Work Text:
There are many things that Shen Jiu disliked, but one of the things he disliked the most was looking like he didn't roll out of a fashion magazine. For Shen Jiu his image was more important than anything else, so it wasn't to anyone's surprise that he was completely pissed off when a teenager bumped into him during lunch, causing his tea to spill all over his uniform. The kid was promptly dragged along to the host club where the vice president was ready to eviscerate him.
Shen Yuan elegantly put his hand on Shen Jiu's shoulder, just like how they had practiced without the presence of their clients. Under Shen Jiu's guidance and strict demands, Shen Yuan had to practice the movement numerous times before Shen Jiu was satisfied with the consistent results. It was meant to look proprietary, but Shen Yuan would swear up and down that it looked ridiculous. Sadly, the young ladies loved it thus the ridiculous gesture had to stay.
"Jiu-ge, don't bully the boy," Shen Yuan said, part acting his role as the resident Shen Jiu wrangler and part genuinely compassionate as he would also feel mortified if he were put on the spot like that. Shen Jiu did not visibly react, but Shen Yuan could feel the tension in his shoulders relax a little under his hand. Shen Yuan sent a relieved smile at the red-faced stranger. "This lovely young master-"
A strangled croaking sound and the following sound of something shattering jolted Shen Yuan out of his act of serenity. Wha- what did just happen? The messy teen was fine before Shen Yuan smiled at him, so why was he now on the floor surrounded by the shattered ceramic of what once was a priceless vase?
A foreboding feeling overcame Shen Yuan when he noticed the shoulder under his hand tremble. Oh no, oh no this is bad.
"Jiu-ge," he said at the same time the club president said "Xiao Jiu".
Well, goodbye world, it was good to know you. It has been a fun year host club, if you guys didn't blackmail him into joining Shen Yuan would admit having enjoyed himself while it lasted.
...
One month ago, when Shen Yuan was not even aware that a host club existed in Cang Qiong high school, Shen Yuan made the mistake of opening the doors of the third music room down the hall. He missed half the school year because he was confined in the hospital and he needed to make up for all the tests that he missed. However, there was no where he could study in peace!
Shen Yuan only needed 3 days to become completely disillusioned with his high school experience. Even if it weren't for the whole 'exam speedrun' thing, it was nothing like the high school experience that novels and anime depicted. What about the crafting lifelong friendships or romance? When it comes to rich kids with even richer parents, everything was about making connections with the right people.
Depending on who you asked, Shen Yuan was either one of those right people or completely uninteresting. Yes, he was the third son of that Shen family, but he was also the third son of the Shen family. There was no way that he was going to inherit the multi-billion family business and out of all the sons, Shen Yuan was the... most unknown son to put it lightly.
Shen Yuan had been in and out of the hospitals since he was young. At some point his health had become so bad that his family had become permanently overprotective of the third young master. The media stood no chance against the Shen family lawyers. Shen Yuan's entire existence was practically concealed to the outside world. The only people who knew of Shen Yuan were the hospital staff, some fellow patients, and Shen Yuan's family.
So here he was, finally in high school and even joining in halfway through the school year. No one knew how to react to him, and Shen Yuan didn't give them the chance to find out. No, he needed to study.
And that was what brought him to the third music room down the hall. The one place he expected to see no sea of teenagers trying to figure out what to do with him. Oh, how wrong he was.
The first sign for him to run away came in the form of a handful of rose petals in his face. The second sign was the group of teenagers posing around each other in front of the door.
"Ah a new customer," the tallest teen with a calm demeanor commented, but his presence was quickly overshadowed by another teenager.
"Shang Qinghua," the other teen commanded with a snap of his fingers, "Who is this twink?"
