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Chapter Text

Shen Yuan was livid.
 
The last chapter of <<Proud Immortal Demons Way>> was as trash as he had expected. He could have just slapped a giant ‘discontinued’ on the novel and it’s be the same.
 
Shen Yuan, like any modern day weeb, was a villain fanatic. That’s why he stuck to this absolute dumpster fire for so long. At the beginning of this story Luo Binghe’s darkening was what had him absolutely hooked. The plot was decent and the world building was great. This trash had potential!!!
 
But then it evolved into a mindless papapa novel and Shen Yuan coughed up more blood then it is required to fill up an entire ocean.
 
The 2nd time reading this trash (to reminisce about the good parts) had him curious about the scum villain. Why was the sect leader so ignorant to his acts? Surely jealousy can’t the only reason for his abuse of Luo Binghe, right? And how the fuck did the man stay so resilient even when his arms and legs were being ripped of?
 
Shen Yuan was very curious.
 
Shen Yuan was absolutely pissed at this one dimensional paper cutout of a villain, and the re-read definitely pointed to a bigger picture.
 
Then one of his angry rants gets a reply from Airplane Towards the Shooting Sky himself. An ominous pdf file with 500 chapters labeled ‘original draft’.
 
What the hell is he supposed to do with this?! Read even more mind numbing papapa!? But of course, being the bored millennial that he is, he opens the folder and holy shit.
 
Fast forward one week of sleepless nights and three boxes worth of tear soaked tissues and Shen Yuan is positive that the Great God Airplane is an absolute sadist.
 
He is villain enthusiastic ar heart and Shen Qingqiu (Shen Jiu) is everything he wanted and more. An orphaned slave who lived in the streets. Being sold to the Qiu’s for saving his brother. The abuse from Qiu Jinluo and Qiu Haitangs ignorance. The promise, the betrayal, Wu Yanzi, meeting Yu Qi again, the brothels. This man….
 
He can’t leave a comment since it’s not a published novel or anything, but he can message the Great God Airplane to express his frustration. And that is exactly what he does.
 
I mean c'mon! The sect leader is an absolute spineless ass-kisser and the scum villain is a literal cardboard cutout. If even a fraction of this depth was shown the original novel, the entire thing would have become so much more interesting!!
 
Peerless Cucumber: I can’t believe you. You asshole! How could you throw away this gold mine for that trash?! What were you thinking honestly?! If you can write something this amazing then you should publish it dumbass!!
 
It doesn’t even take two minutes for Airplane to reply.
 
Airplane Towards the Shooting Sky: Bro don’t be mad at me!! I wanted to publish this, but I couldn’t make as much with these, and I had to pay rent somehow ya know?
 
Shen Yuan blinked. This man…..this man abandon such a heart wrenching story and replaced it with illogical papapa TO PAY RENT!?!?
 
Peerless Cucumber: I CAN’T BELIVE YOU!! YOU WOULD GIVE UP ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR CUPNOODLES!?! YOU CHEAP SELLOUT!! YOU HACK! I WISH I COULD TAKE SHEN JIU AWAY FROM YOUR SPINELESS HANDS!!
 
Yes he is passionate about this kid, he got attached ok?! Still he isn’t lying. If only he could save Shen Jiu from his fate. The kid really didn’t deserve anything that happened to him and Great God Airplane clearly can’t appreciate his characters.
 
That’s the last thought in his mind as days of insomnia finally catch up to him and he blacks out on this table next to his computer.
 
 
[Connection complete. Welcome user to the scum villain saving system.]
 
‘What’s going on?’
 
[We are happy to inform you that your request has been accepted and you have been granted the task of saving the character ]
 
‘Again what the hell?’
 
[The character Shen Jiu has currently been placed in your care and it is your responsibility to heal him. We wish you the best of luck in your journey to save the scum villain ~~ (> ♡ w ♡) >~~ ]
 
‘WAIT WHAT?!?’
 
And then before he can say anything else, everything becomes dark again.
 
 
 
Shen Yuan jerks up from his sleeping position and nearly brakes his neck.
 
‘Ow shit bad idea’
 
Shen Yuan is very confused about that strange and very vivid dream, but that can wait. Right now he needs coffee and an ice pack for his neck.
 
Coffee machine started, Shen Yuan thinks about that strange dream. What the hell did it mean by Shen Jiu being in his care? Was he going mad? This didn’t happen when he was obsessing over Luo Binghe. Did he really get that attached to Shen Jiu..?
 
When the coffee is done brewing he grabs his drink and an ice pack from the freezer and heads for his room again ready to waste another day reading trash novels like usual. He freezes at the door to his room.
 
There is a kid.
 
There is a kid kneeling nest to his bed.
 
There is a very scrawny, ratty looking kid kneeling next to his bed with shaky shoulders looking like he’s about to cry.
 
“This one did not mean to dirty the young masters bed, p-please for-forgive this lowly one”
 
Shen Yuan promptly drops his mug, too panicked to notice the child’s flinch.
 
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?

Chapter Text

It took 10 minutes of panicking and probing the system for more information, before Shen Yuan was able to calm down.

[ Name: Shen Jiu

  Age: 12

  Date of birth: ???

 Likes: Tanghulu, sweet food, cats, Qi-ge.

Dislikes: Slavers, rich young masters, other slave children, the cold, starving.

