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Gentleman’s Friendship
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Rating(3.5 / 5.0, 40 votes)
5    45% (18 votes)
4    15% (6 votes)
3    10% (4 votes)
2    5% (2 votes)
1    25% (10 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2013
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
Part 1: 26 Chapters
Part 2: 6 Chapters
6 Extras (Completed)
Licensed
N/A
Completely Translated
No
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
N/A
Release Frequency
Every 160.5 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #15940
Monthly Rank: #7368
All Time Rank: #13542
Reading List
[Graph]
On 345 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #15776
All Time Rank: #17454

Description

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“If you deceive someone to make them happy, you have to make sure to deceive them for the rest of their life.”

The cowardly good-for-nothing Qu Tongqiu regarded the dashing president of the student union Ren Ningyuan as his idol. He worshiped and revered him, happily becoming his devout follower.

Later, Ren Ningyuan took on the part of Qu Tongqiu’s guardian angel who not only protected Qu Tongqiu but also introduced him to his future wife and even took care of his shotgun wedding without expecting anything in return. For Qu Tongqiu, meeting Ren Ningyuan was the biggest blessing of his life.

“It’s all fake,” somebody whispered.

The ugly truth behind the illusion was gradually uncovered, as Qu Tongqiu’s life crumbled to pieces, and the decade-long deceit of his “friends” came to light.

What made Qu Tongqiu finally collapse was the realization that the culprit behind his worst nightmare was Ren Ningyuan – the man he had admired so much.

Associated Names
One entry per line
The Friendship of Gentlemen
The Interpersonal Communication of Superior Man
君子之交
Related Series
Illusion (Lan Lin) (Shared Universe)
Going Against the Wind (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
N/A
Recommendation Lists
  1. Binge Worthy
  2. one hundred liters of tears
  3. Bls ive read
  4. I like it so u have to like it too.
  5. Modern Danmei

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/25/22 uncertainty_principle c6
12/22/22 uncertainty_principle c5
12/20/22 uncertainty_principle c4
12/18/22 uncertainty_principle c3
12/17/22 uncertainty_principle c2
12/16/22 uncertainty_principle c1
Write a Review
6 Reviews sorted by


matcha_cha
matcha_cha rated it
December 17, 2022
Status: p2c3
Alright, currently, I'm waiting for two more pages before fully completing the novel:

The novel is a sad dog blood (angst) novel starring the main character (MC) Qu Tongqiu and male lead (ML) Ren Ningyuan. However, what's unique about this novel is the way the author decided to go about describing the angst.

Our MC is 'friends' with the ML, however, the MC worships the ML and sees him as his 'boss' rather than his friend, hence, more of a devout follower and idol/boss relationship. As mentioned in the summary, the... more>> ML's presence in the MC's life was considered MC's blessing as he helped introduce MC to his future wife, helped with his wedding, and even help raise or take care of his child with him in the future. We can see from the story and summary that ML helps take care of MC and MC's life. It is also the reason why ML is considered to be his nightmare as well. If ML in MC's life can be considered his blessing, it can also be considered a nightmare as well. Here's where the novel, to me, is particularly interesting.

Unlike most common angst novel between the MC and ML, with the ML somehow neglecting or abusing the MC then later regretting it and chasing after them, we get a completely different set up in this plot. The story is centred around ML becoming MC's nightmare. The plot gradually leads us to understanding this by allowing us to see the truths being uncovered. However, it's somewhat like detective novel. For example, MC will encounter a situation with there being a possible answer only to see that the answer's wrong. This means that we will still have to figure out the answers in the upcoming chapters.

As this is mainly following the MC's perspective, we can see that his life has been steady, similarly like a roller coaster slowly climbing up a steep, only for it to have him encounter disturbances-the roller coaster going downhill and gaining speed.

As the MC encounters more and more disturbances, we see how it impacts him and how he's forced to react to it. While the ML doesn't ab*se or neglect the MC, usually shown in other novels (quite the opposite really), he actually plays a role in taking care of the MC and helps in providing for him and his family. This shows the raw emotion of someone who's similar to a friend and a person you've always looked up to, only to see that they've done things behind your back. It shows you the psychological (hence the tag) effects it causes to a person going through this.

