Hello, I’m Miya! This blog is where I post my liveblogs, thoughts, reviews, and rec lists for danmei novels that are not really known in English fandom spaces. You can check what novels I’ve posted about on my Danmei Directory: https://danmeiblr.tumblr.com/directory
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Some stuff about me:
I run Lizonka Novels and used to post MTLations
I am studying Mandarin, but I’m not yet fluent in it.
I loooove talking about the intricacies of translation. You will see this reflected in many of my posts.
My favorite genres/tropes are whodunit, unlimited flow, horror, broken mirror, and sweet love
Favorite danmei: Fourth Perspective by Mo Chen Huan and Forced to Share a System with Long Aotian by Tang Caicai
I also follow the 188男团 series by Shui Qian Cheng. My favorites are Years of Intoxication and Blazing Armor
Credits:
All dividers used on this blog are by @ saradika-graphics
oh yeah i am officially recommending Non-Human Player(s).
i've still only read 80 chapters but the characters and plot are really good. probably an all timer danmei for me, up with global examination and maybe inching toward kaleidoscope of death. the summary is a little vague but essentially it's about test-tube humans who are created to be used like androids (as companions and tools) with no rights of their own. the protagonist is owned by an entertainment company that streams horror games to humans. failure in the game means having your memory and identity erased in real life. breaking the company's rules means the same thing. the protagonist has already been reset once under unclear circumstances.
i guess the best description would be... never let me go meets the hunger games ha ha ha. it's one of those stories where the plot initially appears simple, but each additional piece of information the protagonist collects complicates things further and reshapes your perspective of characters and events. i thought i was pretty sure what the big plot twist was going to be but now i think it's something else which is even more terrible. (this is praise.)
the only problem with it is the translation (HUGE BUMMER). it's mtl which has all the usual problems - names are intermittently transliterated (for example, the protagonist, xi yu, randomly becomes 'western feather' sometimes) and pronouns switch around for no good reason, which can make it confusing to tell who's speaking/acting and also does impact the plot from time to time. a lot of the jokes and references don't make any sense and sometimes the translation is just. wrong. and you have to piece together what it actually said based on logic and how characters react.
all of this is normal mtl stuff but the biggest issue is that there are a few major sections of the novel that are missing. chapter 36 is replaced with a chapter from another novel and the first half of chapter 61 is missing entirely (it also happens to contain important information for understanding what's happening in the subsequent chapters). i went and mtl'd the original myself to fill these parts in but i don't blame others for not wanting to. there's also a kiss scene that's missing but it's hard to tell if this was a translation error or a victim of censorship (i didn't go look for it).
i really hope this gets a better translation someday (don't look at me T_T my plate is so full rn) but i still think it's worth reading
@miyamiwu (i had too much to say so i had to write a whole new post; sorry i'm a blabbermouth you can just skip it and read just the first line if you want ha ha ha)
There is a quality of books (or movies or shows) that I can best describe as “stickiness,” which is separate from being good or even enjoyable: a sticky book is one I just keep thinking about. Sometimes it’s because a book is very good (e.g. The Locked Tomb), and sometimes it’s because a book is very bad (e.g. ACOTAR), but there are also very good and very bad books that are slippery, such that when I’m done reading them they slip from my thoughts like water from a hydrophobic surface.
The secretary was talking to the kitten, but Jiang Ye’s attention was drawn to a box sitting alone on the other side, its red light flashing and beeping.
Inside was a cat with a faint breath and a barely perceptible scent.
Shen Qing spoke up: “This is a pet ICU monitoring pod. Oh, this little kitten…”
But Jiang Ye wasn’t listening to Shen Qing. He stared at the blank wall above the monitoring pod, his pupils reflecting the ghostly image of a kitten floating in midair.
Jiang Ye: “Huh?”
The tabby cat slowly took a step back, his arched, bristling back pressed against the edge of the chair leg, his tail stiff as a board.
Wait, there’s a cat ghost!
I thought this was a regular interstellar novel, but looks like it has some supernatural aspect too 👀
The secretary was talking to the kitten, but Jiang Ye’s attention was drawn to a box sitting alone on the other side, its red light flashing and beeping.
Inside was a cat with a faint breath and a barely perceptible scent.
