Chapter Text
“-and you’re coming with me this time,” Shen Jiu finished.
That’s what finally got Shen Yuan’s attention, and he looked up from his phone. “Wait, what? Why?”
Shen Jiu crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at his younger brother. “Because the last time I left you alone here, you nearly died.”
Shen Yuan’s face flushed from his embarrassment. “Hey, that wasn’t my fault!” How was he supposed to know that the yogurt in the back of his fridge had expired? And it was a bit of a stretch to say he’d nearly died (though admittedly the fever dream that had followed his collapse had felt so real for months after the fact that he’d been half convinced that he really did live out an entire lifetime within the pages of a dumb web novel). “I’m a grown adult and I can take care of myself,” he insisted.
But his brother was unmoved by that argument, and Shen Yuan found himself at the airport with his brother before he had time to put up a proper fuss about it. Shen Yuan sighed in defeat as they boarded the plane, with tickets that had clearly been bought far in advance. Thanks for letting your brother know about his forced vacation in a reasonable amount of time, Jiu-ge. What if he had actually had plans??
In the end, though, other than the annoyance of traveling, it wasn’t the end of the world. They’d be staying in the high end hotel where Shen Jiu had business to take care of, which meant that Shen Yuan would be able to laze around in a nicer room than usual, and would have access to better food than his usual takeout and cup noodles. At least Shen Jiu hadn’t stopped him from bringing his laptop, but that was probably because he didn’t want his brother to actually die of boredom.
,,,
Luo Binghe knew that he would probably slip up more in the next few days, shocking the staff with the unusual displays of emotion, but he just couldn’t contain himself. He was finally going to see his shizun again, after all this time. It seemed almost too good to be true, but he’d already seen the images captured by the security cameras at the entrance to the hotel.
He was in such a hurry to get to the meeting room that he had tunnel vision, and did not notice someone else in the corridor until they’d fully collided with each other. Luo Binghe automatically reached out to grab the other person, short enough that they hadn’t been visible at his eyeline, and steadied them. “I’m so sorry about that-” he started to apologize.
The young man looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. “Y-you-!”
Luo Binghe tilted his head and looked closer. The man in front of him was attractive enough in a delicate sort of way, but there was nothing about him that was particularly memorable, and Luo Binghe saw hundreds of guests pass through his hotel everyday. Most of them were unimportant, though, and this particular man was dressed in a way that would indicate he was not one of the hotel’s elite clientele. “I’m sorry, have we met?” he asked politely, just the slightest edge of impatience to his voice. His shizun was waiting for him in the meeting room, after all!
The man continued to stare up at him unabashedly, until he finally cleared his throat and shook his head. “No, sorry, I must’ve been mistaken. Ah, sorry for bumping into you, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No, no, the fault was all mine,” Luo Binghe assured the man, more than used to dealing with guests. “Please, allow me to offer you a complimentary dinner in our restaurant this evening, I insist.”
The man thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Ah, no thank you, I’m alright, really. I’ll just- uh. Yeah.” Then he hurried off, though it didn’t escape Luo Binghe’s attention when the man reached the end of the hallway and glanced back before turning the corner. Luo Binghe wasn’t sure why he found something in the man’s eyes so familiar when he knew that they’d never met before.
As he continued on to the meeting room, he berated himself for getting distracted. Today was about meeting Shizun again, and nothing else mattered. When he reached the right room, he stopped just outside and took a few deep breaths, making sure that he was perfectly calm. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself in front of his Shizun.
Satisfied that he was as ready as he’d ever be, Luo Binghe pushed the door open and stepped inside. There, seated at the small conference table with his arms crossed over his chest, was the beloved and familiar face of Shen Qingqiu. It was strange to see him with short hair and a modern suit, but those were just minor details.
“It doesn’t bode well for your business that you can’t even keep track of time,” Shen Qingqiu- known as Shen Jiu now- drawled. Luo Binghe moved closer, mouth dry, and he found it difficult to think of what to say, despite having spent so many years with nothing better to do than imagine this reunion.
It was clear that Shen Jiu did not recognize Luo Binghe, but that was about what Luo Binghe had expected, even if it did bother him a little. He would always love his shizun, of course, but even he could admit that without the memories and experiences of their life together, Shen Qingqiu could not be the exact same person whom Luo Binghe had lost.
“Apologies, I was just taking care of some last minute business.”
Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes, and Luo Binghe had to refrain from flinching. The look of bored contempt on his shizun’s face… that wasn’t something he had seen since he was just a young boy. After spending centuries with his husband, he’d nearly forgotten all about how his shizun used to be back in Luo Binghe’s first few years on Cang Qiong.
The only reason Luo Binghe was able to make it through the rest of the meeting was because he had so much experience with these types of deals that he was able to go on autopilot, and this was only a preliminary discussion anyways. Though truthfully, even if Luo Binghe ended up negotiating the worst deal of his life, he wouldn’t even mind as long as it meant being able to spend more time with his shizun.
As he returned to his office, his mind ran over Shen Jiu’s parting words about Luo Binghe’s managerial skills. He knew that his memories were not wrong, and that Shen Jiu did look identical to Shen Qingqiu from back then. And yet, he was so different from the man Luo Binghe had loved and eventually lost. Part of it was the man’s behavior and attitude, yes, but there was something else, too. Something was missing when Luo Binghe looked into Shen Jiu’s eyes. An inherent spark, separate from his affection for Luo Binghe, that should have still been there even in a different lifetime with a different set of memories.
For some reason, Luo Binghe’s mind wandered back to the man he’d bumped into in the hallway earlier. The details of the stranger’s face had already mostly faded, blending in with the many other faces Luo Binghe saw each day, but he couldn’t help thinking about that man’s eyes. Some buried instinct that he didn’t really understand told him that he would want to find out more about that man.
Luo Binghe abruptly changed course; instead of heading to his own office, he went to the security office instead. The two men on duty watching the cameras looked up and gave him twin nods of acknowledgement. “Can you look at the footage from the fifth floor from about two hours ago?”
His employees knew better than to ask questions, they just did as they were told, one keeping an eye on the live feeds while the other looked up what Luo Binghe wanted to see. He nodded when he saw the man enter the camera’s range. “There, that man. Can you find out when he entered the hotel, and what room he’s in?”
The guard nodded, and started rapidly flipping through images of different camera angles, following the man’s journey in reverse until they saw which room he came out of. Instead of emerging from the elevator or one of the rooms on the fifth floor, they saw the man move backwards into the meeting room that Luo Binghe had just left. He frowned. Had that man been in there bothering his shizun, or had he just been lost?
They rewound the footage back a little further, pressing play when they saw more motion, and Luo Binghe watched as the screen showed Shen Jiu and the young man walk down the hallway together. They were angled towards each other, and even the somewhat grainy camera quality showed the young man rolling his eyes as Shen Jiu talked down to him. There was no audio, unfortunately, but Luo Binghe had heard enough of his shizun’s lectures to guess the tone being used, along with the barely hidden fondness for the person he was talking to.
Luo Binghe instructed the guard to go all the way back to the front entrance cameras from earlier in the day, around check-in time. Then he quickly texted one of the front desk agents to look up what time Shen Jiu had checked in. They responded promptly with the exact time, and Luo Binghe told the guard.
He watched through one of the lobby cameras as Shen Jiu walked up to the front desk, the young man from earlier standing next to him, not even looking up from his phone. Luo Binghe already knew that they’d been upgraded to the Presidential Suite since he’d done that himself as soon as the dates for his meeting were settled on. But he hadn’t known that Shen Jiu would be bringing anyone with him.
Luo Binghe thanked the guards for their help, and then he left to wander back to his office, lost in thought as he wondered who that man was to his shizun.
,,,
Shen Jiu scowled over at Shen Yuan once he returned to their room. “What’s with you?”
Shen Yuan looked up from where he’d been slumped on the couch. He hadn’t even realized that enough time had passed for his brother’s meeting to be over. “I…” he trailed off, already knowing how crazy his next words were going to sound, and not only because he'd never really talked about his fever dreams with anyone. “I think I saw the guy from my dreams?” He only sounded uncertain because he knew that it had to be impossible, but truthfully, he had recognized the man immediately. Luo Binghe. A character from a stupid book by a stupid author, one who had starred in Shen Yuan’s fever dreams during his brother’s previous business trip. Perhaps he’d seen a picture of the man somewhere before, and his subconscious assigned that face to the novel character? That didn’t really make any sense, but he didn’t know what other possibilities there could be.
Shen Jiu just scoffed. “So you finally admit it?”
Shen Yuan just blinked a few times. “...what?” Then he shook his head. “Ugh, nevermind, just forget about it. What do you want to get for dinner? It seems like the restaurant here is pretty popular.”
