Guest from Chu

[Synopsis]

Thirty years ago, an old espionage case was sealed away under layer upon layer of stamps, and everyone tacitly agreed to keep silent.

The files declared it settled: factional infighting, now laid to rest.

Only Jiang Xichen remained trapped in nightmares that had haunted him for years, suffering in full awareness.

The encrypted notes that kept repeating in his ears, the foreign visitor who vanished without a trace, the border outpost left vacant for thirty years that no one dared occupy, his mother's ominous warning from back then...

The peaceful conclusion everyone had accepted was nothing but a false front, a lie to deceive the world and time itself.

Obsessed with tracking down the culprit, he insisted on reopening the case and refused to make peace with the world.

The price was an order exiling him to the desolate frontier, where he was branded a "Chu exile."

The world laughed at him for ruining his own future and refusing to see reason. They laughed that he was throwing himself against a predetermined game he could never break.

Until, among piles of yellowed, decaying files, he found a mysterious woman who shared his full name and looked exactly like his mother.

All the scattered pieces slammed into place. The truth cut to the bone, and fate closed its loop.

It turned out that his stubbornness and searching over half a lifetime had never been his choice to investigate the case.

This earth-shattering mystery spanning thirty years had been waiting for him to make his move and enter the game from the very beginning.

Everyone has an obsession. Jiang Xichen's is the most painful and impossible to resolve.

He wants to clear the name of the wrongfully accused and break free of fate's constraints, but as he sinks deeper into the abyss, the only person to take him in, with all his loneliness and scars, is Yu Jia'ao, the sincere young man from the north.

Cold, aloof, and obsessively devoted, the tragic bottom x sincere, passionate, fiercely loyal top

The whole world has let me down, but you came to me. The old game trapped me for half my life, but fortunately, I found you in this world.

[CP Bonus Scene]

Everyone says Jiang Xichen is too stubborn, that he refuses to go with the flow and will eventually be dragged into the abyss by his obsession.

But no one knows that he has been alone and cold for half his life, with no one to depend on. His obsession is the only thing holding him up.

Until Yu Jia'ao crashed into his barren life, becoming the only surprise and tenderness in the unfinished game of his fate.

The lamplight is lonely in the dead of night. Clues crisscross the desk, and the room is full of old shackles that cannot be broken.

Yu Jia'ao looks at the man who is always distant and indifferent, whose eyes conceal endless weariness. Gathering all his courage, he asks softly, "What about now? Shishu, what reason do you have left to turn me down?"

Jiang Xichen raises his eyes. His cool gaze holds the vicissitudes and exhaustion of half a lifetime. His voice is low and measured, carrying a hint of fate-like acceptance. "In that case, I hope Comrade Xiao Yu will take good care of me."

Yu Jia'ao freezes. His heart stops, his mind goes blank, and panic leaves him at a loss. Mom, what am I supposed to do?!

Seeing him so flustered, innocent, and adorable, Jiang Xichen, who has long been surrounded by darkness and mysteries, finally feels a little at ease. He teases him softly, "Come on."

The evening breeze slips through the window, and the lamplight sways.

Yu Jia'ao's ears turn bright red, and he flees in a panic.

Jiang Xichen quietly watches him run away. At last, the cool lines of his face soften into the faintest hint of a smile.

It turns out that, in the desolate fate that trapped him for half his life, someone has finally brought him a little warmth from the human world.

Theme: Resist the long passage of time with obsession, and shake a senseless world even when standing alone.