Shen Qing spoke up: “This is a pet ICU monitoring pod. Oh, this little kitten…”
But Jiang Ye wasn’t listening to Shen Qing. He stared at the blank wall above the monitoring pod, his pupils reflecting the ghostly image of a kitten floating in midair.
Jiang Ye: “Huh?”
The tabby cat slowly took a step back, his arched, bristling back pressed against the edge of the chair leg, his tail stiff as a board.
Wait, there’s a cat ghost!
I thought this was a regular interstellar novel, but looks like it has some supernatural aspect too 👀
“Do you have a name?”
“I mean…” Jiang Ye tapped his foot on the ground nervously, his whiskers twitching slightly. “My name is Jiang Ye.”
The cat didn’t realize it himself, but his eyes were filled with anticipation—even a sincere and urgent longing.
Animals don’t actually have names.
Animals in the park are given names by the director or the keepers, but to the animals themselves, those are just sounds that become names through repeated use;
Pets kept by humans have names because the humans who care for them bestow them;
The few tabby cats following Jiang Ye have names because he once longed for companions of his own kind, so he named them…
But it’s different, after all.
Because Jiang Ye himself has a name.
He is special.
Not human, yet not entirely a cat.
Not far away, the Siberian tiger sat upright behind the glass of the enclosure, quietly gazing into the eyes of the tabby cat.
Just as the light in the kitten’s green eyes began to dim, and it lowered its tail, preparing to turn and leave—
“Qin Ji.”
The tiger replied.
“My name is Qin Ji.”
Whenever I’m stressed, I cope by binging on fluffy novels. And by ‘fluffy,’ I specifically mean CNovels with the tag tiánchǒng (甜宠), which means ‘sweet romance/pampering.’ It’s pretty much the same thing as fluff, so I just refer to it as that. Back in March, I read a lot of fluffy danmei, but I didn’t get to liveblog about them much, if any, so now I’m making one post to talk about them in lump. I wanted to post this list earlier, but life got in the way (/▽＼).
The Kitty is Acting like a Great King Again Today
CN Title: 猫猫今天也在当大王 (alt. 小猫成为皇帝心尖宠后)
Author: Xiaolou Zuo Xia (小楼昨夏)
Synopsis: A spiritual cat MC approaches the Emperor ML to absorb his dragon energy and further his cultivation.
My Thoughts: This novel is the CUTEST and FLUFFIEST of them all! It’s such a shame it isn’t translated yet because MTL really does not do the prose any justice. I’ve talked about it here before, but to reiterate, the cat MC talks in a very cute way, and the narration elevates it. Plot is nothing mindblowing, but it is solid and coherent. I absolutely recommend this novel if you get cuteness aggression over cats and are craving for a light and fluffy read.
I Married the New Emperor Just to Have Enough to Eat
CN Title: 为了吃饱我嫁给了新帝
Author: Yi Zhu (逸烛)
Synopsis: MC was born in ancient times (in a world set in a novel), died once and time traveled to the apocalypse in the future, died again and went back to his original timeline. This time, he’s been arranged to be married to the cruel prince, who, in the novel, will become the Emperor. Having starved in the apocalypse, all MC wants is to have enough food to eat, so he clings onto this future Emperor to secure his meals.
My Thoughts: Although I haven’t finished reading this one, it has become my second favorite in the list. It’s fun seeing ML misunderstand MC’s intentions towards him in the beginning, and it’s cute seeing him slowly fall in love first. There’s also lots of cooking and food descriptions that can really whet your appetite, so make sure to not read on an empty stomach! But apart from the fluff and the cooking, what I really like about this novel is that it doesn’t drag any romance conflict that can be easily solved through communication.
Don’t Call Me Baby
CN Title: 不许叫我宝宝
Author: Zhi Mo (织墨)
Synopsis: MC likes cute things, but to avoid being bullied, he pretends he doesn’t, adopting a cold and aloof persona. ML used to think MC is pretentious, but everything changes when he finds out his secret.
My Thoughts: This is a nice, sweet college romance story. But for some reason, it feels so long even though it only has 64 chapters. I still haven’t finished it (but I am so close to the ending!). Like, it’s cute, but after halfway through, it felt like there wasn’t much tension left to prolong the story. However, I do like the care author gives in fleshing out the characters despite the simple plot. It’s worth a read if you’re looking for something light.