"Ah, eh vice president this isn't really something I can say in front of-"
"Wouldn't it be a shame if the president of the supernatural club were to find out about all those-"
"Shen Yuan, third son of the current president of the Shen conglomerate. 17 years old and only released from the hospital this summer. This is his third day in Cang Qiong high school despite it being the middle of the school year because of his hospitalization. Has no friends and is pretty much a loner," the nervous teen began to rattle off in high speed, the hesitance in his voice forgotten in his haste to sum up the facts.
"So, it is just a loner who wants some companionship," the vice president confirmed while assessing Shen Yuan. "Well, I guess he is not bad looking."
"Thank you?"
"So, you agree that you are pretty?" the elegant teen asked, standing up to take a closer look at Shen Yuan. He seemed to find something that he agreed with in Shen Yuan's sputtering.
"So, what is your type?" he asked with a flick of his long hair. He pointed at each of the handsome teens behind him as he introduced them to Shen Yuan. "We have the brotherly type, the healing type, the girl boss type, the geeky type, one absentee brute, or me. Shen Jiu, the dark ruler type."
This... this was a lot to take in for Shen Yuan, who only wanted some peace and quiet. He slowly started to walk backwards and turning his body to the door.
"I'm just going to leave," he said as he reached for the door he came through.
"Leaving already?" Shen Jiu asked with a cold smile and a firm hand on Shen Yuan's shoulder. "Why don't you stay a little longer for fun?"
Shen Yuan pulled the door handle harder, rattling the door a couple times. Eventually Shen Yuan realized his mistake and pushed the doors instead. Triumphantly, Shen Yuan opened the door to his freedom.
But when he opened the door he was faced with a horde of loud teenage girls.
The horde of young ladies slowly grew silent when they noticed the new addition in the host club until the silence was almost unbearable. It only grew more uncomfortable when Shen Yuan noticed that every girl was looking straight at him with unreadable gazes. The intensity of their stares increased when they connected the hand that was holding his shoulder in a death grip belonged to Shen Jiu.
"Excuse me," one particularly nervous girl asked Shen Yuan, "can I- can we book an appointment with you? And Shen-gege too! Ah but you're also Shen-gege, right? Shen er-gege?"
“He’s not my brother,” Shen Yuan denied awkwardly. The real Shen er-gege already graduated Cang Qiong two years ago and now attended a prestigious university in America. And his da-ge was certainly not the teen standing next to him.
“He’s my cousin,” Shen Jiu countered with such conviction that for a solid minute Shen Yuan doubted his entire family tree. Maybe if Shen Yuan took off his glasses and squinted his eyes, he could find some similarities between them. A 30 to 40 percent of resemblance at most.
Maybe. Or not.
Shen Yuan opened his mouth to deny the familial ties, but he was interrupted by a slow slide of an elegant hand underneath his chin. Then the hand grabbed his chin and forcefully turned his head to face Shen Jiu.
“My dear favorite cousin,” Shen Jiu purred, and it would have sounded attractive if Shen Yuan couldn’t see the promise of murder in his eyes if he didn’t shut the fuck up, “you wouldn’t deny our close relationship when it has been so long since we saw each other right? This cousin of yours missed your... companionship”
Shen Yuan’s mouth shut with a ferocity he usually saves for his reviews on webnovels. Holy- how can a teenager his age sound so menacing? If Shen Yuan didn’t know any better, he’d think that he is now in the hands of a villainous character who was about to reveal his evil plans to the protagonist.
"A-ah She-"
"Jiu-ge" Shen Jiu interrupted with a smile solely directed to him in such a way that the girls would only be able to see how close the two were. Shen Yuan on the other hand was subjected to the full force of a life threat.
"Jiu-ge," Shen Yuan hastily corrected, "I- uh"
"You didn't miss me?" Shen Jiu asked, a mask of sadness replacing the smile. Shen Yuan suddenly felt that he wouldn't be able to tell the tale if he didn't play along with this villain.
"Of course," Shen Yuan nodded eagerly, "J-Jiu-ge"
If only he knew that agreeing with Shen Jiu was going to become blackmail in the future. He realized too late that his family was going to lock him up forever if they knew he became a host. And that is how Shen Yuan was caught in a trap and was forced to join the host club.
