Wah, so glad this is happening!!  I'm a big fan of yours. >o<  Just replayed Gilded Crowns again, haha.  Was worried that I'd be too sad playing this when it wasn't done yet, but it was super fun.~

Initial thoughts- I was most intrigued by Yren, and I did a "no save-scumming" play and ended up mostly doing things he liked (I later confirmed), though when I went to the garden to see him, I ended up hanging out with Asher.  Which was great, just a little sad when it seemed like I had missed the opportunity to get onto Yren's route in chapter five?  We seemed close otherwise, though maybe it was other things.  I wasn't aware of the little heart meter until I looked it up, and that did give me a few other interactions.  

In my "no save-scumming/au natural" playthrough, I only had the option of touching Yren's cheek on the planet, not kissing him, so does that mean I was off-ramped?  It seemed from the flowchart.  Which I guess that's what it was for, but the progression seemed a bit harsh.  

Anyways, super fun, thanks so much for sharing!  Hope you're having as good a time making this as we are reading it.  I wish you much popularity and success!!!

In Chapter 3 (I think that's where the Asher-in-the-garden scene is), Yren is just in a different spot. That moment isn't really based on your affinity with anyone. You just encounter different people depending where you go. 

The garden is Yren's spot usually but it's also a comfort spot for Asher, which was why he was there and Yren was somewhere else.

Chapter 5 is a complex chapter and there are multiple ways to both get onto someone's route and be off-ramped from the romance paths. There are several checks and choices through the route that determine how things end up.

If you have the opportunity to touch Yren's cheek, and you do so (IE you end up initiating a 'soft' moment, even if it's brief), you should get the opportunity to speak to someone that evening in the lounge. And speaking to Yren should keep you on his path. You're just not at the highest possible level with him. 

If you are off-ramped before you hit the kiss/cheek touch moment, you actually don't get any options there. It just skips past that moment entirely and in the evening, you won't be able to talk to anyone. It's difficult for me to say for sure what the situation was by the end without seeing screen caps.

If you had the option to talk to someone in the evening in the lounge and you chose to talk to Yren (after being on the planet with him) then you should technically be on his story path and the game should still be tracking your affinity with him though.