Novels by Duan Yu (端瑜)
This author’s romance stories follow a similar formula:
gong MC, shou ML
main CP gets together early on, middle part of the story focuses on their love life, and the last part focuses on MC’s career
Marrying a Rich and Beautiful Omega (娶了白富美Omega) = Poor and modest alpha MC goes to military school, where he meets the rich omega ML, who supports his career
My Husband is a Good-for-Nothing (我相公是纨绔) = Pretty, vain ML, who wants to climb the social ladder, seeks out handsome scholar MC in spite of MC’s previously bad reputation. Scholar turns out to be a transmigrator and military genius.
My Fulang Has Been Married Before (我夫郎是二嫁) = MC transmigrates into a scoundrel in a book set in ancient times and becomes the cannon fodder second husband of the protagonist shou, who was abandoned by his first husband, the protagonist gong, on their wedding night.
My Thoughts: Of these three novels, I like Marrying and Rich and Beautiful Omega the most. It’s the first one I read, so the author’s romance structure felt refreshing to me (it’s also the only one with explicit smut hehe). Usually in danmei, the romance is mainly about the chase. In Duan Yu’s novels, the romance is actually about the couple getting along as lovers, and it’s nice to see that for a change.
The Exhausted Corporate Slave is Raised by a Dark God
CN Title: 疲惫社畜被邪神养了
Author: Ju Zi Yan (橘子砚)
Synopsis: In this world, each industry breeds its own “monster” as a result of every workers’ stress and anxiety. There’s an organization working in the dark to ensure these monsters don’t cause any significant harm. Lately, however, they’ve noticed an increase in monster activity, and all are centered around the MC.
MC has been working his whole life just to survive, so when the rich ML appears and offers to support him, he agrees right away. ML seems suspicious, but he provides everything for him, so he just turns a blind eye to it.
My Thoughts: Of all the novels in this list, this one has the most unique premise. The eager supernatural set against MC’s indifference and desire to simply live leisurely makes for an interesting contrast. ML just wants to pamper MC, but the monsters and the organization all think he’s up to something sinister. They both try to recruit MC to their side, but MC really couldn’t care less. It’s fun! The plot is also well-thought-out… but I also feel like the author could’ve added more romance scenes to balance it out.
Hello, Marriage
CN Title: 你好，结芬
Author: Duo Jin Shaonü Mao (多金少女猫)
Synopsis: Workaholic part-timer college student MC has a one-night-stand with ML and ends up pregnant. (This is not an omegaverse… He can just somehow get pregnant xD)
My Thoughts: If you’re into a mature, pragmatic MC who doesn’t always think about love, then this story is for you. But if you’re craving for lots of romance, this might not be a good choice. It’s a good, fun story (MC’s brother is quite hilarious 😂), but I found MC too rational most of the time. He reads as aromantic to me—which is totally fine! It’s just that I found this novel while craving for some fluffy romance… and, well, it did not satisfy that. ML is really sweet and caring, though.
Try Hiding Again
CN Title: 你再躲试试
Author: Jin Xian (今闲)
Synopsis: MC falls in love with his homophobic best friend
My Thoughts: This one is quite predictable, but the ML is so stupid, it’s hilarious 😂. He keeps justifying his desire to be with MC all the time as pure brotherhood, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry 😭. MC has to put up with his bullshit while also guarding his heart. It’s silly, but also really cute <3
And that ends the list! I hope you enjoy at least some of these novels~ Tell me what kind of danmei genre list I should make next 👀
So, the Chinese web novel site JJWXC has this very handy tag filtering system:
and I’m gonna translate/explain them for my own easy reference when searching for novels. But since there are so many tags, I’m gonna do this in parts. This post will cover all tags in the first column.
Disclaimer: Chinese is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes, just tell me and I’ll fix them.
Last Updated: May 3, 2026
甜文 (tián wén) = sweet stories
穿书 (chuān shū) = transmigrating into a book
种田文 (zhòngtián wén) = farming life stories
业界精英 (yèjiè jīngyīng) = industry elite. stories where one of the main characters is at the top of an industry
正剧 (zhèng jù) = serious drama (for stories with realistic, serious conflicts)
轻松 (qīng sōng) = easy-to-understand novels with simple plot and clear structure
市井生活 (shìjǐng shēnghuó) = urban life? slice of life?
科幻 (kē huàn) = science fiction
西方罗曼 (xīfāng luómàn) = Western romance. romance stories with a Western background/setting.
近水楼台 (jìn shuǐ lóu tái) = from the idiom. stories where the protagonist and love interest develop feelings because of forced proximity
全息 (quán xī) = stories where characters engage in a virtual reality game
排球少年 (páiqiú shàonián) = Haikyuu fanfics
日韩泰 (Rì Hán Tài)= Japanese, Korean, and Thai novels?
国风幻想 (guó fēng huàn xiǎng) = Chinese fantasy stories
赛博朋克 (sàibópéngkè) = cyberpunk stories
神话传说 (shénhuà chuánshuō)= mythology and folklore
三教九流 (sān jiào jiǔ liú) = the term originally refers to the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools of thought, but nowadays it’s used to refer to different social classes (idk what kind of stories would fall under this tag)
吐槽 (tù cáo) = stories where the character frequently makes humorous or sarcastic internal comments about what’s happening around them
失忆 (shīyì) = amnesia trope
古典名著 (gǔdiǎn míngzhù) = fanfics about the Chinese classics (Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, etc.) ???
边缘恋歌 (biānyuán liàn gē) = taboo/forbidden love stories???
总裁 (zǒng cái) = finally, a tag I’m sure of. This one refers to stories where one of the protagonists is a CEO/president
时尚圈 (shíshàng quān) = fashion circle. stories about models, makeup artists, and other relevant professions
烧脑 (shāo nǎo) = brain burn. Suspense/mystery stories that require a lot of thinking to understand. (lmaaao love the tag name)
唐穿 (Táng chuān) = transmigrating into the Tang Dynasty
少女漫 (shàonǚ màn) = shoujo manga???
对照组 (duìzhào zǔ) = control group. Stories with characters that strongly contrast the protagonist in order to highlight the latter. Often used in book transmigration stories, where the transmigrator protagonists becomes the control group cannon fodder character in the story
网红 (wǎng hóng) = net red. stories about influencers
女尊 (nǚ zūn) = female-dominant. stories written by and for women and set in a world where women are respected
美娱 (měi yú) = entertainment stories set in America ??? Hollywood stories???
七五 (qī wǔ) = seven-five. referring to fanfics of The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants TV series (???)
非遗 (fēi yí) = stories about a national treasure/cultural heritage
冰山 (bīng shān) = iceberg. stories with a cold love interest/protag
骑士与剑 (qí shì yǔ jiàn) = knight and sword novels. often Western fantasy stories
BE = Bad Ending
亚人 = Demi-human/Sub-human. Refers to stories with species that look very similar to humans but are not really humans
魔王勇者 (mó wáng yǒng zhě) = fanfics about Demon King and Hero (Maoyu) ???
I did not expect there to be so many fanfic tags in Jinjiang....
And damn, I thought I was already familiar with most CNovel tags, but just going through the first column got me stumbling. So many unfamiliar internet slang. I’m gonna have to double-check these one day, but for now this will do
I’ve been working on a big fluff danmei list to talk about all the fluff i read last month (which was a LOT), but I’ve been lazy and I keep adding MORE FLUFF, so now the list will take even longer to complete
Incredibly violent take of mine but I actually don’t think you need to relate to a story in any way to enjoy it. You can enjoy a story even if you can’t point at a character and insert some aspect of your personality or identity into them. In fact I would argue the need for a character like that to be present in every single story you experience is a sign of stunted growth.
reading This Damned Thirst for Survival again. started this years ago back when the translation was at only 12 or so chapters, and there were no further updates so I couldn't continue it. now, there are several translation groups working on it. I've forgotten a lot of things though, so I decided to just read again from the beginning
Reading a translation that’s better than the one I first read (which is by Dummy TL), I understand now what that one native Chinese speaker in a danmei server I was in meant when they said that this novel is quite cringe in the original Chinese and so they couldn't finish it 😂
reading This Damned Thirst for Survival again. started this years ago back when the translation was at only 12 or so chapters, and there were no further updates so I couldn't continue it. now, there are several translation groups working on it. I've forgotten a lot of things though, so I decided to just read again from the beginning