Synopsis: currently twelve years old, Shen Jiu is still working at the Qiu household and engaged to Qiu Haitang. He is often beaten by the male residence of the house and as such has already formed a strong distaste for the male population though it is still not as strong as shown in canon. Shen Jiu is cunning and stubborn but knows when to lay low. It is the hosts responsibility to heal Shen Jiu before the timer runs out. In which case Shen Jiu will be returned to his former position.

Time remaining: 11 months 29 days 16 hours

Mission objective: Save Shen Jiu from his heart demons

Best of luck host~~(^.^)~~]

This is fine. He is absolutely fine with this and is not panicked at all. He. Is. Fine.

After some contemplating, he makes a light breakfast of bread, eggs, some Danish pastries and a simple glass of juice (thank you Er-ga for restocking his fridge and cabinets!). He takes the food back to his room where Shen Jiu still remains. The kid, who was exploring his surroundings quickly kneels down again when he returns with the food in hand. Shen Yuan placed the food in front of Shen Jiu and sat down opposite to him. Shen Jiu looked panicked for a moment before he lowered his head again.

“Go ahead and eat. You haven’t had anything all morning so you must be hungry” Shen Jiu looks up at him again before looking back down at the food again.

“…This one thanks kind master for the food” he looked hesitant for only a moment before picking up one of the Danish pastries and bringing it to his mouth. Knowing the boy’s past, he most likely thought the thing was drugged somehow…..

The face Shen Jiu makes when eating the first pastry makes Shen Yuan’s heart cry. His eyes are wide, his face has a light pink tint to it and the boy is looking at the pastry like it holds all the answers of the world. He’s like a cute little child!

…..He is a child, isn’t he?

Shen Yuan doesn’t know why it took so long to sink in, but Shen Jiu is just a child. A child that doesn’t know where he is or how he got here. A child who had to face abuse, slavery and all the worser sides of humanity. The least he could do is make him feel safe right?

“Careful now, no need to rush” Shen Yuan says as he takes the glass of juice and brings it to Shen Jiu’s face. The boy is apprehensive but drinks anyway. His eyes widen when the liquid hits his tongue and he grabs the glass with both his hands as he gulps the entire thing down. The flush on his cheeks is more prominent and his eyes are squeezed shut. He looks like a little kitten like this. Adorable.

It doesn’t take him long to finish everything, Shen Jiu eats fast. It’s painful to think that that’s less cause he enjoys the food and more because he thinks some one might take it if he’s not fast enough. They’ll have to work on that…

“Thanking young master” Shen Jiu says after he’s done eating, head still respectfully down.

“You don’t have to call me that you know?” Shen Yuan says before he can think anything of it. Shen Jiu looks up at him puzzled and now it’s his turn to blush.

“Uh, I mean I didn’t bring you here as a slave or anything…..OR FOR THAT KIND OF THING!!” he explains before the kid could get any other ideas. God why does he even need to clarify this to a 12 year old?! “So you don’t have to call me master or anything, ok?” Please don’t call him master.

Shen Jiu is skeptical. He obviously doesn’t believe Shen Yuan, but he also can’t outright say anything. Safest course of action would be to observe and gather information. Shen Yuan can work with this. He just has to prove Shen Jiu wrong and smother him with kindness.

“My name is Shen Yuan by the way. Would you tell me yours?” introductions should be gotten out of the way as soon as possible. Otherwise he’ll forget about them again.

“..This one is called Jiu..” riiiggghht, he took the moniker of Shen after burning the Qiu household! Looks like that won’t change much.

“Then…if daozang could tell this one where ‘here’ is…?” Shen Jiu’s soft voice snaps Shen Yuan out of his musing.

“Hm?”comes an unintelligible response.

“This doesn’t look like the human realm but it is nothing like the  demon realm, or at least not anything like what I’ve heard of at least…” the response is more sure this time and Shen Jiu looks up as he says this, face carefully neutral.

Well shit. How is he supposed to explain this without exposing the system? Will he get a penalty for reveling that this is a different world. There is no way Shen Jiu will believe that they are still in there realm and this is nothing like the demon realm!

[The host can reveal the existence of multiple worlds *** ( ^w^ ) ***]

……

“Uh, well you see, this is actually not the world your from…” Shen Yuan says as softly as possible. Better to be honest about something like this. If Shen Yuan has any say in this then Shen Jiu would never have to go back to that place again anyway.

Shen Jiu looks more attentive now, eyes slightly wide with surprise.

“This world is very different from the one you are from. Where’s you’re world has cultivators and demons and commonplace magic, this one doesn’t. And what brought you here is a cosmic force beyond our understanding. This humble one was only able to connect with it by accident.”

[Host is sparingly good with his words]

 Shen Jiu looks……constipated for lack of better words.

“Then…why did daozang bring me here?” Shen Jiu asks, face still scrunched. He looks like a kitten who just tasted a lemon, so fricken adorable!! Ok, no serious conversation time, focus Shen Yuan!

“Well after learning of xiao Jiu’s conditions, I couldn’t just leave you be!” Shen Jiu looks surprised at the honest answer but then it quickly morphs into a particularly defensive and angry expression.

“You don’t even know me.”

“Do I have to?”

“How did you even bring me here?!”

“Again, requested a cosmic force beyond our recognition”

“Why would a ‘cosmic force’ listen to you?”

“Don’t know”

“?!?!?!?” how did he manage to say that out loud? Never mind, Shen Jiu looks like a tomato right now and as cute as it is, Shen Yuan is afraid if he doesn’t do something soon a Jiu might faint.

