Tang Cu, the godly author with a severe social anxiety disorder, gathered his courage to meet with the Tai Tai who has been writing fanfiction for his novels.
This is such a sweet and heartfelt story with a healing aspect. For all the pain and misery the MC experienced from his own family in the past, he was compensated by meeting the ML, the only person he was able to get close to in his life. A person who is very considerate and always has his best interest at heart. Someone who would love, cherish and protect him, things that he never experienced from his own parents.
I loved that even though this has an angst from a childhood trauma, it is mostly a pure love story, the build up of the relationship between the MC and ML and the road to healing and happiness. I appreciate how straightforward the story is. No unnecessary misunderstanding just for the sake of drama.
Some might say that MC and ML fell in love quickly right after they met for the first time but understand that they already have an established friendship for 7 years, albeit online. Having a relationship connection online might not amount to anything for some people, but for people like MC and ML, one avoiding any social relationship because of his trauma and the other being critical of the people he chose to associate with, being each other's special online friend for years only shows how much they treasure the relationship that they have built. So for them to fall in love with each other almost instantly after meeting each other and being together for days is not an insta-love for me. Their adoration and feelings for each other are already there, it's just that meeting each other only helped them become aware of it. I loved how the author paced it so naturally and smoothly so that it didn't felt forced.
Also, there are multiple trigger warnings here like homophobia, child endangerment and mention of attempted suicide so be warned. There's also this appalling and horrible family dynamic. Very awful but I think it mirrors some family dynamic in real life. I appreciate that the author didn't promote forced forgiveness and filial piety, which is a common theme on some Chinese media.
Despite the MC's terrible family relationship, it's not the focus of the story. This is mostly wholesome and I very much recommend this.
The Story: This one was extremely adorable, fluffy and sweet, with a side of angst. Our MC, Tang Cu is someone with social anxiety disorder, due to trauma encountered at the hands of a family member. He is also a shut in/recluse web novel author under the pen name Zhu Congsheng who's obtained 'literary God' status (his nickname is literally "Zhu Shen" 🤣 [bamboo god]). He also has a dedicated fan of 7 years, our ML, Pian Yu (real name, Lu Lianguang), who he keeps in contact with. originally he believes this Pian Yu is a female due to her online nickname of Tai Tai (which means older madam) so when he agrees to meet 'her' he is surprised that she's actually a male. From this a tale of cuteness, fluff, self discovery, and Chinese literary company politics commences.
The Pros: I liked this story, it was easy to read and had it's heartwarming moments that I won't forget easily. I liked the dynamics between the the main couple. There was little miscommunications that happened and their relationship felt natural and not forced. I felt that Tang Cu's social anxiety was very real and clearly the author did some research.
The writing was really good, and I give my commendations to the translator for their hard work in transferring over this novel into English. The author evidently has good Chinese literary knowledge because almost all the internet alias" was based on some Chinese poem or novel. This definitely would've been difficult to translate.
I liked seeing the inclusion of fan culture in this novel, and how we get to view fan communities and how idols are often "close" to their fans, especially the well known ones. That was well written.
The Cons: However, because of the short length of the novel (60 chapters) something that I felt was lacking was how there are some loose ends that weren't tied up, nor tied up well enough that after reading the novel, whilst satisfied with the conclusions I'm still left wanting for more. For one, what about Tang Cu's family, his brother more specifically, how is he after the revelation that his older brother was abused the entire time he was under their roof?
After the death of the mother we don't really get to see whether or not Tang Cu completely makes peace with that, and we don't see any growth in that matter. Social Anxiety can never completely disappear and his trauma will never leave too, I was found wanting to see how he progressed with his condition and felt that his character growth was kind of lacking. He opened up to someone and found love, but that doesn't fix everything? despite him not being a one dimensional character, he definitely wasn't three dimensional either.
