#mq gets what’s coming to him

[mxtxfanatic]

Hi 👋. Saw your recent take on how fandom interpret MQ. And I would to here your thoughts about him being the tsundere people try to make him out to be.

MQ trying to make it up to XL when really FX was the only one still sincere. I've only read up to vol. 4 and reread vol. 1 and 2 to get a better look at details. But there are some concerning lines that even XL noticed. Like MQ seems excited at the prospect of XL becoming this mass murder during the Guoshi FangXin reveal. Even the first introductions in the book was him mocking XL's helpful nature.

"Mu Qing’s eyes were glimmering, however, and his restrained shock contained a faint underlying excitement." TGCF Vol. 2 chapter 18

"Since his third ascension, there could only be one phrase to describe the way Mu Qing treated him: passive-aggressive. It always felt like he was waiting for Xie Lian to get booted for the third time so he could make snide remarks. Yet now that Xie Lian might actually get booted that third time, he suddenly became pleasant—he even came specially to deliver medication. This complete reversal in attitude made Xie Lian feel quite disconcerted." TGCF Vol.2 chapter 19

Even XL was freaked out by MQ acting nice to him.

"Mu Qing suddenly asked, “Was everything Lang Qianqiu said true? Did you really kill those Yong’an royals?”

Xie Lian looked up and met his gaze. Even if Mu Qing had been forcibly hiding it, Xie Lian still detected a trace of uncontrollable excitement in his eyes. He seemed highly interested in the details of Xie Lian’s massacre at the Gilded Banquet—he followed with another question.

“How did you kill them?” TGCF Vol. 2 chapter 19

And after XL half lied about his involvement.

"Feng Xin paled. Mu Qing loathed that expression of his the most and said in annoyance, “All right, put that face away. After everything, for who are you looking so pained?”" TGCF vol. 2 chapter 19

I'm not reading this wrong to think MQ is just a very entitled b****** that got high on his position of power and is looking down on XL for coming from a place which is lower than what most people would go through? Is it appropriate for me to interpret him being downright hostile and reveling in XL's disgrace? Because the stans take for MQ questionable character is bothering me a lot. He is not some prickly cat with a soft heart. He is sharp thorns all the way inside and a heart colder than most.

Unless something changes in further volumes I haven't read which is unlikely. Considering MXTX penchant for consistent character writing.

Thoughts?

Something does change about Mu Qing’s character near the end of the novel, but it’s just character growth. You aren’t misreading any of his actions in the earlier parts of the story. What kills me is that yes, Mu Qing is a terrible person who is petty and jealous and insecure and thinks that the only problem with hierarchy is that he isn’t at the top, but he changes and people ignore that! In the best interest of not introducing spoilers, I will say that Mu Qing does explicitly, using clear language, acknowledge his mistakes and how wrong he was about how he viewed Xie Lian and his treatment of the other man. He acknowledges this on his own under no threat and with no prompting. And people ignore this because it does not fit into their perception of Mu Qing as either right or at least well-meaning. He is neither of those things. He knows it. Xie Lian knows it. But he can be those things if he puts effort into it, and for all people call me a hater about his character (which, yeah lol), I for one think he tries by the end.

So no, Mu Qing isn’t a tsundere because he’s not being mean or rude or petty to those he loves to hide a mushy middle. He’s doing it because he thinks he is right to and that eventually people will see that he is right. The story does not agree he is right and duly punishes him for his fuckery, and he changes into a better person who is actually nicer to his friends because he wants to be their friends and not their superiors. That’s his character.

[masterqwertster]

Ok don’t publish it if you don’t have to but man this weekend is bumming me right out with this “

Yeah, there is certainly some aggression going on against people wishing for resurrection because others find it a poignant narrative that a sacrifice can't be undone, that it lasts and has consequences, that it puts weight to the stakes. And they think that coming back to life after specifically doing something you know will 100% kill you cheapens sacrifice.

Personally, I think that being brought back after you willingly and knowingly and successfully gave your life for others tells a story of how much you're loved. It's your friends saying "Fuck that. You're going to live. We're all going to live. We'll keep dragging each other back until we can't anymore, so fucking be here and fight."

It also adds another level of desperation to be stronger, smarter, to not be caught like that ever again because who knows if you can get them back next time (and however many times you fail after that). Resurrections get harder ever time a person is brought back. This is part of what bit Scanlan's ass right before Bard's Lament: the Revivify didn't take, so the rest of Vox Machina brought in his daughter to call him back during the Resurrection (which he hated) and got the chance to be dicks about bringing him back with the dumb pranks, all of which led to setting Scanlan off. And sure, Bells Hells had that desperation to keep each other alive from the Bassuras fight, but that doesn't mean that the sentiment can't be further sharpened even when you've managed to steal back all the lives of your party members that she took.

Honestly, I think that just having Chet and FCG die against the Murder Machine of Otohan after Bells Hells specifically and successfully went to efforts to get stronger still ups the stakes even if both end up revived. "All our might and we still faced that loss. It would have been all of us if FCG didn't make that play. We still cannot face the enemy leadership head-on as we are. We must get stronger still."

And I really think there's some fun character development to be had in giving FCG a flesh body. Will he actually like what they've envied about the others? How does one handle a completely new body that they're grateful for (that they should be grateful for, otherwise they'd be dead) but is just so different from what they know? Yes, FCG had that last moment clarity that he was in fact already fully alive, but there's definitely some "alive in the flesh" things to explore.

And more faith to explore too. Like, did he get to meet the Changebringer and talk with her in the afterlife? The Raven Queen? Speaking of just being in the afterlife, what about meeting Eshteross again? The other members of the Division of Public Benefit that he killed?

Also, I'm not sure how big a fan I am of the heavy breakdowns that will happen if FCG isn't resurrected. Bells Hells is suffering pretty good as is and I'd like them to have some happiness inbetween all the Moon Bullshit. Conflict drives a story, but you need soft moments to wind it down between heavy moments.

Because truthfully, most of what you get from keeping FCG dead is a bunch of breakdowns in the party without it's most optimistic member who actually advocates for communication, which they all suck at for various personal reasons. And a push towards the Villain Arc path that, honestly, a few are walking just fine without FCG staying dead and/or can still be pushed further down it just by the fact that he decided to kill himself to save their asses when no one wants to let any of the others go.

I do think that as far as martyrdom goes, what FCG did took a nice step away from "giving my life because it's worth less than any one of theirs and I think dying for a cause will give me absolution for the people I rage killed" and into "giving my life because it will save them and I don't know what else to do that will save them." There are certainly posts that get into the distinction between those choices better than I have. Which is where I think the "best ending for FCG" idea comes from, as it happened under the "best" reasoning for FCG to martyr himself. And to a certain degree, people have decided that martyrdom was unavoidable for FCG or that he was just highly prone to it and this was a good time/way to do it.

