Good Times

Name: Good Times
ISBN: 9787559470393

烟罗Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaMar 2026

2.9

Word count: 138K words
Chapters: 44
ISBN: 9787559470393

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Summary

The lives of four young people, and a fated love of guardianship and redemption.

Arriving in the big city from a small town, Ji Zhenzhu uses her wits and a measure of luck to become a professor's wife. One snowy night she unexpectedly encounters the thug Niu Qiang and nearly loses her virtue; at the critical moment she is saved at the cost of his life by Hua Sheng, a bus driver off duty. Yet fearing her glossy life will be shattered, Ji Zhenzhu chooses to flee and stay silent, and the selfishness and cowardice of human nature let the claws of evil grow bolder still. The young girl Qingyou becomes the next prey of the escaped Niu Qiang, and her tragic death plunges a once-happy family into despair and madness. Her twin sister Qingmiao lives on from then as her sister's shadow.

Lacking witnesses, Hua Sheng's death becomes an unsolved case, and the wife and daughter he leaves behind live in hardship, enduring the malicious attacks of some people.

Hua Sheng's daughter Hua Shen is stubborn and brave. Together with Ji Zhenzhu's son Li Haiyang, she accidentally witnesses another of Niu Qiang's killings; the two meet and fall in love under the arrangement of fate, yet part because of the vast gap in their family backgrounds.

The lives of several young people, connected yet unaware of one another, become entangled because of a perplexing snow-night case.

Secrets are buried deep and unspoken in each heart, yet by chance they bind together the most beautiful of times.

Editor's review

Centered on a snow-night murder, *Good Times* tightly entwines the fates of four young people and their families across two generations. Yan Luo does not write redemption as airy warmth; instead she first develops the selfishness and cowardice of human nature: Ji Zhenzhu's silence, Hua Sheng's wrongful death, Qingyou's tragedy, layer by layer revealing how evil spreads because of silence. The novel's greatest strength lies in its structure: the protagonists are connected yet unaware of one another, secrets buried deep, and readers are pulled forward by strong suspense as they piece together the truth. The love story of Hua Shen and Li Haiyang is no ornament but sets the debts of the parents' generation against the courage of the next, giving guardianship and redemption somewhere to land. Best read in one stretch on a quiet night, as emotional tension accumulates with the progress of the case. Note that the book involves violent crime and family trauma; readers should leave room to process their feelings and not treat it as light entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of romance who enjoy a sense of fate and interwoven multiple storylines
Adult readers interested in the gray areas of human nature and able to handle heavy themes
Readers who want crime-and-redemption fiction driven by suspense
Readers interested in writing about the identity gap between small towns and big cities

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for light, sweet romance with no violence
Readers sensitive to depictions of murder and trauma, easily affected emotionally
Readers who prefer a single protagonist's perspective and have little patience for multiple storylines

Reading tips

First note each character's choices around the snow-night crime, then read on to compare how their fates unfold.
Keep pen and paper handy to sort out relationships and the timeline; the multiple storylines will be much clearer.
Slow down at the passages where Ji Zhenzhu stays silent, and feel how the author portrays human cowardice.
After finishing, revisit the chapter where Hua Shen and Li Haiyang meet to understand how the two generations' fates echo each other.

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

版权信息
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第一章晚春·重逢
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第二章夏鸣·初遇
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第三章夏鸣·初遇
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第四章冬尽·归零
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尾声

FAQ

I haven't read other works by Yan Luo. Can I start with this one?

Yes. This is a standalone novel with self-contained characters and plot, so no prior reading is required. Just note that many characters appear at the start; in the first few chapters, be patient in remembering the relationships among Ji Zhenzhu, Hua Sheng, Qingyou, Qingmiao, Hua Shen, and Li Haiyang, and reading will become much smoother once the main case gets underway.

Are there many murder scenes? Is it very frightening?

The murder is the thread that drives the whole book, but the focus is on characters' choices and consequences rather than gore. Scenes such as the snow-night encounter and Qingyou's death carry clear violent implications and emotional impact; they are heavy but not sensationalized, though sensitive readers should still judge for themselves.

Is the ending tragic or happy?

The materials only go as far as secrets buried deep and the young people bound by fate, falling in love and parting; it would be wrong to presume the nature of the ending for readers. Better to read it as a coming-of-age novel about guardianship and redemption, focusing on how the characters choose amid secrets and debts rather than asking only whether good and evil are repaid.

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About the author

烟罗 Author

Yan Luo is a Chinese author known for youth literature and modern romance. Public information about her is limited, and details such as her real name, nationality, and dates of birth and death are not available in accessible records. Five of her works are currently included in the collection: Haitang Hua Wei Mian (The Complete Edition), The Flower on the Star and its sequel The Flower on the Star 2, The Flower on the Star (Two-Volume Set), and Good Times. These titles suggest that her writing centers on youthful growth and urban romance, using delicate prose to portray the inner lives of adolescents, the ups and downs of love, and the melancholy of passing time. Her book titles often draw on images such as flowers and stars, giving her work a lyrical and gentle quality. Her books have attracted a following among readers of youth literature and modern romance, and are suited to those who enjoy lyrical storytelling and emotional description.