“Listen, how about we get you cleaned and dressed into something more comfortable before asking me anything else? I promise I’ll answer everything to the best of my abilities, ok?” It’s not the best solution, but it’ll have to suffice for now. Shen Jiu still looks apprehensive but gets up non the less. He still looks like an adorable sour faced kitten though.

The coming days might just be really fun now that he has such a cute little ward to look after!

[……host is having too much fun with this…]

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan would like to know where the universal definition of ‘cute’ ended and where the definition of ‘lethal for the weak of heart’ began. Shen Jiu may have crossed that line long ago.

He’s not really that good at hiding his expressions yet and really his cuteness is a dangerous weapon of mass distraction. And every time Shen Jiu makes an adorable expression Shen Yuan thinks he’s just a little closer to a heart attack.

Like how Shen Jiu was so surprised at the shower(“it’s raining warm water!”) and even now several days in he still makes a pleased kitten expression every time he has to take a shower.

Shen Yuan is also sure all his pastries are disappearing just a little faster then normal.

It’s been a week since Shen Jiu came to him, and so far every day has been amazing. Xiao Jiu is curious about everything, and is always asking him about something or another(thank the gods for google. He already forgot everything he learned in high school). Shen Jiu follows him around like a little duckling and is always poking something and it is the cutest thing he has ever experienced.

Another thing to note would be Shen Jiu inhumane capability of soaking up knowledge. He only started to teach Shen Jiu the basics of reading and writing like three days ago and Shen Jiu has already become proficient in reading higher secondary level literature books. He’s also boundlessly intrigued by a push pencil and that is just the cutest thing ever!!!

…..It’s also kind of pathetic of him to admit that he’s glad that Shen Jiu isn’t that proficient in English (yet). Sue him form comparing himself to a 12 year old and then feeling bad about himself for it. It’s hard not to ok!? Also thank god, now he has proof that even inhumane prodigies are also humans.

If Shen Jiu isn’t following him around asking questions or asking to help with one thing or another, then he’s next to Shen Yuan’s bookshelf, bulldozing through anything he can get his tiny little paws on. It cute and scary at the same time.

On a different note, xiao Jiu looks so unfairly cute in just a simple pair of shorts and a white T-shirt, like what the hell. He looks like a child model and Shen Yuan’s mom would ruin lives to get her hand on him(which wouldn’t happen for a long long time hopefully). The first day he was here Shen Jiu had to ware one of She Yuan’s old shirts and a pair of un-used boxers and he was definitely uncomfortable about it. He still didn’t say anything though and Shen Yuan had to speed order some clothes for him. Also Shen Yuan’s shirt almost looked like gown on xiao Jiu’s and that is not good. Shen Yuan is on the shorter side and no 12 year old should be that tiny! But! Xiao Jiu! In tiny t-shirt and shorts! To cute!!!!!!

So in retrospect everything was going fine, or at least Shen Yuan thought it was. But then he should have realized a traumatized child would definitely have baggage and it wouldn’t take long for his to finally snap..

It was a bright Monday morning when things went to hell. According to their arrangements, Shen Yuan makes breakfast for the both of them(Shen Jiu wanted to help at first, but not only did he not know anything about modern cooking utensils, but Shen Yuan was not letting a literal child near the fire thank you) and waits for Shen Jiu to make his way over.

Shen Jiu is late.

Shen Jiu is really late.

Shen Jiu is usually really early, always only two steps behind him. It’s not like for him to sleep in.

Shen Yuan, after setting everything down, makes his way to the spare bedroom he let Shen Jiu use. He was so adorably surprised when he realized the room was his. He was even more surprised when his tiny body practically sank into the bed and Shen Yuan had to use every ounce of his will power to not take pictures. Shen Yuan had to remind himself that xiao Jiu wasn’t ready for phones and the internet yet. But it was soooooo hard!!!

Anyway back to the present. Shen Jiu didn’t look his door(did he forget? No he’s to paranoid to forget that..) and there was a tiny lump under the covers. Shen Yuan heard the little sniffles and became instantly alert. That can’t be good.

“A Jiu? Is everything ok?” Shen Yuan asked as he approaches the bundle.

Shen Jiu removed the cover form his head and glared at him. Shen Jiu was glaring at him and he’d been crying.

Shit.

“You can stop now.” Shen Jiu said. His eyes are red and cheeks flushed. He looks miserable.

“Stop what?” Shen Yuan asked as he sat down on the bed next to him. Shen Jiu’s glare only hardens at this.

“PRETENDING TO CARE! Just take whatever it is that you want, it’s not like I can stop you or anything!” He shouts, wrapping the blanket around him tighter. He looks cornered and scared…

“I don’t want anything A-Jiu. Nor am I taking anything from you.” Shen Yuan says as calmly as possible. He is really just as detested as A-Jiu but expressing that will only make the situation worse.

“Stop lying! And stop pretending to care already! It’s not funny anymore!” Shen Jiu exclaims, tearing up again.

“I’m not lying A-Jiu, and I’m not pretending either. I do care about you”

“SHUT UP! Shut up shut up shut UP!! You’re lying! Nobody cares! Nobody cares about a filthy thing like me! Especially without wanting something! Everybody wants something and and-” Shen Jiu was crying now. Huge ugly sobs. Shen Yuan really didn’t know what to do here so he only did the one thing he knew of and hugged him.

“Hey! Hey, we’re not in that world anymore remember? People care here. And I care about you, ok? And you not a thing nor are you filthy” Shen Yuan says as he hold the sobbing little bundle. Shen Jiu just held onto him and cried. Loud huge sobs. He cries like this for quite awhile before his sobs become small hiccups and sniffles.

