#he xuan has friends

[fanqueen48]

Does anyone else wish we had more content of He Xuan in the original novel? He's literally one of the two ghost kings to ever emerge from mount Tonglu, and he did it in 12 years. He's definitely super strong, but we don't really get to see him fight any one on page. I also want to see how him and Hua Cheng met. It was probably so funny. I WANT HUA CHENG HU XUAN FRIENDSHIP. I also want to know how he met Shi Qingxuan. How did Wind Master decide they would be best friends. I NEED MORE BEEFLEAF BACKSTORY!

[benevolenterrancy]

When Xie Lian and his bad luck stumbled in and broke that vase Hua Cheng thought his every prayer had been answered -- he now has an iron-clad excuse to keep Dianxia close, dress him in nice clothes, feed him nice food… ideal! He did not stop to calculate the fact that it would mean watching Xie Lian flirt with Literally Everyone. Except. Him. Yin Yu did caluclate this but no one listens to him.

additional Ouran AU thoughts...

yin yu gets more requests than you'd expect, specifically around exam season. he's just a pleasant, solid sort of person who handles people having exam stress breakdowns very well

he xuan is also here due to a debt he refuses to elaborate on. he could have paid it back already but he quickly realized the best food on campus is here and eats enough to dig himself deeper and deeper in debt

50/50 shot if you'll find shi qingxuan as male or female, it's a real lottery for guests that have a preference

feng xin and mu qing are both here. they are not prepared to meet xie lian again after all these years, especially not in this context. he is REALLY not prepared to meet them like this either. he'd prefer no dress, thanks.

what on god's green earth is feng xin doing in a host club when he can't handle women At All? everyone would like to know this. the only reason hua cheng hasn't kicked him out is because he finds his discomfort HILARIOUS

pei ming is a VERY enthusiastic guest to the general dismay of every host. lately though he's been having a good time eating snacks and watching hua cheng and xie lian circle around each other in a very pathetic and no-at-all-subtle way. ho ho.

[backpackingspace]

Listen yin yu and Ling wen have the exact same jobs. Yin yus just yah know. Paid

And yin yu could have time off if he wanted but he has strict plans to overwork himself to death so that the thoughts cant plague him and hua cheng is an enabler

[myurucrie]

i wanna be an alkaid girlie so bad but everything about Cael is fucking me up especially this lines from his wedding ssr

[eruhamster]

bro im gonna lose it i got someone on twitter arguin that he xuan only "probably like 10 years ago" found out abt the fate switch no one in this fandom has any reading comprehension in the slightest

[llycaons]

saw a fic like 'xie lian is watching hua cheng tie up he xuan...as an art piece just for him'. and I was like dying laughing. why the hell is he xuan in the middle of hl's sex antics. does he owe hc THAT much money? I was just imagining him like hanging there completely dead-eyed listening to them being completely insufferable and zoning out 😭 god I hope they didn't keep him too long

[fragmentedblade]

Not to be a jingfu on main, but it's so cute that Jing Yuan thought of Fu Xuan with those jelly beans

[wolfriver777]

Soooooo, I binged tgcf book 4 today so here are a few words along with some crappy photos of the words sgshhssh

gonna put it under a read more since it got long, exoect typos and autocorrect being evil

Okay first off screaming and crying about all the stuff that happened with shi qingxuan and what I suppose is the infamous black water arc I've heard a lot about. Now as a vulnerable young chap on the internet my ass has been almost getting spoiled for tgcf everywhere so I had a inkling someone was gonna die, probably shi qingxuan or shi wudu but omfg like actually reading it? The shock, the horror? I was breathless, I was stunned! Avert your eyes if you haven't read already cause omg!!!

Just omg!!! The way that he xuan has been the earth master for years and shi qingxuan would've formed this connection and just omg the trust, the betrayal, the death?!?! Screaming and throwing up!!!

I feel we also gotta back track a lol, shout out to hua cheng for telling pei ming to kill himself, what an absolute legend, but also pei ming building 4 coffins but for all of that effort to be wasted??? Lmaooooo!!! Omfg speaking of coffins lmaooo shsjsjsjsj the whole fucking squished together in a coffin and xie lian getting a hard on like come oooooon brooooooo please, mxtx why bitches getting dicks hard in coffins I'm crying!!

Okay also since we circled back around a bit, ofc we gotta talk about the fucking hualian smooching for spiritual power like taking it back and shjt omg and qi rong's reaction, speaking of that little bitch I know I didn't really make any posts about book 2, but omg hate that lil bitch but he's also a lil funny now,

But damn you know that hulian smooching is apart of his villain arc.

Okay we also gotta talk about the whole scene that was on the front cover and how they fucking smooched all night long but when hua vheng asks about it when his mind clears, xie lian just says they fought. LIKE BRO PLEASS! yall smooched all night long I'm crying I've here ToT! Ugh and the whole ish set up for a new ghost king (ref to qi rong villain arc being amped by hulian make out sessions, but also kinda doubt he can actually be a ghost king) that's gonna be fucking fun!

