Chapter Text
38.
Premise: An old man gets caught by his young junior, staring at a fan-made video containing the two of them. Together. As a couple, being emotionally vulnerable with each other. Both of them are actors who are about to film a long project together…as a not-couple. In fact, they don’t really know each other at all, so this incident could colour the way one of the actors sees the other one, in a very negative way.
Question: What situation could be more embarrassing than this? Including shitting yourself in public.
Answer: Fuck Shen Qingqiu’s entire existence sideways.
39.
Shen Qingqiu spent his day preventing himself from staring mournfully at Luo Binghe, like some kind of abandoned mistress in a shitty soap opera. He would be caught dead, before someone saw him peering from behind constructed props to check if his lover was re-uniting with his wife. Or in this case, if Luo Binghe was feeling any type of way about what he saw. What Shen Qingqiu did instead was tactfully avoid the male lead, and politely rub shoulders with the other actors.
Now if only Luo Binghe could get with the program, instead of staring at Shen Qingqiu red-faced, like a despoiled maiden.
He even stuttered when he asked Shen Qingqiu to help him with his acting skills!
Like Luo Binghe would ever need help from Shen Qingqiu. Like Luo Binghe wasn’t a great actor who was universally loved by possibly everyone in existence. Luo Binghe gazed at Shen Qingqiu with puppy dog eyes Shen Qingqiu didn’t even know the other actor could make, and he folded like wet tissue. It was like looking at a high school girl delivering her first love letter. He agreed almost immediately. It would be fine. It wouldn’t be awkward at all. He was just helping out a junior.
Who may possibly think that Shen Yuan wanted to fuck him.
All day, he felt like he was standing on thin ice, thin ice that was slowly cracking underneath him, rescue nowhere in sight. He spent the day, walking around Luo Binghe worried that at any moment his co-star would turn around and accuse him of being a massive pervert. That didn’t happen, instead he watched Luo Binghe act shy and, dare he say, bashful in front of him. It was a bit uncomfortable.
This old man, wasn’t a pervert like that, alright? Shen Yuan was a good person.
It was only until that evening, when he arrived at his hotel room that he looked through the video again in order to figure out how much damage control would be necessary. Rewinding to the last five minutes, it turned out that no damage control was needed…because Luo Binghe didn’t see shit. The scene he walked in on was his own solo scene. It had no editing that added in hearts or sparkles, and no cuts to Shen Qingqiu’s face. It was Luo Binghe all by himself, crying. For a good five minutes.
Shen Qingqiu thought back to his day, and stared at the video quietly seething.
What the fuck was he so shy about then? What, was he so scared by Shen Qingqiu that he was reduced to an anxious mess? Was Shen Qingqiu’s reputation that bad? He was so angry he was liable to spank that brat the next time he saw Luo Binghe for the stress he put Shen Qingqiu through. Shen Yuan was not that young anymore, his poor heart couldn’t handle such emotional fuckery.
Then again, Luo Binghe did ask for Shen Qingqiu to help him with his acting, so maybe he was just…nervous? It could be…sometimes very confident actors were really, very insecure, and Shen Qingqiu was older than Luo Binghe, so it was his responsibility to help this junior from the same company.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. He’d help. He wasn’t a pervert, and life was good.
40.
Shen Qingqiu stared at his phone, and went back to the Bingqiu universe, looking for more content. He was relaxing, he could do whatever he wanted in the privacy of his own hotel room, with the burner accounts he made. He had been through a very stressful workday, and he wanted to un-wind, okay?
He only managed to sail his ship for like, an hour or two in the form of some deep skimming. That wasn’t nearly enough time to savour the ship dynamics, or to figure out what the dynamics were in their full glory. What was their origin story in detail? What were the common tropes?He tried to keep up but kept on getting distracted by little white cat versions of Shen Qingqiu and frolicking Bing-pups.
He knew there was a plethora of fluff waiting for him out there, he only needed to find it. Soon he’d have full command of every aspect of this ship. In joining a fandom one must strive to first understand it.
