Chapter Text
Luo Binghe had fallen into the abyss. Shen Qingqiu had pushed him mercilessly and with a cold gaze filled with disgust and hatred.
He felt like his heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. He already knew that his Shen Qingqiu despised him from the first moment he set foot on his peak, but the feeling of being sent to hell to be killed because of a person who hated you was very violent.
He felt like he was falling into the void. He closed his eyes waiting for his death at the end of the fall.
But there was no blow. He didn't feel the blow from the fall. He opened his dark eyes and was in a totally different place, something dark, like a room with a strange decoration.
Instead he was stuck in a cage in a totally unknown place.
Luo Binghe saw how he was locked in a box and next to him there were two bowls with water and the other was filled with some kind of cookie.
Luo Binghe panicked, he looked out of the cage, the bars allowed him to have a full view of the outside, but the only thing he saw in front of him were more cages and inside them were, dogs?
Luo Binghe looked down and saw how instead of legs and hands, he had two small paws visible to his eyes.
Black, hairy legs.
Wait, that was a snout? What? An animal?
Luo Binghe panicked, he approached the bars of the cage in which he was trapped and tried to call for help but only barking was heard, making the animals in front of him that were in the same cages as him become nervous and They started barking, when two started, three more followed, and in a moment every cage in the room contained barking hyperactive dogs.
This can't be real, Shen Qingqiu just threw me into the abyss but now I'm in a completely unknown place and it turns out that I'm an animal now. Thought Luo Binghe as he tried to put his mind in order.
Everything was really shit.
Luo Binghe was furious, no one had ever helped him, everyone had agreed to make him suffer throughout his life.
To make matters worse, he was now literally an animal, a beast, just as Shen Qingqiu had been calling him all these years. Was this some kind of punishment the universe had in store for him? Was it all the fault of the demonic half of him?
Then the door to the room opened, and the lights in the room turned on.
As if by magic, all the dogs that were previously barking immediately fell silent.
Two people entered the place, one was a woman who seemed to be wearing a kind of strange uniform, on her head she wore a kind of hat, although Luo Binghe could not identify what the purpose of doing it in that strangest way was.
Behind the girl, walked a fairly young boy, he looked about fifteen years old and walked with small jumps, his animated and cherish attitude could be noticed from miles away.
"These dogs here were found on the street. It would not be the most appropriate thing to choose one of these animals here, they are not well-behaved." The girl said looking at the boy with a complicated look.
The boy just smiled as he watched the dogs closest to him.
First he approached a large dog that was near the door, the boy watched as the dog began to bark happily at him, wanting to get his attention even more.
Then the boy's gaze shifted to a small dog, which was near its cage.
Luo Binghe saw how the boy approached the small dog and the animal began to bark aggressively, definitely if there was not a cage between them, it would have bitten him.
The boy retracted his hand when he was scared by the barking. Luo Binghe thought that he was pathetic, Shen Qingqiu would humiliate him if he were one of his disciples and would act so scared by such a small animal.
Then some barking caught the boy's attention, a cage that was almost in front of him. Inside there was a small dog with smooth hair that barked in a playful and friendly way.
The boy smiled at the sight of the adorable animal acting so friendly in his presence.
"Could you open this one please?" the young man asked.
The girl looked at him doubtfully and then cautiously opened the cage door.
The boy put his hand out for the dog to sniff him and received licks on his hand.
The boy petted him and the little dog was grooming himself from so much attention.
"Outrageous." Luo Binghe said, but instead of his voice a bark came out, which caught the boy's attention.
And the boy's gentle gaze fell on Luo Binghe, turning completely to look at him.
He saw how the boy's eyes lit up when he saw him.
Shit. Luo Binghe thought.
Shen Yuan approached him, Luo Binghe stood still as he stared at him with his black eyes.
"Miss, open this cage please." he said while looking at Luo Binghe.
This has to be a joke. Luo Binghe thought. First he had become a dog out of nowhere in a world where people dress up and now he has to be humiliated by being treated like a real pet?
He wanted to throw up.
"Young master, I don't think it's a good idea to choose any dog from this section. They could have fleas and also this area is what we would call... charity. Let's better go back to the section of pedigree dogs, they have been taken care of from the first day of his birth, it would be better if-" the woman was interrupted.
The boy who looked of barely fifteen years old seemed certainly childish saying and insisting: "I don't care. I don't want those, I want these."
The woman sighed, and taking out a bunch of keys joined by a ring in her pocket, she opened the cage which was closed by a padlock.
The boy put his hand inside and reached out to pet Luo Binghe.