OKAY BUT THE STUFF WITH LING WEN OMG, it mightve been cause I was just reading that but omg ughhh hddhshhssb I can't believe, and the fact she was doing busy work in the communication array while xie lian was busy doing hot girl shit, speaking of hot girl shit, this fucking line

Like I know he says it to distract the cultivators but omg I still went feral and insane, so good. Ughhhhh gonna try slow myself down (unlikely) will probably start book 5 tomorrow before work. God knows my coworkers will notice my insanity.

[scumsketches]

Whoops, someone dropped a demon revealing talisman in a peak lord meeting

AU where all the peak lords are secretly demons/part demons except they all think they’re the only one.

YQY: I can’t possibly tell Xiao-Jiu that the reason I couldn’t come back and save him is because my shizun had to keep my demonic heritage secret until I could control it…

SJ, who killed and ate QJL when demon puberty hit: I can’t let anyone know I’m a demon or they’ll throw me out

also LQG’s family are actually all part demons, but he never actually noticed this until he was an adult because he just assumed everything they did was normal and it was other people who were the weird ones.

[hunnieknight]

Kitty Kitty Cat!

You are their treasured kitty!

[JingNyan, Blade, Kafcat, Luocat]

Extra

SPAY /NEUTERED YOUR PET, reader is not spayed yet because plot, Modern AU?, reader is a female cat, no proofread, BAD GRAMMAR

Context added to each 'chapter'.

@jymwahuwu wants cat, i give cat.

----

Jing Nyan

Yukong feels so lonely after her daughter left the house for college, she wants a company and someone to take care of.

She is happy to feed you, a stray one, and you officially become hers when she managed to put on a collar on you.

However, she is ill-informed about taking a stray as a pet and never crossed her mind to spay you.

Resulting her kitty to be missing for days, only to come back with filled belly.

On the other side of the neighborhood, Fu Xuan has this healthy fat cat, she foolishly thought her cat is so lazy as long as he is inside, it will be okay.

Oh how wrong she is that Jing Nyan is determined enough to meet up with the stray cat walking outside their house.

Imagine the surprise on Fu Xuan's face when she sees the status from her neighbor about the oh-so-familiar looking kittens.

The meeting started with both women apologizing for not spaying their cats, and ended up with Fu Xuan roasting the hell out her own cat.

----

Stellaron Stray

In a small studio house, the Express Family got an indoor cat, you, a very curious yet timid kitty.

The neighborhood got many stray cats but one of the most famous one are the so called Stellaron strays.

Two of the old cats taking a liking on Express's beloved cat. They don't worry much since every single windows and door are clo-

Oh my god how did the cat get pregnant?

March was quite upset, she has a male cat in mind to mate with her purebred cat. Only for you to just have kittens with the neighborhood gang cats. And how the hell you got a female cat to impregnate you

However, the Express didn't expect the strays to keep visiting, and even leaving animals that they hunt for you!

The Express decided to keep your babies too instead of giving them away.

Now Himeko is followed by kittens who always beg food to her.

And Dan Heng being haunted by the kittens who just....stare at him for some reason.

The Express also realizing these kittens are escaping artist, no matter how tight the door and windows are locked, the cats always find a way to get everywhere.

----

LuoCat

Your dad, Welt, doesn't approve your cat boy friend.

[sunderwight]

SV fic where Shen Yuan transmigrates into the former sect leader, Yue Qingyuan's shizun, right before Yue Qi shows up at the selection trials.

Shen Yuan is not sure why he's in one of his all-time hate-reads, let alone why he's gone so far back before the story actually begins (his system appears to be malfunctioning? something about an error and emergency backup...?), but he's making the most of it. This despite the fact that being a sect leader is a much more prestigious and political role than he likes.

But Shen Yuan is, at heart, actually a pretty good teacher, and he's spent enough time witnessing administrative work secondhand that he can competently tackle most of his duties. Whatever he can't handle, luckily there are other masters on Qiong Ding who always seem eager to curry favor by volunteering at the least hint that they should. Apparently his predecessor was known for being kind of cold-blooded and ruthless. (Shen Yuan gets checked for possession and it's concluded behind his back that he most have lost some of his memories, again, but also everyone kinda prefers this version anyway, again.)

But, so, he picks Yue Qi at the trials without even realizing at first who he's selecting, but just because that kid seems really determined to get in and clearly has been through it. Reminds him of Luo Binghe. Even when he puts it all together, all he feels mostly is kind of bad about it? He never thought Yue Qingyuan was sufficiently villainous to merit his end, even though he didn't blame Binghe for it either. He was always a mystery, an apparently kind person who nevertheless had some inexplicable fondness for the scum villain, turned a blind eye towards his abuses, and got dragged down with him. Shen Yuan feels even worse when he actually gets to know his solemn, smiling, secretive little disciple.

