#the two things in the world that prove to binghe that he is loved

[wynntermelon]

Counterfeit jade

[goodlucktai]

gently in the cold dark earth

scum villain's self saving system word count: 2k canon divergent / no system au; sy transmigrates into an empty npc role; gray lotus binghe loves his shixiong more than life and he's ready to make it everyone's problem

title borrowed from work song by hozier

read on ao3

x

The first thing Luo Binghe does when he escapes the Abyss is return to Cang Qiong Mountain. 

With Xin Mo secured to his back, the way could be instant if he so chose—the journey of a thousand miles reduced to a single step—but he unsheathes the elegant jian at his hip instead.

Yong Liang sings sweetly for him, the snow white blade still shining and untainted even after years of helping Luo Binghe carve his way through hell. It has never once failed him, soulbound to the one person still on this earth who has never failed him. 

“Take it,” his shixiong insisted, low and urgent. The Abyss was behind them, an even deadlier threat was ahead, and Without A Cure clogging his meridians made Luo Binghe the best choice to wield the only unshattered spirit sword they had between them. “Binghe, take it.”

He pressed until Luo Binghe’s grip curled tight around the hilt, not hesitating to put his soul in Luo Binghe’s hands even with the rosy glow of an unsealed demon mark shining on his face. 

Luo Binghe flies at a pace best described as dangerously reckless, hardly smelling the fragrant spring air or feeling the sun on his face. His robes are a disgrace, his hair a tangled, matted mess, and it occurs to him that he could stop somewhere and clean himself up, make himself presentable, but it’s a brief, fleeting thought. 

Shen Yuan would be furious to find out that Luo Binghe wasted even a single second returning to his side. 

——

He passes through the ancient wards effortlessly, feeling them fall away from him like water. It’s a simple thing to tamp down on his demonic qi, to disguise the parts of him that those so-called righteous cultivators would scorn. He ghosts through the familiar grounds as eagerly as a starving animal bolting down a fresh game trail, but one by one, all of their familiar haunts come up empty, without even a lingering trace of Shen Yuan’s spiritual energy left behind.   

The head disciple’s room is dusted and undisturbed, as if its occupant might walk through the door at any moment, but the lack of clutter and the empty book shelf makes it very clear to Luo Binghe what the truth must be.

If Shen Yuan returned to the peak after the Conference, he didn’t stay. 

All at once, images crowd the front of his mind—his shixiong grieving, pulling away, turning his back on those responsible for his heartache. 

Yue Qingyuan, always only a step behind wherever his precious Xiu Ya sword went, promised that no one wanted to hurt them. They only wanted to help.

He looked so solemn and righteous that Shen Yuan reluctantly allowed himself to be convinced. Luo Binghe, who had gone to the man for help after a bloody whipping when he was a child, only to be given a walnut cake and turned away at the door, knew better. 

He wasn’t surprised when Shen Yuan was wrenched away from him, and shizun sent him staggering off the cliff with a spiritual dagger buried to the hilt in his chest, all of it happening within a matter of seconds—but it still hurt. 

Shen Yuan’s scream followed him all the way down. 

I’m alive, Luo Binghe thinks, with no one there to tell it to. I came back to you. Let me come back to you. 

——

Including time spent in the abyss, it’s three years before they meet again. 

Luo Binghe’s revenge is his second priority at best, but he is nothing if not efficient and knows how to kill two birds with the same stone. Huan Hua affords him ample resources and opportunities to scour the world for his missing shixiong while playing the role of earnest and diligent new disciple. He snatches up each mission that comes along as though  eager to prove his worth to the sect that so graciously took him in, but he takes every excuse to wander, to search, to make conversation with vendors and innkeepers and passing strangers. 

Have you seen my heart? It lives outside of me in the form of a beautiful young man and tends to wander. Very contrary, likes to fuss over people, could argue the stripes off a lushu just for fun. You’d know it if you met it. You’d never forget. 

The days blur together, meaningless and gray, but he doesn’t stop looking. Shen Yuan still exists somewhere in this world, because otherwise Luo Binghe wouldn’t. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. 

And then, finally—an afternoon in Jinlan City, when Luo Binghe arrives in a throng of incompetent gold-clad Huan Hua disciples, to investigate a plague of all things—

He’s there. 

In dark, neutral colors and plain clothes, a traveling cloak with its hood resting down around his shoulders, as if his beauty could possibly be lessened by cheap, shapeless fabrics rather than effortlessly enhanced. His hair falls from its half-tail in glorious waves—he never did have the patience for anything elaborate, only wearing braids when one of his sticky shidimei cajoled and convinced him. Traveling alone, who could he possibly have to roll his eyes at and complain about and sit patiently still for?

A pale green ribbon is all that decorates his hair. Luo Binghe recognizes it instantly. 

“You should spend your allowance on yourself, Binghe,” Shen Yuan scolded him, not for the first time and certainly not for the last. 

“But I did,” Luo Binghe protested, widening his eyes and clasping his hands earnestly, the way he knew worked best. “I wanted it! And now that I have it, I want to give it to you.”

Shen Yuan was too clever by half to be truly fooled by the innocent act, but he always folded like paper anyway. He spoiled all of his shidimei but Luo Binghe most of all. Anyone on Qing Jing Peak would be hard-pressed to think of a single example of Shen Yuan telling Luo Binghe ‘no.’ 

Sure enough, after a second spent visibly wrestling with himself, he blurted, “Oh, fine! Hand it over.” 

He wore it every day since. He’s wearing it now. The wind catches the ends of it, sending it streaming behind him like the tails of a paradise flycatcher. Lovely. 

For a brief moment, Luo Binghe is frozen where he stands, finally faced with the very thing that he’s been missing for years, that he’s been living a miserable half-life without. 

And then he remembers himself and lurches forward. His voice is a tangle in his throat but he manages to choke out, “Shixiong!”

A strike of lightning couldn’t have jolted Shen Yuan into more perfect stillness. He stops mid-step, every inch of him as good as carved from precious jade. He doesn’t turn his head, and the sliver of his face visible from where Luo Binghe stands is very pale. 

Luo Binghe wonders suddenly if this has happened to him before—if Shen Yuan has heard a voice on the road or in the market that was almost familiar, that was almost the one he was hoping for, only to be disappointed when he turned to follow it and found a stranger. 

Luo Binghe shortens the distance between them with a few anxious steps and tries again. 

“Shixiong.”

The older boy whirls around abruptly, as if to get it over with. He’s bracing himself, but Luo Binghe barely has a second to absorb Shen Yuan’s painful-looking anticipation before it bleeds out of his face in favor of something else entirely. 

He looks like the earth has fallen out from beneath his feet, like he hardly dares to believe his eyes. Zheng Yang gleams golden at Shen Yuan’s hip, reforged and whole again.

“Binghe?”  

“It’s me,” Luo Binghe says softly. 

There’s a tableau he’s afraid to break, as if they’re in a delicate dreamscape and a move too sudden or loud might dissolve it. He wants to say I’ve missed you the way lungs miss air, immediately and needfully, I haven’t breathed at all since we’ve been apart. He wants to say you’re my light in the dark, I can only stand in front of you now because I love you too much to ever truly leave you. 

Instead, he tells his dearest friend, “This one made you wait. But your Binghe is here.”

Shen Yuan sprints the rest of the way to meet him, almost before he’s even finished talking, and they collide in a solid embrace that knocks the air from them both. 

His arms wind around Luo Binghe’s waist like steel bands, fingers digging into the back of his robes, precious face pressed into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Luo Binghe doesn’t hesitate to gather him up close, holding him as tightly and securely as he knows how, burying his nose in his shixiong’s hair and breathing in the familiar, beloved smell of him.  

Shen Yuan is a few inches shorter than he remembers. All the better to tuck him beneath Luo Binghe’s chin, to cover and surround him so completely that not even the heavens above can get a decent eyeful. 

He wants to grab and bite and pin Shen Yuan beneath him and never let go. His jaw aches with wanting it. 

“I’ve been looking for you,” Luo Binghe says, eyes wet. “I went home first.” Unsaid goes the obvious but you weren’t there. 

“How could I stay?” Shen Yuan bites out, managing to sound all at once strangled and bewildered and—charmingly—offended. He shakes his head without lifting it, an aggressive nuzzle against Binghe’s shoulder. “After what they did to you, I’d rather die than represent their stupid sect another minute.”

“Step away from it, Shen Yuan,” shizun said coldly. “I’ll put that beast back where it belongs.”

“No,” shixiong said in a voice that was smaller than usual, one that shook. He was frightened, clearly overwhelmed, but he didn’t budge from where he was plastered in front of Luo Binghe like a breathing shield. 

“Now.” 

“No, shizun.”

“Shizhi,” Yue Qingyuan said gently, offering his hand. “Come here. It will be alright.”

Shen Yuan said, “No. You can’t hurt Binghe. He’s not bad just because of who his parents are. He’s as good as he was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. He’s hardworking and loyal and a sweetheart to anybody who gives him half a chance. He’s so good.”

Liu Qingge was behind the sect leader, sword drawn. Shen Qingqiu was quickly losing what little patience he had, face twisted into a sneer, dark eyes stabbing hatefully at Luo Binghe from over his head disciple’s shoulder. There were more figures rapidly drawing closer, the other peak lords following the flare of Yue Qingyuan’s qi. The standoff was becoming more and more untenable, and Shen Yuan was too smart not to see that, shrinking back against Luo Binghe as much as he could without crowding him closer to the edge. 

“You can’t hurt him,” he said again, the closest Luo Binghe had ever heard him come to tears, “he’s my shidi.”

Luo Binghe is unsurprised by his shixiong’s loyalty, because it’s already been proven to him over and over. It’s unremarkable at this point, which is an absolutely remarkable thing in itself. It makes him feel warm with gratitude and affection and ownership. 

Shen Yuan is clever and quick on his feet and always three steps ahead, more knowledgeable about flora and fauna than anyone else Binghe has ever known combined, and probably a force to be reckoned with as a rogue cultivator, where the only rules of conduct he has to adhere to are his own. 