This is the beginning of the angst, well, it technically started before all this but at this point, it's like you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. The novel goes on to show what happens to MC, ML, and the second male lead (SML).

While there are some aspects in the novel which I don't really agree with. I have to say that this novel is quite well crafted? (If that's the right word).

Upon where I currently am, I give this novel a four stars. Once again, I really like the layout of the story and how it was crafted, to me, it had been scattering tips here and there to help us uncover the truth or to hint at us what might be coming next. Besides that, the novel also succeeded in making me cry.

Everyone is different and has different tastes. I recommend this novel if you're looking for some (heavy, in my opinion) angst dog blood sad novel to read. I also recommend this novel if you want to see a ML's redemption to a MC, but not after the usual story plots where the ML ab*ses or neglects the MC. Instead of doing those things, the ML treats the MC exceedingly well, it's a different cup of tea in this story plot. I also recommend this novel if you love speculations (aka to speculate after chapters). This was my favourite part of the novel and why it had me hooked. The novel surprises you with a truth but before that's over, it slaps you with another huge truth. It takes some or a few chapters to get through it, instead of one chapter where everything bursts out.

I hope this helps and while (like I said) this story isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's an interesting story to see a redemption by the ML to the MC for a different reason. Some elements following the redemption and chasing arcs are slightly still the same (though, I believe).

The SPOILERS are below regarding specific things if you want to take a peek and see if you want to give this novel a try. I do recommend this novel as I believe I've gotten a good understanding of the novel and through a good chunk of the novel.

MC's nightmare and more in-depth explanations and details regarding the paragraph above... below:

Spoiler

MC found out that his whole life had been a literal lie. As stated in the story, 'fake friends, fake family, fake daughter'. It then lead to his reality collapsing and his mental health deteriorating due to him unable to handle the news. The news that the sole person who knew and lied to him was his idol. The 'fake daughter' really hit him as he collapsed finding out that his daughter hadn't really been his own. After barely escaping his previous wife's new husband (her on and off again boyfriend), who had been adamant that his daughter was really HIS (the new husband's) daughter, he then finds out that his daughter is really ML's daughter. Hence, he started connecting the dots and speculated that ML had been nice to him due to this reason.

This blow was really devastating to MC that he blanked out into his own world. He didn't respond to food, etc. and ML became his trigger, in a bad way. ML then goes to hold him captive in his house or apartment and has a doctor (the best doctor) tend to him. Due to MC's unresponsiveness to food, ML has to ask the doctor to give him nutritious shots to sustain him.

The doctor here is like, 'Although I'm the best doctor, I can't treat this patient as he need help mentally. I'm only able to treat his body, meaning I'm only able to treat him physically.' ML here is in denial, 'He can't be mentally ill he'll get better in no time'. He... doesn't.

ML is then forced to take him to a mental hospital where he's stolen by the second male lead. The second male lead takes him away to his apartment or house and bathes, clothes, and feed him. At night, he holds MC and has s*xual activity with him. MC is still a patient. MC, at this point, can't comprehend anything. The author literally describes MC as a 'doll'. ML even tells the second male lead to 'take better care of him. He's not a dog'. To which the second male lead replies, 'of course not, you can't have s*x with a dog'.

ML repeatedly asks the second male lead to take good care of MC and if at one point he can't do it anymore, to just return him...

At this point, MC is like a leverage between the male lead and the second male lead. It's like a game to see who can have him or hold onto him longest. (It was this aspect of the novel that I hadn't really liked)

[collapse]

As for the tragedy tag, the tragedy is told from the ML's, point of view similar to how most novels are written. This part of the novel is where both male leads start to regret their choices. It also shows us that the ML and the second male lead have begun to split up and each take a different path as seen in most novels.

It's at this point that the ML contemplates his life and his choices (if I remember correctly), the beginnings of a redemption and chase.

The tragedy in detail below:

Spoiler

During MC's escape, an accident occurs which lead ML and the second male lead to believe that MC had been dead. I say lead to believe as the one fatally injured had been injured beyond recognition and items belonging to MC such as his id had been found at the scene. At this point, a fight with words broke out between ML and the second male lead.

