mint-stained shirt (薄荷衬衣)
by Chu He
“This is a stamp,” the child declared. “It means you’re my gege now.”
carrd by @mygcrescent
When he was young, Xiao Yu’an wore a white shirt and rescued a child from a tree.The child’s hands were sticky with sugar water from the melted peppermint popsicle he’d been eating, and he left a five-fingered imprint on the front of Xiao Yu’an’s shirt.“This is a stamp,” the child declared. “It means you’re my gege now.”When he was young, Ming Shu had to climb up and up and up in a tall tree in order to see the gege in the neighbors’ yard.He wanted to quickly grow big and tall, so he wouldn’t need to climb any more trees. So he would be able to turn around, at any time, and see the gege from the Xiao family.“You don’t need to wait for me,” he said. “Let me chase you. Let me make you my guiding light.”summary by novel updates
modern
82 chapters
Translation complete
slice of life, angst, fluff, ocassional comedy
Happy ending
PLEASE NOTE THE TRIGGER WARNINGS
child abuse
neglect
bullying
mild violence
Mint stained shirt has a sequel, as well as other books in the same universe (with different character pairings) read this FAQ by our lovely translator (@78zao) to understand the relationship between these books, as well as other necessary details.1. What's the relationship between Madness of the Heart (心狂) and Mint-Stained Shirt (薄荷衬衣)?They feature the same CP! Madness was written first. It's an established relationship detective novel; the CP has already been together for many years at the start. Mint-Stained was written later, but it's chronologically the 'prequel'. It follows the same CP from childhood to adulthood.2. Will I like Madness of the Heart if I liked Mint-Stained Shirt?You might not! The genres are very, very different. Mint-Stained Shirt is a cute slice-of-life story which focuses on the characters growing up together. Their relationship is the central element of the novel. Madness, on the other hand, is a detective novel which focuses on the police cases. There are, in my opinion, lots of super cute scenes with the CP in Madness. But the focus is definitely on the murder mysteries.Also, warning: Madness contains graphic depictions of violence and other dark, mature themes. It's not a light-hearted read like Mint-Stained Shirt.3. Which one should I read first?It's completely up to you! My personal, subjective suggestion is: Book 1 of Madness (40 chapters), then Mint-Stained Shirt, then back to Madness. However! This only applies IF you plan on reading Madness, which has much darker content. Both novels are completely capable of standing alone. You absolutely don't need to read one to enjoy the other.4. How does the Madness of the Heart manhua work with Mint-Stained Shirt?Madness of the Heart has a super gorgeous manhua adaptation, but it makes some major changes to the CP's relationship. Those changes basically make it so that Mint-Stained Shirt didn't happen in the manhua version. I would personally suggest treating the manhua as an AU.5. Are there other novels in this universe?There are! Lots of them, in fact. The author, Chu He, has written several danmei detective novels set in this same verse. They all feature different CPs. I would love to eventually translate them or see someone else pick them up one day!
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