But Luo Binghe hates to think of him on the road alone, without the little martial siblings who follow him like ducklings, without his Binghe there to make sure he remembers to eat all his meals and comb out his hair before bed. He’s a creature of comfort, made for airy rooms with too many cushions and an abundance of sweets and books to read. 

Luo Binghe has fantasized more than once about building a home for Shen Yuan to lounge prettily in. It was, in fact, his favorite flavor of daydream since he was about thirteen. 

If Shen Yuan wants to rogue cultivate, then that’s what they’ll do. But Luo Binghe thinks, if he constructs a palace that’s as comfortable as it is grand, and fills it with trashy romance novels and obscure beasts and his own hand-made meals, he can convince his friend to live in it with him.

Shen Yuan needs to be taken care of. Luo Binghe needs to be the one taking care of him. They’re together now and they’ll never be apart again and those needs can both be met. 

That possessive, proprietary feeling coils dark and deep inside him, undulating lazily like a serpent who’s fed enough for days, reminding him over and over what he already knows:

Mine. 

[skeren]

Hi! I'm the mod for @svsss-fanon-exposed and saw your tags on my timeline post-- do you have a write-up of your own interpretation of the svsss timeline? I'd be really interested in seeing it if so bc I love to also look at how other people interpret these ideas!

Okay, so, I had to reread to get my bearings about what I saw that made me go 'no, that seems wrong' and it's a few specific points, I think. I want to say from the start that it all seems very well thought out and well supported and if you were working from a logical basis that makes sense for a setting like this, generally speaking, or even for one of MXTX's other works, you would be golden.

The problem is that you're being respectful, thoughtful, and giving all the background of the world the basis of logic and benefit of the doubt.

That doesn't work for SVSSS. At least, not quite to the extent that you're showing it to.

Okay, first thing's first. The one that I have no evidence for. This one is based more on feelings and the fact that even after he's running around running half the demon realm Binghe still calls Ning Yingying Shijie. By that point, he'd basically usurped the Head Disciple position off Ming Fan in the past, has been running his own sect part time, and generally been above and beyond successful for a given value of the word. He's certainly stopped being respectful to most people from Cang Qiong. I take this as proof that Ning Yingying must be older than Binghe, and not just someone who was a martial sibling who was there longer. She's Shijie because she was there longer, is older, and thus that's just the title she gets, full stop. I might be wrong, that's always an option, but that's how I see it, and I've always placed her at one or two years older, with Ming Fan at closer to three. Similarly, it makes her insistence on getting a new Shidi much more reasonable if she's been waiting for a while to get one, and didn't end up there shortly before Binghe, but years earlier with Shen Qingqiu being immensely picky and denying her new playmates.

Circling back to the respectfulness thing though. I absolutely and whole heartedly believe that the absolute vitriol that Shen Qingqiu receives from the sect and we see through Shang Qinghua's eyes is because he had no time to prove himself. He showed up, and was nearly immediately dumped with the head disciple position, probably because he has a brain in his head, and didn't even have to go through the choosing trials to get there. How dare he. We see after Shen Yuan takes over his life that given even a little justification that the people in this world will accept practically anything, so that means that Shen Jiu must have had absolutely no chance to prove himself to the sect, to prove he was worthwhile and didn't get the position through some kind of underhanded means or even bribery. This also fits the narrative beats of how Airplane initially wrote his backstory and the way it's presented that somehow, events always conspire to show Shen Jiu in the absolute worst light no matter what he does.

By this thought process, it puts him solidly at a year younger than Shang Qinghua, or at the very least, the same age with a few months between.

Following the logic of that, me and my bestie, who helped me get all these sorted out, thus have the whole situation with Tianlang-jun happen a scarce few years after he shows up, no more than three, and that they all ascend to being Peak Lords within the same year that the last head disciple (Probably Shang Qinghua) is chosen, which happened in a very short time after that fight.

So as you can see a lot of the same beats are followed, but I think you might be dropping the ball on the actual timeline of Shen Qingqiu being booted up to the head disciple position, because this is, in fact, an absurd exaggerated world that plays up all tropes and nepotism is nothing if not the most powerful trope and it would look like that from the outside if nobody knew the real circumstances of the Shen Jiu's arrival.

As for a thing I agree with but feel the need to expand on! I am aware that your timeline cuts off around when SVSSS starts, but I should point out that we know, near for certain, that SVSSS starts when Binghe is 14, and no more than perhaps four or five months away from his 15th birthday. The reason for this is that in one of the extras he says he is fifteen and this is almost immediately after he's moved into the bamboo house by Shen Yuan following his three months of cultivation, which we know happens as soon as he manages to unlock the OOC feature. I can't imagine that Shen Yuan took more than a month to get this unlocked, so there you go.

Forgive me that it's not a properly written out timeline such as yours, and instead picking at a few specific points, as I know how difficult these can be to maintain and have made them myself for other fandoms. I simply have not sat down and done so here. Thank you for reading this far, and I hope that this proves useful to you!

[acim-ed-ortsac]

Nezuko! Reader in the Scum Villain Self-Saving System

When you died, the last thing you expected was to be reborn in another world. When you woke up, you found yourself a squirming little baby, alone in a dark place with an atmosphere that no normal human could survive on. With your awareness of surroundings, you managed to survive the dark place. During your survival, you noticed creatures witht he most peculiar and bizzare features and abilities — a python with a scorpion's tail, an elephant with lizard feet, and rhinoceros with a crescent on their horns and pythons…

Wait… Are you in the Scum Villain Self-Saving System!?

And you weren’t even reincarnated into any of the characters, but rather, an original one…At Least you have control over your fate.

Judging by the ever-changing weather and the bizarre yet dangerous creatures, you must be in the Abyss, which unfortunately leaves you with no idea what arc the story is even on. Which leaves you questioning your very own existence. The few moments you got water, you noticed your appearance was mostly humanoid with features from your previous life et your pupils were in slit forms, your irises are two different shades almost overlapping each other, and tattoo patterns of vines and flowers appeared on your arms and the rest of your body.

Initially, you wore no clothing before you hunted the beasts in the Abyss. Most of your clothing now are fur pelts and armours of scaled beasts — though they were not your best creations, they were made due. Another thing you noticed was your regeneration abilities, the first time was when you first started hunting and got your arm cut off. The pain was an ass but your adrenaline kept you from screaming and let your healing abilities regenerate the same arm. The only downside is that you have to sleep a lot to regain energy and you don’t really eat the meat…

At this point, you were starting to think you were a Nezuko copycat…

That proved to be true when you stumbled upon an injured Luo Binghe, who looked fresh from the surface. His disciple uniform was tattered and he was full of bruises and scars, the scent of iron hit your nose and immediately made you salivate. Your hunger hitting your stomach as it howled at you to devour the boy. Luo Binghe, who finally noticed you, became frightened as he scooted back as much as he could — which isn’t saying much with his wounds. You could imagine what you look like: a disheveled creature with a salivating mouth, eyes full blown with hunger, and claws twitching.

But no, you still have some humanity in you, despite your years in the cruel and harsh Abyss. The surroundings changed to that of a forest, trees and leaves and branches. Luo Binghe snarled at you as he pressed his back against a tree, fear rolling out of him. A cornered animal using whatever defense mechanism it has left.

With a grunt, you turned away from the boy, grabbed the nearest branch and bit onto it. Your fangs sank into the wood and your tongue caught some splinters. You winced at the unpleasantness yet disregarded it as you focused on the soon to be Saintly Emperor of the Three Realm. 

________

“Why did you help me?”

You glanced at Luo Binghe, who looked at you with suspicion. The fire crackled with life and provided with warmth for the both of you, night had fallen and you found shelter in a cave. You flicked a strand of hair from your shoulder, letting out a muffled grunt from behind your stick muzzle. You had cleaned up his wounds and wrapped them with leaves that you know had healing properties. Despite this being a Chinese novel, you were able to understand what he said despite your limited knowledge of Chinese.

You handed him your piece of meat that you hunted, which he didn’t take until he was sure it wasn’t a trick.

You now meet the possessive love interest of the novel, who’s also years younger than the protagonist. But there’s nothing you can do about that. Scratch that, more like you don’t care, you were just interested in meeting the characters. 

Though meeting Tianlang-jun would be a reward in itself.

From there, you got to know the boy and he got to know you, through scribbles on the ground that is. You taught him how to hunt, what plants were poisonous and had healing properties. And inevitably, you taught him that demons and humans were similar despite their differences.

“Do you think demons are bad?” Luo Binghe had asked this, now a twenty year old who towered over you. His mark on his forehead glowing proudly. You then glanced at him, his furrowed brows and uncertainty in his eyes. He had confided in his sorrows to you how his shizun pushed him into the Abyss and the feelings he had — has for his teacher. You were aware that this was Shen Yuan in Shen Qingqui’s body with his change of personality, but you wanted to shake the man for his apparent lack of brain cells. Instead, you took a deep breath through your nose. You let out a hum as you picked up a stick and started writing.

‘Aren’t there bad humans too?’

Luo Binghe scrunched his face in confusion yet nodded. You continued writing.

‘Then there are some good demons as well, like there are bad humans. Demons and Humans are like two sides that are unwilling to meet each other.’

His eyes widened in understanding, “I see, thank you for your wisdom.”

By this time, Luo Binghe warmed up to you. You two even had a routine where you would go hunt for food and he would cook it with whatever spices and herbs there were. Although you didn’t eat much of it as you found yourself not really hungry, mostly tired. The times you had to sleep for a long period of time, you would find yourself in a short of shelter with Luo Binghe guarding you. As time went on, Luo Binghe grew taller and was very handsome with feminine features that can mistake him for a woman should he wear the female attire. 

Sadly, your time with Luo Binghe was cut off when you two were separated during a hunt. But knowing him and his Heavenly Demon heritage and destiny, you knew he was gonna be okay. During your time alone, you contemplated on going up the surface to see the sights but doubts clouded your certainty. You weren’t completely Nezuko so there could be a possibility that you didn’t have immunity to the sun. But that fact should be applied to the demons of Demonslayer, not the demons in SVSSS. You could actually get real clothes there…

You shook your head before going back to living your life in the Abyss. Hoping that Luo Binghe would visit you when he escapes and become the Emperor of the Three Realms.

