Chapter Text
It had been fourteen years.
Fourteen years since Shang Qinghua found Binghe washed up on the shore of the Luo River. Fourteen years since Shang Qinghua had become an actual father, and not just the “father” of a bunch of characters. Fourteen years since Shang Qinghua’s entire second life had changed.
There had been some bumps along the road, but Shang Qinghua was happy. He had a loving boyfriend and a happy, healthy son. The System hadn’t bothered him in years. Binghe knew about and accepted his demonic heritage. Things were going well.
“Binghe! Dinner time!” Shang Qinghua called as Mobei Jun set three bowls of noodles on the table.
Binghe came out of his bedroom, a cheerful smile on his face. Shang Qinghua loved Binghe’s smile. It was the most beautiful little thing he had ever seen, truly. Really, anyone would love Binghe if they saw him smile genuinely like that. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike his Binghe.
Maybe he was a little biased, being Binghe’s father, but still.
“It smells amazing, Die!” Binghe said.
“Thank you,” Mobei Jun replied, a bit stiff.
Shang Qinghua was so proud. Mobei Jun, saying thank you. They’d worked so hard on that one.
Binghe sat at the table between Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua. Shang Qinghua patted his son’s fluffy curls, a habit he had picked up when Binghe was younger. Binghe gave him a bright smile, then picked up his chopsticks.
Just as the family was about to dig in, there was a knock at the door.
Binghe stood. “I’ll get it.”
“No, sit down and eat your food,” Shang Qinghua said. “I’ll get it.”
Binghe, ever the dutiful son, sat back down. Shang Qinghua went to the door as whoever was there knocked again, more instantly this time.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Shang Qinghua muttered, then gave a little snort at the joke that came to mind at the words. Really, his humor was worse than his fourteen-year-old son’s.
When Shang Qinghua opened the door, he saw a sight he certainly wasn’t expecting. There, at his door, was none other than Shen Qingqiu. Shang Qinghua could have dropped dead from fright.
System? System! He can’t have my son!
[Not to worry] the System chimed unhelpfully.
“Are you Shang Qinghua?” Shen Qingqiu asked.
Shang Qinghua nodded, sighing internally. Maybe Shen Qingqiu was just there for him. Maybe Binghe was safe.
A peculiar look passed over Shen Qingqiu’s elegant features. “Where is Luo Binghe?”
Shang Qinghua panicked again. Nope! Binghe was not safe!
But he paused when he registered the name that was said. Luo Binghe.
“How do you know that name?” Shang Qinghua asked.
Shen Qingqiu froze, then hid his face behind his fan and looked away. “My mistake. Shang Binghe, is it?”
Now, it was possible that it truly had been a coincidence that the “mistake” Shen Qingqiu made was saying Binghe’s original name. He could have just gotten the surname wrong. Somehow, though, that seemed unlikely.
Shang Qinghua narrowed his eyes at the other man. “Does the name Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky ring a bell?”
Shen Qingqiu shut his fan with an audible little click. “You’re a transmigrator too?!”
“Shhh, not so loud!” Shang Qinghua said, peeking over his shoulder at where Binghe and Mobei Jun were still eating dinner.
Mobei Jun wasn’t paying them any attention, but Binghe was definitely listening in.
“What was your Zhongdian ID, then?” Shang Qinghua asked, quiet enough that, with any luck, Binghe wouldn’t be able to hear. “Maybe we knew each other.”
“Peerless Cucumber,” Shen Qingqiu replied, quiet now as well.
“Ah, I think I remember you,” Shang Qinghua said. “Very active in the comments and forums. One of my biggest antis, right?”
“One of your—you’re Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky?!” Shen Qingqiu demanded.
Shen Qingqiu looked like he wanted to hit Shang Qinghua over the head with that fan of his.
“Look, no one forced you to read my novel!” Shang Qinghua said, taking a few steps back. “You could have read anything else!”
“And yet I wasted my time on your stupid novel!” Shen Qingqiu said. “You hack author! And what the hell is this? Shang Binghe? Shang Binghe? You ruined the whole story!”
“Shang Qinghua,” Mobei Jun called from his seat at the table. “Your noodles are getting cold.”
“I’ll be right there, my king!” Shang Qinghua replied, then turned back to Shen Qingqiu. “Look, do you want to come in? Eat dinner with us, meet Binghe?"
Shen Qingqiu visible calmed at this. He peered past Shang Qinghua to look at Binghe, then nodded. Shang Qinghua led him inside and to the table.
“Are there enough noodles left for our guest, my king?” Shang Qinghua asked.
Without asking questions, Mobei Jun nodded and went to the kitchen to get another bowl. Binghe, on the other hand, looked to have many questions.
“Ba, who is this?” he asked.
“This is Shen Qingqiu,” Shang Qinghua replied. “He’s the peak lord of Qing Jing, one of Cang Qiong Mountain’s twelve peaks.”
“Why is he here?” Binghe asked.
“He wanted to meet you,” Shang Qinghua replied.
“How does he know who I am? Why does he want to meet me?"
Shang Qinghua, ever the storyteller, made up a story. “He heard about you when you were a baby and we still lived on An Ding. He wanted to see how you were doing now.”
