Expired Candy

王六鹅Jiangsu Kuwei Culture Development Co., Ltd. · ChinaFeb 2024

3.4

Word count: 142K words
Chapters: 56

Summary

[Soft on the outside, steady at the core: female director Cheng Xinran vs. the doctor who protests too much while his heart says otherwise: Chen Mian]

[Modern romance + urban + healing + mutual pursuit + reunion after long separation + broken mirror mended + entertainment industry + first love + 1V1 + pure love + adults' conversation]

Standard blurb:

After they parted, Chen Mian, who didn't like being a doctor, became a doctor, and Cheng Xinran, who loved watching movies, became a director.

One day, Chen Mian was accompanying his teacher on consultations when he ran into Cheng Xinran, who had brought her "boyfriend" to see a doctor.

The scene of them once trading harsh words is still vivid. Chen Mian thought she didn't want anything to do with him anymore and kept his distance. But one can't forget an old love, and the other can't let go of a grudge—who could resist tasting this expired candy?

Human relationships have shone brighter than the stars; everything lost and lacking will return in another way.

How fortunate that, on the road ahead, Cheng Xinran will walk it together with Chen Mian.

Protests-too-much-but-heart-says-otherwise blurb:

Years after the breakup, they meet again. Chen Mian protests too much while his heart says otherwise, convinced he has Cheng Xinran in the palm of his hand: "Have you broken up with your boyfriend? My bottom line is I can't be the other man."

But Cheng Xinran just smiles and tells her good friend: Look at that fool, still there moved by his own performance.

Until Cheng Xinran sees this expired candy, pops it into her mouth as if in play, and tastes it—tsk, still pretty sweet!

Editor's review

Expired Candy is a modern romance that gives the "broken mirror mended" trope a light comedic touch and a healing power. The setup is clever: after they parted, Chen Mian, who didn't like being a doctor, became a doctor, and Cheng Xinran, who loved watching movies, became a director—their career choices hide old feelings and regrets for each other. The reunion opens with the misunderstanding of "bringing her boyfriend to see a doctor," quickly pushing the male lead, who protests too much while his heart says otherwise, and the female director, soft on the outside but steady at the core, onto the same emotional line. One can't forget an old love, the other can't let go of a grudge; the push and pull doesn't rely on melodrama but on adult self-esteem, testing, and self-moved misunderstandings, often drawing a knowing smile. The dialogue moves briskly, and the contrast between the male lead's stubborn talk and the female lead's clarity makes the image of "expired candy" both tart and sweet in aftertaste. It suits reading as a light yet emotionally substantial urban vignette on the commute or before bed, especially for readers who love mutual pursuit, reunion after long separation, and an entertainment-industry backdrop.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Modern romance readers who love the broken-mirror-mended and reunion-after-separation setups
Readers drawn to a male lead who protests too much while his heart says otherwise and a clear-eyed, independent female lead
People looking for a light, healing urban short read with a touch of comedy to relax with
Romance fans interested in entertainment-industry and doctor-career backdrops

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer high-conflict, fast-paced suspense or grand narratives
Serious-literature readers who don't accept romance tropes and misunderstanding-driven push and pull
People with no interest at all in entertainment-industry settings or first-love reunions

Reading tips

Read both blurbs first to feel the difference in tone, then go into the main text—it's easier to catch the shifts between light comedy and healing.
Treat each "stubborn" line of dialogue after the reunion as a clue to character, and the emotional progression becomes clearer.
Best read in segments on the commute or before bed; leave a little emotional aftertaste per chapter—no need to finish in one sitting.
After finishing, look back at the career setup in the opening; you'll find the choice of "doctor and director" is itself a response to old feelings.

About the publisher

Jiangsu Kuwei Culture Development Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2014

Jiangsu Kuwei Culture Development Co., Ltd. is a cultural enterprise focused on planning and publishing literature and social science books. Public information is limited, and the available details come mainly from its in-house catalogue. Its publishing areas cover prose and essays, foreign literature, social science classics, mystery and detective fiction, and history books, with attention to reissues and boxed sets of classic works. Representative titles include Wang Zengqi's essay collection Renjian Youwei, Wanwu Youqu, The Little Prince, a boxed set of Western philosophical classics, Mao Dun's classic works, a collection of Yasunari Kawabata's award-winning works, Cai Lan's essays, and the Eddie Flynn courtroom mystery series. Its authors include Chinese and foreign names such as Wang Zengqi, Mao Dun, Yasunari Kawabata, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Plato, and Marcus Aurelius, reflecting a publishing profile that brings together Chinese prose, foreign literature, and philosophical and social science classics.

版权信息
一、开机
二、灯光
三、剪辑
四、录音
五、布景
六、闪回
七、摄影
八、对白
九、美术
十、取景
十一、光影
十二、渐进
十三、拍摄
十四、配乐
十五、改编
十六、复现
十七、改编
十八、复现
十九、打板
二十、拷贝
二十一、即兴
二十二、表演
二十三、吻戏
二十四、剧本
二十五、默片
二十六、景深
二十七、先导
二十八、走位
二十九、淡入
三十、淡出
三十一、主观
三十二、光圈
三十三、三分规则
三十四、通告单
三十五、环境音
三十六、视角
三十七、逆光
三十八、正反打
三十九、首映式
四十、审查
四十一、远景
四十二、全景
四十三、片名
四十四、宽银幕
四十五、蒙太奇
四十六、暧昧性
四十七、发行
四十八、ARRI
四十九、混录
五十、二次曝光
五十一、徕卡
五十二、杀青【终章】
番外一、陈医生的视角
番外二、sexy villain
番外三、LIZ

FAQ

Is this book a tragedy or a happy ending?

From the blurbs, the story moves toward mutual pursuit and a broken mirror mended, ending on the warm note of the two walking on together—an overall healing, fulfilling conclusion, not a tragedy that ends in regret.

I haven't read the author's other works—can I jump straight into this one?

Yes. This is a standalone modern romance, with characters and plot self-contained; it doesn't depend on prior books or series background, so starting from the beginning won't affect your understanding.

Will the male lead's "protests too much while his heart says otherwise" come across as sleazy?

The blurb presents a light comedic contrast: he thinks he has everything in hand but is seen right through by the female lead. Her clarity and teasing offset his narcissism, reading more like testing and banter between adults than one-sided sleaze.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

王六鹅 Author · China

Wang Liue is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. Two of her works are currently known, both categorized as youth literature. Her representative titles are How to Eat an Expired Candy and Expired Candy; the clear echo between the two titles suggests that the works may be related in theme or narrative, perhaps approaching the same subject from different angles. The image of "expired candy" carries connotations of youthful memory and emotional retrospect, evoking the sweetness and regret of things not grasped in time and only later revisited. Youth literature generally focuses on the emotional experiences, relationships, and self-discovery of adolescents and young adults, and Wang Liue's writing appears to fall within this tradition, using concrete objects to convey delicate feelings. Because biographical and authorial statements are scarce, it is difficult to assess her style and influence more specifically; readers may instead turn to the works themselves to appreciate their emotional texture and narrative appeal.