During one of your days scavenging, you came across a crawling infant with dark hair, jade green eyes, and grayish pale skin. The infant glared at you as it got into a defensive stance on all fours, growling at you.

…a cornered animal, how cute.

[epicrox]

Till The End Of The Moon Thoughts - Episode 2

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

PARTS: 1.1 | 1.2 | 2 |

This is mostly for me to look back on and see the moments that I caught my eye. Nothing analytical. I offer nothing to the table

I'm also a visual person so there's a lot of screenshots x

This is called my thoughts because I refuse to call what I'm writing down as a review. Reviews inform people and this post does nothing for people.

I’ve seen posts on Tumblr calling Tantai Jin a Disney princess cuz he’s being mistreated and talks to animals 🤨

The scenery is so pretty.

3. There seem to be Chinese subtitles on the right side of the screen indicating that background music is playing but I think they cut it out because I’m not hearing anything. Maybe it’s because I’m watching it on YouTube. I don’t know about other platforms.

4. Yeah, they cut the music now and it just sounds awkward and empty.

5. Omg she’s just leaving him there! Aren’t you supposed to keep him alive?

6. He legit looks like an old man because of the snow.

7. This man looks so delicate.

8. Even at the brink of getting hypothermia, he looks like he has a better chance of getting a modelling contract than me.

9. Disney Princess indeed.

10. Bingchang looks really sweet. I’m praying she doesn’t turn out evil or two-faced.

11. Wtf is this crow’s voice?!

12. It sounds like a demonic robot. This further proves my point about this show being sci-fi.

13. The crow’s basically a camera.

14. Then don’t let him die! That celestial being never told you to kill him and didn’t even mention the evil bone, your dad did. He literally told you that Tantai Jin’s torment and death triggered his demonic powers. All you need to do is prevent that! And what do you mean he deserves this?! He hasn’t done anything yet!

15. Her strategy is irritating me.

16. It looks like she’s cradling a head. Just the head.

17. I love that he just had to faint for her to understand the severity of the situation.

18. Wtf is that? His subconscious?

19. This demonic being reminds me of that demon that trains Luo Binghe after he gets pushed off the cliff.

20. He wants Tantai Jin to give him his soul to allow him eternal peace? Does he want to use Tantai Jin’s body as a vessel?

21. It’s the 2nd episode and we’ve got Xi Wu feeling him up.

22. Ma’am, how are you sleeping with that on your head?

23. She even got her dangly earrings on!

24. Get over what?

25. Ha! Xi Wu is having thoughts.

26. So am I.

27. She beats him?!

28. Why am I surprised?

29. OG!Xi Wu was an evil person.

30. The fact that she is hesitating about hitting him! Put the whip down! Even though he’ll see you’ve changed and would make him suspicious, at least he’ll be happy about not getting whipped.

31. She cares more about staying in character than changing the past.

32. At least take the gear off before you go to sleep.

33. After literally TORTURING HIM, you're worried for his health. It seems you’ve figured out actions have consequences.

34. AHHH!!!

35. Also as an otherworldly being, deity or whatever she is, Xi Wu can be really dense. I’d understand if she didn’t know how some things worked in the mortal world but for someone responsible for saving the world, your strategy is confusing.

36. I know she’s grieving for what had happened but she can prevent tragedies if she were a little smarter.

37. Is that even comfortable? I’ve always envied my parents for being able to sleep while sitting down because for some reason I can’t.

38. Awww. I love how confused he is.

39. He’s so delicate (This man is over 10 years older than me).

40. Yes, she’s possessed.

41. Just like villainess stories, is she hated by her family?

42. Oh no. She seems to be the favourite. Makes sense since the OG!Xi Wu was running around making trouble without much consequence. How can you be punished for your actions if you’re the Apple in your family’s eyes?

43. Also how many concubines does Xi Wu’s dad have? Does Bingchang and Xi Wu have different mothers?

44. It’s very clear from the beginning that the eldest brother is going to be useless.

45. Ze Yu just vanished. And make Xi Wu apologise to Bingchang. OG!Xi Wu must’ve thought she was entitled to everything. Bingchang must feel ostracised by her own family.

46. Wow, even the kitchen boys are bullying him. They’re probably gonna get beaten by Xi Wu and zapped when Tantai Jin gets into power.

47. This whole thing must be so humiliating as a prince.

48. How is he working in the kitchens and doing dishes while looking so pristine?

49. Is that ice?

50. Are they purposefully making him wash dishes in ice-cold water? Or is it something people did historically?

51. HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING YET. But he’s going to.

52. I’m not sure you’re aware of this but you’re in the body of his abuser. Of course, he’s avoiding you. Like didn’t you whip him last night?

53. Also, you haven’t spent long enough in that body to make this statement.

54. Yep. I think they put the ice in to torment him.

55. This reminds me of a trope you mostly see in isekai mangas/manhwas where the ML is so rude and aloof towards the FL that all the servants start to think they can do it too.

56. One thing that irks me about these tropes (it irks a lot of other people too) is that when the FL begins to stand up for herself against the servants, she slaps them.

57. Ooh, the music changed.

58. Not only does he speak to robotic crows, but he’s also talking to flies. Or was that a wasp?

59. I was under the impression Tantai Jin would commit murder but he just made the head cook (I think) swallow a fly. His reaction after swallowing the fly would have made you think he was being poisoned or choked.

60. It’s funny that she’s lecturing the staff about how rude they are even though this whole time she kept on saying he deserved it. You left him in the cold and whipped him. You know he’s a captured prince.

61. She’s putting all the blame on the servants rather than saying that OG! Xi Wu and even herself were wrong.

62. Instead of Xi Wu slapping them, they’re slapping themselves.

63. “If I had dignity, I would’ve died years ago” He really is a Disney princess.

64. More specifically, Cinderella. I saw a video essay from a channel called The Take. They talk about how people victim blame Cinderella a lot for not fighting back her abusers. In one part of the video, they talked about how Cinderella allows the abuse to continue as it is very likely that her stepmother would kick her out if she acted out.

65. Tantai Jin doesn’t know that the Xi Wu in front of him is not the original. So if I were him, I’d be more cautious about what type of food Xi Wu feeds me than the servants. Although, OG!Xi Wu could’ve ordered the servants to poison Tantai Jin’s food.

66. This man gives me Jin Xixun vibes or Mo Xuanyu’s cousin who died in the first episode of MDZS/The Untamed.

67. Oh, this is hard to watch.

68. That guy threw the cake on the ground and then stepped on it. Even if I was hungry I could never take a bite of it. It took me a while to even eat/drink something that someone else touched with their hand or mouth.

69. Is she drugged or drunk?

70. omg

71. They kissed! And we’re on the 2nd episode. I know it isn’t the FL but still. I count it.

72. Ok, they’re drugged.

73. I remember the two actors were together in a previous drama and there was a make-out scene that everyone freaked out about. So I assume they know what they’re doing in this drama.

74. So someone tried to make Bingchang and Jin Xixun prince spend the night together by drugging them but instead, they both ate it. It was 100% OG! Xi Wu.

75. Oh wait, they actually did it? But they’re clothed.

76. He has every right to be suspicious of you and the food you’ve given him.

77. Gosh. That crow’s voice is terrifyingly comedic. I giggle every time it opens its beak.

78. Tantai Jin is definitely planning something.

79. At least he’s pretty while doing it. Look at this shot.

80. This king looks familiar. Wasn’t he the emperor from Ashes of Love?

81. Tantai Jin is definitely ripping his head off.

82. This whole political drama is going to push Tantai Jin to join the dark side.

[imaginaryelle]

Hi, again..... If you don't mind me asking, what are your top 5 favorite moments from SVSSS novel? And why?

And who are your top 5 favorite characters from SVSSS novel? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

(Thank you so much for answering my ask before, by dividing them in categories 😊)....

I apologize for the extreme delay in answering this—I really thought I had actually answered it already! I do not mind the ask at all, I just got very distracted apparently. You may uh. Notice a theme here. I will try to break it up a bit with categories again so that I’m not just crying over qijiu and nothing else.

Warnings for: angst and blood mentions. For favorite moments and characters in the parody novel, you ask? Yes, yes for favorite moments and characters in the parody novel.

Okay, 5 favorite moments:

1. Replays in My Mind on Repeat: Original!Shen Qingqiu in the Water Prison, confronted with Yue Qingyuan’s death.

The verbal prodding at his jailer, the laughter, the introspection, the red string of fate imagery with the blood !! I will never be over this scene, okay, the Qijiu extras in general are the part of canon I revisit most often, and this scene is just. The total tone switch between Shen Yuan’s storyline and the extras makes it hit harder, you know? And it hits pretty hard already.

“The sword is broken, the person is dead.

It shouldn’t be like this.

A thread of blood stretched out, moving closer until it was just about to meet another and tie. It missed and coiled back.

It broke.”

Excuse me I need to go scream into the void.

2. Coolest Worldbuilding Detail: Sun and Moon Dew Flower

This one was super hard to choose because the worldbuilding is actually the thing I love most about SVSSS. There are so many hints that are juuuust fleshed out enough to make me wonder about them. Xin Mo’s world-hopping thing comes a close second probably, but the Sun and Moon Dew Flower gets the mention because not only is it a cool concept, but the continuation of the plot hinges on it in entirely unexpected ways, not because SQQ needs it, but because Tianlang-jun needs it.

3. Made Me Scream with the Implications: Shen Yuan accessing Shen Jiu’s old, corrupted memories

Y’all. How much of memory is the body, and how much is the soul? How much of who you are is what you remember? How much of of your personality lives in your bones, in your muscle memory, in a perfect poker face that you don’t even have to think about anymore? How much of you is consistent across multiple lifetimes?

Also there’s A+ Qijiu content. The door conversation gets to me every time.

