The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful / In His Youth, In Her Beauty (Better Days) 少年的你，如此美丽 by 玖月晞 (HE)

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• This is a dark story about a young, quiet girl, Chen Nian, who suffers from stuttering. When the Police begins to investigate the suicide of her classmate, Chen Nian, who had inadvertently witnessed a vital bullying scene by accident decides to clam up in fear of getting bullied herself. However, Chen Nian ultimately manages to screw up her courage and expose the bullies for who they are, thus setting off a series of events which changes her life irrevocably. Having exposed the bullies, Chen Nian incurs the wrath of the bullies and is forced to seek protection from various sources, but to no avail. Finally, Chen Nian is reduced to seeking protection from the male lead, Bei Ye.

  Although the story deals with the darker side of human nature, it’s beautifully written and I’m quite impressed with how Jiu Yue Xi managed to craft such a compelling story which just drew me in. Having read Dear Archimedes, I feel that Jiu Yue Xi’s writing is much improved here. The story is less draggy, and although the story is rather short, Jiu Yue Xi manages to pack each chapter with great detail and successfully crafts three dimensional main characters whom we can sympathize with. That said, being a short story, the side characters inevitably suffer from the lesser attention paid to them – but it doesn’t impact the story much, as the story’s main focus is really the male and female lead.

• Dramasbooksandtea, I was pleasantly surprised to see this on bookbar. Absolutely agree with you. I gave this five stars! This is on my to review list - absolutely loved it and there are parts with some really exquisite writing. <3

• @ decembi Welcome back and belated Happy New Year!! :) I'd love to read your review about it!! I agree, her writing style is really good! It's not difficult to understand but it can really help me immerse myself in the story.

  Haha after I read The Youthful You, I went on a 玖月晞 rage and read 他知道风从哪里来 and I loved that book to bits too! Have you read that books? It has quite a fair bit of mustard scenes though, so if you're uncomfortable with those scenes you may not want to read it.

• @dramasbooksandtea - awww! Happy new year :). I almost cried reading this book - but it's not really the kind of book that makes you cry, only breaks your heart and you will try to figure how you are supposed to react to the unimaginable horrors of society and depravities of humankind. And yet, there is also such beauty in some of the scenes - the desperation to love and seek protection versus the cold calculative need for preservation... very interesting and concise novel. :)

  I haven't read the rest! Do you recommend it? I'm not bothered by mustard scenes, but I prefer happy endings. I only read The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful because I can't resist the good girl and bad boy young pairings and wanted to exit before it got too sad but the writing was too good to stop.

• @ decembi - I agree, I nearly cried whilst reading this book as well. One of the scenes that left a deeper impression on me was the part where Bei Ye is just forcing Chen Nian to go on her "destined" path, to just leave him the lurch because he feels that her future is brighter than his. I also thought it quite interesting how the author brought up bullying issues + the insufficiency of authorities - there are several times when the law simply doesn't offer sufficient protection to the people and people are forced to take matters into their own hands, like how Chen Nian and Bei Ye did.

  I would recommend 他知道风从哪里来 because it deals with pretty interesting themes too, like this novel. In 风, the author touches on the concept of redemption, which I thought made for a pretty interesting read. However, since you prefer happy endings, you should probably avoid it because although its an "OE", it leans towards "BE", unfortunately. I went in "blind" (after The Youthful You) and was quite heartbroken nearing the end - although the author wrote an epilogue hinting towards an OE instead of a BE.

• Hi dramabooksandtea. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS BOOK. I have actually been wanting to read this book but I wasnt ready for another heartache. But upon reading your first chapter of the translation, I gobbled the whole book in just one night and it is actually 3.42am now hah!

  And I think you might not know but there is actually a 番外 which points towards a happy ending. Because at the end of the last chapter, the author actually mentioned that there is one but the publishing company was stopping her from publishing it somehow??

  You can check it out here - http://91baby.mama.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1143131&extra=page%3D1&page=3

  I hope that you will love this 番外 as much as i do and i finally teared when i read the 2 letters written. It was a perfect ending. I really like this unique and expressive way of ending the story. A letter could touch more on their inner feelings and what they have gone through during the 5 years. And as for the male lead? I must say he is one of my top fave male lead now. I cant wait to reas your translation and hope that you will find more peace and love for this novel! I am so glad the ending wasnt as bad as i anticipated because you mentioned that it is OE. It is HE to me in any case :) and i think this journey let them grow as better and wiser adults.

• Hi cloudandsea, haha wow you finished the book in one sitting? That's impressive!! I'm glad you share my love for the book, this book deserves more love and more appreciation. I know the author mentioned that there was a 番外 but I hadn't realized that my copy wasn't a full copy. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out now!!