Seeing himself in the skin of a dog and about to be incredibly humiliated, he thought about whether the best thing would be to bite him.
Then he saw the boy's eyes, the shape of his gaze, and before he could decide what to do, his head was already being caressed.
Luo Binghe surprised himself that he had enjoyed those softer touches.
The boy, seeing that the dog did not reject his touch, directed his other free hand to the dog's body and began to caress it with both.
Luo Binghe felt a small whimper escape his throat as he felt the soothing touches.
Is this seriously? Now am I behaving like a dog?
He saw how the boy gave him a sweet smile, and as he shifted his gaze towards the woman he said:
"I want it."
Cool. Luo Binghe thought sarcastically.
The woman, not at all happy and more worried than relieved, tried to convince the child again.
"Young master, that dog is not suitable for someone like you. As I already said, it is better to choose-"
The woman was interrupted again.
"I want it." the boy repeated again, Luo Binghe could certainly distinguish the boy's pampered attitude.
Now I was going to be a pet for a rich, spoiled young child?
The woman, understanding that she could do nothing to change the boy's mind, nodded.
"Okay, young master."
The boy's eyes turned into crescents as he smiled this time at the dog, and with both hands he lifted the puppy out of the cage and snuggled it in his arms.
Luo Binghe was taken to another room and observed the entire situation with attentive and strategic eyes.
This was certainly not the endless abyss.
And it certainly wasn't his world.
Everyone here dressed outrageously weird and used different language.
In the other room, there were no more cages, he saw how they were heading towards a man a little older than him, he seemed to be in charge of the child who was holding him.
It was said on the man's face, which looked suspiciously identical to Shen Qingqiu.
He didn't know if at any moment he would jump out of the boy's arms to attack the man in the face.
When he arrived he saw how the man looked at him with a look of contempt.
"A-Yuan, are you serious?" the man said with a bitter voice.
The boy turned his head indicating that he did not understand.
The man sighed. And he put his fingers on his nose.
"I fulfill your ridiculous whim of adopting some mangy animal and it turns out that what you have chosen from all those available is a small beast that is not even pedigree?"
"Jiu-ge, I like this one. You promised it to me for my birthday." said the boy with a spoiled tone.
Luo Binghe was beginning to be undecided as to which of the two deserved a bite more.
"Go to the car, don't let that dirty beast touch the seats."
Then, the boy came out through a glass door and Luo Binghe could see the strange world he found himself in, there were extremely tall recaranguro-shaped buildings and a lot of similar animals of different colors were rushing by at an incredible speed. .
Then he felt how he was lifted between the child's two hands a little higher, being left in the air at the height of the child's face.
Luo Binghe could tell that he had features similar to that scum of Shen Qingqiu.
"We have made it, little one, I am Shen Yuan. From now on, you have a home and I am your owner."
Before the boy entered the roadside-like beast, the man who looked like Shen Qingqiu from before half-opened the door and screamed: "Shen Yuan! What name do you want to give that beast!"
Shen Yuan looked at Luo Binghe carefully, as if he was analyzing him.
"Bingpup!" he shouted from afar so that the man could hear him.
Bingpup? Now that was my name? It sounds like Binghe...
When the man finally returned and the beast he was riding began to move, Luo Binghe tried to look out the window, but within seconds he became dizzy.
Then he chose to close his eyes and lie down on the child's warm lap.
Great, I think I died when I fell into the abyss. And now I have been reborn into a dog, and I am condemned to be a pet of a rich young kid. He thought as he received soft caresses from the boy on his head. They felt good for some reason.
Luo Binghe noticed that the older brother of his now supposed owner was coming towards the car and stopped to look at them both with a look of disgust.
"A-Yuan, the dog is in the trunk."
Shen Yuan frowned. "What are you talking about gege? Bingpup is just a puppy, it's okay for him to ride in the car with me on my lap."
"Don't be stupid. Dogs go in the trunk. Didn't you tell me you wanted to get your driver's license when you were old enough? This is a rule."
"I don't want to. I want Bingpup to stay with me. He's mine now, nothing will happen to him here. Besides, what if he gets scared? The car isn't even set up to have the puppy in the trunk." he insisted.
Shen Jiu sighed into the air and closed the door of his brother's car with a strong movement, then walked around the car and went to the door of the driver's seat.
"I don't want to see a single hair of that beast on the upholstery of my car." he warned, raising his index finger.
Shen Yuan nodded his head happily as he scratched behind his new puppy's ear and stroked its back with his other hand.
Luo Binghe watched the entire situation in silence. Thinking about how he could return home. But did he have a home to return to?
For some reason the universe had decided I had ended up here. Did the abyss send him here? Was this his destiny? Be a dog?
