#this could have been cheng xiaoshi on the first one and qiao ling on the third one but “cheng xiaoshi is the croissant” is funnier

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Could be but I hope Lu Guang knows better than giving false hope to CXS after the earthquake arc :(

We don't know what's the extent of Lu Guang's knowledge on season 2's events to be fair. He doesn't seem to know the twins, for example? Or maybe he did and that was why he tried to keep the childhood photo secret until he couldn't anymore. But a lot of information about the twins eludes him.

He absolutely didn't know CXS would be in the car when Emma got kidnapped. And the whole Emma plotline is a bit messy too. It's like the story is never the same, switch from one way to another. I'm pretty sure it comes out as a murder then a suicide as the shows goes on but I'm not sure. I don't think it would be narrative errors, only CXS and LG messing with the timeline.

In season 2, CXS seems to change many key points by the end of the show, reacting to LG's absence. Obviously, CXS is the one supposed to be kidnapped by Li Tianchen so Lu Guang really went and decided "nope not gonna happen! I believe in you CXS to somehow make it work."

Soooo I really don't know if Emma was supposed to live or die but, allegedly, she's in this situation because of CXS. No way to know if she would have ended her life after losing her job in the original timeline. Or if she ever got fired in the first place. Or if she actually went through to become the kind of innocent girl who comes to the big city to fuck her boss in hope to secure her place in society. Maybe this would have been enough to make her jump. We just don't know.

Truth be told, Emma is one of the most interesting characters in the show. And it is so for more reasons than one.

She's the perfect entry point to the show, her longing for her family introduces us to CXS's personal struggles and loneliness, and all of this presents the boys' powers.

This and, as a character, she embodies what the show really is about, and her story is very common for chinese people from what I've heard. Season 1 was actually very popular because it was about primordial chinese values and struggles. Some episodes are about true events that profoundly marked people in this country. Put time travel aside, it's actually a story about two boys struggling to pay a debt. It's about living to your parents' expectations. It's about the gap between rich and poor; and in one end of it you're barely able to buy food on a daily basis. It's about choosing the right partner to start a business. It's about family. In the end, I think she had to die as an active symbolism that the natural balance is off. What happens after her death is Lu Guang and Li Tianchen cheating.

Sadly, her character is just what it's worth: a tool. For the writers as well as for the baddies in the show. But I would have loved to see more of her (maybe in an alternative reality when CXS and she became friends). I also believe she has a strong impact on CXS, just as much as the earthquake. Because everything about how her life changed from the beginning is because of CXS's actions.

Cheng Xiaoshi is introduced as a passive character. Not a passive personality, far from it, but Lu Guang tries to make him into someone who doesn't create ripples into the river of time (which is basically impossible). Cheng Xiaoshi dives and Lu Guang drives. That's the time travel dynamic we're given and Qiao Ling, as clueless as she can be regarding their business, knows that Lu Guang calls the shots. Lu Guang has an easy role, of course, because he doesn't have to deal with consequences as directly as CXS. To him, the events already happened and there is no changing them. To CXS, the events ARE happening, to HIM. No matter Lu Guang's rules, Cheng Xiaoshi is compromised and thus not only because he lives the memories: there is an emotional contamination between his host's body and Cheng Xiaoshi's soul. Lu Guang is trying to teach CXS this distinction. CXS dives as if it's only business, like he doesn't really care, but he can get deeply involved, real fast. When this happens, he's reckless. He's in danger and can be a possible danger.

People can be appalled by Lu Guang's decision of letting Cheng Xiaoshi go through the earthquake trauma but, in all honesty, it needed to happen. CXS needed to learn his actions have consequences but that he cannot go through an unchangeable node. And he shouldn't. Hypocrite? Well, yes, but it's a reasonable lesson to learn when you have CXS's powers. Not to spoil LCLA, but this arc has exactly the same purpose: proving CXS that he's not playing superhero here, he cannot be doing this for himself, this is real life with real people and he needs to understand the purpose of his dives in order to be able to protect himself.

1) Lu Guang has nothing to return to, he's only diving forwards by taking the back door. Cheng Xiaoshi? Once he changes the past, chances are he won't be able to return to the time he's sharing with Lu Guang and Qiao Ling. 2) Cheng Xiaoshi has no right to decide what needs to happen in the past only to make it easier for people in the present. That's not healing. He lives through his host but he shouldn't give in to what the host wants, should keep in mind what needs to be.

Ironically, Emma's case required Cheng Xiaoshi to be passive and not ease her mind by reaching out to her parents, while the earthquake arc teaches him that it's okay to communicate his host's feelings. In the second case, everyone is at a dead end. Would that imply that Emma wasn't? Does it mean Emma's story wasn't supposed to end? Sending a message to her parents in the middle of the night didn't change anything related to their mission but it did change her path. If Lu Guang wants for her to survive, it either means she is alive in the original timeline or her role shifts from host to Cheng Xiaoshi's downfall.

Again, it's only a supposition but she could be the first nail to CXS's coffin, actively or passively. 1) He would take accountability regarding the role he played in her death. It could send CXS on a very dangerous path, one with guilt, depression and... We know the possible outcome for this. 2) The fact he puts her on Liu Min's path and therefore puts himself on Li Tianchen's radar would definitely be the trigger for his own death. If we project more in the future, we can guess it makes him visible by other power users such as Liu Xiao or Vein. Lu Guang wouldn't want that.

I cannot shake the feeling that Cheng Xiaoshi saving Emma was a needed correction that Lu Guang supported. The reason why he was trying to hide the case from Cheng Xiaoshi and, again, lie to his face about the truth, could be that he didn't want Cheng Xiaoshi to be hurt. He probably knew that if he involved himself with this case, someone will notice him/them.

True, Lu Guang was surprised/panicked when Cheng Xiaoshi's rescue mission almost succeeded but I think he's even more disturbed by the fact someone with ability stepped in the game. Death is supposed to be an unchangeable node but what if this death specifically happened only because someone other than Cheng Xiaoshi played a part in it? That would change things.

In the end, it is a bit difficult to trust season 1 finale when you know they took a different direction than initially planned. This character killing Emma could not be Li Tianchen. Or maybe the one possessing Qiao Ling was supposed to be Vein. The words "this is your punishment for breaking the rules of the games. Now the game has been reset" are ominous as fuck when you know what is probably coming in Yingdu Chapter.

You know what's kinda messed up when you think about it? At the end of S1, Lu Guang let Cheng Xiaoshi try and save Emma. And you're kinda thinking "wtf? That doesn't sound like Lu Guang at all" but then you get to S2 and you realize Lu Guang most likely knew exactly what was going to happen (at least I think so? Time stuff is a bit weird, so idk what all is similar and different with the timelines), so he let Cheng Xiaoshi try and save Emma, knowing full well that Cheng Xiaoshi wouldn't be able to because he knew what was going to happen next.

[g1ngerbeer]

"wheres cheng xiaoshi" hes the croissant (insp)

[sarshles-cheescake-li]

A metaphysical argument for why Lu Guang was the one who risked his intestines falling out to go save his little meow meow

Needless to say, spoilers ahead!

Part 1: Introduction to the bootstrap paradox

There's a lot I could say about the supposed time loop that occurs in episodes 7-8-9 of season 2. Most of them -- the kettle, the lack of a speedboat, Lu Guang's characterization -- have been said better by other theorists. But I'm here to explain the bootstrap/predestination paradox.

The bootstrap paradox is when something is sent back in time, which creates an infinite loop, making the thing seems like it has no origin. The example I learned it with was with time machines. Say you open your door one day to find a book, written by yourself, containing information on how to build a time machine. You take, I dunno, let's say ten years building the thing. Then you use your new time machine to send the book back in time, to your ten-years-ago self, to seal the loop. Works great, right? You've closed the loop, and now you have a time machine.

There's only one problem. Where the hell did that book come from in the first place?

I mean, yes, obviously, it's from the future. But someone had to have written that book, right? But you, the supposed writer of the book, only got it because it got sent back in time by a version of you that already had the book. We assume there was no way you could've figured out how to build a time machine yourself. But that means that the knowledge about the time machine essentially just, popped out of nowhere. Poof! Just like that.

The information about Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen/Li Tianxi's location is like that. The only reason any of the characters know it is because of Lu Guang. But if their narration is to be believed, then "Lu Guang" only knew it because he was being possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi, who already learned the information in the future. So… how did anyone get that information in the first place?

I generally consider there to be two solutions to the bootstrap paradox. One is an obfuscated origin -- one where the information was obtainable even without the loop, but its origin is hidden by the loop's existence. Say if, without the loop, Li Tianchen releases Cheng Xiaoshi from his control once they're on the boat, and Cheng Xiaoshi figures out where he is. He manages to survive the encounter with the antagonists, and eventually makes it home. But, in the process, Qiao Ling dies. So now Cheng Xiaoshi both has information available to him about where he was during the boat scene, and also a reason to start the loop -- Qiao Ling is dead, and might not be dead if he didn't get taken in the first place. So he takes Lu Guang's photo, and starts the loop.

This particular version of the obfuscated origin theory is… probably not the case. Largely because we don't know how changing the timeline so drastically interacts with Cheng Xiaoshi's ability, specifically, what would happen if he were to clap back into a "present" that technically no longer exists. However, my personal theory -- that I'll discuss in another post -- does fall under the obfuscated origin solution, just slightly to the left.

The second solution to bootstrap is just an allowance for these types of paradoxes to exist. Each story handles it differently. In my model of time -- which I'm pretty sure Link Click doesn't follow, because why would it -- these types of loops are a close relative of magic, because of their self-defining nature. Now, I'm going to say that this is not the case in Link Click, based on what we've seen of Cheng Xiaoshi's power so far.

Part 2: Cheng Xiaoshi's power is weird, man

For the second solution to be valid, we should ideally have at least one of three proofs.

This is the most convincing proof -- if we have another example of an exclusive, stable time loop (exclusive as in the events involved in the loop would not have happened without the loop's presence, stable as in the loop doesn't contradict itself the way it does in, for example, the grandfather paradox). This would just plainly prove the fact that Cheng Xiaoshi can create the loop we see in episodes 7-8-9.

Cheng Xiaoshi's dives should be able to have causality effects up to and including his decision to dive, at the very least. Essentially, Cheng Xiaoshi needs to be able to create an effect on the world that shows up before the dive concludes. This demonstrates the flexibility of the timeline -- that it allows Cheng Xiaoshi to make changes to events that precede his dive, instead of only events that succeed it. While this isn't as strong as the first proof, it would show that, at the minimum, Cheng Xiaoshi is able "cause" his own dive.

In cases where Cheng Xiaoshi observes a person who he has/will dive into, he should be viewing the "dived" version and not the "original" version. This demonstrates that the timeline "knows" about Cheng Xiaoshi's dives before he performs them. This way, it makes sense if the "Lu Guang" Cheng Xiaoshi saw was a "dived" version, instead of original-Lu-Guang. This is our bottom line, because without this, then… Well, there's really nothing showing that Cheng Xiaoshi was even possessing Lu Guang during that first run of events that we saw.

Let's go through them one by one. The first proof is pretty much a no-go. There is only one dive in the entire series where this type of causality is even discussed, and that's during the dive into Li Tianxi (referred to as Xixi from now on. By the way, fun fact -- although the English sub appears to subtitle her nickname as "Xixi," it's actually pronounced "Xiaoxi" in Mandarin. I was confused about this for a while because Xixi and Xiaoxi would both be valid and common nicknames for her, in terms of convention, haha. If anyone ever wants to hear me talk about some hard-to-translate linguistic details in Link Click, let me know!). In this dive, Lu Guang tells Cheng Xiaoshi to pick up the photo, saying that if the photo disappears, then "the future that we live in will cease to exist." You could make an argument here that Cheng Xiaoshi's act of picking up the photo allows for the dive to happen, fulfilling proof 1. However, this proves stability -- that the dive does not contradict, or nullify itself -- but it doesn't prove exclusivity. That is, we have no way of knowing what would've happened to the photo if Cheng Xiaoshi hadn't dived. It's plausible that Xixi or Li Tianchen would've picked up the photo in the end anyway, regardless of Cheng Xiaoshi's influence. Thus, this is much closer to just being their typical motto while diving -- leave the past untouched, or as close as they can get it to the original.

The second proof is harder to say. We can't say for sure whether or not we've ever seen the effect of Cheng Xiaoshi's dives occur before he makes the decision to dive, for two reasons. One is the butterfly effect -- many causes may have effects, but those effects may be extremely hard to trace back to their original causes. It's possible that maybe Cheng Xiaoshi as Xu Shan Shan asking Qiao Ling about what Lu Guang saw in him might've, I don't know, kept Qiao Ling occupied where otherwise she would've gone "Oh I forgot my phone in the studio" or something. And the fact that Qiao Ling never came back to the studio demonstrates that Cheng Xiaoshi created an effect prior to him diving. But there's no solid proof for this being the case. The second one is that it's just much harder to prove impossibility than simple absence. That is, even if we've never seen this happen, it doesn't mean it can't happen -- it just means we haven't seen it yet.

However, from a writing perspective, there's some solid evidence that, while Cheng Xiaoshi's power has the potential for "effects," those effects are only observable to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang themselves after the "cause" has already occurred. That is, any effects of Cheng Xiaoshi's dives only become evident after the dive has already happened. The strongest proof for this is Chen Xiao's camera in episode five, and Lu Guang's narration. As a result of Cheng Xiaoshi's actions while possessing Chen Xiao, the camera that presumably would've been destroyed in the original timeline is preserved. Chen Xiao's father then finds the camera and brings it to Chen Xiao, who then brings it to the studio to get developed. Lu Guang says here that this is why they don't ask about the future -- because the future is inevitably changed by their actions. While this was an emotionally touching scene in terms of storytelling, I believe it also serves a double purpose, showing us the limits of Cheng Xiaoshi's diving. It shows explicitly that his dives can change the timeline, but he himself will only experience the effects of that change after he's already dived. This makes quite a lot of sense, combined with part three, which is that:

I'm nearly 100% sure that Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang themselves always experience the "original" series of events when they go through things in real time, and never otherwise.

The best example of this is with the Xu Shanshan dive in episode 10. After combing through the episode and comparing it to episode 8, there are three major deviations in Cheng Xiaoshi's behaviour during the dive versus Xu Shanshan's during the first run through. First is a general difference in voice, mannerisms, and expressions. Especially near the beginning of the dive, Cheng Xiaoshi sounds different than Xu Shanshan. Even later, does small things like turn his head and make expressions at a different time. However, I'm not going to take this one as seriously, considering we're not sure if this is showing actual reality or is for the viewer's benefit, demonstrating the difference between the two. After all, we, the viewer sees that anyone possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi has their eyes turn gold, but no one in the story itself notices it. Me, personally, I think I would notice if my best friend took a photo and then came back with differently coloured eyes. I don't know though, I might just be built different like that.

