Three Childhood Friends [Three Kingdoms]

When Xu You was seven, nine-year-old Cao Cao took him on as his little sidekick. He met Yuan Shao, the big shot among the children, and the three of them began a tangled relationship that would last until death. Reader's guide: The pairing is the extremely rare Cao Cao/Yuan Shao/Xu You triangle: one scoundrel, one warm-hearted person, and one conflicted soul. If that sounds like a dealbreaker, be warned. Somewhat stream-of-consciousness. The plot draws on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, official history, encyclopedias, and Yi Zhongtian's The Three Kingdoms. The characterization and other details are wildly out of character, so history buffs beware. Bad ending. Theme: