
This is such weird reasoning. Age of consent as per science for adults is 18 years old. A lot of laws might not agree but acting like it is not pedophilia is quite strange. When the age of consent is 14 like you are insisting, it means little 14 year old girls can get be married off. They will be impregnated. The pelvic muscles of a 14 year old child are not ready to carry children. Age of consent in countries means very little when you consider that adults will be preying on this children because of that.
Can I tell you something interesting? Pedophiles (especially European men) travel the world with very low age of consent such as 10 years old so as to have sex with children. 25-59 year old men having sex with 10-15 year old girls. You dont think there is nothing wrong with that?

Oh no, I was not even talking about the latest chapters. It was more of a general thought of ML. It just seemed strange for her to date any of her sons peers when she has the disposition of a mother. She has completely taken the mother role to the point of referring to the oldest child as son, so to turn around and date the playmate of her son, seems a bit weird. When we see the interaction between the two, its that of a child and an older adult.
I honestly think she can date. When is older. Then she can date her fellow 20 year old because she really deserves happiness as well.

Many other posters are stating legal issues but in this question there are none. Is it okay for a 16 yo to DATE an 18 yo? Yes, it is perfectly legal to date. Nothing in the question inferred sex.
People need to get it through their heads that just because you went to a movie together or had dinner together it doesn't entitle anything sexual. Many adults seem to struggle with this idea that just because they bought someone dinner one time it doesn't mean the other person has to sleep with them.
If the question were “is it ok for a 16-year-old to have sex with an 18-year-old?” the answer would be different. In that case, it would depend on your local laws as it varies from state to state and country to country. In many states in the US, the legal age of consent is 16, while in others that age is 18. Some of those 18 minimum states have similar age or what's called “Romeo and Juliet clauses" that allow a 2 year age gap. In some places in the world, the age of consent is 14 while in others it like Bahrain's minimum age for consent is 21.
In summary, dating is perfectly fine as long as there is a similarity in mentality. If both are sane enough to consent to the date and neither is taking advantage of the other then let them be. If the parent/or guardian of the 16 yo wants to chaperone the first couple of dates that are up to the parent. I'd advise discussing local laws, contraception, and Safe Sane and Consensual with both of them…
but anyway, who cares? this is just fiction built base on some's fantasy there's no need to get overwhelmed by these things the best you can do is either stop read and say "hey this fucked up' and leave or continue silently reading without the need to bash others for wanting something you don't like.

Romantic relationships have sex. Majority of them. Assuming that the sex free dating is the majority, to the point that adults can date kids and not have sex with them is some day dreaming on your part. All stats point that teenagers are sexually active. Refusing to let adults have relationships with underage kids is to protect them. Not live in this dreamy reality that maybe, just maybe they will not have sex. At least with their peers, they can have relationships on the same level, experience wise, financially and emotional intelligence wise.
Think about this, during this year of lockdown, a lot of countries have reported rising numbers of teenage pregnancies by their own families, i.e. fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins neighbors etc. Adults prey on teenagers when given even the tiniest bit of chance of contact romance or otherwise.
Age of consent in countries do not protect young girls or women. A child under 18 should be allowed to give consent. Because it sets stage for child marriages, child pregnancies and child sexual assault. C'mon, you should know this. My country for example had to reinforce and raise the age of consent because of the alarming rates of child marriages. Imagine having a 15 year old child with three kids.
So we cannot hope the relationships children have with adults will be abstinence. The teenagers are going through puberty. They are sexually curious. An adult will definitely take advantage of this. This world does not need more reasons to put girls at risk to men who are already raping, assaulting and abusing them. Abstinence is also failing, kids are sexually active. Teenage pregnancies are an evidence of that. Ask the churches. they have been preaching abstinence for centuries and its failing, lol.
Also, my very initial thought was that Shuli should not date anyone older than 18 because she is a 16 year old girl. I have the choice to have an opinion. I did not force anyone to agree. You also don't get to tell me that I either agree with what I read or shut up. The fuck is that?

Girl what the are you talking about? Nowhere in my reply did I say it's ok for an adult to have sex with a kid and it's kinda sad to know that you're so narrow minded that you can't seem to process that 49 or 50% of the population can have a normal healthy romantic relationship without the need of immediate sexual intercourse and I'm just stating the facts that I know by personal experience by learning basic law work and you're just assuming things and going of topic by saying random subjects that each have their own spectrum of debates by law & by cultural differences that they alone have their own beliefs and complex subject, for no reason.
Of course you're entitled to you're own opinion and so am I, I wasn't oppressing you into agreeing with me, I was just giving you some helpful advice, though I think my last sentence was kinda worded out wrong so I kinda get why you have that assumption.
(I'm still working on my English dialect)
I don't ship Shuli with any of those babies. Even at 16, which is too young to be a step mother, she cant be dating people the same age as her sons. Then she also can't be dating anyone older than 18 cz that's pedophilia. So how about the romance is just left out?