Work Text:
"Shizun! Let's go on a date!"
Luo Binghe blurted this out, leaving Shen Yuan bewildered. "What makes you want to go on a date all of a sudden?"
Luo Binghe looked earnestly into Shen Yuan's eyes. "According to what this disciple knows, in this world, lovers often go on dates. This disciple was just a tiny bit curious, so, he wasn't sure if Shizun would be willing to…"
"Of course I'd be willing to," Shen Qingqiu replied without hesitation.
This rascal. He'd already lived in Shen Yuan's world without showing more than a passing interest in anything for how many days now? Now that there was something he wanted to do, wasn't it Shen Yuan's job to step up?
Grinning like a kid who'd gotten to eat his cake and have it too, Luo Binghe buried his face into Shen Yuan's lap.
The next day, Shen Yuan brought the well-behaved college student Luo Binghe to his college's front gate.
Luo Binghe had specifically named this place as their date spot. Shen Yuan didn't know why Luo Binghe seemed to like the idea of going to a school so much, but when he saw the excitement shining in Luo Binghe's eyes, Shen Qingqiu didn't question it and simply brought them there.
Hand in hand, they strolled around the campus.
A wide asphalt road divided the main campus into two, with flowering trees of some kind lining the road. Every spring, the branches would bloom all over with pink flowers; when the wind blew, flower petals would cover the ground, and students would flock here to get their photos and check it off the list.
When they got to this section, Luo Binghe paused, thought for a moment, and turned to Shen Yuan. "Shizun, wait here. I'll be back soon!" In a flash, he disappeared around the corner.
Shen Yuan sat down at a nearby bench, waiting patiently. A few petals gently drifted down from above, and a memory from his school days suddenly came to mind: every time this season came around, there'd be an endless stream of young couples who came here to have dates, and this place gradually became the one of the school's iconic attractions. Apparently, when a couple got together, they had to come to this road to take a photo together to commemorate the occasion.
When Shen Yuan was in college, he'd spent what little free time he'd had on video games and webnovels—he had no interest in dating at all. One by one, all of his roommates had gone to get their couple photos, but Shen Yuan only ever went there just to enjoy the scenery. Everybody always loved to tease him, "Who's gonna be the babe gorgeous enough to catch the eye of our Young Master Shen?"
Back then, Shen Yuan hadn't thought that he'd ever get the chance to get such a photo.
And now, after so many years of trials and tribulations, he'd somehow managed to come here with Luo Binghe.
Before five minutes had passed, Luo Binghe came back, riding a bicycle he'd gotten from who knows where. He stopped in front of Shen Yuan and proudly raised his chin. "Come get on, Shizun."
Shen Yuan looked at the shiny, sleek bike. Then he looked at Luo Binghe, who was staring back longingly. He didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.
In the end, he got on, carefully hanging on to the edge of Luo Binghe's white shirt. But Luo Binghe grabbed his hand and wrapped it around his own waist, smiling as he looked back at Shen Yuan. "Hold on tight Shizun, I'll take you to class!"
Shen Yuan was starting to get a little suspicious. "Where did you learn all this from?"
"All the books this disciple read are written like this," Luo Binghe replied, looking quite pleased with himself.
Books? What books? It couldn't be one of those angsty torrid romance webnovels, could it?
Shen Yuan shook his head helplessly. Luo Binghe was not just a fast learner, it seemed he'd educated himself in a variety of topics!
They rode at a steady pace along the sun-drenched, flower-lined path, just two young men talking and laughing as they steadily made their way through the bustling crowd of people.
Luo Binghe already possessed a face that was handsome from all 360 degrees. Adding on the outfit that Shen Yuan had personally put together for him today, he looked every bit the dazzling young college student in the height of his youth. With two handsome young men in the same frame, the picture they made was as fine as the cover of a novel, so much so that the students they passed couldn't help from sneaking glances and exclaiming along the way.
At the end of the road, the bike stopped. Luo Binghe took a bottle of water out from his backpack and handed it to Shen Yuan, and the two of them sat down at a bench. From there, they could see a bunch of students playing soccer on the field.