“I have more meetings,” his brother told him almost apologetically. “Mr. Luo is not the only one I have business with while I’m here.”
Shen Yuan’s head jerked up. “Luo?”
“The owner of this hotel,” Shen Jiu told him, somewhat exasperated. “As I told you already.”
“Right, right,” Shen Yuan mumbled.
His brother narrowed his eyes and gave him a long look, but seemed to decide that Shen Yuan wasn’t about to keel over or anything. “So you’ll be on your own for dinner. Don’t bother getting anything for me, I’ll be dining with my associate.”
Ah. Shen Yuan couldn’t help letting out a snort. His brother only ever talked about ‘his associate’ with that specific tone when talking about one person. “I didn’t know that Qi-ge was here.”
There was no reply to that, his brother just picked up a cushion from the end of the couch and chucked it lightly at Shen Yuan’s head before retreating to his room to get ready for his dinner date. Sorry, dinner meeting.
Shen Yuan decided that since he was bored and hungry anyways, he may as well go get some food. He told his brother that he was leaving, and then headed out of the suite.
He grimaced when he got off the elevator in the lobby and saw how crowded it was. The reviews for the attached restaurant, the Bamboo House, had been pretty good, but probably not worth all this fuss. Maybe he’d just pop outside and see what else was around. As he peered through the crowd to try and remember where the exit doors were located, he must not have been paying enough attention, because he found himself walking right into someone- who apparently had a very solid chest.
He looked up, ready to apologize, but found the words dying on his lips. It was the same man he’d bumped into earlier, surely the Luo Binghe that his brother had mentioned, because who else could it be with that resemblance to Shen Yuan’s dreams? “Ah…”
“My apologies,” the other man said in a smooth, deep voice that sent shivers down Shen Yuan’s back. “Twice in one day must be a new record.” He held out his hand. “I may have forgotten to introduce myself earlier. I’m-”
“Binghe,” Shen Yuan breathed out, forgetting himself for a moment, feeling like he was transported back to that dream that had felt far too real. Then he shook his head quickly. “I’m sorry, that was so rude of me!”
The man gave him a long, intense look, and then finally nodded once, confirming what Shen Yuan had expected. “Yes, I’m Luo Binghe, owner of the Qing Jing. And you are…?”
“Shen Yuan,” he mumbled, feeling totally embarrassed and ready to just turn around and head right back to the elevator.
Luo Binghe let out a thoughtful little hum. “Shen Yuan,” he repeated, something off about his tone for just a moment. “Please, as I offered earlier, allow me to treat you to a complimentary dinner.”
Shen Yuan looked around at the crowd, which seemed to have only grown in the time he’d gotten here. Even if the owner could cut him to the front of the line, it would be busy inside. “I think there’s a bit too many people for me, but thank you anyways.”
He turned to go, but Luo Binghe reached out suddenly to grab Shen Yuan’s wrist, his large hand feeling like a hot brand against Shen Yuan’s sensitive skin. “Perhaps a more private setting then? I really would like to make it up to you that we keep colliding.”
The man had a charming grin that probably drew in all the ladies, and when combined with the moments of devotion he still recalled from his dreams, Shen Yuan felt a swooping in his stomach that he wasn’t used to. He cleared his throat a couple of times before nodding. “Sure. Yeah.” He had to remind himself that just because he had been married (!) to a man (!!) in a stupid dream didn’t mean anything.
Still not letting go, probably to avoid them getting separated amongst all of these people, Luo Binghe led Shen Yuan back to the elevator. He pressed his thumb against a scanner on the wall, and once it lit up, he was able to press the button for the 13th floor, which was faded and grayed out compared to the others. “My personal apartments,” he explained.
Since he wasn’t actually leaving the hotel, Shen Yuan figured that there was no need to let his brother know about this change in plans, and instead just followed Luo Binghe off of the elevator. Considering that this entire floor was just Luo Binghe’s home, it was a very large and open space, but Shen Yuan couldn’t help but notice that it wasn’t quite what he would have expected.
Someone who owned and ran this kind of a hotel was surely making enough money to afford to live at the same level as most of the guests who stayed here, and yet his apartment was one that could almost be described as humble. Perhaps with the exception of the kitchen that Luo Binghe led him into. It looked to have all of the state-of-the-art equipment that would fit in well in a five star restaurant. And after indicating for Shen Yuan to sit at one of the stools at the granite island in the middle, Luo Binghe started gathering up ingredients that all looked fresh and high quality. “So you really like cooking, huh?” he guessed.