Yue Qi is very determined to advance, and as quickly as possible. Shen Yuan admonishes him. Obviously this kid has a protagonist-like aura and a similar drive to get places quickly, but you can't speedrun your disciple era, Mr. Future Sect Leader! There's no montage mode! Most of his attempts at intervening meet a brick wall that is Yue Qi's impenetrable smile and polite deference if he even hints at displeasure (this kid's gonna make a great politician one day), but Shen Yuan changes tactics and starts manufacturing excuses for breaks, taking Yue Qi on him with trips off the mountain and finding reasons to stop at local festivals and hot springs and etc. He can tell something's off with the quality of frustration that his disciple sometimes expresses, with how there's fear to it, but he's at a loss for the cause and it's difficult to get Yue Qi to talk. Despite appearances, he's actually very distrustful of adults.

When Yue Qi asks to claim his sword early, Shen Yuan says no. He remember how reputedly powerful Xuan Su was, and his disciple definitely needs a stronger base if he's going to pull a sword of that caliber. But he suspects this won't go over well, and when he catches Yue Qi sneaking off to Wan Jian Peak on his own, his disciple finally breaks down and admits that he needs to get strong in order to save his most important person.

Shen Yuan is moved. The way Yue Qi speaks, he's certain this person is a young maiden whom his student has fallen in love with. Truly, the sect leader was so very similar to Luo Binghe at heart! He must have failed in the original story, and that contributed to his difficulties and sorrows later on. Of course Shen Yuan will help him rescue his sweetheart!

Even if his sweetheart is... surprisingly butch? And is a slave owned by the Qiu family, and, wait a second, that name is kind of familiar... oh.

Oh dear.

Shen Yuan is internally screaming even as he helps buy Xiao Jiu out of bondage, even as he gives Yue Qi money to get his newly rescued friend all cleaned up and suitably dressed for the trip back to Cang Qiong, even as he buys the boys tanghulu for a treat, even as the System cheerfully informs him that his new quest is to get Xiao Jiu accepted onto Qing Jing Peak, even as Yue Qi tears up for the first time when he thanks him for helping.

He can only get to sleep that night by consoling himself with the knowledge that his generation is going to retire well before Luo Binghe and The Plot actually show up.

The System: (〜￣▽￣)〜

5 Years Later:

Huan Hua Palace Master: Sect Leader, we need your help! A terrible Heavenly Demon has come to threaten the whole of human society!

Shen Yuan: That's not possible. He isn't even born yet.

HHP Master: What?

Shen Yuan: What?

[yourcrumblingsaikiisnotmyproblem]

here's a few reminders for the mxtx fandom

1. Wei Wuxian had 2 older sister figures in his life and they both died trying to save him and in the end failed since he died anyway. (RIP Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli)

2. Mu Qing only ever had his mom other than XL and FX and she died a mortal death. We don't know anything about FX's mortal family.

3. Wen Ning was experimented on for 13 years in captivity after seeing his sister's ashes and blames himself still for wwx's downfall

4. He Xuan cannot leave the world even after his revenge to Shi Wudu and is purposeless for all of his immortal life.

5. Jin Ling will never taste his mom's handmade favourite soup.

6. Canon Feng Xin and Mu Qing do not know what happened at the temple to Xie Lian.

7. Jiang Cheng will probably never be good enough in his own eyes (until he has like grand-nephews or something)

8. Shi Qingxuan will (probably) die a mortal death.

9. Some of Nie Huaisang's last words to Nie Mingjue were that he never wanted to be a clan leader.

10. XL and WWX both tried to protect a certain demographic that got wiped out anyway and made them public enemies and reason for their eventual downfall making it essentially ineffective.

11. All the calamities are actually gods who could or did ascend heaven.

12. Xiao Xingchen killed himself after finding out he wiped out villages full of innocent people and his own best friend who he gave up his eyes for. And realising his pursuit of helping the world was worthless.

[eruhamster]

Thinking about this again and I think it just means so much more that this is the case over Xie Lian just 'nullifying' it by saving him, because it really emphasizes the overall theme in the story where what people think of and say about you can be prophetic, and if you're in a bad situation, sometimes all you need is one single person to believe in you, and that gives you the strength to do what you have to do, purely by your own strength. Xie Lian didn't nullify anything. But since they met, they had an ongoing back and forth of just giving a little bit of hope and luck to each other, whether they were aware of doing it or not, for 800 years.

It emphasizes that people are wrong about saying they're codependent. They really aren't. They're just good at bringing each other up.

And that's why Mu Qing and Feng Xin couldn't accomplish what Hua Cheng did. Xie Lian spared them kindness and one took it for granted and moved on and couldn't spare that kindness back, and one of them had a limit to his belief in Xie Lian purely because he had a honeyed idea of him in his head, so when things went really bad, Xie Lian didn't have anyone to fall back on who'd really understand and believe him. Then they spend centuries filled with regrets and anger and bitterness, instead of offering up some kindness and building on top of that.