“You don’t think I’m annoying?” Shen Jiu practically whispers and if Shen Yuan wasn’t paying extra attention he might have missed it.

“No? Why would I think you’re annoying?”

“Because-because I keep following you and stealing you food…” he was supposed to be annoyed?

“I don’t think you’re annoying. In fact I that that’s really cute of you.” Shen Yuan says honestly.

He’d never find A-Jiu annoying. Shen Jiu’s cheeks go red again and he’s eyes widen, before narrowing down. He’s glaring at Shen Yuan again, this time though it’s his cute kitten glare that Shen Yuan loves.

“I’m not cute!” Shen Jiu says and Shen Yuan can’t help but grin.

“No you’re absolutely adorable” he gets a pillow in the face for his honesty.

Chapter Text

Ever since their talk, Shen Jiu has been more…open for lack of better words. And one of the biggest improvements so far has been that Shen Jiu has started to want things. It was tentative at first, almost like he was still trying to convince himself that it wasn’t a bad idea.

The first time Shen Jiu asked for something, it was extra food. And Shen Yuan felt that his heart simultaneously shattered and ascended at the same time. Shen Jiu didn’t need to be so hesitant to ask for more food. There’s plenty of food! In fact there’s so much that they have to sometimes reheat the previous days food, because Shen Yuan is stupid and always ends up ordering more then they could eat in one setting. There’s plenty of food and the only reason he hasn’t offered extra is because he doesn’t want to over fill the kid and make him sick!

On the other hand, holy shit A-Jiu is so cute!! Like a little kitten!!

Anyway, point is that A-Jiu has started to ask for things. Small things like extra filling or some sweets or more stationary and the likes, but still something. That a really big step for them.

Another thing is that Shen Jiu has become more persistent in helping out around the house. The problem with that is that, when Shen Yuan moved out his dad made sure assign at least three maids to him to make sure his place didn’t turn into a dump. Shen Jiu has a decent relationship with the maids, Lana especially since she loves to sneak candies to him, but that still leaves him unable to really help out. Shen Jiu ended up having another breakdown about being a burden and Shen Yuan had to spend an entire hour explaining that kids his age did not work here, since child labor is illegal and all, and that he is not a burden. Shen Jiu is still not convinced about the burden thing and is down right confused about the child labor being illegal thing, and at this point Shen Yuan is just tired. He really needs to get this kid some therapy.

It's definitely been a really eventful month with Shen Jiu around.

They needed to restock. It is already the end of the month and they need to go grocery shopping. As much as Shen Yuan believes that A-Jiu isn’t ready to go outside yet, he can really leave him home alone, can he?

“Remember to stay close to me ok? And don’t go talking to strangers. I promise I’ll buy you anything you want , but you can’t wonder off on your own ok?” Shen Yuan reminds for the umpteenth time as he helps(fusses) A Jiu with his hair. Shen Jiu only swats at his hand.

“I get it jeez. I promise I won’t let go of your hand, now can we please go already!?” Shen Jiu huffs. He’s been trying really hard not to show it, but he’s really excited to finally leave the house. Shen Yuan feels bad for keeping him locked up, but you can’t really blame him for worrying can you?

“Ok, ok we're going a minute. And remember to tell me if you want something ok?” Shen Yuan says as he takes Shen Jiu’s hand and opens the front door. He is acutely aware of a tiny ‘ok, Yuan-ge’ but doesn’t say anything. That’s another thing Shen Jiu’s started doing. Calling him gege when he thinks Shen Yuan isn’t paying attention. And yes Shen Yuan did nearly have a heart attack the first time he heard it.

The shopping center isn’t that far from their apartment complex, so they decided to walk. Shen Jiu has a tight grip on Shen Yuan’s hand, but he’s also looking at everything. A-Jiu’s grip tightens when a car zooms past them(particularly close to the sidewalk they’re on) but other then that he doesn’t say anything. Shen Jiu is mostly aware of the transport system here, but it’s a different thing reading about it from actually seeing it.

Shen Yuan on the other hand is more concerned about the people that stop to look at Shen Jiu. It can’t be helped since Shen Jiu acts like a tourist and has the aura of a child star, but they don’t have to stare so much right?

An airplane passes over them and Shen Jiu’s head snaps up so fast it’s a miracle it hasn’t broken of yet. Shen Yuan feels a tug at his hand and looks down to find A-Jiu glaring at a plane like it’s a particularly hard puzzle. It really is unfair how cute he looks even when confused.

“What was that?” A-Jiu asked still glaring at where the plane disappeared. Cute.

“That’s an Airplane. It’s another transport system, that travels by flying.” Shen Yuan explains briefly, fully aware that A-Jiu will looks it up as soon as they return home.

They arrive at the shop without much hassle after that, people still stop for a moment when they see Shen Jiu, but that can’t really be helped. The tiny gasp and wide eyed wonder in A-Jiu’s face has Shen Yuan taking an extra basket to fill with candy and sweets for Jiu-er. As promised, Shen Jiu doesn’t let go of Shen Yuan’s hand, but he pays really close attention to when Yuan checks the labels of the products and even copies him. Which is just too cute!!

They finish shopping without much problems, other then the occasional shopper stopping to compliment how cute A-Jiu looks, which only proceeded to make A-Jiu blush and hide behind Shen Yuan, then and there killing everyone in that ails and making everyone ascend in the heavens. And Shen Yuan is not exaggerating.