Still doesn't change that a self-sacrificing character did in fact sacrifice themself, though. Or that it didn't have to be the end that FCG met.

And I understand to some degree how Everyone Comes Back to Life if You Try can feel like it undermines the stakes. Because if no one stays dead, what do you have to fear from walking into mortal danger? Everyone will be fine right? Which is wrong. There is still trauma in dying, even when you're brought back. The realization of mortality, the struggle to steal back a life when it's not just a quick prayer in the heat of battle. And the ever looming possibility that you do it right and it's still not enough to steal them back.

Also, from the wider in-the-game-world's perspective: Resurrection is rare as shit and only people with immense wealth, connections, and/or power even have a shot at it.

Even mechanically it's not easy. You have to mind time limits, expensive costs, body conditions, spell levels and slots, not to mention that the dice can always say no.

So yes, Bells Hells probably needs to go to less effort to Reincarnate FCG than they did to resurrect Laudna because all they're missing is components while they have the likes of Keyleth who kind of owe them for Moon Scouting and killing Otohan and should be able to provide.

[roman-roy-apologist]

k braddavid will always be everything to me but pls can ppl talk abt iandavid and their relationships to masculinity and how that would affect their view of themselves and each other

[bafvkun]

In my mind Feng Xin is really the kinda guy that would do little acts of love all throughout the day, like a good gentleman. He’d hold the door, hold Mu Qing by the small of his back to guide him when there’s a lot of people or straight up take his hand, put MQ’s hands in his own pocket to keep them warm (I love the MQ always cold and FX always hot HC) but like he does it all with a straight face, he doesn’t realize how actually romantic he’s being.

And I can just see Mu Qing build up inside because of all those sweet acts of love and care and start getting more flustered the more Feng Xin does them and at some point the oblivious idiot that FX is will realize that there’s something wrong with MQ. He’ll just be confused as fuck as of why MQ is blushing and everything WHILE having his hand resting on his hip to keep him close while looking at cute things and telling him « they look like us ».

Mu Qing would just be a fucking mess internally while Feng Xin is eternally at peace because he doesn’t realize what he does, it just comes absolutely naturally to him.

[versatileversion]

Tgcf fandom, I have a bone to pick with ya’ll- specially in tiktok spaces.

Why is multishipping such a solid way to get bombed on by this fandom? I mean honestly, I have seen so much hate towards any creators that don’t religiously ship hualian, and I get it they’re the main ship, but theres so many other dynamics in this series!

Shipping is not always what you want as canon, or what ends up, it’s also just enjoying the dynamic of two characters separate from the main couple.

Even setting that aside, you cannot tell me that mq and fx did not have feelings for xl at any point, its xie lian, everyone had a crush on him.

Like fenglian for example?? That ship has my soul in its clutches- it is adorable. Same thing with hua cheng. In canon, would he ever end up with another? No, but neither did beefleaf, so lets not cherry pick when we bring up canon.

Personally, hua cheng and yin yu hold a dangerous part of my heart and i will fight with anyone over them, come at me.

As long as it is legal, idk what ppl’s problem is, you cannot add a god like Xie lian into a media and only limit him to one character, please and thank you.

[csilla-nocturne]

I'm just imagining the Xian le quartet on a mission together, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing separate from Hualian, and as soon as they are out of sight, and hearing range a panicked man runs over shoves an infant into Xie Lian's arms shouting "Don't lose him! I'll try and come back!" before running off being chased by several people.

Hualian stand there with the baby not sure what to do when Feng Xin, and Mu Qing get back.

FX: What the fuck. We weren't even gone for fifteen minutes!

MQ: It's not theirs idiot.

FX: I fucking know that! Where, and how did they get a baby in less than fifteen minutes!?

[lu-dao-writes]

A Hard Pill to Swallow

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: Feng Xin and Mu Qing have always been at each other’s throats, and you’ve dealt with it, but now you can’t.

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) Spoilers for vol 2, gn!reader, reader is a martial god who served XL, mentioned blood and injury and death, arguing (MQ & FX), ambiguous relationships and ending.

𝘼/𝙉 The ending is open ended, but I like to think it’s Jun Wu that visits you, hehe, cause that man is sus. But hope you enjoy. I’ve been unable to do much lol, but I managed to do this while sick. Also!! If anyone finds and gets the reference I used, I fucking love you fr🤣💕. ⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

You were the first to arrive at Xiè Lián’s recently erected palace, mind still reeling from the meeting that occurred an hour ago.

Xiè Lián had admitted to a huge crime, claiming he was the one that slaughtered Láng Qiānqiū’s family during the Gilded Banquet.

Xiè Lián, who was nothing but righteous and good, killed the monarchy of Yǒng'ān because he “couldn’t stand to see them on the throne”.

Yeah, you don’t believe that. Not one bit.

Xiè Lián greets you at the door looking a little disheveled, rubbing sleep from his eyes with his non-injured arm. You wince at the blood and at your foolishness for forgetting to bring something to alleviate it.

“Oh, hello,” Xiè Lián offers bashfully.

“Ā-Lián,” you sigh, reaching out to grasp his sleeve, and he grips yours before allowing you inside. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything, I-I just needed to see you.”

Xiè Lián waves off your apology with a smile, sitting down. “Don’t worry it doesn’t even hurt. Jūn Wú did enough.”

“But—.”

The doors open and light footsteps come towards you and Xiè Lián, Mù Qíng soon appearing. His dark eyes meet yours before cutting to Xiè Lián, a scoff leaving his lips. “What? Expecting Fēng Xìn? As if.”

“Mù Qíng,” you start warily.

“What are you doing here?” Xiè Lián chimes in softly.

“The emperor detained you in your little palace. He said His Highness Tài Huá couldn’t come, but I’m not him,” Mù Qíng replies flippantly, digging into his sleeve. He fishes out a small porcelain bottle and tosses it to Xiè Lián. “It’s pitiful watching you sling that bloody arm of yours. Use it or don’t, but no one else is going to help you.”

Mù Qíng has a little smirk on his face, reminding you of a pit viper. It makes you frown disapprovingly, but Xiè Lián doesn’t acknowledge his attitude, and instead he opens the bottle and watches as the medicine does it’s work.

“So did you really slaughter the royal family? How’d you do it?”

“Mù Qíng!?” you exclaim, appalled by his inappropriate excitement and questioning.

“What are you doing here?” Fēng Xìn’s naturally boisterous voice startles them all, but Mù Qíng’s shock turns into something more ugly, disdain washing over his morbid excitement.

“I’m a guest here like you and anyone else is. Last I checked this isn’t your palace.”