Xie Lian spared Hua Cheng kindness when he had none, and in turn Hua Cheng believed in him like no one else would, and that kindness naturally came back to Hua Cheng in the form of that luck. Then, when the time was right, he was able to take everything he built up for himself, purely by himself by just devoting himself thoroughly to a god he truly believed in, and give it back to the person that spared him that kindness in the first place.

Hua Cheng did everything himself, with no true change to who he was. He was just given the right environment to do it. And he made that environment so Xie Lian could accomplish the same by his own merit, too. Just like that villager that gave Xie Lian that hat. He fucked up that villager's day in his sorrow, but that villager still came back and gave him a little bit of kindness, even when it meant that that villager would get rained on all the way home, and that kindness overall saved an untold amount of people. It doesn't mean that everything that Xie Lian accomplished after that was because of that villager. Just that sometimes you need someone to be a little nice to you to be able to be the best version of yourself. And sometimes it's worth causing yourself some pain if it means helping someone else.

No, you're not wrong, Hua Cheng did get Xie Lian's luck from that ankle shackle.

I made some ramble yesterday but figured I'd make a proper post about it. Every time I look up Hua Cheng for an art reference, one of the top google results is someone insisting that Hua Cheng became lucky not because of Xie Lian's luck, but because Xie Lian saving him 'nullified' the Solitary Star/Star of Solitude.

That's just incorrect, and every time I see it I get annoyed.

So I'm going to go over the facts of the story, I'm going to go over explaining what those facts mean in terms of how it clearly points to Hua Cheng taking Xie Lian's luck, as well as the facts of Bai Zi and the actual Solitary Star in that astrological fortune telling, then I'm going to go over the subtext of what it means, and finally I'll explain why the nullification theory is just patently false.

In the story, Hua Cheng himself isn't really unlucky; it's more that misfortune follows him like a cloud, dragging everyone around him into unluckiness, especially his parents. This is his actual fortune:

'He is destined to bring destruction to all save for himself' - He isn't unlucky, rather, he makes everyone else unlucky. When Xie Lian asks about how to prevent it, this scene plays out, talking about a cup:

Directly after discussing Hua Cheng's fate and how to reverse it, Xie Lian has a discussion with the State Preceptor where he insists he would certainly give someone his own cup/fortune if they needed it.

Much later on, when everything is said and done, and the ghost Wuming is assumed dead, Xie Lian shackles his luck with the intention of making true on that statement. He wants his luck and fortune to spill over into others:

It is from that point on that Wuming's life takes a turn. Rather than be annihilated, he somehow survives. He not only survives, he against all odds creates a powerful spiritual weapon from his own eye and shortly after becomes a god. He is so lucky that even when jumping from the heavens, he is not shackled by Jun Wu. He sees immense wealth and incredible luck to the point where winning a gamble against him is impossible and he seems to control luck itself. He has so much luck to the point it seems to rub off on others just like Xie Lian's unluckiness does - he can even make Xie Lian not have such terrible luck for a short period of time.

And this is all despite his fate itself not changing, as observed by the State Preceptor:

But even with this fate, we only see him rolling sixes until one single point that catches even Hua Cheng off guard:

But he dismisses it, saying he's able to make his own luck and decide whether something is a bad situation or not.

But what happens shortly after this dice roll?

Xie Lian's shackles are broken, and Hua Cheng nearly annihilates for something as simple as giving too much spiritual energy, even when he seemed fine moments before, as observed by Feng Xin and Mu Qing:

It takes Hua Cheng over a year to return. But he does. And that's how the story ends.

So what does this mean?

Hua Cheng was born with a very terrible fate. The exact breakdown of his fate isn't stated beyond being born under the Star of Solitude, or Solitary Star. This is not a TGCF invention. This is a star from Ba Zi, Chinese astrological divination.

The solitary star is exactly as the name suggests. It implies solitude, either by choice or by outside forces. It is one of the unluckiest stars, and can case misfortune for your family - especially parents. Think of Hua Cheng's mother, who died when he was very young. Hua Cheng is an introverted person by nature; even those that like him he pushes away. He only likes Xie Lian. And he kept his distance from Xie Lian for a long time, and when he no longer wished to keep his distance, he was forced apart by outside circumstances until 800 years had passed - and 8 is a very lucky number in Chinese, and 800 years is also spoken into being by those Land of Tender fruits in the cave scene when they insisted he wouldn't get a taste of Xie Lian "even if he dreamt about it for 800 years."

Hua Cheng lives out this life of solitude even past Xie Lian meeting him. In fact, rather than Hua Cheng's luck getting any better, Xie Lian's luck takes a turn for the worse. It is when they meet and their fates become connected, when Xie Lian is certain to be his spouse one day and thus a family member, that everything goes wrong for the kingdom of Xianle.

