The Shadows I Live With Are Numberless

Chapter One

It's nearly fifteen minutes. The whole fucking fifteen minutes.

"A-He! If you don't come this instant we're gonna be late!" Shen Qingqiu shouts, too exasperated by his voice, from the downstairs. Today, they will be exploring the notorious Codwell mansion outside of their town. He has everything prepared and organized but as usual that brat of a boy hasn't done anything. 

Like in a literal way. He's packing upstairs.

He still feel dumbfounded and finds himself struggling to connect the dots whenever he realises that Luo Binghe and Zhuzhi Lang are closely related. Like way too close, if you consider the fact that Zhuzhi Lang's father is a bit distantly related to Binghe's mother. (I am chopping canon up) Shen Qingqiu used to have the same classes with Binghe's paternal cousin and he's always found Zhuzhi Lang, confident and competent, if a little soft-spoken. 

Binghe also is a competent person and he can be very confident most times. He's got the ever-daring and disturbingly cutthroat tendencies from his father and the surprisingly stubborn and extremely headstrong personality from his mother. But, BUT, he's terribly clumsy, TERRIBLY, and a literal ball of nerves when Shen Qingqiu is around. 

HE'S NOT THAT SCARY! Okay? He might have scolded that boy to tears when Qingqiu was fifteen and Binghe was ten. But it was one time. ONE! Since then, Binghe would always be a nervous goofball around him; even now. 

AND THEY'RE LITERALLY DATING! DATING! 

That's ridiculous. 

"Aiya, Mr Shen. My son is a bit slow. Please be gentle on him, huh?"

A voice interrupts his thoughts. A voice he knows so well. "Mr. Tian." Shen Qingqiu greets reluctantly, his previous irritation and carefully concealed fondness for Binghe, slipping away as the infamous Mr. Tian comes into view. 

Mr. Tian, mostly known in the business world as Tian-Lang Jun, is Binghe's father. He's ruthless and cunning, gaining the name "Viper" for his cutting decisions in business. He married Su Xiyan, heir of an opposing company and the couple brought so many businesses down together.

After two years of marriage, he divorced Mrs. Su, who was at that time pregnant with Binghe, over the dispute he had with Mrs. Su's adopted father. Mrs. Su died in childbirth and left Binghe in her trusted butler's care, not trusting anyone else in her family.with her son.

Only after the death of said butler and later, his wife, Mr. Tian got custody of his son who was thirteen at that time. It was certainly a change of Binghe. But not entirely a bad one though not a very good one either.

Not that Mr. Tian is a terrible father to Binghe, but Shen Qingqiu has always disliked him. He doesn't really love his son; that much is obvious to anyone who have seen the father-son duo interact behind the camera.  

He believes in the power of money and power of the power itself and he wants his sole heir to be as great in business as him. 

Douchebag.

Shen Qingqiu smiles, an obviously faked plastic smile that wouldn't even fit with a plastic doll, at the man and looks away in a manner that is 1) obviously rude, 2) very satisfying and 3) fucking badass. He fucking hate that dirtbag.

"Qingqiu-ge! I'm coming! I'm coming!" He hears Binghe's shout from the upstairs. After a few cluttering noises and sounds of loud footsteps, Luo Binghe is finally downstairs with his bags. And a popsicle in his mouth. 

'Childish.' Shen Qingqiu thinks as he bite down the urge to mess up the already messy hair of Binghe. 'And cute.' He adds to his thoughts. 'Childishly cute.'