After this fight, the second male lead leaves to America with his on and off again boyfriend (who's also MC and ML's friend). ML then, after the ceremony goes back encounters his daughter who he then raised lavishly, as described. This is due to him 'promising her father that he will take care of her'.

[collapse]

After the tragedy in detail below (what really happened during the tragedy) :

Spoiler

MC isn't actually dead and had ran away with another identity (His identity, from what google has translated to is called 'fat man'. I'm literally not joking it's what he got addressed with. Not by name either just by this title) ML discovers him and demands some time to compensate him. He asked but MC isn't really given a choice here, you see. His daughter is used as leverage against him and that's the beginning of the chase.

[collapse]
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Give.Me.A.Piece.Of.Cake
Give.Me.A.Piece.Of.Cake rated it
December 26, 2022
Status: Completed
4 stars for the translator effort! It's not a bad novel and I went into it knowing it won't be a fluff so I was ready for some torture, tears, and dog blood BUT what got me was how unlikable the MC character was in the few chapters in the flashbacks. The MC is a real cannon fodder and is not a very likable character but he does developed as a MC as the story progress so thank the author for that.

ML is not a very likable character either but... more>> he's just very human? like a immoral human if that makes sense. He's just your typical bad guy who pretend to be a gentleman to take advantages of weak minded people so I somehow have less anger with his character than I do with the MC.

There are a lot of stuffs the author left it in the gutter and let the readers interpret it themselves for examples:

Spoiler

How did the ML find out that the MC daughter was his own? Based on the extra and the chapters the MC met the old wife, it was hinted that even the old wife was not sure who was the father of the daughter as the old wife was a prostitute and slept around with a lot of people... but somehow ML seemed to already know that the daughter was his own. I assume he found out by hiring someone to check the daughter DNA to make sure the daughter is the MC or not but unfortunately found out it was his own daughter. The old wife is actually not a horrible woman like in how most BL depict women so that was good.

The 2nd ML always seemed to be able to find the MC no matter which house he moved to. I find this part weird... it was like he has GPS installed on MC. What he did to MC was pretty messed up though.

When Chu Mo (that f*cking whore) got hit by a car, it was unclear but I am willing to guess that the whole getting hit by a car was planned by ML and Chu Mo to get the 2nd ML to go back to Chu Mo and leave MC... which works. The ML called the MC to return to him the minute the 2nd ML go back to that whore.

Although ML said he never want to hurt MC, he did a lot of things that hurt MC so I was glad MC grow a spine after he found out the truth.

[collapse]

My most hated character:

  1. Chu Mo (that whore)
  2. 2nd ML (he's just shit)
  3. ML (he's also shit)
BTW, I cried for some of MC scenes with his daughter. Sad. <<less
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SailorJuniper
SailorJuniper
October 3, 2024
Status: Completed
This reminds me of non-zero-sum (without the traumatic levels of r*pe and physical and psychological ab*se), in the way you have this pack mentality among a group of friends who all know to some degree that they are terrible people to this one person, but don't stop because it's more convenient for them to maintain the status quo. Hurting someone who is seemingly OK with always getting the short end of the stick is easier than trying to become a better person.

Chu Mo. It's very easy to dislike Chu... more>> Mo, but that's because he's the 'obvious' bully of the three -- he's loud and abrasive and makes his dislike of MC known. As readers, we dislike Chu Mo because he says the mean thoughts everyone is thinking out loud, and it makes us uncomfortable. Generally, he's uncouth and crass, making him an easy to hate. At the same time, he's probably the least culpable in anything that has happened here; outside of being 'mean, ' Chu Mo's only crime is loving Zhuang Wei (ZW) and occasionally letting his jealousy get the best of him. Chu Mo also gives us the most honest monologue in the novel, where he calls out ZW for doing little more than stringing Qu Tongqiu (QT) along, stating that he doesn't love him at all; it's simply ZW's severe FOMO due to the missed chance to have s*x with QT back when they were in college that's causing his fixation. Ultimately, Chu Mo is proven right, and he and ZW are back together before long. While Chu Mo is an a**hole, he's far from the worst offender.

