A Book of Hidden Words

As time slowly passed, Song Youci realized that his feelings for Qin Yushu were changing. Without even noticing, he had fallen in love with him. After wrestling with his feelings, Song Youci confessed to Qin Yushu. The sudden confession left Qin Yushu stunned. He wasn’t attracted to men, and the whole situation made him feel awkward.

After Song Youci was rejected, he began keeping his distance from Qin Yushu. He tried to accept someone else’s advances, and when he agreed to have a meal with Kang Nanping, the person he’d been avoiding for so long suddenly appeared.

Thinking he still had a chance, Song Youci decided to confess to Qin Yushu again. But when he showed up with a bouquet of bright red roses, he learned that Qin Yushu had only acted that way to help someone else pursue him. The roses fell to the ground. Song Youci accepted an exchange placement at his school and resolutely left for England. Qin Yushu didn’t know that, after going weeks without seeing Song Youci, whom he was used to seeing every day, he would finally realize something was wrong. He searched every corner of the school.

For weeks, Qin Yushu wandered around in a daze. Once he understood his own feelings, he followed Song Youci to England. After being locked away for days, Song Youci calmly spoke words that cut deep. Qin Yushu let him go, but left himself trapped in the same place.

The young man who returned home had shed his childishness. Five years later, Qin Yushu stood by Song Youci’s side under a different identity. He invested in the school where Song Youci worked and the organization he belonged to, finally sheltering the young man he had once known beneath his wings. But what was missed was missed. Song Youci thought time had faded his scars and the love he’d once felt. He believed he had moved on. Yet when the critical-condition notice landed in his hand, the calm he had maintained for so many years proved devastatingly fragile.