Second is that Xu Shanshan says "I'm not like a certain someone, leeching off other people" (second half paraphrased) whereas Cheng Xiaoshi says "I don't [want to be like] a certain someone, leeching off other people." Again, this one is questionable, because the dialogue actually spoken is the exact same (in terms of words), and the English sub is the exact same, but the Chinese subtitles has a 像想 in place of 像 in the second run-through. Which is weird, because [want to be like] is actually 想像 and not 像想… confusing. Like, this is 100% a typo by the subtitles team, but what was the original intended version? No one knows. The last, and only actual deviation I found, was that Xu Shanshan goes "Hey, Qiao" when asking about how Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang get their information from photos, whereas Cheng Xiaoshi just says "Qiao."

This, combined with the fact that Lu Guang is able to "see" the original in the first place, all make a strong case that, in Link Click, the timeline doesn't "know" that Cheng Xiaoshi has dived until he actually does it, at which point it tries to catch up. This is consistent with everything else we've seen. It makes sense that the effect of his dives are only noticeable to him after the fact, because the timeline has to basically make live edits to itself to deal with his existence.

With this in mind, the Lu Guang we see in episode 7 simply couldn't've been Cheng Xiaoshi. This was a real time event, so it had to have been the undived version of Lu Guang doing… all that. Of course, the question here is how Lu Guang even got the information about Cheng Xiaoshi's whereabouts in the first place. I might make more posts theorizing about Lu Guang's powers and their limitations, the nature of his loop, etc… But for now, I've been grinding this post for about two hours. That's all. I hope you all enjoyed reading this!

[pastorfutureletthembe]

"I save the world. You save my sister."

The plot, every misson they get done, gives us a set of rules to understand the universe the characters live in, what is possible or allowed to do while diving. Contrary to the live action which offer an actual exposition (Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's first meeting, the explanation and the mechanics of their powers), the donghua shows us all of that through subtil teaching: an action calls for a reaction.

The rules in season 1 are crafted according to the "light side" of this story (Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang and Qiao Ling), therefore they are morally good. They exist to protect, respect, help people. The headline would be "Don't change anything."

Season 2 of the Donghua offers a new perspective; the dark side. There is another way after all, a way to change past and future, to resist fate. You have the power, so why woudln't you benefit from it, right?

The Live Action wasn't the best example of an adaptation well done, that's true. The rules are familiar to us and Lu Guang is way more stuck in his ways than he is in the donghua. However, his master's moral, that we could dubbed as "History as it should be", is not right nor wrong. It demands for the past to remains as it is because the present has beauty no matter the state of things. Although it ultimately is true, we do notice the flaws in this belief through the missions our shiguang team accept: time is unfair, people are sad and broken, they wasted precious time of their lives for nothing, they've been abused... BUT. They can still be better, do better, life isn't the sum of past mistakes, and those who are still standing are masters of their own fate. Future can still change because we make choices in Present too.

You can say what you want of the way the Live Action has been made, but it still is relevant in its core to the original story and characters. They understand the real point of this universe, what conclusion it wants to bring us to. Once again, it gives us new rules. One of them is familiar though: ineluctability.

CXS's character study and spoilers for LCLA 1x23 bellow:

As He Xu talks about his long lost sister, the words shape a new meaning. These words, they might as well be donghua!Lu Guang's. Billions of people could disappear as long as it means Cheng Xiaoshi is alive, because he is LG's everything, his person, the best human being in the whole world. The whole scene is a clear argument against fate/death. With such powers, why should we accept the unfair and arbitrary will of time? Why can't we chose to be happy and make our lives better?

The fact that the parallel isn't made FOR the characters/LCLA!Cheng Xiaoshi but for US, the audience, is even more heartbreaking. Because we know, and we deny, and we excuse, and we wish for the end to be a happy ending. But you all know in the depth of your heart the most important rule, no matter which character's morals applies:

"Death is a node that cannot be changed."

This being said, people often tell me how Cheng Xiaoshi would do the exact same thing than Lu Guang if he was in his situation for more than a day; he would eventually gives in and go back to save him.

I actually don't believe that myself. I think Cheng Xiaoshi would never.

Not only because Lu Guang taught him not to, but because Cheng Xiaoshi is, no matter how lonely, awkward and childish he can be, a deeply empathetic person. He loves people. And if saving someone he loves mean killing everyone else, he would not do it.

Lu Guang, with all his moral and strict guideline, fell under a genuine boy's spell and decided "fuck it, you all don't deserve him, he's better than all of you." To fuel this concept of the character, LCLA!Cheng Xiaoshi has a clear idea of what a "Time Agent" is supposed to be: a superhero. He is a good person, that's why he wants to change death nodes. He wants to save them and keep them happy. Spider-man wouldn't sacrifice the world to save Gwen Stacy, okay? He Xu spits "you don't know actual regret" to his face, and maybe he's right, but then Cheng Xiaoshi argues that he knows his role and what it is expected of him.

That's your clue right there: he wants to do the right thing by making the best of awful circonstances.

Cheng Xiaoshi untrusts Lu Guang with the most important person in his life. He knows he cannot do eveything by himself. Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi are a team, they are shiguang, and fate made them this way. He knows his role in all this, there is something only he can do. Now, Cheng Xiaoshi believes in the rightness of Lu Guang's master rules, but he cannot agree with his whole being. He does believe in one thing though.

This is not about maintaining the Past as it should be, but about the trolley dilemma: one person against MANY children's lives. Cheng Xiaoshi want to save as many people as he can. People could argue that CXS asking LG to save his sister means he wouldn't be able to make the right choice when facing this same dilemma if it involved Qiao Ling. I would strongly disagree. Of course, he hesitates each time He Xu mentions her. However, at the end of the day, he would rather sacrifice himself than anyone else, moreover if it means his sacrifice would save someone.

I would just end this meta with the possibility, no matter how small, that He Xu is right. No one knows if this universe would be destroyed once a node is changed. The consequences of that are actually unknown, and isn't there hope in this uncertainty? Isn't this small, near impossible possibility worth it in the end? But no matter the results, it's all about accountability. Perhaps the real truth about the universe's balance is this: these powers they have are both a responsability/duty to people and a chance/right to change or save Past and Future. As long as you understand your choice and the implied consequences, you're the real master of Fate.

[mimicha-arts]

Audiobook, ep 103 (corresponds to s1ep10)

Now eps covers the donghua's plot closely, but sometimes there are small changes, additions and expansions of scenes. This post is a copy of my thread from twitter for the archive.

Friendly reminder, I'm not a native speaker, there is also no subtitles. I'm trying my best, but I can't hear everything and probably made mistakes. Please keep in mind, I wrote it just for reference.

At the very beginning of the scene, the school bell rings, signaling the end of classes. Afterwards, the boy runs to his father and says that he got 100 points for the test, his father promised to buy him a ranger toy for this - his father says they will now go and buy it. After, the girl calls her mother and tells about how well she drew a picture during class with their family, and the teacher noted that it was drawn very well. Mom praises her. QL: Every time after school, he (Cheng Xiaoshi) saw other children being picked up by their parents, and how they returned home together. And he just stood aside and looked at them all alone, feeling envious and lonely. In order to make himself like a normal kid and to blend in with others, he tried his best, but...

Flashback

Kids playing together. Kid 1：Look at this! Kid 2：Take it! CXS：What are you playing? Can I join you? Kid：Em…

Woman：Why are you still here? Go home, go. You don’t know this kid, so why are you hanging out with strangers? Let’s go. Grandma：Nannan (girl’s name), listen to grandma, it’s time to leave. Go home. Grandpa：Don't you dare to play with him. He is a feral child! He has no parents to teach him. How can a child be so uncouth! Woman：Right! So careless, just running here and there, like a disaster

People together： - All right, all right, let’s go - Mom, go - Hurry up!

CXS：You are the feral kids! You are like a disaster, your whole family is a disaster! I don’t want to play with you!

People together： (There is some other phrases I can’t understand)

- What a disaster - At such a young age, you say such dirty words, really disgusting! - Grandma, don't listen to him, it’s so dirty - Hurry, shut your ears - Crazy! Cheng Xiaoshi starts crying.

QL: The neighbors who used to spend time together with him and the friends he played with left him one by one. He was eventually isolated, but I know how afraid of losing everyone he was.

(Here they placed a flashback that corresponded to the moment with the earthquake when CXS ran to QL’s house) QL: That was the first time, when he, who had always been stubborn, was so frightened that couldn’t put words together. Then I realized how painful it must be for him to say, "I don't want you to care about me." At that time, Qiao Ling understood - these people who came to the photo studio as soon as they heard the news about Cheng Xiaoshi's parents', just wanted to satisfy their curiosity. Their perfunctory concern may be able to hide it from others, but it couldn’t fool Cheng Xiaoshi since he was involved. Children have the purest, the sharpest eyes.  These people themselves had no idea how their sarcastic words could hurt a child's heart. In the following days, Cheng Xiaoshi stopped trying to cater to others and just spent time alone in the photo studio. Sitting alone at the door of the photo studio, watching people coming and going, the liveliness was about other people, had nothing to do with him. Day by day, year by year, the photo studio was becoming more and more dilapidated. Cheng Xiaoshi also grew up gradually, but his life seemed to always have two points and one thread: from the photo studio to the school, and then from the school to the photo studio. He only had one friend, Qiao Ling, by his side.

QL： Before, I was worried whether Cheng Xiaoshi would be able to make friends who truly cared about him… Until that day. That day.

[shimmeringweeds]

"Past or Future, Let Them Be." vs. "Even without seeing hope, it doesn't mean there is no hope."

In talking about theme, motivation, and growth.

Almost every photograph in season one conveyed a love story. Romantic, platonic, familial, it didn't really matter the form. Season one was about bonds, connections, helping one another, and fighting for a future with no regrets.

It was human. It was relatable. We all loved it.

Season two covered one photograph (two if you count Chen Bin) and a horror story, wherein "love" only brought pain. Bonds held you back, and secrets were kept before connections made. A struggle, full of regrets.

Completely different, weren't they?

I'm sure we all notice how, on the official character profiles, the stickers of the antagonists hide the "future" of "past or future, let them be"?

Interesting. The word "future" implies hope, something season two deliberately lacked. What we witnessed wasn't a fight for the future. It was a fight for survival of the present. In that tunnel? No one was thinking about their future. The game played was a cruel one. Mercy really wasn't in the cards. Who cares about the future when you are barely surviving the present?

Let's talk a little bit about the theming of "hope."

Pt 1: Cheng Xiaoshi . Even without seeing hope, it doesn't mean there is no hope.

Hope always exists, but it's so easily lost.

The first photograph where hope is explicitly themed is DouDou's, and the timing couldn't have been better. After the earthquake, Cheng Xiaoshi is teetering on the edge of hopelessness. He's hard on himself and hard on others. "Take care of yourself now and look forward"; "Live your life, be present, move on," he says. That's not bad advice but..... it's harsh. I wouldn't say these words lack all hope, but they ask you to give up the fight for a future you dream of.

In that moment, Cheng Xiaoshi is trying to cope. He can't save them. Not all futures are possible, and it's foolish to want something you can never have. It's heartbreaking for everyone to watch.

Qiao Ling is the mediator who brings him back. She communicates and is vulnerable and honest with him about her regret.

"I thought I could escape the past... but... he still didn't give up." Haunted by the past, struggling into the present, and fighting for a future you want.

The strongest Three Star Warrior is the star of Justice, rekindling hope. As long as we have hope, we will not be defeated easily.

(also, can we just... as an aside.... their roles????? LG courage-obliterating fear, QL wisdom - light the way, CXS justice - rekindling hope. Because, if that's not blatant theming then I don't know what is.)

DouDou's case heals Cheng Xiaoshi. He helped create a future... and that is BIG. He created a future. From the past. Actively. There is hope!

But doubt still remains like a double edged sword. It surfaces again with Xu Shanshan and culminates with Emma.

Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't wait for Lu Guang before he dives. The puzzle is linking. This is his fault. He has to make it right. Immediately. Alone. There is no time.

"Why is my kindness repaid with such consequences?"

In the trunk of the car, upon the discovery that the victim is Emma, the puzzle clicks with devastating swiftness. No one is there to talk him down. It's all his fault. Emma, Xu Shanshan, Qiao Ling, his parents. Who else has he hurt? He's caught in a decision. How does he make this right? Does he follow his heart, or does he follow logic - the rules driven into his head?

It's his fault and so.... Cheng Xiaoshi does not trust his heart. But what does he trust? He trusts Lu Guang. Rules it is.

Pt 2: Lu Guang: Past or Future, Let Them Be.

There are three rules, and the third is most important. In fact, you might argue that the first two rules are simply supplemental to the third.

I'm pretty big on rules myself. They exist for a reason and keep us safe. We trust that those who make the rules know what is best for us.... but, it's not really a one size fits all kind of deal, is it?

That third, important rule, that rule that exists to protect time and everyone in it, that very rule is what is destroying Cheng Xiaoshi's heart. We know Lu Guang sees that, and we know (now more than ever) how much he cares.

His character is still an enigma that is very hard to read, so this is just speculation but -- after the Earthquake, Lu Guang's perspective on the future seems to shift. He was always working to help others, but now he's more proactive about it. He keeps DouDou's flier, he immediately contacts Xiao Li about Xu Shanshan, he tells them what he saw in the photo, he trusts Cheng Xiaoshi to act.

Emma(1) and Lin Zhen/Yu Xia (2) were jobs taken to gather information. Chen Xiao's (3-5) job was taken to give closure. These three jobs helped a person in the present. Did they change the future? Oh, yes. But that wasn't the intent. And that's why you don't ask about the future, because the future will definitely be changed because of them.

Episode 5.5. When Qiao Lings asks them to take a job for Liu Siwen, they don't know the specifics. They don't know that Liu Siwen is now an old man. Upon failure, Cheng Xiaoshi asks Qiao Ling where in the world she found such a task? Lu Guang immediately scolds and reminds him not to ask about the future. Qiao Ling interrupts him (bless her, she was really like "stop, you're being an idiot too") She spills all the details.

In the end, Lu Guang breaks his own rule (as CXS points out, though he says he's just there to keep them in line. yeah, right. ). He actively helps Liu Siwen create a future. A future he literally spent decades fighting for. And that's where the tables turn.

Both DouDou and Xu Shanshan's cases twist two out of the three rules. They actively question the future and they actively change the future. They don't let the past be. And Cheng Xiaoshi is permitted to act outside of Lu Guang's direction. He receives that blessing.

Because Lu Guang saw how much his rules hurt Cheng Xiaoshi. He saw what over protection does to a person. Cheng Xiaoshi wasn't the only one deep in thought after the earthquake.

Episode 11: Pinnacle of Light "But Emma's fate changed because of me. That's why I'll try again, no matter what happens." ------- (BIG side eyes at that wording. Yeah, no wonder Lu Guang agreed to let Cheng Xiaoshi dive into blind surveillance footage.)

Cheng Xiaoshi dives into Emma's past. As himself. He talks directly to Emma. And Lu Guang doesn't stop him. This action is the exact opposite of "Past or Future, Let Them Be." Cheng Xiaoshi couldn't get farther from that phrase if he tried! And oh, he tried. He tried to save Emma. And Lu Guang just let's him. Knowing that death node cannot be crossed. He stays silent. Because he's guided Cheng Xiaoshi as far as he can.

At this point, he can only accept the aftermath of his guidance. Let him be.