4. Most Heartbeaking Moment: Yue Qingyuan’s confession

I know, I know there’s a theme here but this moment. This moment and the extras saved the entire novel for me. We find out so much about what happened to propel the events of the past 25 years or so right at the end, and this is the last puzzle piece clicking into place. Yue Qi and Shen Jiu, and a broken promise that cut them both, a precursor to the percieved betrayal between Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun, and both of those misunderstandings bearing down on Luo Binghe like shards of broken glass.

What would be different, if those promises were kept? What would be different, if Shen Jiu got the chance Tianlang-jun did, to learn that he had not been betrayed before he died? These are questions that literally keep me up at night.

5. Funniest Moment: Two rooms at the inn for SQQ, LBH and LQG

The entire chapter is funny but this is the best, to me. I must get away from the gay, Shen Qingqiu tells himself while claiming a room for only himself. Because I am straight and reading a stallion novel obviously proves that I’m straight. But oh, Liu-shidi can visit. Liu Qingge is the straightest person ever! So beautiful, and so very straight as he gives me back the fan he’s been hanging onto for five years at this point, after attacking Luo Binghe over and over again in an effort to retrieve my body. I am in no danger of gay happening here.

I mean this line: “It was true that Liu Qingge was, since the beginning of time, the world’s first straight man, as straight as the reflection of the sun and moon or the day and night.”

This line is a work of art, okay.

Favorite characters:

1. Most likely to inspire fic writing: Shen Jiu

Probably not a surprise given the above moments list but oh, Shen Jiu. So much potential. So much influence on the plot when he’s not even there anymore. I love it. If Mo Xuanyu haunts the edges of MDZS, Shen Jiu is an ever-present spectre in SVSSS. Now, I will say that I am a huge fan of the idea that Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are the same person, just different reincarnations of the same soul. But I tend to like Shen Jiu better, because I find him more interesting. He’s bitter and cruel and should never have been put in charge of children without significant time in therapy but he has solid reasons for being that way that can be directly traced to his life experience. He’s loyal even when he’s been betrayed, and he acts altruistically to save Liu Qingge even though they’ve literally never managed to have a civil conversation. His past and these qualities don’t excuse his actions, obviously, but they do make him an extremely complex character, and that paired with his rather extreme influence on the plot makes him prime fic material in all sorts of ways.

2. Favorite Moron with an Overpowered Sword: Yue Qingyuan

Funny how there’s two of those, isn’t it? Look, Yue Qingyuan messed up. He messed up badly in several ways. His is a truly impressive case of trying to do the right thing and just fucking it up over, and over, and over again. I’ve written before about the parallels between Yue Qingyuan and Luo Binghe (plot parallels, though they’re also both intelligent, reportedly handsome and improbably endowed, likely to repeatedly overstep personal boundaries and then cry/apologize about it, etc.), but Yue Qingyuan is more interesting to me because every step of the way it’s his choices that lead to his own downfall. Luo Binghe gets buffeted around by the plot and all those broken promises I mentioned above, but Yue Qingyuan chose power over reliability and ended up destroying the most important relationship in his life. And in reaction to that he swung too far in the other direction: he let his need to reclaim that idea that Shen Jiu would see him as reliable lead him into situations where he was indulgent instead of exercising any authority. His choices are pivotal to multiple plotlines, and yet he’s barely seen in canon because Shen Yuan just. Straight up doesn’t care for quite a long time, and doesn’t know why he should.

3. Favorite non-OT3 Peak Lord: Mu Qingfang

The OT3 is Liu Qingge/Yue Qingyuan/Shen Qingqiu, but I feel like I should talk about someone else so! Mu Qingfang. Mu Qingfang suffers so much nonsense. Also his sense of humor is excellent.

Qi Qingqi placed her teacup down on the table rather heavily and raised an eyebrow as she spoke. “Of course. How could that be indeed? If Luo Binghe dared to return to Cang Qiong Peak now, you’ll see just how we take care of scum like him!”

Mu Qingfang, sitting off to the side with his hands in his sleeves, commented casually, “Well you’d have to be able to take care of him first.”

The deadpan practicality is just so good.

4. Favorite protagonist for a prequel novel: Su Xiyan

Listen. Su Xiyan should have a novel. I think Su Xiyan is the most complex character in the canon, and I want to know—how long was she working the con, and when did she fall in love? What did her fellow Huan Hua Palace disciples think of her? How did she learn the bloodline seal that saved Binghe’s life long enough for him to actually be born? Almost all we have left of her is a story told by a man who found her bleeding out of her pores on the road, trying to return to a lover she didn’t know was already lost. And Binghe’s looks. The sheer willpower, the determination she must have had. Both Tianlang-jun and Yue Qingyuan imply she was fierce and often cold, and a skilled fighter. What might she have done, if she’d lived? What could she do as the head of Huan Hua Palace, assuming she was allowed to actually succeed the Old Palace Master? I want to know, okay. She’d make a fantastic protagonist, even if her story still ended in tragedy.

5. Favorite non-Cang-Qiong Character: Gongyi Xiao

Gongyi Xiao tries so hard. He’s young and gifted and nice, which is like. An incredibly rare quality in his world. And again, so much potential, cut short. Would love to have seen more of him.

[delicioussshame]

Sugar daddy AU: new chapter. That’s it, that’s the fic.

The world has never stopped spinning for Shen Yuan before, so why would it now?

He’s sure Luo Binghe is thrilled with his current situation. If he really wanted to create a perfect bubble where he would be the center of Shen Yuan’s universe, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. He’s been all Shen Yuan has been able to think about. The moral conundrum of considering whether you’re attracted to your former student, and if so, whether you can and should accept his affection, has been dominating his every moment. Each time he thinks that yes, he could see himself allowing this, allowing Luo Binghe the more he has so visibly been craving, he falters. In a way, it seems like a culmination of all his failures; a failed career he’s a disgrace to and a return to values he’d sworn to leave behind with his family.

But maybe, just maybe, Binghe would be worth it. Shen Yuan thinks if anyone could make those concerns seem ridiculous with only the power of their presence by his side, it would be Luo Binghe.

All his hesitations don’t stop his heart from freezing in his chest where the school sends an email regarding his teaching plan for the upcoming term.

It takes him a few minutes to calm down, to ride the wave of anxiety that returning to the beat of regular employment brings. He hasn’t looked forward to returning to class for years, but after those sweet weeks spent doing nothing but relaxing? Facing coworkers that were at best indifferent, at worst downright abusive for the sake of disinterested students is such an unappealing prospect that it almost gives him nausea.

He’s been too spoiled. Shen Yuan normally spends the summer working part-time jobs to make ends meet. This year, Luo Binghe had swiped all those worries away. One of the first things he’d done was tell Shen Yuan that he’d be paying his rent for now, like he would be providing for all his other needs. Shen Yuan had protested, but he’d known it was pointless. How was he supposed to stop Luo Binghe from sending money to his landlord?

Without those preoccupations, Shen Yuan had permitted himself freedom from work in general. He had spared not a thought to that most unpleasant matter. His romantic life, if it could be called that, had demanded all his attention.

Now, enough was enough. This had been fun, but Shen Yuan had a job to do. No matter how much he dreads it, he has to review his lesson plan.

Such is life.

_________________

It takes Luo Binghe only one cursory look at Shen Yuan to notice something went very, very wrong. His dear teacher is tense, hunched over his desk, hand on his forehead as if he’s trying to hold a headache at bay. Shen Yuan hasn’t appeared this stressed since he set foot inside Luo Binghe’s home. He radiates distress like he did that day, when Luo Binghe went to visit him and found him on the verge of collapse.

Back then, all he wanted was to stop that collapse.

That conviction has never faltered.

Gently, Luo Binghe taps Shen Yuan’s shoulder. “Laoshi?”

Shen Yuan doesn’t turn. “Binghe, not now. I’m busy.”

Luo Binghe glances at the document he’s worked on, and swears inwardly. Is all it took to reverse all the progress they made a reminder of that dreaded job?

Shen Yuan isn’t going back, and that’s final. “Why is Laoshi wasting his valuable time on this? Doesn’t he trust his Binghe?”

Shen Yuan turns toward him, annoyance visible on his face. “What does trust have to do with this?”

He stays firm. “I told Laoshi all I wanted was for him to be happy and healthy. I promised I would do anything for this to happen. His job doesn’t make him happy. Why would he return to it? He still has a few days to send his notice in time. He can leave the school behind and stay with me instead.”

Shen Yuan rolls his eyes. “Binghe, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not. I see no reason why Laoshi should go back when he doesn’t need to work.”

“I do need to work. I can’t rely on Binghe’s good will for the rest of my life. Sooner or later, he’ll get tired of paying for an old man and will look to buy a younger, sweeter companion.”

There is so much wrong with this sentence Luo Binghe is struck silent. Shen Yuan knows better than this. He’s just in too fool a mood to act like it.

He regains control of himself. “First, Laoshi must never talk of himself like he’s a passing fancy I feel like throwing money at. It’s insulting both to yourself and to my love for you. Second, he can rely on me however he wants to. If he’s not secure with his current position, that can be dealt with. I will happily pay whatever lawyer he chooses to draft any arrangement he deems agreeable. I can transfer him a set amount of money each week that he can manage at his discretion. I can also give him a lump sum, significant enough that if something were to happen, he could live by himself, though he’s already my will’s sole beneficiary. Work is unnecessary.”

At this, Shen Yuan shakes. “I’m sorry? Did you just say that in the event of your death, you’re leaving me everything? Me?”

Luo Binghe doesn’t know why Shen Yuan is so surprised. “Who else? Laoshi knows I have no family. I have no plan to die before Laoshi, but if it were to happen, that’s no reason not to keep my promise.” It won’t, of course. Luo Binghe won’t allow it.

“Are you serious? That’s something you do for a spouse, not a dumb childhood crush.”