...
So, it turned out there was a price on the priceless vase, or at least a beginning auction price with a decent amount of interested people. Tearing his eyes away from the seething anger that is his fake-cousin, Shen Yuan looked at the poor boy who toppled the thing to its early demise.
By all accounts, he looked miserable. His figure was drowned in the school uniform that was at least two sizes too big and the way that he was forced to kneel in front of Shen Jiu, he looked even smaller. His face was mostly obscured by a mass of untamed curls and what was visible of his face was wet with tears. Shen Yuan’s heart went out for the sobbing boy but before he could do something stupid like offering to pay for the damages, Shen Jiu started to talk.
“For centuries this vase has been intact. It has seen empires rise and fall, survived wars that are now written in history. And now it is gone because of the careless actions of a mindless beast. So, you mongrel, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Too harsh! Shen Jiu, no doubt you are a rich person in the same realm of the Shen family when it comes to dramatics! The vase may be expensive but there’s no way that the vase was that old or it would have been in a museum. Such a dramatic speech! Very emotional, Shen Yuan would have applauded the performance if it didn’t look like the poor boy was unable to tell the lies from the truth.
Said boy let out a broken sob and Shen Yuan folded like a wet towel.
“Ah, Jiu-ge,” he pleaded, “please don’t be too harsh. It was an accident.”
His fake cousin stopped his tirade for a solid ten seconds to glare at Shen Yuan, then ignored his plea and continued berating his victim. However, it looked like his victim was no longer paying attention to Shen Jiu. Dark eyes behind a curtain of wild curls were firmly focused on the wrong Shen.
"How will you pay us back, Luo Binghe?" Shen Jiu growled when he noticed that Luo- wait
"Binghe?" Shen Yuan asked. Luo Binghe, as in the kid who he used to accompany and tutor while he was stuck in his hospital room as a child himself? That cute kid?
“Yuan-ge,” Luo Binghe gasped softly, his eyes glittering like a thousand stars in a clear night sky. If there was any doubt that this wasn't the boy who loved shitty romance dramas with all of his heart, it is gone by now. "I missed you so, so much."
It would have been a heartwarming reunion if it weren't for Shang Qinghua rattling off Luo Binghe's background like he once did with Shen Yuan's background.
Ah, so Luo Binghe had earned a scholarship in Cang Qiong! That's great! And Luo Binghe's mother seemed to be doing well after being released from the hospital, also great news! And Luo Binghe is going to have to pay his debt by working as a gopher in the host club? Sure, that sounds like a goo-
Wait.
What?
...
Despite Shen Jiu's vitriol, Luo Binghe seemed to thrive as a gopher for the host club. Yes, he had to endure Shen Jiu's endless strings of complaints, but he had found solace in Shen Yuan who was always ready to drop his (and therefore also Shen Jiu's) clients to comfort him. Luckily the clients didn't seem to mind. They thought that Shen Yuan's protectiveness over the new member was squeal-worthy, whatever that might mean. Shen Yuan had long given up trying to understand his regular customers, but he was glad to have their support.
Having a black mark by Shen Jiu automatically meant that he was on the good side of Liu Qingge. This meant that Luo Binghe didn't have to endure the 5 days of suspicion that Shen Yuan suffered through when he first joined the host club. Shang Qinghua was easy to ignore, Mu Qingfang was always ready to offer some calming tea and advice for everyone and Qi Qingqi was content to ignore Luo Binghe as if he was one of her male clients.
If any of this was what Yue Qingyuan was doing, it would have been alright, but Yue Qingyuan constantly tried to talk peace into Shen Jiu. Of course, this only angered Shen Jiu more, which in turn unfairly increased Luo Binghe's debt.