Pt. 3: Past and Future vs. Past and Present vs. Present and Future

If season one was about fighting for a future, for hope, then season two was its antithesis. No matter what anyone did, the future was set in stone. It was all they could do to keep up. Qian Jin warping the narrative, disillusioned by the past. Li Tianchen controlling the tempo, always staying one step ahead, firmly in his present hell. Li Tianxi dying in order to reach a "future" (but she's not dead until there's a funeral, we've been through this).

Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang barely communicate the whole season. There's no time to. The present moment is that merciless. The start of Li Tianxi's photograph was refreshing because it was like old times, a comfortable place. The banter, the directions, the casualness of it all.

But the past did not give way to a future of hope, and the present came crashing down hard and merciless. And it never let up. The abductions, the deaths, the tunnel. The only reason any of them make it out of that tunnel alive is, ironically, because Xiao Li showed up. (or is it ironic. He's a whole other post I'll never write. )

Season one shaped the past for a brighter future. Season two displayed firmly that the present is fixed and the past cannot be changed.

So season three?

Present into Future. Season two left us with a question to ponder.

Do you accept the fate given to you as inevitability, or do you actively try and shape it?

We see both our "protagonists" and "antagonists" (it's more grey than that, really) moving forward but they're displayed as opposites. Liu Xiao pulls Li Tianchen up, active from the present, out into a future. Does he have a choice but to move forward? Is there anything he can change about his past regrets? No. Maybe not. Present, being directed by one Future.

But Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang? They actively drag us back down to the past. And on top of that it's a choice. A desperate, active choice made to do away with the rules. Past, reshaping potential Futures.

Because even without seeing hope. It doesn't mean there is no hope.

[snorlaxlovesme]

let me do this for you

"Lu Guang’s limbs feel heavy as he climbs the stairs, every changed minute weighing down his body as he goes to check on Cheng Xiaoshi. He wishes he could do today over again. He doesn’t know if he’d have the strength to do today over again." Lu Guang experiences Cheng Xiaoshi being sick for the first time. Twice.

My long-awaited Link Click fic is finally here!! I have been so excited to post this for MONTHS because it's genuinely one of my favorite things I've written. I love Link Click for letting me write just about anything with a layer of agony over it because Lu Guang is in a permanent state of anxious paranoia about messing up the timeline. It means even the funny bits include angst :)

So this baby's got it all! Sickfic shenanigans, big sister Qiao Ling, whiny Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang feeling like he's mourning every time he looks at Cheng Xiaoshi's face, soup..... What more could you ask for?

(Spoilers for season 2. Content warning for vomiting. 12k words. Ignore the fact that I completely messed up the layout of the studio and then didn't want to change it. The living room and their made-up kitchen are on their own separate floor, because I said so.) (ao3 link)

---

Dingdingding. Dingdingding. Dingdingding.

Lu Guang cracks his eyes open and feels around next to his pillow for his phone, thumbing at  the screen to turn off his morning alarm. Early morning sunlight is already filtering in through the window, so Lu Guang relents that it’s time to start the day. He pulls himself down the ladder, ignoring the groans from Cheng Xiaoshi coming from the bottom bunk as his own phone begins to buzz. Lu Guang silently descends the stairs, allowing Cheng Xiaoshi his customary extra few minutes of sleep while Lu Guang prepares tea and a simple breakfast for the two of them.

After living together for almost a year, Lu Guang enjoys the comfort he finds in this familiar morning routine. He sets the breakfast on the table and sets to eating his own, waiting for his roommate.

But Cheng Xiaoshi never comes down. Lu Guang waits patiently, knowing that Cheng Xiaoshi is a sloth and some days he takes longer to rouse himself than others. But after watching the time tick by on his watch for 21 minutes, he can no longer idly wait. Lu Guang climbs the stairs, ready to bang his fist on the doorframe to wake his roommate up, when Cheng Xiaoshi flies past him, almost knocking Lu Guang over, and runs straight for the bathroom.

Lu Guang waits outside the bathroom door impatiently. “Hurry up or we’re going to be late—”

And that’s when Cheng Xiaoshi starts retching.

The morning does not get more pleasant after that. As it turns out, the only thing more annoying that an overly chipper, healthy Cheng Xiaoshi is a sick one.

---

“Was it something you ate?” Lu Guang asks Cheng Xiaoshi reproachfully. The first round of puking had only lasted a few minutes, but before Lu Guang even had a chance to speak to Cheng Xiaoshi properly, he was back in the bathroom, coughing and moaning as he continued expelling everything he had in his stomach.

Cheng Xiaoshi is on the couch in the living room now, looking a little green and definitely not in the mood for answering questions. The quilt from his bed is wrapped around his body, coming up over head to look like a hood.

“How should I know? It’s not like the answer was written at the bottom of the toilet bowl.”

Lu Guang sighs. “We ate the same meals yesterday. I was just wondering if your food felt off in any way.”

“If it felt off, I wouldn’t have eaten it!”

This is debatable. Lu Guang has seen Cheng Xiaoshi eat plenty of things in the name of “not letting it go to waste” that seemed questionable. While this situation is an appropriate time to mention that fact, Lu Guang refrains.

“Okay, well maybe you have a virus, then.”

Cheng Xiaoshi holds a hand to his stomach pathetically. “Can you cure me, Lu Guang?”

“No, but I can go downstairs to open the studio alone while you stay up here and keep your puke away from the customers.”

This is apparently the wrong response, because Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes widen like he was just told that Lu Guang is moving out of the country today.

“You’re leaving me?” he cries. “In my hour of need, you’re going to abandon me?”

Lu Guang rolls his eyes. “I’m going to be directly underneath you, idiot. Just call me if you need something. Someone has to pay rent this month.”

“Do you think Qiao Ling would come take care of me?”

“Qiao Ling has her own priorities besides dealing with your whining. Go lay back down; I’ll check on you in a few hours.”

Lu Guang leaves silently. He wasn’t wrong; they really did need to open the studio today. There were customers scheduled to pick up their prints this morning. He makes sure to take his phone off silent mode as he works, in case Cheng Xiaoshi calls for something, but he never does. Lu Guang finds himself staring nervously at his phone throughout the morning. Is Cheng Xiaoshi still throwing up? Has he made it to the toilet every time, or is he defacing every surface of their apartment in revenge? Does he need something? Why hasn’t he called?

By lunch time, Lu Guang can’t stand it. He locks up the studio and goes upstairs to check on his roommate. His worries melt away when he sees Cheng Xiaoshi in the exact same position he was left in, strewn across the couch with a plastic-lined wastepaper basket on the floor beside him, groaning pathetically.

“Lu Guaaaaaang….” Cheng Xiaoshi moans, long and desperate. “Everything huuuurts.”

Lu Guang tries a gentle approach. “Could you be more specific? Is it your stomach? Does your body ache? Are you feverish?”

Cheng Xiaoshi pulls the quilt higher, tucking it under his chin. “I’m not gonna make it. Call Qiao Ling. Tell her to come quickly so I can update my will.”

Lu Guang sighs. “You’re not dying, idiot. You probably have a virus. Or it was something you ate. Now could you tell me the rest of your symptoms?”

Cheng Xiaoshi ignores his questions yet again, cracking his eyes open slowly, like it’s taking him a great amount of effort to do so. “Have you called Qiao Ling? Does she know I’m ill?”

“I could help you get better if you’d just tell me what’s wrong,” Lu Guang says crossly. The quilt is pulled up so high he can barely see Cheng Xiaoshi under the blanket. Does he have a fever? Does he need medication? He debates leaning forward to feel his forehead but doesn’t know a way to pull it off without it seeming strange. He refrains. “I know your stomach is upset, but what else—”

Cheng Xiaoshi rolls over flippantly. “Tell me when Qiao Ling gets here. I’ll only speak to her. I’m taking you out of my will.”

Lu Guang looks to the ceiling, balling his hands into fists and breathing slowly. After a few slow exhales he calmly tells Cheng Xiaoshi that he should try eating something small to settle his stomach. He goes to their pantry and prepares a small dish full of plain wonton strips and a glass of cool water.

“I have to go back to work. Please try to eat something,” Lu Guang says evenly. He ignores the cries of “Qiao Lingggggggg!” echoing through the apartment as he leaves.

Lu Guang returns to the front counter, pulling out several canisters of film that still needed to be developed for customers later this week. Thankfully, they don’t have any new clients from Qiao Ling. Lu Guang isn’t entirely sure how their powers would work if Cheng Xiaoshi was sick during a dive. His physiology tends to get transferred to the person in the past he possesses. Would their client start puking uncontrollably mid-dive? Lu Guang dreads the thought.

No, this is better. Let Cheng Xiaoshi sleep if off while Lu Guang tends to the studio. Cheng Xiaoshi will have to dip into his meager savings to pay for his half of the rest this month if he doesn’t come back to work in the next few days, but that can’t be helped. If he’s lucky, Qiao Ling will be merciful on him.

Lu Guang stares at the canisters on the counter before him. The studio is blessedly quiet without Cheng Xiaoshi’s usual chittering and loud pop music playing through the speakers of his phone. Lu Guang should be reveling in the silence, but he does feel marginally bad for leaving Cheng Xiaoshi by himself upstairs, no matter how irritating his dramatics are.

Lu Guang picks up his cell phone and dials Qiao Ling’s number.

---

Qiao Ling arrives around closing time, a paper bag full of groceries on her hip as she opens the front door to the Time Photo Studio, the pre-recorded greeting ringing through the silence.

“Is he in bed?” Qiao Ling asks, before remembering her manners and greeting Lu Guang properly.

Lu Guang waves away formalities. “He’s on the couch. He keeps calling for you,” he tells her, his normal deadpan tone giving way to the smallest hint of annoyance.

Qiao Ling rolls her eyes, but fondly, and hurries up the stairs. Lu Guang flips the sign on the door to ‘Closed’ and follows her up to the apartment.

“Where’s my patient?” Qiao Ling calls in a sing-song tone. A long, monotonous “uuuuuuuuuuhn” echoes back to her, indicating that Cheng Xiaoshi is still alive, and probably in the same condition Lu Guang left him in.

His assumptions are proven correct when Lu Guang follows Qiao Ling to the living room. Though now Cheng Xiaoshi has a hand over his forehead like a swooning maiden as well. Lu Guang crosses his arms at Cheng Xiaoshi’s childishness. He expects Qiao Ling to share in his annoyance, but she smiles good naturedly as she sits down on the edge of the couch to pull his hand from his face and replace it with her own, pushing his bangs back to feel his temperature.

Lu Guang ignores the odd feeling in his gut watching the tender gesture. Their relationship has always been a curious thing to him. As an only child, sibling dynamics have always been interesting to observe. Though they may not be related by blood, Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi have been together for half of their lives, and little moments like this show their closeness. While Lu Guang spent most of the day reluctant to get within a few feet of Cheng Xiaoshi, Qiao Ling presses her hand gently to his forehead with no hesitation, frowning at whatever she feels. Lu Guang wonders if he should have pushed past his own reservations and checked his temperature himself earlier. He silently curses them for not owning a thermometer.

“Sorry I’m late,” Qiao Ling tells Cheng Xiaoshi. “I was with Xu ShanShan and Dong Yi at the new noodle shop downtown and the trains were far behind schedule. I would have taken a cab back if I knew it was urgent.”

“I almost perished while you were gone. And Lu Guang just left me here!” Cheng Xiaoshi accuses sourly, making a face at Lu Guang that he pointedly ignores.

She pats his cheek twice. “Don’t be like that. Lu Guang was running the studio. Now,” she claps her hands together, “would you like some soup?”

Whatever dumb act Cheng Xiaoshi has been putting on for the whole conversation falls away from his face, his tired eyes lighting up again with genuine happiness. “Really?”

Qiao Ling smiles once more, then hefts her bag from the market back onto her hip and carries it to the kitchen.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and sleep in an actual bed for a while?” she calls over the rustling of the bag as she pulls ingredients out and sets them on their small counter. “Lu Guang can help you!”

Lu Guang isn’t sure what face he is making, but if he had to guess, it probably looks similar to the expression he made last week when he stepped in dog poop on the sidewalk. Cheng Xiaoshi stares back at him, eyes narrowed.

“I can take myself, actually.”

He pulls himself to his feet, albeit much slower than he would on a typical day. Cheng Xiaoshi is normally so bouncy and energetic that Lu Guang often wonders if he’s possessed by a child. Lu Guang’s own muted personality is only made more apparent the longer he spends time by Cheng Xiaoshi’s side.

Cheng Xiaoshi drapes the quilt over his shoulders and shuffles out of the room past Lu Guang. After he leaves, Lu Guang glances at the lined trash can they left by the couch; mercifully, it’s still empty.

Qiao Ling is already in the kitchen, pulling out a few of the ingredients from her bag and setting them on their cutting board beside their hot plate. Calling the meager set-up a “kitchen” is more generous than it deserves. With a sink and a few feet of counter space, the area barely counts as a kitchenette, but Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang make do. It’s not like either of them do much cooking anyway. Their singular hot plate is more than enough to boil water for cup noodles.

He approaches the kitchen and sits on a wooden chair near the counter, watching Qiao Ling as she chops vegetables.

“You’re being awfully nice to him.”

“And you’re being awfully cold,” she counters, thought she doesn’t sound upset by it. “What’s gotten you in such a mood? Did he do something?”

Lu Guang rests his chin on his fist. “No, he’s just been trying my patience all day.”

“That’s nothing new,” she says with a laugh. “He’s always like that when he’s sick. He used to drive my parents crazy when we were kids. Always wallowing and complaining whenever he got even the slightest cold.”

Lu Guang internally wilts. So he’s going to be dealing with dramatics like this every time Cheng Xiaoshi gets sick? How many times will he be written out of his will?

“And you humor him?” Lu Guang asks.

“He’s sick,” Qiao Ling says with a shrug. “It’s the one time I’ll let it slide.”

They fall into an easy silence for a few minutes, Qiao Ling getting a pot of broth simmering on the hot plate as she chops the vegetables, the quiet shuck shuck shuck of the knife against the wooden cutting board being the only sound in the room as Lu Guang reflects on his own attitude.

“What kind of soup are you making him?” Lu Guang asks after a while, peering at the ingredients spread across the counter.

“I’m honestly not sure,” Qiao Ling says dubiously. “When we were little, Cheng Xiaoshi used to always claim that his mom had a soup recipe that would cure you of just about anything. During all his complaining he would beg for his mother’s soup. Taking pity on him, I made him some when we were maybe eleven. He ate it, but according to him it tasted all wrong. It’s been my mission since then to try and replicate the recipe correctly.”

“Are you close?”

Qiao Ling shrugs and shakes her head. “Who knows?”

She points to a piece of paper she set on the counter earlier. A basic herbal soup recipe was written at the top, and the bottom had subsequent ingredients written down, scratched out, added quantity to, over and over again in a formless mess.

“These are all my attempts so far. I found out it starts with chicken bone broth. And contains daikon radishes. And root vegetables. And fennel. But the rest is just blind guessing. He tries to offer me suggestions, but I don’t even know if he remembers what the original tasted like at this point.”

“But you make him soup all the same?”