He genuinely thought they were over this. “Laoshi isn’t a crush. He’s someone I’ve been in love with for since I was a teenager. Didn’t I say I wanted him by my side at all times? I planned consequently.” If Shen Yuan wants children, modifications will be made to the will, but this won’t be happening anytime soon. For now, Luo Binghe wants him all to himself.

“I… We’re not even a couple yet! Binghe is being reckless! If he’s this open, what’s stopping me from fleecing him for all he’s got and leaving him destitute!”

Luo Binghe laughs, encouraged by the “yet”. “Laoshi would never. He’s too good a man to do such a thing.”

“I could! Binghe thinks he knows me so well, but the truth is he doesn’t. He’s got this image of me as a saint, as a person without flaws nor desires, but he’s wrong. Every day, I take advantage of Binghe’s kindness.”

Shen Yuan is the one who doesn’t know himself. “Taking what’s freely offered is not taking advantage.”

“It is when no sane person would make the offer!”

“Does Laoshi think me insane, then?”

“Well, no. I know Binghe is very smart.”

“Then why not trust I know what I’m doing?”

“Because you don’t!”

This is going nowhere. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m making Laoshi happy by keeping him from a job that is killing him.” He sighs. “If Laoshi absolutely feels like he needs to earn his own income, I will support him until he finds a decent job, or will pay for his continued education so that he can find something better, but I would much, much prefer he doesn’t bother. It’s stress he doesn’t need, for no reason. I just cannot accept his return to a school that has only one good point: him. It’s not good for him. As I said earlier, whatever he needs as collateral to feel safe, I’m willing to provide, as long as he does what’s best for himself.”

Shen Yuan looks speechless.

Luo Binghe doesn’t flinch.

“Every time I think Binghe must be fooling himself, or fooling me, he goes and does something like this, something that no one else would do, as if to prove his honesty. He makes me feel like an idiot.”

“That must be novel. I imagine someone as wonderful as Laoshi doesn’t feel that way often.”

“Just most days of my life.”

“Then his life must change. Laoshi should only feel good.” Which is something Luo Binghe would gladly help with, no matter when and where.

He takes Shen Yuan’s hand in his; presses a chaste kiss to the top of it. “Please. Don’t go.”

Silence rests heavy on his shoulders for a while, until Shen Yuan breaks. “I’ll consider it.”

Luo Binghe embraces him and decides to wait.

_________________

The notice is sent two days later.

_________________

One moment Luo Binghe is preparing to go to bed, the next Shen Yuan, still damp from the shower, sits on his lap and kisses him.

It takes Luo Binghe negative one second to respond in kind, to open his mouth and to kiss back, his arms snaking around Shen Yuan’s waist to pull him closer and keep him there. Laoshi is the one who initiated! Luo Binghe can’t allow him to take it back.

Not that it seems like he will. Shen Yuan doesn’t struggle at all as Luo Binghe deepens the kiss, as his hands find the buttons of Shen Yuan’s sleeping shirt and open a trail he follows with his mouth. His laoshi’s breath fastens as Luo Binghe acquaints himself with his chest, fingers dancing over his ribs and down the gentle curve of his back.

Such good behavior has to be rewarded.

He does lift his eyes to Shen Yuan’s before removing his pants.

His beloved doesn’t say a word as he turns his gaze away demurely, but the caress in Luo Binghe’s hair speaks volumes, as does the seductive way he opens his thighs. If Shen Yuan has finally accepted his advances, how could Luo Binghe refuse him?

There are so many things Luo Binghe dreamed of doing to his Laoshi. He wants to spend hours worshipping him, keeping him in a state of unforgiving arousal until he begs for release. He wants to prepare him carefully and take him gently, painlessly, until all of Shen Yuan’s stress has left him and he’s barely conscious. He wants to fuck him until he screams. He wants to ride him languorously, for hours on end, until his body has taken the shape of Shen Yuan and no one else’s. He wants to be tied to the bed and used until he’s crying for mercy, and then be denied that mercy. He wants to go to work wearing the mark of Shen Yuan’s teeth high on his neck proudly, knowing his laoshi is wearing the exact same mark at home. He wants to fill him up with a remote-controlled toy and bring him to ecstasy during those interminable board meetings that would at least have a purpose, for once.

But for now, all he wants is to get to know all of Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan startles when Luo Binghe presses a kiss to his rapidly filling length, but he doesn’t protest. Good for him, because Luo Binghe isn’t sure he could have stopped. Not when he finally gets to find out how he tastes, how he sounds, how beautiful he looks when he flushes from pleasure.

He moans around him when Shen Yuan’s fingers twist into his hair. Shen Yuan could fuck his throat anytime, if he wanted to. Luo Binghe wouldn’t mind choking for him.

Maybe he could overcome that reflex with practice.

He would love to try.

It takes little time for Shen Yuan to groan and try to pull him off, which is a futile endeavor. Like Luo Binghe is going to waste any gift of Shen Yuan.

He greedily swallows it all down when Shen Yuan bites back his student’s name and digs his nails into Luo Binghe’s scalp.

Luo Binghe has never been this hard. “Laoshi, Shen Yuan, please.” He’d take anything. He’d rut against his leg if Shen Yuan would allow him to. “Please.”

Shen Yuan is bright red when his beautiful hand wraps around Luo Binghe’s cock, pulling and stroking in an awkward, unexperienced hold that Luo Binghe knows he’ll never get enough of. Just the sight of those white fingers on his feverish skin is enough to enthrall him. How is he going to last when they grow skilled? He’ll embarrass himself like the teenager he isn’t anymore! Even now, it takes all he has to last a few minutes.

He thought no sight could be fairer than Shen Yuan in pleasure, but the view of his fingers and chest covered in Luo Binghe’s come is so overwhelming Luo Binghe wishes his love was the type to allow for recording. If it were his face despoiled so… Luo Binghe would probably not soften at all.

Hopefully Shen Yuan will let him.

Another time. While Luo Binghe himself could easily keep on going for the rest of the night and the day after, what has happened tonight was probably a lot to ask of shy, proper Shen Yuan. Luo Binghe tries to soothe his exaltation, instead exploding in praises and endearments for his visibly embarrassed lover.

Luo Binghe ignores his attempts at distancing himself, instead holding him in his arm until Shen Yuan quiets and closes his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him.

_________________

Well, that happened.

It wasn’t… It was fine.

Okay, it was more than fine. One can only lie to themselves for so long. Luo Binghe is devastatingly handsome and convinced he loves Shen Yuan, for some reason. He’s not immune to that much charm!

He was kind. Shen Yuan had been as mentally prepared as he could be to find himself pushed on his back and taken, but Luo Binghe had waited.

Shen Yuan fully expects it will happen sooner or later. He’ll deal then. It will be hard on him, because quite honestly, he’s not sure anyone on Earth is built the right way to accommodate Luo Binghe, but he’ll do it. Binghe deserves it.

If he’s that serious about providing for Shen Yuan, he should get his money’s worth. Shen Yuan couldn’t live with himself otherwise.

[nyerus]

Hi....how are you? If you don't mind me asking, who is your favorite love interest in MXTX three novels (luo binghe, lan wanji, or hua cheng)? And why?

And who is your favorite protagonist in MXTX three novels (shen qingqiu, wei wuxian or xie lian)? And why?

Sorry if you've answered this question before....

Hello again, and thank you very much for sending in another ask!~ I love answering these as a little break from work, so no worries! <3

I think I mentioned before that Hualian are my fave characters and my fave couple, so I guess that answers both questions haha. But I do always love a chance to talk about why I love them so much, soooo....

As for some of the reasons why Hua Cheng is my fave love interest:

He is very extreme in his devotion. He doesn't just love Xie Lian, he is 100% comprised of his love for Xie Lian. It's incredibly intense, and I really like seeing this type of impossible intensity in fiction. I have a very pragmatic view of real-world relationships, but this type of all-encompassing and unconditional love is super fun to read!

His aura is unmatched! Not only is he sexy as hell, but he's also a sweetheart and sometimes like a spoiled brat vying for gege's attention! It's not even two sides of him -- he's both at once, and it's really wonderful to see that duality. Towards Xie Lian, he is a stalwart sword and shield; towards others, he's a dangerous threat.

He's not afraid to be affectionate towards Xie Lian. He is supportive, caring, and just so open with how happy he is to be around his beloved. Plus, he is mindful of Xie Lian's boundaries, and if he ever oversteps, is quick to apologize. He has his moments of insecurity, but they are never about how he feels, but rather what he thinks he deserves/doesn't deserve. He is always sincere in his actions.

Even though we don't get much of it, I really like his backstory. What we do have is enough to piece together something very concrete and heartbreaking. And despite the hardships he faced, Hua Cheng didn't let that define him -- though it is indeed something that will be with him forever. He took matters into his own hands, and decided to carve out a path for himself, and no one could stand in his way. If I had even 1/10th of his conviction, in anything, I think I'd be rich lmfaoooo!

And then coming to darling Xie Lian as my fave main:

I tend to adore calm and sweet characters in most media. (Actually if I don't like the main character in a story, I don't tend to really get into the thing!) Xie Lian is also reckless in his good deeds, which is wonderful. At first I was afraid that he would be a bit of a doormat, or a damsel, etc -- but he's not! He's very cognizant of his choices. He's not perfect, but nor does he try to be. He just wants to do good. There are times where he doesn't even want to do certain things/gets annoyed/has reservations/etc, but he does so anyway because he decides it's the Right thing to do. And I think making those choices, while still being true to yourself (even the ugly parts), is incredible. You can't have perfect thoughts all the time, but you can decide what you're going to do/react to a given situation.

He's actually very snarky and funny -- and I looooove him for it! At the same time, you can tell there is a lot of repressed trauma lurking behind every corner in his present-timeline inner narration, and it's... idk? Realistically heartbreaking? In a way that doesn't feel forced, I mean. Xie Lian ignores a lot of his own stuff because he knows there is nothing else he can do about it. Normally we'd say that it's unhealthy to do that, but the trauma in his past is in fact *so* bad that he really doesn't have a choice, does he? And it's less that he hasn't confronted it, but more that he's decided there is no point for him to dwell on it. "Why would I think about how I was horribly butchered when I can instead think about the delicious meat bun I had for dinner?" His attitude of looking for the small pleasures in life, amidst all the sorrow and anguish, is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking in all the right ways. He's just incredibly well-written.