Surprisingly, Luo Binghe didn't seem to mind, he even cheerfully declined Shen Yuan's continuous offers of paying his debt for him. For some reason he seemed to be ecstatic to be a gopher for the host club. So ecstatic that the cleverly disguised complaints in Shen Jiu's words slid off him like butter in a hot pan. The only thing that seemed to dampen his good mood was the numerous tiny accidents. Like when he tripped and broke a teapot, which increased his debt. Or when he accidentally bought 'commoner tea' when the expensive tea ran out and glass bottle of cheap coffee milk in the plastic shopping bag spilled before he could serve it. Or when his home-made lunches disappeared from his bag and many more incidents!
Shen Yuan worried that Luo Binghe was being bullied, seeing how some of these incidents could not happen by accident. But Luo Binghe denied everything and took the full opportunity to stick to Shen Yuan like sticky candy.
"Aren't you happy that we're back together, Yuan-ge?" Of course Shen Yuan was happy to be reunited with his childhood friend, but that didn't mean that he couldn't worry about Luo Binghe being bullied!
Shen Yuan had taken it upon himself to follow Luo Binghe to and from his classes just to be sure that no one was tormenting Luo Binghe behind his back. He got some weird stares from other students in the beginning, but they got used to seeing the prim and proper Shen Yuan and hot mess Luo Binghe together in the hallways.
When Shen Yuan showed up in front of Luo Binghe's classroom on a sunny but cool spring day, Luo Binghe's classmates immediately told him that his sticky friend was not in the classroom. Ning Yingying, one of Shen Yuan's regulars and Luo Binghe's friend, was quick to point him to the right direction.
"A-Luo refused my help, but he can't refuse you," She said. Shen Yuan took one look at her worried expression, thanked her, and started to sprint towards one of the decorative ponds.
Usually it was busy around the ponds, seeing how they were popular picnic spots for the students, but today it was deserted apart from one figure wading through the water. Shen Yuan quickly realized it was Binghe and he was about to call out to him when he saw it.
Luo Binghe's bag was emptied in the water and Luo Binghe was trying to find his meagre possessions in the pond.
Shen Yuan wanted to approach the pond to help Binghe with his scattered bag contents, but when he was halfway there the tiktok artificial voice chirped:
[Warning! GPS determined that user Shen Yuan is approaching the pond. This system strongly encourages user Shen Yuan to not enter the perimeters of the pond, or this system is forced to subtract 10 points from user Shen Yuan's account]
Shit! He forgot about the stupid health app that Mu Qingfang made him download!
For one second Shen Yuan really considered tossing his phone where the system would never reach him again and the sweet, sweet silence it would bring. It would be so simple, and his life would be so much easier without the constant warnings reacting to his poor life choices. But then he realized that a stranger could find his phone and see his search history and all the shit that he has been reading on it. Or Jiu-ge forbid, the draft of the scathing review for the latest chapter of PIDW that he hadn't quite finished yet.
Shen Yuan would like to say that he reads respectable literature in his free time, but that would be a bigger lie than saying that he was related to Shen Jiu. No, his hobby was to read the trashiest trash stallion novels and respectfully state his opinions on the repeated use of papapa to solve everything. Sometimes he even added a small analysis on the worldbuilding to hint to the author that he still had quite a few plotholes that Shen Yuan expected them to fill soon, or else.
The thought of anyone finding out that he was in fact Peerless Cucumber, a well-known figure among the fans of stallion novels, sobered Shen Yuan up.
"You win this time," he grumbled while pressing on the app's exit button with more force than needed.
When Shen Yuan looked up from his phone, he saw Luo Binghe look up at the same time and met his eyes through his mass of curls. In one second, it seemed like Binghe was processing that Shen Yuan was in his presence and in the next second Binghe yelped and slipped into the pond.
Shen Yuan dropped his phone to the ground in his haste to reach his former student, but by the time he reached him he was already completely drenched. And, Shen Yuan notices with a grimace, so were his own pants, socks and shoes. Shen Yuan tried to ignore the uncomfortable wetness seeping into his shoes and focused on Binghe instead, who was clearly in a worse condition with how his entire uniform was now clinging to his body. It looked surprisingly flattering despite the uniform being at least two sizes too big.
