Quiet, calculating younger seme vs. world-weary, lonely older uke
The wind at the martyrs’ cemetery is always cold.
Xie Qin came that day to visit his late elder brother, Xie Qi.
The plants stood quiet. Among the gravestones, he ran into Jin Weixi.
He knew who Jin Weixi was: the orphan of one of his father’s colleagues. They had met at the memorial service years ago. Jin Weixi was two years older, and every year he came here alone to pay tribute to his parents, who had died in the line of duty. Wrapped in the scent of alcohol and the dusk, he seemed like a rootless duckweed, drifting for years.
The rain came down hard. Xie Qin said little, simply taking the man, reeking of alcohol, back with him.
He gave him shelter, allowing him to take up residence in his soul.
There was nothing earth-shattering between them. Most of the time, they simply stayed quietly by each other’s side.
Now and then, they would return to the martyrs’ cemetery together, each thinking of the departed buried in their heart. Leaning on the scant warmth of one another, they struggled through the days that were hardest to bear.
They always thought that meeting someone traveling the same road would let them stop and rest for a while.
But some waves are born to overturn the sea of humanity.
Then the storm came.
Jin Weixi did not escape it.
That inconspicuous encounter at the cemetery years ago ultimately left Xie Qin with a memorial visit he would never again have anyone to share.
Theme: Two wounded souls find shelter in each other, their spirits taking refuge together in a quiet, enduring affection. In the end, though, it cannot withstand the fated parting.
