For preview purposes only; final product may differ
Author: Qie Zai Shan Yang
Translator: amixy
Editor: M. M.
Gentle Restraint is a Danmei novel with a modern setting, tagged with the keywords “deep angsty love”, “non-con”, “depraved lunatic top”, and “tragic pitiful bottom”.
A stereotypical straight guy like Song Yu wouldn’t have touched a novel like this in a million years, but it just so happens that he shares a name with one of the supporting characters. It’s for this reason his cousin recommended the book to him, even though she sounded more than a little shifty doing it.
lanlan_nolikey: someone in this book has the same name as you
lanlan_nolikey: how would you like to step into a whole new world?
Song Yu raises an eyebrow and decides to give this story a chance, as he happens to be in hospital for health issues with ample time to kill.
The narrative of Gentle Restraint is divided into two stages. The first stage is set in high school, when the main character was still a pitiable little softie.
Xie Sui’s mother, being young and naïve, had been swindled into bed by the honeyed words of a rich young heir—the third son of the Xie family—and became his mistress. When his wife found out about the affair, the flames of her jealousy burnt hot, so she ruined the mistress’s face and ran her out of Xining. On the seventh night after arriving in Jingcheng, Xie Sui’s mother could not accept the cold reality forced upon her and jumped off a building—killing herself right in front of her son.
Obviously, this left Xie Sui rather traumatised.
In the end, an old lady who lived across the hall from their flat, having no children or grandchildren of her own, took pity on Xie Sui and took him in.
He grew up in a hateful environment filled with negativity. Besides being bullied by the spoilt brats in his building, he was also pointed at and talked about behind his back by the gossiping housewives in his neighbourhood. They judged his mother with the utmost cruelty, claiming she had only committed suicide because of the diseases she had contracted from selling her body, and that he was probably unclean as well.
He grew up among decrepit buildings, narrow alleys, run-down markets, and all kinds of nasty rumours—all this came together to shape his broken and battered childhood. These experiences laid the foundation for the vulnerability and low self-esteem that lay deep within Xie Sui, and paved the way for a future where he would fall time and again for playboys who deigned to show him the slightest warmth.
The story opens at the start of high school. Armed with the highest score in the city-wide high school entrance exam, Xie Sui entered Jingcheng No. 1 High with a spot in Form 1. There were two types of students in Form 1: those with exceptional grades, and those with exceptional backgrounds.
It might have been fine if Xie Sui had belonged only to the first category, but unfortunately, he had also inherited his mother’s beauty. With his remarkable looks and a chilly air about him, he drew the attention of a wealthy jerk in his form as soon as he entered school. Every day, the rich kid came up with new ways to torment him, spewing hateful abuse as other students watched on or even joined in. Meanwhile, the teacher played dumb. Xie Sui stayed quiet through all of this, ignoring everything. That was, until one time when the rich kid went overboard and mentioned Xie Sui’s mum.
“Look at that skanky face of yours, your mom’s a whore, isn’t she?”
It was as if someone had flipped a switch. Xie Sui’s eyes reddened, and he became manic, almost beating the rich kid to death.
In light of that incident, the school administration announced Xie Sui’s offence to the entire student body, and humiliation propelled the rich kid to develop a deep-seated resentment for Xie Sui thereafter.
Enter Top Number One. This young man was an older cousin of the rich kid and a notorious playboy in the capital city who had only transferred to Jingcheng No. 1 High to get away from the watchful eyes of his old man. He became fixated upon Xie Sui at first sight, finding the latter’s aloofness especially enticing. Thus, he initiated a series of seductive manoeuvres. He put on a façade of gentleness even as he enabled his cousin’s malicious tendencies, then swooped in at the last second to play the knight in shining armour in an effort to win Xie Sui over.
For Xie Sui, who had been on the receiving end of nothing but cold malevolence since he could remember, it was the first time someone had protected and respected him. Over time, something stirred in his heart, and he became lost in that affection. Xie Sui wasn’t even sure if he liked Top Number One, but he was very amenable and yielded to the young man’s words.
However, the playboy’s notoriety wasn’t just a rumour. For him, the moment a cold beauty fell for him was the moment his interest waned—it was no longer exciting. It just so happened he was due to leave Jingcheng, so he took one glance at his thirsty cousin and grinned.
“You like him? He’s yours.”
It’s at this point in the book that Song Yu’s face stiffens as question marks slowly begin swimming in his mind.
And so, in the last year of high school before Xie Sui was due to graduate, he was lured by Top Number One into the rich boy’s flat, where he was given a spiked drink and almost got raped.
Song Yu’s jaw drops. His throat suddenly feels parched, and he finds himself in great thirst for some water.
Fortunately, Xie Sui can be ruthless when he’s backed into a corner. He grabbed a liquor bottle, knocked the rich boy unconscious, and escaped from the scene. Once home, he received a piece of nightmarish news: since he was so late getting back, his adoptive grandma had gone out looking for him, which was when she got hit by a car that left her paralysed.