"Are you alright Binghe?" Shen Yuan asked while he tried to haul Binghe back to his feet but utterly failing. When did his cute bun grow so heavy and big that Shen Yuan couldn't even pick him up anymore? Never mind the fact that his puny arms were never able to do that in the first place. But for some reason his arms couldn't completely close around Binghe's torso when he was holding him from the back? Shen Yuan squeezed the larger body closer to himself to double check, which seemed to get Luo Binghe out of his stupor.
"G-gege," Luo Binghe wheezed out, each syllable sounding completely aghast. He scrambled to stand up straight and turn around without breaking the one-sided embrace. The movement shifted Shen Yuan's arms around Luo Binghe's waist, which was much more manageable for the shorter male. When the younger teen was face to face with Shen Yuan, he gasped "Yuan-ge I've ruined your uniform."
Ignoring the cold that was starting to seep into his clothes from where his and Luo Binghe's bodies were still making contact, Shen Yuan sternly countered Binghe's worries. "I have enough uniforms in my closet to last a lifetime don't worry about me. Look at yourself instead. You're completely wet! Ah, don't tell me that you already have a fever."
Luo Binghe obediently bowed down a little to allow Shen Yuan to feel his red cheeks and forehead, his glittering eyes darting from Shen Yuan's face to his wet uniform as if unable to decide what was more important to take in. The lowering of his head caused more of his hair to fall in front of his face which was unacceptable. Shen Yuan had tolerated Luo Binghe's messy hairstyle that robbed him from his childhood friend's face for far too long. He delicately moved his hand from Luo Binghe's forehead to push some of the wet curls behind his red ear, revealing a handsome and vaguely familiar face.
Binghe's face as a child was of a cherubic kind of beauty with soft cheeks and big dewy eyes. In fact, Shen Yuan had mistaken him for a little angel when the boy accidentally entered his hospital room all those years ago instead of the hospital room of his mother. That cherubic image was now melted away with age to reveal a sharper face with aristocratic features. If anyone else were to compare the child and teenage appearances of Luo Binghe, they would undoubtedly find it hard to find the similarities. But Shen Yuan had stared at the younger's face a lot in his youth and could find the traces of familiarity after specifically looking for a little while. Especially in his expressive eyes that always shone with a hard to describe emotion when he looked at Shen Yuan.
Ah, how nostalgic, Shen Yuan thought as Binghe's eyes seemed to glitter with intense emotions. This is how Shen Yuan remembered the boy who used to listen to his rants about shitty novels. He always listened with such attention, like every word that Shen Yuan ever uttered was of the utmost importance and not rage filled nonsense.
A drop of water fell from Binghe's hair and landed near Shen Yuan's hand as he pushed more locks behind the younger teen's ear. Shen Yuan was focusing on finding more similarities with the boy from his memories and barely noticed that he gently wiped away the trail of pond water away with his thumb. But Luo Binghe did.
Binghe's eyes immediately snapped back to Shen Yuan's face with such intensity that Shen Yuan felt his face heat up a little.
"Are you ok?" Shen Yuan asked, his voice heavy with an emotion he couldn't quite figure out.
"Yes," Luo Binghe answered, a bit too fast and slightly breathless. Shen Yuan didn't believe a word of what Binghe was saying, especially with the somewhat high temperature of his forehead and the dazed look on his face.
"Will you still allow me to take you to the infirmary?" Shen Yuan asked, "I'll feel better knowing that you're not going to get a cold and when you have warm and dry clothes to wear."
Luo Binghe looked like he was about to tear up, but instead he covered Shen Yuan's hand with his own and nuzzled his face into the palm. Suddenly Shen Yuan was painfully aware of the pose that they were in and how it must have looked like to an outsider. Still, he was unwilling to break the moment. It felt fragile, precious and Shen Yuan wanted to preserve this feeling.