It is true that this misfortune is because of Jun Wu; Hua Cheng is stated to be so unlucky because the Kiln disperses misfortune across the land, and Hua Cheng by the State Preceptor's thoughts is likely to have received that upon his already inauspicious birth hour. But this misfortune rubbing off on Xie Lian upon their meeting and subsequent tying of fates is what caused Jun Wu to notice Xie Lian in the first place, as it wasn't until after this that Xie Lian fought a ghost of Jun Wu's making, caught his eye for essentially recreating the Xianle myth of the God-Pleasing Martial Warrior, and became known as the God-Pleasing Crown Prince.

This misfortune continues. Just as what was predicted by the State Preceptor, he died before reaching the age of 19.

This misfortune for Hua Cheng only stops when Xie Lian shackles his luck. It is at that point where he becomes the pinnacle of luck itself.

Xie Lian shackles his luck, and it flows into the most misfortunate cup of the person closest to him, the one who was always following in his footsteps, always so close but just too far away. It goes to Hua Cheng. But because he was never actually unlucky himself, this doesn't result in him just having Xie Lian's level of relative luckiness; his cup overflows. He is so brimming with luck from having both his own and Xie Lian's that he becomes exceedingly wealthy and successful and powerful.

This comes to a halt once that luck is no longer being redirected. It is upon redirection that Hua Cheng nearly dies, very similarly to how he was barely hanging onto life as Wuming; it is described that when Wuming appeared on Mt Tonglu, nearly dispersed, that he was essentially transparent. He becomes transparent again upon the shackle breaking.

But he doesn't disperse, not fully. Why doesn't he?

Because according to Taoist belief, your luck is only one part the circumstances of your birth. The three cosmic factors of your luck are your Heaven luck, your Earth luck, and your Human luck.

Heaven luck is the luck you are born with. But with those other two lucks, you can overcome the circumstances of your birth. Earth luck is about the environment you are in. This is where the concept of Feng Shui comes from; it's setting up your environment to bring prosperity and luck. Human luck is the luck you make for yourself; the decisions you make to cultivate a better future.

Hua Cheng by the point of the shackle breaking has been cultivating for 800 years by devoting himself to his one true god, Xie Lian. He has built a solid foundation for himself, amassed great wealth, and set himself into such confidence he can comfortably look danger in the face and decide that he makes his own fate, he decides if something is dangerous or not, he decides whether he will come or go, even as he's at the point where he should die:

After 800 years of that overflowing fortune, he was able to build up that Earth luck and Human luck to a point where he could negate the Heaven luck by himself, so when it came to bite him in the ass, he still came back after a little over a year and married his newly-no-longer-misfortunate beloved.

Though it is worth noting, it is somewhat implied by the extras that this Star of Solitude still continues to screw with Xie Lian's life. When he wants to give Hua Cheng a birthday present, it ends up with a terrible day of misfortune and heartache that ends in the present needing to be crushed to ash. When he visits the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, an embarrassing event happens where his near-naked statue is running around the heavens and he has to basically strangle Mu Qing away from his rock garden to ensure he doesn't witness his statue getting dicked down in there. And when Hua Cheng goes too far in bed, Xie Lian runs off without his spiritual energy being refilled, and in his weakened state ends up getting bit by a monster that eats his memories and causes him a few days of misfortune. But these are overcome by Hua Cheng being there to help him, and by Xie Lian loving him too deeply to care.

Now subtextually, what does this all mean? What's the relevance of it?

Number one, there is the obvious relevance that Xie Lian takes the opposite path to which Hua Cheng was born. Hua Cheng was born against his will with a fate that makes people around him incredibly unlucky, including Xie Lian himself. Xie Lian, in an act of atonement and possibly because he feels he hasn't done enough cultivation work to be worth ascending to godhood, shackles his luck so that everyone around him becomes luckier. An unwilling circumstance of birth versus a confident and willful choice. It ties them together in that way, and their fates effect each other. And at the end of it, Xie Lian's act of selflessness is exactly what comes back to bring him happiness. It is purely because of that act of shackling that Hua Cheng became who he did and was able to embrace Xie Lian as an equal. They have walked in each other's shoes and felt each other's hardships and seen each other's rock bottoms and came out the other end as equals who understand each other as completely as only a lovingly married couple could.

Number two, the use of the cup metaphor - it's another example of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng being so clearly laid out as fated spouses that it's barely even subtext. In Chinese, 'hejin,' or to 'drink from the same cup,' means to be married. This comes from a wedding tradition of the same name, also called jiaobeijiu, where the bride and groom drink from the same cup to symbolize that their lives have become one.

Xie Lian takes in Hua Cheng's luck and gives Hua Cheng his own luck in return, which Hua Cheng gives right back. In essence, if their lucks are symbolized by cups, they're doing the same thing as the wedding tradition.