Zhuang Wei. He starts off as a very seemingly mundane character but slowly picks up importance as the chapters continue. I think there is this initial element of seeing him as a sort of 'savior' figure for QT due to his strong sense of self and overall pride and dignity, but ultimately, ZW is selfish, and many things he does are from a very self-serving perspective when you get down to it. While he doesn't genuinely mean to hurt, harm, or cause distress, he is incapable of ever putting someone else's needs before his own, which never ends well for that other person... QT being the person to get the short end of the stick. ZW is also a personality type incapable of changing because there will always be people (like Chun Mo) who will cater to his every whim simply because he's attractive. I think he learns the least from this whole situation.

Ren Ningyuan. He's another one, like Zhuang Wei, who is almost incapable of ever putting anyone else's needs above his own; I know at the onset of the big revelation that from his POV, it seems he's doing this all for QT, but the reality is, he's doing it for himself. Trapping QT in the ultimate emotional stranglehold and using it as leverage to keep him as a dutiful worshipper while he 'figures out' his sexuality is so awful it's hard to even put into words. He uses the excuse of 'happiness is more important than the lie' to justify his behavior. To some extent, that's true, especially from the perspective of protecting a child. However, if you consider that being honest in the first place would've prevented the situation entirely, it's hard to accept that logic. RN devastates his friend time and time again, and even though he's right about things like QT's relationship with ZW being destined to fail, it's laughable to see him approach this from the perspective of having the moral high ground when his actions directly caused QT to run to ZW in the first place.

Qu Tongqiu. I feel he has been let down so much he eventually gives up on trying; it was hard to read his devastation at the big revelation and his subsequent questioning of everything he thought was good in his life. Seeing him develop some ability to stand up for himself and make independent choices toward the end was great. Given the heavy theme, his character progression was very natural and felt realistic. The worst part is that even towards the end, QT is only ever given the illusion of choosing by RN, so despite his personal growth, he always stays in that subservient position.

I did like the novel, though I wish QT's acceptance of RN didn't come so easily... it goes that RN does one nice thing for him, and he caves -- also, RN never truly explains to QT why he did what he did; we got insight from his own perspective, but we never really see the two of them hash it out or any real acknowledgment or apology for ruining QTs life. The story also falls short of giving an entirely realistic view of the emotions that come with that type of big revelation... it ended on the 'well, it's fine' note when what has happened is extremely serious. Again, I just felt like RN's logic of 'well it's all ok so long as everyone is happy' (which btw, the author has QT feel 'guilty and confused' for having an authentic and human reaction), and I didn't like how that was handled because it shifted blame to QT, like he was at fault or in the wrong for asking questions and learning the truth and then informing others of that truth... like he ruined everything when he didn't... <<less
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spicyilitretchicken
spicyilitretchicken rated it
February 17, 2024
Status: --
Firstly, this is not for everyone. If you have not read the tags then f-ing read them and walk out. Dare you sh*t about how traumatising it is. The story is unique in its own way, for those who love ab*se and an MC with self esteem issues, it is indeed good.

I would rate this 10/10 for ab*se. Absolutely lovely ^^
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DemFeels
DemFeels rated it
December 21, 2022
Status: c4
This isn't a novel for everyone as can be seen by the tags and genres. For people who enjoy reading hard angst (like me) this is a gold mine judging from the spoiler posted so please don't be put off if you are interested into this sort of genre. The translator is also doing an amazing job especially at the fast pace they are working and thank you for listing the trigger warnings for more difficult chapters.

I will update my review once there are more translated chapters.
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CrescentRedLuna
CrescentRedLuna rated it
January 31, 2023
Status: Completed
Oh I am crying how those father and daughter reunited after the faking dead of MC. I am f*cking hurt and crying how MC mental and heart being crumbling like that by 2 people. I hate them, what I hate the most is that ml2, he kept giving MC hope, promised and love plus care, not only r*ped MC once and he sleep with MC countless time like no ending when he gave MC fake hope and then he gave up like s*upid because he just want MC body, treated... more>> him like pet or doll to vent his lust, not treat him out off love. It was be for main story, but he for extra story. I hope ml2 n his boyfriend die!

warning nsfw, ml1 and ml2 r*ped MC once while his drugged/drunk. It was dubcon. <<less
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