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Luo Binghe didn’t have anybody in particular that he favored out of all of his fellow disciples. Most of them were loud and cruel; they looked down on him and gave him scathing glares. That wasn’t the worst of it, he wished it were. The only person Luo Binghe found somewhat tolerable for the longest time was a girl named Ning Yingying. She was kind. She was nice. The kind of person Luo Binghe wished everyone would be like. It was far better than the dirty stares of other disciples, way better than those stares that considered him to be a freakshow who deserved to be stepped on. It wasn’t like Luo Binghe had anybody he could rely on, Ning Yingying was nice at times, overly nice.
Too kind and poetic. He trusted her up to a point—no girl would be as cruel as a boy, right? Ning Yingying always sang his name with excitement, calling him “A-Luo” and putting too much emphasis on how he should stand up to the other disciples.
His shizun, Shen Qingqiu, had been the worst of them all. He always scowled at Luo Binghe for whatever he did, constantly leaving Luo Binghe in a perturbable state. Everything burned when Shen Qingqiu gave him the looks—the ones that said he’d pay for existing. The ones that said he was below even the wretched scum and beyond the point of redemption. It wasn’t enough for Shen Qingqiu to put him in a woodshed isolated from the rest, no, it just wasn’t enough.
Luo Binghe had to be left with scars staining his body. He had to deal with the pain and the abuse, the sharp sound of the whip hitting him, the sound of pain and bleeding. There wasn’t logic nor reason behind these actions, they just happened.
Just like he happened to be abandoned.
Luo Binghe knew that one day, one day he would realize that there was a reason behind all this. His parents would come and save him from this cruelty and tell him that they’d lost him and they had been looking for him for years on end. Everything would be alright.
As much as Luo Binghe hoped, as much as he desired that things would be alright, everyday that he endured it all, the more he began dwindling at any opportunity to win people’s favor. He didn’t want the favor, he just wanted to be treated fairly.
Everyone else got treated fairly. They got to be seen as someone average, someone who could walk into a room without a reaction and not get those scowls and hateful stares.
That concept was unattainable for him. Just impossible.
Luo Binghe wasn’t someone that could get the respect of others. If he could, he would’ve gotten it years ago. His mother hadn’t gotten the respect she deserved, and here he was, following this pathetic pattern. Luo Binghe didn’t know what he had done to deserve getting the tea dumped on him, he didn’t know what he’d done to deserve getting so many lashes. He didn’t know what he’d done to get any of this, but he still got it.
It had been something he questioned for a long while. When he spent hours just chopping away at the wood, his wrists aching with every swing, Luo Binghe had tried to think of the things he’d done. It could be the company of Ning Yingying… Ming Fan liked her so that was the reason for his hatred. Luo Binghe swung again at the tree, Ming Fan’s group followed his command so that’s why they did it. He swung again. People followed the group and they were afraid of defying Ming Fan. He swings again.
Was it because he was friends with Ning Yingying? Luo Binghe hits the wood harder, a stinging shooting up his wrists as he does so. How idiotic. Even Shen Qingqiu hated him, would that be also because of Ning Yingying? It felt more like she was the stem of the problems, but that couldn’t be it.
His actual friend wouldn’t be the fault of his troubles. Right. There had to be something else.
Shen Qingqiu was cruel, but he wasn’t as much anymore. He’d usually paid attention to his shizun because there’s a fine line between his shizun feeling cruel and him feeling kind. Luo Binghe easily tipped that line into being cruel.
Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been so as of late. It was as if an entity had possessed his shizun.
He knew this wasn’t normal. It couldn’t be. Shen Qingqiu wasn’t kind, he didn’t treat people in a manner that could be respectable, and Luo Binghe is sure that whatever version of Shen Qingqiu is, this is a much better version.
Everyone knew this.
He’d been wary of this version at first, watching from afar where he wasn’t seen, and this version seemed to act oddly when he thought nobody was watching. It began with small oddities.
When Luo Binghe watched from afar, there were moments where he watched Shen Qingqiu yell at something. He couldn’t see something, but it was clearly something that was visible to Shen Qingqiu. Before the fight with the Skinner Demon, Shen Qingqiu had been somewhat cruel, but he looked pained to be that way.
He’d done actions that were in line with his former self, but there was something about it that was not in line. It didn’t feel cruel. It felt like something else.