And finally, why does the 'nullified' theory just not make sense?

Because Hua Cheng continues to be unlucky specifically until that shackle is placed on Xie Lian's ankle.

He is beaten to shit almost every time he is seen alive in Xie Lian's backstory, even the times he goes unnamed. When he is not beaten to shit, he's not living any sort of particularly lucky life. He always appears to be alone. He is often fighting other people. He dies before the age of 19, is captured and shoved into a lantern as a confused newborn ghost spirit, follows Xie Lian aimlessly to see tragedy befall him again and again, and then nearly annihilates - and only does not dissipate because of that shackle that spread Xie Lian's fortune to him.

As shown before with the State Preceptor's outburst, even as Crimson Rain Sought Flower, he still shows all the signs of being born under the Star of Solitude. As I pointed out before, even after their marriage, Xie Lian seems to run into misfortune quite often, though not the same basic unluckiness he used to before his shackle was broken.

All of this suggests pretty clearly that no true nullification happened, and what nullification did occur was from the Three Cosmic Factors of Luck; Hua Cheng's own cultivation practices and work that was only made possible by Xie Lian filling his cup to overflow with luck.

This also puts a new meaning onto that poem that Hua Cheng loves so deeply:

It's not just about separation and love. Just like the Taoist poet that wrote it said half his fate is in the devotion to Taoism and half his fate is his wife, half of Hua Cheng's life was Xie Lian, the other was the cultivation, the devotion, the work he put in to become who he did; the cultivation he did to nullify that Star of Solitude himself, to no longer be that abused little boy he hated so deeply.

[sleepynoons]

ONLY BY LEE HI – jing yuan (hsr) x gn!reader, modern!au, sfw

genre – fluff, angst word count – ~2,100 warnings – mentions of emotional cheating + divorce synopsis – although it's been years since your divorce, some part of you is still afraid to be in a relationship again. what does it actually mean to love someone, and are you capable of it?

The atmosphere and the situation you’re in are jarring, dissonant, mildly uncomfortable, as if two disjoint parts of your life are colliding. And you’re not that far off the mark – it’s definitely a rare occurrence for a sole employee to be having dinner with their boss. In fact, throughout all of your years working under the same man, you can’t remember a single time the two of you were alone, aside from check-in meetings and project discussions, but those interactions don’t really count because they were all in the office.

You can’t even bring yourself to sip from your beer mug, frosted from condensation, golden bubbles sizzling to the surface and reflecting the glaring lights hanging from the ceiling. You can only watch with a tamed face and bated breath as your boss, in all his suited and charismatic glory, rattles off a list of menu items to the waiter.

“Is that enough?” 

Your boss turns around, gleaming silver ponytail swishing behind him, so that he’s fully facing you when he asks his question.

You simply nod, at which the waiter takes his leave.

Now that there’s only the two of you, you wonder how awkward this dinner will turn out to be. You’re not the most vocal, and even if you were, you don’t particularly care for or have the talent to come up with small talk. But it seems that worry's speedily addressed because your boss, with his large hands yet stealthy fingers, hums as he begins to pick away at the pickled vegetables and roasted peanuts with his chopsticks.

He just munches and snacks, until there’s none left in his dishes, and you push your small plates towards him.

“Are you sure you don’t want any?”

You shake your head, and with a delighted chirp of thanks, he quickly chows through your portions as well.

Compared to your quiet booth, the rest of the restaurant is boisterous and rowdy. You can hear the karaoke rooms at the back, drunken singing and screaming bleeding through wooden walls, and the parties sitting around – families, couples, friend groups – are cracking jokes, nagging at each other about table manners, dropping utensils. Clearly, this place is more suited for celebratory events or just a good time, but definitely not for business operations.

The comedy of your current circumstances only compounds. Actually, upon reflection, it's hitting you that this last week of your life has been laughable in a pitiable, disorienting way. 

Around this same time last week, your boss had called for an emergency team meeting before everyone clocked out, none other than to ask for a volunteer to accompany him on a last-minute business trip and work overtime during Christmas. Of course, no one, including yourself, wanted to, especially given the risk of the trip being extended due to the weather. However, unlike your coworkers, you didn’t have an excuse other than the fact that you wanted to stay home, eat junk food, and binge-watch dramas. After all, they all had romantic dates to go on or family gatherings to attend to, and you didn't, especially after your divorce.

You could feel the side glances, the shuffling of feet, the unanimous holding of breaths in the conference room, and you waited for three more long, torturous seconds before you finally sighed and raised your hand to opt for the position. The only good thing that came out of that was your boss' gleaming smile, solely directed to you.

You bitterly complained about the meeting to your work friend afterwards.

“We don't usually eat on my floor. What's going on?”

You looked over your shoulder to see your work friend, Fu Xuan, walk over and take a seat beside you, setting down her lunch box and a plastic bottle of green tea onto the table.