Another issue I had with the novel is that scenes were ended, way to abruptly that I got whiplash a few times. In one scene Lu Lianguang was talking to his roommate Hu Miao about his relationship and then it switches in one paragraph to him talking his mother and father and then in the paragraph after that, switches to him and Tang Cu tying ties for a wedding. I was so confused and didn't understand what was going on. Scene changes were too fast that it ruined the immersion into the story.
Another thing that I was upset about was the characterisation of Tang Cu, in the novel we get to see a slight pettiness and anger over some situations and that he had been planning revenge towards his mother which resulted in a confrontation, and then another time for the plagiarism incident with Zhu Jian. I would've like to see this developed more. But sadly, this didn't occur.
Another was the characterisation and development of Lu Lianguang. He was a very one-dimensional character. In reading, I realised very early on that he was just there to serve as plot device for Tang Cu. it was good to see his thoughts, and adoration for Tang Cu but I would've like to see how meeting him caused some, any, even a little bit of character development, growth or progression.
Concluding thoughts: Overall, I still liked this novel and it was really nice and it was a nice filler for me. I just wish there was more. More development for the characters, more cohesion in the scene changes and just more to fill in some of the plot holes.
Will I read this again? probably not tbh. but it was still good.
Dropped at 62% (chapter 40) because the obstacles are basically over now thankfully. I’ll mark it as read not DNF since I’ve already gone through most of the book and can clearly see where the ending is headed.
Overall I enjoyed it a lot. At one point I genuinely thought it might end up being one of my best reads of 2025. Sadly it wasn’t .. not because it’s bad, but because while it’s very enjoyable and fun to read it just didn’t hit deep enough for my personal taste.
That said I absolutely recommend checking it out.
It’s older shou / younger gong with a small age gap (only 3 years). The dynamic gives black cat & golden retriever energy but more accurately it’s shy golden retriever × shameless golden retriever. Both main characters are writers. There’s mutual pining though the MC leans more tsundere.
There are some TW nothing major but it’s best to look them up beforehand just to be safe.
That’s all.
P.S. Notice how there isn’t much here about how this book made me feel? That’s exactly why it’s not a 5 star read for me. I’ve realized that when I truly love a book my reviews focus far more on the emotional impact and this one while good didn’t quite get there.
There are two things I REALLY liked about this book. First: the concept of severe social anxiety and how after a person is "isolated" from having contact with people for a considerable amount of time it absolutely cripples any sense of adequacy when interacting with others; every little detail about this and how to handle these types of situations (aside of obviously needing therapy for it) was spot on.
Second: there are heavy themes that are related to the MC's family and their past actions, and I really liked how the author showed that not "everything should be forgiven because they are blood"; sometimes people don't change, sometimes it is not even worth it to look for a redeemable quality in them, whether they are family or not, sometimes the best thing we can do is just walk away from them.
Some plot twists were rather predictable, nevertheless it is a very worthy and enjoyable read. The main couple is simply adorable.
Me faltaría por terminar los extras pero eso prefiero ir leyéndolo poco a poco, si hay algo que me faltaba por conocer editaré esta reseña
Es una historia que ayuda bastante a lidiar con un bloqueo lector, corta de leer y que te muestra las injusticias que se presentan con las compañías y editoriales hacia los autores
A pesar que no se dice directamente que es lo que tiene el protagonista uno se da cuenta que sufre por ansiedad social, al principio pensé que la historia iría a un rumbo en que el shou terminaría siendo muy dependiente del gong pero no es para nada así
Ambos son muy independientes con sus propias carreras y tienen el mismo poder, se apoyan mutuamente en el otro como se entienden a la perfección
Es una muy buena pareja en la que siempre apoyaran las decisiones del otro o estarán ahí para él, a pesar de no tener ninguna crítica negativa a la historia tampoco hubo algo que me llamara la atención o me encariñara con los personajes para subirle la calificación
Pero si la recomiendo si buscas leer algo corto y muy dulce, es ese tipo de novelas que necesitas cuando no quieres leer algo amargo o triste
couldn't sleep so i finished this and woah it's been a while since i got so immersed in reading, wish it was longer bc some parts felt quite rushed but it touched my feels so !!
