Work Text:
It was a sunny afternoon on Qing Jing peak, and Shen Qingqiu felt a little like a well pampered cat. Luo Binghe has just returned from one of his demon hunts. His presence seemed to make Shen Qingqiu’s residence a bit brighter and happier as the young man would sneakily tidy the house, refill the woodshed and water supply, open the windows to let fresh air in. What a good, dutiful disciple! Shen Qingqiu thought to himself. Very respectable, being able to take on so many duties yet keep up his training. Truly exemplary and worthy of a protagonist!
At seventeen, Luo Binghe has grown into a fine, unusually graceful youth. He had the bearing of a hero, and a vitality that made him stand out amongst, well, everyone. He was still very much a white lotus, but his speech has somehow developed something like eloquence, and his manner became more poised. He was really starting to look more like a harem novel protagonist, Shen Qingqiu thought. Good. That meant things were going right and he was growing well. Probably. Shen Qingqiu had never had to raise teenagers before. However, Luo Binghe seemed to act pretty in line with what he used to see teenagers do when he was still a highschooler, so all was surely fine.
“Shizun!”
Luo Binghe returned from the kitchen, carrying a fresh pot of tea and a tray of snacks for the third time that day. Shen Qingqiu greeted him with a slight smile and an understated nod, inviting him to take a seat next to him as he perused the scrolls he had to deal with for the day. Luo Binghe did not hesitate for even one second and sat down right next to him with a grin.
“Shizun,” he repeated again, as though it was his favorite word. A playful expression was on his face as he asked, “did you miss me?”
Silly child, thought Shen Qingqiu, he’s so sticky! He raised his fan to gently tap his disciple’s head.
“How long were you gone, for this master to have to miss you?” he answered, a very, very slight smile playing at the corner of his lips. Luo Binghe seemed to preen a bit despite the dismissing remark, face lowering to hide a smile. How cute. Shen Qingqiu patted his head almost unconsciously.
“Shizun,” he said again, looking at Shen Qingqiu from under his eyelashes, “let me pour this tea for you.” Without waiting, he leaned close to Shen Qingqiu and did exactly that. In a flash Shen Qingqiu also had a plate full of different cakes before him, and an expectant disciple staring at him with a sparkle in his eyes. Go on, try them! Tell me they’re delicious, his eyes seemed to say.
“Very good,” he told Luo Binghe obligingly, who immediately brightened even more. Such a sweet white lotus disciple, ah!
“Then, Shizun! Have this piece too!” Luo Binghe brought another sweet right to Shen Qingqiu’s face, taking care not to let it crumble.
“Set it down, Binghe. This master can manage to feed himself quite well.” At this point, Shen Qingqiu was used to Luo Binghe’s attempts to be extra helpful, but it was still a little embarrassing to be treated like a toddler.
Luo Binghe shook off this rebuff and gently settled the pastry down, starting up the conversation again as soon as Shen Qingqiu took a bite from the (delicious) cake.
“Shizun, you were saying, about those papers…”
That afternoon, they went through a bunch of paperwork that Shen Qingqiu wanted to give up on before. Truly, the protagonist is so efficient!
By then end of the day, Shen Qingqiu was feeling sore, and so Luo Binghe kindly offered him a shoulder massage that he of course accepted. Who wouldn’t? Plus, it seemed to make his disciple happy.
It was while they were like so, Luo Binghe helpfully untying some knots in his back and telling him about his exploits, complete with dramatic voices and gesturing and slight exaggerations of his prowess, that Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge walked in. And then paused. Then turned around and left.
Shen Qingqiu was a bit startled, then remembered that Liu Qingge was supposed to come cleanse his meridians that day. He forgot about it until that moment.
Uhm.
Wait. Why did they just leave then? Also, why was Yue Qingyuan there, too?
Shen Qingqiu’s questions were quickly forgotten. Behind him, Luo Binghe resumed his massage and requested in a soft and low voice for Shen Qingqiu to recite a poem, then asked if he felt sore elsewhere. Impertinent child. Oh well, Shen Qingqiu thought to himself as his shoulders relaxed again, and then recalled a verse anyway. His meridians should be fine for a bit. Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan can return another time.
The next day, Shen Qingqiu received a missive inviting him to Qiong Ding peak for a meeting with Yue Qingyuan.
He didn’t exactly expect there would be an ambush instead.
As soon as Shen Qingqiu arrived, he was rushed to sit at the low table in the middle of the room, and a teacup was shoved in his hand. The atmosphere in Yue Qingyuan’s residence was tense. Feeling confused, Shen Qingqiu waited patiently for someone to speak, unwilling to be the first person to break the silence. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long.