Luo Binghe slowly rested his head on Shen Yuan's shoulder and said softly, "Shizun, could you tell me a story about when you were in college?"
Though this position was getting a bit hot for Shen Yuan, he let Luo Binghe quietly rest his head there. "I didn't know you were interested in this kind of thing."
"It's not that. It's just, if it's anything about Shizun, I'll always be interested." Luo Binghe looked up and met his gaze. "Shizun knows everything about this disciple—why I was born, what hurts me the most, what I live for. But this disciple knows so little about Shizun. I only regret that I wasn't able to fly through time and space to see Shizun sooner…"
The dappled sunlight played across Luo Binghe's face. His eyes shone with it, sparkling. Shen Yuan suddenly felt his face starting to heat up, and almost without thinking, he pulled Luo Binghe into his arms.
"In the future, Shizun will tell it all to you, every little bit."
Luo Binghe smiled brightly, tightening the embrace.
There were quite a few students still coming and going, and with someone as eye-catching as Luo Binghe, it was hard not to notice them. In broad daylight like this, Shen Yuan was a little embarrassed, but he was also reluctant to let go of Luo Binghe.
Suddenly, he had an idea. Dragging Luo Binghe upright and running them over to a nearby flowering tree, he took out his phone and turned it on.
"Binghe, look at the camera!"
Luo Binghe didn't know what he was trying to do, but he immediately brought his gaze over. Their two faces appeared, side by side, in the picture frame, set against the backdrop of a towering tree full of blossoms.
Shen Yuan furtively looked around. There were still quite a few people in the area, but he'd already made up his mind.
Snap!
In the moment the camera took their picture, Shen Yuan swiftly placed a kiss on Luo Binghe's cheek.
-
In the afternoon, Shen Yuan brought Luo Binghe to an amusement park. Though he knew that, to someone like Luo Binghe, even the most thrilling activities simply couldn't compare to life in a world of cultivation, he thought Luo Binghe might like such a playful, carefree atmosphere.
Since they were here to have fun, of course they had to pick the most thrilling thing there. Shen Yuan took the initiative to suggest that they ride the three most challenging rides in the park: the roller coaster, the pirate ship, and the drop tower. When they got off, however, while Shen Yuan's legs were trembling all over, vision blurry, soul about to leave his body, Luo Binghe's face had barely changed color.
This was truly a huge loss of face for Shen Yuan.
But, if they were talking about face, what Shen Yuan really cared about was whether Luo Binghe was having fun. Judging from his expression, Luo Binghe seemed to find these colorful contraptions somewhat interesting, even though they didn't pose any challenge to him.
With Luo Binghe's help, Shen Yuan struggled over to a rest area. He was just taking deep breaths to calm down when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Luo Binghe staring intently at his face.
Shen Yuan knew what he was probably up to. Because of the kiss from this morning, Luo Binghe had been looking for an opportunity to get him back. But Shen Yuan was wise to his game—he wasn't going to let Luo Binghe get the drop on him.
He skillfully avoided that scorching gaze and ordered, "Binghe, this teacher suddenly feels like having some ice cream. How about you go ahead and buy us two cones."
Luo Binghe hesitated, as if he wanted to say something. But, as he was an extremely obedient disciple, he immediately ran off to buy the ice cream.
Staying behind, Shen Yuan couldn't hold it in anymore and had a sneaky chuckle to himself.
Very quickly, Luo Binghe came back with two ice cream cones, one for each of them—raspberry for Shen Yuan and matcha for Luo Binghe. The cream melted sweetly on the tongue, refreshingly cool and yet with a subtle fruity aroma. Shen Yuan watched his disciple eat with great relish, and a smile like that of a proud grandmother appeared on his lips.
Luo Binghe's favorite foods➕1
"Shizun, what are you smiling about?" When Luo Binghe tilted his head as he licked his ice cream, he looked even more like the little doggy hair tie of Ben Ben around his wrist.
And just as cute.
Just as he was lost in thought, Shen Yuan suddenly felt something soft and warm on his lips, leaving him stunned.
