Eastward Tilt

They had nowhere left to turn, but became each other's only light.

When Xiyang was eight, he was sent to an orphanage.

That was the first time in his life he understood that the world really could abandon someone and leave them to fend for themselves.

That was also the year he met Gu Pengfei.

Gu Pengfei was six years older than him, and was notorious at the orphanage as a “troublemaker”: he fought, stood up for his own, and wouldn't listen to anyone. Yet at night, he would break their only piece of bread in half and put the clean half in Xiyang's hands.

From that day on, Gu Pengfei became his “protector.”

He also became Xiyang's whole world.

Life at the orphanage was cold and harsh, but somehow they managed to make a little warmth for themselves.

They got punished together, shirked their chores together, and watched the stars from the shabby rooftop together. Gu Pengfei stood in front, and Xiyang stood behind him.

As if it was how things were meant to be.

When they were eighteen, they were separated without warning.

Gu Pengfei had terrible grades, and as soon as compulsory education ended, reality pushed him out into the world. He didn't say, “I can't bear to part with you.” He merely said, “Study hard. Don't turn out like me.”

Then he turned and walked into a dusty, bustling world.

He hauled cargo by day and worked overtime at night. His pay was low, but every month he sent money to Xiyang's bank card on time.

On the phone, he always said, “I'm doing just fine.”

But only Xiyang knew what that money meant.

It meant that one person had given up any way out, just to hold up another person's future.

“The world tilted a long time ago,” Gu Pengfei once said quietly. “But I still chose to stand on your side.”

The lights of high school, university, and the city gradually brightened. Xiyang moved forward through his studies, while Gu Pengfei ran himself ragged in the real world. Time and distance stood between them, but they always remained on the same path.

One moved upward, while the other held him up.

One grew up under someone's protection, while the other matured so he could protect him.

Until one day, Xiyang finally stood before him and said, “This time, let me be by your side.”

Devoted, overbearing top × steadfast, lovable bottom

Childhood friends to lovers | Relying on each other | Mutual salvation | One-on-one | Happy ending

They had no family and nowhere left to turn, but in each other they found a reason to keep living.

This is the story of two boys growing up side by side in the wilderness.

Children who grew up in darkness pour their whole lives into reaching for the light.

Theme: An optimistic attitude toward life