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Most of Shen Yuan’s days started gradually, with him waking up at a normal hour and then lounging around in bed for as long as he pleased, usually chasing a sunbeam if it was sunny outside. Hey, could you blame him for taking advantage of mooching off his parent’s money? So long as he could keep up his schedule of staying up long into the night and snoozing until the afternoon, he would do it. He loved it, in fact. Lazy mornings were the best, especially in one of the best beds that money could buy, all personally set to Shen Yuan’s comfort.
“A-Yuan.”
Unfortunately, he’d recently acquired (unwillingly, mind you!) an addition to his household that was determined to get him on a regular sleeping schedule. Of course, Shen Yuan was more than content to simply roll over and ignore the calls given to him, but his new roommate was so fucking needy it was impossible do to successfully. Any time he rolled over, he’d suddenly have a new weight on top of him, still calling his name in a far too sweet voice.
“A-Yuan,” said-roommate called again. Shen Yuan could feel a comfortable brush of warm breath hit his cheek and closed eyelids, which brought him out of deep sleep just a little bit more. “A-Yuaaaaan.”
“Mmph?” Shen Yuan huffed, sounding just as grumpy as he felt. With his eyes still closed, he could practically feel the smile his noise earned.
“Awake?” asked the deep voice that would’ve lulled Shen Yuan back to sleep within seconds if he allowed it. He felt another gentle puff of breath over his face that was soon chased by sharp teeth pressing dangerously against his cheekbone, nipping lightly enough to not be cruel, but to certainly feel.
“Binghe,” Shen Yuan grumbled sleepily, trying to swat the half-demon emperor away from doing any real damage. “Get off.”
Luo Binghe did not get off. He bit a little harder before pulling back only enough to brush his lips over the mark he no doubt just made, grinning far too proudly at himself. Shen Yuan abruptly felt much more awake, blinking his eyes open and using his blurry vision to try to push Luo Binghe away from where he was practically kissing his cheek. What the fuck! What kind of a wake-up call was this?!
“Get off!” he said, this time with a little more heat.
Finally, Luo Binghe leaned back. Shen Yuan’s vision really was terrible, so he couldn’t completely make out the expression on his face, but he had a feeling it was something smug. “Good morning,” Luo Binghe greeted.
Grumbling nonsense under his breath, Shen Yuan reached for his glasses and shoved them on his face. Sure enough, Luo Binghe had a smug look on his face, and was staring down at Shen Yuan in that strange way he had since he’d unceremoniously appeared in Shen Yuan’s bathroom. It’s been a few months since then, and after a quite embarrassing start in which Shen Yuan thought a cosplayer broke into his house and Luo Binghe was convinced he was a version of Shen Qingqiu of all people, they’d somewhat settled into the new normal. Luo Binghe wasn’t around every day, since he had to return to check up on his own world every once in a while, but lately he’d been spending more and more time with Shen Yuan than without. The reason why he did was still completely unknown, but Shen Yuan figured that he desperately needed a friend and was happily taking the offer that Shen Yuan had given so long ago.
But did friendship have to include all of this?!
After blinking at Luo Binghe a few times, Shen Yuan turned over to face the wall instead and tried to snuggle back against his mattress. As expected, Luo Binghe didn’t take well to being ignored, and hopped on the bed as well. Shen Yuan let out a light ‘oof!’ of complaint as he was practically covered by Luo Binghe’s bulk, forcing the air from his lungs in an uncomfortable way. “Arg, Binghe, just let me sleep - ow!”
This bite was harsher than the last one, and pressed straight into the nape of Shen Yuan’s neck. He remained very still despite wanting to squirm, wincing when those teeth finally released his delicate skin. He reached back to feel for blood, but his fingers only made contact with Luo Binghe’s spit, and he grimaced.
“I’m going to get a spray bottle,” he huffed, slapping a hand against one of Luo Binghe’s biceps that had to be as big as his head. “Get off me, I can’t breathe.”
With a heavy sigh, Luo Binghe got up, but only after trying to nip at the hand that Shen Yuan was waving around. Seriously, was he a fucking dog that needed to be trained?! It was ridiculous how bad-tempered and bitey Luo Binghe could get when he wasn’t getting his way, or wasn’t getting the attention he wanted, or the reaction he wanted, or whatever he wanted. Back in his universe, he was too used to getting what he wanted by now, but despite how many bites he suffered, Shen Yuan always did his best not to crack.
“No,” he snapped, pointing a finger right at Luo Binghe’s nose. “How many times have I told you not to bite?”
