• Ba – 爸 – bà – a more colloquial way to say “father,” closer to “dad”
• Didi – 弟弟 – dìdì – younger brother, or a younger male you aren’t necessarily related to
• Fuqin – 父亲 – fùqīn – father, very formal
• Gege – 哥哥 – gēgē – older brother, or an older male you aren’t necessarily related to
• Laoma – 老妈 – lǎo mā – a more colloquial way to say “mother,” closer to “mom”
• Lao Zhang – 老张 – lǎo zhāng – Referring to Zhang Weiran, an affectionate or familiar way to call a friend or acquaintance
• Meimei – 妹妹 – mèimei – little sister, or a younger female you aren’t necessarily related to
• Muqin – 母亲 – mǔqīn – mother, very formal
• Xiao Xiao – 小小 – xiǎo xiǎo – Referring to Xiaokai. “小” means little, and is used often before names in nicknames. Liu Xingyu uses this very affectionately.
• Xiao-ge – 小哥 – xiǎo gē – literally “little big brother” but is kind of a flirty, familiar way to refer to an older man

Content Warnings

This book contains sex work, dub-con or dubious consent (inflicted on a main character, but not by his love interest), self-harm, mentions of a suicide attempt, kidnapping, torture, murder, and graphic depictions of bodily harm, and may contain other potentially triggering ideas, concepts, and scenes. Please read with caution.

Notes

1. 富二代 – Second generation rich

2. 高富帅 – “Mr. Perfect” (i.e. tall, rich, and handsome)

3. 小小 – The character 小, meaning “small,” is often attached to peoples’ names to turn it affectionate. Xiaokai’s name is spelled 小凯, so Xingyu is calling Xiaokai “Little Xiao.”

4. 弟弟 – younger brother

5. Xingyu uses 爸 / ba1 to refer to their father, equivalent to ‘Dad’. Xiaokai uses 父亲 / fu4qin, which is more equivalent to ‘father’.

6. 母亲 / mu3qin – Mother. Again, Xiaokai is being very formal with his parents

7. 外国人 – foreigner

8. 哥 – literally means “older brother,” but can be used for any man a little older than you

9. 真金不怕火炼 – a person of integrity can stand severe tests.

10. 中二病 – loanword from Japanese describing behavior of a teenager going through puberty

11. 老妈 / lao3ma1 – mom

12. 妹妹 – little sister, but doesn’t have to be used between people who are related by blood

13. 红油抄手 – Sichuan chili oil wontons

14. 小笼汤包 – Steamed soup dumplings

15. 小哥 / xiao3ge1 – literally “little big brother” but is kind of a flirty, familiar way to refer to an older man

16. “Five-two-zero,” or 五二零/wu3 er4 ling2, sounds like 我爱你/wo3 ai4 ni3, or “I love you.” 520 is sometimes used as slang akin to “ilu” or “ily,” and May 20 (5.20) is widely celebrated as a kind of Valentine’s Day

17. 我肏 - Fuck

18. 拉面/la1mian4 – Ramen

19. 火锅/huo3guo1 – Hotpot

20. 春节 – Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year

21. 汤圆 – Glutinous rice balls

22. 运 / yun2 – fortune; luck; fate

23. 小黄花 / xiao3 huang2hua1. 黄花 means “chrysanthemum” but also colloquially also means “virgin”

完璧 / wan2bi4 – a flawless piece of jade, a perfect person or thing, a virgin

24. 梅花 / mei2hua1 – plum blossom. Plum blossoms have a lot of historical and literary significance in Chinese literature, especially as related to snow. Song dynasty poet Lu You wrote “雪虐风饕愈凛然，花中气节最高坚” or “Standing righteously in the sweeping snow and blowing gale, the plum blossom has the highest integrity of all flowers.” Link 1, Link 2