Qiao Ling nods. “I make him soup all the same. He likes being cared for.”

They devolve into silence once more, this time more comfortably than the last. Lu Guang observes Qiao Ling as she works, stirring the broth and submerging herbs in a small pouch made of cheesecloth. Occasionally, Lu Guang glances at the scribbled-over piece of paper, tallying up all of Qiao Ling’s attempts to replicate Cheng Xiaoshi’s mother’s recipe over the years. Given the amount of time Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling spent arguing, Lu Guang could hardly believe this caring and sweet side of Qiao Ling. They weren’t really siblings, but all the scribbles on that sheet of paper surely remind Lu Guang of something a sister would do for her brother.

After several cycles of simmering, taste-testing, adding ingredients, and simmering once more, Qiao Ling finally declares the soup to be finished. After searching their tiny kitchen and being unable to locate their small wooden serving tray, Qiao Ling settles for retrieving Cheng Xiaoshi from his bed and depositing him in the kitchen beside Lu Guang at the counter.

If his movements were slightly sluggish before, the slowness is only exaggerated now as he gingerly lowers himself to his seat. Lu Guang recalls the small dish of wonton strips and glass of water on the coffee table when he and Qiao Ling came to see him this evening, untouched from how Lu Guang had left them. Cheng Xiaoshi probably hasn’t had anything to eat or drink all day for fear of being sick again. The usually fluffy hair stuck to his temples with sweat indicates he probably does have a fever.

Lu Guang is so focused on Cheng Xiaoshi that he’s surprised when he looks down to see not one bowl of soup, but three being prepared by Qiao Ling.

“We all need to taste-test it, don’t we?” Qiao Ling says with a grin she aims at Cheng Xiaoshi. She slides the bowls across the counter to the boys and places a bowl in front of herself as well.

Cheng Xiaoshi, though still looking haggard, grins back like this is custom, and digs into his soup with a gusto Lu Guang didn’t think he was capable of, given his ailment. Across the counter, Qiao Ling sips from her spoon as well. Not wanting to be rude, Lu Guang dips his spoon into his bowl and brings it to his lips, tasting the soup Qiao Ling has spent the past few hours perfecting. Warmth floods his chest as he swallows the spoonful, and despite not being sick himself, Lu Guang can feel the earthy root vegetables and flavorful broth breathing new life into him. He had no idea Qiao Ling was such a fantastic cook.

“Well?” Qiao Ling asks, looking to Cheng Xiaoshi, who was currently devouring his bowl like he thinks it might be taken from him if he slows down.

He stops suddenly, his spoon clanking against his bowl. He swallows thoughtfully.

“I think you’re getting close!” he says, his smile as sunny as ever. His tone isn’t patronizing; there’s a naïve kindness to it that prevents Qiao Ling from being hurt, though there is a slight disappointment in her eyes that Lu Guang catches, though Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t seem to. It must be frustrating that after all these attempts she’s yet to nail down the correct flavor.

“Maybe it could use more sweetness?” Cheng Xiaoshi muses, like that was something common in bone broth soups.

Nonetheless, Qiao Ling jots down the critique on her cheat sheet diligently, the character for “sweeter” followed by several question marks. Lu Guang doesn’t blame her confusion. His critique is both vague and unhelpful.

All of them finish their bowls of soup, regardless of lack of sweetness. Lu Guang can’t help but marvel at the rich and flavorful taste of the soup, whipped together in only a few hours’ time. When Cheng Xiaoshi begins nodding off at the counter, Qiao Ling places a hand on his shoulder and instructs him to go back to bed.

He nods, sending her a sleepy smile before turning to leave the kitchen.

“Thank you, my landlady!” he says jovially.

“Bah, bah, get out of her before I charge you for it,” Qiao Ling says, sounding more like her usual self, though with the same gentle teasing in her tone she’s been using all day.

Lu Guang waits for Cheng Xiaoshi to leave the room before turning to look Qiao Ling in the eye.

“Sweeter?”

Qiao Ling sucks her lips in for a moment, trying to hold it back, but eventually giggles tumble out of her, the sound of her laughter bouncing off the tiles of the kitchen. Even Lu Guang snorts, unable to help himself.

“He’s always like this,” she says fondly, as she begins ladling the soup into smaller containers to fit in Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi’s fridge. “I try to make him the soup he wants, but he’s so unhelpful. What could have possibly made her soup sweet? Beets?” she asks incredulously. “That would change the color of the broth too much, though. Ah! I can’t even make a guess right now. One day I’m just going to put a spoonful of sugar in his bowl and see if that makes a difference.”

Lu Guang chuckles softly and offers to finish the dishes for her since she cooked the meal. She stays in the apartment a little while longer, chatting with Lu Guang while he washes, and she dries. Afterwards, Lu Gung instructs Qiao Ling to go home before it gets too dark. Qiao Ling agrees, going upstairs to check on Cheng Xiaoshi once more before leaving for the night.

Lu Guang ponders staying downstairs for a few minutes, allowing Cheng Xiaoshi time to get settled into sleep before going up to their room. He has a book he’s been meaning to finish, so Lu Guang goes to the living room and turns on a small lamp, prepared to stay a while.

He only manages to read a few pages before he hears rustling from the top of the stairs, and soon Cheng Xiaoshi is descending them slowly, still wrapped in his quilt.

“I thought you were going to bed,” says Lu Guang.

Cheng Xiaoshi shakes his head petulantly. “I’ve been sleeping all day! I don’t think I can anymore. Watch something with me.”

Lu Guang looks at the novel in his hands, then back to his roommate uncertainly. Cheng Xiaoshi looks at him with hopeful eyes, like he’s a child and Lu Guang is a strict parent deciding whether he’s allowed to stay up past curfew. He really does revert into a younger state when he’s sick.

Lu Guang knows he should tell Cheng Xiaoshi to go back to bed; rest was an important part of getting well again, and even in the dim light he can still see how pale his complexion is. But Cheng Xiaoshi blinks his brown eyes at him once more and Lu Guang feels himself giving in.

“Fine,” Lu Guang says, sounding resigned. He ignores the way his face warms when Cheng Xiaoshi smiles at him and plops down right beside him on the couch. “But only for a short while.” He leans forward to open his laptop on the coffee table and pull up a movie from a few days ago that they never finished. When he leans back on the couch, Cheng Xiaoshi is practically sidled up next to him, legs touching and giant quilt pressing into Lu Guang’s side.

Lu Guang raises an eyebrow, before adding:

“And if you puke on me, I’m never speaking to you again.”

Cheng Xiaoshi laughs and scoots over to the other side of the couch instead. Lu Guang uses his foot to push the small garbage can to Cheng Xiaoshi’s side of the couch as well, though he doesn’t think Cheng Xiaoshi has gotten sick since this morning.

The tense atmosphere from the day has finally fallen from between them, and they watch the movie peacefully. Whenever Lu Guang glances at Cheng Xiaoshi from the corner of his eye, his eyes are bright.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lu Guang jolts awake to the sound of dinging beside his ear.

His alarm. It was just his alarm. He looks around the room in the dim light of the morning sun. His books are still neatly piled on the desk, Cheng Xiaoshi’s clothes from yesterday are still scattered across the floor. He breathes slowly.

He thought this would be easier. He’d only experienced Cheng Xiaoshi being gone from this world for a few hours, so by comparison a world where he softly snores beneath Lu Guang, oblivious to his phone’s own buzzing alarm, should be normal by comparison. But being in this timeline is like wearing a shirt that’s buttoned up wrong. Maybe it’s his body, a year younger, that feels so odd. Maybe it’s this room, this hazy, peaceful atmosphere that’s getting to him. His alarm is still distantly ringing in his ears, and it sounds so much like the sirens from that night. He’s been in this new (old?) life for a month, but nothing has felt comfortable yet.

Lu Guang tries not to dwell on it as he quietly climbs down the ladder of their shared bunkbed and makes his way to the kitchen in his t-shirt and sleep shorts. He’ll make them tea, fix up a simple breakfast, and keep pretending that a month ago his hands weren’t soaked in the hot pulses of Cheng Xiaoshi’s blood. Lu Guang can still feel the crusty sensation of where it dried between his fingers. He washes his hands, taking extra time to scrub them like the phantom blood can finally be burned from his skin’s memory if he uses water that’s hot enough.

When his skin starts to feel sensitive, he finally gives it a rest. He needs to stop doing that. Cheng Xiaoshi is going to notice his scrubbing one of these days and question him about it. He dries his hands on a dishtowel, a fleck of blood still visible only to him on his right knuckle. He won’t wash it again, he won’t wash it again, he won’t—

Where is Cheng Xiaoshi anyway? Shouldn’t he be up by now?

Lu Guang shoves his hands in his pockets and ascends the stairs. He wonders how he should wake him. He doesn’t want to startle him, but Cheng Xiaoshi’s laziness is going to cut breakfast short. Now when they open the studio, he’s going to spend all morning complaining about his hunger, and Lu Guang will spend all morning secretly considering ordering delivery for him, before reminding himself that he never would have done that two years ago to placate him.

Lu Guang’s head is still buzzing with too many colliding thoughts when Cheng Xiaoshi whips open their bedroom door and flies past him, slamming the bathroom door shut louder than necessary.

Lu Guang sighs and paces over the bathroom door, calling “Hurry up in there or we’re going to be—”

That’s about all he gets out before he hears a horrible guttural cough, then the echoing sound of liquid splashing against the toilet water.

Oh.

Lu Guang had forgotten all about this day. This was the first time he had seen Cheng Xiaoshi sick. He’d spent the morning throwing up and the afternoon wasting away on their couch in the living room, whining while Lu Guang tried to figure out what was wrong.

“Cheng Xiaoshi? What’s wrong?” Lu Guang calls through the bathroom door.

More retching. A dumb question, but he’s sure he must have asked something like this the first time around. He opens the bathroom door slowly, peering in to see Cheng Xiaoshi kneeling before their toilet, forehead resting on his forearms as he pants.

“Sick,” Cheng Xiaoshi replies finally, like that wasn’t glaringly obvious.

“Do you think you can stand?” Lu Guang asks.

Cheng Xiaoshi nods, panting for a moment longer before pulling himself to his feet carefully. He leaves the bathroom, and they speak for a moment before Cheng Xiaoshi rushes back to the bathroom a second time. Lu Guang already knows, but says anyway, “You’re in no condition to work today. You should go back to sleep.”

He doesn’t remember Cheng Xiaoshi looking this miserable. His skin is pale and clammy, his bangs hanging limply in front of his eyes as he nods. Lu Guang helps him to his feet this time, allowing himself to keep a hand between Cheng Xiaoshi’s shoulders as he walks him to the couch. He leaves for a moment to get him a quilt to cover up with and remembers to grab the wastepaper basket from their room, too, lest Cheng Xiaoshi need to be sick again and not be able to make it to the toilet. Did he continue throwing up the rest of the day? Lu Guang wishes he had committed more of these days to memory.

He passes the quilt over to Cheng Xiaoshi, setting the basket on the floor and lining it with a plastic bag.

“Do you think it was something you ate?”

“How should I know? It’s not like it was written in the bottom of the toilet bowl!” he says indignantly.

Lu Guang never ended up getting sick last time, and they ate the same food yesterday, so he doubts it was food poisoning. Most likely a 24-hour bug that Cheng Xiaoshi was unfortunate to catch. Lu Guang watches Cheng Xiaoshi wrap the quilt around his shoulders, going as far as to pull it over his head as he shivered. Lu Guang doesn’t know how he missed Cheng Xiaoshi’s fever before. He’s obviously freezing right now. Guilt claws at Lu Guang’s throat. He swallows it down.

“It’s probably a stomach virus,” he says curtly.

Cheng Xiaoshi looks at him pitifully. “Can you cure me, Lu Guang?”

Lu Guang internally reminds himself of all the good times he will spend with Cheng Xiaoshi after this. One day of sickness is not the end of the world (Lu Guang already knows what that is), so he shouldn’t feel so terrible about leaving Cheng Xiaoshi alone. It’s what he did last time, so he has to follow the flow of the timeline.

“No. What I can do is go down to open the studio. And you can stay up here and keep your puke away from the customers.”

“You’re leaving me?” Cheng Xiaoshi cries. “In my hour of need, you’re going to abandon me?”

Never, he thinks desperately. But this is not the same as that night.

It’s not that serious, Lu Guang reminds himself. It’s one day of being apart from him. The first time this happened Lu Guang had been secretly pleased to be away from Cheng Xiaoshi’s sickness. He didn’t know how to deal with taking care of someone, and it seemed easier to leave Cheng Xiaoshi to his own devices while Lu Guang managed their responsibilities with the studio. He tries to channel that energy now, putting on a show of rolling his eyes at Cheng Xiaoshi.

“I’m going to be directly underneath you, idiot. Just call me if you need something. Someone has to pay rent this month.”

“Do you think Qiao Ling will come to take care of me?”

“Maybe later,” Lu Guang says, thinking of Qiao Ling and her morale-saving soup showing up later today.

“Later? I’m sick now,” Cheng Xiaoshi laments, trying to sit up without jostling himself.

Suddenly, Cheng Xiaoshi sucks in a sharp breath; Lu Guang’s back straightens at the noise.

It’s too similar to the sounds Cheng Xiaoshi made that night. Lu Guang’s skin pebbles with a sudden chill, and his palms begin to sweat instinctively. He can feel the world begin to spin when Cheng Xiaoshi leans forward and throws up what’s left in him in the garbage can beside him.

The sound and the smell and the memories are too much for him, so Lu Guang turns on his heel and leaves the room.

---

This is not a great time to be having a panic attack. Lu Guang has closed himself in the darkroom and is currently counting backwards from one hundred, telling himself that Cheng Xiaoshi is fine and that today is normal and that no one is gasping for their last breaths right now, blood gurgling from a bullet hole in their chest.

But he’s fucked things up. Lu Guang doesn’t remember how he left Cheng Xiaoshi last time, but it wasn’t that suddenly and it definitely wasn’t mid-puke. So now on top of controlling the PTSD he’s not supposed to have, Lu Guang also must control the panic that he’s fucking up a timeline he’s not supposed to know about. There’s too many fears to keep track of, and the day has hardly even begun. Lu Guang looks down at his shaking hands, then immediately regrets that choice, the red lighting of the darkroom not helping his spiraling mental state at all.

He goes to the bathroom in the studio, splashing water on his face and washing his hands for far longer than necessary before leaving, then heads back up to the apartment to fix things.

Cheng Xiaoshi looks at him bitterly.

“I—” Lu Guang looks at him guiltily. “I don’t do well around puking.”

“I noticed,” Cheng Xiaoshi says.

“I’m sorry,” Lu Guang says, not knowing what else to say.

Cheng Xiaoshi’s expression softens. Lu Guang could never understand this. How easily forgiven he was.

He grabs the trash can and empties it into the garbage in the kitchen, returning it by Cheng Xiaoshi’s side with a fresh bag in it.

Concern paints Cheng Xiaoshi’s pale features. “Are you sure you aren’t sick too, Lu Guang? You don’t look well.”

Lu Guang remembers his quest to return to the normal timeline before he hits an unchangeable node.

“I’m fine. I should go open the studio. I have my phone, so call if you need anything.”