Luo Binghe had the audacity to pout while also looking blissfully ignorant. He stared down at the finger pointed at him, clearly debating biting it too, but backed off. He pulled Shen Yuan after him as he got out of bed, suddenly all sweet smiles once more. “This Lord prepared breakfast,” he said proudly, dipping his head down.
Urg, he really shouldn’t reward Binghe like this after scolding him just a minute ago, but it was hard for Shen Yuan to resist patting those bouncy curls. He reached up and gave that head a light pat, smiling privately to himself at the way that Luo Binghe’s fluffy hair sprang back up after each touch of his hand. After receiving his desired head-pats, Luo Binghe straightened up and puffed his chest out proudly, then all but dragged Shen Yuan out of bed completely. He did not squeak, but even if he did could he really be blamed for it when he went to bed the night before in nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts? Luo Binghe certainly noticed his attire, if the way his eyes wandered meant anything. Hastily, Shen Yuan rushed to find the nearest pair of pants and pulled them on, nearly falling over more than once in his haste. When he turned back around, Luo Binghe was leaning against the open doorway, arms crossed, and smirking.
“What did you make, then?” Shen Yuan tried to ask nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t ready to sprint to the kitchen just to see for himself.
Waiting for him at the dining table was practically a feast. Luo Binghe proudly led the way there, and even poured Shen Yuan the perfect cup of hot tea before gesturing to the dishes. Everything he had was tastier than the last, and Shen Yuan happily ate his fill while trying to ignore how Luo Binghe was only staring at him instead of eating himself. He never did, instead seeming much happier in watching Shen Yuan enjoy himself instead.
After a bit, Shen Yuan leaned back in his seat and sighed, sipping on his tea. “Do you have to go back today?” he asked, aiming for a nonchalant tone.
“Mn,” Luo Binghe hummed. “There is business this lord must see to today, but by this evening I shall return. Will A-Yuan wait?”
“Not like there’s anything else to do,” Shen Yuan said with a shrug, still staring down at his tea. Luo Binghe got up from the table and drew Xin Mo, slashing through the air and creating a portal in the nearest doorway. Before he could leave, Shen Yuan called to him, “Stay safe.”
Luo Binghe chuckled. “A-Yuan is as kind as always,” he said with just a hint of softness to his voice before disappearing. The portal closed shut behind him with a hum, finally leaving Shen Yuan in silence.
He sighed. Not that he would ever admit it, but he had been kind of hoping that Luo Binghe didn’t have anything to do in his own world that day. Time always felt like it passed faster when Luo Binghe was around, no matter how disrupting he could be. Shen Yuan finished his tea, which somehow felt just a bit colder than it was a moment ago, and got up to put away the leftovers of the incredible breakfast he’d just had. Once done with that, Shen Yuan headed towards the bathroom, deciding to take a quick bath to start the day on a relaxing note. Sometimes when Luo Binghe was here he would draw them himself for Shen Yuan, always managing to get the temperature and amount of bubbles perfect on the first try. While Shen Yuan most certainly did not grumble about it as he got his own bath ready, he figured he was allowed to feel a bit miffed about the situation as he got ready to strip down.
He happened to be in front of the mirror as he went to take his shirt off, but suddenly paused. Shen Yuan stared at his own reflection in the mirror, blinking slowly once. Then twice. Then a third time, just for good measure, but no matter how many times he blinked there was still a hot red mark on his cheek. It looked as fresh as it felt, with clear teeth indentations that hadn’t broken skin, but had been damn near close to. Around the teeth marks his skin was flushed a hot red color, almost looking like a permanent blush set on his cheeks. The only thing that could possibly make any of this worse was if there was any blood to clean up, because he did not want to walk around with a giant bandage on his face for the rest of the day.
What the fuck, he thought. How is this my life?
Okay, Shen Yuan knew a lot about Luo Binghe. It was impossible not to, since everything about him was written in a novel, after all. He had known that Luo Binghe was a ‘bitey’ person, especially during papapa scenes with his wives. But apparently it went further than just that, because Luo Binghe tended to bite whenever something displeased him. Or when he thought that Shen Yuan was ignoring him. Or when he was scolded. Or when he had to leave back through Xin Mo’s portal and didn’t want to go. Or to wake Shen Yuan up, like he had this morning, which was exactly why Shen Yuan had a huge bite mark on his cheek.