“The hell was that last night?” demanded Liu Qingge, who was sitting on Shen Qingqiu’s left, voice pitched in a dangerous tone. In his hands was a delicate antique teacup from Yue Qingyuan’s impressive collection. His pretty, nearly unparalleled face was scrunched in a constipated expression. Shen Qingqiu looked at him. What does he mean?
“What do you mean?”
Another beat of silence. This time, it was Yue Qingyuan who replied. For some reason, he looked as concerned as that one time when Qi Qingqi reported a rhinosquito epidemic on her peak. If he kept his face like this, he would probably get wrinkles.
“Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan finally said, “have you… noticed anything a bit odd about Luo Binghe?”
Odd? Shen Qingqiu’s stomach sank.
Oh no. Did they discover something about Luo Binghe’s demonic heritage? It was way too early for that! Shen Qingqiu’s face stiffened.
“Strange? Strange how?” he answered, keeping his voice level, opening his fan to hold it before his face and preparing to bullshit like no tomorrow. He wasn’t sure what Yue Qingyuan would do if it was about the demon blood. Would he kick his disciple out?.. Would Liu Qingge try to fight him? This was not exactly an issue in Proud Immortal Demon Way for the obvious reason that Liu Qingge was rather dead...
“Does he not seem a bit too… familiar with you?”
???
That was the problem?! A knot in Shen Qingqiu’s chest loosened at that and he let out a small laugh.
“Ah, shixiong, isn’t this completely normal for teenagers to talk like that?” He laughed again, waving his fan before his face in relief.
On his left he heard a loud shattering sound and a curse as the poor teacup in Liu Qingge’s hands met its fate. Uncharacteristically, Yue Qingyuan’s face did not even show a momentary expression of mourning, staying focused on the topic at hand.
“Normal?..” Yue Qingyuan’s voice sounded a bit off. Shen Qingqiu looked at him. Did he need water or something? Maybe he was overheating? Shen Qingqiu waved his fan in Yue Qingyuan’s general direction.
“Of course,” he replied. “Young men have always been like this. Why, I remember back in my,” he had to pause to not say ‘high school years’, “youth, everyone would always address me like that!” He laughed again a little. High school was a fun time for him in his past life. Life was good then, made easy with all the casual friendship and camaraderie around him.
Yue Qingyuan’s face turned deadly pale. Next to him, Liu Qingge choked and went into a coughing fit.
“Shidi?”
Shen Qingqiu rushed to his side. Did he choke on a tea leaf or something?
He helpfully slapped Liu Qingge’s back a few times, then realized something might just be a bit off with his qi. Shen Qingqiu quickly grabbed Liu Qingge’s wrist only to be shaken off.
“You... You!!” Liu Qingge sputtered eloquently, then stood up, stumbling to stand by the door.
Yue Qingyuan still stood frozen in place, mouth opening and closing, but making no sound. Hey, great Xuan Su Sword, Cang Qiong Mountain Sect Master, my dude, are you broken? Shen Qingqiu shook his fan a bit harder in his direction. He looked like he needed the airflow.
Finally, he spoke. “W...Who were the ones who addressed you like that?”
Eh? Why did he want to know that?
“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu answered, “is it important?” He thought about how to say it; he couldn't just tell him they’re not even part of the same world... Finally, he settled for: “They’re not around anymore anyway.”
Liu Qingge, who was still by the door, stiffly turned towards Shen Qingqiu. Both him and Yue Qingyuan blinked at Shen Qingqiu, almost at the same time. Creepy. What’s wrong with them? System, did they break or something?
The system, helpful as usual, did not answer.
The broken peak lords looked at each other, and in some weird unspoken agreement just straight up left.
Hey! Shen Qingqiu’s meridians still needed cleansing! Where the hell were they going?!
Seriously, when did they become so unreliable?
Lots of people complain about their high school years. Shen Yuan always found that a bit odd. To him, those were some of the easiest times in his life: people in his class were friendly, the classwork, although not always interesting, was not overly difficult, and although he didn’t have as much time as he would have liked to read, there was still enough time to enjoy his life as a second-gen kid with enough siblings to keep his parents’ expectations minimal.
He was the type of person to sit alone reading books, then nerd out about them, which could have made him bulliable. However, perhaps there was something about him that let him be pretty cool and well respected enough regardless, making his life rather smooth.
Also, his classmates were so helpful that he never had to worry about anything! They could be trusted to give him notes if he missed a class and remind him of tests, or getting him snacks during breaks. So kind.
“Shen Yuan! Wait for me!” came a voice from behind Shen Yuan’s back. It was one of his classmates, Zhang Yong, who was pretty popular with the girls because of his good looks and bright smile. Shen Yuan enjoyed having him around; doing homework with him was very efficient since Zhang Yong tended to be pretty helpful.
Once he caught up, he gave Shen Yuan a bright smile, which Shen Yuan returned. Zhang Yong immediately settled a hand on Shen Yuan’s shoulder, told him how his shirt was very nice and well ironed and really complemented his eyes, and handed him a soft drink with the other, asking him where they would be eating today and if they could study together again. Of course they could! Shen Yuan definitely relied on him for his physics class.
They both settled on the grass that day and had their lunch in the sun. Zhang Yong always insisted on sitting right by Shen Yuan’s shoulder, making it tough to maneuver his lunchbox at times, and he liked to talk in a low voice that forced Shen Yuan to come closer so he could hear, but hey, company was like that sometimes. It was a bit hot that day though, so Shen Yuan did have to push Zhang Yong away a bit so he could take off his long-sleeved shirt.
Zhang Yong looked a bit flushed himself. The sun was a bit bright, and unlike Shen Yuan, he was already wearing his t-shirt only. Taking pity on him, Shen Yuan passed him his drink that Li Yiwang gave him. He needed his study buddy alive and not shriveled like a raisin!
Zhang Yong had accepted the drink with a dazed expression. He then looked at Shen Yuan with a smile and casually asked him to be his boyfriend, making Shen Yuan (who is a very straight guy thank you very much, as was Zhang Yong) laugh. His classmate really had a good sense of humor, very refreshing!
Before he could continue the joke by dramatically rejecting Zhang Yong, the one guy everyone called Xiao Wen in class had arrived, carrying an offering of snacks. He sat next to Shen Yuan, took his hand, and slipped a few nuts there, making sure Shen Yuan didn’t drop any by accident by carefully closing his fingers over them. How nice of him to make everything so convenient! Shame that Zhang Yong seemed a bit uncomfortable at Xiao Wen’s arrival. These two never seemed to get along well, but Shen Yuan was nothing if not practiced at going with the flow, which, he found, tended to smooth pretty much anything over.
As was the case every afternoon after classes Li Qiang met Shen Yuan to walk with him. Li Qiang was a big guy and liked training a lot, so he often offered to carry Shen Yuan’s bag for him for extra practice. It made sense; Shen Yuan liked to carry extra novels with him in case he got bored, so his bag must have made a pretty decent weight.
Li Qiang looked very cold and aloof when one didn’t know him, but Shen Yuan found that he was actually quite a nice and warm person, the kind that will greet you with an umbrella when it rains. He also had a pretty good face; Shen Yuan wondered how come he didn’t have a girlfriend yet either. Maybe he just had high standards.
Li Qiang accompanied him all the way to the gates of Shen Yuan’s home, and took care to see Shen Yuan turn by the door to wave him goodbye, as was the ritual at this point. Li Qiang answered with a little wave of his own, before turning away and walking back towards the school.
Some day, he should really tell Li Qiang-bro that he should stop taking weird detours to go home, Shen Yuan thought, as he did almost every evening. Someday.
Anyway. Shen Yuan had other stuff to think about. His current favorite web novel probably has an update up already. It was on chapter 6 so far, and seemed very promising despite the slightly inelegant writing. Hopefully, the author would talk a bit more about Luo Binghe’s apprenticeship under Shen Qingqiu’s wing. Speaking of which, that guy seemed a bit shady...
A few days after the incident during which both Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge seemed to have suffered minor qi deviations, Yue Qingyuan once again came to Shen Qingqiu’s humble abode and finally, finally, cleansed his meridians.
This was done in a relative silence which Yue Qingyuan eventually broke.
“Ahem. Shidi,” a pause. “Xiao Jiu.”
Who? What was that last one? Zhangmen-shixiong, don’t call me random things! At least explain!
“Listen.” Yue Qingyuan continued, oblivious to Shen Qingqiu’s confusion. “Whatever might have happened in the past, I’ll make sure no one will bother you about it. Just… let me know their names. And… I can… ”
…
Eh?
Was he offering him to cover up a murder or something? Or multiple? What did the original goods do?! Also, who knew Yue Qingyuan could be so shady?
Shen Qingqiu checked his own expression before declining the interesting offer.
“Ah, many thanks to Shixiong, but I believe everything is handled,” he replied as vaguely as he could. He then waved him away in the kindest way he could muster.
Yue Qingyuan left his room with an expression akin to respect on his face.
Uh. The hell was wrong with people in this world?! Casually offering others to cover up their alleged murders?