Determined, Shen Qingqiu rolled up his metaphorical sleeves, and started digging.
If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right.
Fist he looked up a guide for joining the fandom and surprisingly, someone had actually created one. He was impressed by their dedication. According to the guide, he needed to follow both Luo Binghe and himself, which seemed straightforward. Then he needed to download a Fan App, that would inform him whenever the two accounts were posting, and provide him all relevant news for the accounts he followed. It was like a little news app, that would only show him news regarding himself, or Luo Binghe. This would help him keep up with the context of the newer posts on the Bingqiu forum. How was he to know if they wore the same outfit otherwise?
He then followed the Bingqiu Discussion Forum, scrolling down to see if he could identify any big name fans. When in doubt, follow the greatest amount of people. How do you know where to eat if your phone is out of battery, and you can’t look up reviews?
Find the biggest line. He’d be like those little fish that attached themselves to a shark in order to eat. He was new, he needed the guidance of the fandom experts in order to craft his own, internal understanding of his ship.
41.
Shen Qingqiu, then returned to the three-hundred and seven page manifesto that started it all, and looked through the massive document properly. One page at a time.
It included a love story complete with: an accurate time-line, well illustrated pictures, clips from any interview they gave the press, radio, or talk shows, and game shows they participated in.
42.
Allow Shen Qingqiu to summarize:
The Beginning: Two young men become actors. The first, a noble beauty, a white lotus with a cold gaze, and a soft inner heart. The second, a shy junior, who became a man in order to win the heart of his senior. One, elegant and quiet, the other bursting with a masculine aura. A puppy became a domineering wolf in order to chase after his love through, until his love had no choice but to acquiesce.
The Course of Events: They stumble into each other at the company, their first meeting inflaming the sparks of their souls. Shen Qingqiu teaches Luo Binghe how to act, perhaps late a night, until their student-teacher relationship becomes fraught with underlying tension. So Shen Qingqiu pushes Luo Binghe away, and leaves him out in the cold. Luo Binghe determined to prove himself, applies to a terrifyingly difficult university and fights his way through the hell of midterms and finals, until he returns to Shen Qingqiu. He arrives with great fanfare, The Emperor Returns a deep metaphor for his intentions to return to Shen Qingqiu victorious.
The Twist: The strong emotions that filled the two of them could never be. They realize that their love would ruin their careers, and lives if it ever came out to the public. The domineering wolf learns that some things only exist in the dreams of children, and so he backs off, and they tuck their love away, like an old letter into a drawer and leave it there. Every time their eyes met, they were communicating this lost opportunity, this wretched separation. If Shen Qingqiu did not look at Luo Binghe, it was because he could not stare at his love, knowing they would never be. If Luo Binghe could not look at Shen Qingqiu, he was unable to face the object of his passionate desire, knowing he could never have him.
The Ending: A series of cries, ringing out from the forum begging the world to give Bingqiu a happy ending please, as they tensely waited for events to unfold.
43.
Shen Qingqiu stared at his phone in shock.
44.
This was…wasn’t this story too heartbreaking? Shen Qingqiu wanted his tissues and he wanted them right now…he also desperately wanted a happy ending for Bingqiu. Never mind that he was Shen Qingqiu, couldn’t the two actors see that their love was more important than anything else?
45.
Furthermore, there was so much proof that they were a real couple. They had been photographed going in and out of the company building at the same time, multiple times. Often it looked like Luo Binghe was leaving with a marked up script, that was written on in green pen. Shen Qingqiu always marked his scripts up in green pen. His fans knew this about him. So they began to suspect that Shen Qingqiu was helping out his junior.
Then, in one video clip, Shen Qingqiu had been asked to describe his ideal type. He said he liked a strong beauty, with a forceful personality, who was driven and enterprising, but had a soft spot only for him. The clip the manifesto had attached beside that one, was of Luo Binghe being asked if anything would change about him if he fell in love. Luo Binghe chuckled and said, that no one would be able to see any changes in his behaviour, because he’d only ever be soft for his lover.