He thought back to that rather rude awakening with a scowl, grabbing his toothbrush and starting to aggressively wash up for the day. Luo Binghe had an amazing talent of being sweet and patient for one moment before becoming the biggest brat known to man in order to get his way the next. Every day Shen Yuan did his best to sleep in as late as possible, especially after spending all night checking up on forums and chapter updates in his boredom, but that couldn’t happen when there was someone ready to wake you up just an hour after the sun rose so that he could get all the attention he wanted.
Well, no more. Shen Yuan had put up with more than enough all this time, it was high-time he listened to his sisters about setting firm boundaries and put some in place. No more biting! He wasn’t a chew toy!
~*~
With the knowledge that Luo Binghe was going to return that evening, Shen Yuan spent most of his day figuring out just how he could effectively ‘train’ a full grown half-demon with an attitude as testy as they could come. He started off by doing a few searches online, closing his eyes as he typed into the search bar ‘how to train your dog to stop biting’ , because he sure as hell couldn’t type the actual truth. He didn’t want to know what a search of ‘how to get your roommate to stop biting you’ would reveal.
The first suggestion didn’t sound bad in theory: basically either ignore Luo Binghe after biting, giving him no reaction, or to leave the room altogether for a moment. The article that Shen Yuan was reading highlighted the importance of getting across that some things are okay (gentle playing), but that others won’t be tolerated (painful play). Which, yes! That could work in theory! The only problem with that is, what is Shen Yuan supposed to do when the being that keeps biting him is both bigger and stronger than him, capable of overpowering Shen Yuan whenever he wanted to? And that was without his cultivation at all, with that Shen Yuan was completely powerless against him.
The second suggestion was giving an alternative thing to chew, which Shen Yuan figured would work better on someone like Luo Binghe, so he searched for the nearest place to get something that could work and managed to find some special necklaces made for chewing on. The fact that they were usually made for kids was something he ignored completely when getting them, testing one in the little pack he got to see just how they worked, and was pleasantly surprised by how firm it was.
The third suggestion was to use a method of reinforcement to make it clear what behaviors were good versus bad. Now that was something that Shen Yuan knew he could do at least, since it was the one thing he kept having to do in the first place since Luo Binghe arrived in this world. The thing he seemed amenable to the most were praises and head-pats when he did something right, but any time Shen Yuan scolded him for doing something wrong, Luo Binghe tended to get upset and retaliate. Finding a balance between the two had been difficult, but not impossible, now Luo Binghe at least listened to him when Shen Yuan tried to explain to him that he had done something wrong instead of shouting back that he was the damn Emperor of the merged realms! Not here he wasn’t! Shen Yuan’s apartment was his domain, and until Luo Binghe started paying rent, he had to accept that.
(Not that Shen Yuan paid either…rent came with his monthly allowance from his parents)
With all his research done, the only thing left to do was wait for Luo Binghe to return to the apartment and explain that all to him. The hours passed by slowly as Shen Yuan waited, trying to fill his time alone with things he couldn’t do with a roommate as nosey and irritating as Luo Binghe is, but it was always hard to do things alone nowadays. When Luo Binghe stayed late, he would doze curled up halfway on top of Shen Yuan while he read and typed from his laptop, the two of them had started exploring the modern world together since Luo Binghe had seemed interested, and Luo Binghe always insisted on making every meal for Shen Yuan so that he wouldn’t have to order anymore takeout. Shen Yuan barely realized just how much of his life now revolved around Luo Binghe until he was absent.
About halfway through his very late lunch, which was an incredible Suan La Fen , a familiar black and red swirling portal cut through the empty doorway to the kitchen, and Luo Binghe walked through it. The portal vanished right behind him as he re-sheathed Xin Mo in the scabbard on his back, and he grinned cockily. “A-Yuan,” he greeted.
“Hey,” Shen Yuan said back, turning back to his laptop screen.
As he figured, Luo Binghe rounded around the couch to take a look at the screen himself, frowning at what was on it. “You are - reading about me again,” he hissed.
“Mn,” Shen Yuan hummed, slurping on some noodles that Luo Binghe likely made fresh that morning from scratch just for this single meal. They seriously had no right to be so delicious, but that was a protagonist for you. “I was looking for something.”
Luo Binghe gently closed the laptop screen, since he’d learned the hard way he couldn’t slam it shut when Shen Yuan read anything related to Proud Immortal Demon Way. “And what is A-Yuan looking for?” he asked, stretching his arm behind Shen Yuan over the backrest of the couch. “This lord will answer any question he has.”
“Okay.” Shen Yuan put his bowl down, then turned so that he could face Luo Binghe directly. “Has anyone ever told you that you bite a lot?”