His character progression is pretty amazing. He learns a lot -- maybe even too much -- over the course of his story. He starts out as a noble but naive prince, raised in the lap of luxury, not understanding of the true plight of the common people he wants to help. And he ends up knowing what it really means to save someone, to help others, and why it's personally important to do so. His biggest failing was that he was too young, and too inexperienced to understand how the world worked. Xie Lian's heart was ALWAYS in the right place (he was even abnormally progressive, even daring to challenge heaven -- which may seem par for the course for us readers, but is like... assassination-worthy for his time), and proved that he was not all talk. He genuinely believed in what he said, unafraid to defy the powers that be, and was ready to face whatever consequences resulted.

As someone who gets easily flustered and doesn't know how to handle overt affection too, I relate to him a lot hahaha!

These are super disorganized thoughts, but I hope they make sense! I just love these two to bits, and don't see myself getting off the Hualian train anytime soon~

[hamliet]

Scum Villain and Connecting with Humanity

So anyways chapter 79. 

MXTX continues to prove that she's brilliant with understanding the nuanced entanglement of fandom and creators and entitlement and responsibility, as well as fiction and reality's relationship. Scum Villain is such a brilliant novel (she wrote it in high school? HIGH SCHOOL? Teenagers are awesome and capable of so much; I cheer you on).

I kind of wrote a bit about this in my initial review of Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, but I wanna talk more about it since the story is almost over and my love for it has only increased. 

Shang QingHua, the closeted author, created Mo BeiJun as a character who is his idea of an ideal, perfect man. And he transmitigates into the character that Mo BeiJun in the original kills, which seems to reveal something really heartbreaking about how Shang QingHua sees himself. But instead of getting killed after transmitigating, Shang QingHua finds Mo BeiJun falling in love with him. He’s not “cannon fodder,” a red shirt, like he wrote Shang QingHua to be. He actually matters, and it’s through living the story he’s writing that he finds freedom to be himself and also that he’s worth the love of literally what he wrote as his ideal man. He’s living the self-insert life. Dante walked so Shang QingHua could run. 

But Shang QingHua, as a writer, is implied to have failed his readers in giving them a good story. Yet his readers failed him because their constant bullying and trashing of his work made him afraid to stick to his heart and write the story he wanted to write. It’s nuanced. The fans are entitled and their entitlement is condemned because of how it ultimately hurts the story and even more so, how it hurts Shang QingHua as a person, but he’s also not writing what he could. 

And I loved how Shen QingQiu’s development exemplifies one of those fans. He transmitigates into the novel to fix it, to uncover all the hidden meaning Shang QingHua intended to write. And yet when he does it, he’s still not satisfied, because as much as Shen QingQiu’s been telling himself his love for the original novel is because of all its foreshadowing and all its intricate plotting, that’s... not the case, and while it’s a part of it, that never was the whole appeal of the novel for Shen QingQiu.

The System delivered a succession of announcements:

【Hidden Character ① Zhuzhi-Lang, 100% complete】

【Hidden Character ② Tianlang-Jun, 100% complete】

【Hidden Character ③ Su Xiyan, 100% complete】

【Plot Hole Filling Event ① Shen Qingqiu, 100% complete】

【Plot Hole Filling Event ② Yue Qingyuan, 100% complete】

【The completion percentage for characters has reached the minimum standard. As per the System’s testing, there are no evident holes in logic. B points +300 per task, with a total sum of 1200. Congratulations on being promoted due to “Many Vent-Worthy Points4.” You’ve earned the “Absurd Writing is Now Readable” achievement.】

...

There was a long series of beeps, full of joy. Instead, Shen Qingqiu felt unprecedented dismay.

He said, “Is there any point?”

Of course, the System wouldn’t answer him. Shen Qingqiu pointed two middle fingers at the interface from the depths of his heart.

What kind of damn thing was this System? What was the point?

Just so he could know exactly how unlucky these people could be? Just so he could personally witness the many brutal ways someone could get screwed over in this world?

Or was it so he could drive Luo Binghe mad?

good grief if this isn’t me with game of thrones

Sure Shen QingQiu’s fixed the story and made it well-written, but the real love he had for the novel was that he loved the main character. He loved Luo BingHe, he loved connecting with a character who made him feel understood, who valued him, he thought he was capable of good even when faced with evidence that Shen QingQiu wasn’t particularly a great person. 

Even though the original novel favored Luo BingHe to the point where he was ridiculously immune to consequences, that didn’t satisfy Shen QingQiu because the appeal of Luo BingHe was in his desperate desire to connect, to be chosen by someone. It’s the same thing Shen QingQiu has wanted. And yet, his entitled-fan approach is something he brings into the novel when he transmitigates: his belief that he knows the character and how Luo BingHe will respond based on the original only drive Luo BingHe towards insanity.

If he hadn’t guessed and assumed so much from the very start, Luo Binghe perhaps would have never blackened from beginning to end...

Even if Shen Qingqiu took ten thousand steps back and had no choice back then but to push Luo Binghe down into the Endless Abyss, he completely could have achieved his goal using a different method. He wouldn’t even have had to waste any time thinking about it. Only now did Shen Qingqiu realize that, if he had wanted Luo Binghe to go down, he very likely would’ve only needed to say a single word and Luo Binghe would’ve obediently gone down.

Shen Qingqiu had never once thought of this possibility. He didn’t believe that someone would be so stupid, that Luo Binghe would be so obedient.

But in reality, he really was that stupid, that obedient.

After many twists and turns, they took quite a few detours and went around in a big circle, and he looked around at a loss. He didn’t know where they were, and he could only feel regret and deep hurt, sighing ‘if only I had known sooner.’

Luo BingHe is stupid in his obedience and trust of Shen QingQiu, and Shen QingQiu is that stupid and obedient in his trust of his understanding of the work, and in doing so he misses the point and hurts the character--now person--he loves and himself. 

Whether the story is well-written or not, Shen QingQiu doesn’t care in the end, since that wasn’t what he as an individual wanted. And so he decides to risk it all to save the man he loves, Luo BingHe, from himself. 

The beauty of fiction for Shen QingQiu as a person is the same as it was for Shang QingHua in writing: it helps them connect to humanity. 

[neoblogcrying]

“The Wisteria Vine” (LQG POV)

Hello and … sorry. I saw this post by @bespectacledfanmaiden and suddenly had the urge to write a thing. If you don’t know, Hanahaki is an illness born from one-sided love. The patient throws up and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. This infection can be removed via surgery, but the feelings will disappear along with the petals. As I don’t want to spoil some things, there will be a lengthy note at the end of this fic. Enjoy?

Warnings: There is some mentions of blood and death. Not sure what else I’d need to warn you about other than sads.

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Liu Qingge had always thought frivolous things like love was beyond him. Such a weakness wasn’t needed for someone who lived his life in the pursuit of strength.

It was an unnecessary emotion, something that didn’t come to him naturally. He could probably live his life without ever knowing the highs and lows of love, but fate had other plans for him.

Love is that emotion that can make you feel as though you stood on the top of the world, or that you were being crushed underneath all the dirt on the earth. It could be both selfless or selfish. Happy or sad. It could give you that euphoric high…or heart breaking pain.

Is it possible to love someone for their entire life? As an immortal, such a concept was foreign to him.

An eternal love sounded attractive in theory, but he suspected it was impossible to achieve.

Maybe Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu would prove him otherwise? He watched the two of them interacting from a distance. He’d always ignored that itchy feeling he had when he saw those two together.

Why did it irritate him so much to see that sticky disciple always sticking to Shen Qingqiu? Was it really because he didn’t trust him? You were the reason he died. He self-detonated his soul for you. You’ve given him so much pain and fear—why did you insist on staying by his side?

He could vaguely recall that time with the succubus. Someone who always takes the initiative to see him first, they’re always together, and they’ve saved each other’s lives… was it?

For so many years, Liu Qingge thought her words pointed towards himself… but he was wrong. They referred to that detestable bastard that was shedding crocodile tears to his shixiong.

Was he disappointed? Maybe he was.

The tickling feeling in his chest grew stronger.

No matter what happened, Luo Binghe refused to let Shen Qingqiu go, chasing him to the ends of the earth.

That child was always sticking close to his ‘Shizun,’ crying for attention, pleading to never be abandoned again.

What can you do for him? Liu Qingge would protect Shen Qingqiu from any and all dangers. He will always be there to defend him or help him with whatever he needed (even if it made him some glorified taxi-service).

The man would never admit to it himself, but he was… happy being around Shen Qingqiu, which was a stark contrast compared to how they first started out. He found the other to be a deplorable and shameful man. It was so different now, it was shocking.

It seemed that he was a bit… nicer to Shen Qingqiu. Maybe it was because he was worried about the poison? Did he simply have a soft-spot for the elder disciple? He didn’t know the answer to that.

Every now and again, he’d contemplate on this during meditation. He’d stop once the annoyance of the ticklish feeling in his chest grated on his last nerve, and then  he’d go out with his sword to practice his sword swings.

What made him so special? Liu Qingge couldn’t put his finger on it, but seeing the way Shen Qingqiu would smile around his beloved disciple brought him both sadness… and happiness? A smile was truly befitting that scholarly face of his, rather than that aloof gaze.

He was saved when he suffered from qi deviation. He was always praised for being a reliable shidi. Whenever possible, Shen Qingqiu would always offer a helping hand towards him… giving him advices.

The scholarly shixiong was… someone to be trusted, and respected. In regard to his own peak, he was well-loved by his disciples.

…

Well-loved…

Love?

Did he truly understand their hearts to think such a thing? He respected Shen Qingqiu like they respected their Shizun. He always did whatever was asked of him if it had a remote chance of earning him a smile from Shen Qingqiu.