  I really loved the male lead, even though I haven't read the epilogue, because to me he was a much bigger person than he thought he was. He was good and kind, and not as hopeless as he thought he was. His love also wasn't the selfish type, which I liked - he loved her enough to be willing to let her pursue her dreams instead of dragging her down together with him. I do agree that the journey helped them to grow better as adults, especially Chen Nian and her corresponding shift in perspective - that she no longer thought that they belonged in different worlds, that she was willing to let him into her world and wait for him to return. I thought that was quite touching, especially since her initial desires were to leave everything behind and start a new life afresh (even when she had started falling for him).

  If you liked this book, you might want to try 他知道风从哪里来 like I told decembi above. Although it's has an OE which leans towards BE, it's a really good book and I loved it almost as much as I loved The Youthful You. However, it has mustard scenes too so if you're allergic maybe you ought to stay away (:

• Hi! I am ok with mustard scenes as long as it ties in with the story plot. I have actually read 他知道风从哪里来 before and really like it too! But I am still very confused as to the ending so I just pretend it is a happy one lol.

  This novel definitely deserves more appreciation and I am sure more will get to know this as you translate! :) The male lead is definitely selfless. Even when the female lead has expressly state that she is going to leave once she finishes her examinations, male lead has not ever for once show his discontent (ok maybe slightly) or to make female lead uncomfortable about it. I felt that female lead was selfish but not once has the male lead made me feel that he was feeling that way too... In fact, he was prepared to go to Beijing to follow her awww.

  As for the policeman, I was at first very intrigued by him but I am glad Jiu Yue Xi did not make a romantic plot line between him and the female lead. I wished he could do more but I know that he tried his best. I mean, after all, he is a police and has a job. He has also tried to make remedies for not living up to his promise. But 'if only' he did more when female lead needed help. It was really painful to see how female lead lost faith in law and the police. Male lead was the only one she believed in. The interrogation just shows how much faith they have with each other. Just how much love it takes to be able to do that... No hesitation. I believe in you.

  As you have said, I really like how the storyline touches the inadequacies of law. I remember studying about the principles of sentencing and in the letter, the female lead after being a lawyer still struggles to understand why the youth who bullied her was let off so easily. I guess the society just works this way and we can't possibly sentence everyone. Reformation is good but how effective and how many percentage of them really turn over a new leaf remains is still a question mark. But female lead has suffered at the expense of it... but nevertheless, I think she has found a balance in it. There is clear line dividing black or white in this world. There is the colour - grey.

  I hope female and male lead manages to create a happy family and start on their new journey. :)

  There is no clear dividing line*

• Hi cloudandsea, when I first read 他知道风从哪个方向来, I couldn't accept the unhappy ending so I interpreted the 番外 as being one where Cheng Jia met Peng Ye and they both ended up with a happily-ever-after. However, over time I did come to accept that Peng Ye had died, and perhaps that would be the most fitting ending for the both of them. I do recall reading that Jiu Yue Xi said that whilst he meant for Peng Ye to die, but she just couldn't pen down her words until she wrote the 番外 because she simply couldn't bear to kill off Peng Ye.

  I agreed, the male lead was very selfless, but perhaps also because he knew that they were simply too different to try and force a happy ending for the both of them. After all, he would have had no career/studying opportunities in Beijing, and the distance between them would have just grown wider and wider. I loved the interrogation part too, especially the part where the policeman grew smarter and forced the two of them into the room so that he could verify his suspicions. Whilst I was disappointed in the policeman, I could understand his difficulties too - he simply didn't have the resources and ability to protect Chen Nian. I just found it lucky that Chen Nian ultimately managed to stay on the good path - that she wasn't led astray by her disappointment and frustration in the law.

  I agree that the law in this case was inadequate in protecting Chen Nian, but ultimately the punishment is rarely proportionate to the crime that is committed - after all, the purpose of the law is not simply to punish, but also to encourage reformation and deterrence as you rightly pointed out. I agree, there is no clear dividing line between black or white - could we truly say what Chen Nian did and Bei Ye did was entirely wrong? Arguably, they did the best they could with what they had.

  Happy Chinese New Year cloudandsea (if you celebrate it)! And thanks for engaging in this long, long discussion with me (:

• Thanks dramasbooksandtea.....this is a very touching read...and so real......I only disagree that the perpetrators should be let off so easily....they should at least be punished for their wrongdoing......
  Anyways...my two cents worth......I think this book reflects more about trust and faith more than love.....it doesn't come across as a lovey dovey hero saves damsel kind of love.....more like a faith trust and security kind of issue :)