He knew this because of the leaf. When he had lost his jade pendant that day, Ming Fan and the other disciples had been attacked by something. That something was a leaf, they hadn’t known it, but he’d found the leaf with a thin streak of blood lining its edges. Luo Binghe knew someone had to have manipulated it and the only person who had that sort of ability would be Shen Qingqiu.
Luo Binghe had to figure out this change in behavior. It didn’t make sense and he wanted to determine the entity that had taken over his shizun’s body at the very least. Luo Binghe wasn’t going to make an effort to get it out of the body of Shen Qingqiu—he just wanted to guarantee his own safety. If he could do that at the very least, things would be alright with the turn they’ve taken.
He just needs to hang around this entity long enough to know things.
To say, that’s the point where he’s at now. Trying to follow his shizun around without being noticed is much more difficult than he would expect. Shen Qingqiu was far too friendly to him now. He would be hiding around a pillar or such, watching intensely trying to investigate this entity, the fake Shen Qingqiu and this Shen Qingqiu would spot him and give him a friendly wave.
Luo Binghe constantly had to find excuses on why he was there.
Shen Qingqiu would just smile and be kind in response, and he had this suspicious habit of wanting to do something but he looked like he was refraining himself.
He has to figure out what that is too.
He’s already tried hiding in all sorts of places, but Shen Qingqiu spotted him in every single one. It was a serious investigation for him but Shen Qingqiu seemed to think it was a game.
It is not a game.
He’d chosen a better spot this time. Shen Qingqiu is not going to spot him here. There’s no way he could. Luo Binghe crouches in the branches of a tree he’d climbed earlier, waiting for Shen Qingqiu to pass underneath. He knew that Shen Qingqiu crossed this path at this time of day, Luo Binghe had been tracking his schedule for weeks.
He shifts slightly in the tree, keeping himself propped in the branches by grasping his hand around one of the higher perched ones. Luo Binghe had gotten himself here as early as possible without anybody noticing and decided to stay until Shen Qingqiu passed. He sat there, his body shifting around with every passing second. His breath is short as he makes the effort to minimize his breathing. Shen Qingqiu shouldn’t hear him, nobody will be able to if he stays still.
The seconds tick past.
He can’t see Shen Qingqiu coming, but he can hear the footsteps. The light sound of grass being pressed down to the ground as the man approaches. It’s so quiet, any movement could be heard as if he had shouted it from the top of the Heaven-Ascending Stairs.
Shen Qingqiu finally appears underneath the tree. He’s talking to something like he always does when he’s alone, and Luo Binghe smirks to himself.
He’s going to catch this entity now.
“Fuck. That’s what’s next?” Shen Qingqiu finally speaks out loud. Luo Binghe keeps himself as still as possible, his body tensing as he pays attention. Shen Qingqiu is talking to that invisible thing again.
Shen Qingqiu doesn’t speak for a long moment. “Oh, you’re kidding me.” He glances around for a moment as if trying to see if anybody is listening. “You’re screwing me with me aren’t you? Stupid system you don’t even know what it’s like to be doing this all yourself. If you want me to do your dirty work then do a fair exchange! Consequence of five hundred points isn’t equal to a deduction of a thousand if I fail you trash.” Luo Binghe is only left confused as Shen Qingqiu keeps cursing this thing he calls a “system” and begins saying some words Luo Binghe probably shouldn’t have been listening to in the first place.
He could always use them for insulting the other disciples.
That’d be if he didn’t get consequences.
Shen Qingqiu suddenly yells something extremely vulgar. Luo Binghe startles, shifting in the branches and they make a slight creaking noise as he startles.
Shen Qingqiu suddenly looks up, backing away from the tree and spotting Luo Binghe up there.
“Binghe?” He asks, the confusion echoing in his voice. It’s so much like that familiar tone and kindness he wished he had dealt with at the beginning. Luo Binghe looks down at him from his position in the tree.
“What are you doing up there?” Shen Qingqiu continues. There isn’t a valid explanation Luo Binghe can provide and the truth definitely isn’t a choice. He looks at Shen Qingqiu blankly, trying to come up with something, anything that would be sensible for him to say.