You glanced around, making sure no one else was present. When the coast seemed clear, you leaned close to her ear.

You muttered, “Just tired of all the talk going around. Can’t have any privacy over there.”

Fu Xuan huffed and crossed her arms. “You can say that again. I was already on my way to your office when I heard the gossip from your break room.”

“What are they saying?”

“Probably the same things you’re hearing.”

You slumped into your seat, resting your elbows and forehead on the cool surface of the table. Fu Xuan’s hand came to pat you on the back.

“Is it so bad to be divorced?” you grumbled.

Fu Xuan sighed. “Not at all,” she affirmed, “especially in your case.”

Fu Xuan’s the only person in the office that you would consider a friend, so naturally, she’s the only one who knows some of the details regarding your last relationship.

“You did what you had to do,” Fu Xuan continued. “It was the right decision.”

“I know,” you groaned. “I just still feel guilty, and everyone’s still throwing a pity party, and it's not helpful because I've been feeling like a complete loser.”

“They’re being ridiculous. It's been, what? Two years at this point?Besides, doesn’t this work out in your favor?”

You shot her a pointed glare. She simply harrumphed in response.

“Fu Xuan, nothing’s going to happen. I’ve been working here for years, and nothing has happened.”

“Only because you were married for most of said years.”

“Still. Nothing has happened since the divorce.”

“Alright, you’re being ridiculous, too,” Fu Xuan concluded.

You hissed, lunging at her. “I’m the one being ridiculous? You’re here, trying to delude me!"

Fu Xuan skillfully dodged your attempt, and instead, managed to grab your face in place so that the two of you were glaring eye to glaring eye. "I'm not," she insists. "In the few meetings I've been in with him, he always finds a way to bring you up, and don't get me started on the look on his face when he talks about you. Also, didn't you tell me he dropped off some medicine at your place that one time you were sick?"

You shook your head. "He just does all that because I do good work, instead of giving him more things to worry about."

“Either way,” Fu Xuan gritted through a thin smile, “enjoy your trip with your boss. Merry early Christmas, you fool.”

Upon reflection, you begrudgingly have to admit that you agree with your friend on several fronts.

Yes, your coworkers are being dramatically awkward, and yes, this business trip can probably fuel a lifetime of daydreams about your boss.

But sometimes, you're not sure if you're over your divorce yourself.

You separated from your partner because they were emotionally cheating on you. They had never really realized it themself, but you could tell they were meeting the same colleague every few weeks or so with feelings and intentions that extended beyond platonic.

To be fair, you can’t really bring yourself to blame your ex either. You’ve always had a more reserved and conservative nature, so it’s not easy for you to say or do anything affectionate. Your ex had always seemed fine with it, and never once brought it up as a concern when the two of you decided to get married for the sake of it. But upon reflection, there had always been some distance, some measured level of politeness, between the two of you, and it only grew as you were promoted in work and, thus, spent more time in the office. Even on days off, you barely spent time together, not when you were busy recuperating sleep and energy. Needless to say, you were quite absent in your marriage, and you can’t fault your partner for seeking comfort in another person.

You put an end to it, for both of your sakes. But ever since, you’ve questioned whether you’ve truly experienced love – if you’re even capable of loving someone at all.

In fact, saying you loved your ex feels… off. You definitely cherished and cared for them as a person, but if someone asked you why you loved your partner at the time, you would have trouble coming up with an answer. Maybe your ability to love is only limited to that.

Still, what’s making you think otherwise is…

The clattering of ceramic plates against the tabletop jolts you from your reminiscence. All of the dishes your boss had ordered have arrived, and you can barely make out his face from all of the rising steam.

“Don’t hold back! My treat, for all of your hard work,” he encourages.

You shake your head, replying, “Not at all,” and you watch as your boss swallows a mouthful of piping hot white rice and scoops spoonfuls of boiled tofu and pork onto his plate.

Honestly, you could get full just from watching him eat. More than that, you think you’d even give him all of your own portions if it meant that he could continue to eat so happily and cheerily.

And that’s exactly the thing. This… crush? Infatuation? Love?

Is this love? Because if it is, it feels so different – far more consuming and overwhelming – from even the faintest rushes of adrenaline and excitement you experienced from your ex. And you’re having these emotions for your boss, of all people.

You can’t lie to yourself for much longer. You know the real reason why you didn’t want to go on this business trip.

It’s inappropriate to date in the office. It’s risky to have to deal with power dynamics. It’s stressful to find new jobs, if you two started to date. Wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

You take a bite here and there, to mimic a performance of actually gorging yourself, but your eyes are trained on him. As the steam dissipates, you notice the slight beads of sweat forming at his temple, the flick of his tongue as he licks his glossy lips, and the reddening of his cheeks from the spice and heat.

You knew this trip would break down all sense of self-control.