Luo Binghe quickly licked up some cream on the corner of his mouth. Then he captured Shen Yuan's lips once again, sucking on them like he was sampling ice cream—savoring them again and again.
Shen Yuan's body, which had just calmed down from earlier, instantly began to heat up once more. In his dismay, a thin layer of sweat broke out across his body. He tried to push away from Luo Binghe, but Luo Binghe grabbed the back of Shen Yuan's neck and pulled him back in.
Afterwards, Shen Yuan's lips were left slick and shiny.
Luo Binghe licked his lips, still savoring the kiss. "Shizun is very sweet."
Shen Yuan, both surprised and embarrassed, couldn't help himself from looking around—good, not too many people—and immediately smacked his wicked little disciple on the head. Luo Binghe, having suffered a blow, instantly put on a pitiful expression. "Shizun, this disciple knows he was wrong."
Hehe.
Shen Yuan took the opportunity to muss up his handsome face, scolding, "As punishment, you are forbidden from holding this teacher's hand for one hour."
-
Late at night, in Shen Yuan's bedroom.
After showering, Luo Binghe changed into Luo Binghe's silk pajamas. He sat at the bedside, beads of water dripping from his hair onto his face. Likewise, his eyes were moist and dark, staring unblinkingly at Shen Yuan like a beast lurking silently in the dark, waiting for the chance to strike.
Luo Binghe's skin was already very fair. After the shower, his skin looked even more radiant, with only a faint blush on his cheeks adding a touch of color to his complexion.
With only a glance at him, Shen Yuan's heart was already in turmoil.
Even with wet hair, he was so handsome! It was just that he looked a little too pitiful, like a small pet that'd been abandoned by its owner in the cold, rainy night.
If he really thought about it, Luo Binghe had indeed been abandoned by him in their previous world. He'd searched for Shen Yuan, bearing it all alone, for so long.
Affection filled his heart. He couldn't help but lift his hand and gently stroke Luo Binghe's face. Luo Binghe immediately pressed his face into Shen Yuan's hand, rubbing it back and forth.
Gazes meeting, tender feelings, the mood just right.
Shen Yuan had a bad feeling about this. He switched to patting Luo Binghe's face, saying, "Sit down, I'll blow your hair dry."
He couldn't just, with Luo Binghe… Well, he'd catch a cold, after all.
Shen Yuan brought over a hairdryer. Running his fingers through Luo Binghe's hair, he played with the locks as he blow-dried, occasionally massaging the acupoints on his head.
"Binghe, is the temperature alright? Does this feel good?"
"It feels so good, Shizun." Luo Binghe's eyes squinted in pleasure, rubbing his head against Shen Yuan's stomach as he practically leaned into Shen Yuan's lap.
"Stop fooling around."
Shen Yuan grabbed the back of his head, attempting to calm the restless little movements, almost dropping the hairdryer in the process.
Luckily, short hair dries fast, so he was done in under two minutes. Shen Yuan reached out and scrunched it once or twice, very pleased with himself. So fluffy, so soft, so fuzzy—Luo Binghe was once again a clean little good boy.
The good little boy finally got his wish and buried his face into Shen Yuan's stomach, even lifting his shirt to suckle at his skin.
It was a bit ticklish, Luo Binghe's nudging leaving his whole body numb and tingly. But Shen Yuan couldn't bear to push him away, so he just stayed there and kept holding him.
He searched for something to talk about. "Binghe, did you like the date we went on today?"
Luo Binghe's muffled voice drifted up from below: "Shizun, guess." Then he buried his face back into his hard work.
Shen Yuan wanted nothing more than to toss this brat out the window. Luo Binghe was teasing him on purpose.
"So it seems that Binghe didn't like it at all? This master is so ashamed…"
Luo Binghe suddenly gave him a hard kiss on the stomach, peeked out from under his clothes, and showed a slight smile. "Shizun should make it up this disciple by taking him on even more dates."
Shen Yuan jolted as if he'd been electrocuted, swaying for a moment before steadying himself and heartily kicking this little traitor onto the bed.
Only, he himself managed to accidentally fall onto the bed as well.