cnovels | Read-in-Progress Wednesday

From:

I'm just gonna alternative between "!" and "." for the first sentence of this recurring post to get past the anti-spam thing (it never posts if it's exactly the same, haha).

Not read anything... generally energy levels very low (plus I've been reading a lot of articles for work) so nothing new. Whatever I read is not c-novels. I guess Japanese light novels is close enough? Aida Saki's Bowing to Love was more enjoyable than I expected, and the relationship dynamic was slightly different than expected when I read the blurb. I meant to read Beauty's Blade, but between an author I know (Aida Saki) and an author I don't know, I went for the familiar first. Beauty's Blade next.

From:

halfcactus

I vaguely remember someone here or

baihe_media talking about doing a Beauty's Blade readalong? I wonder if that pace is sustainable for me and my inability to finish books...

From:

geraineon

I vaguely remember that too... but I'm honestly super bad at following any kind of schedule XD

From:

lee_bella

Ah, Aida Saki. I read the S series back in the day, and it hit the sweet spot as a yakuza BL series written in the 2000s.

From:

geraineon

mm, I enjoyed the S series (though I feel that it started stronger than it ended). I think she's probably most known for S and Deadlock in the anglosphere side of the internet because those had official translations. Idk if you read in EN or JP, but if you read in JP (or CN ... I'm asssuming there are CN tls), and with the caveat that I didn't read, I listened to audio dramas, I really enjoyed Double Bind; Subete wa Kono Yoru ni; and Decoy.

I can also dig up the audio drama CDs if you like. XD

From:

lee_bella

Most of her novels got CN translations online; those were the ones I read. I got the audio dramas for the ones you'd mentioned. It's probably been over a decade since I read them and listened to the drama CDs though. Other than S and the Deadlock series (my favourite voice actor starred in Deadlock), I don't remember much about the other ones other than who starred in which.

Edited Date: 2026-04-20 01:04 pm (UTC)

From:

geraineon

Who's your fav voice actor? Yasumoto Hiroki or Nakamura Yuichi? (Or not the main pair? MikiShin was great in it too, iirc).

From:

lee_bella

It's Nakamura Yuichi. I like Yasumoto Hiroki (couldn't resist that deep voice) and MikiShin too.

From:

geraineon

Angen's deep voice is indeed incredibly delicious!

I like Nakayuu a lot too. My absolute fav twenty years ago ish was Yusa Kouji. I mostly followed authors + voice actors back then. I've stopped listening to JP drama CDs as much now (and it also looks like Japan has been producing less and less drama CDs, and whatever they produce tend to be based on manga rather than novels). Instead, I've turned to CN audio dramas...

From:

lee_bella

Hmm, Yusa Kouji. Sexy voice, sharp tongue.

I was really into Japanese drama CDs back in late 2000s to early 2010s. (The Hibiki forum was such a great source back in the day.) I don't follow the CN audio drama scene, but it's nice to see how vibrant it is.

From:

geraineon

Hibiki forum! Yes! ... I've not logged in for so long that I lost my account there. A pity.

I think 2000s-2010s was the golden age for JP BL drama CDs anyway. Nowadays it's either ABO or some slice of life things, which is nice but can get boring and same-y. Plus, they don't adapt novels as much now. And I feel that novels adapt better to audio than manga...

From:

silverblade219

I wanted to read more Meng Xi Shi but couldn't decide which of her series to read next... so rereading Thousand Autumns instead.

From:

anne

so valid! And that reminds me I haven't finished Peerless yet--I was waiting to binge the last 3 vols and then I got distracted.

From:

duckprintspress

so valid.

From:

geraineon

Peerless is great, if you haven't read that! I've not read any other MXS though

From:

silverblade219

I have read Peerless and loved it! I will likely reread it also after finish this reread of Thousand Autumns

From:

lee_bella

If you haven't read it yet, The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua is pretty good. If you are in the mood for xianxia, Estranged is a good one. (Which reminds me... there are still a bunch of her novels I haven't read yet.)

From:

silverblade219

Those are the two I have been leaning towards the most for reading next! Though I was slightly surprised that The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua does not seem to be wuxia, which kept causing me to stall the first time I tried to read it. Estranged seems really interesting also.