Fēng Xìn glowers at him before briefly making eye contact with you before approaching Xiè Lián, his face softening. “Your Highness, what you said at the Palace of Divine Might-.”

“Yes,” Xiè Lián cuts in softly, finality in his voice and expression. “I killed them.”

Fēng Xìn pales along with you, and Mù Qíng looks briefly startled before going for Fēng Xìn again.

“What’s that expression for? Don’t make me laugh.”

You sigh and rub at your temples. “You guys-.”

“It’s not for or about you! Get lost!”

Mù Qíng looks excited again. “That is rich coming from you! As if you’re so loyal; how long did you stay around for again?”

Fēng Xìn grits his teeth, his fists tightening at his sides as a fire is lit ablaze in his eyes.

Xiè Lián fiddles with his his sleeves anxiously, a slight look of anguish on his face. “Please you two, let’s not talk about this right now..”

You on the other hand, typically the calm one and their mediator, are not feeling the aster. Your pulse is thrumming and frustration begins to bubble in your belly. “Okay, stop this right now,” you demand.

But of course yours and Xiè Lián’s pleading goes unheard.

Mù Qíng takes a step closer, finger poking at Fēng Xìn’s chest. “Some say you left because you couldn’t stand to see your former master fall from grace. Tch, such a pretty excuse, but we all know the real reason. You just couldn’t stand to spend the rest of your days cleaning after a broken man!”

“You shut your fucking mouth!” Fēng Xìn practically roars, swinging his fist at Mù Qíng, hitting the delicate looking man square in the cheek, causing him to stumble back into the cabinet, holding his cheek as he glares daggers through his curtain of dark tresses.

You and Xiè Lián gape, the latter standing up, sending his chair backwards.

“Fēng Xìn, Mù Qíng, stop!”

“You think everyone is as vile as you, but I don’t take joy in watching him suffer!” Fēng Xìn snaps, throwing another punch, but Mù Qíng dodges and smashes his own fist into Fēng Xìn’s face.

“Enough!” you exclaimed, only to be ignored and the two to ruthlessly attack one another, breaking a few pieces of furniture.

You escort Xiè Lián out safely before trying to break the other two up from their brawl, but it ends up with you getting shoved aside aggressively by Mù Qíng.

Just as your ass hits the floor, the main doors to Xiānlè Palace opens and a swarm of deathly spirit butterflies come inside, fluttering past Xiè Lián and heading straight for you, Mù Qíng, and Fēng Xìn. You’re yanked behind Mù Qíng as he and Fēng Xìn use a shield to protect themselves, and you from the swarm.

But during this you’re frozen, appalled that you were just shoved by someone you’ve been close to since before you ascended. You watch as Xiè Lián doesn’t put up a fight with Huā Chéng, who steals him away.

You say nothing as chaos goes down in the communication array, only eventually piping up in your private communication array with Xiè Lián. “Ā-Lián…?”

“Ā-(Y/N)?”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m okay. I promise.”

You believe him this time, especially as he looks so comfortable with Huā Chéng beside him. You bravely look at the Ghost King. “Keep him safe, please.”

Huā Chéng acknowledges you with an assured little smirk and a nod before he and Xiè Lián both disappear.

Although Huā Chéng is feared, you’ve always trusted Xiè Lián for the most part.

Fēng Xìn and Mù Qíng are still arguing with one another, their voices infuriating you.

“Why are you lying and saying he escaped!? We watched Huā Chéng kidnap him!”

“Is it really kidnapping if he didn’t put up a struggle?” Mù Qíng snaps dismissively. “Get off my ass!”

“You bast-!”

“Enough!” you shout. “Stop it! Just stop it! I’ve had enough!”

The two looked at you with bewilderment, and in return you gave them a vicious stare, eyes stinging slightly as your fists trembled at your sides. “Both of you are so fucking selfish, you know that? First you fight in front of His Highness and bring up your issues you either have with yourselves or each other, wrecking his palace in your brawl, and you disrespect his feelings, as well as mine, when we both asked you to stop! You’re both so wrapped up in yourselves and each other that I’m sick of it!”

“We-!”

“I-!”

“Shut up! I’m done! Done hearing both of you! Get over yourselves! If you want to actually look for him, then do it! Don’t ask me to meditate your petty arguments anymore!”

It’s quiet for a moment before you start hearing other voices.

“I’ve never heard General Qiáng Yǒngmíng get so angry before…”

“Someone finally told those two to shut up..”

“Poor General Qiáng Yǒngmíng. Dealing with those two for this long and finally snapping.”

You feel mild embarrassment as you realize you broadcasted your rant in the communication array, but maybe some humiliation is what these two need, but you doubt it’ll do much. With a huff, you make your exit and ignore Fēng Xìn’s pleas, heading to your palace to hide away.

“Ā-(Y/n), thank you,” you hear Xiè Lián murmur, sounding very faint now.

“Anything for you, Ā-Lián,” you reply, falling into your bed, just as your palace doors open.

[nyerus]

Hi! I would love to hear your thoughts about classism in TGCF, but specifically regarding XL. It surprised me to see people hating on XL for not knowing or doing better during his teenage years of luxury as the crown prince and making XL a complete villain because he didn't take down classism and restructure society despite still being a kid himself. It struck me as odd that the fandom is well aware of his 800 years in poverty but also not really addressing the fact that XL, too, is a victim of classism albeit a little different from someone like MQ.

Hi there! So sorry it's taken me this long to get to this ask, I've just been in sort of a funk for a few days haha.

But yeah, this is definitely a topic that comes up from time to time, with lots of discussion about. It surprises me that despite that, there are still people (maybe just newer fans? idk) who still hate on Xie Lian for his naive views as a 17yo. Especially since, despite being a naive 17yo, he still really wanted to help people less fortunate than himself. He didn't quite understand how to do this in the most effective ways (because he was a teenager), so it came off as somewhat patronizing as he was a person in a position of power compared to everyone else. Yet his desire to help people was genuine, and he didn't personally think of "common folk" as being any lesser than "royalty" -- even though in this case, there kind of literally was a difference. (E.g. when Lang Ying goes from being a commoner to a king, he gets a "kingly aura" that protects him!) So it's honestly kind of incredible that Xie Lian is willing to say things like "I think people are equal, even gods and humans, and if the Heavens disagree with me, then it's the Heavens that are wrong" with his entire heart.

I imagine a large part of the hate Xie Lian gets from certain fans is jealousy or resentment, due to the fact that Xie Lian was "born privileged." But on it's own, "privilege" is not "the great enemy" -- it's what said privilege means in the context of society, and what someone does/doesn't do with it that merits judgement. Xie Lian doesn't fully understand the privilege he had until he loses it (again: because he was 17!), but he still understood it enough to use it to protect and help people. That's more than many other characters can say. Him starting out as a prince doesn't automatically disqualify him from class struggles or the horrors of poverty. It's nonsensical to think so, when this is a character who literally spent almost 800 years busking for scraps, while sleeping in dirt outside and eating garbage….