He also said, he wouldn’t let the relationship get in the way of his career.
That almost scared the facial mask right off Shen Qingqiu…canon was getting way too fanon compliant.
46.
Apparently, for a long time…they had been accidentally matching up their answers. Shen Qingqiu thought that Bingqiu was made-up on a whim, but in actuality…it was a very well argued relationship.
47.
Shen Qingqiu was born in a city that was built at the foot of a mountain range. He talked about how he would spend his youth walking through actual bamboo forests, and that his familiarity helped a lot with his role in SBF (Secrets of the Bamboo Forest). Luo Binghe posted on his Weibo two hours later that his favourite fairytale was: The Bamboo Cutter’s Daughter.
Luo Binghe said on a radio show, that he had always wanted to go to Paris but that his schedule was always too busy. By coincidence, Shen Qingqiu posted a picture of himself in London, with a line that had something to do with how Paris was so close, and that he could be persuaded to stop by and pick up some souvenirs.
One time, Shen Qingqiu sprained his ankle shooting a Shen Jiu scene, in one of the later episodes. The hype was already negative around him. He wanted some pity so he posted about the injury, was that so wrong? The sprain wasn’t that bad, but he had Shang Qinghua take a picture of him, sadly resting on a rock and icing his ankle, while tucking his hair behind his ear. It took a lot of work to look as graceful as Shen Qingqiu. A lot of work, and thirty mournful photos later they got the perfect shot.
That same day one of Luo Binghe’s friends posted a video of him with a small white kitten. The kitten fell off the bed, and Luo Binghe picked up that tiny fluff ball, bopping it on the nose, asking, “Why are you so careless? Hmm?”
That was the origin of Shen Qingqiu being drawn as a cute white cat.
48.
Well then. It seemed that Shen Qingqiu was already married, but no one had the decency to tell him? Someone should have informed him he had a husband. Why was Shang Qinghua not telling him these things? What did he even pay him for?
49.
Shen Qingqiu sank into the bed, emotionally exhausted and liable to doze off, as the phone in his hand vibrated.
Demon lord @Luo_Binghe followed @Shen_Qingqiu
Demon lord @Luo_Binghe reposted a Weibo post by @Shen_Qingqiu
Demon lord @Luo_Binghe tagged @Shen_Qingqiu on a Weibo post
With his usual, stoic face, Shen Qingqiu tapped repost. Went to the bathroom, peeled off his hyaluronic acid infused face mask, patted the left over stay-young-forever juice into his pores, brushed his teeth, and applied a heavy duty moisturizing night cream to finish it off.
Good skin care was important to everyone but especially to actors. Shen Qingqiu did not get his flawless skin by sitting on his ass.
Inside, he was cheering at the plethora of fan work that would be produced from this small exchange…
Was it morally wrong to use yourself as a proverbial stick to poke a fandom into making more things for your own consumption?
50.
The moments Shen Qingqiu had between filming, were for the most part spent refreshing his own Weibo feed, and staring obsessively at the post he made last night. He spent a lot of timing thinking on how to best word it for maximum impact, but also maximum deniability in case it didn’t pan out.
What he was left with, was something along the lines of: “Everyone should take care with their health as best they can. Try to make sure to eat before a long workday…or least get something to tide you over. Self care is very important to maintain, although it can be hard when we get busy.”
Luo Binghe reposted immediately. He also posted a picture of the demon tea, and the words: “Thanks to Shen Qingqiu for the bubble tea the other day, I’ll do my best to take your advice.”
This moment was so good, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t make it up if he tried…even though he partially staged the whole thing. The Bingqiu feed was blowing up with, things like: how Shen Qingqiu sounded like a spouse worried over their husband. How he sounded so concerned over Luo Binghe’s health and how cute it was that Shen Qingqiu bought him bubble stew. They called it bubble tea; somehow Luo Binghe had managed to capture an image of that monstrosity that made it look appealing, but Shen Qingqiu had seen him eat it with a spoon…so.
