Qi Yan (ML) had a sad background. His family was scheme upon and the previous Emperor was in cahoot with the main perpetrator. After the new Emperor came into power, the perpetrator's power was undeniable. It may even jeopardize his power as the Emperor. After investigation, it was proved that Qi's family did nothing wrong and the family was pardoned. But, the only living member of the family was Qi Yan. With the Emperor's backing, Qi Yan started investigating the perpetrator's insidious actions. And during that investigation, he met Xia Xun (MC)

Xia Xun also had a sad background. His mother was a concubine from a humble background and he wasn't accepted by the Xia family. The only good person in the family was his eldest sister-in-law. A chance to meet with Qi Yan gave a new meaning to life for him. He falls hard for Qi Yan even though not realizing it at the time. All he knew was that he wanted to share all the best things in the world with Qi Yan although he, himself had nothing much to offer.

A decree by the Emperor led to a disaster for the Xia family and the one in the lead to execute it was Qi Yan. Xia Xun was horrified. He was clueless and brokenhearted. He lost his soul that day. There was no more meaning to live. But, he persevered for his eldest brother, the only living family member he had left. 7 years later, Qi Yan and Xia Xun met again which led to the start of the story.

For Xia Xun to finally forgive and accept him, was like the biggest salvation.

also if you like seeing the ML get injured a lot LOL.

They only got together at the end of the last chapter and we only got a chapter of 'sweetness' in the whole story...

For one, the gong wasn't really s*um so when he got hurt, I was just wincing. And every single chapter is just the 2 of them hurting each other and feeling guilty and refusing to talk about the past. Idk I was just kinda uncomfy all throughout.

Honestly, right up until the end, I couldn't guess whether this story would have a happy or sad ending. And that's because Xia Xun was completely justified in not wanting to return to his relationship with Qi Yan. While Qi Yan's revenge was understandable, wanting both revenge and to keep Xia Xun's pure love was just unrealistic. It's obvious: when you destroy someone's family, you ruin their life and cause them immense suffering. At the very least, if Qi Yan truly wanted to protect his relationship with Xia Xun, he should have told him about his revenge plans beforehand. Sure, that conversation would've been painful, but it would've been far less crushing than the shock and despair he felt when he found out the truth.

The choices Qi Yan made back then went against the "true love" he claimed to feel. But this isn't bad writing

it's sadly realistic. Even real people often act in ways that can't be justified.

Xia Xun had endured so much heartbreak. His love had completely turned to despair. he kept waiting for Qi Yan... not for love, but for him to finally understand his pain. A lot of his dialogues in the story was laced with bitter sarcasm that cut Qi Yan deep. And it wasn't even intentional. If he could've controlled it, he might not have reacted so harshly. But too many truths had been eating at his heart for too long. Like the fact that a casual friend traveled all that way to retrieve his body... Anyone would expect the person who claimed to love them to be there, yet Qi Yan never even visited his grave.

By the end, Xia Xun had moved past that chapter of his life. he genuinely felt nothing special for Qi Yan anymore. This wasn't him lying to himself

it was his real, present emotion.

About his final choice:

To describe it: Sometimes a person makes an irreparable mistake. The wounds they cause never fully heal. In those moments, forgiving or not forgiving is a deeply personal choice. With his strong spirit and the profound love still rooted in his heart after all these years, Xia Xun chose to take Qi Yan's hand and move forward despite his past wrongs. he felt this was not only Qi Yan's only path to redemption, but also what he, deep down, truly wanted in that moment. That shining, peaceful future was the one he'd unconsciously yearned for all along.