"Yes." Luo Binghe muttered contently.
...
It was fortunate that the school infirmary of Cang Qiong was top notch with staff who were ready to cater to every medical need of their students and then some. The nurse was quick to react when the two teenagers walked in while leaving a trail of pond water in their wake. Luo Binghe was quickly ushered behind the curtains of one of the many infirmary cots with a small mountain of soft towels, a bathrobe, and the promise of a checkup when he was warmed up a bit more.
The nurse was ready to do the same thing to Shen Yuan, but Shen Yuan wanted to ask something first.
"Would it be possible to buy a uniform for my friend and myself? I don't think it is a good idea to continue wearing these damp ones"
"Of course, young master Shen," the nurse agreed easily while pushing Shen Yuan towards another curtained cot. "We have both your sizes recorded in the medical office. Would you prefer a more fitting set for young master Luo?"
"If that is possible, yes"
"I will be back with the uniforms in a minute, is there anything else that I can assist young master Shen in?"
"No, thank you for your hard work," Shen Yuan smiled politely. The nurse smiled back, and then closed the curtains for Shen Yuan's privacy.
Now alone, Shen Yuan suddenly felt the discomfort of his wet socks and damp upper body. He spared no time in getting rid of his wet clothes, happily drying himself with a soft towel that was thoughtfully left on the infirmary cot.
Shen Yuan was just closing the ties to his bathrobe when he heard the nurse returning. He peeked around the curtains to see the nurse waiting for him with two sets of uniforms, still in their fancy store boxes. Shen Yuan readily accepted both sets of uniforms and quickly changed into his new set of clothes. When he was done, he looked like he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. No one would be able to tell that he was wading through pond water. When he was satisfied with his uniform, he made his way to Luo Binghe's cot.
"Binghe, I have a set o-" Shen Yuan paused in his sentence. Oh, so this is why it was impossible to fully embrace Luo Binghe when he was in the pond.
Just like how Shen Yuan was frozen mid-sentence, Luo Binghe stopped mid-movement in his attempt to tie his bathrobe shut. The open bathrobe allowed Shen Yuan to see the full expanse of a very toned chest and abdomen. Huh, Shen Yuan thought numbly, Luo Binghe was a year younger than him so why was his body shape so... fit? His body was somehow comparable to the description of the protagonist of Shen Yuan's favorite trash novel? The one who was described to be the perfect Gary Stu? Huh this type of body is possible for a teenager?
After an eternity that probably lasted seconds in real life, the curtain that Shen Yuan was holding escaped his powerless fingers and broke the spell that stopped the teens from moving. Shen Yuan's head jerked up from Luo Binghe's body, feeling slightly lightheaded at the fast motion. Oh god, did he just shamelessly ogle his friend? His extremely vulnerable little bun of a friend who wasn't a little bun anymore? Is this- did this count as sexual harassment? Shen Yuan felt like he just violated a young maiden's virtue and he almost blurted out that he would take responsibility.
A sound akin to a dying animal escaped Shen Yuan's throat.
A fiery hue took over Luo Binghe's features in record time and spread towards his chest, leading Shen Yuan's gaze back to the firm muscles before Shen Yuan's self-control kicked in and redirected his entire body away from the younger teen.
"I-ah I'm sorry for walking in. I have some spare clothes for you. I guess I'll see you later- NO! not see you later- I ah I didn't mean it like that. I'll uh" Shen Yuan decided to simply leave instead of embarrassing himself even more than he already had. This day had been a disaster! 0/10 would not recommend this experience.
However, before he could leave his hand was grabbed in a warm but iron grip. Shen Yuan felt his heartbeat in his throat and his face heat up even more. No doubt, his face was redder than a tomato now. Save this gege of yours some face Binghe! It already took all of his willpower to not throw himself out of the nearest window, however tempting the prospect of outrunning this embarrassment may seem. Let's not add more to that!
