Status Updates From Salad Days: Vol. 1 (Salad D...

it feels so strange to say not much happened in 100 pages. but it didn’t. well, it would be more accurate to say it was a bunch of small things. a trading of snacks. a trip to sam’s club. qingling defending her brother from rumors. goumao having those rumors be true so he can save up for qingling’s birthday. a gift of a chick. just small, cute, easy stuff…

However, he was rather disdainful of his feet. “They’re just really ugly.”
Bai Jinyi did not respond, only putting his shoes on for him.
“My hands don’t look good either.” Bai Jinyi showed him the backs of his hands. “See? They’re full of scars, the kind that will never disappear.”
“So, Little Swan, it’s okay to be ugly.” Bai Jinyi looked at him, breaking into a smile. “Let’s be ugly together.”
😭

“How is Bai’er?”
Bai’er was the chicken Bai Jinyi was raising. [..]
Bai Jinyi didn’t seem to be very happy. “It’s too fat. I’ve clearly been watching it closely, feeding it on time and in exact amounts. I don’t know if my parents have been feeding it other things when I’m not around. For the past two months, I’ve been forcing it to take walks around the yard.”

Poor chicken 😂

“Little Swan!” He waved at him. “What are you eating?”
Taken aback, Jiang Shen wondered if none of them were being fed enough. Why was this always the first thing they asked?

Food thieves, the lot of them.

i’m so entertained by the formatting. like yes do go off on a tangent about the kid’s mother’s friendships! sure!
the way they trust little 9yo Jiang Shen to go into the city and then come back alone??
awh Bai Jinyi already likes a little swan
that damn chicken
i can’t disagree with the hardworking thing. i’ve never got a book about my hobby
oh no you can’t just.. do pointe..
they are so sweet stop 🥹

all i can say is this story is so cute so far. Jiang Shen is a little cutie, his parents seem kind and earnest and i love his little friend Goumao. 😭 when they caught the chicken i was laughing so hard. and Goumao’s little sister is the cutest ever, it’s so sweet that she’s chasing her dreams too. JS you will adjust to those stretches and become a great ballerina!

NOOOO why would they end the first novel off like that 😭 I swear Liu Xingzhi's nice!!! And bruhh why end it off with Jiang Shen casually dissing the badass dreadlocks 😭😭😭

Bai Jinyi thought for a moment then said, “Can I KO the other party?”
The coach’s head hurt. “Why do you keep wanting to KO?!”
Bai Jinyi put his headgear back on. The one-minute break was about to end. “Because there’s someone watching today, so I must look cool.”
The coach was at a loss for words.

love that we're finally seeing more about boxing. and yayyy shen junyi has appeared :D

as much as the art had been the thing that made me absolyely hooked onto the manhua, the writing had also been absolutely splendid. and now reading it directly in the novel itself... i can definitely appreciate the adaptation far more now. honestly wish this was more hyped up, despite being more of a slice-of-life, comfort read.

“You’re beautiful when you dance,” the other boy suddenly said.
Embarrassed, Jiang Shen’s face was a little warm. “No, I’m really not—“
“In my eyes,” Bai Jinyi interrupted, “you’re also someone that’s like the stars and the moon.”

AHHHH THEY ARE SO STINKING CUTE 🥺🥺 And Richie Rich Bai is such a flirt.

“Why are you the only good guy here? You’ve been one for so long already, making me look as though I’m bullying him in comparison,” the other said, unhappy.
Shubao laughed wickedly. “That’s why I let you buy the shoes.”

I have a feeling I will love the novels even more than I had the manhuas. Which is quite an achievement, given the place the manhua has in my heart.

“A boy dancing Swan Lake? Have you seen that before?” Lai Song asked.
“Y-yes, I have,” Jiang Shen suddenly stammered out. “I-I’ve looked it up.”
Bai Jinyi and Lai Song exchanged a glance, then settled on Jiang Shen’s face.
The latter blushed again, yet said very solemnly, “In the future, after I learn it, I’ll dance it for the both of you to see.”

There indeed was one, by Sir Matthew Bourne.

Jiang Luoshan’s expression turned complicated. “Say, why would our son suddenly like dancing?” he slowly asked a moment later, “He’s not a girl…”
Tan Lingling rolled her eyes. “What year are we in now? So what if he’s not a girl? For all we know, in the future, we might just have a great dancer in our family.”

felt the urge to re-read the manhua (for the nth time), and then i thought to myself that maybe i should check out the novel first (for once). so excited!!