#notthatiwilleverwriteit

Hey, it's weird how two headcanon asks landed in my inbox the other day 😅. Sadly I don't happen to have anything new to boast about. Pretty much everything has been voiced before, and quite a few of my Qiucheng headcanons coincide with those illustrated by @ginmayo ​, especially the parts that concern He Cheng’s guilt over He Tian. So for your ask, I had to pour over my old discarded drafts. As a forewarning, these are all pretty episodic and do not line up into a backstory of their meeting or anything of the sort, so please take it as random scenes

1. I’d like to think that Qiu has had some mercenary or military practice in the past. In reality, he’s a trained killer who knows how to handle a gun much better than how to handle social interactions. It doesn't hinder him though: he gets the job done and that's the only thing that matters in their line of business.

2. It’s his silent professionalism that draws He Cheng’s attention. Qiu doesn’t ask extra questions and doesn’t seem to be eager to earn brownie points with his higher-ups. He’s stiff-lipped and efficient when it comes to “taking out the trash”. Peculiarly, he takes no twisted pleasure in the wetwork.

3. He quickly rises through the ranks to become He Cheng’s bodyguard. It is then when their interactions become more personal and more awkward, too.He Cheng is not a talkative person by any means, yet the silence that hangs when the two of them are alone wears him down. In a way, he’s used to people keeping to themselves, just as he’s used to the empty small talks the socialites indulge in at the fancy parties. Being in this line of business, he's learned to read others well enough. His underlings would mask their subservience with silence. Always watching him from afar, always eager to suck up. The rich and powerful engaged in the empty chit-chat the way an experienced player engages in a game of cards – study the opponent, and you might win this round. And yet with Qiu his instincts fall flat. He cannot get a read on him at all. Qiu stands there, as vigilant and as imposing as a marble statue; his face blank and devoid of any emotion, intentions sealed between the lines on his brow. Suddenly, He Cheng hears himself speak up.

4. Qiu is astoundingly brusque and right to the point. There isn’t an ounce of social pleasantries in him. It’s rude. It’s refreshing. He Cheng isn’t sure what to make of it yet. The conversations between them go like a game of ping-pong: short questions and brief answers. Oddly enough, He Cheng feels like he can talk about anything with Qiu and still get that unsentimental honesty in response.

5. As a bodyguard Qiu proves himself to be reliable and capable of independent thought. It pleases He Cheng enough to make him lower his perpetual guard. Sometimes he catches his lips spilling the words unprompted. It’s gratifying in its own way, to be able to share his thoughts with someone without having to think about subordination or having his ass kissed. It feels safe. Perhaps, he thinks, it’s supposed to feel like that with a man to whom he entrusted his life.

6. And perhaps this is why He Cheng allows himself to show some weakness too. The melancholy is a rare guest, yet it occasionally visits, bringing along the old scars and haunting memories alike. It’s then when he can stay silent and drink his bourbon, without having to worry about maintaining his face. The reputation. The propriety. He knows the other man has enough tact not to prod him or attempt to play a spirit healer. He's not the couch type anyway.

7. Qiu thinks He Cheng to be a bit of a superhuman. Otherwise, how can one explain his staying sober after drinking what seems to be the twentieth shot? Throw a match at him and he’ll go up in flames, no doubt. Pure bourbon is coursing through his veins.

8. The man’s ability to withstand pain is unparalleled too. Come to think of it, Qiu hasn’t seen him take painkillers even once. Not even when his clavicle was broken and bleeding, and a bullet was biting into his flesh. For all his money, the man refuses to get proper treatment. It’s an odd creed, and Qiu could swear He Cheng enjoys pain. Not quite in a twisted way, but it's close enough to make him believe it's the man's way of repenting for something. There's is too much of self-punishment in it and not enough of self-preservation. 

AHH THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!! And thank you so much for the years of support and following me on this art journey!! And you are totally right! Drawing my ocs really helped me! I am so happy this is visible!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! I hope you are alright and well during this crazy year!!

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“Well that’s fuckin’ morbid.”

Guan Shan frowns, scrolling past the censored pictures. The article is long, detailing the brutal murder of a local woman — and, somehow, he thinks this isn’t what He Tian had in mind when he’d asked Guan Shan to read out loud.

Exhaling, Guan Shan shifts on the bed, the sheets warm from their close proximity.

“Well, anyway. Would you rather hear about the crashing stock market or the new noodle restaurant that’s about to open downtown?” he asks, a little disdainfully.

But there’s no answer. Curious, he glances up from his phone.

He Tian is asleep. His black hair is splayed across the pillow; his bare shoulder exposed from where the blanket had slipped. There’s a blankness to his face, as unreadable as it is even when he’s awake, and Guan Shan smirks.

Reaching over, Guan Shan clicks off the night lamp. He Tian doesn’t need it for tonight. If he could fall asleep to a murder story, then his dreams will be as sweet as they can possibly get. Maybe.

Slipping down the bed, Guan Shan sinks into the mattress beside him. The warmth of He Tian’s rhythmic breathing disturbs the tips of his hair. He reaches up to brush a few black strands from He Tian’s eyelashes before wrapping an arm around the warm, bare skin of his torso. Beyond the windows, the city murmurs with night life.

You are not the only one to have wondered that, notthatiwilleverwriteit-san. That very thing you mentioned bewilders me quite a bit as well -- it’s a REALLY good question. The matter of family is essential to a number of mafia cells across the globe, even more so within the given cultural context.

I don’t think HC could refuse the succession and remain on good terms with their father. While we have been shown no actual interaction between HC and Mr He, judging by the way he urges He Tian to keep in touch with their father, I’d venture to say that there isn’t any bad blood between them -- which probably would have been there, had he truly refused to continue the legacy. 

And it’s really hard to say whether He family actually runs in mafia circles. All we know is that they seem to be really rich. The only person who has been shown to have ties with criminal business is He Cheng himself, but he’s working for Mr Jian, meaning that we cannot be sure whether everyone in He family is involved with the criminal activities. Mr He could be running a business that isn’t illegal per se but is somewhat complementary to the shady dealings -- a weapon dealer maybe, or a politician with connections. 

It could be that the Jian family and the He’s are allied, either through shared business or interest or by blood. And no, I don’t mean the Mr Jian = Mr He theory. Perhaps there was some marriage of convenience involved at some point. Or perhaps Mr Jian is Mr He’s underling or vice versa -- we don’t know who’s the boss.

One thing for sure though: Mr He doesn’t seem to be living in China. If he’s the head of some international criminal network, then I suppose it’s not improbable for him to appoint his son to work for a local Chinese cell maybe? Also, perhaps there is some kind of non-material debt involved between the He family and the Jian family (smth related to family honour perhaps, or the goodwill of a family), and thus He Cheng has to repay it by working for Mr Jian? I don’t know.