Binghe nodded, then looked at Shen Qingqiu. He looked him over, then cocked his head with a slight smile. “Is Peak Lord Shen satisfied what what he sees?”
Shang Qinghua’s heart nearly stopped. He’d never seen Binghe turn on the charm like that before. If this were a woman, Shang Qinghua would think he was trying to pick up a new wife. But then, he had never specified that Binghe was completely strait in PIDW. So then, was…was Binghe flirting? With Shen Qingqiu?
Mobei Jun came back then. He set a steaming bowl in front of Shen Qingqiu, then noticed the way Binghe was looking at the peak lord. He narrowed his eyes, then turned to Shang Qinghua. Shang Qinghua made a hand gesture that was meant to communicate, “It’s alright, my king.” Mobei Jun’s eyes narrowed further, but all he did was sit and continue eating.
Shen Qingqiu hid his face behind his fan, clearing his throat. “This master is quite satisfied. In fact, he would like to extend an offer.”
“Oh?” Binghe batted his eyelashes. “What offer?”
“This master would like to aid Shang Binghe in his cultivation,” Shen Qingqiu replied.
__________
That night, as Binghe was settling in for sleep, Shang Qinghua went into his room to talk to him. He was hesitant to do so, but he knew it needed to be done. In his first life, Shang Qinghua’s parents hadn’t been supportive about his sexuality. It had been a traumatic experience for him. In this world, sexuality didn’t really matter, so his parents in his second life hadn’t said anything about it at all. Still, Shang Qinghua needed to give Binghe the supportive home he’d never gotten as a kid, in either life.
Shang Qinghua sat on the edge of Binghe’s bed. “Binghe, remember when we had that conversation a while ago? The one about growing up?”
Binghe nodded.
“You know how we talked about boys loving girls?” Shang Qinghua asked.
Binghe nodded.
“Well, boys can love boys, too.”
“Yeah, I know,” Binghe said. “Like you and Die.”
Shang Qinghua nodded. “Right, just like that. And you know that we would support you no matter who you loved, right?”
“Of course,” Binghe said, starting to look a bit confused. “Is something wrong, Ba?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to make sure you knew that we would love you no matter what. And, if you ever have any—” Shang Qinghua cleared his throat, internally cursing himself for suddenly having shame. “If you have any questions…”
“Don’t ask Die?” Binghe supplied.
Shang Qinghua laughed, pulled from his embarrassment. “Hey, he’s actually—”
Binghe’s face scrunched, much like it would when he cried as a baby. “Ew, Ba, I don’t want to know.”
“Right, right,” Shang Qinghua laughed, then patted his son’s head. “Goodnight, Binghe. I love you.”
Binghe smiled up at him. “I love you, too.”
__________
For a few months now, Shen Qingqiu had been helping Binghe with cultivation and scholarly studies. Who knew where the peak lord found the time, but he came over once a week, without fail. Binghe was improving by the day, as to be expected of Shang Qinghua’s perfect son. He was also growing closer to Shen Qingqiu.
Shang Qinghua had been spending time with Shen Qingqiu, too. He knew that Cucumber-bro was nothing like the original goods, and genuinely cared for Binghe. That being said, as a father, Shang Qinghua didn’t know how he felt about Binghe being so into a man more than twice his age.
Granted, Cucumber-bro wasn’t that old. Shang Qinghua put his age at maybe twenty-two. Twenty-three at the oldest. So, even though the original goods was so much older than Binghe, the man he was now was only eight, maybe nine years older. Still, that was pretty damn old! Binghe was fourteen!
Anyway, the three of them were sitting at the table eating dinner. Binghe wasn’t eating, instead just poking at his food.
“What’s wrong, Binghe?” Shang Qinghua asked.
Binghe glanced over at Shang Qinghua, then continued staring intently at the meat he was stabbing with his chopsticks. “I have something to tell you.”
“You can tell us anything,” Shang Qinghua said. “We won’t be mad.”
Probably.
Binghe nodded. “It’s about Shizun.”
“What about him?” Shang Qinghua asked.
Binghe sat down his chopsticks, looked at Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun, and said, “I want to marry him.”
Shang Qinghua choked on his own spit. Mobei Jun would never do something so undignified, but his eyes did widen considerably.
Shang Qinghua had been fearing something like this might happen. He had seen the signs. Still, he hadn’t expected Binghe to make such a proclamation so soon. He hadn’t prepared for this conversation! He didn’t know what to say!
“No,” Mobei Jun said flatly. “You cannot.”
“Why not?” Binghe demanded. “I love him!”
“Now, Binghe—” Shang Qinghua tried.
“You are too young,” Mobei Jun said.
Binghe crossed his arms. “Then I’ll wait until I’m older.”
Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua shared a look. If that was their only issue with the relationship, then that was a solid plan. And really, what else could they say to deny Binghe? What other excuses did they have? Shen Qingqiu was a peak lord of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and now that he was actually Peerless Cucumber, he was more-or-less a good person. He had been kind to Binghe, and treated him well. What qualms did they have with him?
Shang Qinghua sighed. “Alright, Binghe. When you’re older, if Peak Lord Shen wants to marry you, you have our permission.”
Shang Qinghua had never seen a brighter smile on his son’s face.
All-in-all, fourteen years later, the Shang family was doing well. And things were looking good for the future.