Blinking once, Luo Binghe recovered after a second, offering a shrug. “No-one has ever complained before.”
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. “Look at my face, Binghe.” When he did, his eyes immediately caught on Shen Yuan’s cheek, the one with the bite mark left out in the open to fade slowly with each passing hour. “See something wrong?”
“No,” Luo Binghe immediately said.
“Well, I do,” Shen Yuan huffed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’ve been treating me like your personal chew toy ever since you showed up here. Whatever bullshit in your world doesn’t exist here, I can’t heal quickly like people from your world can!”
“This lord is aware,” Luo Binghe said slowly. His eyebrows were furrowing, and the demon huadian on his forehead was glowing a bit, signaling his rising temper. That wasn’t good, since Shen Yuan didn’t want to make the other’s temper flare enough for him to get angry. An angry Luo Binghe wouldn’t listen to anyone but himself, as he’d both read and experienced personally over the months.
“Alright, alright.” Shen Yuan reached up to pat Luo Binghe’s head once, feeling the soft bounciness of his hair spring down and up with each motion of his palm. “You haven’t hurt me, Binghe, but I seriously can’t go out in public with bite marks everywhere. From now on, I’m going to train - er, teach you to cope with those feelings in a different way. How does that sound?”
Luo Binghe did not look excited at the idea, but the moment that Shen Yuan said ‘teach’, his eyes lit up in a flash. After a second, his frown morphed into a lazy grin and he leaned in closer, until their faces were just a breath apart. Despite wanting to shrink back, Shen Yuan forced himself to remain firm and in place, wanting to show Luo Binghe that he was truly serious about this. “Alright,” Luo Binghe finally purred. “How does Shen-Laoshi intend to teach this lord?”
Shen Yuan swallowed and hoped it didn’t look like a nervous gulp. He broke eye contact so that he could grab the chewing necklace at his side, holding it up between them and right under Luo Binghe’s nose. He sniffed once, then frowned and glared at it, which was to be expected. “This is something made for chewing on,” Shen Yuan began to explain. “You can wear it around your neck if you’d like. We’ll start with changing your habit first, and from there we’ll see if we can kick it completely.”
With one hand, Luo Binghe reached to pluck the necklace from Shen Yuan’s hand, looking at it curiously for another moment before he brought it to his lips and bit down on it. Since Shen Yuan had tried it earlier, he figured he knew what to expect, but was absolutely shocked to see the way that Luo Binghe bit it completely in two. He spat out one piece of the silicone, and held up the other half with a look that Shen Yuan had quickly discovered was his ‘I’m innocent!’ look. Big round eyes, a playful pout and even a shine of pretend tears. Just where had he learned to do that?!
“This lord apologizes,” Luo Binghe said, not sounding the least bit sorry.
“I-it’s fine,” Shen Yuan stuttered, taking the broken necklace and staring at the bitten through silicone with wide eyes. All he could really think about was the obvious fact that so far Luo Binghe had never used his full bite force on him, because if he could bite that cleanly and easily through silicone, just what could he do to Shen Yuan’s delicate bones?!
“Perhaps this method won’t work,” Luo Binghe sighed, leaning back against the couch and failing to hide his grin.
Maybe not, but Shen Yuan had prepared for that. If a simple real chew toy wouldn’t work, then he’d have to resort to plan B. “Then we can try something else,” he said, taking out one of the spare chewing necklaces that had come with the one that was now broken. He held it out, which Luo Binghe glared at again, and when he took it Shen Yuan pointed a finger at his nose. “Don’t break it. If an alternative won’t work, then I’ll teach you the best way I know how.”
“Which is?” Luo Binghe asked.
“You do a bad thing, you don’t get what you want, plain and simple.” Shen Yuan opened his laptop and focused on the chapter of PIDW he was rereading, ignoring Luo Binghe completely.
Ten full seconds passed before Luo Binghe seemed to get the hint. When he did, he let out the tiniest growl, leaning forward to get into Shen Yuan’s space. “Would A-Yuan prefer to read about that me instead of spending time with the version he currently has?” The words were said in a dangerous tone, harshly spat out, but Shen Yuan did not falter. He wasn’t reading anymore, he couldn’t when Luo Binghe was so close, but he pretended to be, only brought out of it when he felt teeth sink into his shoulder, right over the t-shirt he was wearing. He hissed, then quickly flicked at the nearest ear he could, which seemed to surprise Luo Binghe enough to let go.
