The Malicious Summer

喘气的蜡烛Post Wave Publishing · ChinaJul 2024

3.0

Word count: 84K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

For super salespeople Yu Haotian and Xia Yu, this chance meeting in the café is anything but romantic; the two are so alike that they trade barbs the moment they meet and pray they never see each other again. Yet their fates are reconnected by Yu Haoyi's death. As her brother, Yu Haotian seems never to have understood the sister who ran away from home. And Xia Yu, her friend and former roommate, never truly entered Haoyi's inner world either... With mystery after mystery unsolved, how will the two unravel them?

Editor's review

The novel opens with two super salespeople at each other's throats, rendering workplace verbal sparring with a briskness and tension, then forces the two previously parallel lines together through Yu Haoyi's death. Yu Haotian, as her brother, never truly understood the sister who ran away from home, and Xia Yu, as her friend and former roommate, never entered her inner world either; this setup of "everyone close to her knew nothing" makes the mystery more than a plot device—it points to the estrangement between people. The book's readability lies in the complementary dual perspectives: one starting from blood ties, the other from friendship, each piecing together an unknown side of Haoyi. It suits readers who enjoy urban suspense and the depiction of character relationships, reading in segments on the commute or over the weekend, following the two as they dismantle the unsolved mysteries step by step and feeling the gap between "thinking one understands" and "truly understanding" in intimate relationships.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy urban suspense driven by dual narrative lines and character relationships
Readers interested in workplace rivalry and barb-trading dialogue
Readers concerned with the themes of "understanding" and "misunderstanding" in intimate relationships
Commuters who want a complete mystery in a brisk pace

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting hardcore criminal investigation or rigorously designed tricks
Readers who prefer pure romance and do not want death involved
People impatient with slow buildup who want only fast-paced reversals

Reading tips

Follow Yu Haotian's and Xia Yu's respective clues chapter by chapter, and jot down briefly the different information each holds as you read.
Pay attention to the scattered details about Haoyi's life before her death, and look back to compare them later to feel the puzzle coming together.
Read the two protagonists' dialogue as clues to their personalities, not merely as a device to move the plot.
After finishing, try answering "the people I think I understand—do I really understand them?" and extend the mystery to your own relationships.

About the publisher

Post Wave Publishing China · Founded in 2006

Post Wave Publishing focuses on the humanities and social sciences, foreign literature, history, and popular science. Its "Han Qing Tang" series features works on modern Chinese and world history by scholars such as Chow Tse-tsung, Jian Youwen, Robert Bickers, and Richard J. Smith. In literature, it offers foreign classics including the collected works of Herta Müller, the novels of Alice Walker, and the Romanian Trilogy. Its popular science and applied psychology titles also emphasize readability, such as the "World Popular Science Series" and "Don't Let Prejudice and Labels Define Who You Are." With 90 titles currently in the collection and limited public information available, the publisher shows a character that balances scholarly depth with accessible reading.

版权信息
1.你的石门水库没有关好
2.生而为人我很抱歉
3.交换遗书
4.有智能马桶
5.搬走的原因
6.驾照拿鸡腿换的
7.童话中的白雪公主
8.路口的监视器
9.琴‧钢琴酒吧
10.妈妈怎么还不回来
11.戴手套的人
12.我想留着这孩子
13.适合弹钢琴的手
14.礼物盒装饰品
15.例行公事
16.学长！学妹！
17.你们的女儿
18.礼物盒里的礼物
19.老子不伺候你了
20.怎么是他
21.女儿长得像爸爸
22.拒绝验DNA
23.他知道我是孩子的父亲吗？
24.在仙女棒燃尽前拥抱你
25.让她认祖归宗
26.现在立刻马上
27.爱是双向奔赴
28.爸爸妈妈不同意
29.父母的考虑
30.他有什么动机这样做
31.冷暖有相知，共度日月长
32.不是单纯的感情
33.只是几分钟的事
34.变调的恋情
35.没有第二法则
36.我们离婚吧
37.璀璨炫目的烟火
38.亲爱的弟弟
39.恶意的夏天
番外－于浩意

FAQ

Is the deductive element heavy in this book?

It leans more toward urban suspense and a novel of character relationships; the mystery revolves around Yu Haoyi's death and her inner world, focusing on how the two protagonists piece together clues and rediscover the people around them rather than on rigorous deduction of tricks. Readers who enjoy character-driven suspense will find it a better fit.

Will not having read the author's previous works affect my reading?

No. The characters and plot stand alone and can be entered without background from previous works. If you like the author's narrative style, going back to other works won't affect your understanding either; the reading order is relatively flexible.

Does the romance between the two protagonists take up a large share?

The two go from disliking each other to being bound together by a shared mystery, and the change in their relationship is an important part of the narrative, but the book's focus remains on solving the mystery of Haoyi's death and rediscovering her. Readers expecting a pure romance should adjust their expectations.

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About the author

喘气的蜡烛 Author

Chuanqi De Lazhu is an author about whom limited public information is available; the library currently holds two works by this author, After I Gave Up Hypocritical Happiness and The Malicious Summer. Judging from these two titles, the author's writing falls at the intersection of social fiction and modern romance, tending to develop narratives through emotional relationships and everyday circumstances while focusing on how individuals navigate real-world pressures and emotional choices. The titles carry clear emotional signals: one points to a farewell to false happiness and a renewed personal choice, while the other uses "malicious" to evoke a tense atmosphere set against the backdrop of summer, suggesting that the author combines psychological feeling with a sense of reality. Because no reliable public records are available regarding birth and death dates, nationality, education, or creative career, a full assessment of the author's overall trajectory and literary influence remains difficult, and readers can currently grasp the narrative orientation and emotional expression only through these two works.