Luo Binghe paused for a moment, then nodded as he started expertly chopping up vegetables on the other side of the island so that he was facing Shen Yuan. “Yes.” His voice was softer than before, more genuine, as he continued. “I learned a lot from my mother, and I always enjoyed cooking for her, and then later for- for someone special.” Shen Yuan nodded understandingly. It was only logical that someone like Luo Binghe would already have a girlfriend. It would be much stranger if a man like this wasn't already taken- if the character from the book looked anything like this then it was no wonder he’d had such a massive harem. Then Luo Binghe glanced up from his cutting board, back to wearing his customer service face. “But that was a long time ago, and now I shall enjoy cooking for you tonight, Shen Yuan.” As he focused back on what he was doing, he refused to let an awkward silence build up between them. “So what brings you to the area?”
Shen Yuan tilted his head. “Ah, aren’t you the owner? Shouldn’t you already know? My brother’s here to meet with you.”
Luo Binghe looked up for a moment. “Your brother is Shen Jiu?” he asked.
Shen Yuan nodded. “Yup. Don’t bother asking me anything about whatever deals or contracts you guys are working on, though, because I don’t have anything to do with the family business.”
Since Luo Binghe didn’t seem put out by the thought that he hadn’t found an ‘in’, Shen Yuan figured that this wasn’t some attempt at sneakily trying to get a better deal, and he found himself relaxing even more. “So what do you do?” Luo Binghe asked curiously.
Shen Yuan shifted on the stool. It was always awkward explaining to people that he had no problem relying on his family’s money and doing nothing productive with his life other than critiquing crappy web novels. At least he actually did have something new to say this time. “Tutoring.” It was something he’d started doing after that dream where he’d been a teacher (ignoring the fact that he’d been a shitty character in the dream on top of being a teacher). “I tutor people taking botany and zoology classes at the universities near me.” This world didn’t have anything compared to the stuff in some of the novels he read, but even here the plants and animals could be quite fascinating, and Shen Yuan enjoyed sharing that knowledge with others, even if it didn’t pay very much.
Luo Binghe’s hand slipped, and he jerked his thumb out of the way, though not in time to avoid slicing into his skin with the sharp knife. “Ah-”
“Are you okay?” Shen Yuan jumped out of his seat and hurried around to the other side of the island, reaching out to grab Luo Binghe’s hand without thinking. Luo Binghe just stared at him as Shen Yuan gently led him over to sit on one of the stools. “Do you have bandaids and antiseptic or something? I’m pretty sure that it can get infected more easily because of the food residue on it, so you need to treat it quickly.” Luo Binghe just continued to stare at him silently, and Shen Yuan wondered if he was in shock. It didn’t seem like a major injury, no more than a few drops of blood on the countertop, but perhaps someone who liked cooking this much wasn’t used to getting injured? “Binghe?” He waved his hand in front of Luo Binghe’s face.
Luo Binghe reached out to grab Shen Yuan’s moving hand in a motion that reminded Shen Yuan of a cat instinctively batting at a toy being dangled in front of them. “I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, you will be, as long as we get some disinfectant on that.”
There was a long pause, and then Luo Binghe sighed, as if Shen Yuan was the stubborn one. “There should be something in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.”
Shen Yuan nodded and went to retrieve it. The bathroom was practically sparkling clean, and Shen Yuan wondered if Luo Binghe had the time and skill to do it himself, or if he hired a service. If it was a service, he wondered if they would be willing to fly across the country, because they clearly did an amazing job, and Shen Yuan’s apartment could definitely use a thorough cleaning.
As he opened the cabinet, he couldn’t help feeling just the slightest bit disappointed. Even if Shen Yuan was the type to be nosey and snoop in a stranger’s business, there would be nothing to find here. The only thing inside the medicine cabinet was a cheap little first aid kit, and when he popped it open, the contents were untouched. Either Luo Binghe was very careful and this little kitchen accident was a fluke, or he never bothered to spend time here in his own home.
He hurried back to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway when he realized that Luo Binghe had just been staring intently in that direction, like all he wanted to do was wait for Shen Yuan to return. Shen Yuan took a deep breath, then continued forward, though not before subtly patting his pocket to make sure he still had his phone, just in case.
“Found it.” He held out the little kit triumphantly, then set it down on the island so that he could pop it open and pull everything out. He found an alcohol swab and a little bandaid, which would have to do. He tore open the paper packet containing the swab, then grabbed Luo Binghe’s hand and gently patted the specks of blood away, leaving only the faintest line that indicated there was an injury. He leaned forward to blow on Luo Binghe’s thumb to get it to dry faster, then looked up apologetically when Luo Binghe made a strange noise. “Sorry, I know it stings, but it’s best to make sure it’s clean.”
“Right,” Luo Binghe responded in a gravelly voice that sent strange shivers through Shen Yuan’s body. He hurried to wrap the bandage around the finger, and then backed away to go wash his hands at the sink.
The air between them felt very tense all of a sudden, and Shen Yuan jammed his hands into his pockets. “Ah, I should-”
“Don’t go,” Luo Binghe interrupted a little too loudly. He winced at his own volume, then repeated in a more reasonable voice, “You don’t have to go. I can still make your dinner.”
Shen Yuan looked doubtfully at the dull beige strip around Luo Binghe’s thumb. He really didn’t want to be the reason that Luo Binghe died from some random infection. “Ah, I’ll be here for a few more days, maybe it would be best to wait…”
“How long?”
Shen Yuan blinked, surprised that Luo Binghe sounded like he really cared to know the answer. It was nice that he cared so much, even though he really wasn’t at fault for bumping into Shen Yuan either time. “I guess until my brother’s business here is finished.”
Luo Binghe furrowed his eyebrows, looking oddly confused by that statement, even though it made perfect sense. “Right, your brother. Shen Jiu.”
“Yes.”
There was a long pause, and it looked like Luo Binghe was putting a lot of effort into thinking about something. “Has he ever gone by a different name? A nickname perhaps? Something like Qingqiu?”
Shen Yuan couldn’t help giving Luo Binghe a weird look. “No?” Luo Binghe had probably heard about Proud Immortal Demon Way before, if only because of the name he shared with the protagonist, but it was still kind of weird to try and relate other real life people to the characters in the story. And besides, Shen Jiu may be a little rough around the edges at times, but he was nothing like the child-abusing scum villain from that crappy book! Feeling a little offended on his brother’s behalf, Shen Yuan decided that it really was time for him to go, especially if he wanted time to grab some food. “Look, I hope your finger feels better and things go well for your business. Thank you for the offer of dinner, but I really shouldn’t bother you any longer..”
Luo Binghe frowned for just a moment before shifting into a charming smile that reminded Shen Yuan so much of his dreams, with one main difference: this smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out for tonight. Perhaps another time.”
The small amount of self-righteousness Shen Yuan had been feeling flowed out of him. For such a manly guy, Luo Binghe sure did perfect the art of looking absolutely pathetic! Was spending time with Shen Yuan really such an exciting thing? Nobody had ever looked so disappointed to see Shen Yuan leave before, and this man really had just been trying to be kind…
“Well, maybe I could stay for a little longer,” he allowed. “But you have to let me finish chopping the vegetables!” he boldly declared. “We cannot risk any more accidents tonight.”
Luo Binghe blinked, taken aback for a moment, and then a more genuine smile settled on his face. “Whatever Yuan-ge wants,” he agreed easily enough.
Shen Yuan felt his face heat up and he spluttered, “What? Ge? Who’s ge?” He didn’t wait for a response before hurrying over to the cutting board to wipe it clean, ignoring the white-lotus innocent look on Luo Binghe’s face.
It very quickly became apparent that Shen Yuan was far less experienced with knife work than Luo Binghe, his pile of chopped vegetables looking like they’d been shredded by an angry bear in comparison to the neat pile of even little pieces that Luo Binghe had diced. He also couldn’t move the knife up and down with the insane speed that Luo Binghe had used.
After watching that pathetic sight for a couple of minutes, Luo Binghe got up and walked around the island. “Hm, let me at least help, Yuan-ge,” Luo Binghe’s voice suddenly spoke right into Shen Yuan’s ear. A large hand reached around from behind him and gently rested on Shen Yuan’s, correcting his grip and helping the knife move more fluidly, though still at a slow enough pace that Shen Yuan didn’t have to fear he’d accidentally chop off a finger. Though maybe he was more worried about that than he’d thought, considering how his heart kept racing like crazy even after the vegetables had all been satisfactorily cut up.
