A Slight Smile is Very Charming
If I knew that, one day, I would love you this much, then I would have definitely fallen in love with you at first sight.

[Update] The series and movie “Love 020” released in 2016 were both based on this book.

I am happy to announce our next project, A Slight Smile is Very Charming (微微一笑很倾城) by Gu Man (顾漫). It is a cute and upbeat love story. No angst. No waiting in despair. Just a story of two people who meet in an unconventional way and become a part of each other’s lives. What I love about this novel is that not only is the male lead handsome and smart, the female lead can also hold a candle to him in both beauty and brains. Together, they are quite a formidable pair, spicing up the lives of those around them.

The title of the book is actually a play on the name of the main female character, Wei Wei (微微). And the archaic meaning of Qing Chen (倾城) is

A drop-dead gorgeous woman; a beauty who could drive a man to distraction; a woman so beautiful, that he might be tempted to ignore his duties at court, and thus bring about the downfall of his empire. – Wordsense

In that sense, the name of this novel also can mean “It is Very Charming When Wei Wei Smiles” or “Wei Wei is Drop-Dead Gorgeous When She Smiles.”

While this story is much shorter than Li Chuan’s Past (by about half), it’s actually a bit more difficult to translate. However, I fully agree with this praise of the book: “A story that you read for a minute and will happy love it. A story that you read a hundred times and will still smile over it.” I can’t count how many times I’ve read the novel and listened to the audio books anymore. It’s brought a great deal of smile and laughter to me. So, please bear with us as we work our way through this project and share this lovely story with you.

[EXCERPT] Read more