He heads downstairs, and after a few minutes of preparation, opens the studio. The world won’t stop turning just because of one man’s existential crisis. The morning is mostly quiet, only a few customers coming in to pick up prints from the day before. Lu Guang could spend his free moments developing more photographs in the darkroom, but he can’t bear to go back into the red lighting alone just yet. He spends the morning dusting the studio and wiping down the front windows, completing small, menial tasks while he waits for lunchtime to go check on Cheng Xiaoshi.

He doesn’t call, but Lu Guang doesn’t expect him to, so the morning passes by in relative peace. It reminds Lu Guang of times when Cheng Xiaoshi is on a dive and Lu Guang is left to take care of things while he’s gone. He’s used to this, so he tries not to let it bother him that precious moments he could be spending with Cheng Xiaoshi are being wasted alone.

At lunchtime he closes the studio and returns to the apartment. Cheng Xiaoshi is right where he left him, the quilt pulled up to his chin as he lies on the couch.

“Lu Guaaaaaang…” Cheng Xiaoshi moans, long and desperate. “Everything huuuurts.”

“What hurts?” Lu Guang asks. His body, probably. With the fever and shivering his whole body probably aches. “Is it your stomach still? Your body? Are you going to be sick again?”

Cheng Xiaoshi only grumbles irritably. “You ask too many questions.”

Lu Guang lets out a controlled breath. Ah, there’s the irritation he should have been channeling all morning.

“I’m trying to help you. Be more specific about your symptoms, Cheng Xiaoshi.”

“I’m dying, is that specific enough for you?”

Lu Guang’s irritation evaporates, the breath punched out of him. He’s kidding. Lu Guang knows it’s a joke, but it’s not one he likes.

Cheng Xiaoshi ignores whatever expression is on Lu Guang’s face, rolling his eyes back in fake agony. “I’m not gonna make it. Call Qiao Ling. Tell her to come quickly so I can update my will.”

It’s a stupid impulse, but Lu Guang can’t stand it. He needs to touch him. To feel Cheng Xiaoshi, alive, beneath his palms. Lu Guang sits on the edge of the couch, reaching forward towards Cheng Xiaoshi’s face. He opens his eyes suddenly, flinching away from Lu Guang’s touch.

“What are you doing?” he squeaks.

Lu Guang thinks fast. “I’m trying to check your temperature, idiot. We don’t have a thermometer.”

Cheng Xiaoshi blinks a few times, then gingerly leans forward, letting Lu Guang’s cool fingers brush his damp bangs back and rest on his forehead for a moment. Something inside Lu Guang settles at the contact. He’s warm, but not dangerously so. Lu Guang feels his own forehead for comparison with his other hand, and notes that the difference between them is minute.

“A slight fever,” he confirms after a few more seconds. His hand trails down Cheng Xiaoshi’s temple of its own accord before Lu Guang pulls it away reluctantly. Cheng Xiaoshi frowns like he’s disappointed.

Lu Guang stands up. “I’ll see if we have any medicine.”

He leaves the room, mostly to put space between them, and searches the kitchenette for medicine he knows he won’t find. Their kitchen was rarely ever stocked with things they actually needed. It took a long time for Lu Guang to finally begin purchasing useful things for their apartment, like medicine or first aid kits. Right now, all their cupboards are stuffed to the brim with cup noodles and other convenience food. Lu Guang sighs. It will be so long before they can afford nicer groceries.

He returns empty-handed. Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t look surprised.

“I don’t know what you expected to find,” he says with a sad snort.

Lu Guang sighs. He needs to get back to the studio. He goes back to the kitchen once more and returns with a glass of water and a dish of plain wonton strips.

“Here. This should be simple enough to digest. Try to eat something and see if you can keep it down. And make sure to drink water. I’ll come check on you in a few hours.”

If leaving him was hard a few hours ago, now it’s taking a Herculean amount of strength to leave Cheng Xiaoshi behind. Lu Guang has to stand at the front counter of Time Photo Studio and pretend to be a normal person while his mind is still lingering on the feeling of Cheng Xiaoshi’s clammy skin beneath his hand. He could have gotten him a wet cloth to put on his forehead, at least. He debates going back up, but a customer comes in, and Lu Guang’s attention is needed elsewhere.

After they leave, Lu Guang tackles the darkroom, finally. Leaving these photos for another day could mess up the timeline somehow, and it’s imperative that he keeps things the same. The critical node he’s waiting to change hasn’t happened yet.

He tips a photo back and forth in the developer fluid, wondering if he’d crossed a line to reach for Cheng Xiaoshi the way he did earlier. Lu Guang tended to avoid physical contact in the past. It wasn’t something he was used to, before he met Cheng Xiaoshi. Lu Guang had kept firm physical boundaries between himself and others, holding himself at a distance.

But with Cheng Xiaoshi, there was no such thing as distance. If Cheng Xiaoshi wasn’t casually leaning into Lu Guang’s personal space, he was slinging an arm around his neck, grabbing his sleeve, nuzzling his face into Lu Guang’s shoulder to get his attention. Lu Guang couldn’t fathom that other people could be this physical, and it always confounded him. It didn’t take long in their friendship for Lu Guang to give up on pushing Cheng Xiaoshi away. It was clear he wasn’t ever going to stop invading Lu Guang’s space, and after a while it stopped feeling invasive, truthfully.

But Lu Guang had never been the type to initiate contact. That was one of the toughest parts of being in this timeline, if he was being honest.

---

Lu Guang had realized just how difficult restraining himself could be on his first day in this timeline.

He had only had a few hours to think about it. After declaring Cheng Xiaoshi dead, the police officers had dragged Lu Guang back to the station to question him. Despite Captain Xiao’s patience with him, they could barely get a word out of him, much less a helpful statement. They wanted specifics, any clues to help them with the serial killer case, but Lu Guang could barely breathe, staring at his shaking hands in the bright fluorescent light of the station. Lu Guang didn’t care about answers, he only cared about fixing things.

After a few hours, an officer drove him back to the studio. Lu Guang bounded upstairs, his mind already made up. He would save Cheng Xiaoshi if it was the last thing he did.

He sat down at their shared desk, a picture he took from one year ago lying before him. He could have waited longer to make the decision, but waiting was not going to bring Cheng Xiaoshi back. This might.

Clap!

Lu Guang blinked. The bleak shadows of their bedroom were replaced instantly with streaks of afternoon sunlight streaming in through the large windows of the living room. Lu Guang lowered the phone in his hands, looking at the photo of a small slip of paper resting on his knee—a fortune from a fortune cookie.

“Well?”

The sound of his voice, bright and curious, made Lu Guang flinch.

“What does it say, Lu Guang?”

Lu Guang looked up.

And there he was. Cheng Xiaoshi, staring at him, breathing and alive and wearing his pristine varsity jacket, un-stained by blood. He looked at Lu Guang expectantly, and Lu Guang threw himself at him.

Barely able to contain his emotions, Lu Guang crashed into Cheng Xiaoshi and pulled him into a breathtaking embrace, almost knocking the takeout from his hands.

“Lu Guang?” Cheng Xiaoshi had shouted in surprise, not knowing what else to say with the sudden attack of affection.

Lu Guang held tight to Cheng Xiaoshi, feeling his hair tickle his cheek and breathing in his scent. He’d been dead. Just hours before. The police were mid-investigation with a serial killer on the loose, and Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang had gotten too close. Cheng Xiaoshi was unexpectedly killed, dying as he lay in Lu Guang’s arms. He could still hear Cheng Xiaoshi’s stuttering gasps as the blood gurgled out of the wound in his chest. Lu Guang’s dry palms still felt slick with the sensation of warm blood.

Lu Guang was so grateful for another chance, another moment with Cheng Xiaoshi. He almost lost himself in the sensation of feeling him, warm and safe and alive in his arms.

But then the second rule of diving flashed through his head like lightning.

Change nothing.

This was his first lesson.

“What’s wrong, Lu Guang?” Cheng Xiaoshi asked him.

Lu Guang stepped away suddenly, still marveling at the sound of Cheng Xiaoshi’s voice and reeling for an excuse. He awkwardly returned to his chair and picked up the piece of paper he was taking a picture of when he’d reinhabited the past.

“My fortune,” he said stiffly. “It told me to hug a treasured friend.”

Cheng Xiaoshi beamed at his response. “Does it bring good luck?”

“Sure,” Lu Guang said, trying to recover when everything about Cheng Xiaoshi’s smile made him want to cry. It worked. He’d dove back in time and would find a way to fix everything. He’d find a way to make it up to Cheng Xiaoshi for losing him before.

But the damage to the timeline had already been done. The rest of the day Cheng Xiaoshi kept bringing it up.

“Don’t you think you should let your treasured friend handle that invoice for you?”

“C’mon, Lu Guang! Try the crane. I’m here with you to bring you good fortune after all.”

Lu Guang couldn’t escape it. One misstep, and he’d already altered the timeline. He’d never understood why following directions during a dive was so hard for Cheng Xiaoshi, but it was becoming clearer now.

It wasn’t until they were in their apartment that night, Qiao Ling meeting them to discuss a new client, that things shifted back to normal.

Qiao Ling stood in the living room, thumbing through posts on her phone, when Cheng Xiaoshi brought it up.

“Hey Qiao Ling, did you know that I’m Lu Guang’s treasured friend?” he asked, pointing to leftover fortune cookies. Lu Guang had trashed the piece of paper from before, not letting Cheng Xiaoshi read the message on it that contradicted his odd behavior. “I’ve been bringing him good fortune all day!” he said proudly.

Qiao Ling didn’t look from up from the phone she was scrolling through, which didn’t have its usual bunny case.

“Hey, Lu Guang,” she said, unimpressed, “could you tell your lucky charm that if he stopped spending money on mobile gatcha games and take-out he might be able to afford his monthly rent?”

“Hey, that’s my phone!” Cheng Xiaoshi shouted, pushing past Lu Guang to fight Qiao Ling for his cell phone. His reach was longer, so after a second of wrestling it was back in his hands. “How did you even unlock it?”

Qiao Ling sneered. “If you’re foolish enough to make your password your birthday then you deserved it. Look, I bet Lu Guang’s password is harder to crack. He’s younger than you but still wiser. Right, Lu Guang?”

Lu Guang blinked, suddenly remembering this conversation from the first time they had it. His password was also his birthday.

Cheng Xiaoshi burst into laughter, knowing Lu Guang’s password to be just as easy as his, and Lu Guang fumbled with his settings, slinking shamefully over to the other side of the room to change it out of their line of sight, like he had years ago. He silently thanked Qiao Ling for returning the conversation back to the normal flow of the timeline. He needed to remember not to slip up like he did today. There was a larger node he was aiming to change, and he couldn’t falter in the early stages.

He looked down at his phone’s password settings and gave himself a reminder.

“Are you going to tell me your new one?” Cheng Xiaoshi asked, throwing his arm over Lu Guang’s shoulder and leaning into his personal space.

There it was again. Lu Guang’s heartbeat tripled at the sensation of Cheng Xiaoshi so close to him. Lu Guang resisted the urge to pull Cheng Xiaoshi in closer, to revel in the sound of his breathing and the feeling of his pulse. If the old Lu Guang didn’t do those things, he couldn’t do them either.

If Lu Guang was a little slower in pushing him away, well. That was neither here nor there.

---

Lu Guang shakes his head at the memory as he pins the photos on the line to dry and leaves the darkroom. The sun is dipping behind the buildings across the street, so it must be close to closing time. Lu Guang looks at his watch. Any minute now, Qiao Ling will be bursting through the studio door to make Cheng Xiaoshi her magical soup, reviving him from his illness and returning the vitality to him. Lu Guang checks the register to make sure the till is correctly counted, glancing at the front door every few minutes.

After a while it begins to unnerve him. Was she this late last time? Lu Guang could swear she came around closing time. Lu Guang opens his phone to check for messages from her, swiping over to his Recent Calls menu to ask where she is.

Lu Guang’s blood congeals in his veins.

His last few Outgoing Calls are all to Cheng Xiaoshi, from days ago. Lu Guang hasn’t spoken with Qiao Ling today.

If he hasn’t called Qiao Ling, that means she doesn’t even know Cheng Xiaoshi is sick. If she doesn’t know he’s sick, she is unaware that she is supposed to urgently come to the studio. If she doesn’t come quickly, she won’t have time to make Cheng Xiaoshi her replicated recipe. If she doesn’t make the soup, the timeline—

Lu Guang puts his hands to his head, his fingers gripping the roots of his hair as he pulls in frustration.

This can’t be happening. Just one slip up, and everything could fall apart. What if eating Qiao Ling’s soup was a critical node? Lu Guang’s painstaking care of keeping this timeline the same will all be undone because he forgot to make a single phone call.

Lu Guang tries to ignore the tremor in his hands as he dials Qiao Ling’s number.

“He’s sick?” Qiao Ling asks him. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell me sooner. I could have taken care of him so you could keep running the studio.”

“I still opened today. Cheng Xiaoshi is upstairs.”

“You left him alone?” she asks. There’s a little too much emotion packed into the question for Lu Guang to overlook.

“Should I not have?”

Qiao Ling hesitates. “No, it’s—it’s fine…he’s just sensitive about being left alone. You know.”

You know.

She leaves the implication dangling before him. Lu Guang wants to slap himself. He did know. And now this is the second time he’s left Cheng Xiaoshi by himself when he was feeling vulnerable. Lu Guang burns with shame.

“He’s been asking for you,” Lu Guang tells her, feeling defeated. “Is there any chance you could stop by?”

“Probably not tonight,” she says. Lu Guang’s heart sinks even further. “There’s an event going on downtown. All the trains are behind schedule, and it will be impossible to hail a cab in the crowd. You said he was asking for me? He probably just wants—well, it doesn’t matter now. Tell him I can stop by tomorrow if he’s still feeling unwell, okay?”

Their phone call ends shortly afterwards. Lu Guang stares out the window of the studio, watching the sky become streaked in pinks and purples. It’s getting late. He supposes there’s nothing else to do but to face Cheng Xiaoshi. He doubts there’s any way to recover the timeline now. All he can hope for is that today’s missteps didn’t change any critical nodes for the future.

Lu Guang’s limbs feel heavy as he climbs the stairs, every changed minute weighing down his body as he goes to check on his friend. Cheng Xiaoshi is exactly where Lu Guang left him, though now he has an arm thrown over his eyes, trying to block out the rays of the setting sun as they beam in through the windows of the sunroom.

“Hey.” Lu Guang sits in the chair beside the couch.

Cheng Xiaoshi pulls his arm away from his pale face. His eyebrows draw up in concern. “Hey. Are you okay?”

Lu Guang can’t even fathom what his expression must look like right now. “Yeah, just tired.”

Even though he’s ill, Cheng Xiaoshi still manages to grin. “Looks like someone is finally realizing how much work I do in the studio. And you say I don’t pull my own weight.”

Lu Guang tries for a smile, though he doesn’t think he quite manages it. “You’re right. Today was hard without you.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cheng Xiaoshi sits up gingerly. “If you’re sick too, you should say something.” His concern almost cheers Lu Guang up, but then he continues, “When Qiao Ling gets here, you can ask her for some—”

“Qiao Ling isn’t coming.”