After buying everything they needed, they make their way to the candy ails and Shen Yuan can almost feel Jiu-ers eyes sparkle.

“I promised I’d buy you anything you wanted, so go pick whatever you like.” Shen Yuan says as lightly pushing Jiu-er towards the sweets. Shen Jiu looks back with the cutest sparkling face in existence and Shen Yuan only nods. Shen Jiu only gets a handful of sweets and carefully places them on their basket.

“Is that all you want?” Shen Yuan can’t help but ask. Surely he’d want more right? Shen Jiu has a massive sweet tooth after all…

“…can I?” comes a tiny reply, and oh! He’s still unsure. That won’t do.

“As much as you want.” Shen Yuan replies firmly. He’ll buy this entire section of the mart if he has to. It’s not like it's gonna make a dent in their savings anyway plus he’s spent more on plenty of other pointless things so his parents won’t mind.

A-Jiu looks at him with his adorable sparkling eyes and a huge smile, then proceeds to shove half the ails in to their basket.

……He might have gotten played just now…

But then Shen Jiu smiles bright and grabs his hand, and Shen Yuan decides that it doesn’t really matter.

They go to check out and Shen Yuan uses the black card he had lying around. He hasn’t used it much, not really needing or wanting much, but now he’s glad dad had given it to him. A-Jiu helps him carry some of the lighter bags.

On their way home Shen Jiu is a bit too curious about the card and the whole money transferring process and Shen Yuan is vaguely considering hiding the card just in case. He’ll buy anything Jiu-er wants but he’d rather not have A-Jiu running of on his own to buy stuff.

“Just because I let you buy all these sweets doesn’t mean you can eat all of them at once Jiu-er. So no you’re still not getting any candy before lunch.”

“Can’t I have only one? A small one? I promise I won’t take more the-”

Click

“Yuan-ge where have yo- where’d you get the child?!”

…Shit.

Chapter Text

“Yuan-ge where have yo- where’d you get the child?!”

When did his mei-mei get here?

“When did you get here?!” Shen Yuan asks, kind of freaking out since he didn’t really explain anything to anyone yet. And this looks kinda bad.

“half an hour ago. Now! Where did you get the kid Yuan-ge?” She asks again eyeing Shen Jiu somewhat skeptically. Shen Yuan can’t help but subconsciously shield the kid and he’s mildly aware of A-Jiu hiding himself behind him as well.

“Ah…Yi-er, this- this is um…”

“Yuan-gege…?” Jiu-er sounds nervous and Shen Yuan can relate. How do you explain this mess?

“Ah! A-Jiu why don’t you go to your room and freshen up while I talk to our guest here, yeah?” Shen Yuan says as he nudges Jiu-er towards his room. Shen Jiu looks reluctant at first, leaves in the end. Not a second after Shen Jiu leaves their sight does She Yi starts her questions(accusations).

“Did you kidnap him? Yuan-ge you can’t go around kidnaping children!”

“I didn’t kidnap him-”

“Is he yours then?! When did you get a child!?! When did you get a girlfriend?! Yuan-ge if mom finds out your girlfriend dumped your child on you she’s going to be pissed-”

“A-Yi! A-Yi that’s not what happened! Please let me explain!!”

Shen Yuan panics trying to calm his sister down. Shen Yi gives him a look that says ‘well?’ and Shen Yuan feels like he’s about to combust. How do you explain something that looks this bad?

“Well you see… A-Jiu is like my um… ward..?”

“Where did you meet him?”

“Um……”

“You actually kidnapped a child!?”

“No! I- he was in a really bad situation! I couldn’t just leave him!!”

“You can’t just go around picking up children Yuan-ge.”

“Look he has nowhere to go and I can’t just leave him. Please A-Yi”

He gave the best puppy eyes he could manage to his mei-mei. And after sometime his sister relented with a sign.

“Fine but you have to tell me everything that happened ok?” she says.

“Ah, I should go and check on him first..” Shen Yuan mumbles glancing towards Shen Jiu’s room only to see little Jiu quickly hid behind the wall. Eh…

“Yeah, ok. Bring him to the kitchen and we can talk while we eat something.” She says as she makes her way over to the kitchen.

Shen Yuan sighs and makes his way over to A-Jiu’s room.

Shen Yi is Shen Yuan’s little sister. She’s still in college and is already interning with mom at her modeling agency. She’s the closest to his age so usually he isn’t this nervous around her, but this is a really complicated situation. What is he supposed to tell her?! Oh this kid just appeared in my room one day and we’ve been living together since. No I’m totally sane, why do you ask?

He makes his way over to Shen Jiu’s as he thinks over what he’s supposed to say to his sister.

[Reminding host that the existence of the system can not be revealed]

Shen Yuan almost flinches at the sudden voice in his head. He almost forgot the system existed!

‘You disappear for a month then come back only to tell me this?’ he feels kind of offended.

[………]

Shen Jiu is sitting on his bed when Shen Yuan enters. His eyes look older then they should as he looks up at Shen Yuan.

“Are you going to kick me out now..?” he asks in the tiniest voice possible as he looks resigned for the conformation. Shen Yuan isn’t about to cry, crying would only complicate things more.

“Of course not. Why would you think that?” he asks as he sits next to him. Shen Jiu avoids his eyes as he stays quiet.

“…”

Shen Yuan sighs once before he puts a hand on Shen Jiu’s head.