On the flip side, as you mentioned Mu Qing -- yes, he was a victim of classism. But he's a very strange figure to use as the poster boy for that, though he often is by people who are critical of Xie Lian. This may be a controversial take, despite it being something I think that makes the character of Mu Qing really interesting: but he's a very "typical" guy within the concept of classism. He's someone who started off with a bad lot, but then ended up ascending to the highest point you pretty much can in that world/society. Which is great! He did that through hard work, and it paid off! But now, since he got his "happy ending," that's kind of it for him. He doesn't do anything to materially improve the lives of those less fortunate, especially those he has no personal connection with. This doesn't make him a bad person -- it's not really his job to that, even as a god. He's a martial god, so he's there to subdue threats and all that. Yet you can clearly see, that's exactly the type of person society values because such "rags to riches" stories give legitimacy to the whole system, and because they don't rock the boat once they're on top.

So then it's odd to be angry at Xie Lian but not Mu Qing (or others) for the lack of some "grand revolution" that some readers seem to want.

Ironically, Xie Lian used what power he had to try and help people -- and he was worse off for it. If he had done nothing, he would have been able to live a happy and carefree life. He would have lived and died as a rich prince/king with no troubles. Like, that's the point! The societies we live in punish those who want to broadly help others or make meaningful change, while rewarding those who quietly play the game for themselves -- because it helps keep the wheels turning. It doesn't matter at "what end" of the spectrum you start out on, the rules apply the same way. If you go against the establishment, there's a price to be paid.

Throughout Xie Lian's long journey, he learns this lesson the hard way. And the fact that in order to change it, he would somehow have to change the hearts and minds of pretty much everyone -- which is an impossible ask. How is he even supposed to that, or restructure society as a whole, without vast amounts of collateral damage? In the end, Xie Lian discovers that he was not wrong in his desire to help people, even if he cannot help everyone. He can still help people he meets in whatever ways he can, and that is still important. To show kindness, mercy, and empathy towards your fellow man is worth it. Helping your neighbors or complete strangers you meet once and then never again -- all that is still worth it.

I wish I had the time to sit down and really talk about this in a more organized way, but these disjointed thoughts are all I can manage at the moment! I hope it was still valuable to you in some way, and thank you for sending in the ask!

(Also, I recently reblogged a post that talked about something similar if you wanna check it out, Anon. It's right under the manhua highlights I think!)

[grungiiuvu]

Redacted factor notes, i spent the last 6 hours gathering! May have missed some things

Redacted factor gets first triggered by the bath scene in chaoter 6

Decreases when: 

MQ says he doesng care about FX’s words, chapter 8 (decreases less than the protagonist satisfaction). 

Chapter 15: increases and decreases simultaneously (see chapter 15 notes in increase)

MQ calling FX useless, chapter 15

MQ says he doesn’t need romance cause he has his sect siblings, chapter 18

MQ mentions SQX, chapter 27

MQ explains the ribbon Deal to FX, chapter 29

Increases when: 

MQ wears a dress. 

FX reveals that MQ went “missing” (bandits), chapter 11. 

MQ insults FX, again, chapter 11 (also edits Feng Xin’s wiki). 

MQ shows affection to his horse, chapter 13. 

Chapter 14: FX sees MQ in a dress, hua cheng calls FX MQ’s dog, and MQ insults FX

MQ and FX “finally agree on something” , chapter 14. 

Chapter 15: MQ or rather, FX’s reaction to MQ, gives the system whiplash, saying he doesnt see FX as an equal causes the redacted role to BOTH increase and decrease at the same time, creating conflicting info and is eventually cancelled out by the system. 

MQ correcting FX’s stance, chapter 15

FX sees MQ with flowers in his hair, chapter 16

In chapter 17 but im not fully sure what triggered it. MQ refered to FX as shixiong, but also insulted him. Could be either one, or both.

Big increases when MQ is observing (ogling) FX when he’s training. Happens 3 times over, at least. Chapter 18

Two MASSIVE increases when MQ calls FX handsome (good job MQ), chapter 18.

Increases twice in chapter 20, when MQ asks Feng Xin to take a conversation seriously (did feng xin think much qing was gonna confess maybe..?) 

Big increase when MQ tells FX they’re still friends, chapter 20 (ANOTHER EDIT TO THE WIKI! But this time, Qing’er’s wiki is updated too!)

Small increases when MQ stays close to, and walks with FX, chapter 21

they hold hands! (Dear god, they hold hands), chapter 21

when fx (and pei ming) come to save Mq and Xl, chapter 22

When Mq tells Fx he can do better he just needs to try harder, chapter 22

Increases when Mq teases fx, and mq punches him, chapter 23

Multiple increases when Fx calls mq his prize, chapter 24

Mu qing smiles, chapter 25 (twice)

Mq calls Fx his dog, chapter 25

Mq calls himself an angel. Chapter 25

Mq falls asleep on fx, chapter 25 (the factor upgrades again!)

FX calls MQ a wildcat, and MQ hits FX, chapter 26 

THE ENTIRE CLOSET SCENE WITH FX’S “DAGGER”, chapter 27

MQ being bossy, Chapter 29

Updates to the factor:

Chapter 14! A side quest with a redacted title shows up! Accompanies XL’s wife plot quest. dont think that all the instances of redacted words are about the same words. its mq’s own wife plot quest?. Also, in chapter 14 the factor is upgraded, implying levels to this factor.

With chapter 15, we unlock P points, confirmed to mean Pretty Points (anqelbean being the first one to guess that correctly) They advance the redacted factor, and narrative role more than b points, so the redacted factor has some sort of beauty aspect to it. The narrative role for Mq’s beauty was, as we know, to spark insecurity in XL, but that’s likely changed 

Chapter 18! The conditions to the factor get edited, after a discussion about nicknames, and MQ says he’s hard to impress.

Chapter 21. We can probably say that its not Romantic Rival, due to how the system talks about it

Chapter 22. The Redacted side quest reappears, when MQ (and xie lian) get captured again! Im pretty convinced that it stands for Be wife Plotted or something to that effect. the redacted factor gets edited when MQ says he doesnt want to wait around to be rescued. 

Chapter 23! Big update. Quoting the system

“Achievement, ‘[REDACTED]’, has been unlocked. Plus 50 B-points! [REDACTED] Trope Convention unlocked! [REDACTED] Factor increased by 30 B-points. Excellent work, Host!! We’ll make a [REDACTED] out of you yet! q(≧▽≦q)””

A redacted achievement, a trope convention, and “we’ll make a X out of you”. (The system singing “I’ll make a man out of you” but its about the redacted factor

So many questions. And confirms that there are multiple redacted words, probably.