He keeps his eyes trained on his lap, so he doesn’t have to see Cheng Xiaoshi’s disappointed expression.

Lu Guang is so tired. He wishes he could freeze this conversation, this whole day, and go nap for a thousand hours. The stress of it all is sucking the marrow from his bones. He wishes he could do today over again. He doesn’t know if he’d have the strength to do today over again. The longer Lu Guang exists in this timeline, the more he wonders if his mission is even possible. Will living in the past really allow Lu Guang to eventually change Cheng Xiaoshi’s future? Or is Cheng Xiaoshi existing on borrowed time? He thinks of today’s mistakes, piling up on one another, how one misstep can change the entire course of the future, and feels dizzy.

He jumps a bit when the feeling of cool glass brushes against his knuckles. Cheng Xiaoshi is pushing a glass of water into his hand.

“Drink.”

Cheng Xiaoshi’s stern command is so absolute that Lu Guang actually obeys, taking a sip of the water, which turns into a gulp, which turns to him finishing the glass.

Cheng Xiaoshi pushes the plate of wonton strips across the table to Lu Guang, who delicately takes one and crunches down on it.

“Better?” Cheng Xiaoshi asks.

Lu Guang nods. The world has righted itself a little, and the shining edges of his vision have receded back to normalcy. He looks down at the empty glass in his hand, the dish on the table. Recognition hits him.

“I left these out for you,” Lu Guang accuses.

Cheng Xiaoshi shrugs, the blanket slipping from his shoulder a little. “You looked like you needed them more.”

Lu Guang sighs. “You haven’t eaten anything today, have you?”

He shrugs again. “Not hungry.”

Lu Guang thinks of the last time he lived this day, and the way Cheng Xiaoshi devoured his meal. He doesn’t believe him.

“It’s just that…normally, when I’m sick—” Cheng Xiaoshi cuts himself off, like he doesn’t want to say it and make Lu Guang feel worse.

Lu Guang finishes his thought for him. “Qiao Ling normally cooks for you, doesn’t she?”

“It’s not just that. It’s stupid, really,” Cheng Xiaoshi says, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s a tradition she started when we were kids. She tries to recreate a dish my mom made for me when I was little.”

Even after years of knowing him, Lu Guang can’t remember Cheng Xiaoshi ever telling him this story himself. Should Lu Guang have thought to ask?

“What dish?” he asks carefully.

“Just soup,” he says, sounding shy. “I guess when I was little it was difficult getting me to eat nutritious foods. When I was sick my mom would make this incredible soup that had a ton of nutritional value, but somehow didn’t taste bad! It was like she covered up the taste of every awful vegetable somehow.” Cheng Xiaoshi looks down, fiddling with the edge of his quilt. “I never really questioned how she made all those healthy things taste so good. Special mom powers, I guess.”

Now Lu Guang remembers why he never asked for this story. He never liked this, hearing fond memories about Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents. He’d never tell him, but Lu Guang hates them. He hates how they abandoned their son and constantly villainizes them in his head whenever Cheng Xiaoshi brings them up.

He also hates them because he can’t stand the way Cheng Xiaoshi looks after talking about them. The sad, distant look in his eyes as his gaze trails back to the door, like part of him is always waiting for them to return through it.

Lu Guang stands suddenly, startling Cheng Xiaoshi. “What was in this soup?”

“Lu Guang?”

Lu Guang rifles through a drawer in their kitchenette, locating a piece of scrap paper. “What were the ingredients?”

Cheng Xiaoshi looks dumbstruck, still not entirely sure what Lu Guang’s intent is. “I’m not sure. Qiao Ling has been trying to recreate it for years.”

“Then tell me the ingredients you know to be correct. I’ll try to make it.”

“You don’t know how to cook!” Cheng Xiaoshi says incredulously. “And you definitely don’t know how to make soup.”

Lu Guang does. A year from now Cheng Xiaoshi will make him a bowl of noodles so lumpy and overcooked that Lu Guang will actually learn to cook just to spite him and make a better bowl. He knows enough to get by, not that Cheng Xiaoshi would know that right now.

“I’ve seen cooking shows,” he responds flippantly, grabbing his wallet from the table and putting it in his back pocket. “I’ll figure it out. Now, what ingredients can you remember?”

Cheng Xiaoshi rattles off a few ingredients absently, a look of disbelief on his face as Lu Guang jots them down on his paper. Lu Guang mentally tacks on a few other ingredients, remembering that they were in Qiao Ling’s soup when she made it for them originally. He wishes he could remember everything on her scribbled over recipe sheet, but this will have to do for now.

Lu Guang looks at the ingredients and nods. He makes it all the way to the stairs before stopping short. He turns to Cheng Xiaoshi, quilt still loosely wrapped around his shoulders and bewildered expression still plastered on his pale face.   

“Will you be fine on your own while I go to the market?” he asks seriously.

Cheng Xiaoshi blinks at the question.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Lu Guang nods. “Call if you need anything.”

---

The trip to the market is quick. Lu Guang grabs herbs, spices, and fresh vegetables— foods that until now would have been considered a luxury for him and Cheng Xiaoshi. If there’s a possibility it could go in a healing soup, Lu Guang adds it to his basket. He pays for it all with little concern for the few bills remaining in his wallet and hurries back to the studio.

Lu Guang paces down the road, lined with shadows now that the sun has almost fully set, with a paper bag in his arms full of ingredients he only kind of knows how to cook. He enters the studio and goes straight upstairs to Cheng Xiaoshi, who must have watched him walk up the road from the window, clammy handprint still on the glass behind him as he turns to look at Lu Guang.

Lu Guang wonders if his own expression matches the unsure one on Cheng Xiaoshi’s face.

“Well,” he starts uncomfortably. He looks down at the ingredients in the bag, which look much more intimidating now that he’s standing before Cheng Xiaoshi with them. He clears his throat delicately. “I’m going to get started.

“Let me help you—” Cheng Xiaoshi starts, trying to stand. He blinks rapidly and falls back to the couch, too lightheaded from not eating all day.

Lu Guang fills another glass of water and takes the added step to put it directly in Cheng Xiaoshi’s hand this time, the same way Cheng Xiaoshi did earlier with him. He doesn’t speak until he sees Cheng Xiaoshi take a tiny, tentative sip.

“You should be resting,” Lu Guang says. “Let me do this for you.”

The flush in cheeks probably has more to do with the illness than anything, but Cheng Xiaoshi’s expression is swirl of emotions as he relents, leaning back into the couch with a quiet “okay.”

Lu Guang returns to the kitchenette with his bag of spoils. He’d sat with Qiao Ling for the entire time that she made her healing soup the last time, so it shouldn’t be that hard to recreate a facsimile, right? Simmer some broth, chop a few vegetables, do something with herbs, how difficult could it be?

He puts their one large pot on top of their hot plate and dumps in a container’s worth of store-bought chicken bone broth. He turns on the hot plate. Step one complete.

“You should have the herbs in there already,” Lu Guang hears an annoying voice call from behind him.

He looks over his shoulder at a snuggled-up Cheng Xiaoshi, eyes closed and breathing too evenly for someone who was awake but two minutes ago.

Grumbling under his breath, Lu Guang turns off the heat and pulls out the tiny cutting board they have, ripping a few sprigs of each herb off their stems. He sets them on the board, knife hovering over them, but hesitates. Did Qiao Ling chop these?

“She normally puts them in whole.”

Lu Guang rolls his eyes and puts the knife down, reaching over the pot with his handful of herbs.

“In a bag.”

His hand stills.

“Made of cheesecloth.”

“Cheng Xiaoshi!”

Now Lu Guang is glaring over his shoulder. Cheng Xiaoshi smirks in his “sleep.”

It goes on like that for a while, with Lu Guang completing a handful of steps before a certain sleeping patient’s voice drifts from behind him with some unsolicited advice. Eventually Lu Guang gives up on pretenses and pulls a chair up to the kitchenette and glares at it pointedly until Cheng Xiaoshi happily takes a seat. Lu Guang only lets him stay after he finishes his whole glass of water.

But it’s…nice. Neither of them have ever been good cooks. And it won’t be months until they’ve built up a strong enough reputation from diving to earn them some real money for groceries. But it reminds Lu Guang of a time not that long ago, a time that hasn’t yet happened, where he and Cheng Xiaoshi would stand in their tiny kitchenette, shoulder to shoulder, as they argued about how much bean paste to put in their mapo tofu. Emotion still claws at his throat when he thinks of it, of a Cheng Xiaoshi older than the one before him (though not much more mature) whose days were unknowingly numbered. Lu Guang stops cooking twice to scrub his hands in the sink at the thought of it.

“It’s no wonder you never get sick, Lu Guang,” Cheng Xiaoshi says as he watches Lu Guang paw at the edge of the sink for their bar of soap. “Surgeons probably wash their hands less often than you.”

Lu Guang pauses, looking at the red, sudsy skin on his hands. He swallows and rinses them off.

The whole cooking process takes about an hour. Lu Guang wonders if he should let it cook longer, but with how famished Cheng Xiaoshi looks after a day of not eating, he’s not sure he wants to wait any longer.

“It’s probably done,” he says, trying to sound sure of himself as he turns off the heat. He looks over at his scrap sheet once more, wondering what ingredients from Qiao Ling’s paper he might have missed in preparing this dish. With Chinese yams and codonopsis root, it should at least help Cheng Xiaoshi’s digestion, thought Lu Guang can’t speak for the taste. He’s about to start rooting through their kitchenette for a clean bowl when a memory hits him. Qiao Ling’s blocky handwriting, a word with several question marks after it. She and Lu Guang giggling at Cheng Xiaoshi’s expense.

It probably won’t make a difference, but before Cheng Xiaoshi can look, Lu Guang grabs their jar of honey that they use for tea and tips it over the pot, dumping a small glob in.

He stirs the soup a few times for it to dissolve, then pulls out a bowl and ladles a large helping of soup into it before pushing it in front of Cheng Xiaoshi.

Cheng Xiaoshi looks at it, then back to Lu Guang, eyebrows pinched up.

“Aren’t you going to pour yourself some? We’re supposed to eat it together.”

Lu Guang could argue that this is Cheng Xiaoshi’s meal. He’s the sick one here. He’s the one who hasn’t eaten all day. But he can’t keep his composure with Cheng Xiaoshi’s brown eyes shining at him like that. Maybe it’s some sort of tradition he and Qiao Ling have. Lu Guang relents and pours a second, albeit less full, bowl.

“Happy?” he asks.

Judging by Cheng Xiaoshi’s smile, he must be. He finally begins eating his soup after that, so Lu Guang takes it as a victory.

He looks down at his own bowl. He has to admit, he is curious. He scoops up a spoonful, trying to get as many bits of vegetable as possible, and eats it. Warmth flows through his chest, same as before, with the earthy flavors of the vegetables complimenting the chicken broth. Even some of the more complex flavors of the traditional Chinese herbs are more muted, making them a little less bitter than last time. It’s not a perfect replication, but hopefully Cheng Xiaoshi enjoys the attempt all the same.

Lu Guang looks up from his bowl to ask Cheng Xiaoshi what he thinks, but the sight of him has Lu Guang stopping in his tracks.

He’s crying.

“Cheng Xiaoshi?” Lu Guang says, unable to disguise how worried he sounds.

Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes squeeze shut as hot tears drip down his cheeks. He opens them slowly and tries to blink them away, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand as he takes another careful bite. But the second he swallows, more tears fall.

“How did you do this?” Cheng Xiaoshi asks, voice thick.

“You can stop if you don’t like it—” Lu Guang tries to tell him.

Cheng Xiaoshi sniffs a little. “It tastes like my mother’s.”

Lu Guang looks down at his bowl and freezes.

This wasn’t a part of the plan.

He was supposed to recreate Qiao Ling’s attempt at this soup, not actually try to make his mother’s recipe. It’s Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling’s tradition, and now Lu Guang has usurped it and through blind, hasty grocery shopping and an impulsive addition managed to find a combination of ingredients that satisfied Cheng Xiaoshi. Is this going to mess up the timeline? Has Lu Guang somehow tripped up in an even greater way than before, unable to stop himself from smashing this timeline into ruin before he can attempt to find the correct node that will save Cheng Xiaoshi in the future?

He can feel himself falling into another spiral, but when he looks at Cheng Xiaoshi, the ball of anxiety in his gut unravels minutely.

While Lu Guang has been wrestling with another panic attack, Cheng Xiaoshi’s face has broken into a radiant smile. Tears still shimmer at the edges of his eyes as he takes bite after reverent bite, but the joy on his face is enough to stop Lu Guang from losing all composure.

Lu Guang takes another sip of the soup. A soup that tastes like home to Cheng Xiaoshi. When he is sick and miserable, when he craves warmth and care, this is the dish that he longs for. A soup that reminds him of his mother’s love, no matter how distant a memory it is to him now. A dish that Qiao Ling has spent almost a decade trying to make, purely so she could help Cheng Xiaoshi feel precisely like this.

Because what even is the point of all of this if not to make Cheng Xiaoshi happy?

He prays that the timeline will favor him in this one moment, because when he looks at the joy on Cheng Xiaoshi’s face, Lu Guang can’t find any regret left in him.

Cheng Xiaoshi looks to Lu Guang and clears his throat a little.

“You better eat your soup before it gets cold. If you’re not careful, I might eat your bowl too.”

Lu Guang wraps a hand around his bowl protectively, and Cheng Xiaoshi’s laughter chases away all his doubt.

---

“Aghh!! I can’t believe you spilled broth all over it! Lu Guang, I’ve not known you to be so clumsy.”

Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang both look at the soaked sheet of paper, the ink already starting to blot.

“You don’t happen to remember the quantities of all the ingredients you used, do you?” Cheng Xiaoshi asks Lu Guang.

Lu Guang looks at the paper forlornly. “I barely remember what I bought. I was picking through the vegetable section at the market at random.”

There’s barely enough soup in the pot for another full bowl (Cheng Xiaoshi devoured two of them, though Lu Guang forced him to eat slowly), and most of the vegetables had already been eaten, so there isn’t much evidence left for them to pick through.

While the universe seemed to favor Lu Guang in giving him such a convenient out, Lu Guang can’t help but pity Cheng Xiaoshi. He wonders if their destroyed ingredient list will fill him with heartbreak, now that his mother’s healing soup recipe has been washed away.

But Cheng Xiaoshi picks up the remains of the list, smiling good naturedly.

“Ah, it’s alright. I’m sure Qiao Ling still wants to try and recreate the recipe anyway. It would make her sad to discover that you’re such a cooking prodigy on your first try.” He balls up the wet paper and throws it away. “Let’s keep today between us, alright?”

“Are you sure?” Lu Guang asks.

Cheng Xiaoshi nods, still looking happier than he’s been all day. Lu Guang’s heartbeat quickens every time he looks at him. It’s hard to believe the change in Cheng Xiaoshi after just one meal. It could just be that after a full day of not eating, his revitalization has more to do with a full stomach than anything. Or perhaps the ingredients in the soup truly are medicinal. But color has returned to Cheng Xiaoshi’s cheeks once more, and he’s moving with an ease that he hasn’t had since yesterday.