“A-Jiu that was my sister. She came to visit me and was only surprised when she saw you. She won’t make me leave you. And even if she tells me to, I won’t ever leave you. So don’t be sad.” Shen Yuan says as he gently pats Shen Jiu’s hair. Shen Jiu finally looks up at him and he has the most scared expression Shen Yuan has ever seen.

“You promise..?” he asks softly, clutching his shirt with both his tiny fists. Shen Yuan would kill for him if he so much as asked him to.

“I promise” he says instead. Shen Jiu looks like a great weight has just been lifted from his shoulders, and like he might just cry. Instead he takes a deep breath and rubes his eyes on his sleeve.

“Ok, so what do we do now?” he asks looking at Shen Yuan.

“Well A-Yi told me to bring you to the kitchen so she could meet you…”

“Does she know how you got me?” he asks now serious.

“Ah…not really..?”

“Yuan-ge. What do we tell her then? I don’t suppose we can tell her about the ‘cosmic force’?”

“Not if we don’t wanna be seen as crazy.”

This is what’s really bothering Shen Yuan. They didn’t really have time to think of a cover story yet…

“You can tell her you found me when my previous masters were beating me up? Then you saved me and took me in?”

“We could, but then we'd have to explain what happened to your attackers, or what they looked like..”

“Umm……”

“Ok…” Shen Jiu said as he got of the bed with Shen Yuan. The story was rushed so they’ll mostly stick to half truths. It’s better then lying entirely and getting confused later anyway.

Shen Yi was sitting on the table when they entered, phone in hand and a plate of cookies on the table. Her eyes immediately fell on Shen Jiu, who stiffened at the attention. She then smiled softly at him and got up from her sit.

“Hey there, my name is Shen Yi. What’s yours?” she asked as she approached him and bent down a little to meet his eyes.

“I’m xiao Jiu” Shen Jiu replies as his fist loosens a little around Shen Yuan’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you xiao Jiu. I hope my dumb brother didn’t trouble you or anything” she said as she smiled at Shen Jiu.

“No. Yuan-ge has been really nice to me. He saved me” Shen Jiu states as he looks at her.

“That’s good! Say, why don’t you come sit with jie-jie and tell me more about yourself? We can have cookies while we get to know each other.”

Shen Yuan can’t help but sigh in relief and as Shen Jiu nods and walks over to the table with Shen Yi. Looks like they can avoid backstories for now. They still have to work out the finer details and it’s best to avoid this for now.

Shen Yuan goes to sit next to Shen Jiu, since the kid looks nervous with all of Shen Yi’s attention on him. Shen Yi has their moms eyes and that stare can be really unnerving when facing its full force.

It’s noon by the time Shen Yi leaves. They spent most of their time getting to know each other and after a while when Shen Jiu was finally comfortable with Shen Yi, they went to watch Disney movies because Shen Jiu let it slip that he still hadn’t seen any. And in Shen Yi’s book that’s an unforgiving crime.

So they had a Disney marathon and made pillow forts for the rest of the day before Shen Jiu finally fell asleep an hour ago.

“You should tell mom and dad about him. They’d want to know.” Shen Yi says as she puts her coat back on. She’s about to leave for the night before she realized she needed to tell him something.

“I uh- I still don’t know how I’m gonna do that though..? This is still really sudden for both of us and I don’t think A-Jiu is ready yet?” Shen Yuan confesses as he plays with his hair. He knows that he can’t keep A-Jiu locked here forever, but he’s still worried about him.

“You can’t keep him hidden for ever Yuan-ge. Just bring him to next months family dinner. Everyone will adore him ok? You don’t have to worry.” She tells him as he muses over what he’s supposed to do from here on out.

Every month the Shen family gets together to have dinner and talk about what’s going on with there lives. Shen Yuan doesn’t really attend them anymore, but the rest of the family always makes sure to call him every month on that day. He’s grateful, he really is but he just feels like…like he’s not really supposed to be there you know? Not that he can say this to his family.

“Yeah that’s kind of what I’m worried about.” Shen Yuan sighs loudly as he tells her this.

Shen Yi raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow at his confession.

“I mean don’t get me wrong, I know they’ll love him, but they can be kind of overwhelming. And he just came from a really terrible situation so I’m just worried..” he’s not kidding, his family can be pretty loud during these gatherings. He’s not so sure if A-Jiu would like the noise so much.

“Hey it’ll be ok, ok? Mom and I’ll make sure da-ge er-ge or dad don’t get to rowdy. So just bring him over and let him meet the rest of his family ok?” she says as she puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, ok. I’ll ask him if he wants to go when he wakes up and update you tomorrow, then. And please tell the others anything yet!” he’d rather not get everyone excited before everything is decided.

“I won’t. Just make sure you bring him!” she says as she finally leaves. He kind of hopes that Jiu-er would decline the offer but knows better then to let his personal problems get in the way of Jiu-ers recovery.

Chapter Text

Shen Yi has taken to, more or less, living with them ever since that day. She visits almost every day and has taken to spoiling Shen Jiu more then ever.

She brings sweets every day and anything she thinks that Shen Jiu might like. And Shen Yuan has learned the hard way to never leave them alone when she brings anything new for Shen Jiu. That boba tea incident just cements their level of maturity and Shen Yuan is never making a mistake like that again.

Today is a weekend, so he expects her to come early. What he doesn’t expect is the following,

“Get ready boys we’re going to the amusement park!”

The sudden declaration as she bursts his poor door down has both of them surprised. Shen Jiu recovers first, while Shen Yuan laments his poor abused hinges.

