The differences in these looks are astronomical, but both are based in a great sense of love and trust:
For He Tian, this was the moment he finally understood how much Mo has stacked up against him, how blind he was to the real issues Mo has. It isn't just money, it's that Mo is not cruel enough to survive the world he was sucked into. This look from He Tian, aside from devastation and guilt at how blind he was to this all, is underpinned by a STRONG sense of righteous anger. The downturned brows, the reddened eyes like a devil's, the lips thin and pressed together. He Tian in this moment knows he's going to do whatever it takes to protect Mo from the world they live in. If Mo can't be cruel, because he really doesn't have it in him, then He Tian is going to do what his brother taught him to do: he's going to become the strongest of them all and he's going to make anyone who harms Mo pay tenfold.
This look is ultimately an admission by He Tian that he was wrong to treat Mo's problems so breezily, and it is a promise to make sure Mo will never be left alone to be harmed this way again. He Tian says here with this look that he understands now why Mo felt alone, he's sorry he misunderstood Mo's problems, and Mo can fully trust him now with his heart. And after this scene, Mo does trust He Tian more, and he opens up to physical touch and shows of affection, because He Tian finally gets what Mo needs from him. Support and trustworthiness while Mo navigates living in a cruel world: not control over his actions and not money thrown at problems like a band-aid.
It's the first time we have ever seen He Tian like this in the story, and I think it was a giant turning point for his character arc and goals. His love for Mo turns from a pretty intense childhood crush here to undying and unyielding devotion. This is a love that has taught He Tian a lesson about life, and because He Tian has a will to protect goodness in the world, like the goodness he sees in Mo, Mo is now a symbol of the world he wants to live in. If Mo is protected and allowed to continue to be good, all is right in the world for He Tian.
FOR MO, THIS FUCKING LOOK:
There are so many layers to this one too. We have seen Mo cry before and be vulnerable, but never like this.
For one, He Tian just saved him from being stabbed by that psycho, using his own hand as a meat shield, and He Tian just showed Mo how distraught and worn-down he has been watching She Li torture Mo these past weeks. He Tian just UNLOADED onto She Li to the point that he was shaking and needed to be stopped. I think Mo just witnessed something very dark inside He Tian, that darkness He Tian told him on the staircase he was glad Mo isn't afraid of him for.
BUT, He Tian turns around unsure after the man stops him with a certain fear in his eyes. He's scared of what Mo's face is going to look like. Has he gone too far? Will Mo, in all his goodness, understand that this violence and darkness is the only way He Tian knows how to protect him from the cruelty of the world? That She Li can only be dealt with by someone equally as dark-souled as he is?
And then He Tian turns around, terrified, to see how Mo will see him now, and he gets this look. THIS LOOK. LOOK AT MO'S FACE.
Mo is sucking in sobs here, his lips pinched together to try to have some control, his eyes are so open and vulnerable like he is in disbelief at what he just saw, and his brows are turned up in concern. If I were He Tian, this look may have made me feel like my beloved is scared of me, but if you look closer there are layers here.
Mo looks first and foremost sorry to me. He looks devastated He Tian was pushed to this level of stress and violence, that He Tian is scared Mo is about to reject him, that He Tian is bleeding and injured for him. That He Tian went to these great lengths to make Mo's life even a shred better at what might be great personal cost to He Tian's own emotional wellbeing. Being driven to this breaking point is not normal, this is not normal teenage behavior, and Mo being so good and loving knows that. In this moment, Mo's seen all the hardships and neglect and expectations that have been placed on He Tian as He Tian just wailed on She Li.
Mo has finally learned what He Tian was trying to tell him on the stairs. He Tian is scared of the dark, because the dark is where he was raised. If you want love, you fight for it. And if you want ANY sense of goodness to survive, you HAVE to take on the burden of cruelty yourself so that it may grow protected. She Li wanted to destroy Mo's goodness, resents Mo for his goodness, but He Tian needs Mo's goodness for his own world view - He Tian must know there is something worth fighting for in this cruel world, otherwise he is just simply cruel, like his family and She Li.
But it's Mo's next move that is really important. Mo goes to He Tian immediately and wraps him up in the tightest hug. He reassures He Tian here that he is NOT scared of He Tian's darkness and that He Tian is loved still despite showing this part of himself to Mo. On the contrary, I think Mo is conveying that he loves him more for loving Mo this INTENSELY.
It's not even all about He Tian's romantic love for Mo here; it's also about He Tian's love of GOODNESS in general. Of friends who will fight in your place, of people who will help out others just to do it, of precious keepsakes in a box that keep you connected to better times with your family members, of brothers who protect their younger siblings out of pure affection. He Tian loves goodness in the world, and Mo is a symbol of all of that. I think Mo understands that about He Tian. I think it makes their love for each other not just a high school drama, but an example of how sometimes you just NEED people, so so dearly, in your life. He Tian needs Mo for his goodness, and Mo needs He Tian for his cruelty. They are soulmates, and they accept each other. Not just crushes or bodies to touch, but genuinely soul-bound companions. The look Mo gives He Tian confirms this to me.
So, in short, He Tian's face was a promise to Mo to give him what he needs from now on, and Mo's face in this latest chapter is a promise to accept He Tian's love, no matter how dark it may look sometimes.
Such a beautiful chapter with so much more to say, but I'll leave it at that.
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