"What I've always longed for is only the illusion sinking beneath the evening glow."
"What I long for is to turn that illusion, with my own hands, into my predestined one."
Even a moment of closeness can only happen by chance, through the capricious play of light and shadow. What one seeks is not reality, but an illusion, a projection, a consolation for wanting what one cannot have.
"The evening glow knows my heart best, laying your shadow over mine."
Meng Chenxi: He seems to embrace the whole world, yet can't catch even a wisp of shadow.
· Outward appearance: The brightest young man in Jinling City, born into a prominent family and blessed with talent. His smile could outshine the springtime splendor of the whole city. He seems carefree and unrestrained, with friends everywhere, forever the source of warmth and light at the center of any crowd.
· Inner nature: His "carefree ways" are a disguise. Deep down, he feels profoundly insecure about affection. He fears that asking for sincere love will drive away the warmth around him, so he uses a seemingly frivolous tenderness to keep everyone at a safe distance. What he longs for is the certainty of a love that will hold him completely.
Qi Yingshu: He seems to shut out the whole world, yet is willing to be the shadow of one person alone.
· Outward appearance: A sinister, cold, and powerful commander of the Zhenfu Bureau. He lives in the shadows, as silent as snow on a mountaintop, inspiring fear and keeping others at a distance.
· Inner nature: His "sinister nature" is armor. Beneath it lies years of silent devotion. He hides all his turbulent love and obsession where no one can see, turning them into acts of quiet protection and cleanup, again and again. He dares not confess his love, believing that, as someone who lives in darkness, he is unworthy of touching the light in the other's life. All he can do is follow humbly as a "shadow."
Their relationship is just like their names: "Chenxi" is the last and most intense ray of evening light, about to sink below the horizon, while "Yingshu" is the faint shadow born of that light, accompanying it, yet forever silent. One uses the liveliness of the whole world to hide his loneliness; the other uses the coldness of the whole world to conceal his passion. When the most flirtatious man begins to devote himself to one person, and the quietest man begins to lose control, the story's tension bursts forth.
Meng Chenxi has always believed that his "friendship" with Qi Yingshu began with an accident after a drunken night.
He continues being the carefree and flirtatious Young Master Meng, treating Qi Yingshu as his most reliable "brother." He jokes with him about romance and even asks him to deliver love letters on his behalf.
Qi Yingshu remains silent, clearing every obstacle from his path and carrying him safely home whenever he passes out drunk.
Then, on the day of the palace banquet, evening light fills the sky. Slightly drunk, Meng Chenxi dozes beneath a covered walkway. Through the haze, he sees Qi Yingshu dismiss everyone and slowly approach him. He bends down and carefully lays his shadow over Meng Chenxi's.
At that moment, Meng Chenxi's heart is struck hard. He suddenly understands all the details he had overlooked: those deep gazes, that wordless indulgence, and the turbulent, restrained love hidden behind what he had thought was "brotherly affection."
It turns out that the moment of closeness he longed for wasn't a chance play of light and shadow, but the result of someone else's careful design.
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