Once Luo Binghe took over fully again, moving through his kitchen with complete ease, he cleared his throat and started the earlier conversation back up. “You seemed to recognize the name Shen Qingqiu.”
Shen Yuan shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a pretty well known book, I don’t think it’s that surprising that I’d have read it, even if it is complete garbage.”
Luo Binghe’s hand paused for a moment before he continued. “You don’t like it?”
The way that Luo Binghe’s voice went soft for that moment made Shen Yuan stop and really think. Why would Luo Binghe care what Shen Yuan thought of a random book? Unless the matching name was more than just a coincidence. Was it possible that some random hotel owner had decided to live out the ultimate power fantasy by writing himself as the protagonist of a stallion novel? “Are you Airplane?” he asked in disbelief.
There was a moment of silence, and then Luo Binghe laughed, the noise sending warmth through Shen Yuan. It was a nice laugh. “You think that I-?”
“It was a reasonable question,” Shen Yuan grouched. “Anyways, why would you think my brother has any connection to that trash book? It’s definitely not the kind of thing he reads.” There was no immediate response, so Shen Yuan decided to answer Luo Binghe’s question. “And it’s not that I necessarily hate the whole book, it’s just… there was so much potential. The worldbuilding! The monsters and plants and animals! The protagonist! He was the coolest part of the whole thing, but by the time he finished getting his revenge, he just got stuck in a loop of doing the same thing over and over: go on an adventure, meet a lady, papapa, get married, go home. Rinse and repeat. It was such a waste of everything that made him so interesting to begin with, and made absolutely no use of his backstory or the wives who should have been more than low-IQ fodder for keeping Xin Mo calm, or-” he cut himself off when he realized that Luo Binghe was staring at him. “Sorry,” he mumbled, feeling supremely awkward. This was exactly why he preferred not to talk to people in person, it was way too embarrassing!
Amazingly, instead of laughing at him for rambling on about a stupid book that was basically nothing more than a vehicle for badly written porn, Luo Binghe was looking at him with a soft, fond little smile. “You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago,” he said without prompting. He tilted his head to the side, and gave Shen Yuan a long, searching look. “You barely have any resemblance, and yet…” He trailed off, looking deep in thought, and then his eyes widened and he murmured to himself, “It was for such a brief time that I haven’t thought about it in years, but perhaps,” then he cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. “Does the name ‘Peerless Cucumber’ mean anything to you?”
Shen Yuan felt his soul leave his body and ascend to the heavens at that moment. There was nothing worse than someone in real life knowing his online username. “Ah…” he didn’t even know what to say, he only knew that he was surely dying or in hell. Jiu-ge would kill him for this if he did die here, but what else could he do? How did this man know Shen Yuan’s username??
Luo Binghe seemed weirdly reassured by Shen Yuan’s silent panic. “But if that was you…” he furrowed his eyebrows, and it seemed that he had forgotten entirely about the meal he’d been working on. “Were there always two?” he murmured to himself, looking like he’d just had some kind of life-changing revelation.
Considering that he’d already gotten sliced up once, Shen Yuan was a little worried about how distracted Luo Binghe looked, even if he was done with the knife work for now. “You’re really not Airplane-Shooting-Through-the-Sky?” he double-checked. He wouldn’t be too surprised if Airplane put in the effort to find out who Peerless Cucumber was, though it likely wouldn’t be to thank him for his valid critiques or cook him a nice dinner.
Thinking of Airplane’s identity made Shen Yuan think of a part of his fever dream that hadn’t been his main focus. A mousey little man who was also stuck in the body of a villain doomed to die, and from what Shen Yuan could vaguely recall, the two of them had even been friends, eventually. That, more than anything, was proof that the whole thing had just been a dream. There’s no way Shen Yuan would ever befriend that hack author in real life.
“I am really not,” Luo Binghe confirmed. But that only made it more concerning that he knew Shen Yuan’s username! Had he done a lot of digging to find dirt on Shen Jiu, and then thought that he could go through Shen Yuan by association? Because if he was threatened with his online persona being shared with his family, he would definitely agree to just about anything! But Shen Yuan didn’t have any power in the family business so he would be the only one screwed if this was a blackmail job!!
If Luo Binghe was aware of the direction that Shen Yuan’s thoughts had gone in, he didn’t let on. “It’s an interesting name,” he said in a diplomatic tone that sounded like he was actually laughing at Shen Yuan on the inside. “How did you choose it?”