So the point was, clearly Shen Qingqiu was a loving, and generous partner. Who bought his husband bubble tea, and nagged him over his health. That was the point.
51.
There were of course, those who disagreed with the beauty of Bingqiu in the comment section, bitching about how Shen Qingqiu was a two-faced piece of shit who was only currying favour with Binghe to gain more popularity.
Which was…such nonsense. Shen Qingqiu was thinking of retiring, he had enough money, he was comfortable, and he did not need to ride anyones coat-tails on his way out the fucking door.
He could retire on some remote mountain top called Peak Bullshit, and there would still be some assholes at the bottom, holding picket signs, claiming that Shen Qingqiu was a cult leader.
Fuck it, give him Bingqiu or give him death. He was going back to the Bingqiu feed where nothing ever hurt him…even though someone managed to draw him in a naked apron…several someone’s managed to draw him a naked apron. Cooking. While Binghe’s apparently monster cock, gave to him good from the back.
….At least it was really well drawn! They also made the apron green, which was very appropriate! It had a little white cat on the front pocket too. He praised the attention to detail.
52.
The door of the break room knocked, and Shen Qingqiu locked his phone in that instant. Shen Qingqiu did not make the same mistake twice, not this closely together at least, and fuck his inner Shang Qinghua who had something to say about that.
Actual Shang Qinghua contracted scurvy at some point during their university years because his diet consisted of nothing but Cheetos, Diet Coke, and Swedish raspberries. The candy, not some bizarre, exotic, exported fruit. They had to go to emergency together when Shang Qinghua passed out cold, and have a nice doctor explain to them, in a kind of baffled, wondering tone, that Shang Qinghua was an idiot. They had to hear that same nice doctor tell them that Shang Qinghua, in all his glory had somehow managed to get a disease that should only belong to sixteenth century pirates and sailors. Shang Qinghua lost two teeth…two teeth. From scurvy. They had to replaced with porcelain not-teeth because he, in the twenty-first century contracted scurvy.
His inner Shang Qinghua could go fuck himself, if it ever wanted to say something about Shen Qingqiu’s propensity for repeating mistakes. He didn’t want to hear that from Mr. I-was-too-fucked-up in my undergrad that I ate not one fruit or vegetable for months. Shen Qingqiu did not. Repeat. His. Mistakes.
Stopping his internal bitch fit, Shen Qingqiu watched as Luo Binghe poked his head in, and asked, “Production set aside a thirty minute window for a meet-and-greet with the fans. Would you like to go together?”
The good Shen Qingqiu on his right shoulder was saying that it was a terrible idea because their fans hate each other, and he should probably avoid conflict. The bad Shen Qingqiu on his left shoulder, let’s call him Shen Jiu, was saying that he didn’t care about what these fans wanted, but what the Bingqiu community would give him if he went out for the meet-and-greet with his internet husband.
Fluff. So much fluff.
Shen Qingqiu was sold. “That would be great.” He replied, standing up and moving towards the door.
On his way he grabbed some small snacks that Shang Qinghua had set aside, specifically for such an occasion. They were very on brand for Shen Qingqiu. Green-tea pocky, and light cookies that would be sweet without being too sweet in elegant little packages.
53.
Were these sweets reflective of Shen Qingqiu’s actual preferences…yes. Were they reflective of all of his snack preferences…no.
Give him a death by chocolate cake, or a stick of tanghulu and he’d dive right in…but apparently very elegant people didn’t like sweet things or, in the words of Shang Qinghua, deep throat tanghulu. So he wasn’t allowed to have any in public, or make his fans think that he liked anything other than some admittedly, very nice tea-cookies.
Gripping the plastic bag in determination, Shen Qingqiu thought to himself, it was time to go feed his people. Both the physical ones in front of him at the meet-and-greet, and the metaphorical ones driving the Bingqiu force to new heights, every day.