From:

anne

I need to read the latest volume of Run Wild so I can return it to the library, but I spent a week watching Pursuit of Jade instead. (No regrets. I don't know what cnetz are complaining about with ZLH's perfect skin. He's the princess getting rescued! Of course he has a personal breeze toying with his bangs! Have these people never seen a drama before!) I was going to start the novel, but then I found out the TL is MTL, and I don't touch those.

Current bedtime story is Evil as Humans, a reread. I liked it the first time through, now I love it. Yin Ren is my favorite kind of gremlin.

From:

halfcactus

I also started watching Pursuit of Jade and usual forgot to continue. And yeah, I'm personally not a fan of Zhang Linghe's face, but the arguments about realistic beauty standards are ridiculous, truly.

From:

douqi

I quite enjoyed this article (which doesn't take itself or the topic too seriously) about Zhang Linghe's face.

I also learned from this exercise that I have been visualising the Chinese characters in Zhang Linghe's name mostly incorrectly all this while (granted, I had only been peripherally aware of him up to now, but still).

Edited Date: 2026-04-19 10:42 pm (UTC)

From:

geraineon

This was shared in one of the cmedia servers I was in, and I enjoyed it too! XD

I've not watched Pursuit of Jade, but now I know that the Plot is basically ZLH's face.

From:

halfcactus

Tysm for sharing, it was a fun little read to break up my day! I've only seen 4 eps of Pursuit of Jade so I wonder if I'll eventually be worn down by all the ZLH shots lol

From:

douqi

Ahaha please do keep us posted because I'm wondering how one man's face (no matter how ethereally beautiful) is capable of sustaining a full-length drama.

From:

larryhammer

Read some of The Dragon by Taiyang Jun, but was missing the interiority of cultivation common to many xianxia -- it's great on characters and xianxia-typical politics, but not very strong on actual cultivation. For some reason, though, rather than return to the xianxia I most recently paused (Lady Cultivator) I dropped back to the power-fantasy xianxia I paused before that, A Will Eternal by Er Gen.

It's ... really obvious why I paused it -- the MC is an insufferable brat, redeemed by being often entertaining when his brat tendencies mess other characters up, but also generating a lot of secondhand embarrassment. I started bounding through anyway, as it apparently is what I wanted to read -- a hundred-odd chapters inched up my position from 30% to 38% in. It is, yes, a long-ass power-fantasy xianxia -- 4½ Journeys West.

That said, the episode I reached last night is so, so cringe.

Edited Date: 2026-04-15 06:49 pm (UTC)

From:

geraineon

Sometimes, when we are in a mood for a specific something, it really kicks up the reading speed XD

From:

larryhammer

Yah

From:

halfcactus

Not exactly reading it but I scrolled through a few pages of 深渊猫猫, which is a 4-koma-style slice-of-life comic on Bilibili about a guy adopting an eldritch cat. There's not really any plot to speak of, but I do like seeing cats do eldritch + cat things.

From:

geraineon

I like watching a cat doing anything, so that sounds like a great time!

From:

duckprintspress

No cnovels from me, aside from continuing plod through 盗墓笔记 vol. 2. I'm 3.5 months into reading it a little each day and I'm getting close to half-way done!

in Japanese novel lands, I finally decided to DNF Apothecary Diaries. I've tried and tried but it's just not for me.

From:

larryhammer

Apothecary Diaries has a lot that ought to hit for me, but somehow, no it doesn't.

From:

duckprintspress

E.X.A.C.T.L.Y.

Based on everything I know about it and everything people say, I keep thinking I should love it, and despite reading the manga, watching most of the anime, and reading 4 full light novels, I just don't. All the pieces are there to make a story I oughta get really into and yet.

Edited Date: 2026-04-17 12:50 pm (UTC)

From:

silverblade219

I wonder if it is because Maomao's role in the palace keeps altering, but not enough time has gone by in story to earn it? Also, one random trivia I found interesting - apparently there was a webnovel version of this also but the story edited to bring forward the Maomao/Jinshi romance more prominently and a few other things.

From:

duckprintspress

Maybe a little? definitely as someone who is decently familiar with Chinese stuff, I find the kinda... pseudo-China it's set in to be awkward and at times uncomfortable.

