He chased after him for eighteen hundred li, from Qingzhou to the capital, only to be met with the word “useless,” a charade, and a heart frozen solid.
Three years ago, Yan Shiyu personally pushed away the boy who had chased after him, calling out “A-Yu.” He acted flawlessly, delivering the cruelest words and putting on the most callous performance, all to make the boy give up and live a good life.
Three years later, Yan Shiyu passed the palace examination in third place and joined the Hanlin Academy, where he became the other man’s colleague. When they met again, the man was gentle as jade, his smile polite. He addressed him as “Compiler Yan,” with not a ripple left in his eyes.
Only then did Yan Shiyu understand that the most painful punishment in this world wasn’t being hated. It was being forgotten...