He stumbles over the first few words, “I was trying…trying to,” Luo Binghe hesitates, “trying to catch a butterfly that– Ning Yingying wanted.” Once he says this, Shen Qingqiu starts laughing. Luo Binghe’s face flushes. His shizun is probably going to say something, he’s going to encourage his disciples to make fun of him for chasing a butterfly that didn’t even exist.
“Come down here Binghe, you’re going to fall.” Shen Qingqiu says through choking laughter. Luo Binghe’s eyes widened. Was that bait? Was it a trap? He crouches further into himself, still keeping his grasp on the branch by him. He can’t risk coming down.
“Come on Binghe, jump, I’ll catch you.” Luo Binghe looks at him, trying to judge his expression.
“You will?” He questions.
“Yeah, you’ll fall staying up there.” Shen Qingqiu calls, putting away his fan for once.
Luo Binghe watches him for a long moment, trying to debate his options. Shen Qingqiu had already bought his excuse but if he jumped the entity could choose this moment to be cruel, he could try and win Luo Binghe over before betraying him. There’s so many reasons for him not to jump, but climbing down doesn’t seem like an option.
He tilts forward on the branch towards Shen Qingqiu. He feels the branch slowly sinking.
Luo Binghe jumps.
He lands in Shen Qingqiu’s arms and the man lets out a slight huff catching him, but gently sets him down afterward. “Don’t get yourself into danger, okay?” He says.
Luo Binghe lets out a slight nod.
He wouldn’t be following that instruction in the slightest. He had to judge this entity for his own safety. Luo Binghe feels someone lightly patting his head. It’s Shen Qingqiu patting him, but why?
“Be good.” Shen Qingqiu declares, giving him one final pat before stopping.
It feels good. At that moment, his investigation can wait. Luo Binghe is going to let himself enjoy this version of his shizun and he’ll continue doing so until he can figure out who this entity truly is. That’ll be sometime soon.
– – –
It was not sometime soon.
Luo Binghe has followed through with his cycle again, constantly following Shen Qingqiu around to watch him. He wasn’t trying to investigate anything in particular, he just liked watching Shen Qingqiu and being around him. It’s refreshing to be around someone who isn’t yelling at him for existing or giving him dirty looks. This version of Shen Qingqiu is far kinder and nicer and friendlier.
He likes that. Shen Qingqiu hadn’t commented on his behavior in particular, he’d wave at Luo Binghe if he spotted him but other than that, he just let him be. Luo Binghe followed Shen Qingqiu around whenever he wasn’t engaged in any particular task, eyeing him from a distance, wondering if Shen Qingqiu would break this behavior and snap at him.
He didn’t.
Luo Binghe was beginning to get this feeling that this version of Shen Qingqiu favored him. It began one day when he finally decided to make something for Shen Qingqiu, to prepare food for him. That got him a number of lavish praises.
Ming Fan had been furious afterward and he’d yelled at him. Luo Binghe didn’t mind, as long as this entity of Shen Qingqiu stayed nice to him, everything was alright.
Though no matter how nice Shen Qingqiu was, he never expected his shizun to suggest this particular idea.
“Binghe, can this master help you with your hair?” Luo Binghe’s eyes flash open when he hears this, looking at Shen Qingqiu startled.
He wasn’t prepared for this type of question. “What?”
Shen Qingqiu glances at him, clearly expecting some answer. “With my hair?” He asks, echoing what Shen Qinqiu had said.
“Yes.” As if that explained anything.
Luo Binghe stares at him, wondering where that request had come from of all things. Shen Qinqiu had never asked him anything similar before, it was odd to get such a question. He looks at Shen Qingqiu trying to determine if there was something in the expression that would explain it, even though Shen Qingqiu had a handfan he used to hide his face most of the time, Luo Binghe was good at reading his expressions.
There wasn’t anything behind this one. There weren’t any hesitations with this one, it was a question and he wanted an answer. “Is my hair bad?”
He didn’t usually take care of it, he’d stopped paying attention to it after his mother passed. “It could be better.” Shen Qingqiu finally says, his expression clearly conflicted between being nice and being honest. Luo Binghe almost laughs at this, in these moments he knew the difference between this entity and the original, but he always found himself enjoying this form more.
He’s definitely not the first to notice this difference, but while others thought it was the fault of the qi deviation, Luo Binghe thinks there’s something else behind it. “You can help.” Luo Binghe responds.
