Created: 27/09/2025 - Last updated: 25/01/2026
Danmei (耽美) refers to Chinese gay stories, similarly to Japanese BL. I started reading danmei novels in 2025, and here are the ones I loved the most, with my favorites at the top.
I also have a danmei to-read page, for the ones I might check out later!
2020 | 134 chapters + 11 extras ≈ 425k words | read 09.2025 Fan translation: Completed (removed) | Official translation: Ongoing (5 vol.)
Links: Books (Haitang Books) | Fan translation (Tiny Salt Translations) | Raws (JJWXC) | Novel updates | My own reading thread (Mastodon)
Tags: video games, professional e-sport players, League of Legends, celebrities, wholesome
Jian Rong, aka Soft, is a League of Legends streamer famous for flaming just about every pro-player there is. Lu Boyuan, aka Road, is one of the best League of Legends Chinese pro-players, and the only one Jian Rong never criticizes. When Lu Boyuan's team wants to recruit Jian Rong, the streamer who has never accepted pro contracts before jumps on the opportunity to meet his favorite player...
This was a very wholesome and soft danmei! No drama, just two people liking each other, slow burn and oblivious mutual pining. Even being in a gay relationship while famous was treated lightly, more as a fun secret to tease the fans with than as something that could ruin the characters' careers. I personally loved this, but if you prefer high drama, this might not be for you. Other than the softness of this novel, I loved the immersion in professional e-sport, and the way the author described the LoL games and competitions. Perhaps my favorite part was the way the fans chatted during the streams and on social media - each player's fanbase had their own sub-culture and "personality", so the interactions were hilarious!
2020 | 117 chapters ≈ 430k words | read 01.2026 Fan translation: Completed (removed) | Official translation: Ongoing (4 vol.)
Links: Books (Seven Seas Entertainment) | Fan translation (Tiny Salt Translations) | Raws (JJWXC) | Novel updates | My own reading thread (Mastodon)
Tags: cultivation, supernatural, mystery, slow burn, shifu x disciple, found family
Panguans are members of a sect who help free people trapped in "cages" - dream-like prisons created by deeply traumatic events, usually death. A thousand years ago, Wen Shi was one of the direct disciples of the sect's founder, Chen Budao, but he has since then lost his soul and with it most of his memories. Over the last millenium, Wen Shi has been going through cycles of life and slumber, and he has now come back to life for the 12th time in our current time. As a seemingly cursed man named Xie Wen gets closer to him, Wen Shi starts to regain some of his memories, and along with them the sense that Xie Wen might be more important than he seems...
An amazing 1000 years pining story with a solid plot and a great cast of characters! Sometimes I wish to read a good supernatural mystery novel where the main characters just happen to be gay and to fall in love, and this book was exactly it... except for the fact that, the more I read, the more I realized how deeply their love story was entangled with the mysteries they faced - which made it even better. Despite the serialization format, the author managed to keep the plot tight and neat, with important things planted early on and only used at the very end. The writing contained both beautiful poetic moments as well as many hilarious ones, without the contrast ever feeling jarring. On top of this, all the characters felt vibrant and alive, and I really grew attached to many of them. This is a pretty long and slow-paced read, but it was a pleasure to read and the ending felt really rewarding on many levels!
2019 | 117 chapters + 4 extras ≈ 325k words | read 10.2025
Fan translation: Completed (removed) | Official translation: Ongoing (4 vol.)
Links: Books (Haitang Books) | Fan translation (Chrysanthemum Garden) | Raws (JJWXC) | Novel updates | My own reading thread (Mastodon)
Tags: video games, college, catfishing, MMORPG
Jing Huan's cousin was duped by Yearning For, a player in her favorite MMORPG Nine Chivalrous Heroes, and her humiliation was so bad that she decided to move to the US. Jing Huan swears revenge on the player who seduced and cheated on his cousin, but turns out Yearning For is the best player in the whole game... Instead of taking his revenge by killing him, Jing Huan decides to buy a voice changer and seduce Yearning For in order to break his heart! What could go wrong?
This novel taking on the dramas of online dating was full of excitement and suspense! From the characters' emotions slowly evolving against their will, to the oh-so-slow revelation of their offline identities to each other, the author managed to maintain a good amount of tension throughout the book, balanced with great humour. Not fully fitting the enemy-to-lovers trope, this "I must destroy this person to avenge my family, so why am I falling for them?" novel managed to stay pretty light on the angst despite its setting, and to deliver a well-deserved, fluffy happy ending.
2022 | 92 chapters + 3 extras ≈ 280k words | read 01.2026
Fan translation: Completed | Official translation: N/A
Links: Fan translation (KK Translates) | Raws (JJWXC) | Novel updates | My own reading thread (Mastodon) Tags: high school, top student x delinquent, abusive families, separation
Yu Fan is the most troublesome deliquent in his high school, and the last thing he expected to happen was for the top student in their grade Chen Jingshen... to give him a love letter! As the two boys get closer, they each realize that both of their families are very abusive in their own ways. Will they be able to start a relationship peacefully, or will their parents get in the way?
I love delinquent characters, so I was immediately hooked by this novel! The romance was pretty nice, a joyous and secret slow burn. However, the angst was rough - this is the first time a danmei ever made me cry. Thankfully the long-awaited happy ending was worth it and well delivered. There are a few things which bothered me in this novel, for instance the fact that the reasons for the angst were pretty shaky, and that Chen Jingshen didn't have much personality except for being a top student and in love. But I did like that for once Jiang Zi Bei explored difficult family dynamics and that the MC was poor, which lent a bit more realism to this novel!