“What is an amusement park?” Shen Jiu asks as he finishes his breakfast.

“An amusement park is where going after you’re done with breakfast. So you better get ready” she says as she waves three tickets to Dreamland at Shen Yuan’s face.

“Where did you even get these?” Shen Yuan asks as he pushes her hand away.

“Was supposed to go on a photoshoot there, but the camera crew bailed on us so mom gave them to me anyway” she replies.

“I don’t really have a say in this, do I?” he sighs.

“Nope! Now A-Jiu let’s get you ready shall we?” Shen Yuan is already exhausted. This is going to be a long day.

Shen Jiu just blinks in that adorable confused kitty way of his.

They travel by car, since Shen Yi asked senior Su to drive them there.

“you’re insecure~”

“Don’t know what for~”

“You’re turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or~”

“Come on  Jiu-er, sing with us!” Shen Yi encourages Shen Jiu who was just staring at them as they make fools of themselves. Don’t look at him like that, it’s not like anyone can actually deny a singalong!

Poor Jiu-er is just so adorably distraught, they really can’t be blamed for taking pictures of his panicked deer-in-headlights face.

They pull into the massive parking lot of the amusement park and make there way to the front entrance. Jiu-er is staring at the rides with so much concentration it’s like he’s trying dismantling them with his eyes.

They buy a map and Shen Yi and Shen Yuan discuss where to head next while Jiu-er observes everything that moves. Both the Shens look at Jiu-er and belatedly realize that they may have not thought this through. He’s so tiny, they don’t know if he’ll be allowed in many a rides. And he is way to mature for the kiddie rides…

Welp! There’s no turning back now. They take Jiu-er and head to the teacup ride first. The line is short so they don’t have to wait long. Of course Shen Yuan overestimated his sister’s ability to take things slow and now has to pay the consequences.

“Jiu-er! Wanna try something more fun?”

Shen Jiu looks at her confused for a moment before slowly nodding. And Shen Yuan is wants to get of right now. But it’s too late.

“Wait-”

She instructs Jiu-er to grab the wheel at the center and the thing starts rotating faster. Shen Yuan barely manages to pocket his phone before that.

By the end of the ride, Jiu-er has a huge grin on his face and his eyes are shining bright with excitement and Shen Yi is laughing like a maniac while Shen Yuan tries to hold his breakfast down.

“Again!” Jiu-er yells excited.

Shen Yuan grumbles while Shen Yi only chuckles heartily. She is really taking to the aunty role.

“How about we try the other rides first?” he suggests to a disturbingly hyper looking Shen Jiu. Jiu-er pouts and looks ready to protest when Shen Yuan says

“We’ll try the other rides and see if there’s anything else you might enjoy, then we can come back for one more round, ok?” he clarifies as he lightly pushes him away from the teacups.

The rest of the day goes about the same, with Shen Yuan having to sight out most of the rides because of his weak constitution and anemia. But he demolishes his sister in the booths and wins Shen Jiu plenty of prizes so that’s ok.

“So A-Jiu! Did you have fun today?” Shen Yi asks him as he stuffs his face in his 6^th cotton candy of the day. Shen Yuan, tired as he is, also focuses on the little boy. Jiu-er has a light blush on his face as he nods.

“I had fun” he says now hugging his teddy bear that Shen Yuan won at the ring toss.

“Then we can come here again sometime, if you’d like.” She says as she pats his head. His eyes sparkle as he looks at her and then he turns Shen Yuan with those same sparkly eyes asking for permission, and really how could Shen Yuan deny him like this.

“Fine, but you’ll have to cut down on the cotton candy” Shen Yuan says in response.

Jiu-ers grin is still as bright as ever as he vigorously nods his head. The colors of the sunset in the background highlighting his pale features as he squeezes his new bear.

Maybe they can make this a weekly thing..?

Chapter Text

Today was the day.

Shen Yuan could honestly say he was more nervous then Shen Jiu about this family dinner.

They did avoid this confrontation for a couple of more months. As expected,  xiao Jiu was not ready for large crowd gatherings yet, so they waited for about three more months before finally expecting the invite.

He’s positive that his family would love the kid. It’s himself that he’s worried about. The last time he went to a monthly dinner was almost two years ago…

“Do I have to wear this?” Shen Jiu asks pawing at his little bowtie, distracting Shen Yuan from his internal panicking.

“You look so cute in it though” Shen Yuan says losing up the tie a little. They(Shen Yi) ordered a custom tailored suite for Shen Jiu to ware today, and he has to admit Shen Jiu looks absolutely gorgeous in it.

The kid almost reaches his chest now, inky black hair pulled back complementing his forest green vest. Simple white dress shirt and pants properly fitted to his slender form and a forest green bowtie to finish the look, the kid absolutely looks like a child celebrity.

Shen Yuan himself is wearing white dress pants and shirt with a light green vest and tie and a white coat to finish. They look polar opposite with their outfits but A-Yi had said that white suited him better.

“I’m not cute” Shen Jiu grumbles still fidgeting with his bowtie.

Shen Yuan takes the kid in for the umpteenth time realizes (again) that he really doesn’t want the kid to go back. Shen Jiu has been amazing to live with and the thought of being alone again really unsettles him, more then he’d like to admit.

“Hey Jiu-er would you-” his phone rings before he could finish. Shen Yi is waiting for them with in the car and they need to get going soon.

Shen Jiu looks at him in question and he decides they’ll have this conversation after the dinner. One emotional rollercoaster at a time.

