At the beginning of the story, Shen Shu agrees to be friends with Yan Hua after Yan Hua shows him kindness and they save each other several times. It is all because of that ridiculous reputation: Yan Hua is willing to put aside his pride to coax him, then kicks him aside without hesitation once he gets what he wants.
Only then does Shen Shu understand that the way his heart stopped the first time he saw that crane in red, and the irritation he felt watching everyone fawn over him, were not at all without reason.
Their relationship freezes over again.
People say that civil officials are shrewd and calculating, and Yan Hua most of all. He stands high above the crowd, hiding his turbulent thoughts behind a cool, aloof mask. Shen Shu cannot read him. Yan Hua is a walking contradiction: excessively calculating, yet kind.
A letter accusing Yan Hua of treason is discovered in his residence. Beneath the red bricks and green tiles, he stands tall in the face of the false accusation, straight and unyielding as a white birch.
Yan Hua isn’t that stupid. He doesn’t believe it for a moment. Sure enough, the man says, “Shen Shu, help me.”
With his hormones running wild and his head muddled by Yan Hua’s scent, Shen Shu agrees without a second thought.
The corrupt official dies, and the whole capital is abuzz. Shen Shu thinks Yan Hua made a clean escape, leaving him all alone, with another baby somehow growing in his belly.
Just as Shen Shu thinks Yan Hua will never return, the man appears in the dead of night, dressed in plain silk, and knocks on his door. He says he wants to clear his name and get justice.
