[Short story, complete]
In a world where emotional energy is conserved, love is a consumable, and every embrace is an act of taking.
Lin Yu suffers from emotional deprivation. He can only keep living by drawing energy from the person he loves.
Shen Mo is a willing sacrificial offering, burning up his soul and using his memories as fuel to keep Lin Yu breathing.
When Lin Yu miraculously recovers and his heart beats more vividly than ever before, all that remains in Shen Mo's eyes is a barren wasteland.
"Who are you?" The three words pierce this new beginning like icicles.
Lin Yu finally understands: the fiery heartbeat in his chest is Shen Mo's last letter, written with all his love and soul.
A life stolen, a heart-rending pain. He is alive, but has forever lost the meaning of being "alive."
- The conservation of emotional energy: Shen Mo's "desertification" and Lin Yu's "recovery" form a cruel mirror image, highlighting the central premise.
- The crime of stealing a life: Lin Yu's physical revulsion at his own heartbeat deepens the theme: being alive is itself an original sin.
- Fading traces of memory: Shen Mo's scene of fiddling with a snail echoes the past, showing the instincts left behind after his soul has vanished. A little sweetness amid the heartbreak.
Theme: Love is a consumable, and every embrace is an act of taking.
Short story BE with two male protagonists completed