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Shen Wei is making dumplings when Zhao Yunlan comes home. Zhao Yunlan loves dumplings, and he knows Shen Wei loves him, so he maybe shouldn’t think that this is suspicious, but it is. Even without the prior information he has on what happened today.
“You’re making dumplings,” he says mildly, stepping up behind Shen Wei to look over his shoulder at the food he’s preparing, but he’s determined to not let himself get distracted. Neither by the food nor by Shen Wei, who is leaning into him with that soft smile playing on his lips.
“I just felt like it today,” Shen Wei says.
Zhao Yunlan has to bite his lip to keep from laughing, and instead makes a non-committal sound. Shen Wei isn’t overly fond of dumplings. He’s such a bad liar, and Zhao Yunlan still can’t believe it took him almost two weeks to notice that the man he was falling in love with was a demon.
“I got called into school today,” he says casually.
Shen Wei stiffens almost imperceptible, but Zhao Yunlan is a police officer and good at picking up clues. It also helps to already know what he’s looking for.
“Do you want to know why?” he asks.
Shen Wei is silent for a moment, turning the dumplings in the frying pan. The corner of his mouth briefly tugs up into a half smile, but his voice sounds completely innocent when he says, “Of course.”
“Well, Lin Lin was being rude to her teacher and had to be scolded—”
“It wasn’t Lin Lin’s fault!”
Zhao Yunlan raises his eyebrows, and Shen Wei glances at him, looking caught. It’s absolutely adorable.
“I mean,” Shen Wei stammers, “Lin Lin is a sweet little girl. I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything that warranted such a reprimand.”
Zhao Yunlan snorts. Lin Lin is a good kid with a heart as big as that of her father, but she also has taken on his cast-iron sense of justice and his damn stubbornness. In a centuries old demon that might be inevitable, but in a seven year old girl it spells trouble. Not that Zhao Yunlan isn’t usually drawn to trouble like flies to honey.
“Well, it was the strangest thing,” he muses, putting his chin on Shen Wei’s shoulder. “Apparently the teacher took her into the back room and when she scolded her, Lin Lin started to cry.” He can see Shen Wei swallow. His body has grown tense, and Zhao Yunlan wraps his arms around him from behind and brushes his nose along his neck, smiling fondly. When Shen Wei relaxes a little, he continues, “And do you know what the teacher says happened then?”
“No,” Shen Wei says, sounding grumpy.
“She said suddenly a man with glowing red eyes materialized in the room and attacked her with a scythe.”
“It’s not a scythe!” Shen Wei scoffs and then freezes. “I mean—”
Zhao Yunlan can’t hold back, he starts giggling so hard he’s almost wheezing.
“You’re not taking this seriously!” Shen Wei looks at him indignantly.
“I’m not—?” Zhao Yunlan is now bowed over with laughter, clinging to his unofficial demon husband. “Xiao Wei, you can’t attack a teacher just because she’s—”
“I didn’t attack her.”
“Threaten her, then.”
“Scare her. Maybe. A little. Lin Lin was distressed.”
“She’s quit her job!”
Shen Wei rolls his eyes. “If she’s scared by a common cross-roads demon, I’m not sure she’s qualified to teach seven year old children.”
Zhao Yunlan pulls himself upright. Shen Wei has crossed his arms in front of him. Zhao Yunlan knows he should put his foot down. But that woman made his daughter cry, so she probably deserved it. He takes Shen Wei’s face in his hands and kisses the tension away from his lips.
“I love you,” he says. When Shen Wei looks at him with his adorable puppy eyes, he adds, “But you’re not coming to parent-teacher night.”