“No,” Shen Yuan said firmly, again pointing his finger again. “If you want to bite, you bite the necklace.”
“And if I don’t?” Luo Binghe challenged.
“Then you face the consequences,” Shen Yuan said, looking back at his screen. “If you’re misbehaving, then there’s no point giving you any attention. You can think about what you’ve done for a full minute.”
Luo Binghe opened his mouth, revealing his sharp canines as he clearly debated biting Shen Yuan once again, but when he was given a pointed look and a raised eyebrow, he instead turned to the necklace and bit that one in half as well. “That is not our agreement,” Luo Binghe sneered, tossing the remnants of the necklace away. “This lord crosses between worlds specifically for you, and you would dare order him around in this manner?”
Alright, so that did tug at Shen Yuan’s heartstrings just a bit, but he remained firm and looked back at his laptop screen, even going so far as to write another comment just to have something to do. Maybe it wasn’t fair to do this to Luo Binghe, after all he was giving up his time and his harem to be with Shen Yuan, like he’d said. But at the same time, he had to learn that Shen Yuan wouldn’t tolerate everything thrown at him. Like Luo Binghe, he’d sacrificed a few things to have him in his life! Specifically any hope at finding his own job (not that he was looking for one at all) and a social life with modern-day friends (not that he had any). Even family video calls he had to cut short so that nobody would notice the damn portal suddenly appearing in his living room. Luo Binghe wasn’t the only one making sacrifices.
“A-Yuan,” Luo Binghe called, now trying to use his tears to sway Shen Yuan. “A-Yuan. This…This lord will do better if you give him a second chance.”
Don’t cave, don’t cave, don’t cave, Shen Yuan thought over and over in his head.
“A-Yuan.”
Just don’t look at him. If you don’t look into his eyes then you won’t feel guilty at all.
“Shiz…” Luo Binghe trailed off, then ducked his head. “Is there truly something so wrong with this one that you will not choose me, too?”
“What?” Shen Yuan asked, looking over in confusion. When he saw the tears falling softly down Luo Binghe’s face, a sight he’d never seen before, Shen Yuan quickly pushed his laptop away and gathered the all-powerful stallion protagonist in his arms. Luo Binghe went willingly, tucking his face against Shen Yuan’s shoulder and immediately biting down, though softer than before. Shen Yuan winced and lightly flicked at Luo Binghe’s ears again. “Binghe, what did I say about - ?”
“Sorry,” Luo Binghe mumbled, letting go and squeezing Shen Yuan tightly. “A-Yuan, don’t…”
“Don’t what?” Shen Yuan tried to prod, but Luo Binghe went strangely silent in his arms. After a few seconds of no response, Shen Yuan sighed and patted the top of Luo Binghe’s head the way he liked it. “I’m sorry. I…hurt you more than taught you anything, didn’t I?”
After another moment, Luo Binghe raised his head. The look on his face was difficult to read, because there were still some tears in his eyes, but also a strange sense of…perhaps wonder, or happiness? Or disbelief? It was hard to tell, but what was obvious and what Shen Yuan should’ve guessed from the start was that ignoring Luo Binghe might bring up his abandonment issues, of which he had a lot.
“I won’t do that again,” Shen Yuan promised, stroking his hand down Luo Binghe’s silky hair and rubbing gentle circles along his spine. Little by little, he felt Luo Binghe untense more and more, until he was hugging Shen Yuan back rather than holding him as if afraid the moment he let go they would lose one another forever. Finally, Luo Binghe nodded, dropping his head to hide his expression again. Shen Yuan let him, figuring that Luo Binghe didn’t often get hugs in his world if he was so sticky right now - that hack author rarely bothered to give him any intimacy like that with any of his wives, after all. It only made sense that he would latch on to whoever was willing to give him a hug, even if it was the scrawny nerd he’d met and decided to become friends with.
Shit…Shen Yuan wasn’t sure if Luo Binghe was putting up a huge act just to get out of all this, but he felt like he couldn’t risk it. Despite how much he complained about losing his old schedule and life before his favorite character had crashed into it, by now Shen Yuan knew he would feel very empty and alone if Luo Binghe was to walk away and never come back. He didn’t want to be the reason that Luo Binghe left, either. They were friends, Shen Yuan wanted to be friends, he didn’t even hate the biting thing at all! It was just indecent to go out in public as if the marks were no big deal!
Gently, Shen Yuan flicked Luo Binghe’s ear again when he felt the threat of sharp teeth against his collarbone. “Hey,” he called, waiting for Luo Binghe to raise his head to look at him again. “You know that if I don’t like something, you can’t just do it because you want to, right?”