“Wait here.” Shen Qingqiu declares, snapping his fan shut and swiftly leaving the room. Luo Binghe watches as he goes, the silence becoming his only company at that moment. There’s the rustle of wind and the gentle sound of leaves behind, but otherwise he’s alone with his mind.
He tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling of the bamboo house. Shen Qingqiu had invited him in here to be company but that would only end up with him getting hit by the other disciples later. He knew that they didn’t like him, they didn’t like the fact that their shizun favored him. He doesn’t understand why he had been favored by this entity but he couldn't help but wish it stays like this forever.
His eyes flick along as they trace the pattern across the ceiling.
Wooden planks criss-cross across the ceiling, their texture only coming into focus as Luo Binghe squints his eyes for a better glance. He counts in his head, waiting for Shen Qingqiu to come back. A part of him worries that this will be the moment where the entity stops pretending to be nice and ends up going back to the Shen Qingqiu from before.
Luo Binghe hopes that won’t happen.
Shen Qingqiu returns after what seems like forever, carrying a bucket full of water. If it could be called a bucket at the size it’s at. The entire thing is filled to the brim with water and it only surprises Luo Binghe further to see that Shen Qingqiu is the one carrying it.
The container tilts just slightly as Shen Qingqiu brings it over and a little dribble of water spills out.
Luo Binghe holds back his amusement, watching Shen Qingqiu bring it over. He glances at him, looking at the entity with mild confusion. He hadn’t expected he’d follow through but what of the bucket of water? The bucket hits the ground with a heavy thud and Shen Qingqiu immediately relaxes when he’s no longer heaving around the heavy object.
He looks at Luo Binghe with a light smile, “Binghe, wait here, this master needs to get something else first.”
Luo Binghe nods slowly and as soon as his shizun turns his back, he crawls over to the water bucket. He peers inside, his reflection shining up at him through the clear water. He always washes his hair with just water, so he can only wonder what Shen Qingqiu is getting for this.
He dips his finger into the liquid, his eyes following the pattern of ripples that occur as he does this.
As soon as the water fades out, Luo Binghe sticks his finger in it again. The surface ripples again, leaving small waves in its path, and with that Luo Binghe begins dipping his finger into the water in several spots, watching in amusement as each poke causes another pattern of ripples. His focus on the water almost makes it so he misses when Shen Qingqiu enters the room. Luo Binghe quickly scrambles away from the bucket, attempting to do his best to look at Shen Qingqiu as if he hadn’t just been playing around with the water.
Even so, Shen Qingqiu barely spares him a glance and is looking listlessly at something Luo Binghe can’t see. Shen Qingqiu mutters something under his breath and then just a second later, looks over at Luo Binghe.
“Binghe, come here!” He says, smiling at him cheerfully.
Luo Binghe gets up, walks over to the bucket where Shen Qingqiu was motioning and stands there, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Okay, sit, and turn around.”
Luo Binghe plops down in front of the bucket and turns around slowly like Shen Qingqiu wants. Part of him wonders if this is it. Is Shen Qingqiu going to become cruel again? Is he going to try and drown him by catching him off guard?
His heart is beating faster as he waits for Shen Qingqiu to start.
The entity isn’t paying him attention though. There’s the sound of rummaging as Shen Qingqiu fidgets around with his stuff, getting out objects and muttering soft curses under his breath. The seconds tick by and Luo Binghe is only getting more impatient and confused.
After Shen Qingqiu lets out a particularly nasty curse, Luo Binghe whips his head around, “Shizun?”
Shen Qingqiu suddenly looks up, an arrangement of flowers set up on the floor in front of him.
“What is it?”
“What are you doing–” Luo Binghe motions towards the scattered flowers “—with all that?” Shen Qingqiu glances down at the flowers he has on the floor, his finger tracing along the surface of one of the petals. He doesn’t answer for a moment, his gaze focused on the flowers, rearranging them in another manner till he seems satisfied with it.
“Making shampoo.” He answers.
Luo Binghe stares at him blankly. “If I arrange these in a certain way I can produce the right concoction…” Shen Qingqiu’s voice drifts off then he realizes he is talking aloud. He looks at Luo Binghe seriously and gives a different answer.
“Potions.”
Luo Binghe feels even more lost.