It’s hard to maintain discipline when, for the past 72 hours, your heart has been tortured to its limits. You saw him when he was sleeping on the five-hour bullet trains to and from your destination. You helped him adjust his tie when you noticed it was astray, which required you to lean in close enough to smell the lingering scent of his cologne. The two of you were even mistaken for a couple by a barista, which neither of you denied because the coffee shop was running a Christmas discount for couples and families. He even called to wake you up from your nap, voice barely more than a deep purr, gentle and teasing and lilting, and you still think that was the best wake-up call, literally, in your life.

If anything, it’d be ridiculous if your defenses weren’t so worn down already, and you know you don’t have that kind of mental strength in the first place, no matter how stoic your exterior might appear.

You don’t even look away when he catches you staring. With a tilt of his head, he asks if you’re alright, at which you nod again, but there’s no way he doesn’t see you gulp.

If these feelings, in all of their riveting, painful, confusing glory, are love, you never want to have them for anyone else ever again.

The rest of the dinner proceeds the same, but it’s midnight by the time the two of you finish.

“Good night, Boss,” you say as you give a small bow.

You had expected him to dismiss you with a laidback wave, but instead, he says, “Wait.”

You quirk an eyebrow, and he chuckles. “It’s late. I can’t have one of my most senior employees getting kidnapped.”

“I’m no child, Boss.”

Regardless of your reservations, he proceeds to call a cab, with the first stop being your place. As soon as the car reaches the front of your apartment complex, you hop out.

But it seems your boss is subverting all of your expectations of him and his character tonight.

He gets out as well, telling the driver to give him a minute or two, and walks over to you.

“Boss, you don’t have to wait for me. The entrance is right there.”

He laughs, broad shoulders jumping a little. “It’s not for that.”

He unravels the red scarf wrapped around his neck and leans forward, beginning to wind the wool and cashmere around you instead.

It’s so late. You’re so tired. You don’t have energy to put up any pretenses.

For the first time, you lose your cool in front of your boss. You’re a flustering, bumbling mess, taking clumsy steps backwards, to no avail because he’s holding you hostage with the scarf.

“It’s cold – what are you – I don’t need –“

“A belated merry Christmas,” he mumbles with a small smile. Instead of its usual brilliance, though, it’s gentle and soft, as fragile and fleeting as snow. “For a very special someone,” he finishes.

He leans back once he’s done. You glance down, hands coming up to grip at the thick cloth. “But Boss…,” you mumble, a little muffled, “I didn’t get you anything.”

“No, no, you already did.”

“What?”

But he’s already rounding his way back. You don’t move from your spot, watching as the car pulls away and as your boss turns around, giving you his signature lackadaisical wave through the rear window, before he’s out of sight.

Mouth agape, you look back down at the scarf, only then noticing a small gold embroidering at one end of it.

Jing Yuan, it reads.

You can't resist the urge to bury your face into the plush and warmth of the scarf.

Without a doubt, you’re in love with your boss, Jing Yuan.

winter event masterlist

[yoyowrites]

i refuse to believe that xie lian would allow shi qingxuan to be homeless for ever.

after things settle, he would definitely extend a hand toward him, if only to give sqx a safe place to lay his head, they're friends after all. he often tries to give him tips, he just worries about stepping on toes and doesn't want to come off holier than though

however, he has competition.

there is also pei ming and ling wen wanting to help sqx. those two were best friends with his brother and helped cover up a huge thing, you think they wouldn't help sqx with all their might? ling wen is drowning with work but she makes sure to always have an eye on sqx. she'll try to sort something out with one of her followers to try to get sqx a job or something. pei ming as well. he always had a tumultuous relationship with sqx but he really did care for him. he makes sure to occasionally visit. since he keeps in touch with pei xiu, he'll often ask him to visit sqx. when pei xiu visits, he always brings something from the rain master

so sometimes when xl visits, a ling wen follower is there as well as pei xiu and banyue are there.

of course, he xuan is still obsessed with sqx

[jonathankai]

and they were BFFs through Hell and back

text under cut

SQX: You killed my brother..

SQX: But if I was in your place, I'd kill him too.

SQX: I don't know, if I should hate you. I don't know, if I should empathize with you. I don't know how to process my feelings. I don't know WHAT I'm feeling.

SQX: So for now I just made this PowerPoint presentation, contianing all thoughts that have been occupying me lately! It has 2984 slides.

(Text on slide: MY BEST FRIEND KILLED MY BROTHER, BUT HE JUST PRETENDED TO BE MY BEST FRIEND, BUT MY BROTHER KIND OF DESERVED IT? made by: Wind Mast Shi Qingxuan)

SQX: Let's go.

(Text next to He Xuan:

*Would kill Shi Wudu again with great pleasure*

*Doesn't feel happy about Shi Qingxuan's suffering*

*Doesn't know how to process his feelings*

*Doesn't know WHAT he's feeling*

*So for now he just decided to sit through all of 2984 slides*)