Lu Guang gathers their bowls, washing them in the sink and leaving them on a dishtowel to dry. He sees Cheng Xiaoshi return to the couch instead of going upstairs.

“You should probably go to bed,” Lu Guang tells him, prioritizing responsibility.

“I’ve been sleeping all day!” Cheng Xiaoshi responds indignantly. “Come watch something with me.”

Lu Guang weighs the options of arguing with Cheng Xiaoshi versus doing what he wants. When he looks at Cheng Xiaoshi’s pouting expression, Lu Guang finds himself giving in, yet again. He tells himself it’s only because Cheng Xiaoshi is sick.

“Fine.”

Lu Guang takes out his laptop and pulls up a movie from the other day that they didn’t finish watching. As he’s adjusting the volume on his speakers, Cheng Xiaoshi speaks.

“Hey, Lu Guang?”

Lu Guang turns to face him. “Hm?”

“Thank you.” Cheng Xiaoshi looks at his lap shyly. “For today.”

The earnest admission stops Lu Guang short.

Every moment from today has been one continuous misstep after another. The stress, the anguish, the panic from it all was enough to take years off Lu Guang’s life. Lu Guang has known from the start that his mission to save Cheng Xiaoshi would be difficult, but days like today truly made him question if saving Cheng Xiaoshi was even possible. Lu Guang knows what the future looks like, but he’s more unsure of it than he’s ever been. Keeping the timeline the same long enough to find the critical node that will save Cheng Xiaoshi’s life might be a dream so farfetched that it might not even be worth attempting.

But Lu Guang thinks of the tear-streaked smile after Cheng Xiaoshi took that first bite.

Spending every waking moment agonizing over his next step won’t get him anywhere. Instead, Lu Guang folds up that smile and tucks it into a corner of his mind for safekeeping.

Cheng Xiaoshi thanked him for today.

Maybe that is enough.

Lu Guang offers Cheng Xiaoshi a nod, unable to help how bashful he feels as well. If he opened his mouth to respond, he worries that something far more revealing might tumble out of him. Something about promising to always care for him, to always keep him safe. He settles on a small dip of his chin and hopes it conveys what words can’t.

It only takes a moment longer to set up the movie. Afterwards, Lu Guang sits on his side of the couch. Cheng Xiaoshi sidles up next to him, so close the quilt he’s wrapped in presses into Lu Guang’s side.

Lu Guang pointedly does not look into his eyes when he asks, “Are you feeling well, now?”

“Yes,” Cheng Xiaoshi replies happily.

“And you’re not going to throw up on me?”

“Of course not!”

Lu Guang nods to himself. Then he leans forward to press ‘play.’

He does not tell Cheng Xiaoshi to move. Timeline be damned.

[spilledstars1234]

First post! To start this blog off, i'd like to vomit a random Link Click theory that I thought of recently after finishing Season 2 a couple of weeks ago

You know, the whole “Lu Guang taking the photo in his hospital room” scene’s been on my mind a lot. Because that part was a liiiiitle strange. ‘Cause, I don’t think LG even left his phone there for CXS to find. And why? Because he doesn’t even know that CXS knows his phone passcode. My evidence? When Qiao Ling asks Cheng Xiaoshi how he knew LG’s passcode, he replies with “I just happened to see him put it in.” MEANING: LG didn’t tell it to him. Which is kind of odd, because if he left the phone specifically for CXS to find and dive into, wouldn’t he have told him his phone password beforehand in order to have gotten the plan to work smoothly? 

SO! What if he left the phone for HIMSELF to find, and dove into it after CXS’ death and after CXS transferred his ability to him, so he’d have like a backup plan-ish sort of thing just in case CXS might've died that night???

And bonus! So if that WAS him, then the whole thing with the boat would make sense! ‘Cause when it first shows the whole “Lu Guang leaping on top of CXS” scene (back when we didn’t know CXS dives into the photo), it shows LG having zoomed his way there to the docks on some random boat. So this brings me to the conclusion that this had all been pre-planned (aka LG from the future going back and saving CXS), because like, where’d he get the boat? Did he just hijack one or something? Or… did he have one prepared in advance? (see where i’m going with this??)

 And when we see CXS as Lu Guang, notice how HE didn’t take a boat there, and just ran all the way to the docks? (while risking the small matter of LG’s intestines spilling out… buuut cartoon logic!) So this brings me to thinking that the Lu Guang we saw the first time was actually Lu Guang! And that was him from another timeline and not CXS like we all thought.

And therefore, the “LG & CXS lying on top of each other scene” could’ve actually happened (so CXS wasn’t being narcissistic there, lol!), since that could have been Lu Guang the first time around (and Lu’s little smirk and the whole “Fortunately I caught up to you” thing could’ve been y’know, actually from him and not CXS just saying that to himself).

But then… there’s a loophole in this. Because the Lu Guang that is shown first starts busting out all these moves… and we all know CXS is the one who’s more adept at fighting, and we can kinda guess Lu Guang probably doesn’t get off the couch (he isn’t called an old man for nothing y’know). So, maybe that was actually CXS to begin with…

In conclusion? I genuinely don’t know! But I like to be delusional so I like to think that it was LG in another timeline (c’mon studio lan, you can’t just give us that scene and pass it off as it actually being CXS because of censorship pls). Or maybe I’m dumb and this theory’s super wrong because I completely missed something, I dunno.

(edit: HANG ON, i totally forgot about the scene where cxs gets shot and LG immediately went to beat the crap out of qian jin. So maybe all it takes for LG to fight is when he sees CXS in danger~)

[moonovermeadows]

Cheng Xiaoshi's Death, and LG Time Travel

I think things are starting to make sense to me.

First of all, THIS scene

is NOT after Lu Guang got stabbed. Look at the blood splatters;

This scene is after Cheng Xiaoshi's death. (When he was holding a bleeding and dying CXS in his arms)

Secondly, Lu Guang should most probably have his blue-eyes-past-photo-vison ability+ Cheng Xiaoshi's gold-eyes-photo-diving ability.

S2ep12 basically established that one's ability can be passed over in death. Tianxi's ability got passed over to Qiao Ling, along with her memories (whether temporary or permanent, that I do not know)

CXS was dying in LG's arms, the same way LTX was in QL's arms.

If it is a temporary transfer,that could explain why LG didn't use CXS's ability again,or, if it is permanent then that means LG still has that ability, he's keeping it hidden, and, quite possibly, repeatedly using it in A Time Loop (I genuinely hope not).

That could also explain why LG looked so shocked when CXS mentioned red eyes wanting to "steal" his ability. (Now we know that LTC meant stealing, as in, possessing CXS and using his ability, not literally stealing it. So, LTC might be unaware of this particular aspect. Who knows how much hat man knows)

Thirdly, the time of CXS's death. When did it happen?

I used to think that it was during the time abroad. But, like in the photo above, LG is in his bloodied clothes, in their room in the time photo studio. So, it was recent, and it happened in China itself, probably close to the studio.

The time reads 5 minutes past midnight. The same time is show on the clock hung on their room

Then there's 09, 13. Also a 28. Is 28 the day, September the month, and 13 is 2013 ? 2013 makes no sense. CXS is 21/22 in 2021 (current link click timeline), and LG looks the same as in that year. If it was 2013, then LG should be much, much younger. So, 13 could be the date as much as 28.

But... September 28 ? (We are in September, lol)

Edit : the above have been disproven. I have made another post regarding this :

Also, is it a 28 or 20 ?

Anyway, LG has already changed the timeline once. There are two instances of their meeting.

The scene in Overthink-Vortex music video, could possibly be their original meeting, but they pass themselves by..so, another encounter?

Also, these two are younger here.

The basketball scene (both in high school, probably 16 or so) , and the scene where LG helps in moving the furniture into the photo studio (the coincidence meeting) is most definitely deliberate. LG must have travelled that far, while diving back in time.

Last, I have a sneaking suspicion that the hat man is involved in this whole CXS death, LG lore thing. Also, something definitely happened during the overseas trip.

[uneducated-author]

First of all, I think everyone who predicted the 'Lu Guang alternate timeline' theory deserves a chocolate ice cream, and amazing job to the studio for embedding the story well enough that we could figure it out!

Second of all, did you all notice the difference in outfits? In the current timeline, both Lu Guang and Chang Xiaoshi are wearing costumes from the Romeo and Juliet play. However in the past timeline Lu Guang travelled away from, they were wearing their typical outfits, with Cheng Xiaoshi in the blue jacket and Lu Guang in the white overshirt.

The implication is kind of that the whole hostage situation didn't happen. Which actually, makes a lot of sense. I don't know if any of of you have heard of the bootstrap paradox, but it's a theory that when you travel in time to cause an event that correlates to your own timeline, the event is then 'uncaused'. Essentially it raises the question, Cheng Xiaoshi takes control of Lu Guang, and runs to the location he was abducted, because he was rescued by Lu Guang. And he only did this because he already had the memory of Lu Guang saving him. But who saved Cheng Xiaoshi first?

(Google Doctor Who Bootstrap Paradox, it explains it incredibly well)

So if the hostage situation didn't happen, maybe Cheng Xiaoshi died earlier in the timeline?

Also, Lu Guang was able to jump back in time, which isn't his ability. Back to the theory of parallel lines, what if in the original timeline, Cheng Xiaoshi passed Lu Guang his own ability, like how in the current one, Xixi (presumeably) passes her own to Qiao Ling. There are commonalities in the disparate timelines.

Also, the flashback with Chen Bin breaking free and catching himself has horrific implications. Because 'it can change with the influence of others' might have been Lu Guanv travelling back in time to save his friend, but Chen Bin didn't survive, his death was delayed. Time is more inevitable that one could think, and Cheng Xiaoshi has the mark of death on his life now.

[brokenmachinemusings]

hi tumblr you get to hear my insane sgdlr ramblings theories whatever about mr vein which mifht be wrong but I DOTN CARE

LINK CLICK SPOILERS . OBVIOUSLY!!!!

ok sooooo first i connected the dots with cheng xiaoshi and vein bc they had the same shadow that dropped from the top left in the anniversary pv’s. most people reacted with “you didn’t connect shit”, but i’m telling you, i connected the dots.

what caught my eye on the shadow thing is that vein’s shadow didn’f have the same circular borders as liu xiao and xia fei who were obviously meant to be the same style. so they deliberately kept it at just the top left (to cover him up also). and did i mention cheng xiaoshi looks like he is trapped behind glass in the anniversary artwork? no i didn’t. i personally think all of the anniversary artworks are supposed to represent a special part of each character (qiao ling stepping out. you know).

i have not fully analysed vein’s outfit design because frankly i’m not sure what else to search up but. i’ll talk about the parts i did find

so. first of all the pattern on his shoulders looks like blood. isn’t rhat fun!

second of all the little knots around his design, i’m pretty sure are ‘round brocade knots’ which represent “balance, completeness, good fortune”. i haven’t made exact ties between that and vein myself yet but it’s worth noting it.

i didn’t find out anything else about his design. the necklace is cut off just perfectly to not be able to see what it is (like liu xiao’s)

anyway. i’m just gonna jump to my theory. i think he is connected to either cheng xiaoshi or the disappearance of his parents!!!! wow. it might sound unlikely i am aware but this is what theories are for.

the biggest reason i came up with this is because we don’t need a new villain. we don’t need to be introduced to someone new when we already have liu xiao. but you know what liu xiao wouldn’t do? GET HIS HANDS DIRTY. at least, most likely, he strikes me as the type to work behind the scenes.

so what other reason would there be to introduce vein? “you could make the same argument for xia fei” well yeah but xia fei is a pushing force in how cheng xiaoshi and lu guang discovered their powers (probably. idk)

okkkk back to vein and cheng xiaoshi’s parents actually. why i think it’s likely they’re either missing because of vein or, if they’re dead, their bodies got disposed of for some reason? it’s because if they were caught in the earthquake THEIR BODIES WOULD BE FOUND BY NOW. at least that’s what makes sense to me lore wise. and i don’t think they would just ghost their child for like 12 years. and because from narrative storytellijg it would make sense if vein was the one that did something. (let me redirect you to pattern that looks like blood on his shoulders)

of course this could all be a red herring but the last time i said something was a red herring it turned out to be true. so i choose to stick to it this time!

the other possibility (or actually, both possibilities could ring true) is that vein was the one who shot cxs. who else would? (feel free to debate lol) i don’t think xia fei would have interest in that after the whole overseas trip business, liu xiao wouldn’t want to do it himself (he’d make someone else do it) and li tianchen is an option but we don’t know if he will be the one to do it in the end. so

i don’t have a good way to end this weird theory bit. if i think of something else i will add it. it has been plaguing at my mind. thank you tumblr user for reading my weird theory rambling and feel free to debate me. if i tjink of anything else myself i will edit and add it

[daily-linkclick]

What is the theory abt lg being from an alternate timeline? I’ve been seeing a lot of ppl talk about it and idrk where it comes from, and what are your thoughts??(have a nice day!!)

this ask magically appeared in my inbox just today but apparently it was sent weeks ago, holy shit! thank you for waiting op LMFAO

anyways, it's a theory that's been around before season 2, iirc! mostly because we had little to nothing lore wise around their powers, and its just fun thinking about while we waited for anything canon. there were a few things that did hint at lu guang being from an alternative timeline, being that we don't know his age and backstory, and his weird hair color (not a lot of people sporting full white hair, or any unnatural hair color in link click, at least)

those aspects don't necessarily point to him being from an alternate timeline, but they also could be hints towards it! but there's new content that makes this theory potentially canon! it's from this music video played during Bilibili World. it features an alternate mv for vortex, which is interesting because we see lu guang falling first:

in it, there are several shots with cheng xiaoshi wearing completely different outfits, some injured and one seemingly dead? Plus a frame that shows four cxs's merging into one. maybe it's just ooo pretty visuals, but there's a looot of imagery that implies different timelines (shard fractals, reflections, mirror images, etc)

There's also this shot, with lu guang wearing an alternate fit we've never seen - and he's wearing more black in this one?? his s1 fit also featured a dark shirt and pants but his flannel color was more dominant. this leads me to believe that this is lu guang but less experienced (another timeline).

maybe all of this is just non-canon for marketing, they did market lu guang as dead for all of pre-s2 lol, but i like to believe this is them teasing lu guang's past! even if he's the main character, he's someone who's past we know the least of. i'd argue we find out more about side characters than we do about him actually - which makes me (and a lot of other people) think he's from an alternate timeline!

that's the gist; i'll put my own thoughts under a read more so this post won't be insanely long

my own thoughts on the theory is that i think lu guang is from multiple alternate timelines. the frame with multiple cheng xiaoshis, and the one where four merge into one makes me believe lu guang met cheng xiaoshi in his timeline, but cxs either died or had a miserable life. he kept going into different timelines in an attempt to save him / be in a timeline where cheng xiaoshi is actually safe and happy, and finally got to the timeline we see in the show.

though that part requires him having more than just the power to look into what happens in a photo. but there's been proof of lu guang hiding what he knows / has with cheng xiaoshi (re: him hiding the fact emma died, and him hiding the photo that liu tianchen gave him). he's also an incredibly private person. if he hides from his closest friend, who's to say he isn't hiding something from the audience either?

we also don't know how they got their powers. if lu guang originally had the power to dive back into pictures, then it would make sense on how he's able to go to different timelines. also, studio lan clearly emphasizes the fact that the pair are two halves of a whole, and the show is more interesting because of that dynamic.

as an extra: lu guang's doting nature makes a lot of sense too, he just doesn't want to see cheng xiaoshi miserable again! it's a pretty known fact that cheng xiaoshi didn't have any friends (besides qiao ling) before lu guang, and his life insantly got better when they finally were a trio (interesting that it was mainly because of a mysterious person that popped out of nowhere). here's a fun twitter thread by t3mp0s about the trio's dynamic

lastly, i just think it'd be fun if at one point cheng xiaoshi slowly discovers what lu guang did in his past for him. and how hypocritical lu guang would sound after saying "past or future, leave them be" if he never applied that to cheng xiaoshi! either way i still want to see a cxs saving lg arc man... they keep teasing it EVEN IN THE MV

that's it!! i know link click's best quality is the trio going through other people's stories, but i think they're preparing us for the biggest one: lu guang's.