There was no way in hell that Shen Yuan would confess out loud about choosing a username made of a dumb euphemism. “You must go on the forums too, right? To have found me there? What’s your username?” Shen Yuan very subtly attempted to change the subject.
Luo Binghe let out a light laugh. “I’ve only ever gone by Luo Binghe. I suppose some people are just not as talented as others when it comes to adopting new identities.”
Shen Yuan wrinkled his nose. “I guess?” He tried to think of whether he recalled any specific comments left by a user called Luo Binghe. Surely that name would have been snapped up immediately, unless he’d had it before Proud Immortal Demon Way came out? His thoughts were interrupted, though, by one of the most delicious aromas he’d ever smelled, and he inhaled deeply without thinking. Even if Luo Binghe was a weirdo trying to blackmail him about his online username, he certainly lived up to his name sake’s ability to cook! He peered past Luo Binghe’s broad shoulders to try and get a better look at what was sizzling away in a pan on the stovetop, and he saw crispy looking strips of pork. “That looks so good.”
Luo Binghe smiled, eyes crinkling in the corners. “I hope you like the taste as well.”
He worked with a little more flourish as Shen Yuan watched the plating process closely, and then a bowl was set down on the island. “Congee?”
Now Luo Binghe suddenly looked bashful. “I hope you don’t mind something so simple.”
Simple, his ass! This beautiful snow white congee, with those perfect looking pork bits and bright green onions looked like something out of a five star restaurant! Shen Yuan just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, then sat down again and got ready to take his first bite. He paused, though, when he realized that Luo Binghe hadn’t served himself any, and was just staring intently. It was a little awkward. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
Luo Binghe blinked a few times like he was surprised, and then he quickly put together a bowl for himself, though he didn’t put nearly as much care into the presentation. He sat down next to Shen Yuan, though he still waited to eat any until after Shen Yuan had some. It was impossible to contain the little moan that Shen Yuan let out, and he just hoped that Luo Binghe didn’t hear it and think he was a complete weirdo. “This is so good!”
“I’m glad Shi- Shen Yuan likes it.” Shen Yuan gave Luo Binghe’s bowl a pointed look, and then they finished eating without much conversation. Once he was finished, Shen Yuan stood up and brought his bowl over to the sink with the intention of washing it- it was only fair that he washed up since Luo Binghe had cooked. But Luo Binghe was quick to intercept him and gently took the empty dish. “There’s no need, I can take care of it.”
Well, far be it for Shen Yuan to argue his way into doing more work, so he just shrugged. “Alright, if you’re sure. Thank you for dinner,” he hurried to add as he remembered his manners. “It was really good.”
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
Shen Yuan shrugged one shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll find something.” He didn’t want to outright admit that he would probably just be scrolling around online, even though Luo Binghe had probably already guessed that based on what he would have seen of Shen Yuan’s frequent comment history.
Luo Binghe’s eyes seemed to get brighter. “Let me show you around the city. It would be a waste to come all this way and not see anything.”
Shen Yuan furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t you have business stuff to deal with? Like with my brother?”
Luo Binghe waved his hand. “There’s plenty of time for business and pleasure.”
A shiver ran up Shen Yuan’s back at the sudden dark, intense tone in Luo Binghe’s voice. Well, if Luo Binghe really wanted to spend time with him, for blackmail purposes or otherwise, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing? Shen Yuan didn’t really know much about the family business, but maybe he could help put in a good word or two that would help speed things along. And it’s not as though it was some kind of hardship to hang out with a cool guy like Luo Binghe, so… “Sure, why not.”
The strange look in Luo Binghe’s eyes, one that could almost be described as ‘hungry’, should have made Shen Yuan more wary, but it reminded him too much of his dream for it to feel properly off-putting. He was suddenly very glad that Shen Jiu was out with Qi-ge right now, though, because this whole thing would be very awkward to explain.
,,,
As Shen Yuan walked out of the apartment, Luo Binghe was already thinking of an itinerary for the rest of the week. It shouldn’t be too much trouble to stretch out his business with Shen Jiu so that the brothers would stay for longer, which would give Luo Binghe enough time to win his shizun over. It had taken such a long time for him to find his husband again, even if the circumstances led to a lot of questions for him, and Luo Binghe did not plan on losing his shizun again.