“Ah, never mind, ignore my rambling.” He says with a smile before his eyes flick to something that Luo Binghe can’t see then back to him. He quickly brushes aside the flowers and approaches the bucket of water.
“Can you–” Shen Qingqiu pauses, thinking. “Can you lie down in a manner so your hair falls back into the bucket?” He looks hesitant as he says this, nearly tripping over his own words while trying to explain. Luo Binghe follows with what he says, although confused, but he lets his hair fall into the bucket—getting soaked as soon as it touches the surface.
He’s not sure what to expect and so when Shen Qingqiu begins by brushing out stray hairs he tenses at the touch.
“Are you alright?” Shen Qingqiu asks.
Luo Binghe is silent momentarily. “...Yes.”
Shen Qingqiu resumes brushing through his hair, gently brushing his fingers against his scalp. The first touches feel tense and Luo Binghe is scared that Shen Qingqiu might do something. Despite that, nothing bad happens.
The gentle hands run through his scalp until all of his hair is soaked. He feels himself relaxing but it’s just not right. If he’s weak and trusts him now, it’ll be the end of him. Even with his heart pounding in his chest—Shen Qingqiu does little more than run fingers through his hair till everything is thoroughly soaked.
“I’m going to be adding a substance to your hair, so if you feel something strange, that’s what it is.” Shen Qingqiu explains, lifting his hands from Luo Binghe’s hair. As soon as he does this, Luo Binghe feels a twinge of disappointment at the comfortable feeling vanishing. He hears the light sound of flower petals being crushed—a noise he never knew he could hear—and then Shen Qingqiu lets out a noise of satisfaction before beginning to apply this odd substance in Luo Binghe’s hair.
He feels an odd tingling feeling in his back as Shen Qingqiu begins applying the substance, rubbing it thoroughly through his hair. Luo Binghe tucks his hands behind his back, trying to press them in to rid himself of the feeling.
Shen Qingqiu is smooth and gentle with his actions.
The gentle touch of fingers ran through his hair bringing a feeling he hadn’t thought of before. Shen Qingqiu begins rubbing his hands on his scalp, and though Luo Binghe can’t see what he’s doing he feels the texture in his hair is definitely a little more different.
Shen Qingqiu murmurs something he can barely hear, it sounds like counting or something.
Luo Binghe thinks of when Shen Qingqiu used to count, it was never for anything good.
Never.
Goosebumps prickle along his body.
He wouldn’t do that.
He wouldn’t.
Shen Qingqiu comes to a halt.
“Binghe?” He asks.
Luo Binghe doesn’t speak. “Why are you…counting?” He asks slowly, his voice dragging as he speaks.
“It helps for timing the brushing.” Shen Qingqiu explains, “I can do it in my head if you’d prefer that.” He doesn’t answer for a long moment, but he slowly makes the motion to nod his head to the best of his ability.
Shen Qingqiu resumes stroking his hair but this time he doesn’t say anything as he does so.
The goosebumps still prickle on his skin but they begin disappearing as silence fills the room. He closes his eyes slowly, letting Shen Qingqiu do as he pleases. This is better.
– – –
Surprisingly enough, Luo Binghe’s hair is in much better condition than he had ever seen it. Even after a couple days of not washing it. Shen Qingqiu had actually washed it, even if his methods were somewhat odd. He could accept that. That’s fine.
The entity hadn’t made any moves since then.
He’d been watching for that.
Even though he had made his best efforts to follow the entity around, the entity still thought it was a game. Luo Binghe still didn’t trust him.
There’s too many factors at play. He lets Ning Yingying go on talking about how much she despises Ming Fan, she always talks so much and it lets Luo Binghe sink into his thoughts. This time she isn’t as compliant because she immediately pops up with a question.
“Right A-Luo?” She asks, her head tilted in the manner of a cat.
“Right.” Luo Binghe answers whatever she just said. He couldn’t focus on that right now, he had to figure out what Shen Qingqiu—the entity—is planning next. Even if it has been weeks, there has to be something. There needs to be something explaining why Shen Qingqiu acts the way he does. Luo Binghe needs to solve this mystery.
“...Ming Fan that he cannot treat other disciples in that manner! It’s just downright disappointing he acts that way just because shizun doesn’t favor him anymore.” Ning Yingying huffs, throwing her hands into the air.