Whenever he died, he momentarily lost his ability to function. There was an immense shock that he couldn’t get over, and it still plagued him till this day. He was willing to die for Shen Qingqiu, go through any lengths for him… but he couldn’t say he’d go that far for just anyone.

Did he… love Shen Qingqiu?

Just as he thought this, the ticklish feeling in his chest morphed into a full feeling that crawled up his throat and he collapsed against a tree, retching miserably. Purple vine blooms dropped to the ground unceremoniously.

He’d heard about this.

When you held one-sided affections for another, you would throw up flowers. This deadly illness could be solved if you had them surgically removed from your chest—but at the cost of your feelings towards your ‘special one.’

Sweat beaded down his forehead, blood left his face as realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

He loved Shen Qingqiu.

Hastily, he grabbed the blooms and escaped to his room before anyone noticed him. The blooms were cradled in his arm carefully, as if he were holding a fragile glass heart in his arm.

Once he sat in his dark room alone, he carefully inspected the vines of purple blooms. He knew that these were wisteria flowers. The delicate purple flowers looked untainted and healthy, even though they sprouted from inside of him.

Upon closer inspection, the flowers closer to the end of the vines were shriveled and dark red, as though they were dyed with his blood. They were dead.

Although being gentle wasn’t in his dictionary, he carefully removed the dead blooms and any that were tainted with his blood. He would go to a nearby pond to clean the rest, to remove them of any filth. If these flowers symbolized his feelings for Shen Qingqiu, he didn’t want them to look so sad.

What he’ll do with them, he didn’t know yet.

…

…

…

“Here.” After much contemplation, Liu Qingge couldn’t stare at the purple vines laying on his table any longer. He wanted to get rid of them in a way that didn’t require him to throw them away. They symbolized his feelings, after all.

In the end, he decided to gift them to the very person that was the reason for these manifesting and festering in his body.

“Wisteria? Liu-shidi, where did you get these? They don’t bloom at this time of the year. This would be nothing short of a miracle.”

Love isn’t something that comes and goes with the seasons, after all.

“Mn.” Liu Qingge didn’t feel the need to explain where the flowering vine came from and it seemed that Shen Qingqiu understood that he wasn’t going to be getting an answer so he smiled gently at the vine.

“I thank you, shidi. They’re beautiful. They will make for a wonderful decoration.”

A bitter expression tugged at his face. Treating his feellings as though they are decoration… how apt. “Do as you please!” He only had that to say before he left, but not without giving Luo Binghe a measured glare.

Treat him well and never make him sad. If you do, he’ll do whatever it takes to separate the two of you.

A hand clutched at his chest as he tried to ignore the ticklish feeling in his chest. Yes, he knows. Hold out until he escapes from here.

Don’t let him find out.

Please… don’t make him lose that smile.

…

…

…

In the darkness of his room at night, Liu Qingge stared at the bright moon that served as his companion most nights. What a lonely entity, could you understand his feelings?

“Should I talk to him about this?” He was referring to Mu Qingfan. He should be able to operate on him and remove the blooms.

Eyes never leaving the moon, he reflected on the smiling image etched in his mind from earlier that day. He snorted once. “You’re right.”

That smile is worth protecting.

Once more he clutched at his chest in pain before he expelled a new batch of flowers onto the ground, these looking more haggard than the last batch. Blood mixed in with the blooms.

He was about to dismiss them when he noticed something amiss. Among the purple wisteria vine of flowers he was expecting, there was something else mixed in with the vine.

What kinds of flowers are these? They were purple hyacinth. Why did he throw these up? Did something change?

The only thing he’d done differently now compared to before was that he’d resolved to live out these feelings of his, regardless of what ending they would give him.

Ah… maybe these symbolize his determination?

He gingerly picked one of the hyacinth flowers and held it up to the moonlight. “I think I’m making the right choice.”

Liu Qingge wasn’t going to make any risky challenges.

That smile was his to protect, and he’d guiltily die doing so, fully knowing Shen Qingqiu may blame himself for it.

What could be done about it?

He understood that Luo Binghe could protect him, but nothing could calm his heart more than resolving to lay his life down for the other.

If you gave him the choice between losing his feelings or dying for Shen Qingqiu’s sake, he’d always choose the latter. There was no guarantee that he’d still harbor protective feelings towards Shen Qingqiu if he went through with the surgery.

It’s possible he’d revert back to how they were those many years ago.

How could he allow himself to dessert Shen Qingqiu in his time of need?

Not only that, getting rid of the flowers made it feel as though he thought Shen Qingqiu wasn’t worth it-- which wasn’t the case. The worth of Shen Qingqiu was much more than his own life.

As such, he refused to get rid of them.

Even if he died due to this illness, Shen Qingqiu’s sadness would only be temporary. He had Luo Binghe to support him through the pain.

They say love and time can heal everything, so he’ll be fine, even if he dies.

“Say, do you think he’ll spare me a thought once I die?”

It sure would be nice if he did.

How pitiful it was to think that no matter how much Shen Qingqiu occupied his mind, he probably didn’t show up at all in Shen Qingqiu’s mind unless he needed someone to help him.

Was it sad that even that remote amount of attention was enough to bring joy to his heart?

It didn’t matter to him if it was sad… it made him happy.

“Look after him once I’m gone, will you?”

Wisteria have the meaning of long-life and immortality. In Kabuki theatre they have the meaning of love, support, sensitivity, bliss, and tenderness. If you have a flowering Wisteria vine, it symbolizes expanding consciousness.

Liu Qingge suffered from a one-sided love for Shen Qingqiu, but he never realized the feelings he had for him. So he never ended up coughing up any flowers. Instead, little blooms would sprout in his lungs—attributing to the itchy feeling he had in his chest.

It wasn’t until he finally realized his feelings that his ‘consciousness’ expanded relating to his feelings. That’s why he essentially coughed up a Wisteria vine where some of the blooms looked older than others. Those were the older blooms from when he was still unaware.

Did you know that most start flowering within 3-4 years of being planted? I feel like it could line up with whenever he started to form feelings that didn’t stem from responsibility or brotherhood. He had PLENTYYY of time to think of his feelings when he was fighting Luo Binghe for Shen Qingqiu’s body. Then it took time for him to fully realize his feelings.

What about the purple Hyacinth at the end, you ask? It symbolizes ‘please forgive me’ which originates from the myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus (the former accidentally killed the latter). In this case, I used it because Liu Qingge has no intention of getting rid of the infection which could very well result in his death. He feels apologetic because if he dies from Hanahaki, Shen Qingqiu may blame himself for inadvertently killing Liu Qingge for not reciprocating.

He chose this on his own. Don’t blame yourself. He worried that if the blooms were removed, it may also remove his desire to protect Shen Qingqiu from danger. Not willing to risk such a thing, he silently protects him danger at the expense of his own life. Willing to die for the sake of his good ol’ bro Shen Qingqiu… sounds very much like him, no?

[windyreads]

This stabs my heart harder than a salt-covered knife as I am being fed mudcake from my favorite restaurant that does it just so ✨perfectly✨.

Counterfeit jade

[neoblogcrying]

“Let’s Play a Game” pt.5

Here is the next part! This will be up on AO3 as well very soon! There is a poll this time!

By now, Shen Yuan should be better, don’t you think?

Who is to say? Maybe his system moderator decided to troll him for a while longer. 

Oh—that guy’s pretty sadistic, huh? The way he subtracts points… he’s a demon.

Stop that, hurry and start the next segment. The System-Temp is waiting.

Sorry~! Let’s get this show on the road!

As usual, the system moderators were conversing with each other before they resumed the gameplay. The System temp was always at their mercy to wait for the game to continue to see what would come of the story after their choice (if they made one).

Beep!

“You’re showing improvement.” Shen Jiu commented offhandedly.

“Of course, I’ve been rigorously taught after all...” Shen Yuan sighed, recalling the times Shen Jiu would task him to fixing his hair and being scolded over how he wasn’t ‘doing it right’. It wasn’t as though Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan would always be there for each other, especially when one was playing the Shen Qingqiu role, so it was imperative to be able to fix their appearance on their own should anything happen.

Shen Jiu was much more particular about his appearance than Shen Yuan was, so he was perfectly able to fix his appearance at any time it was needed. Shen Yuan, however… was not that as skilled. In fact, most of the times, Shen Jiu would style his hair for him.

The reason being that Shen Yuan would argue that Shen Jiu did it best, and he wasn’t good at it. Why don’t you show your younger brother how to do it properly? What a wonderful and caring older brother, you are! So talented!

The elder of the two twins was no idiot, so he knew what Shen Yuan was planning, but he still gave into the praise when he was in a good mood. This was not the case for when he was in a bad mood, as was the case for today.

Shen Jiu was in a foul mood this morning, so he forced Shen Yuan to style his own hair, and he was tasked to style Shen Jiu’s hair as well.

With one fluid movement, Shen Jiu reproachfully smacked Shen Yuan’s hand. “Is that a complaint? You should be able to do this on your own if you truly wish to play the part as Shen Qingqiu. If you refuse, then stay here like a sheltered Princess.”

It didn’t hurt, but Shen Yuan did reel his hand backwards, mentally pouting. He’d upset his brother who was only looking out for him, with his small remark. He understood that his brother was very sensitive to certain things, especially anything that may connote that he was an ill-intended person.

While Shen Yuan couldn’t say that Shen Jiu was a ‘kind person’ by the strictest of terms, he wouldn’t say that he’s scum either. He was a very complex individual who was likely to lash out due to his heavy emotional baggage.

“No complaints here, brother. Why don’t you check my work?” Shen Yuan stepped aside and sat next to his brother, smoothing out the wrinkles that appeared on his clothing as he sat down.

His hair was in order, his clothes were neat, and his facial expression was unmoving. He was the definition of an immortal cultivator.

He waited anxiously as his brother beside him moved. He rested his fan on his lap before he reached for his hair, gently feeling for any disorder. Shen Yuan had done a good job, it seemed. It felt exactly as it should, as though he’d styled his hair himself.

Most of his hair, aside from a few strands that framed his face, was pulled back into a half-ponytail, that was then adorned with an ornate hair crown. The hair that would otherwise get in his face was pulled up, while the rest was allowed to flow freely.