You also say that the whole “punching in the gut, and going “good luck, i hope you fail” is the most Redacted thing MQ has done.

Chapter 26 and 27

The factor leveld up to level 3! MQ earns two [Redacted] badges.

“Some good Redacted”

And ANOTHER Redacted badge (convinced this one is related to sexual interest because dear god the closest scene)

One of the three redacted badges levels up

Cryptic ace, chapter 6: “something like hotness”

AroVibes, chapter 11: “Plot? Drama? God potential? Angst? Sexiness?”

ButterflyDreaming, chapter 11: “FQ affection points”

otaku_lady89, chapter 11: “SECRET MASOCHISM”

reinvanteal, chapter 11: “Sexiness”

anqelbean, chapter 14, and chapter 15: “degradation kink”

oxytocarb, chapter 15: “related to how attracted feng xin is to mu qing”

hailpyre, chapter 17: “wow FX do you have a degradation ki—//bonked”

Imraekio, chapter 18: “romantic points”

anqelbean, chapter 18: “Love Interest Factor”

ButterflyDreaming, chapter 18: “Love Interest points? Or Romance Protagonist points?”

oxytocarb, chapter 18: “how attracted they are to each other?? romance sub-plot progression or smth”

thetowerofbabel, and ButterflyDreaming chapter 23: “tsundere”

SillyRinnie, chapter 23: “"wife" or "protagonist"”

Writesforfun (that’s me :3), chapter 23: Rivals to Lovers

Pink_Muffins, chapter 24: “potential love interest” “prime love interest”

OOC out of Mind (guest), chapter 24: romantic appeal

septemberme, chapter 24: "Oops accidentally turned Feng Xin on" points

Kresnik, chapter 24: waifu factor

Pink_Muffins, chapter 27: “‘eye candy’ or ‘fanservice’”

l1ls4y0, on Tumblr: “mating factor”

I..... idek what to say to this. Holy shit, bro. That's a lot of hours you've spent reading my semi-crack fic.

Actually, i might just pin this. This is incredible. Holy shit dude, I don't even have a joke for this. This is a LOT of shit you found oml

[confusedgoldenflower]

The more I try to figure out what exactly it was that got Feng Xin ascended, the more I think he was probably stopping marauders or something.

Imagine going about your thieving day somewhere slightly across the invisible line that divides east from west in the south when some homeless dude with a perpetual frown and an exceptional aim with a bow—a lost dog who really really wants his master back—decides to fuck you and all your buddies up, THEN gets pulled up into the clouds in a literal column of light, probably cussing “oh, what the fuck!?” Poor MQ was probably minding his business trynna survive the politics of heaven when he got slapped in the face by yours truly.

Idk. What I read as FQ’s ascensions is FX’s was a vague act of martial whatever, and MQ’s was settling the spirits of the Xianle battlefield<—which is another pointer to him not just being a dick, by the way.

You can’t tell me FX didn’t mopingly wander around, taking every chance to fuck up criminals as he kept looking behind him for any sign that XL chased after him for him to come back, come home. Because his Prince was his home. Man probably had to rely on other urchins just to have edible food since I don’t put it past him not being able to boil water….

MQ probably *discretely* left convenient food around for him if he crossed paths/went out looking.

[chewiiez]

idol au! idol au! idol au fengqing + hualian!

ive been brainrotting on this for a while now — i do love my kpop jpop cpop guys and i wanted to explore these dynamics with xl4 !! (an excuse to watch more time to twice really) so yay let's gaur!!

so basically, xl4 is a famous group X4, shortened form of XI4NLE. a boy group, formed through a survival show.

what is a survival show? no, it's not about wilderness survival – a survival show is trainees competing against each other in order to become part of a sometimes temporary, but otherwise permanent, group! you have performance missions, activity missions, domestic and international voting, all of which determine who stays and who is eliminated. all the trainees dorm together, or maybe if the show has a special theme, the trainees are segregated based on the theme.

anyways, my theme actually came from my fav group's (twice) survival show, sixteen. in sixteen, the ceo of the company chose trainees from his own company and divided them into two categories: major and minor. major are trainees who could be debuted tomorrow if they felt like it. minors are trainees that are talented, but need to compete against majors for a better chance.

so in the X4 survival show, we have the same segregation. from our beloved quartet:

feng xin and xie lian are in the majors.

hua cheng and mu qing are in the minors.

now, let's go over their skills!

after many mental line distributions, song listening sessions, and others, i decided on the perfect skills for the quartet. (IMO)

feng xin: main rapper / lead dancer / lead vocalist / leader. i think feng xin as a rapper would be soooo good omg. spitting bars left and right! i think of him as this ace card that no one really expects from a guy who looks like a cute golden retriever. he also has good stage presence and good leadership, which makes him a well rounded idol. you'd find him on forums of people discussing "underrated idols in the cpop industry!!!"

mu qing: secondary main vocal / main dancer / visual. secondary because his main strength is dance and flexibility, but he has the second highest vocal range of the group!! he's also the visual, because in the actual tgcf fandom everyone talks about how he's so pretty and all, obviously had to include that. mu qing is a sort of enigma to many on the show because off stage he's a blank slate, but on stage his stage presence is so captivating....

xie lian: secondary main dancer / lead rapper / sub vocal / center. i think xie lian is also a very flexible dancer, considering in canon he and mq had similar weapons and cultivation, i wanted to make this connection. now as for rapping, he's really good, but his flow could use a little bit of work! sub vocal because i wanted the canon neck cursed shackle to come into play. AND CENTER! such an important position: he has the most center time in choreo because of his stage presence (note that center time ≠ iconic/hard dance moves. those may be given to mq because he's the main main dancer, and sometimes to xl.)

hua cheng: main vocal / sub rapper / fotg. yess, hua cheng is the main, main vocal of the group! he has the highest range and his voice is perfection!! i also think his flow would be good, so sub rapper. finally, fotg is face of the group, aka a member that you usually think of when you think of the group. i wanted to give this to xl but realized that when people think of tgcf so many think of hc first, so yay, the position is his. that way, everyone has an important position to maintain!

now for some lore:

hua cheng is one of the youngest contestants alongside sqx and hx on the show

feng xin wins the show because he gets the most international and domestic votes from fangirls after a performance of his goes viral

xie lian is in a close second, only 10 votes off 😭

mu qing is eliminated from the show because during one of the performances, the group forcefully gave the high note to him, but he couldn't hit it. however, yushi huang brings him back with her producers choice card.

xie lians family are big investors in the community.

