Mud and Roses

[Blurb]

Lin Yue first met Zhao Qihang in a middle school classroom. Bullied and shoved around, he stumbled into the desk of that aloof boy and stammered, "Bro." From then on, he became Zhao Qihang's shadow: getting meals, running errands, tidying his desk. He followed him with unwavering devotion for ten years.

He thought he was a lackey, a friend. He had no idea Zhao Qihang had long since laid a tight web around his life. He altered Lin Yue's college entrance exam choices, severed all his social ties, and used favors and power to keep him firmly by his side. Behind every tender gesture lay even tighter control. Lin Yue escaped twice. The first time, he was caught and had his head smashed in on the street. The second time, he was cornered outside the school gates. He waited and waited, only to hear that Zhao Qihang had entered a marriage of convenience and had a child, and to find himself trapped in a cage he could never escape.

Then a bout of influenza laid them both in hospital beds. For the first time, Zhao Qihang said he was afraid Lin Yue would die. For the first time, Lin Yue didn't want to leave.

But after they woke up, life went on as usual. Lin Yue burned all his old belongings. He no longer hated Zhao Qihang, and no longer loved him. He closed his eyes beside the sleeping Zhao Qihang. After all these years, he still hadn't managed to leave him. This relationship had been sordid from beginning to end. But he said, "Bro, I'm not leaving."

A story of taming and ruin. He began by looking up to him and ended in numbness.

Theme: Treating people with sincerity