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Shen Qingqiu has never had a roommate before.
He lived with his parents and siblings until college, and then his family’s wealth was enough to earn him a one-person dorm room if he so wished it. He struck out just like his older brothers had done, immediately coming to regret the lack of home cooking and in-house cleaning services (by which he means the weekly maid, but also his mother).
He’d like to claim that the independence had forced him to learn how to take care of himself, but… well. Shen Qingqiu is, if nothing else, adaptable. Even if that meant adapting to growing stacks of plates in the sink or nightly meals of instant noodles.
“Good morning, Shizun!” Luo Binghe chirps when Shen Qingqiu enters the main room of the Bamboo House.
Shen Qingqiu grunts; what exactly is this moege imouto character waking up her love interest in the morning introductory scene business?! But the cliches don’t end there, and before long Shen Qingqiu is sitting and warming his hands on an impossibly delicious bowl of congee.
“Today’s the day Shizun will be travelling down the mountain, is it not?” Binghe continues, at last pouring his own cup of tea.
Right – Shen Qingqiu had almost forgotten. He nods, forcing himself to take a spoonful. Ahh – it’s as tasty as he expected, of course, but when after these years in Proud Immortal Demon Way Shen Qingqiu still hasn’t adapted to waking up in the mornings without coffee…!
(Lousy Airplane. With all the anachronistic bullshit in this world, he couldn’t have at least come up with some pseudo-Xianxia version of proper caffeine?!)
“This disciple has already prepared your pack earlier this morning. Shizun may set out whenever he wishes.”
Shen Qingqiu hums. He takes a sip of tea as well; it’s not as exhilarating as coffee would be, but the warmth of it and his breakfast is definitely helping. Enough, even, that he recognises the note of anticipation in his disciple’s voice and raises his head.
“Good work, Binghe,” he murmurs, husky but sincere, and Binghe smiles sweetly.
“That is…” Binghe continues, fidgeting adorably with his own spoon. “Presuming that Shizun is still happy to take this trip alone…”
Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes. “Is that something a disciple ought to be worrying about? This master must really have failed in his duties if Binghe believes him this incapable.”
“Th-that – that isn’t what this disciple intended to imply at all…!” Binghe says, almost squeaking, and then he does for real when Shen Qingqiu raises his hand to pat at his head comfortingly.
“This Shizun understands,” he says mildly, even though he admits deep down that he doesn’t entirely. “Binghe is eager to prove himself, hm?”
Binghe’s head droops. Or perhaps he is simply leaning in to his Shizun’s touch.
Though, that does raise a question Shen Qingqiu hadn’t considered until now…
“Not to mention… Binghe must have other training to get on with while his Shizun is gone?”
The truth is that whatever ‘homework’ Shen Qingqiu assigns to his students is usually completed by Luo Binghe before he even leaves the training grounds. He’d never expected the terrifying and naturally-OP demon lord protagonist to be such a swot, let alone the type of teacher’s pet to eagerly offer to help his Shizun with every minor inconvenience, though he’d be lying if he claimed it wasn’t dreadfully moe.
Binghe straightened, eyes gleaming. “This disciple has already completed each of the drill Shizun asked him to complete!”
When had he done that? Binghe really is just too proactive…! Still, Shen Qingqiu frowns. “Are you still having trouble keeping your balance? It would ease this Shizun’s mind if you were to practice your duelling techniques a little longer, just to be safe.”
Binghe’s cheeks pink. “A-ah, this disciple truly has no trouble with any of that when he is practising alone…” he mumbles.
Shen Qingqiu smothers a chuckle; isn’t that always the way, that one can do something flawlessly right up until the teacher shows up to watch you?
“Besides…! This disciple already had plans for the day, to do some extra cleaning of the Bamboo House and procure some amenities that he has found lacking here!”
“Lacking?” That’s hard for Shen Qingqiu to believe; aside from the modern comforts Shen Qingqiu has of course had no choice but adapt to losing, the extravagance of the Original Goods had been exceptional even by peak lords’ standards.
Binghe, however, nodded eagerly. “Yes – the soap is of startlingly dire quality, and many of the cleaning supplies are old and worn – it is a struggle not to scatter bristles when this one is brushing – and that’s not to mention the lack of snacks for Shizun to chew on between meals…”
He caught himself, turning a little pink again. “Apologies – this disciple did not mean to ramble…”
Huffing, Shen Qingqiu patted the top of his head again. “There’s no need to apologise. This Shizun enjoys listening to Binghe talk – and when he’s working so hard for this one’s end, how could I feel anything other than appreciated?”
Binghe’s dark eyes sparkle like the night sky. “Th-thank you, Shizun…!”
Still: all of this will cost money, no…? What a shame that Shen Qingqiu had never managed to figure out a consistent valuation for PIDW’s currency system; god only knew how the System had made sense of it all! “From the coin bag on the vanity – Luo Binghe should take as much as he needs.”
