This novel is so realistic in its portrayal of human nature and also the daily struggles that people go through, and I feel like of all novels I've read, this is one where I can actually really relate to both of the main characters, with both having personality traits and acting in ways that would often make me pause and reflect on myself. The story is written mostly linearly, with a single chapter at the start that is set in the present day around ten years after their breakup in the past, then after this one chapter the narrative shifts back into the past to when the two protagonists were still in their second year of high school, with Dou Xin transferring into Xu Xinlin's school.
The relationship at the beginning starts off strained as Dou Xin has a bad first impression of the other as a problem student, and this turns into mutual distaste as Xu Xinlin is the type to reflect other peoples’ impressions of him back at them. However, the two are then forced into close proximity when Dou Xin by some circumstances with his own family is sent over to Xu Xinlin’s home to stay, forcing them to become unwilling housemates. From this point onwards, despite the initial mutual enmity, they accordingly become closer and grow to enjoy each others’ presence just through the continued exposure.
Perspective is quite equally shared between the two protagonists though perhaps leans a bit more as Xu Xinlin as the main protagonist, with chapters alternating between their points of views, making for a very balanced narrative voice between them. We spend a lot of time in both of their minds, allowing us as readers to truly empathize with both perspectives, and thus really feel for them especially during all the drama that ensues later. However, I will say that the first half of this novel reads very unreliably at least when in Xu Xinlin's head, as he tends to overthink a lot and really comes across like he cares less about Dou Xin in a romantic sense than he actually does, something that is rectified a lot in the present day timeline.
Their relationship development is gradual and happens very naturally, with Dou Xin’s opinion on Xu Xinlin slowly shifting as he actually gets to know the other, and Xu Xinlin reciprocating this goodwill as it develops. Dou Xin develops romantic feelings relatively quickly or at least it felt that way to read, as he’s pretty much alone in life and the only person he has a connection with is the other boy. Their romance does also move quite quickly as well after Xu Xinlin accidentally discovers the others’ feelings for him on his own, by observing some of his shifty behavior.
The romance in the past did feel pretty unequal for me in an unsatisfying way, as Dou Xin seemed much more invested in their relationship with how he’s the one making love declarations and always initiating things. Xu Xinlin on the other hand would always be worried about getting caught and more concerned about their future together, moreso than being in the moment, a difference that continuously brought about conflicts between them. More than just external factors, though those also did factor in, this relationship breakup also happens:
While the first two books out of three in this novel are mostly slice of life and school life with the first being high school and the second more college, the plot in the present has a bit more of the business plot that got started in the second book mixed in as Xu Xinlin attempts to start many of his own businesses. Some notes on the present day timeline:
I really only have some mild nitpicks with the story, like how I really did not care for this random parrot pet, or how the only scene that ended up making me cry in this entire novel was:
None of the reconciliation scenes got me to the point of tears, though I did feel a lot of heart pain especially over Xu Xinlin. It’s a bit overdramatic how things pan out and there’s some very late stage drama with hospitalizations that I felt weren’t too necessary that late on in the story, but it did help conclusively bring the two of them together, so I suppose that’s the intention here.
I do also wish that there had been some more scenes of the two of them figuring out more of the ways that they each had changed with more discussion and adapting to each other in the present day, as so much of this novel is set in the past comparatively. There’s a bit missing to make this reconciliation feel entirely complete for me as a lot of their issues in the past were because of their incompatabilities, so I’d have liked to see more of this being addressed. However, I also was getting a little bored at the end so perhaps it’s best that it ended sooner rather than later.
Overall it’s a great mostly linear reconciliation novel that takes its time to build really three dimensional feeling main characters in the relatively shorter length, and a romance that actually goes through trials and takes us through genuine arguments and couple growth. I always appreciate when a story feels as realistic as this one does, and pretty much all the dramatics between them were things that are common arguments and issues that couples with inherent differences like this will go through. Will definitely be thinking on this novel more after finishing.