Luo Binghe himself didn't seem to do much better than Shen Yuan, judging on his own red face. There was a moment of silence after Luo Binghe let go of his hand as if it was burned and looked at his own hand with thinly veiled betrayal. Shen Yuan could almost hear the gears in Luo Binhe's head turn before he unexpectedly sprang into action. Before he knew it, Shen Yuan was gently shooed backwards and the curtains around the cot was shut right in front of his face.
Shen Yuan blinked once, twice, before the general absurdity of the situation caught up with his bewilderment. A snort escaped him before he could disguise his amusement in polite coughs. Behind the curtains Shen Yuan heard Luo Binghe pause for a second in his efforts to get dressed in record time.
"Yuan-ge," Luo Binghe whined, sounding slightly bullied and muffled underneath a buttoned dress shirt he was trying to pull over his head.
"You need help?"
"No! No, I got this!"
There was a soft thump when Luo Binghe fell onto his bed, an annoyed grunt and then a couple more seconds of struggling before Luo Binghe opened his curtain again. His tie was not properly tied, and the top button of the dress shirt was popped, but he looked decent. More than decent now that his uniform actually fitted him properly.
"Come here," Shen Yuan said, gesturing the taller teen to bend down to tie his tie for him. "Now, that's better."
"Thank you, Yuan-ge," Luo Binghe muttered, now looking like a proper student of Cang Qiong high school. Shen Yuan took a few steps back to take it all in. How unfair that Luo Binghe looked this good even with his hair being a mess! Suddenly Shen Yuan was struck with the need to see Luo Binghe with his hair fixed. If he looked this good with his hair in this state, Binghe was sure to look magnificent with his hair cut properly.
"We're going to the hair salon," he decided, grabbing one of Luo Binghe's hands and leading him to the school salon.
"Eh?"
"And then we're going to replace your wet books and buy everything you need."
"EH?"
"Don't worry, let this gege take care of you."
...
Once Shen Yuan was done with his childhood friend, Luo Binghe looked like a masterpiece. With his curly hair properly styled and with a shopping bag full of hair products, Luo Binghe looked like he would fit in with the rest of the host club and then some. Shen Yuan knew that his family would fight each other for the rights to have Luo Binghe as their model. He looked objectively perfect!
When Shen Yuan smugly opened the doors to the host club to brag about Luo Binghe's new look, he was met with stunned silence.
"A-Yuan, who is that?" Shen Jiu asked calmly, although the tick in his right eye indicated that he was pissed that Shen Yuan was late.
"This is Luo Binghe," Shen Yuan said, shamelessly showing off. Shen Jiu didn't seem impressed, but then again, he never seemed to be.
"Good, he is here," he said, "the cooking service is out for today, get some lunch for our treasured guests."
...
Shen Yuan forgot about all of his disappointment when Luo Binghe returned with a tray full of fragrant bowls. Perking up at the smell while the guests looked dubiously at the bowls.
"What is that?" Shen Jiu asked.
"Congee," Luo Binghe said hesitantly, "my mother's recipe"
"You cooked this yourself?" Shen Jiu asked with an implied 'pheasant' in his tone.
"It smells lovely," Shen Yuan defended quickly. Luo Binghe's mother was his weak point and Shen Yuan had to admit he had a soft spot for the woman as well. He quickly picked a bowl from the tray before Shen Jiu could add another snide content.
Shen Yuan looked at the small bowl of snowy white congee that warmed his hands and without hesitation brought his spoon to his lips to the horror of his regulars. Oblivious to the dramatic gasps in the room, Shen Yuan closed his eyes and happily savored the simple but perfect dish. The porridge warmed up his entire body and if it wasn't for the intense training from Shen Jiu, he might have cried. It was just that good. When his spoon clinked against the empty bowl, he absentmindedly licked the remaining flavor of his lips, chasing the flavor.
