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When A-Yuan was in kindergarten, he had a best friend who was one year younger. His name was Luo Binghe. They were inseparable and did everything together. In school, they were always attached at the hip; there was never one without the other. Any photo of A-Yuan was guaranteed to have Luo Binghe in it as well, standing by his side or holding his hand or at the very least, hovering in the background.
Outside of kindergarten, Luo Binghe was all A-Yuan would talk about. He never wanted to go home when Shen Jiu came to pick him up because he wanted to play longer with Luo Binghe. He begged for playdates after school and sleepovers on the weekends. Luo Binghe’s mother was nice enough and Shen Jiu couldn’t come up with a reason to refuse that A-Yuan found acceptable, so he ended up always relenting to his son.
But Luo Binghe. That Luo Binghe. Shen Jiu hated the little beast. He didn’t know why he did, there was just something about the kid that rubbed him the wrong way. Nothing Shen Jiu said could convince A-Yuan to spend more time with his other friends who he had more favorable impressions of. Whenever they invited A-Yuan to play, his son would insist on bringing the little beast along, and it would always end up with the two of them doing their own thing while the other kids played together.
Things improved slightly when A-Yuan started elementary school and the little beast was left behind in kindergarten. They couldn’t spend all day together anymore and A-Yuan made new friends. Shen Jiu didn’t fully approve of them either - frankly none of them were good enough for his son - but they were still better than that little beast. But even with his new friends, A-Yuan never forgot about his younger friend, and they continued to have their playdates and sleepovers at every opportunity.
When the next year rolled around and Luo Binghe moved up to elementary school, they were back to being inseparable. Lunch, recess, the few minutes between classes, they were all spent together. It was clear to all their friends and teachers and especially to Shen Jiu that A-Yuan loved Luo Binghe and Luo Binghe loved A-Yuan just as much. It seemed as though things would stay this way forever and Shen Jiu would have no choice but to accept his son’s friendship with the little beast.
A few years later, Luo Binghe lost his mother.
Shen Jiu didn’t know the details but A-Yuan was heartbroken for his friend. It was worse when he broke the news that Luo Binghe would be going away to an orphanage. When A-Yuan learned that the orphanage wasn’t even in the same city, he cried and begged Shen Jiu to adopt his friend. Shen Jiu loathed to deny his son anything, but he put his foot down here. What happened to Luo Binghe’s mother was tragic, but Shen Jiu refused to take him in. He already had his hands full juggling work and A-Yuan as a single parent, and even if that wasn’t the case, he simply didn’t like the little beast.
Shen Jiu was furious when he’d heard, but A-Yuan had told him back in kindergarten that he and the little beast had promised to marry each other when they were old enough. Shen Jiu hated that he even had to bring it up, but he needed the excuse to placate his son. He told him that they wouldn’t be able to get married if Shen Jiu adopted Luo Binghe because they would be brothers and people couldn’t marry their family.
A-Yuan’s bottom lip trembled and tears gathered in his eyes. It looked as if he was struggling to come up with an argument to counter, but he was still only a little kid. With the conflicting desires to keep the little beast by his side and be able to marry him in the future, A-Yuan could only wail, “But I don’t want Binghe to go away!”
However, no matter how much he cried and begged, there was nothing he could do. Luo Binghe was taken away by child protective services. Shen Jiu wasn’t upset that the little beast was gone - he felt just the opposite - but he did feel sympathy for his son because he hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye.
A-Yuan was devastated when he found out that Luo Binghe had already left. He was inconsolable for weeks and cried himself to sleep every night. It broke Shen Jiu’s heart to see his son like that. He almost wanted to take A-Yuan to visit the little beast when he asked, just so he would smile again, except Shen Jiu didn’t know where he’d ended up.
However, as it was with most things, time healed his wounds. With support from Shen Jiu and his other friends, A-Yuan slowly stopped asking about Luo Binghe and eventually forgot about him.
Or so Shen Jiu thought.
After the storm passed, life returned to its peaceful monotony for Shen Jiu and his son. There were bumps in the road and difficult times on occasion, but they always managed to make it through together. Shen Jiu had his fair share of work keeping the pests away from his son, but most of them gave up after meeting him once. Only that Liu Qingge was especially persistent and continued to hover around A-Yuan despite all of Shen Jiu’s attempts to scare him away. Thankfully he and A-Yuan would be going to different universities, so he wouldn’t pose much of a threat any longer, though university posed a whole new set of issues.
A-Yuan would be going away.
Shen Jiu was proud of his son for getting into the school of his choice, but it was halfway across the country. It wasn’t feasible to travel back and forth in a weekend, so A-Yuan would only be able to come home on longer holidays. Shen Jiu considered quitting his job and finding a new one in the same city as the university, but A-Yuan convinced him not to, reminding him that Yue Qingyuan was here and he would come home at every opportunity. Shen Jiu relented and reluctantly sent his son off, but he made sure to stress how important it was to always lock the door, carry mace whenever he went out and not to trust anyone who talked to him first.
