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“Laoshi, this foolish student is falling so far behind in class… because it’s so hard. Is there anything I can do to try and fix my grades? Anything at all?”
Binghe looked at him with teary eyes that made Shen Yuan’s heart waver for just a moment before the words that had just been spoken caught up with him. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Binghe an unimpressed look. “Binghe’s grades are the top of the class, and you’ve already done all the extra-credit assignments. There’s nothing more to be done for my class.” Really, this was all extra ridiculous because Binghe had been forced to work hard and study like crazy to get accepted into university at all, considering his lack of formal modern education.
Binghe’s mouth opened slightly, and then he narrowed his eyes. “Laoshi…” he whined. “I’m trying to… you said…”
Shen Yuan raised one eyebrow, doing his best to emulate his er-ge’s patented bitch face. “You’re trying to do what?”
“You said we could try role playing!” Luo Binghe burst out.
Shen Yuan blinked a few times as he processed that, then rolled his eyes. “That’s your idea of role play? What kind of porn have you been watching?”
The determined jut of Binghe’s jaw usually didn’t spell out anything good for Shen Yuan’s ability to get a peaceful night’s rest (not that he’d ever complain about his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. Or at least not that he’d ever complain in all seriousness). “Apologies for the sub-par material. I will just have to work harder to impress my Laoshi.”
As Binghe turned to leave the small office, Shen Yuan thought to call out the other complaint he had with this lame attempt. “And don’t call me ‘laoshi’ when you’re trying to do bedroom things!” That bastard just chuckled and slipped out of the room without bothering to apologize.
,,,
“Okay, so you’re going to be the fearsome Demon Lord-”
“What?” Shen Yuan interrupted. “Why am I the Demon Lord? Wouldn’t the role be more suited to you? Who would even be intimidated by me enough to call me fearsome?”
Binghe tilted his head to the side (something that should not have looked so cute when coming from a grown adult!). “Have you ever read your reviews on ratemyprofessor?”
Shen Yuan had heard of that site, but he didn’t think that anyone still actually used it. He just shook his head. “Still, I don’t want to be the Demon Lord.”
“Why not?” Binghe asked challengingly. “Do you have a problem with demons?”
Shen Yuan reached out to lightly smack Binghe in the shoulder. “Don’t be stupid.” He felt his face go red as he mumbled, “You know how I feel about at least one demon.”
The blinding grin on Binghe’s face made Shen Yuan feel like he’d just played right into his boyfriend’s hands, but since he didn’t even know what the endgame was here, he just accepted it. “Maybe Laoshi is right. I’ll be the Demon Lord,” he said magnanimously. “You can be the righteous cultivator who captures me and has to punish me by tying me up and-”
“Why would I capture you?” Shen Yuan asked curiously. “Is this a setting where demons are automatically disliked by humans, or did something suspicious happen nearby that you’re being blamed for? Did you actually commit a crime, or are you being falsely accused? What can be used to contain such a powerful demon anyways? Am I a rogue cultivator or from a sect? Am I actually righteous or is this one of those really hypocritical types? Do you-?”
As Shen Yuan rapidly came up with more questions to expand the lore, Binghe sighed, but there was a fond gleam in his eyes as he helped Shen Yuan brainstorm. By the time they’d come up with most of the answers, they’d both already forgotten about the initial point of the story.
,,,
There was something suspicious about the way Binghe greeted Shen Yuan when he got home from work. Having dinner ready was normal, since Binghe was probably the best cook in the world (Shen Yuan insisted on making it fair by cleaning up any mess Binghe left in the kitchen, but there wasn’t usually much more than a token plate or cutting board in the sink- it wasn’t his fault that Binghe liked to clean as he went!)
So the delicious smells in the air were making Shen Yuan’s mouth water, but he was more focused on the sight of his boyfriend. Binghe seemed to be dressed in nothing more than an apron and a pair of Shen Yuan’s boxers that strained to fit Binghe’s more muscular figure. It was an arresting sight for sure, but Shen Yuan would think Binghe was beautiful no matter what he was wearing. Anyone could agree, since it was just an objective fact that Binghe was perfect. Luckily he’d at least gotten somewhat used to Binghe’s looks over the past year of living together, which made it easier to not get distracted. “What-?”
“This lonely little housewife tried to prepare everything for husband’s specifications. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make dessert because I was so busy getting all my chores done, but I can think of something else you might want to have-”
Shen Yuan reached out to lightly flick Binghe in the forehead, right where his glowing demon mark would be if it were visible. “Don’t keep overworking yourself! I told you before that I’ve survived my entire life without having someone else cook and clean for me. I appreciate your efforts, but there’s a lot of other things you could be doing with your time, and I’m more than capable of making dinner when you need a break!”
Binghe blinked a few times, then pouted. Pouted! “Laoshi…” He sighed. “Let’s just eat.” He led Shen Yuan into the dining room and sat down to eat, still wearing the apron. Shen Yuan couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it, and after a small pause, Binghe laughed along with him.
,,,
“Laoshi, wear this!” Binghe shoved something into Shen Yuan’s arms.
Curious, he opened the package he’d been handed, and then immediately dropped it, face flushing bright red. “Binghe, this is…” he trailed off as he looked down at the incriminating outfit. It was a ‘sexy nurse’ costume. “Teaching you about the internet was such a mistake.”