The trip in the moving metal box lasted less than half an hour. Luo Binghe, from the lap of this Shen Yuan, couldn't see much, he could only look up and see the huge houses and construction split in half because the metal machine door covered him.
The car stopped and Shen Yuan gently grabbed him in his arms making the Luo Binghe look like a small bag of fluff from afar as he got out of the car.
Shen Jiu parked inside the compound and opened the trunk, taking out two large boxes apparently purchased from the same store where the dog had been adopted.
"Jiu-ge, do me a favor and carry the boxes inside. I don't want to let go of Bingpup yet, he might get scared and end up running away." He said in a distressed tone as he looked at the puppy hidden in his arms, who stuck his little head out to look at the new place they had brought him.
"Do you think I'm your servant, didi?" Shen Jiu complained as he already began to walk with the boxes in his arms towards the huge door of the Shen house.
"I'll take them upstairs myself later. Thank you Jiu-ge." Shen Yuan said as he followed behind him with the black fur ball on his arms completely silently and without any barking. Luo Binghe was acting especially docile, but it was a behavior he had already practiced for the past five years at Qing Jing Peak.
Is this where I will live? It looks very luxurious. Thought Luo Binghe, looking at the enormous construction in front of him.
Shen Yuan gently stroked his hands on the dog's back again to relax the dog even more.
Shen Yuan quickly opened the front door ahead of Shen Jiu and made room for him to pass through. Shen Jiu continued walking to go upstairs and leave them in Shen Yuan's room.
"Jiu-ge, I told you I would upload them." Shen Yuan commented as he watched his older brother climb the steps.
"With your noodle arms I doubt you could even carry that mutt upstairs with you."
Luo Binghe diciding to ignore Shen Qingqiu's copy, nestled in the warm arms of his owner. He looked inside the house, at the luxurious floor made of cream-colored tiles, at the white and gray walls decorated with paintings and at the oak furniture.
Luo Binghe didn't have enough time to appreciate all the details of his new house as Shen Yuan had followed his older brother upstairs with quick steps. They arrived at the room and Shen Jiu placed the boxes on the floor and then left and went downstairs, leaving his little brother to fend for himself with his new toy.
Shen Yuan gently placed Bingpup on the ground so that he could survey the new space he was in and begin to adapt.
"We will live here for a few weeks Bingpup. But don't get used to it, soon we will both go alone to a new home."
The dog looked at him from above with its small dark eyes and looked away towards the rest of the room.
With his short legs he began to walk around the rest of the room while making small jumps with each step.
Luo Binghe saw the great decoration change of his owner's room along with the general decoration of the house. The walls were painted an almost imperceptible green, almost white, the furniture was white, there was a desk full of boxes with black screens and a strangely shaped chair. The walls were decorated with what seemed to be drawings in a very particular style and the messy bed had an excessive amount of soft blankets and too many pillows and stuffed animals.
Shen Yuan noticed how the little puppy adorably sniffed the piece of blanket hanging on his bed and almost couldn't resist hugging it and smothering it in his arms because of how adorable his new pet looked. Truly his heart was weak in the face of pretty and adorable things. He then left the dog alone for a moment and headed towards the corner where the boxes were positioned, full of necessary and essential objects for any pet.
"Look Bingpup, everything in here belongs to you. I robbed my brother's wallet, but it's my eighteenth birthday present, he owes me." he explained.
Eighteen years? Is this kid even older than me? He looks much less. Thought Luo Binghe looking curiously at the boy.
The human opened one of the boxes with a little difficulty and took out a medium-sized dog bed, taking precautions for when his adorable pup had a growth spurt. (He also wasn't going to grow much larger since the Pomeranian breed could never be larger than an average small dog, but it never hurt to ensure the comfort of his new companion.)
He took out a rubber ball that squeaked when pressed and some other toys, a red collar, a leash and a special brush for his dog's fluffy coat. Then in the other box he took out two small animal dishes, in one he put food and in the other water, as well as a large bag with dog food.
There's no way I'm going to use a single one of those toys. Thought Luo Binghe as he looked at the contents of the box from afar suspiciously. And then he realized that he too would have to eat like an animal, a beast, as Shen Qingqiu called it. He felt a sting in his heart but then remembered that the boy in front of him was not at all to blame for his traumas and conflicts with Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Yuan grabbed the red collar and called his dog. "Come on Bingpup, come closer." he said while gesturing with his hand.
Luo Binghe looked at him doubtfully, but in the end he relented and approached the human with small hops, as if he were trotting in a very haughty manner.