It was the last straw that broke Xie Sui’s back. The seventeen-year-old was plunged into a bottomless abyss.
His grandma was alive, but the medical expenses were astronomical. To pay it back, Xie Sui started his endless chain of part-time jobs after entering university. It was during one of these jobs at a social club, when he was being harassed by a member that he met Top Number Two.
Top Number Two was a CEO who froze the first time he laid eyes on Xie Sui—for the latter looked like someone he used to know, or more specifically, the one that got away.
Once again, Song Yu finds himself speechless. He’s seething with so much rage it scorches his throat, so he pours himself another cup of water. He doesn’t understand how these characters could be so stupid. If there’s something not right in their heads, they had better fix it, or he has a mind to do it himself.
Song Yu skips over much of what comes after, since the strategies Top Number Two employed were mostly similar to those of his predecessor, the results of which could be summarised into three words: poor Xie Sui. Song Yu chugs two more cups of water as he trudges through yet another series of mental and physical anguish.
Only when Xie Sui returns to his natal family does the plot take off in a more power fantasy direction. Turns out, his father had always loved Xie Sui’s mother and, by extension, felt great remorse towards Xie Sui. To make up for it, he signed away his entire inheritance to Xie Sui.
It was at this point that Xie Sui sealed his heart up, kicked aside the swarm of scumbags buzzing around him, and went off abroad. Three years later, he returned to take his place at the head of the Xie household and became the golden child not just in name but in practice.
With his air of noble grace, his striking appearance, and the cold detachment he embodied, he was at once the talk of the capital and the target of desire for all the affluent bachelorettes. At this, Top Number One and Two started having regrets, which was also when Top Number Three showed up and started wreaking havoc.
In the face of Xie Sui’s cold indifference, the three men, now finance moguls at the top of their industry, were overcome with equal parts regret and loathing. After their tantrums, they came together to form an alliance with a shared goal: they would have him even if it meant destroying him. So, the three men worked together to bring down the Xie family. They then held Xie Sui captive and started down their “non-con” path, as the tag at the beginning had indicated. Meanwhile, the comment section went wild.
Ahhhhh it’s finally here!
A pretty man getting abused, that’s what I love to see it!
Atticwife! Atticwife!
Cursing under his breath, Song Yu pours the last cup of water down his throat and tosses the crumpled disposable cup into the trash. Then he exits the reading app and opens up the chat with his cousin.
superhotyu: You’re done for. Your summer is over.
Song Lan replies almost immediately.
lanlan_nolikey: ???
lanlan_nolikey: Wait wait what happened? Plz you can joke all you want but you can’t joke around with my summer… D:
Song Yu snickers.
superhotyu: Save your tears, that doesn’t work on me.
superhotyu: I finished reading Gentle Restraint. Miss Song Lan, I think you’re having some dangerous thoughts. You seem to be in dire need of a full set of exam prep textbooks to deep-cleanse your mind. I’ll be in touch with your mum, good luck in the summer!
lanlan_nolikey: [confused_nick_young.jpg]
lanlan_nolikey: Nooooo!!! Pleaaase! What on earth have I done?!
lanlan_nolikey: All I did was read a BL novel that doesn’t even have smut!!!
lanlan_nolikey: Not like I sold my blood or kidneys or my uterus, how can you accuse me of having improper thoughts!! (T_T) I’m even more tragic than Xie Sui!
superhotyu: You thought about selling your blood, kidneys, and uterus?
superhotyu: Very good, I will personally pay a visit to your house this summer to give you some one-on-one tutoring, you can get a taste of your cousin’s warm affection in the heat of summer :)
Song Lan is outraged, and it can be felt through the screen with the next message she sends.
lanlan_nolikey: You heartless jerk, Fabio Song!
superhotyu: Who’s Fabio Song?
lanlan_nolikey: It’s you, wait, no! He’s your future husband!!!
Song Yu, who has just got a new husband out of nowhere, can’t help but laugh. The little girl must have gone mad.
superhotyu: Lay off the webnovels, young one, and do more math. I’ve placed an order for a set of math prep material for you too :)
The girl is now in despair. Why is her cousin doing this to her!
Song Yu laughs as he exits the chat. She will soon be off to her last year of high school, yet she’s still got him worrying about her.
After a trip to the bathroom, he lies back in bed and goes to sleep. As he drifts off, the plot of the novel comes to mind. He shakes his head and scoffs.
The character Song Lan mentioned—the one that shares his name—is only a cannon fodder who appears in no more than two chapters. He grew up with the MC until the age of six when he went overseas to get treatment for his illness. The character only had one purpose, which was to reunite with Xie Sui while they were both abroad and reveal to him some information about the past and say that Xie Sui’s mum had loved him very much and that he shouldn’t resent her, so Xie Sui could let go of the past and move on.
This episode was only supposed to be a brief diversion in Song Yu’s in-patient stay. Little does he know that when he wakes up the next morning, he will have transmigrated into that webnovel and become Song Yu, the very same sickly young man who appears for less than three chapters and dies an early death.