Go Left at the Light, Right at the Crossing

I don't think many people read this book. I've read many books with male-male relationships, but this one is my masterpiece of tragic endings. It's intense and heart-wrenching; it's the kind of story that makes you cry without even realizing it. Gu Xiangbei gave so much in love, only to end up like that. I feel sorry for him.

I am also well aware that crossing class boundaries is like leaping across a chasm; it requires not only the efforts of one person but also the efforts of a generation. Having read too many fast-paced, feel-good novels, this one, with its gentle, narrative style, delicate and natural descriptions, and masterful character development, unexpectedly and subtly entered my life, leaving me deeply…

This is my first time writing a book review, and it was incredibly moving. Gu Xiangbei is truly, truly wonderful. I haven't empathized with a character in a long time, but he's just so incredibly good. Like Hesse's words, "I am lonely, but I do not weep for loneliness. My eyes are satisfied with what I see, because I have learned to see, and from then on, the world has become beautiful."

Gu Xiangbei is truly a very, very good person. What I find so appealing about this novel is that it avoids the pitfalls of a stand-in or melodramatic misunderstandings. The author's writing is exquisite. Gu Xiangbei and Shi Songnan support each other through their adolescence and into middle age. Gu Xiangbei sacrifices a great deal for Shi Songnan, and Shi Songnan doesn't betray that love.

Okay, this is the fourth book I've read in one go on Tomato's "Heartfelt Words" platform, and also the fourth book on the platform that made me cry. But the crying this time is different. In the first three books, I cried because of the tragic love stories in the books, but only in this one—I genuinely cried for a character. Gu Xiangbei, you've suffered so much.

The writing is good, and the characters are very well-developed. Xiang Bei's life was truly tragic. Perhaps for him, not meeting Shi Songnan was the best ending; Songnan and Xiang Bei's names themselves seem destined for tragedy. The most memorable character is actually Yang Xiuhua. It's not that she didn't love Xiang Bei, but for her, the future of her own son was more important.

It's been a long time since I've read a book like this. I don't care about personal preferences or whether it suits my taste. Seeing that it's on Taobao with low popularity and ratings tells me it's actually a good book. Unlike other stories with "wife-chasing-after-the-cremation" plots or revenge stories, Xiang Bei is a gentle person at heart.

This book is truly a gem among books! [Learned something new] The character development and emotional portrayal are superb. The content doesn't rely too much on excessive emotional manipulation; it focuses on flashbacks combined with Gu Xiangbei and Shi Songnan's present, making it incredibly heart-wrenching, especially Gu Xiangbei's background and life story, which are truly heartbreaking.

A touch of melancholy, yet so real. As I watched the ending, the lyrics from the song "The Only One" came on in my headphones: "Love is essentially the same, it's just that there are so many people crowding together." How can I put it? It really suits their story perfectly.

This is amazing! The writing and plot are both excellent, making it incredibly moving! Hopefully, Xiangbei won't really be excluded from reincarnation as the side story suggests. I hope he has an afterlife, where he's born into a warm family and experiences all the love he never had in his previous life. Yes, let's not let Nan meet Xiang Bei. What's lost is lost, and Xiang Bei deserves better.