Angsty and Bittersweet 酸涩

1. 1 今 Leaving Port Today 今日离港 Yu Zai鱼宰Baihe (GL)627k WordsCompleted Lu Shiyao, top of her criminal investigation program, was sent to Hong Kong on an exchange program at the police academy for a year. Her physical training scores at the academy fell short, turning the top student into a bottom-of-the-class student. Her off-campus roommate bullied her, and she got soaked like a drowned puppy in a typhoon. Police Superintendent Xue Tong took her home, helped her recover, and trained with her. When Lu Shiyao finally returned to the top of her class, Xue Tong had ma 392.9kFavorites418.8kClicks/ch769.5kGifts

   Curator note

   "Hong Kong City" is a story of mutual redemption, very memorable, with beautiful writing and delicate emotions. The details of the investigation are portrayed very realistically. I highly recommend reading it; it has a slightly henpecked feel, and the protagonist is seductive. I also highly recommend listening to the audio drama; Feng Jing's Cantonese dubbing is excellent, and Dian's dubbing is very powerful. Especially because some of the places mentioned in the story are real-life locations, it creates a strong sense of immersion, making the characters seem truly alive.

2. 2 放 Unrestrained [Entertainment Industry] 放肆[娱乐圈] Xuan Jian玄笺Baihe (GL)2.3M WordsCompleted [Published in simplified Chinese under the new title "True Colors". The print edition is now available on various platforms!] At only 22, Tang Ruoyao wins the Best Actress award and has a bright future ahead. The next day, media outlets flood the internet with press releases hailing her as “the next Qin Yinong.” Tang Ruoyao’s fans are furious. Qin Yinong has a face that could topple kingdoms and a terrible rep 349.8kFavorites565.3kClicks/ch1.4MGifts

   Curator note

   The story is quite long and very drawn out, so I wouldn't recommend reading it if you lack patience. However, the later parts are incredibly sweet. I highly recommend reading the wedding scene described at the end of this chapter; it's a story of mutual redemption. There are many epilogues about the two characters after they get together, as well as epilogues featuring a secondary couple—all very sweet.

3. 3 暗 A Secret Addiction [Entertainment Industry] 暗瘾[娱乐圈] Gu Lai Yi顾徕一Baihe (GL)608k WordsCompleted (Subscribe to the full novel to unlock bonus chapters) Cool, alluring classical dance goddess × quiet, reserved artifact conservator A-list star × water-town girl 1, Nan Xiaoxue is the classical dance goddess no one in the entertainment industry dares dream of. She became a principal dancer at eighteen, and has devoted herself entirely to the stage ever since, keeping to herself. An Chang is an unremarkable artifact conservator in 139.6kFavorites148.6kClicks/ch258.7kGifts

   Curator note

   Teacher Gu's writing is truly excellent. The entire article is very immersive; the first half vividly portrays the tranquility of the water town, and it even has a touch of allure. I think Teacher Gu probably didn't know how to write explicit content at the time, so the sexual scenes are mostly mentioned briefly or ellipsised. The writing is also very delicate, with a sense of tension and a theme of mutual redemption.

4. 4 旧 Old Snow Is Hard to Melt 旧雪难融 Wen Du文笃Baihe (GL)644k WordsCompleted Originally titled Fake Paris This story features a disabled, depressed taxi driver x an obsessive, disillusioned model When Qiu Yiran was twenty-six, she spent all her savings to buy a taxi. She drove around picking up passengers day and night, but most took one look at the disability sticker and turned around to get out. Someone asked why she didn’t try a different line of work. She rubbed her painfully numb left leg and smiled good-naturedly. “I’ve tried other things, too.” At twenty-four, L 74.8kFavorites62.2kClicks/ch130.1kGifts

   Curator note

   This is a super good road trip story. I personally love road trip stories because they give me a feeling of being on a journey myself. This story has a very bittersweet, agonizing feel to it. I highly recommend everyone read it. It's about two people who clearly love each other but can't be together; it's about mutual redemption. Both protagonists are very well-developed and feel very real.

5. 5 过 Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 过浓[刑侦] Yu Zai鱼宰Baihe (GL)624k WordsCompleted [Screenwriter x Forensic Doctor] [The story opens with the preface to Her Murders. Skip the preface and the main story is hilarious.] [An introverted forensic doctor is hopeless at shamelessly pursuing her wife, so she can only keep trying to manufacture chance encounters] @Yu Zaizai recommends: crushes reuniting after a breakup / suspenseful push and pull / Anyway, when the forensic doctor is not dissecting bodies at the funeral home, she is pursuing her wife at the cre 63.6kFavorites52.9kClicks/ch168.9kGifts

   Curator note

   Mutual redemption, not too much tug-of-war

6. 6 小 The Alley Was Longer Than I Thought 小巷原来那么长 Gu Lai Yi顾徕一Baihe (GL)541k WordsCompleted The blurb for my upcoming story, Sitting with Her to Count the Fireflies, is at the bottom. Former slacker / future jewelry designer × cool, aloof older woman / another genius designer One-on-one romance, happy ending!!! 1, As a total slacker, Cheng Xiang never expected her death to be so casual. One year and thirty-five days after breaking up with Tao Tianran, she was hit by a truck and killed on her way to buy liangpi at the market. Lying on her back in the crosswalk, watching the first snow 56.2kFavorites46.6kClicks/ch120.8kGifts

   Curator note

   This is a very imaginative story. I suggest that if you're going to read it, don't give up halfway through and think the characters are weird. You must finish it because Teacher Gu ultimately resolves the issue with a mutual redemption story. It's a long and drawn-out story, and there's a sudden angst towards the end, but thankfully, I think it's okay. The cat and dog characters are quite contrasting; one is a mature, sophisticated woman, and the other is cheerful. Teacher Gu's writing in this story is very... Well, you know what I mean.

7. 7 生 Physiologically Irresistible 生理性着迷 Tu Ni荼倪Baihe (GL)335k WordsCompleted A gentle, dependable, doting older sister × a tsundere older sister who’s forced to flirt When Lin Er was eighteen, she was in a car accident. She lost a lower leg and her mother. She missed out on the college entrance exam. All her friends got into university and had bright futures ahead, while she disappeared from Jiangcheng, taken south by her only aunt. Ten years later, at twenty-eight, Lin Er walked with a prosthetic leg and ran a bed-and-breakfast in a small tourist town. That spring, so 26.9kFavorites15.7kClicks/ch36.8kGifts

   Curator note

   This story is set in Beihai, though it doesn't explicitly name the location. However, it's easy to infer that it's there because I had recently visited Beihai before reading this article. Therefore, I felt a strong connection and found the reading experience very comfortable, reminiscent of a cat and dog story, and exploring the theme of mutual redemption.

8. 8 最21+ The Very Beginning 最初的最初 I'm Really Going to Sob真的要呜呜呜了Baihe (GL)443k WordsCompleted 18.4kFavorites11.5kClicks/ch36.5kGifts

   Curator note

   This story has relatively little drama; if you're looking for a purely sweet romance, you might want to consider this one. It's a bit of a pseudo-hero story.

Other lists with Leaving Port Today