Shen Yuan looked at him with sparkle eyes as if he was the most adorable thing from the entre world. Luo Binghe felt strange towards that.
"You don't mind if I put this around your neck, right? It won't be tight at all so it won't be uncomfortable." He comforted him as he fastened the collar and loosened it just enough so that the dog wouldn't feel suffocated nor would it be too loose.
Luo Binghe remained still throughout. This place was much better, despite the circumstances in which the universe had decided to put him, despite being in a completely unknown place he was being treated in a very careful and good way. A reward was this right? In exchange for the grievances he suffered in the past and in exchange for being treated like a dog. But he really was…acceptable. He had nothing to compare this kind of treatment to, only his mother, and after his death everything fell apart.
He wasn't going to lie, he felt anger inside him. But, he wasn't stupid and ungrateful either. Yuan, he was a good person. At least that was what he had been able to see so far.
________________
Shen Jiu entered the room a couple of hours later, with the intention of watching to see if that little beast that was the result of his brother's whim was not eating him alive. And much to his chagrin he was met with the sight of Shen Yuan crossing his legs on the floor and the dog sitting in front of him without moving while his little brother tried to get the dog to pay attention to the colorful rubber ball he had thrown at a corner of the room.
"It smells like a wet dog." Shen Jiu said in his typical annoyed tone with a grimace on his face as soon as he opened the door.
Shen Yuan gave him a murderous look. "What are you talking about? Bingpup hasn't touched the water yet. Don't talk nonsense."
"Haven't you even disinfected that beast yet?"
"Don't call him that. He has a name, you were the one who wrote it on the adoption papers."
"Unfortunately for me..." Shen Jiu complained, accompanying him with an exhausted sigh while scratching his forehead.
"Jiu-ge, you're just being tough... you'll love Bingpup once you has the chance to meet him."
"In my nightmares." The older brother commented, rolling his eyes. "And how do even you know that thing? You've known this mutt for less than three hours."
Identical to Shen Qingqiu. Luo Binghe thought, suppressing his urge to jump towards the man.
Shen Yuan picked up the puppy that was much more docile and relaxed than before and positioned it on his lap.
"Gege, what time is your college graduation next week?" he asked as he stroked the animal's head.
Shen Jiu wrinkled his face. "If you come then put on decent clothes, I don't want people to think I'm related to a rebellious teenager who dresses like a bum."
"I dress well, gege." he replied with a pitiful tone.
"Of course, if you want to go to the park to beg like a homeless person, I think your clothes are the most appropriate."
"How rude, I didn't even do anything to you... Plus we're family, are you ashamed of me? If I show up in my homeless clothes will you kick me out?" Shen Yuan asked with a pout as he dug his fingers into Bingpup's fluffy fur.
"Shen Yuan what are you talking about! You-you-" he blushed as he frowned even more.
Shen Yuan smiled triumphantly and Shen Jiu sighed and approached his younger brother. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "I'm sorry A-Yuan, today has been a difficult day. It's not like me to treat you like this."
"Did something happen before you came to get me? Was it a hard day at your internship?" she asked.
"As always it was the fault of my bastard boss of my team. But don't worry A-Yuan, when I finish my internship and settle down at dad's company, I will crush him like an ant. It's the competition after all."
Shen Yuan gave him a mocking look. "Daddy's boy."
"I am perfectly competent to take charge of the company and I have paid my bills since I started studying. Unlike you, who had a hell of a time deciding what course to study next year and then choosing something as absurd as philosophy."
"Don't make fun of me, I wanted to study literature but in the end..." he ruffled his puppy's soft fur harder.
"A-Yuan, you're going to end up teaching spoiled children at a private school where mother will have you hired."
"I like taking care of kids."
"You are a kid."
"Not anymore."
Shen Jiu sighed again and walked to the door. "I'll be back tomorrow, make sure you ask the servants to wash that mutt and disinfect him so he doesn't get his fleas on you. At least we know he's vaccinated against rabies."
"Sure gege, bye!" Shen Yuan quickly waved goodbye to him.
The door closed and they were left alone in the room, dog and owner.
They both looked at each other for a moment until Shen Yuan got up from the ground and next to him also Bingpup.
"It's time to take a bath. If you don't smell like roses tomorrow, my brother will come here and throw you out into the yard." He joked and then headed to a door that was in one of the walls of his room, his own personal bathroom.
"And you are too cute and delicate a little thing to be banished to the horrors of the backyard." he continued to chatter as he gently placed the puppy in the bathtub.