feng xin and mu qing had a longstanding rivalry for the better part of their career, which only ended after the BIG jun wu scandal. (i can talk about this if people are interested.)

feng xin has written the most songs for the group, followed by hua cheng and xie lian tied, and then mu qing.

their reality TV show is called XFOURONLINE!

they debut solo in a weird order: xie lian, feng xin, hua cheng, and mu qing.

they've all gone viral multiple times.

their best charting song to date is probably from an album that took a more mature route.

please do tell me if you're interested in this au because i would love to blabber about the jun wu scandal, dynamics, and subunits, as well as the group image and other things 💖

[taihua]

Thank you for the reply! Now this gets even more interesting when I think about his relationship with Mu Qing. Honestly, their dynamic really fascinate me because what the hell is going on? Why is he so volatile with him? Cause MQ may be a bitch but the things feng xin said to him can be really below the belt. Like you said, i dont wanna say he’s a classist but ??? My guy you’re not helping. And now feng xin got more interesting in my eye than what fanon usually depicts him. I think when he loves people, he wants nothing but the best for them. Even if something they don’t necessarily want for themselves. And since MQ obviously don’t meet the criteria, he just gets pissed off and can think of him nothing but a bad person.

"What the hell is going on with Fengqing" is the question that scholars will be asking for centuries 😔

Nonetheless, I don't think I agree that Feng Xin is making any "below the belt" comments--this is going to be a super long response because I want to break down all the situations where fandom accuses him of being unfair to Mu Qing, but the bottom line is that it's not as simple as Feng Xin being mean to a poor abused Mu Qing for no reason.

"Crowds get handsy. We don’t want people sneaking it in their pockets before we find anything,” Feng Xin said offhandedly."

This is usually where Feng Xin gets (unfairly) accused of being classist and a bully to Mu Qing, I guess because it's viewed as a snide comment about Mu Qing's wealth?--but that's not true, because a) nowhere does Feng Xin say anything about social class in this statement (and in fact, in context of Xie Lian suggesting they call in help to look for his missing earring, it's more likely they would be calling in people from the palace) and b) he wasn't even talking about Mu Qing.

Which brings me to the second point, but half the reason Mu Qing overreacts and storms out of the room is because he thinks Xie Lian has been talking about him behind his back:

Mu Qing clenched his fists tight, then loosened them, but at last did not continue to blow up. However, his eyes were growing red, and he turned to Xie Lian, enunciating each word as he stared at him."You…don’t keep your promises."

So here you have Xianle Trio's first major communication breakdown--Xie Lian tries to do the right thing by not sharing the story about the missing gold foil, Mu Qing jumps to the unfair conclusion that Xie Lian broke his promise and told Feng Xin, and Feng Xin is upset because he's being accused of being a jerk about something he didn't even know about.

Book 4 rice scene

Here's another case where Feng Xin seems to be blamed for yelling at Mu Qing without any consideration for the context. Xie Lian went to go cultivate after seeing Feng Xin get beaten up for busking and they were counting on him to ascend to lift them out of poverty, Mu Qing ruined it because he wouldn't stand up for Xie Lian in front of the other officials, you can argue to what extent Mu Qing "had no choice."

What kills me about this scene is how Feng Xin is so nice to Mu Qing at first:

"Alright," Feng Xin said. "I’ll say my thanks then. We do need all this stuff right now. Heavenly officials can’t gift mortals things privately, so you be careful too." Then he shuffled to Xie Lian’s side and whispered, “I’m pretty surprised too, that he’d actually come back to help. I'm the one who judged him wrong. In any case…"

He doesn't begrudge Mu Qing going to work for another god, and he only gets angry when Xie Lian gets angry--Xie Lian, who is visibly injured and so angry he can't even speak to Mu Qing, so obviously Feng Xin is pissed off after noticing that, and he still gives Mu Qing a chance to explain himself before he starts yelling. Was he supposed to say "thanks for the rice, I totally understand why you humiliated Xie Lian and ruined our chances at escaping poverty, I can't wait to go back to begging for coins and getting beaten up"...?

Plus you have another example of bad Xianle Trio communication, because Mu Qing accuses Feng Xin of holding him to different standards than Xie Lian, based on the stealing incident that Xie Lian never told Feng Xin about. Once again, Feng Xin is the last person to find out about the incidents that Mu Qing is being weird about and is expected by fandom to take Mu Qing's meanest assumptions in stride because Mu Qing is a poor little meow meow or whatever.

(Side note that that's two examples where it's clear that Feng Xin views stealing as morally wrong; he's consistent in his values.)

"...and don’t think yourself a good person! Genuinely good people aren’t like you, YOU’VE NEVER BEEN ONE!"

From their fight on Mt. Tonglu. It's not very nice, but the context of the fight is arguing about whether or not Mu Qing killed Jian Lan and Cuocuo. Yknow, Feng Xin's girlfriend who he loved and their child that he didn't know about that he just recently learned were brutally murdered. Mu Qing's the main suspect and there's clear evidence that he had met them before, he's been on the run to avoid a trial, and all he can say is "I didn't do it"--it looks bad and Feng Xin has every right to be not only suspicious of him, but also really fucking upset with him.

Plus, the context of the fight is also that they're still blaming each other for abandoning Xie Lian, and Mu Qing thinks it's okay to bring Jian Lan into that argument as if he isn't the prime suspect in their murder investigation:

"Taking yourself for the model of loyalty, didn’t you ditch the boss when the wife came along? The wife and the son became more important?! Everyone’s doing things for themselves, it’s the self that’s priority! Aren’t you embarrassed hanging on to that old shitty deed over my head?"

If anyone's going below the belt here, it's Mu Qing for bringing up a specific and personal trauma to win an argument. Feng Xin's generic insult doesn't come anywhere close to this, but I often see "you've never been a good person" quoted as something Feng Xin is supposed to apologize for with no consideration for what Mu Qing is saying a few paragraphs later. If one is shitty, then so is the other.

Speaking of Mu Qing making below the belt comments...

"After Fu Yao entered the Temple of Nan Yang, for two whole hours he thoroughly criticized this statue of Nan Yang from head to toe, something about how the design was deformed, the colors tacky, the craftsmanship crude, the taste bizarre...."

Notably, Nan Feng doesn't respond to this. Two hours of holding his tongue before he finally comes out with "Don’t you be acting all sarcastic here, if you’re really so bored, go sweep the floor!" after Fu Yao recites the Ju Yang poem and embarrasses him in front of Xie Lian. Literally below the belt from Mu Qing here, since he knows full well that Feng Xin doesn't like it and takes great delight in mocking him anyway. Fandom gets mad at Feng Xin for yelling, but it's funny and quirky if Fu Yao insults him? Why the double standard?