“You did good.” He offered only 3 words of praise for Shen Yuan, but that was more than enough for the younger man. Shen Jiu felt a slight tug on the corner of his sleeve. A quick glance out his peripheral vision revealed Shen Yuan breaking out of character to gaze at him expectantly.

He couldn’t understand it, but Shen Yuan seemed to crave attention, and he practically idolized Shen Jiu. What reason was there to idolize a trash-like human whose potential was stifled, he didn’t know. Perhaps this is what it was like to be an elder sibling.

Lightly, he pat Shen Yuan’s shoulder twice before he retracted his hand towards himself.

Shen Yuan’s facial expression lit up with joy as his brother understood his body language. Praise him in another way other than with words!

Yes, it was great to be praised by your brother, but more so than that… he was conditioning his brother! Get used to praising people! Maybe you’ll slip and praise Luo Binghe by accident! Get yourself some points, bro!

The fate of their future rests on your ability to treat the protagonist better!

He seemed to puff out his chest with pride, “I’ve secretly been practicing on my own. Haven’t I done well? Don’t you think I can do my hair properly?” Meaning, they no longer need to practice together like this in the morning, right?

These bonding moments between brothers were nice and all, but it was really  nerve-wrecking to have Shen Jiu staring at him like a hawk, waiting to strike with his fan should he make a mistake!

“Prove to me you can do it yourself 9 more times.”

Spartan, he’s a Spartan!

Of course, there was no way that Shen Jiu would let him off so easily. This was the reputation of Shen Qingqiu they were talking about after all.

“I’ll be sure to make you proud, brother.” No matter what adversities he faced, Shen Qingqiu never jumped off the ride otherwise known as ‘life.’ You could say he was as tenacious as a weed. He was ambitious, working hard to better himself, much different from how Shen Yuan was on Earth.

Maybe it was pity, but Shen Yuan truly wanted to support Shen Jiu. He had a new found appreciation for Shen Jiu because he happened to witness some of his past, and this appreciation soon turned into respect.

If you asked him, he’d say that he truly respected Shen Jiu and looked up to him. There was something about an underdog that made Shen Yuan want to support them and look up to their tenacity.

While he didn’t agree with how malicious Shen Jiu could be, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t understand. The most he could do is try to do damage control for his brother, and to help him learn better social skills.

If forcing himself to act a certain way to promote positive growth, he’ll do just that. He’s a pro at acting at this point, so what’s wrong with doing a little bit more? Though things were different, he still thought of everyone in the world as simple characters in a book.

All because the time was reversed, his thought process reversed as well in this regard.

“You’ll be late.” Shen Jiu reminded his brother.

It never ceased to amaze him how Shen Yuan could be so expressive, but the moment he had to step out as ‘Shen Qingqiu,’ he’d wipe every emotion off his face. His kind personality would be replaced by one that is standoffish.

With a flick of the wrist, ‘Shen Qingqiu’ covered the bottom half of his face with his fan. It was easier to look as though you were looking down on the rest of the world by utilizing a fan to cover your facial expressions.

He slid the door open and stepped out, leaving his brother behind. Shen Jiu could rest and study to his heart’s content.

“Shizun, good morning!” Disciples would greet him as he passed them by. He walked down the hallway without responding to them, as that’s what Shen Qingqiu would do. “Shizun~ Good morning!”

“Good morning.” Of course, he’d respond if one of the female disciples greeted him. It was well known to all that Shen Qingqiu had a soft spot to the female disciples.

The sun was out, and a gentle breeze tickled the face. It was a lovely day to be out, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been out like this. Shen Qingqiu was in a good mood, even if his facial expression didn’t convey this.

With the premise that he was patrolling the area to see if anything was amiss, he walked around aimlessly around Qing Jing Peak.

It’s been so long since he’d been out, he wanted to get a good look at everything to familiarize himself with his surroundings again.

Every pebble that crunched into the ground when he stepped on it, the scent of fresh air surrounding him, and the sounds of the young disciples diligently training themselves… it felt so new to him.

Shen Qingqiu wondered how his brother was faring at this time, was he relaxing? Did he bury his face into books or scrolls as he studied?

It certainly felt weird playing the role of Shen Qingqiu after being cooped up in their room for so long, he’d almost felt like Rapunzel or something.

He’d walked a full lap around the premises to see that almost nothing was amiss. Everything was in good order, and the disciples were diligently working hard… but there was something missing.

Where was the protagonist of this story? No, a few other disciples were missing if his memory was anything to go by.

Feet stopped as a foreboding sense of uneased settled over his heart. There was a 90% chance that the disciples were bullying Luo Binghe at this very given moment. He wanted to save him, but—

[System: Warning, that thought is dangerous. Even if the disciples know there are two people playing the Shen Qingqiu role, you must stick to character. It’s imperative no one can tell the difference between the two Shen Brother’s playing their role. OOC function has not been lifted, so please continue to play your role.]

What would Shen Qingqiu do at this point in time? Would he ignore the fact that disciples are missing to do something else, or would he go to join in tormenting Luo Binghe?

Shen Qingqiu was leaning towards the ‘Brother wouldn’t even notice people are missing and he’d do something else.’ It was one thing if one of the female disciples were missing, but a male one? Why would he care for that?

If Luo Binghe was missing, he’d prefer that, so the appropriate answer here would be to ignore the fact he’s noticed some of the male disciples (including the protagonist) were missing.

Now that he thought about it, someone else was missing, wasn’t she? If Luo Binghe wasn’t around, there usually meant that a certain someone would be with him—causing him more troubles.

Ning Yingying, couldn’t you please learn to use your brain and NOT cause Luo Binghe to be hated even more than he already is by his elder disciple brothers? Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but lament over how one of Luo Binghe’s wives had this special skill of causing him trouble.

“Shizun, come help!” A bright voice called out to him with a loud voice.

He knew exactly what was happening here, Luo Binghe was being bullied and Ning Yingying had ran off to retrieve Shen Qingqiu to alleviate the situation. What she didn’t know was that Shen Qingqiu would follow her, tell her to leave (to get bandages or something), and then bully Luo Binghe as well the moment she ran off.

Honestly? Shen Qingqiu felt so depressed by this matter. Why was it that one of Luo Binghe’s main wives was so… so… SO STUPID?

If anything, this was the perfect chance to use to see what Luo Binghe was up to. It’s been so long since he’d seen the protagonist, and he was curious to know how much he’d grown! Also, he really wanted to know just how much damage his brother had caused.

Don’t you think he needs to know what he’s dealing with if he plans on hugging the golden thighs of the protagonist?

“Lead the way.” He spoke with the uninterested and lofty tone that everyone was used to, and of course, Ning Yingying was none the wiser about the switch. She immediately started leading the way towards the bamboo forest.

For sure, the other disciples had to be bullying Luo Binghe by fussing with him and forcing all the errands onto him.

With every twist and turn on the path, he followed Ning Yingying at a leisurely pace, a bit too slow for her liking. “Shizun, hurry! A-Luo is in danger!” She tried to appeal to his concern for his disciples (did Shen Qingqiu have any?) to make him walk faster.

If not for the System blaring warnings at him, he would have overtaken Ning Yingying and came to Luo Binghe’s rescue already! Alas, he has to stick to his role and walk slowly with an uncaring attitude.

Ning Yingying truly had to be grateful to him that he was even taking the time to follow her into the bamboo forest. Who cared for that ‘brat,’ anyways? Such a detestable fellow!

Sorry.

Truly Sorry, Luo Binghe. He doesn’t mean it, honest! He’s spouting all these lies mentally because he has to get into the mindset of the incorrigible Shen Qingqiu! He wanted to cry with every insult he had to tack onto his favorite protagonist.

It was hard to notice for anyone that wasn’t Shen Qingqiu, but he did hasten his steps by another step, and he rebuffed the system by excusing his action by wanting to keep Ning Yingying’s good opinion of him.

If there was one thing that he knew, it was that Shen Qingqiu was lenient towards the female disciples, and he’d never want for them to have a negative opinion of him. He was very oddly vain about his image, especially when it came from a woman’s perspective.

“A-Luo! It’s going to be okay now! I’ve brought Shizun!”

There was a 100% chance that her words just shattered his heart. Shen Qingqiu was willing to bet on it. Stepping in next to Ning Yingying, he could see that the elder disciples were holding Luo Binghe down. A rusty axe laid on the ground, and another disciple froze mid-action, allowing the water from the bucket to slowly spill onto Luo Binghe’s head.

With the arrival of Shen Qingqiu, his imposing appearance caused all to stop and stare at him, with the exception of Luo Binghe, whose face was made to ‘eat dirt’ as they say. Even if he was free to look, he wouldn’t want to lock eyes with Shen Qingqiu’s chilly, reticent eyes.

Leave it to these canon fodders to not show any leniency. Shen Qingqiu mentally sighed at how they were splendidly signing themselves up to dying horrible deaths like they were given in the novel.

Even if there was a major change to the plot (the Shen Twins), everything else was following the novel’s progression to a T.

“Please, Shizun, make them stop!” Ning Yingying begged with tears in her eyes. Why do you look like you’re watching your lover standing at gunpoint? He won’t die, he’s the protagonist!

Still, now that he’s here, he has to do something, right?

DING!

You guessed right, it’s time for another plot changing question event! Surely you can guess what the subject matter of this question is going to be? What do you think Shen Qingqiu will do?

More like, what will you have him do? Just to let you know, the System Moderator in charge of overseeing Shen Qingqiu does not know that you are in charge of controlling Shen Qingqiu’s actions.

Yeah, that System Moderator is in a different department than us, so we haven’t let them know. Therefore, you need to be careful about what you choose, or things can get tricky!

Without a further ado… let’s get to the next question!

                           [What will Shen Qingqiu do in this situation?]

Walk away! Let them deal with it on their own!

Save the protagonist!

Be neutral and punish them all!

Tell Yingying to go away and unleash the ‘Shizun TM’

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