Luo Binghe immediately averted his gaze. He was pouting much more childishly now, like he was upset at losing a treat rather than truly heartbroken. “This lord understands,” he ground out through clenched teeth.
“That being said,” Shen Yuan continued, “I’m…not upset about the biting. You just have to be more careful, and you can’t do it so much. Someone else will notice.”
After saying that, Luo Binghe looked back at Shen Yuan with brighter eyes, and was no longer pouting. “They should not stare at what doesn’t concern them,” he said with ease.
“Okay, then for me,” Shen Yuan stressed, since he knew it was a lost cause to argue against that statement. Luo Binghe would just say something about killing anyone that looked at Shen Yuan wrong, or something. “For my peace of mind. Keep the biting to a minimum.”
Slowly, Luo Binghe nodded. “Is that all A-Yuan requests?” he asked, voice a little smaller than it had been a second ago. “Is that all that is wrong with this one?”
“I mean, your attitude could use some work,” Shen Yuan joked. “But Binghe, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just used to a different world and different things. People learn, grow, and change. You’ve already changed a lot since we’ve met.”
It was true. When they first met, Shen Yuan could barely stand to be in the same room as Luo Binghe, and they could barely go a full conversation without yelling at each other. It had been a lot to adjust to, but as soon as Shen Yuan figured out how to properly deal with Luo Binghe, he found it all rather easy. He slowly taught what was right and wrong, just how much he would tolerate and what he absolutely wouldn’t, and had been a bit surprised when Luo Binghe accepted it all in stride. Sure, he was still the same stallion protagonist deep down, but he wasn’t so ruthless or distant anymore. He was warm, inviting, and could even be really sweet.
“What if there was a different Luo Binghe?” he asked, breaking Shen Yuan out of his thoughts. “What then?”
“So?” Shen Yuan snorted. “Do you see any other Luo Binghe around here I want to be with?” he asked.
Tears filled Luo Binghe’s eyes again for just a moment before they were blinked away. He then leapt forward, pinning Shen Yuan to the couch and biting at Shen Yuan’s neck with more force than usual.
“Ow!” Shen Yuan complained, kicking his feet in the air and squirming beneath Luo Binghe’s bulk. “Seriously, you can’t keep biting me like this - Binghe, I’m serious, you’re going to make me bleed - “
“If A-Yuan is so worried about being injured, this lord’s blood parasites - “
“Absolutely not!”
~*~
Two weeks later, Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky published a new chapter of PIDW that was all about…biting in demon culture. Shen Yuan reread just to make sure, feeling as baffled as the Luo Binghe in the story when he learned that biting was quite important to demons. They felt compelled to leave a mark on those they claimed as partners, which definitely explained why Luo Binghe tended to bite during papapa scenes, and also was clearly written as a segway of some kind for Luo Binghe to choose his most favored wife in his harem to proudly display his mark at all times. The comments were not happy, all of them fighting over which wife deserved to have that spot at all.
Shen Yuan left a particularly scathing comment about the whole thing being stupid since Airplane obviously wasn’t going to man up and choose a most favored wife due to fear of backlash. Once he finished writing that, he headed to the kitchen, where Luo Binghe was chopping vegetables for dinner that night, and asked if it was all true. Luo Binghe offered his usual cocky smirk and put down the knife he was using, wiping off his hands on a towel and leaning down until he was in Shen Yuan’s space, their faces just a breath apart.
“And what does A-Yuan think?” he asked.
Face heating up in an awful blush, Shen Yuan pushed him away and stuttered out some nonsense before running to the bathroom. He heard Luo Binghe laughing behind him, but all he could focus on was the mark that had yet to fade on the side of his neck, still an angry red from when Luo Binghe had bitten him all that time ago. He’d been trying to ignore how it was strangely healing, but now all he could think about was the chapter he’d just read from the damn book that got him in this situation in the first place.
Behind him, the door to the bathroom opened, and Luo Binghe plastered himself to Shen Yuan’s back, wrapping his arms around his middle and nuzzling his face straight into that mark. All Shen Yuan could really do was try not to squeak or squirm, forced to watch the half-lidded and far too smug look in Luo Binghe’s eyes. “Has A-Yuan figured it out yet?”’ he asked smoothly.
Yeah, yeah he had. Shen Yuan had read the words from Luo Binghe’s own thoughts in the chapter he’d just read, and had a feeling that the one hanging onto him was thinking the very same thing right now: the mark means you’re mine.