Luo Binghe nods listlessly.
“You know what I said, A-Luo?” Ning Yingying asks, before he can answer she goes on, “I said that he’s a big fat prick and his manner is despicable. He was furious, began telling me that just because I’m friends with shizun’s favored disciple does not mean I can say what I’d like. I told him that is not what I am doing. I already was friends with you A-Luo, and does he get it? No! He just rants about it and the way he behaves you’d think he has a crush on me and is jealous of you. It’s so ridiculous!”
She scowls at the end. “Right, and I’m not standing for any of it, he needs to pull his head out of whatever egoistical hole he shoved it in and learn how to behave.”
“Egoistical?” Luo Binghe echoes. He barely caught half of what Ning Yingying had been saying, let alone knew what she was talking about at this point.
“Yes! Egoistical!” She crosses her arms. “He’s so self-serving and barely treats anybody around him with respect.”
Luo Binghe tries to think of who she had to be talking about. He barely knew any of the disciples besides Ning Yingying and Ming Fan because most of them—their interactions had been little more than an exchange of looks of hatred.
“Ming Fan really needs to get his head in the right place.” Ning Yingying whines.
Right. Ming Fan. Luo Binghe should’ve already predicted that. That boy made his presence known everywhere and he was the only one Luo Binghe knew besides Ning Yingying. It was unfortunate that their sole interactions involved Ming Fan deciding to make Luo Binghe the target of his rage.
He should probably go and find his shizun.
Luo Binghe gives Ning Yingying the most apologetic looking smile he can think of.
“I have to go do something, I promised someone a favor.” He explains.
“Bye A-Luo!” Ning Yingying exclaims as Luo Binghe rushes off.
Now he has to figure out where his shizun is, if that’s possible.
Luo Binghe spends a lot of that hour just searching for his shizun around Qing Jing Peak. He wanders around the peak, searching desperately for Shen Qingqiu to have an idea of what he’s doing. Where he is. As he’s looking around, he finally hears a voice talking to someone. Or something.
He follows the source of the voice.
Shen Qingqiu.
He’s about to greet him and interrupt him in whatever task he’s doing when he realizes Shen Qingqiu is talking to that thing again. Usually it’s a lot of cursing towards that thing, but not this time. Shen Qingqiu’s voice is a quiet whisper; things that Luo Binghe can’t hear.
He slowly creeps closer, watching the ground as he steps forth, waiting to hear what Shen Qingqiu is saying. It’s almost impossible to grasp his voice but he finally gets close enough, but far enough to stay out of sight.
“That’s what it takes?” Shen Qingqiu asks aloud. “That’s what it takes to get out of this goddamn story?!”
Luo Binghe’s eyes go wide at the last word. He didn’t understand what Shen Qingqiu meant by story, but it had to be related to this change in behavior.
It had to be.
“I just want to go home. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t.” Shen Qingqiu’s voice drops once again to a whisper becoming nothing more than a mumble. Luo Binghe doesn’t know how to react, he wasn’t expecting this at all. He had thought it was a demonic creature. Some entity.
Not a human,
Not a person.
He wants to ask him what he’s talking about. This isn’t a story. This isn’t a story. Right. He had to be tired or something. That has to be it.
His body is trembling slightly, and Luo Binghe repositions himself, trying to dig into the ground or do something. Anything. Shen Qingqiu is still muttering something, saying stuff that Luo Binghe can’t understand. Even so, Luo Binghe can’t think of anything at the moment except watch Shen Qingqiu, wondering what he means.
He slowly comes out of his spot. “Shizun?”
Shen Qingqiu turns around quickly, “Luo Binghe?” He asks, startled.
“Are we in a story? Are you not from here?”
Shen Qingqiu stares at him. For that moment, the seconds seem like eternity, “You heard that.”
He says this as though a statement rather than a question. Luo Binghe nods slowly, not knowing what he should say. This can’t be a story. Maybe Shen Qingqiu was saying things just to say them? That makes much more sense than saying his entire worldview will collapse in an instant because everything he lives through isn’t real.
“Is that why you’re nice? Is that why you’re nicer than the previous version?” Luo Binghe questions.
“Yes.”
“You’ll stay that way right? You won’t be mean like him.”
“Yes.”
For a long moment, he doesn’t know what else to say, except for two words. “Thank you.”