Things were lonely in the beginning but they made sure to facetime at least three times a week. Shen Jiu eventually got used to having an empty nest, but he still preferred the holidays when A-Yuan could come home. Whenever the time came for his son to return to school, Shen Jiu was always unwilling to let him go all over again.
But things began to change in A-Yuan’s second year of university. He started missing their calls.
A-Yuan always told him beforehand when he was going out with some classmates so they could reschedule - and Shen Jiu was happy that his son was making friends - but it felt like he was being left behind. They still called on the weekends, but even those were becoming shorter.
Then, for the first holiday break of the year, A-Yuan said he wanted to stay at school.
It was one of the shorter ones, only five days including the weekend, but Shen Jiu was devastated. His A-Yuan was too kind and because one of his friends couldn’t go back home, he wanted to stay and keep him company. Shen Jiu was opposed to it but ultimately ended up agreeing after he saw how sad his son looked when he said no. He couldn’t do anything against his son’s begging, but he made him promise to come home for the winter holiday, whether his friends stayed at school or not. A-Yuan enthusiastically agreed.
As the winter holiday approached and Shen Jiu began to prepare for A-Yuan’s return, his son asked if he could bring a friend home with him. Shen Jiu’s initial reaction was to refuse. He didn’t want anyone intruding on his time with his son, but A-Yuan begged and gave a pitiful sob story about his friend not having a home to go back to. Shen Jiu was forced to give in. Well, if they were coming, he wanted to see exactly what kind of person was taking up all of his son’s attention. He hated them already.
Shen Jiu took the day off to pick the two up from the airport. When A-Yuan spotted him waiting outside the arrival gates, he ran up to hug him. They were the same height now, and Shen Jiu rested his chin on his son's shoulder as he returned the hug just as tightly. He only reluctantly stepped back when some boy came hulking over.
Shen Jiu looked A-Yuan’s friend up and down. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and large biceps. He had a face that could be considered handsome by some, with bright eyes and an even brighter smile.
Shen Jiu didn’t like him. He didn’t like how he looked, he didn’t like his fake-ass smile, and he already knew he wouldn’t like his attitude even though he’d yet to speak a word.
A-Yuan grabbed his friend’s hand and pulled him forward. He introduced him as Luo Binghe and reminded Shen Jiu of their past friendship, as if he could forget the boy who’d held a large enough piece of his son’s heart to break it when he left. Apparently the two had reconnected at the beginning of the year when Luo Binghe entered the same college.
What a coincidence.
Shen Jiu knew he didn’t like the little beast. Unfortunately he couldn’t do anything about him now because he’d already agreed to let him stay for the holiday.
Luo Binghe was the perfect guest in their home. He had polite manners and always offered to help clean up. Since he was a guest, Shen Jiu refused his help, but A-Yuan urged him to let the beast cook a few of their meals. Shen Jiu would rather eat his own arm than anything the beast made, but since his son insisted so strongly, he let him make one meal. To Shen Jiu’s utter distaste, it was delicious.
It was both too soon and not soon enough when the holiday break ended and it was time for the two to return to their university. Shen Jiu was more than happy to see the beast go but wished his son could stay forever. Because of the beast, they hadn’t had any time together. However, there was nothing he could do about it, and he had to let A-Yuan return to school with the beast.
The rest of the year played out in the same fashion as the first half. They facetimed on the weekends A-Yuan was free, and his son stayed at school for the remaining holidays. As summer approached, with how often his son talked about the beast during their calls, Shen Jiu began to fear that he would ask to have him over again for the long break. Thankfully that didn’t happen. Shen Jiu got to spend a peaceful two months alone with his son, though A-Yuan spent a good deal of time facetiming the beast every day. Shen Jiu could hear them talking at all hours of the day and night. A-Yuan’s calls with the beast went on for far longer than they ever did with him.
All too soon, it was time for the new school year to begin. To Shen Jiu’s great displeasure, A-Yuan and the beast were going to rent an apartment together. Apparently the beast had refused A-Yuan’s offer to pay for everything and had been working all summer to save up for his half of the rent. Hmph, at least he wasn’t trying to exploit his son.
There wasn’t any change in the frequency of their calls or A-Yuan choosing to stay at school over the shorter holidays. When it came time for him to come home for the winter holiday, he brought the beast along once more. Despite being a guest, to discourage him from following A-Yuan home again next year, Shen Jiu took the beast up on all of his offers to help. If he was busy with chores, he would have less time to spend with A-Yuan. But to Shen Jiu’s complete shock, his son actually helped the beast with them!
