In a Sorry State

Nine years ago, a string of tragedies struck the Cheng family, a renowned family of artists in Ningcheng.

The eldest daughter, Cheng Yin, accidentally cut her carotid artery when a vase shattered on the balcony and died. Their only son, Zhang Tianyu, had an accident during a school trip with No. 13 Middle School. The third son, Cheng Si, had twin daughters. His younger daughter had borderline personality disorder, while his elder daughter was outstanding in every way, but was murdered in a rundown internet cafe the year she graduated from high school...

Meanwhile, a top student from a poor, single-parent family struggled to make ends meet, trying only to earn enough for college tuition. He never imagined that one day, his life would be completely changed by his mother.

On a sweltering summer day, on the grounds of No. 13 Middle School, Cheng Xishan said to Li Yansheng, "We're alike."

He didn't mention the word "accomplice." After the boys made a secret pact, they silently buried their enormous secrets and, after the college entrance exams, went their separate ways into the world.

Nine years later, one has taken over the Cheng family and become Chairman Cheng, while the other works in the media, tracking criminal cases. During another summer in Ningcheng, an explosion brings the two "boys" together again...

Cheng Xishan x Li Yansheng (tycoon x journalist)

The cases from nine years ago and the present day unfold in parallel, with the truth revealed at the end.

Content warnings

Antisocial, aloof observer x mild Stockholm syndrome

Neither is normal. Both are unhinged and the kind of lunatics you could condemn on both moral and legal grounds.

Xiao Cheng is a genuine psychopathic tycoon. Xiao Li just has a touch of Stockholm syndrome. (Who doesn't like a handsome rich guy, huh?)

There are hardly any normal people in this story. No pure love, just dark, creeping obsession and a relationship full of mutual control. That's why it's called "A Sorry Sight."

It's sort of a social realist mystery. That's the end of the story!!!

Theme: Obey the law and your whole family will be happy