platonic!bingjiu
shen jiu burned down the qiu manor and was taken in by a small brothel. he practiced some cultivation under the guidance of a lovely woman who learned from some regular customers. shen jiu is convinced that qi-ge was dead, he didn't allow himself to think that qi-ge had somehow forgotten him. but, he loved working there once he grew up. he helped with security, was able to learn about literature, and best of all, he was safe.
the brothel had a working relationship with a few washer women that were nearby. part of sj's job was dropping off and picking up the laundry which made him familiar with the washer women. so, seeing a new baby in the hip of the very young, very previously not pregnant washer woman, sj was shocked. but, it was none of his business. he'd continue as though he'd never seen it.
unfortunately, sj had never been good at letting things go. sj ensured the woman had food for herself and the baby who seemed to grow at the speed of light. soon enough, the baby was a toddler who was very attached to his jiu-ge, always trailing after him when he visits.
soon enough, lbh was eight. a cultivator noticed that he had potential and proposed for him to enter cqm.
lbh did not want to go, he preferred to stay with his family. something ugly twisted in sj's gut when he heard this. the washerwoman was clearly hoping that sj would convince lbh to change his mind. lbh, so bright and full of life and potential, and so so stupid. sj considered letting him ruin his future. the kid would always be happy. poor, struggling, borderline starving but happy. he glanced at the washer woman, she'd grown thinner and looked nearly green. she was skipping meals in favor of lbh eating more. despite sj's help, it wasn't enough. so, against his initial thoughts, sj pushes for him to go. he says how the three of them would exchange letters. this has lbh looking at him like he hung the stars. it's not surprising that, lbh had begged sj to exchange letters since sj and his mother taught him to write.
so, lbh left. he would be able to send two letters once a month, one to his mother and one to sj. sj rolled his eyes and scoffed at each letter but, though sj would never let anyone know, he kept each one carefully in a secret drawer. sj always sent a brief response. he didn't particularly care for those stuck up hypocritical cultivators but it seemed lbh was being treated well enough. as lbh's first home visit began to approach, he kept mentioning mentioning one particular teacher, joking about bringing him home.
nothing could have prepared sj, for seeing lbh returned, hand in hand with one of his teachers. sj was not prepared to be faced with qi-ge, a man sj had lost, had mourned, standing perfectly healthy in front of him
