Work Text:
Liu Qingge was heading towards Qing Jing Peak upon the ‘urgent’ request of Shen Qingqiu, and he made a straight beeline towards Shen Qingqiu’s personal room. Not many people were aware of this information, but the two Peak Lords were romantically involved with each other.
They loved each other, but they knew how to keep their love life separate from their duties as Peak Lords. So aside from a few secret trysts, it was business as usual.
Knowing that he was urgently needed, he rushed to Qing Jing Peak, worried that something had happened.
As he approached, he could hear the quiet sounds of someone crying, and a gentle voice attempting to soothe whoever it was that was crying. Liu Qingge knew the soothing voice well enough to know that it belonged to his beloved Shixiong. Who was the other person, crying?
As he usually did, Liu Qingge lifted his leg, about to kick down the ornate door, when Ming Fan called out to him in a hurry. “Liu-Shishu—! Please… don’t… kick the door down. Open it quietly… and slowly…” Ming Fan whispered quietly, nervously eying the door.
Whatever it was, Ming Fan seemed afraid of disturbing what was behind the door. Who was with Shen Qingqiu? How scary could they be if they were crying? Liu Qingge slid the door open without knocking on the door, or feeling nervous at all.
He was THE Bai Zhan Peak Lord, he was afraid of nothing!—Except for Shen Qingqiu hating him. He was afraid of that.
Inside the room sat Shen Qingqiu, basking in the sunlight while holding something close to his chest, with a gentle smile on his face. Liu Qingge couldn’t see what it was, because it was swaddled with a large blanket.
“You’re here.”
Once Shen Qingqiu realized that Liu Qingge arrived, he greeted the other Peak Lord with a bright, excited smile. The sunlight that illuminated him from the window shining light down onto his back made him look like a heavenly being.
It was moments like this that Liu Qingge wondered if he was truly romantically involved with Shen Qingqiu or not. It always seemed too good to be true.
“Come, sit down and take a look.” Shen Qingqiu invited him to sit next to him so he could see what he was holding in his arms. He could see that the mysterious thing was moving inside of the blanket burrito.
Shen Qingqiu waited for Liu Qingge to sit down before her angled the bundle in his arms so Liu Qingge could see the face of a baby girl with wet, red eyes. She’d just finished crying, so her eyes were a bit swollen.
It’s a BABY.
Shen Qingqiu was holding a B-A-B-Y.
Liu Qingge instantly retreated to his thoughts:
“Father, where do babies come from?” A young child asked this dreaded question to his father. They’d recently welcomed his younger sister into the family, and he wanted to know where babies came from.
Could he get a younger brother next? That way, they could spare with each other.
“Ask your mother.” The older gentleman wanted to avoid the situation by pawning it off onto his wife.
“She told me to ask you.”
“Ahem… babies are made when two people love each other very much and they wish for a baby.”
That’s not right. He grew up surrounded by males, so the topic of how babies were truly made didn’t allude him. He knew what was involved in making a baby from his Shixiongs on Bai Zhan peak prior to becoming the Bai Zhan Peak Lord.
“Liu-Shidi, don’t you think she looks a bit like you?” Shen Qingqiu tried to nudge a reaction out of Liu Qingge, somewhat nervous by his lack of a reaction to the infant. He cradled the baby in his arms, gently petting her hair with his hand, poking her chubby cheek with this thumb.
There, a birthmark was situated right under her right eye. It was oppositely placed from where Liu Qingge had his own, underneath his left eye.
Unable to contain his excitement, Shen Qingqiu was practically shinning, his rosy cheeks matching the flush on the baby’s. He had such a gentle expression on his face when he lovingly gazed at the baby in his arms.
He looked like… a mother so utterly smitten with her own child.
Shen Qingqiu had requested that Liu Qingge visit Qing Jing Peak as soon as possible, and he’s being asked if he thinks the baby looks like him… could this be--?
Is Liu Qingge a father?
Shen Qingqiu was still waiting for Liu Qingge to give him an answer, but what he didn’t know was that his question had Liu Qingge questioning his common knowledge. Was it possible for two men to make a baby together?
Maybe all you needed was to love each other and wish for a baby like his father said?
“What… what is that?” He slowly asked this question of Shen Qingqiu, who angled his body away from Liu Qingge in response.