They head downstairs, Shen Jiu holding on to Shen Yuan’s hand.

The restaurant mom and dad picked is ridiculously high class, hence the dress code. Family dinners are supposed to be enjoyed at cheaper restaurants where messiness is expected, but the Shen family is old money and they really can’t be blamed for treating a five star restaurant as the local McDonald’s. Honestly if he didn’t start living by himself, even he wouldn’t know cheaper restaurants and food joints existed.

Shen Jiu’s grip on his hand tightens a little, likely intimidated by the overly expensive looking place. Shen Yuan is right there with him. He really doesn’t know how he forgets his families disregard for money some times.

And of course the Shen family stands out like a sore thumb, the stupidly glamorous CEO and models that they are.

“A-Yuan! You came!” his er-ge exclaims,  bright as ever. He’s the first one to tackle him in to a hug, and Shen Yuan is not ashamed to admit that he melts. He has missed them.

“Oh my god I honestly didn’t believe it when A-Yi said you’d be coming this month! How’ve you been? Is everything ok? Why didn’t you come more often?” er-ge questions as he hugs him.

Shen Dai owns most of the Shen industries gyms and gaming department. And best way to describe him would be ‘loud’.

His er-ge is really energetic and adventurous. When they were younger he’d always be the one to drag Shen Yuan outside. He'd always be brought back before his asthma symptoms got really bad, but er-ge would always make sure that Shen Yuan didn’t welt away in this room.

His er-ge has to manage the gaming branch in Seoul now, so it has been difficult  for them to be as close as before. But his er-ge would always make time for him if Shen Yuan asked, that he knows for sure.

“You’re going to suffocate him A-Dai” mama Shen says as she comes over to them. Shen Yulin is a world class model and actress. There really is no other way to describe her other then ethereally gorgeous.

“And who might this be?” Shen Yulin says as they finally notice Shen Jiu, who looks somewhat panicked.

“Ah, this is A-Jiu. I wanted to introduce you guys to him tonight.” Shen Yuan says as he finally gets his Shen Dai to let him go. He can see the glint in his mothers eyes and silently lights a candle for poor Shen Jiu. Mother’s going to have a field day with him.

“He-hello” Shen Jiu greets, grabbing onto Shen Yuan’s hand again. His baby is way to cute!!!

“Oh my! A-Yuan where did you meet this precious gem?” Shen Yulin says as she looks Shen Jiu over.

“Let them sit down first honey. I’m sure A-Yuan will explain everything ” Shen Yu says from the table where he and Shen Yanzi sit. His meimei has already taken her seat, abandoning them to their faith.

“Right right, come on over then. We still haven’t ordered yet so tell us what you want ok?” Shen Dai says as he pushes them towards the table.

They take their seat next to Shen Yi and Shen Dai, Shen Yulin taking the empty seat next to Shen Yu.

“So when did you get a kid , A-Yuan?” His da-ge asks. Shen Yuan thinks he hears a soft ping sound when he looks over to Shen Yanzi, his da-ge, but he ignores it for now.

Shen Yanzi is next inline to inherit the Shen industries from their father and as such is always more busy then his other siblings, but he has always made sure to make time for Shen Yuan.  

“About…six months ago..?” Shen Yuan replies nervously avoiding eye contact.

“wait you actually adopted a kid?!” his father exclaims, first to catch on to his lack of denial. He can practically feel the gears in everyone’s heads turn.

“Wait seriously?!”

“I’m an uncle!?”

“Why didn’t you tell us!?”

“Oh my god I’m an uncle!!”

Even Shen Jiu looks up from trying to hide his face behind the menu, surprise and mild fear in his eyes.

“Boys” Shen Yulin calls attention to herself, saving him and Shen Jiu from the onslaught of questions.

“I think your overwhelming them” she says. Everyone at the table at least look embarrassed at that.

“Now! I don’t really know what happened but I’m happy for A-Yuan” mama Shen says after a while. “But I am upset that you didn’t tell us about him sooner”

This is going to be a long dinner.

The dinner was as exhausting as he’d imagined. Don’t get him wrong he loves his family, but he doubts anyone in this planet enjoys family dinners.

They mostly asked about Shen Jiu at first, but the conversation soon flowed to its usual course. From business trips to other more casual matters, like the latest drama in his brothers life.

Now he remembers why he avoids these occasions.

Well at least that’s out of the way.

Now for the other part.

“Hey Jiu-er, would you want to return to your world if you could?” Shen Yuan asks breaking the silence in the car.

Shen Jiu looks up at him surprised, there’s something akin to fear in his eyes.

“Are you- do you want me to go away?”  Shen Jiu asks looking scared.

That came out so wrong. Of course the kid would think that. Ah but there’s no going back now though.

“No, of course not. But I don’t want to keep you here if you don’t want to. So I really need to know if you would like to stay with me.” He says clearing up the miss understanding. The final call belong to Shen Jiu after all. Though he really hopes that Shen Jiu will want to stay.

Shen Jiu looks reviled at that and smiles at Shen Yuan.

“Then I want to stay with Yuan-ge please!” he looks nervous but determined.

Shen Yuan almost cry’s at that. He dismisses the systems ‘mission complete’ announcement in favor of hugging his A-Jiu.

 A-Jiu has come such a long way. He knows that everything ahead is not going to be going to be easy, but it will most definitely be worth it for his Jiu-er.

Now all he has to do is take care of the legal work. Somehow.

Chapter Text