#pls her shizun is the master of hugging thighs and fake crying lol

[anachronismstellar]

SQH: "Why am I blushing???" in the 12/12 au

Oh yea, time for the charmer to be charmed~

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There were flowers on Shang Qinghua's desk.

That by itself would be odd, but the fact that there were flowers on his desk and no one knew where they came from was odd and suspicious.

"So you are telling me that you spent the entire day on your post, but you haven't seen who put the flowers on my desk," he turned around to stare at a very flustered Ye Ling that kept apologizing as she bowed so deep her face almost hit the ground.

"This one will accept any punishment Shizun deems fit," she repeated for the nth time, breaking Shang Qinghua's heart enough to pet her head.

"It's... I won't say is fine because is a little bit concerning that someone could get here so easily," he said as he forced himself to stop petting her until tears vanished from her eyes. "But maybe it was for the best. Anyone capable to do such thing would be a little above your pay grade."

"Should I throw them away?" She asked after drying her face with her sleeves, still pouting. Aaah don't be so harsh on yourself, Ye Ling!! This old man's heart can't take it being mean to you!!

"Don't worry about it, better if you don't touch it. I'll ask for Shen Qingqiu to take a look, lets be safe than sorry."

And it turned out that the flowers weren't poisonous or aphrodisiac, just very beautiful and rare. It drove Shang Qinghua to madness trying to figure out who could have sent them, but there was no note or spiritual signature to investigate. It was if a ghost had placed the vase there and then puff! Gone. And to make matters worse-

It happened again.

"Okay, now we might have to start panicking."

"If shizun allows this one to speak freely," Ye Ling scratched the side of her nose, eyebrows frowning like a cute bunny. "The first ones weren't dangerous. And this hair pin... I recognize the craft, is from a nice lady a few towns away from here, I know her and she is completely harmless. Maybe shizun- uh..."

"What?" he squawked when she flushed while giggling like a mad woman, or worse yet, like a high schooler trading secrets during sleep overs. "What?!"

"Looks like Shizun got himself a secret admirer," she spoke so fast he almost didn't catch what she had said. The thought by itself was laughable. Him? Bland as white rice Shang Qinghua? These types of nonsense happened to Shen Qingqiu or or or Liu-shidi! It must be a joke, someone messing up with him to laugh at his face later, it could only be it!

Oh Heavens, why am I blushing, he though as he rubbed both hands all over his face, definitely not thinking of frosty blue eyes and a jaw sharp enough to cut glass as he pressed his fingers over his eyes so hard he saw stars.

"That's it, this nonsense ends now!" And he ignored the way his voice went a little higher than normal, putting his foot down. "Ye Ling, send for Gao-shidi, I'll need his help to put an array on my office.

"Yes, Shizun."

"And if anyone asks for me, check the list, if they are not there reschedule the meeting. I think I'll work on my private quarters today."

"Of course, Shizun. Anything else?"

Shang Qinghua send her off with a wave and a shake of his head, thanking the Heavens once more for his head disciple. Poor girl had to deal with so much nonsense from him and the other peaks, he should get her a nice gift after next peak lord meeting.

"If I survive until then, ahahah... haha... Fuck."

He could only rest after the array had been set up. Then came the boring part, waiting for his... Admirer to be caught. He didn't like waiting, forever a millennial at heart with a very small attention spam, but it didn't mean he wasn't good at it. He had patience, specially when his life was at risk.

He had been careful over the past years, writing important information in code and hiding between nonsense erotica. However, his paranoid ass couldn't help but hate the fact that someone was able to get so close to his papers without him not knowing how.

So imagine his surprise when, even after all his traps and tricks, another gift was waiting for him on his desk, this time a beautiful set of brushes with a matching wet stone, crafted in such dark stone that it looked as if made of void and stars.

What?? The actual fuck???

"Oh, he went with the brush set then," Shen Qingqiu's voice right behind him made Shang Qinghua jump high enough it was a miracle he didn't get stuck on the ceiling. He had totally forgotten the other peak lord was there for their monthly budget meeting.

"W-What?" he asked as soon as Shen Qingqiu words downed upon him. "Shen-Shixiong knows who is sending me these?"

The loud snap of a fan opening told everything Shang Qinghua needed to know. That and the way Shen Qinggiu avoided his eyes, picking up the wet stone and admiring it as if it was the most fascinating object he had seen in years.

"Shixiong," Shang Qinghua insisted, taking a step forward so he could be shoulder to shoulder to the other man. "Shixiong, please, this has driving me insane for the past month, there's important information all over my office, I need to know-"

"You're so dramatic," Shen Qingqiu scoffed with a roll of his eyes, but still he wasn't looking at Sheng Qinghua, slowly putting the wet stone down. "Do you really think Yue Qingyuan would not know about such a breach on our barriers? And do you really think he wouldn't do anything to stop it?"

The logic slapped Shang Qinghua on his face so hard he might as well gotten transmigrated again to a parallel reality. Because if Yue Qingyuan knew, and Shen Qingqiu knew, then it wasn't so far fetch to assume that Wei-Shixiong knew, which meant-

"Is this someone I know?!"

And thank Heavens Shen Qingqiu and Mobei-jun would never ever get to meet each other because if Shang Qinghua ever became the target of their glares combined he wouldn't be able to survive.

"For such a smart man, Shidi, you do seem to forget to put your brain to use," Shen Qingqiu said slowly, rolling his eyes once more at Shang Qinghua's blank stare. "It's the peak lords, Shidi. They are the ones sending you gifts. The Huan Hua feast is approaching, and you have an extra invite, yes?" and it kinda made Shang Qinghua want to pop Shen Qingqiu's eyes with a spoon for him to be speaking so slowly as if Shang Qinghua were a toddler, but- He kinda deserved.

"Oh, so they are- what? Trying to seduce me to get a date?" and he laughed, expecting Shen Qingqiu to give his usual sensible chuckle, freezing when it never came. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, Shidi," Shen Qinggiu patted his shoulder with his fan, shaking his head in pity. "How can you be so blind is beyond me." and then he made himself comfortable on the chair in front of Shang Qinghua's desk. "One can lead a man to the answer, but can’t make him think. Come, you dragged me all this way for a reason besides your lack of awareness, correct?"

And Shang Qinghua could feel his brain whirring, the sensation of understanding on the tip of his fingers, only to vanish again, like fog in the morning.

Or that video of the cute racoon washing cotton candy on a puddle.

"Riiight," he said with a shake of his head, letting the matter rest. If the other peak lords wanted to play games instead of asking him for the extra invite he wouldn't fry his brain on it. He had other stuff to worry about, like dealing with a very snarky peak lord that thought their gold grew on bamboo trees.

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For those who had never seen the racoon video, here it is!

Sharp as a marble our dear Shang Qinghua, may his turn with the brain cell arrive soon sdafhuasidhfusdahf

Just joking, he is smart!!! ..... For sect stuff and spying, but romance and courting??? When is about himself??? poor dear skipped his turn on the brain distribution line.

Aaaaa sorry it took me the entire day, my body decided to punish me for the past days of stress and hfuiasdhfiuasd yea

I hope you liked and thank you so much for the prompt!! :D