What a heartwarming book this is... Despite all the warnings of it being an intense read, I found it relatively light, although a bit deep. It was perfect for a simple love story without too much plot, but just enough to keep one hooked. A definite recommendation.
The story mainly focused on these two (young) writers in China’s webnovel industry. In my opinion, this novel provided us readers in-depth knowledge about what was and still is happening in the industry.
What about the romance? Fairly enough, I can say that I’m hooked up. I mean, I just started reading this yesterday and now I’m already finished reading it with total 60 chapters of the story? Can’t say that this novel had perfect plot, characters, and many other great things because in fact, as I recall my reading experience, the plots weren’t heavy, quite simple actually.
"It's just that every time I get to know you a little more, I like you even more." Can you not fall in love with this simplest most romantic lines I’ve ever heard? YOU GUYS, JUST GET MARRIED ALREADY!!!!!!!
I recommend this story for you who like to read modern danmei and a quick read. OH WAIT, I almost forgot. The fan translations were amazing, like amazing, real smooth and there wasn’t time I was confused with the chosen words and sentences. Good job, translators!
Me gustó mucho cómo se retrató el tema de la ansiedad social en la novela; incluso aunque no te lo dijeran explícitamente, tú sabías que el protagonista la tenía. También la novela reveló una verdad que muchos de los que leemos novelas chinas ya conocíamos: a muchas compañías solo les importa las ganancias que un autor pueda generarle y no es nada raro que les den malos tratos al no seguir sus reglas. La dinámica de la pareja es muy tierna. Me hacía muy feliz leerlos juntos. ♡ Con respecto a la familia de Tang Cu, tengo que decir hasta me provocaba lástima ver cómo no aceptaban todo el daño que le habían causado, inclusive hasta el final. En fin: 4.5 estrellas. ☆
This was such a cute novel! Tang Cu's character really pulled at your heartstrings. He really had such a tragic past and I am a little upset we could not get a deeper look into it. Lu Lianguang was truly so good, just as Tang Cu says throughout the novel. I loved him dearly and the way he treated Tang Cu. Overall, the adorableness of this novel won me over, I really gushed and melted at anything the two main characters did together. I most likely will be rereading this!
Not what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it! I thought the story would focus more on the characters' interactions in real life, but it's also a deep dive into the inner workings of Chinese webnovels. Due to his past, the main character has severe anxiety and it really affects his day-to-day life. I was worried about whether his condition would be made the butt of the joke, but the author treats him with a lot of compassion which I appreciate. Also, I can't stand it in stories when the abuser gets forgiven even when they've done nothing to earn it so I'm glad the main character sticks to his guns until the very end. The romance is really sweet. The way their relationship develops feels organic and believable; I love how much the ML adores and dotes on the MC. My one complaint is that the two leads are way too overpowered. They're always the hottest and most talented people in the room. Whenever there's conflict, there are no stakes because you know they'll win in the end.
3.5/5 This was really cute. It's a story about healing from a traumatic past through friendship and then love. The antagonists, Zhu Jian and chief editor Sun were a bit too exaggerated, which was ridiculous but also fun to read (it's not a novel that takes itself that seriously). I also love how, unlike in many novels, the abusive parents were unapologetically not forgiven even until the end!! Go Zhu Shen!!
Quote: "Tang Cu's attention was still entirely fixed on Lu Lianguang. It was as if there was light on his body, making him unable to divert his gaze. Lu Lianguang greeted him, and Tang Cu opened his arms to hug the light of his life."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Sweet and healing. I enjoyed the story overall, but I didn't like the tensions on the book at all. Like others said, they were quite ridiculous lol. Their relationship is so cute!