Hey.
Wait a second.
You're probably reading all of this thinking—
"Why is Wei reacting like this?
Jian is trying.
Jian is looking at him.
Jian even ran after him.
Shouldn't Wei soften?
Shouldn't he care?
Shouldn't something melt already?"
And you're right.
On paper, Jian does look like he's trying.
He looks confused, guilty, worried.
He looks like he's taking steps toward Wei.
But—
Wei isn't reacting like someone who needs kindness.
Wei is reacting like someone who learned the hard way
that kindness doesn't stay.
He's reacting like someone who knows that people
look at him
only when they feel guilty,
never when they feel real.
He's reacting like someone who trusts silence
more than comfort.
And you're probably wondering—
"Why?"
"What happened?"
"What broke him like this?"
So…
Let's pause.
Just for a moment.
Take a small step backward.
Actually—
take a bigger step.
A step into a time before the bruises,
before the alley,
before the cold bathroom mirror.
A time when Wei was younger,
quieter,
smaller,
and even more invisible than now.
A time when Jian wasn't looking at him at all.
A time when Wei learned
exactly how cruel people could be
without raising their voices.
You ready?
Come.
Let's go explore the past of the past together.
Because to understand Wei today—
his silence,
his coldness,
the walls he builds so high—
we have to go back
to the reason he built them.
And what we find there
might hurt more
than anything Jian has seen so far