That’s no way to speak about a baby.
The System gave him a side quest, telling him to take care of the baby until her mother came back for her (who knows when that would be) and he’ll receive a promising reward in return.
“Don’t refer to her like that. She’s (now) my daughter.” Shen Qingqiu held the baby protectively in his arms, as if he was trying to shield her from Liu Qingge’s skeptical staring. He had experience in holding infants from his previous life on Earth because he used to hold his baby sister all the time, so holding this baby wasn’t anything new to him.
In fact, this came to him naturally!
Memories of his baby sister came to mind every time he looked at the baby’s face, and the memories would evoke a strong emotion from deep inside his heart. Recalling the love he had for his baby sister caused him to exude a strong ‘maternal aura’.
Liu Qingge didn’t know what to think. This baby… was Shen Qingqiu’s daughter? How long has it been since he’d last seen his Shixiong? A month? Was it possible to give birth so soon?
Did men give birth to babies quicker than women could? Moreover, how--- did Shen Qingqiu get pregnant? Who’s the father? Was it…him?
Was it because of that time… when he kissed Shen Qingqiu goodbye before he left to return to Bai Zhan Peak? Did he impregnate Shen Qingqiu then? WITH A KISS?
No, it couldn’t be that simple? Men shouldn’t be able to get pregnant.
His chest felt tight, and it wasn’t until he realized he stopped breathing that he took a deep breath, to fill his lungs with air. “Why… did Shen-Shixiong call me to Qing Jing Peak?” Are you going to tell him that he fathered this baby girl without knowing it?
Are you going to complain that he wasn’t around for the birth?
No no, if he gave birth, he’d wouldn’t be full of this much energy, would he?
Was this the difference between regular humans and immortal cultivators?
“That…” Shen Qingqiu felt his cheeks flush a darker shade, like the color of the sunset. “Won’t you raise her too, as your daughter?” Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge had a romantic relationship, and if he adopted a child… naturally Liu Qingge should be the other parental figure in her life.
They had to share the pains and the gains in life.
As in, do you know how hard it is to take care of a baby? He’s not going to parent this baby on his own, so he needs someone to help him! He can’t trust anyone else to watch over and protect this baby aside from Liu Qingge.
He had a younger sister, so he shouldn’t be clueless when it comes to handling baby girls. Let him use your experience, Shidi!
“A father… me?” That is to say, are you telling him that he’s the father? Couldn’t Shixiong give him a warning in advance? How could anyone expect him to wrap his mind around being a FATHER so suddenly?
Shen Qingqiu took this to mean that Liu Qingge was smitten with her cuteness like he was! Both were older brothers, and speaking from personal experience… younger sisters are the cutest! It’s no surprise that Liu Qingge would be charmed by the cute baby girl. “Yes, won’t you father this baby with me? I think you’d make an excellent father.” Shen Qingqiu leaned in closer so Liu Qingge could get a good look at the baby again.
She had long lashes and a familiar beauty mark underneath her eye. The rosiness on her cheeks matched the one on Shen Qingqiu’s cheeks.
The Qing Jing Peak Lord rested his head on Liu Qingge’s shoulder, snuggling up to him, amping up the persuasive charm!
If you think he’s going to take care of this baby for a side mission on his own, you’re dead wrong! Come on, Shidi! Reliable Liu-Juju! Don’t leave him hanging! He could feel that Liu Qingge was close to cracking!
He only had to lead him on just a little bit more… and…--
“I’ll do it.” Liu Qingge answered solemnly. He had to take responsibility as a father to help raise this child with his Shixiong. He would have to explain this to Zhangmen-Shixiong, however.
How does one walk up to the Sect Leader and say: “I love Shen-Shixiong and I impregnated him with my daughter” and not expect to get murdered on the spot?
In contrast to Liu Qingge’s grave emotions, Shen Qingqiu felt pleased and excited. Liu Qingge had experience dealing with young children (even if it’s only his sister), so that was always helpful to have. Not only that, who else is the best protector to have than the Bai Zhan Peak Lord?
He’s straight-laced and devoted. There was no doubt in Shen Qingqiu’s mind that Liu Qingge would make an excellent father.