"Thank you for the food, Binghe," Shen Yuan smiled brightly, "it was delicious."
Luo Binghe's entire body seemed to have received an electric shock when Shen Yuan said that, a jolt disrupting the balance on his tray. Shen Yuan looked in stunned silence as one of the bowls tipped over and spilled its contents over one of Shen Jiu's clients.
The girl in question seemed to be struck silent for a second, dumbfounded before rising up to her feet and turning towards the offending party.
"YOU!" she screeched, jabbing her finger into Luo Binghe's chest. "I've had enough of you! Get away from Shen Jiu! I warned you to leave him alone and to get out of our school, you pathetic commoner! He hasn't been able to focus on me ever since you appeared, so get out. GET OUT!"
The girl tried to hit Luo Binghe but seemed like it hurt her more than it hurt him.
"Ow! How dare you! A-Jiu, can you see what he did? He threw all this trash on me! He disrespected me! He hurt me! The audacity! He should have left the school when I sabotaged him and destroyed his belongings!"
Shen Yuan was watching the self-destruction with muted horror when the girl started lashing out and jerked to action when she basically admitted to bullying Luo Binghe. He grabbed her arm before she could physically hurt Binghe, or rather herself.
"What do you mean with that?" Shen Yuan asked, almost surprising himself with how angry he sounded.
The girl looked equally surprised before paling when she realized that she wasn't alone. The entire host club was staring at her with disgust, the hosts, the guests, Luo Binghe, and Shen Yuan. Her arm twitched under Shen Yuan's grip, a nervous sputtering escaping her. She turned to 'her' a-Jiu who looked unamused at her tirade and realized that he was not going to jump to her defense.
"Die-er," Shen Jiu began, "as a student of Cang Qiong high school you are supposed to act like your status, and it looks like you revealed your true colors like that. I'm afraid that this host club is unable to cater to someone who is a member of this club, even the gopher."
"B-but-"
"Liu Qingge, please escort the lady out."
...
"So," Shen Jiu said when all the guests have left, leaving only the host club members in the room. "You have caused us to lose a valuable customer. What do you have to say about that?"
He then didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "You are officially fired from being a gopher."
"Please don't!" Luo Binghe pleaded.
"You can't!" Shen Yuan exclaimed at the same time. There was no way that Luo Binghe would be able to pay back his debt without the deal he had struck. He would have to work his entire life and still not earn enough to pay back the debt! Oh if only Luo Binghe accepted his offer to pay off his debt.
"This boy is a menace, a-Yuan, what do you even see in him?"
"Luo Binghe is the best person I know, he's sweet, caring and I enjoy being with him!" Shen Yuan answered easily. An idea started to form in his head while he said that. "He is also very handsome, don't you think?"
"Disgusting," Shen Jiu sneered, but he didn't deny the claim.
"Then Luo Binghe can join the host club as a host, right? He can pay back the debt that way!"
Shen Jiu considered the plan, glared at Luo Binghe, ignored the club president acknowledging he answer as a good option and then sighed deeply.
"A-Yuan, you take care of his training," Shen Jiu commanded. "It is your idea, so he is your responsibility now. Don't fail."
Ah, wait! You're setting him up for failure! Shen Yuan inwardly despaired. How can the most inexperienced host who still needed support from a fake cousin to get clients train a new host? Shen Yuan didn't know anything about the inner workings of hosting! He was just following Shen Jiu's lead whenever he talked to their clients and even then, his stutters still had to be covered up by Shen Jiu! Luo Binghe stood no chance with him as Binghe's trainer.
"Yuan-ge is going to take responsibility of me?" Luo Binghe asked, softly tugging at Shen Yuan's sleeve. Shen Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the hopeful expression on Binghe's face. All protests that he had fled from his body, his willpower bending down to the force of Binghe's starry eyes like a wet towel. He had never been able to say no to Luo Binghe anyway.