Oh well. Who cares anymore. Luo Binghe will probably be coming back soon anyway with snacks and help him forget about this bizarre interaction.
It was yet another warm afternoon on Qing Jing peak, and Luo Binghe was out on some mission or another. Bamboo leaves were rustling outside the house and the air smelled of petrichor from the gentle rain that fell a little while before. Shen Qingqiu had invited Shang Qinghua over for reasons Shang Qinghua didn’t quite understand. Cucumber-bro could be so odd at times, so intent on criticism and being generally unpleasant one moment and then nostalgic the next. However, it was nice to catch up and relax with someone who was part of the same world as him sometimes anyway, so Shang Qinghua didn’t really mind.
After a few notable events post the near merging of two realms, life had become more peaceful overall. Shang Qinghua found he had less errands to run lately, especially as his king has taken him as his husband. It was nice! Now he got to stay in cooler places and no longer had to overheat on An Ding peak all the time. And not only was he married, he also had his very own sexy A.C! He wished he was with him now; Qing Jing peak could get stuffy with heat after rainfalls, so some cool air would be welcome.
With a groan, Shang Qinghua lied down on the floor, which felt a little cooler, if nothing else.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the elegant and refined figure of a man who was supposed to be Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky’s best villain let out a longing sigh while staring out in the distance. If Shang Qinghua didn’t value his life, he would have laughed in his face at how maidenly he looked then.
Ah, at least Cucumber-bro was entertaining, even though he was a little mean. Shang Qinghua had originally been frustrated with how OOC he had been when he took over the original good’s body, but he grew on him a bit. He’d probably be sad if his anti-fan left this world.
Shen Qingqiu mumbled something.
“Mm? What did you say, Cucumber-bro?”
The other man startled.
Ah, Shen Qingqiu was probably thinking out loud again. He did that sometimes when he forgot he was not alone. He turned to Shang Qinghua, who was still pretending to be a pancake on the floor.
“Ah, I said I was wondering how things ended up like this,” Shen Qingqiu replied and then continued at Shang Qinghua’s questioning look. “Who knew I would end up in your shitty novel, and then suddenly get married to the protagonist? Where did that even come from?”
Shang Qinghua scoffed, but let the disparaging remark slide. “Suddenly? I don’t know bro, you might be the only one who didn’t see it coming. You’re kind of dull when it comes to these things, you know?”
“Dull?” the offended look he gave Airplane tore a laugh out of him.
“I mean, yeah. I knew you were going to get hitched with Bing-ge as soon as I saw you together with him. And this was even before he started flirting like crazy with you.”
With a wave of his sleeve, Shen Qingqiu ordered, “Don’t call him that,” and then paused. “Wait. What do you mean, ‘flirting like crazy’?”
“Bro, he’s been clinging to you and treating you like you’re his wife since he was 15,” Shang Qinghua didn’t notice how Shen Qingqiu froze at those words. “Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing to watch. Poor kid was really throwing himself at you all the time -”
“What?” Shen Qingqiu’s brow was furrowed in something like fury. “He was not doing that. Why would you say something like that?”
Wait up. Cucumber-bro looked seriously offended at that?
“Dude, I’m just pointing out the truth here,” at Shen Qingqiu’s confused look, he shook his head in bemusement. “No teenage boy would be this sticky and touchy if he wasn’t flirting.”
Shen Qingqiu only looked more confused at that. His brows had furrowed into a continuous line at that point.
“What do you mean? All teenage boys are pretty much like that though?.. That’s how it was for me when I was in high school?”
…
Hold up. Was he for real? What kind of a school did that guy go to??
Oh. Oh no.
Unable to hold back, Shang Qinghua finally laughed to Shen Qingqiu’s face then dodged the inevitable slap of a closed fan.
“Hahahah, Cucumber-bro you’re killing me! Hahaha! How many poor people did you let down hahaha…ow, ow!” Shen Qingqiu’s fan had finally hit him.
“Shut up! They were good people! Not perverted harem novel authors like you!” Each word was punctuated with a hit on Shang Qinghua’s head. They were weak compared to Mobei Jun’s, so it was fine.
“Good people? Bro, they were just thirsty - hey, quit it!”
Maybe Shang Qinghua should have had a little bit more sense of self preservation.
Some unknown amount of time later, the sun was low in the sky and both Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua were lying on the floor looking like they ran a marathon, the latter covered in bruises. The house was finally silent. With a groan, Shen Qingqiu turned to plant his face into the floor, looking like he wanted to become one with the floorboards.
Despite his exhaustion, Shang Qinghua couldn’t help but laugh at him again, feeling vindicated. “I told you so.” He let out a loud sigh after that. His point was made.