[muninnhuginn]

Link Click Fic Recs

I've seen some of these around and thought I'd have my own go. As others largely have the shippy side covered and I've historically struggled to find good gen fic, I ended up deciding to make this list gen-only. This means that all fic included can be read as platonic regardless of tags.

That's not to say shippers won't get anything out of these though. Think of it as canon-typical levels of ship and that's about what to expect here.

Notes: These are listed in largely chronological order as to when they were posted. I've limited it to one fic per author in instances where multiple fic would otherwise appear on the list.

Overtime by machasw

The job for Chen Xiao has been a nightmare from start to finish. Cheng Xiaoshi changes almost every event, breaks almost every rule, and the night ends with a roof crashing down on his head. There's one more nightmare in store though. When the twelve-hour limit arrives, Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't return home.

without you (i don't know if i could take this road) by DandyDonut

Roleswap AU where Lu Guang enters photos and Xiaoshi guides him through the process using precognition.

Depth of Focus by Shadaras

Cheng Xiaoshi’s earliest memories were of the click and flash of a camera.

synesthesia by silverinerivers

“First, you only get 12 hours.” “Wait, why?” Cheng Xiaoshi interrupts, wrinkling his brows. (Or: the moments which bring them to the start of it all.)

power of possessions by macrauchenia

A group of violent thieves starts targeting businesses around their neighborhood. When the photo shop becomes the next victim and Lu Guang ends up bruised and bloody, he tells the others not to get involved. Leave the past in the past. Too bad Cheng Xiaoshi is allergic to listening. [Link Click Case-Fic]

wine glass on the cusp of falling by sunslants

Cheng Xiaoshi wakes up the morning after Liu Min is arrested feeling an intense, nauseating deja vu.

Fics with spoilers for season two below the cut:

the first time by choucobos

Lu Guang (stupid, foolish, and naïve, but not for much longer) looks at the photo. He listens to his heartbeat, the reliable ticking of the clock that can save Cheng Xiaoshi. Bringing his hands up in front of him, he takes a deep breath. He dives back in time.

clasp my contradiction-filled hand by jan (note: jan has a lot of other fic playing with underutilised dynamics in canon so if that's your fare I'd check them out)

What the twins don't tell each other.

like once you did for me by Syncogon

"If this is a loop, then... how many times has it been?" "I don't know." Cheng Xiaoshi laughs, somehow. "You wouldn't tell me."

did you know bunnies can die of loneliness by lesbievie

Lu Guang abandons countless timelines to save Cheng Xiaoshi — and in every one, he leaves Qiao Ling alone.

[littencloud9]

Hello again....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any media that you love (books, anime/manga, tv series, movies, games, etc)? Thanks if you want to answer. Sorry if I ask too much....

hihi!! oooh i'll see if i can narrow it down skdjfjhj. this isn't in any particular order i adore them all <3

moriarty the patriot - this scene i can't even begin to explain it. it was so well written and emotional. i think it captured the message of yuumori incredibly well. you did bad, you were wrong, now work to be better. a brand new start. you don't have to forgive yourself, you just have to to move on, and i'll do it with you. absolutely lovely scene :( <3

bungou stray dogs - ranpo's invitation to yosano fucking CINEMATIC okay. i cried. the way it was set up, with ranpo kneeling to yosano's level and promising her a place to stay. the lighting of this scene giving it such a hopeful look. the emotional impact. they are my favourite duo in bsd and their dynamic is sooo precious to me and i just. one of my fav scenes in bsd EVER!!!

haikyuu - tsukishima's block THIS WAS JUST PHENOMANAL KSFHJ. the POWER. the SCREAM. the perfect moment for his character arc, the 'it' moment. oh my god. i only very recently got into haikyuu and this scene lives in my head rent free

vanitas no carte - s2 finale fight THEY WERE INSANE FOR THIS. this entire fight had me on the edge of my seat. if it's one thing vnc is an expert in it's setting a scene. the rain the lighting the FEAR through the screen. this shit was RAW. when vanoé got into the 'ill kill you thatll shut you up' position i literally screamed. vanitas' turmoil vs noé's devastation oh my godddd. domi unlocking her powers. jeanne's entire role. there was so much happening and GOD it was amazing i loved it

jujutsu kaisen - so start by saving me sigh. LIFE GETS BETTER DONT GET INTO JUJUTSU KAISEN. this panel lives in my head rent free and i think if i ever see it animated i'd burst into tears. megumi saying this to yuuji means so much to their characters okayyy two people who have always been saving each other, megumi who watched yuuji die in front of him, IT MEANS SO MUCH. i would ramble more but alas i dont wanna turn this into an essay

link click - cheng xiaoshi and qiao ling vs xiao ma BANGERRRR SCENE they mean the absolute world to me and i love that they were clearly protecting each other throughout the whole fight. i love the insane team up. qiao ling grabbing xiao ma's leg so cxs could punch him. this damn stand thing she used. the fluidity of the scene etc etc. just an amazing fight sequence overall i feel

moriarty the patriot - james bonde's reveal INSANE PLOT TWIST. bonde is my favourite yuumori character and i just. this was so funny. fym he chose bonde because of the bonds he made with the lord of crime gang IT'S SO CUTE 😭 i have nothing to say i just adore bonde and this is thus one of my fav scenes ever

moriarty the patriot - the moriarty brothers reunite CRIED FR. i just. the EMOTIONS. the way they did everything for each other and had to separate for three years and how both albert and louis thought william was dead and how none of them really ever forgave themselves but they forgive each other, so thats all that matters, isn't it? and how soothing this hug was, like finally finding your home again, and how THEY ARE FAMILY ough im so ill. i adore this moment

bungou stray dogs - you are but a child this scene hurt me then healed me. i actually cried so hard. their dynamic is so important to meee and they're both learning to care and love for the first time and they found comfort in each other and ranpo is just a CHILD and fukuzawa helps him see that it's okay and and. sniffles. bring them back asagiri this is a threat

vanitas no carte - i've decided to stay by your side, vanitas this is just because i'm in love with noé and i think vanitas realised things about himself here too/j. but on a serious note i think this was one of the greatest turning points in their relationship. i like the vibe of them on the tower and the sun rise coming up when they swear to stay together. cinematic asf

[svtellify]

the ultimate link click meta theory

contrary to what narrative exposition has given us so far, this story starts with qiao ling and the photo studio. it's awfully nice of her dad to rent the studio out to cheng xiaoshi under the condition that he run the studio while he waits for his parents to return, but (and this is me assuming based on what we've been told so far) it's a little weird that her dad doesn't just. take cheng xiaoshi in? it's my understanding that cheng xiaoshi lives alone either in the photo studio or his parents' home and qiao ling checks up on him as best as she can.

which is, admittedly, off? why agree to give a kid a 10,000 debt under the condition that the debt can be paid off by running a photo studio of all things?

we don't know when cheng xiaoshi's ability was first triggered but if we assume that trauma is the trigger, like it appears to be with li tianxi, there are 2 possibilities:

1. cheng xiaoshi's parents leaving is the trauma that triggers his ability. specifically, that moment where he's panicking about the earthquake with qiao ling.

2. there's something else that's traumatizing that happened between the events of him meeting lu guang and his parents leaving that triggered his ability.

either way, something traumatic would've triggered this ability and while qiao ling doesn't directly know what it is, her dad has possibly sent her to monitor the photo studio for some reason. she's likely unaware in the scheme that i'm projecting:

her dad and these other scientists are all in on this scientific experiment to test these abilities and see what can be done. cheng xiaoshi's parents' disappearance could have even been a part of this experiment with them being involved as scientists as well.

this would definitely explain the kid from the water fountain who li tianchen is kinda just in awe of - it's cheng xiaoshi. the speaking mannerisms sound a lot like adult cheng xiaoshi and on top of that, the outfit is definitely cheng xiaoshi coded. the impulsive nature of diving into a fountain for a ball? cheng xiaoshi. lu guang's reaction to li tianchen telling this story definitely has me thinking that if there's anything i've gotten right so far, it's this.

it makes me wonder if the siblings got out of the experiment/found out the truth and sought out qiao jin to exact their revenge on cheng xiaoshi for "choosing" to stay in the experiment. it's also possible that qiao jin got them out himself for his own agenda and vendetta against the police force and this whole thing with lu guang and cheng xiaoshi is just to get them on his side (even forcefully) if it means that he can get what he wants.

(no but seriously, how were cheng xiaoshi's parents not even reported missing? it feels more important than just parental trauma that shapes his identity - it's definitely a part of the plot.)

as for where lu guang plays into all this:

i see the time travel theory. but i also think it involves all three of them - qiao ling as the one who either 1. rewinded time without any recollection of the future (only lu guang and the li siblings remember what's to come) or 2. sent lu guang back to the past to fix things that went really wrong in the future

considering their abilities and how well established they are, i'm almost against anyone with previously introduced abilities from developing more advanced abilities for the plot - and it would definitely explain why the siblings target lu guang and qiao ling.

this sets up the following:

the original timeline that we haven't seen: lu guang and cheng xiaoshi become friends and they play basketball together occasionally, but they're not as close as they are in the timeline that we see. they go their separate ways and remain acquaintances in college, but not as close friends. he walks by the photo studio after just saying hi, but doesn't stop to help paint. cheng xiaoshi runs the photo studio alone and tries to go into the pictures himself after he accidentally does it once. qiao ling finds out later when he gets himself involved in a Much more serious case. at a college reunion or sometime briefly in the future, lu guang comes across a photo and when he looks through what happened, it's catastrophic in more ways than one. it involves cheng xiaoshi's death (which triggers qiao ling's time travel ability) and he likely sees himself there too, trying to help qiao ling before disappearing. aka, he sees himself time traveling.

the present timeline that we see: he changes it all by staying to help paint. hence the emphasis on lu guang being a lucky coincidence in their lives. and he's actively working to prevent that tragedy and prevent cheng xiaoshi's death from happening. this would mean that qiao ling never unlocks her time travel ability, but it would lock in this present as reality.

(the orv of it all, truly. lu guang regressing to see cheng xiaoshi again and qiao ling rewriting their reality just to save cheng xiaoshi.)

there's my long winded take on it! i'd love to hear what other people think (and feel free to send me all the link click and orv asks bc i'm mentally just stuck between both of those rn) but i hope this made some sense!

[snorlaxlovesme]

what is your favorite line/section of your sick CXS fic? It is so good and I love when authors can share some of their thoughts!

i feel so spoiled with these messages from you, thank you for being so kind my godd

(aforementioned sickfic)

it's hard to choose favorite lines bc genuinely i do love the whole fic so much. a lot of the time i'm writing off the cuff and it just flows out of me in one or two sittings (it's why i'm a one-shot writer) but this was a story that took me months to complete because of all the planning involved (and absolutely fruitless research into Chinese herbal soups, since literally NONE of that research made it into the fic lmao) and so the whole thing feels really special and different from my other stories just because of how much thought was put into it.

it took a long time, but i adored writing the second half, getting to write the same day over again and try to make it identical while FEELING totally different. having Lu Guang totally in pieces over every little change he accidentally makes to the timeline was mwaa *chef's kiss*

i think my favorite line was what i eventually pulling from to make the summary on AO3

"Lu Guang is so tired. He wishes he could freeze this conversation, this whole day, and go nap for a thousand hours. The stress of it all is sucking the marrow from his bones. He wishes he could do today over again. He doesn’t know if he’d have the strength to do today over again."

idk i just feel like it really encapsulates the struggle Lu Guang goes through in this fic and might literally go through on a day to day basis trying to re-live the timeline. like i'm sure every misstep feeling like something Lu Guang would want to do over, but how many times can he handle that, emotionally? like this day mentally broke him and it's literally the most nothing day. Lu Guang forgot to make one phone call and almost suffered cardiac arrest because of it.

plus its very sweet that Cheng Xiaoshi, sick as a dog and feeling down on himself for being left alone all day, comforts Lu Guang after this moment because he can see Lu Guang is going through like a panic-induced existential crisis and mistakes it for Lu Guang ALSO feeling ill, sweet boy ♥

i also really liked the simplicity of these lines (it includes spoilers so look away if you wanna read the fic first. )

But Lu Guang thinks of the tear-streaked smile after Cheng Xiaoshi took that first bite. Spending every waking moment agonizing over his next step won’t get him anywhere. Instead, Lu Guang folds up that smile and tucks it into a corner of his mind for safekeeping. Cheng Xiaoshi thanked him for today. Maybe that is enough.

that part wasn't in the original draft. these lines are in response to CXS thanking Lu Guang for caring for him and i think i had a bit of prose where LG internally laments that he spent half the day ignoring CXS and only took care of him when it was clear Qiao Ling wasn't going to be able to, so the thanks wasn't really deserved. or something self deprecating like that

i had sent my "final draft" to a friend after revising some bits in the flashback and said "i wanna post it but i feel like i need to mess with the ending still. it feels off" my friend insisted what i had was great but i didn't know if the last line of the fic ("Timeline be damned") felt earned. Lu Guang had been a slave to the timeline for the entirety of the story, allowing him to kind of/sort of say "fuck you" to the timeline for a brief moment felt like it was going against everything i had just established, of how IMPORTANT keeping to the timeline was to Lu Guang for the sake of being able to save Cheng Xiaoshi in the future.

it was my friend that gave me the idea to write a simple thesis line that shows what Lu Guang has learned from this. that disaster is definitely a potential outcome in Lu Guang's crazy plan, but seeing Cheng Xiaoshi at peace is enough to make him want to try. like you said in your comment on the fic, if you went back in time, you'd want to be kinder. those lines are Lu Guang reminding himself that seeing CXS at peace has an emotional effect on Lu Guang as well.

ALSO idk the "fold up his smile and tucks it in his mind" bit is cute okay? it's a very cute sentence and i'm proud i wrote it lol

this is very long so i'm gonna stop rambling but again THANK YOU so much for asking me this and for all your sweet messages. i truly can't get over how wonderful it's been talking about this story with you, it's only made me love it more and i already thought it was my magnum opus lmao