Liu Qingge stared at the sleeping baby, covering one of Shen Qingqiu’s hands with his own.
“Why didn’t you tell me…? When did you give birth?”
… HA?
Excuse me?
“Shidi, wha—” “I asked, when did you give birth?”
Mu QingFang, come take your Liu-Shixiong and teach him about sex education!
No… wait! This is a world in a novel…so… could it be…?
‘If Airplane bro added an M-preg tag to the novel, I’ll have him transcribe the novel on parchment paper and I’ll eat the book raw!’
As a man who transmigrated into this world from Earth, it was hard to wrap his mind around the concept of ‘M-preg.’ He didn’t even want to think about the possibility of getting pregnant, much less giving birth!
“Liu-Shidi… this Shixiong hasn’t given birth to a baby. I found her this morning during an early morning stroll because I had trouble falling asleep.” It’s not a lie to say that because the System was blaring warning sounds in his mind, telling him to wake up and walk into the bamboo forest. There, he’ll find a ‘surprise’ waiting for him.
Lo and behold, he found a baby! The bamboo forest normally was a bit dark as the bamboo shoots would cast shadows everywhere, but somehow, the morning light, managed to squeeze through the shoots to cast a ray of sunshine on the baby.
That is certainly one way to make sure Shen Qingqiu didn’t overlook the important baby for the side quest.
Liu Qingge replayed the fact that Shen Qingqiu never gave birth to a baby in his head. There was a big sigh of relief there, but also… a sense of disappointment? Like… he wanted to have a family with Shen Qingqiu?
‘Even if you only agreed to it because you thought I gave birth to her, I’m still holding you to it, Liu-Juju.’
Shen Qingqiu was preparing for Liu Qingge to retract his decision to help raise the baby, but instead, he felt an arm slide behind his back to pull him in closer into Liu Qingge’s chest. “She has your complexion.”
What a cute coincidence, wasn’t it?
If you didn’t know any better, this baby truly could be their daughter. “Hm…her hair color is the same as yours.”
With Shen Qingqiu cuddled up against Liu Qingge, and head resting on his shoulder, Liu Qingge rested his cheek on top of Shen Qingqiu’s head.
It was nice… sitting together like this, with a baby in between them. After exhausting her energy with crying, she’d fallen asleep, like a little angel. There was a strong domestic vibe going on at the moment, and Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but feel his heart beating wildly as he was secretly swooning over this development.
Let’s not forget the fact that because he was so close to Liu Qingge, he could feel the hastened heartbeat of the illustrious Bai Zhan Peak Lord!
“Does she have a name?”
Since he knew that her mother would come looking for her in the future, Shen Qingqiu didn’t know if he wanted to give her a name because it would make it that much harder for him to give her up later.
“No, not yet… I found her basking in the morning sun, so… maybe Xiaohui?” Shen Qingqiu offered the first name that he thought of, yawning right afterwards.
Maybe it’s because Liu Qingge is here to take over, he suddenly felt sleepy.
“Xiaohui… it’s a good name. Sleep. I’ll take over.” Liu Qingge gingerly took the sleeping baby from Shen Qingqiu’s arms and carefully cradled her in his arms, like he remembered holding Mingyan when she was an infant.
All things considered, he trusted Liu Qingge, but he didn’t know if he fully trusted him to care for Xiaohui.
This was the man who just asked earlier if he’d given birth, after all.
Still, a short nap can’t hurt… right? “Wake me… when she does.” Shen Qingqiu settled himself into Liu Qingge’s hold and fell asleep rather quickly.
“Mn.”
Now it was only the Bai Zhan Peak Lord who was awake, with a sleeping baby in his arm, and his sleeping lover snuggled up against him.
No, he didn’t mind sitting there in silence, as two people slept. His patience was as steady as a rock. His gaze would switch off between Xiaohui and his Shixiong.
This was a great contrast with how he normally spent his days (ie fighting), but peaceful moments like this were appreciated.
He waited until he was sure Shen Qingqiu was deep asleep before he pressed his lips against Shen Qingqiu’s forehead. No, he wasn’t bold enough to do so while Shen Qingqiu was awake.
Of course, he gave Xiaohui a kiss on the forehead as well, it’s only fair.
A family, it had a nice ring to it.