Binghe grinned shamelessly. “Put it on, Laoshi, and then you can take care of your injured patient.”
“Injured?”
“Not for real,” Binghe hurried to assure him.
Shen Yuan frowned. “Honestly, what’s sexy about an injury, pretend or otherwise? And wouldn’t it be unhygienic to fool around with someone who’s hurt? Even if it’s not a major wound, getting worked up would probably make the blood flow faster, and there’s too much risk of infection.”
Binghe frowned and thought about it before suggesting, “What about sick instead?”
“That’s just as bad! Being sick is so gross, there’s nothing sexy about it at all. And you would be risking getting your germs all over your nurse. No thank you.”
Binghe looked at him with those damn wide eyes that tended to make Shen Yuan cave in way too quickly. “You would think it’s gross even if it’s your Binghe who’s sick?” he asked in a pathetic voice.
Shen Yuan sighed. “Yeah, obviously. I’d take care of you, but it would still be gross. Luckily, you are immune to pretty much everything.”
Binghe ignored that last part and swooped forward to pull Shen Yuan into a hug. “I would take care of you too, if you were sick.”
“...thanks.”
There was a moment of silence, and then, “So will you wear the costume?”
Binghe took it like a champ even as Shen Yuan laughed in his face.
,,,
Shen Yuan was supposed to have gone to sleep an hour ago, since he had to be up early for his morning class, but he’d gotten too caught up in the book he was reading to bother paying attention to the time. He was barely even aware of the sound of the bedroom door opening, and let out a little (totally manly) shriek of surprise when he was suddenly pounced on. “Binghe, what are you doing?”
Binghe took his book and carefully placed it down on the bedside table so that it was propped open on the page Shen Yuan had been on, and then he began raining kisses down Shen Yuan’s face and neck. “I’m an evil demon here to take you back to my realm to have my way with you and-”
Shen Yuan couldn’t help laughing a little, and leaned forward to press soothing kisses against Binghe’s forehead when he saw his boyfriend’s offended look. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just, well. Evil? You?”
Binghe sighed and rolled over to lie down next to Shen Yuan. “I’ve conquered more lands than you could dream of,” he grumbled. “Laoshi must take pleasure in rejecting all of this Binghe’s ideas.”
He sounded so bummed out about it that Shen Yuan couldn’t help feeling a little guilty, even if there had been too many plot holes in all of the previous ideas for them to be worth playing out. “Look, I promise I’ll go along with your next idea without saying anything, okay?”
“You’ll do anything?” Binghe asked, immediately perking up.
Maybe that should have been worrying, but Shen Yuan couldn’t find it within himself to get nervous. This was Binghe, after all. The same guy who got emotional watching Disney movies and who always seemed willing to go along with whatever Shen Yuan asked of him. “I trust you not to come up with anything you know I wouldn’t like.”
,,,
Enough time passed that Shen Yuan had almost entirely forgotten about his promise, until it abruptly came up again. They were just getting home from a fancy dinner with his family, and Binghe was acting twitchy. “Is everything okay?” Honestly, Shen Yuan wouldn’t have been surprised if Binghe was just annoyed at how expensive the restaurant was, considering that their food wasn’t anywhere near as good as Binghe’s.
After a long pause, Binghe hesitantly said, “A-Yuan?”
“Hm?” That was a new one, usually the only nickname Binghe used for him was Laoshi.
Binghe fidgeted awkwardly with his hands. Shen Yuan had never seen his boyfriend look so uncertain, and it was both humanizing and worrisome. “Will you marry me?” Binghe suddenly blurted out.
Shen Yuan opened his mouth, but then stopped before he said anything as he recalled the promise he’d made before. He knew that Binghe had been married many times before coming to this world, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he would want to experience that again. Shen Yuan wasn’t sure exactly what role he was supposed to play here, but he had told Binghe that he’d play along with no questions asked, so he took just a moment to make sure he was in the right headspace to play.
Then he nodded and reached out to grab Binghe’s hands. “Yes, of course!”
He waited for Binghe to say something else, so that Shen Yuan would have some idea of where they were going with this, but Binghe just stared at him in shock. “You really… you really would marry me?”
Shen Yuan frowned slightly. His Binghe wasn’t this good of an actor, was he? Oh shit- did that mean it had been a real question? Then why had it felt so ominous when Binghe had asked? Now he was really glad that he hadn’t jokingly refused! “You’re Binghe,” he said, as if that answered everything. And in many ways it did, at least for Shen Yuan. “Who wouldn’t want to marry you?”
“But you really…?”
Shen Yuan pulled Binghe over to the couch and pushed him to sit down, and then he settled comfortably on Binghe’s lap, wanting them to be as close together as possible. “It’s strange to imagine that someone like you would even want to be with someone as average as me, but if it were up to me, then I would definitely spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Laoshi!” Binghe cried out before wrapping his arms around Shen Yuan’s waist and pulling him closer. “I love you so much.”
Shen Yuan smiled and pressed his face into Binghe’s hair. “I love you too.”
,,,
Years later, while reminiscing, Shen Yuan laughed as he explained that his first reaction to the proposal was thinking that it was another attempt at roleplaying. Binghe was so distraught at not having been taken seriously that he immediately demanded a do-over to propose again, and Shen Yuan found it impossible to deny his ridiculous husband anything.