A-Yuan had chores growing up - well, only one and it was to keep his room clean - but he always complained the whole time while he was doing it, and Shen Jiu had to tell him many times before he would even start. But now he was helping the beast do the chores he had never done before without even being asked! The beast would wash the dishes while A-Yuan stood next to him to dry them, or A-Yuan would considerately move the chairs out of the way so the beast could vacuum under the table. Shen Jiu had never seen his son be so helpful around the house. He appreciated his help but he didn’t like how in sync they were with each other.
And then sometimes, when A-Yuan and the beast thought he wasn’t around, Shen Jiu would catch them sitting too close, whispering to each other in hushed voices. Shen Jiu was horrified to see the fond gaze the beast looked at A-Yuan with and his son blushing in response. A seed of fear took root in his heart.
Before they returned to school, Shen Jiu took his son aside to warn him. The beast had impure intentions and A-Yuan needed to be careful not to be swept away and taken advantage of. A-Yuan got flustered and assured him that there was nothing going on, but Shen Jiu couldn’t help but worry. He trusted his son but the beast was a different story. Nevertheless, there was little he could do to protect him when he left the protection of their home. Shen Jiu could only hope that A-Yuan would be able to fend off any unwanted advances.
In A-Yuan’s final year of university, his schoolwork kept him too busy for Shen Jiu, so busy that he needed to stay at school even during the winter holiday because he needed access to the library to continue his research over the break. A-Yuan was apologetic that he wouldn’t be able to come home, but Shen Jiu understood that this was a critical time for him. But that didn’t mean he was going to spend the entire winter holiday and Spring Festival - a time to spend with family - alone without his son.
He decided that if A-Yuan couldn’t come home, he would go to him. For some reason, his son brought the beast with him when he came to pick Shen Jiu up from the airport despite knowing how he felt about him, but Shen Jiu acted like he wasn’t there and pulled A-Yuan to sit in the back with him while the beast drove them to their apartment.
It was a humble two bedroom apartment. A-Yuan offered Shen Jiu his room and said he could share Luo Binghe’s room for the duration of his stay, but how could he let his son sleep with the covetous beast? He said that he didn’t mind sharing a bed and insisted A-Yuan stay in his own room.
For the month that Shen Jiu was there, he watched the beast spoil and dote on his son. It was as it should be, but it also gave him a bad feeling.
A-Yuan hadn’t been lying when he said that he was buried in research. The beast would often bring his son tea and snacks when he studied at the table and encouraged him to take breaks when he stared at the computer screen for too long. Late at night when A-Yuan’s fingers stopped typing and his head began to droop, the beast would cradle his son to his chest and carry him to bed before Shen Jiu could tell him to call it a night.
The night before Shen Jiu’s return, as they lay in bed, side by side in the dark, A-Yuan quietly confided, “Baba, I really like Binghe.”
Shen Jiu’s heart dropped to his stomach. A-Yuan had someone he liked. A-Yuan liked Luo Binghe. A-Yuan liked the beast.
Shen Jiu couldn’t let them get together. But when he urged his son not to rush into anything and think things through clearly, A-Yuan confessed that they were already dating. Shen Jiu tensed at the revelation but calmed down after reasoning with himself. It was still early in their relationship, only in the puppy crush stage. A-Yuan would graduate in less than half a year, and then he would come home permanently. He and the beast would be separated, and their feelings for each other would fade until they broke up.
After convincing himself that everything was going to be fine, Shen Jiu told A-Yuan that he was happy for him but expressed his reservations that they might be moving too fast. Then A-Yuan dropped the ball that they had been dating for over a year already. He didn’t tell Shen Jiu last year since everything was still so new at the time, but he wanted to tell him now because things were starting to get serious.
Shen Jiu was more reluctant than ever to leave his son. He was living with the beast, and who knew what kind of things he would coerce A-Yuan into doing under the guise of normal dating habits. A-Yuan was gullible and he’d never dated anyone before! Shen Jiu had made sure of that in high school, but now it seemed like that backfired on him because his son would believe anything the beast told him.
A few months later, the day of A-Yuan’s graduation arrived and Shen Jiu flew out for the ceremony. After it was over, they all - the beast included - went out to celebrate at a nice restaurant. Shen Jiu sat across from the unwanted interloper, and he couldn’t help feeling slightly offended when his son chose to sit next to the beast instead of him. After the food was ordered, A-Yuan held the beast’s hands over the table in plain sight and the two shared a meaningful look before he turned to look at Shen Jiu with a shy smile.
“Baba, Binghe and I are getting married.”
It felt as if time froze. Shen Jiu’s whole world fell out from under him.
A-Yuan was getting married? A-Yuan was getting married?!