Luo Binghe felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise of the boy who was treating him like a baby. No one had really spoken to him so softly or taken so much care since his mother died. But he didn't take it so personally, after all, the body he was in was not his own and both in his world and here, a puppy as small as him could be considered cute and delicate just as Shen Yuan had praised him.
Shen Yuan turned on the water and Luo Binghe jumped slightly at the sound of the water running and touching the marble of the bathtub.
Endless water just by opening a handle? This world is so... convenient. Luo Binghe thought in wonder.
Shen Yuan put the cap on so that the water wouldn't go down the pipe and regulated the temperature to a warm one.
Luo Binghe really liked how easy it was to heat the water and the feeling of high temperature water rising up his little paws. He hadn't felt hot water for years when his mother took the opportunity to heat it in a large pot over a campfire on special occasions like his birthday; the coldest day of the year. Today for some reason, he was remembering his mother many times. A warm feeling formed in his chest, leaving behind the anger he felt when he woke up.
Shen Yuan waited for the tub to fill enough to have enough water to bathe Bingpup and turned off the water before it filled up too much. He also didn't want to overwhelm his little puppy with so much water, scared by almost drowning him and no longer trust him or give him permission to touch him?
"I don't have dog shampoo yet, but I don't think mine will harm your fluffy fur... It's gentle and doesn't have any chemical components that..." and he continued chattering while rinsing Luo Binghe with a little handful of water to wet his coat before spreading the shampoo.
Luo Binghe liked the warm feeling of Shen Yuan's hands rubbing his fluffy fur, and he relaxed more than he should in an unfamiliar environment.
But wasn't it normal to feel that way if you were in his place? They had treated him much better in a few hours than they had treated him at his peak for years. Who could refuse to ask for more? And his touch had been so soft and warm that he couldn't help but want more deep in the back of his mind.
If the universe had placed him here and in Shen Yuan's care, perhaps it was not a punishment as he had originally thought but a reward for all his suffering in the past, right?
Once the puppy was completely soaped, Shen Yuan massaged it a little more so that it formed more foam and left it smelling like roses like the product promised. The puppy wasn't dirty when he brought it home but his brother had really insisted that any unknown "thing" that came into the house had to be disinfected. Even though his dear and cute Bingpup was no longer unknown and it wasn't a thing either. He was now part of the family, if not the Shen's, then Shen Yuan's only one.
"Cute, you are very cute." He praised as he scratched behind the little dog's ears with soap. Noticing how the little puppy moved its paw unconsciously at the touch, Shen Yuan couldn't help but smile.
Shen Yuan was a person with an extremely thin face and he would rather cut his own throat than say that to anyone. But Bingpup was an adorable little puppy and he couldn't help it, besides, a dog wasn't a person, a dog just needs you to take good care of him and give him all your love, so why would he hold back on pampering him?
Luo Binghe was caught off guard by the compliment but thought it was cute. He had never considered all the privileges that a simple pampered puppy would have. If he lived like this for the rest of his life, he wouldn't complain in the slightest.
Once Shen Yuan was satisfied with the soaping, he rinsed his cute puppy with warm water.
Bingpup really shrinks in size when its fluffy fur is all wet and flattened. It even looks funny. Shen Yuan thought.
He saw the puppy tremble a little and in a panic he wrapped the small dog in a fluffy, soft towel to dry off the excess water.
He grabbed Bingpup with both hands and brought him up to his eye level. "Do you want me to dry you off?"
He received no response but took out his hair dryer and plugged it in. He was worried that the noise might damage the dog's ears, but when he saw that Bingpup didn't flinch at the noisy dryer, he just hurried and once he was done, his puppy's fur was dry and clean again, looking like a ball of fur. round and adorable.
Luo Binghe thought that the inventions of this world were truly impressive. Still, a quick-drying talisman would have been quicker.
Shen Yuan held back and did not kiss the top of his head. He carried him into the bedroom while turning off the bathroom light as he walked out the door and climbed onto her bed, placing Bingpup on top of his fluffy blankets.
Shen Yuan carefully observed his little dog's behavior at all times, not wanting to miss a single second of his adaptation to his new environment. I expected to see Bingpup adorably knead the surface of the bed and roll around in place and then lie down in a ball like the puppies used to do in the videos you could find on the Internet, but the little dog just lay down with a soft, calm movement to his disappointment.
Luo Binghe suddenly felt too tired to stand, like a feeling of numbness all over his body. Or was it a feeling of warmth and comfort? He felt calm in this bed, as if nothing could harm him. A feeling he had longed for all these years and now Shen Yuan was giving it to him.
Shen Yuan watched him close his small button eyes with soft blinks and slowly fall asleep. If one could die of cuteness, Shen Yuan would have done so.