But the main issue I think is I find Mao Mao dislikeable and nothing that's happened has been enough for her to really grow on me. I DNFed because in the last chapter her behavior was imo appalling toward Jinshi. I'm not invested in them as a couple but the slow burn is also laid on (again imo) obnoxiously and unnecessarily thick. And there's not enough of the rest I enjoy to make up for it. I also think I'm bitter because so much of the fandom is very "oh Mao Mao is a weird autistic girl just like me!" and I'm a weird autistic girl (well, I was a girl, anyway) and I don't find her at all relateable. And I get that obviously what's relateable varies for everyone, which is why I'm always really careful to couch it as "this is clearly not the book for me." Cause like, for the people who find it relateable, yay good for them I support them! But I am not in their number, and I think the fandom being so persistent about it has left me with this pervasive sense that I SHOULD find it relateable so that fact that I don't... angers me. Like no excuse you I'm actually not like that.

I get how entirely irrational this response is, to be clear. I kept hoping I'd get over it at some point. But then book 5 just made me so intensely uncomfortable and second-hand-embarrassment-y over how Mao Mao was treating Jinshi, I just. can't anymore. I tried. I failed. Oh well. I really probably shouldn't have tried as hard as I did, but this was the book that people like me kept saying was so relateable! I think I kinda feel like something is wrong with me that I don't get it.

Sorry. This book has really done weird shit in my brain. *sweat drop*

From:

silverblade219

[btw there was a typo in my original comment - the original webnovel apparently had little to no romance, and it was added as it transitioned to light novel. The light novel is what all the other derivatives are based on as far as I am aware]

But yeah, I am not really invested in the ship either. I like Maomao personally, though it makes sense that she is not clicking for you. I have not actually started book 5, and have been unmotivated to do so lol but have looked up spoilers previously.

From:

duckprintspress

ooo yeah that makes more sense, the romance does sometimes feel a bit tacked on and unimportant.

that was where I was at (feeling really unmotivated for volume 5). Which was odd, because I actually did enjoy vol. 4 and felt like it had a relatively compelling storyline.

From:

geraineon

I'd need to actually watch more but as of eps whatever I watched (past 10, before 20 of season 1), I was absolutely not interested in their romance. I didn't enjoy the direction they are taking Maomao, was a little disappointed (but not surprised) that the freckles aren't real. So yeah, Apothecary Diaries did nothing for me. So you're not alone.

I bought volume 1 of the light novel because people told me it's better and I might like that more but I haven't started reading.

I am happy for all the people who enjoy Apothecary Diaries a lot, but I guess no one thing can please everyone!

From:

duckprintspress

🤝

From:

lee_bella

I watched the first season of Apothecary Diaries and a bit of season 2, and I like the overall plot well enough. Maomao definitely stands out as a MC amongst other more typical Japanese light novel heroines. I'm not buying the romance plot either. The court/political intrigue and some of the side characters are more interesting IMO.

From:

duckprintspress

Yeah, I do appreciate her as a character, I'm just not sure that "appreciating" her as a character is the same as "liking" her as a character lol.

I always end up feeling like the political situations are a bit simplistic, which is maybe why I'm not that interested? I think if Mao Mao was interested in the politics herself, it'd be a better match to my personal taste.

From:

lee_bella

"I think if Mao Mao was interested in the politics herself, it'd be a better match to my personal taste."

Yeah, I feel the same way. The way she insisted on not getting involved left me with this weird feeling that while the mysteries were solved on the surface level, they weren't really resolved since the masterminds were still out there spinning their web and doing their thing. I've only watched up to what would have been the beginning of volume 4 of the novel series, so I can't really gauge how deep the political plot goes. It looks as though the author is playing a long game here, and I couldn't help wanting to read between the lines. Whether or not there IS something to be read between the lines is hard for me to say at this point though.

From:

duckprintspress

The end of volume 4/end of the anime out so far does wrap up one big political plot, and idk, it felt like there was both more and less there than I'd expect? It's hard to explain, maybe when you've gotten there we can compare notes (if you choose to keep going).

From:

lee_bella

Will do. :)

From:

douqi

I'm nearly halfway through Ning Yuan's Time, which is basically the novel version of the K-drama Reply 1988 but set in the 1990s/early 2000s in China and somewhat more brutal and lesbian.

It's amazing so far even though I know it's going to end in tragedy. Ning Yuan's already broken my heart a bunch of times, what's one more.