed this part of the story, as this was my first novel about a manga artist and it was refreshing to read something different from a typical office job or the entertainment industry.
The writing style was quite humorous at times too, which is another reason why I enjoyed the story as much as I did. I'll give some examples:
It took him a week to accept her WeChat friend request, and according to him, it was an accident lol
The next second, her eyes widened.
Accepted.
He actually accepted.
The mighty, petty, vindictive chief editor, after leaving her hanging for nearly a week, finally accepted her friend request.
I have accepted your friend verification request. Now we can start chatting!
Shi Yin blinked, blinked again, and after confirming she hadn’t misread, the accumulated resentment of the past few days vanished without a trace. Trembling, she carefully typed: [Chief Editor Gu, you finally added me!]
A minute passed before he slowly replied.
Three words.
Not even bothering with punctuation.
[Clicked by mistake]
Shi Yin: “...”
Shi Yin: ???
-------------
FL meets her first crush from middle school, a rough bully type guy, at a blind date, and it turns out he draws cutesy shojo manga under a very feminine artist name hahaha
Lin Youhe nodded: “I’m also a manga artist.”
Shi Yin was shocked.
Oh my god, the school bully didn’t end up collecting high-interest loans but instead drew manga!
Shi Yin thought this school bully was subtle yet wild, though outwardly she stayed composed, nodding calmly: “You draw shonen fighting manga, right?”
The school bully flexed his muscular wrist, comparable to a gym coach’s, and emotionlessly stated: “No, I draw shoujo manga. My pen name is Sweet Apple Candy.”
“...”
Shi Yin: ?
-------------
Gu Congli let out a soft “hmph,” his voice low and barely audible, colder than ice: “Next week, give me the storyboard for Chapter Two.”
“…”
Staring at the disconnected call, Shi Yin was bewildered, finally realizing something was off.
This person sounded like he was in a bad mood. Who knows who had upset this moody individual now.
His temperament lately was erratic, like someone going through menopause. You never knew when or why he’d suddenly become displeased.
Calculating it, Gu Congli was twenty-nine this year.
Could a man’s midlife crisis start at thirty?
-------------
FL makes friends with an elderly grandmother at the gym who loves to talk about her sweet grandson, but guess who the grandson is XP
Not long after, the grandma waved toward the entrance and smiled at Shi Yin: “My little grandson is here.”
Sitting with her back to the door, Shi Yin turned around upon hearing this.
A familiar, breathtakingly beautiful, icy face came into view.
Its owner walked over steadily, stopped, lowered his gaze, and gave her a fleeting glance before shifting his attention elsewhere, calmly addressing the elder: “Grandma.”
Shi Yin’s expression froze.
The elder’s earlier words echoed repeatedly in her mind.
— “My little grandson is such a filial child, with a gentle temper. He speaks softly to everyone and has been lovable since he was young.”
“…”
I must be blind.
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lol the FL can so awkward sometimes
“Chief Editor, if there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with, please tell me. We’re now partners in work, right? If you keep everything bottled up, it’ll eventually affect our efficiency… I also want to—”
She didn’t finish. Gu Congli suddenly interrupted: “Must it only be a work relationship?”
Shi Yin looked up, bewildered: “Huh?”
He calmly gazed at her, his brown eyes heavy with an emotion that clung viscously. His words came slowly, his voice eerily soft: “Can’t it be something else?”
Her brain froze for several seconds. For some inexplicable reason, the first thing that came to mind was her bold declaration in the taxi months ago: If I can finish thirty pages of manuscript, I’ll call you “Dad” three times.
Her actions outpaced her thoughts, and Shi Yin blurted out: “Father-daughter relationship?”
By the time she realized what she’d said, it was too late.
Gu Congli fell silent.
-------------
No matter where he went or who he met, everything felt bland and tiresome.
Gu Congli had assumed he’d grown accustomed to this kind of life.
Time flowed by flatly, without ripples or waves.
Until he encountered Shi Yin again.
The girl stood in front of Yaoguang Publishing wearing a simple white T-shirt and denim shorts, waiting for someone. Her slender figure swayed into his line of sight, perfectly overlapping with someone deep in his memories.
It was as if someone had poured a bucket of paint over his dull, gray world. Starting with her, the world began to slowly regain its vibrancy.
Something flashed by too quickly to grasp.
But it was enough to make him outright reject an invitation from a former classmate to co-found a startup. Instead, he became the editor-in-chief of Crimson Moon , directly placing her under his supervision.
-------------
the FL's reaction when he first confesses to chasing her haha
He smiled, raising his hand to cover the top of her head, gently rubbing it: “Shi Yin, I’ve been chasing you. Can’t you see?”
Later, Shi Yin thought that if people really experience a flash of memories before death, recalling scenes from their entire life, this moment would surely rank among the most magical experiences of her life.
Her moon in the water, her flower in the mirror, her youthful fantasies, her unreachable dreams—all stood before her, saying, “I’m chasing you. Can’t you see?”
Shi Yin tried to recall their interactions since they reunited, her expression blank.
Even though these words came from Gu Congli himself, her first reaction was: You must be fucking with me.
She really didn’t see it.
Is this how someone chases another person?
It seemed more like revenge.
-------------
Their relationship is made public at a company party, and boy is the rest of the company shocked when they find out haha
From a distance, the Crimson Moon crew couldn’t quite hear what was being said. They sent a young intern to discreetly move closer and gather intel.
The poor intern approached reluctantly, standing at a moderate distance. By the time he heard the final exchange, his jaw nearly dropped.
He returned in a daze, staring blankly at his gossipy colleagues and seniors, his expression crumpled with despair. “I have… a few updates.”
The Crimson Moon editorial team huddled together. Zhao, the senior editor, raised a hand. “Speak, my good intern.”
“The editor-in-chief said he is Qi’an.”
Everyone: “!”
“The editor-in-chief and Teacher Shi Yi seem to be… in a relationship.”
Everyone: “?”
“The editor-in-chief calls Teacher Shi Yi… ‘darling.’”
Everyone: “…?!?!?”
The sheer volume of information left everyone momentarily unable to process it.