So bringing it all back to your initial question, "Why is he so volatile with him?"--because they don't communicate well, because no one bothers to tell Feng Xin about anything until after Mu Qing has thrown a fit, and because every time he gives Mu Qing the benefit of the doubt Mu Qing does something weird and ends up throwing it back in his face.

[absolutesilly]

Another fun question to answer when you’re in the mood, what trope does FengQing fit in? A lot of people like to say rival to lovers but the thing is… these two can’t stand each other 😭 I feel like the fandom keeps forgetting these two seriously don’t like each other before the XL and MQ reconciliation (YES I SAID MQ AND XL ONLY, I just don’t think the f-f-friends part is directed to fx lol) For example, you know matchablossom from sk8infinity, those two bicker a lot but they’re genuinely best friends since young. Fengqing is nothing like that of the sort ☠️☠️☠️

fx has stated he doesn’t like mq because he’s a moody overthinker and looks down on him lol. And mq doesn’t like fx because he feels attacked by him all the time and his unwavering blind loyalty to royals. Anyways, they’ve said awful mean things to each other throughout the story and to see the fandom go “OMG HES SO MEAN TO HIM! Why would you ship them????!” “THEY HATE EACH OTHER”

like…. Duh? That’s the appeal 🙄 hear me out, hence why I believe they’re “almost” the perfect example of enemies to lovers lol.

hi hi!!! this is SUCH a good question!! these two are a bit hard to place! i’ve often called them rivals to lovers, but they definitely have more animosity than your usual rivals to lovers ship! (especially matchablossom, who as you mentioned are best friends despite their bickering… i think any similarities between the two ships are mostly aesthetic lmao, they’re verrrrrry different when it comes down to it)

there’s definitely a rivalry between them—as we see with the competition between them and their followers every year in the lantern battle—but most normal rivals can meet in public without trying to physically attack each other lmao. i think many people are too quick to gloss over the fact that they REALLY do have a LOT of genuine bad blood for most of their history! they’re not just in competition with each other, they hate each other!

i think that my own hesitancy to call them outright enemies to lovers is the fact that in spite of all this animosity, they are generally fighting on the same side of things! working under prince xie lian, serving as the two gods of the south, and joining forces to try to protect xl after his third ascension—they’re ALWAYS forced to team up! i generally associate true “enemies to lovers” with being on opposite sides of some big conflict.

in addition to working together, it’s clear that they don’t view each other as their “greatest enemy”—ie. they easily join forces when they believe there is a bigger or more pressing threat. hua cheng is the greatest example of this; it’s clear their distaste for him far outweighs their dislike for each other.

a lot of this may come down to my own personal definition of “enemy.” but i think what really makes me pause is the fact that it’s obvious neither of them has ever actually wanted the other one dead! whether they’d like to admit it or not, they cannot live without each other. we repeatedly see them save (or at least try to save) each other from danger, and in spite of all the hatred between them, they ran the south together for 800 years without either one ever genuinely trying to get rid of the other. (contrast this with yin yu and quan yizhen, who were tasked with running the west together… that didn’t work out!)

rivals to lovers doesn’t feel quite like an apt description to me, but neither does enemies to lovers. the more i think about it, the more i want to make up a category of my own, which is:

coworkers (derogatory) to lovers!

the enmity that can exist between two coworkers is something that is so sacred. sometimes you work with people who you really fucking hate! but my god. you work with them anyway, because you have to. and sometimes you accidentally work REALLY well together, in spite of everything. and sometimes, you get a new, even worse coworker that makes you realize the coworker you thought you hated actually isn’t so bad. maybe you like them. maybe you even love them.

[nemaria]

you put in the tags in touchstarved that the fic was full of unpopular opinions, but I didn't really notice anything? so I was just curious what parts in particular you were thinking of as unpopular!

Thank you for the ask and sorry for the delay! I've debated whether or not to post this tbh, but personally I get so excited when I see other people post about their unpopular headcanons that I share - I figure if even one person feels the same about this post it'll be worth the risk!

So here are the ones I included in Touchstarved that I can recall:

Characterizing Mu Qing as...softer, I guess? Especially in dialogue.

I think a lot of the perception of him being an asshole comes from us seeing him through XL's perspective, since XL is still kind of pissed with him for most of the story. But if you look at what MQ actually says in the books, there are fewer sharp lines than you'd think, and in general he's more sassy than bitchy, imo!

Hua Cheng growing to genuinely like/care about FXMQ outside of respecting XL's affection for them (however reluctantly)

Mu Qing being a night owl who prefers to stay up late and sleep in late if he can, and Feng Xin preferring going to bed early and getting up early

Mu Qing not being interested in jewelry (though I love the idea of him wearing a matching earring once they are married 🥺)

Mu Qing being older than Feng Xin (if only by a month)

Fengqing going hard on the PDA after they get together

And finally, likely the most controversial one:

Feng Xin not being attracted to women

If you know me, you know I absolutely love a good bi headcanon (I'm bi myself!), but when it comes to Feng Xin...I just can't see it lol. The entire time I was reading TGCF (before I even really shipped FQ!) I was so convinced he only liked men that the Cuocuo reveal almost made me spit out my drink.

I do think he did love Jian Lan a lot!! But I feel like he was going through some serious comphet and didn't realize that it was more platonic than he assumed at the time until much later.

In Touchstarved he's definitely demi also, which certainly didn't help him figure things out any faster. But I think that's somewhat more common of a headcanon!

( obligatory disclaimer: absolutely nothing against any headcanons that contradict any of this! this is just how I write them, that's all. pls be kind! )

[blogauroragloryme]

I am wondering about Feng Xin and Mu Qing's first fight as Martial Gods of the South. Imagining that during Xian le era their fights were usually verbal bickering with each other and the hand to hand one was only during sparring.

So after ascending they never had a full blown fight. So imagining a scenario where after a meeting all the Gods are moving out and due to some comment now the two Southern Gods are facing each other like two tigers sizing each other up. Of course every heavenly official (are more like those gossiping neighborhood aunties🤣👀) is anticipating this showdown with fervour,after all the tragic story of Xian le Kingdom is something everyone has known,but to see a drama unfolding between two Gods of the most popular tale ;nobody wants to miss. They are all betting against whose gonna win and blah blah.

First MQ and FX are simply arguing and throwing barbs and insults. But than MQ says something and FX loses his cool and actually punches MQ using his power and MQ crashes in a nearby pillar. FX is flabbergasted because he didn't had any idea about his strength and is about to react before a spirit ball is thrown at him and he also crashes on the fountain in the middle of the Grand avenue.

