The Simple Fish

陆鸿渐Jan 2017

3.2

Word count: 40K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

After graduating from university, Xia Jiandan joins the HR department of a major domestic manufacturing company, and with her comes Gao Bo, a band guitarist and her close friend throughout their college years. There she runs into Lin Jiani, a childhood acquaintance, and Jiang Xiaoyu, a sales department section chief who never misses a chance to tease her, and she begins to fall silently for Jiang Hai, Lin Jiani's former colleague in the finance department. Unwittingly, Xia Jiandan finds herself facing challenges at work and in love; young as she is, the world seems all chaos to her, but with her friends' help she peels back the surface of a glittering world, step by step, until she finally finds the goal her heart truly wants—and strives for it.

Editor's review

Simple Fish is a novel about a young professional's growth and emotional exploration in the workplace. After graduating from university, the protagonist Xia Jiandan joins the HR department of a large manufacturing company. Together with her friend Gao Bo, she steps into society, and through encounters with old acquaintances, a secret crush on a colleague, and the challenges of work, she gradually strips away the surface glamour of the world and finds her true inner goals. The novel's value lies in its honest portrayal of the confusion young people face when first entering the workplace: work and relationships intertwine, emotions collide with ideals, and there is no cheat-code protagonist halo—only trial and error and growth, step by step. The words "simple" and "fish" in the title suggest the protagonist's effort to stay true to herself and find direction amid complexity. It is suitable for readers who have just graduated or recently started working, for commutes and bedtime reading, and for readers who enjoy workplace-growth themes as a light but resonant read.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who have just graduated or are new to the workplace and need emotional resonance
Readers who enjoy novels about workplace growth and urban relationships
General readers interested in HR workplace scenarios
Confused young people hoping to find a sense of direction through light reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plot conflicts or suspenseful twists
Readers who prefer serious literature or deep social analysis
Readers uninterested in workplace romance threads

Reading tips

Use the protagonist's workplace experiences as a mirror; when you read about her hesitations, compare them with your own choices.
Read in segments during commutes or before bed; pause after each stage to sort out how the characters' relationships change.
After reading, write down your own understanding of "simple" and "glamour" as a way to reflect on yourself.

版权信息
Chapter1：夏简单
Chapter2：江小鱼
Chapter3：夏简单
Chapter4：江小鱼
Chapter5：夏简单
Chapter6：江小鱼
Chapter7：夏简单
Chapter8：江小鱼
Chapter9：夏简单
Chapter10：江小鱼
Chapter11：夏简单
Chapter12：江小鱼
Chapter13：江小鱼
Chapter14：夏简单
Chapter15：江小鱼
Chapter16：
Chapter17：夏简单
Chapter18：江小鱼
Chapter19：江小鱼
Chapter20：夏简单
Chapter21：江小鱼
Chapter22：夏简单
Chapter23：夏简单
Chapter24：江小鱼
Chapter：25林佳妮
Chapter：26夏简单
Chapter27：林佳妮
Chapter28：江小鱼
Chapter29：夏简单
Chapter30：夏简单、江小鱼
Chapter31：番外

FAQ

Is this book mainly about the workplace or about love?

Both are intertwined. The novel begins with Xia Jiandan joining the HR department of a large manufacturing company. It depicts both the work challenges and interpersonal dealings she faces, as well as her secret crush on Jiang Hai and her relationships with friends. Work and romance serve as mutual backgrounds and together drive her to gradually recognize the goals she wants.

Is the protagonist's growth arc an inspirational one?

It is not a cheat-code-style inspirational story. When Xia Jiandan first enters society, she appears utterly confused. Facing work and emotional challenges, she gets lost and makes mistakes. Her growth comes from her friends' help and her own step-by-step exploration. The novel focuses more on honestly portraying young people's trial-and-error process than on creating a perfect protagonist.

Is it suitable for people who have worked for many years?

They can read it, but the points of resonance differ. Readers who have worked for years may focus more on the book's depiction of workplace relationships and the situation of newcomers than on the protagonist's emotional exploration. If they expect profound social analysis or a complex plot structure, this book may feel light.

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About the author

陆鸿渐 Author · Chinese

Lu Hongjian is an unusual byline: it was the courtesy name of Lu Yu, the Tang-dynasty tea scholar famed for The Classic of Tea and revered by later generations as the Sage of Tea. Today this elegant classical name serves as a literary pseudonym. The library holds one work under it, Simple Fish, classified as modern romance. As for the real identity, life and writing background of the author behind this byline, publicly available material is very limited: nationality, dates of birth and death, education and writing career cannot be confirmed, so speculation should be avoided. What can be said is that the work takes contemporary emotional life as its subject and belongs to the romance genre common in contemporary online literature. Its language stays close to everyday speech, its emotional thread is built on a note of simplicity, and its narrative manner is light and plain. Overall, the output under this byline remains sparse, and its literary influence and reader reception await more works and materials for verification.