《放学等我》- An amazing approachable school setting danmei

《放学等我》 is among the top-rated school setting webnovel in the Chinese fandom, and rightly so!

I’m not usually a fan of stories with a modern-day school setting because I don’t find the lives of school students particularly interesting. Probably also because I don’t want to be reminded of my school life.

Nevertheless, 《放学等我》 is a school-setting web novel that I highly rate and truly enjoyed. The story is well written and well paced, and the characters have great chemistry.

Reading Experience

The primary setting is the high school the couple attends, along with their homes and surrounding hangout spots, such as a nearby bubble tea shop and local internet cafes.

The plot follows the romantic development of the two main characters and their personal growth as they transition from high school students to working adults.

As it’s a school-setting webnovel, struggles with studies, exams, conflicts with other students, and expectations from teachers are common themes in this type of story. 《放学等我》 is no different.

Along the way, they also face many challenges outside of the school, mainly involving their families, which add emotional depth to their journey and character development.

Romance and Relationship Building

A type of narration I dislike is when a couple gets into a long-lasting conflict over a misunderstanding. It’s such a common way of dragging out the plot to create more content, and it’s particularly common in stories where the characters are of different social statuses. I was so worried that 《放学等我》 would go down the same route, as there were so many points where it could have gone very wrong, but it didn’t!

The couple’s relationship is mature, and they resolve conflicts and misunderstandings quickly through conversation. Honestly, it’s surprising how often couples in fictional stories don’t communicate with each other and let misunderstandings drag on; it’s such a delight that 《放学等我》 did not use conflicts and misunderstandings as a way to pad out content!

The main couple has a healthy relationship, where they respect each other, their decisions and their goals. Neither of them forces the other to change; instead, they work towards a common goal that works for them!

I understand that not all relationships in real life are perfect, so I can’t claim that 《放学等我》 reflects reality. However, we often read to escape from our everyday lives, and a story about a perfect relationship serves as a form of escapism. That is exactly why we enjoy reading books.

Difficulty for a Chinese learner

《放学等我》 is a brilliant novel for Chinese second language learners, as it’s written with modern-day straightforward language with not much description. It’s set around the 2020s, so the vocabulary is relevant for our everyday lives.

It’s the perfect novel if you enjoy school romance and have some reading experience with other easier webnovels, or have read quite a few graded readers.

However, there are some caveats.

Firstly, there is the slang. There aren’t many of them, but given the setting and the characters’ ages, they will converse in language befitting their ages.

Secondly, the Chinese school system can feel confusing, especially if you’re more familiar with a different system and haven’t had much exposure to how it works.

With that in mind, 《放学等我》 would provide you with enough context that the next high school setting webnovel won’t be as confusing.

Final Thoughts

School-setting webnovels are considered one of the easiest types of stories for Chinese learners, but since I’m not someone who particularly enjoys them, I won’t be reading too many.

I picked up 《放学等我》 because I was recommended it as the best one to read, and if I’m only planning to read one in the near future, then this is it!

If you enjoy school settings, then it’s a no-brainer to pick up 《放学等我》. If it isn’t your cup of tea, but you want something approachable and simple to read to help improve your Chinese, then 《放学等我》 is a brilliant choice!

Please do leave a comment below if you end up reading this. I’d love to hear your thoughts.