The other heavenly officials definitely loved gossiping and betting,but they are also speechless because of the damage the two Southern Gods had done. Once this starts, there's no turning back MQ and FX attack each other in full swing not at all caring about anything and anyone. Earlier the officials were cheering and applauding for them,but now they're dragged in this crossfire as well(it's fun to imagine officials cheering and than getting accidentally hit with spiritual blasts😂 or rubble falling on them from the infrastructure). They are now definitely scared and scramble away for their lives. FX and MQ both are covered in injuries, bleeding and panting harshly but not backing down. Some brave officials try to intervene and stop them get non intentionally thrown away to the other side of heaven.🤣

I have a separate scenario for Pei Ming here😉. PM has just returned from a mission when he sees the officials gathered around what seems to be like an arena and his deputies explain it to him about the situation. PM himself has heard about the Xian le story and is intrigued. He has never closely seen the two newly ascended Gods and wants to see what's gonna happen.He sits in a high balcony from where he can get a clear view of the two and his deputy keeps on updating him about the Xuan Zhen and Nang Yang in picture (basically gossiping about their backstory). PM is definitely enjoying this show down alongside his deputies,apart from the drama he wants to study their Xian le fighting style and techniques and blah blah. He is enjoying before the situation escalates and the newly ascended Gods are now adamant in destroying the heavenly property.💀 When PM sees that none of the other officials are able to break their fight he himself descends to the arena to put a stop as the fight has dragged for too long and it's no longer an entertainment but an actual serious situation. He initially (as you all know) gives them his charming smile and chides them like he's talking to little kids but than MQ passes a comment and FX reacts and they start all over again and this time when PM actually steps to bodily intervene he also accidentally becomes a victim of a spiritual ball (its hilarious to imagine PM's handsome face getting covered with soot and his hair in disray). Now PM actually loses his calm and actually smacks the two of them on their head(FX and MQ both are tired +PM is stronger when he actually gets serious). MQ and FX finally fall down because of exhaustion and sporting similar bumps on their head.(You know like the Shinchan scene where Mitsi hits Harry and Shinchan and they grow bumps on their head😂) something like this 👇

Finally the fight comes to a stop and other heavenly officials start weeping (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) and thanking General Ming Guang for saving the heavens from destruction .MQ and FX had to be admitted to the medical pavilion. The next day another meeting is held and Jun wu although exasperated actually finds it amusing to see the two Southern Gods bandaged from head to toe. The one holding their reigns is PM and he also sports a bandage or two on his face 👀 (PM is sulking). JW actually comments on that huhu and PM actually glares at the two and they shiver like two younger brothers who are disciplined by their older brother.(I have mentioned in my earlier post also about how I like PM to have that annoying big brother energy🤭). Ling Wen is on the other side of JW nursing eyebags and a headache because she had to stay awake all night calculating all the damages the Southern Gods had done to the heavenly property including injuring other heavenly officials.

So yah this is the first and many other fights yet to witness in the heavens. But at least the other heavenly officials learnt their lesson about how to stay feets away from General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen during a fight and never to intervene if they value their lives.😁

(Just my head Canon 😆)

[hualianff]

Modern Uni AU. Boyfriends Hualian. XL rooms with MQ and FX while HC somehow snagged one of the few single rooms in the upperclassmen building.

Hualian find out very soon that they can’t study in HC’s room because they’ll just end up making out on HC’s bed for hours. XL will try so hard to keep them on track, literally turning away as he studies on HC’s bed while HC is banished to remain at his desk. 

HC manages to get some work done before sneaking his way over to XL, who currently lays on his front, typing up notes. HC covers his boyfriend’s body with his own, pinning XL down with the weight of a sack of potatoes. 

“San Lang, do your homework,” XL sighs, unaffected by the extra body on top of him. HC merely buries his nose in the crook of XL’s neck. 

“Bleh.”

HC then pretends to snore.

XL pauses his typing, and says, “You’re not being a very good study partner right now.”

“I can be a different kind of partner, just say the word,” HC cheekily answers. 

XL sighs. Gathering his strength and utilizing the element of surprise, XL flips them over so he sits in HC’s lap. 

“San Lang, you’re being too greedy. We’ve barely even worked an hour,” XL says seriously, borderline scolding his boyfriend. HC is undeterred. 

“I am simply lobbying for a higher wage,” HC remarks, sliding his hands up XL’s sides, teasing the edge of his sweater. “Three kisses per hour of work just isn’t enough to sustain me.”

XL raises an unimpressed eyebrow. Without breaking eye-contact, he reaches behind him to fling off his notebook and somehow place his laptop on HC’s desk. 

“How about four-“

“Let’s go for time, Gege,” HC suggests with a sparkle in his eye. 

“What?”

“Hm, it’s easier to keep track that way. Let’s say, ten minutes of kisses per hour of work,” HC says.

“Five.”

“Eight.”

“San Lang.”

“…Nine.”

“That’s not how bargaining works,” XL frowns, flicking HC’s forehead. HC just laughs, sitting up so he can skim his lips along his lover’s neck.

“It is when kisses are at stake. Come on, Gege, please? Just a few?” HC begs, pressing light kisses along the column of XL’s throat. “I promise we’ll get more work done after.”

Liar, XL thinks. But he doesn’t turn his head away as HC mouths his way up along XL’s jaw, then his cheek, kissing until he reaches the corner of XL’s mouth. 

Without saying anything else, XL concedes by capturing his boyfriend’s lips in a tender kiss, melting against HC’s body. 

HC smirks triumphantly against XL’s lips. Using one hand to cup XL’s nape, he quickly unlocks the watch on XL’s wrist and sets the timer to ten minutes. Without wasting another second, HC leans back on the bed and yanks XL down with him, bodies flush together as they lose themselves in fervent kisses. 

Mysteriously, the timer never goes off. 

It’s only when XL’s phone goes off, MQ asking if XL is coming down with them for dinner, do HC and XL pull apart with enough rationale to think. 

Oh my god, XL thinks. I’ve been bamboozled!

HC, the sly fox he is, instantly sits up with a bright smile. Because XL is too stunned to speak, HC sneaks in yet another “innocent” kiss. 

“Gege, it’s dinner time. Let’s go!”

“I- give me ten minutes,” XL says in a strained voice. HC tilts his head in question, then notices the obvious bulge in his boyfriend’s pants. 

“Well look who decided to join us today~”

XL chucks a pillow at his boyfriend’s head with a glare.

The turn of events has HC going down to the dining hall with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face while XL calms himself down. Which was kind of difficult to do since he’s surrounded by HC’s scent…

When XL finally joins the group, FX and MQ immediately fire off their questions.

“What took you so long!?”

“Why are you so red?”

XL coughs, then takes his seat beside HC, who wears a satisfied smirk. 

One look at the pair and Fengqing know not to ask any further questions. 

***

w/ @no-one-says-hi