A muffled sound of misery rose from Shen Qingqiu’s form. “Yeah, fine, will you stop rubbing it in?”
“No way, bro.”
“...”
“Ah, since we’re on that topic already, you might want to do something about your fanboys here, too.”
“...?”
“You should really put Liu-ge and Yue-ge out of their misery.”
“...”
That evening, the thick bamboo muffled the sounds of Shang Qinghua’s demise at the hands of Shen Qingqiu. Somewhere in the distance, Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan sneezed at the exact same time.
Xiao Wen and Li Qiang were already in the usual spot when Zhang Yong joined them. The afternoon light streamed in the window, completely oblivious to the gloomy mood that had settled over the people in the room.
Neither Xiao Wen nor Li Qiang looked up when Zhang Yong joined them in his usual spot.
"No luck?" Xiao Wen asked.
"Nope," was Zhang Yong's answer as he plopped himself down on one of the many chairs. His posture relaxed to do his best impression of a weeping willow.
Li Qiang’s mn of acknowledgement rang through the room, followed by silence.
No one else bothered to ask anything.
To be honest, Zhang Yong was starting to become quite desperate. He knew that so were Xiao Wen and Li Qiang. Maybe Shen Yuan didn’t swing that way? None of them were quite ready to give up hope though.
Zhang Yong broke the silence.
“I asked him to be my boyfriend. He laughed.”
Loud hisses of sympathy from the two other occupants of the room. Another beat passed.
“Hey, I almost fed him nuts myself and he didn’t notice,” was Xiao Wen’s retort. “It was embarrassing.”
“Pff. Were you laughed at?”
“... Fair. Hey, cheer up a bit,” said Xiao Wen to Zhang Yong’s long face. “Did he flat out reject you?”
Zhang Yong thought back. Actually, he did not! A bubbly feeling rose in his chest. He really didn’t! Zhang Yong could let himself daydream tonight about it. A smile rose on his face as a faint scent of vinegar seemed to emanate from Xiao Wen.
A bit more silence followed, a bit less gloomy this time.
Li Qiang finally said something.
“If you want, Shen Yuan and I took a selfie today. I got a photo of his face alone. He looks nice - ”
Li Qiang didn’t have time to finish speaking before Xiao Wen and Zhang Yong rushed towards him to look at his phone and begged him to send them the photo.
Oh well, Zhang Yong had thought then, as he stared at Shen Yuan’s face immortalized blurrily in the selfie, looking serious and nerdy, his eyes were sending a look of approval and warmth towards the camera, like that time when Shen Yuan came to Zhang Yong’s desk and sincerely complimented him on work ethic. His hair was caught in the breeze like it was earlier in the day, shining in the afternoon light, and Zhang Yong wanted to pet it.
Oh well, he thought again as Xiao Wen chattered excitedly in Li Qiang’s ear about how next time he would join him in accompanying Shen Yuan home. At least, he was not alone in this gleeful, sorrowful, warm feeling for this person. This was not the worst way to spend a Thursday afternoon.
It was a gentle afternoon on Qing Jing’s peak, and for Luo Binghe it was the best time ever! He got to give his shizun a shoulder massage and tell him about his latest excursions to the world while shizun looked soft? And let him have this calm, peaceful, warm moment?
Some part of him was wondering if he was having a fever dream, and he would wake up in a woodshed once he pinches himself hard enough. But too bad! Dream or not, Luo Binghe was not going to let this moment go, ever. Even if (no, when!) he would marry shizun, he would cherish this always.
Sadly, every good thing must come to an end, and this blissful moment was rudely interrupted by the appearance of Liu-shishu and sect master Yue Qingyuan. Despite his best effort to be good, Luo Binghe felt a surge of annoyance.
Liu-shishu he got, but what was Yue Qingyuan even doing here anyway?
He didn’t have to wonder for long. Catching Yue Qingyuan’s stare at Shen Qingqiu’s relaxed form, Luo Binghe understood. Oh.
Ho ho.
Giving Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan a wide grin, Luo Binghe made a point to come just a bit closer to his shizun and massage his shoulder blades a bit more obviously.
Mine, he wanted to say. Shizun is mine. Get out.
This thought of his did make him feel a little bad, but it seemed to have had an effect.
Yue Qingyuan had given him a long, slightly broken look while Liu Qingge just looked extremely uncomfortable. Another look from Luo Binghe, and both Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan made their way right back to the door.
Hiding a slightly mean smile behind his shizun’s back, Luo Binghe thought to himself, good.
Now he could go back to pampering his shizun! Maybe, if his massages were good enough, shizun would marry him faster…