“Thank you, Shizun!”
“And also,” Shen Qingqiu adds on a whim, causing Binghe to pause spoon halfway to his mouth. “In reward for such excellent housekeeping, Binghe should take enough to buy himself something, too.”
Binghe’s spoon clatters to the bowl. “B-buy…?! Shizun, this one could never-!”
In a moment, Shen Qingqiu’s closed fan has been retrieved from his sleeve and used to rap lightly at the back of Binghe’s hand. “Nonsense. This master is entitled to spend his own money how he wishes, no? And he wishes to gift his hard-working disciple a gift.”
Binghe just keeps staring, eyes wide.
It’s not really that strange, is it? Shen Qingqiu rattles through justifications in his head about favour-currying and how the future Luo Binghe might seek to punish him for forcing him to do Shen Qingqiu’s dirty laundry, but remembers immediately just how sad a history this poor young boy has had.
With a muffled grunt, Shen Qingqui awkwardly smooths the fan over Binghe’s hand again in something of a caress – as though easing the non-existent injury he’d moments ago caused.
“...if Binghe prefers, this Shizun would be willing to choose the gift himself,” he murmurs. He’ll be travelling into town anyway, so, really, it wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all.
Binghe’s eyes go even wider, dazzlingly gorgeous even at this young an age, and this time, he certainly ducks his head shyly.
“Th-this disciple would not wish to cause Shizun any trouble…”
It’s hard not to laugh at that; whether he was thinking of the little lamb before him or the vengeful anti-hero of the future, Luo Binghe is the last person Shen Qingqiu would associate with such a mundane a word as ‘trouble.’
“Nonsense. It is as enjoyable to give as it is to receive, no?” Shen Qingqiu smiled, pleased at the way Binghe’s eyes widened at that cliched greeting-card-worthy phrase. “Disciple Luo Binghe would not wish to hoard all of that enjoyment to himself, would he?”
“N-no, of course…” Binghe frowned a little, caught up in the rhetorical trap, and Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the sight.
When Binghe caught his eye and pouted even further, the very image of a sad put-upon little creature, Shen Qingqiu’s hand gravitated almost without his brain’s interference as he patted him.
“There, there. Binghe will enjoy his gift. This Shizun commands it.”
“...as Shizun says,” Binghe murmurs softly.
At last, they return to their meal. Even a little lukewarm it’s still by far better than what Shen Qingqiu had enjoyed before his transmigration – and he only has himself to blame for even this disturbance to Luo Binghe’s impeccable culinary prowess.
It’s nice. He enjoys having something warm and filling in the morning, and someone to speak to, and he really must be an old man now because he finds that he’s actively excited for Binghe’s everyday ‘amenities.’ It’s nice to have someone to share a house with – someone who tries so hard to please him, and is so easily pleased in turn.
In his old life, Shen Yuan had always groaned at misogynists whining about how much they wanted a wife to cook and clean for them… but now that he’d experienced something similar, it was had to deny the appeal.
It would be sad, when Luo Binghe was gone.
But the sound of Binghe clearing up his own dishes pulls Shen Qingqiu from his thoughts. What is he doing, comparing powerfully masculine protagonist Luo Binghe to a middling little housewife?!
(He ignores the way Binghe hums under his breath as he takes up Shen Qingqiu’s plates, curls bouncing adorably as he rises.)
And, even if he ignores that – Binghe is still only fifteen. Basically a child!
(He doesn’t even notice the way Binghe’s eyes stray to Shen Qingqiu’s lips as he bites down in thought, or the care with which he brushes his fingertip against his Shizun’s spoon.)
This is all very silly. Shen Qingqiu simply isn’t used to living with someone, and he certainly isn’t used to living with a disciple – that’s a kind of relationship that just never existed back in Shen Qingqiu’s old world. Which is as good as any of a justification for why Shen Qingqiu’s brain keeps going to odd places, he supposes, but… that’s no reason to linger in those particular forbidden mental landscapes, no?
“Does Shizun plan to remain here a little longer?” Luo Binghe peeks his head around the corner again, warm and docile as a lamb. “If so, this disciple would have no trouble preparing lunch as well!”
Yes… this really is the sort of life Shen Qingqiu could get used to. A little scarily so, really. He doesn’t know what the penalty for treating a demon lord like the sort of ‘totally college-aged, you guys’ non-blood-related younger sibling character in a sketchy visual novel would be, but it can’t be pretty.
Despite this, he leans back, considering. “No, this Shizun should be on his way. But if Binghe happened to have any of those snacks he was referring to earlier…”
Shen Qingqiu’s adaptability has always been his greatest strength, after all.
Luo Binghe beams, and so does Shen Qingqiu.
“Right away, Shizun!”