Who knew a Caustic Critic would fall in love with the protagonist of a stallion novel that he read?
All spoilers are unmarked.
General
- The fact that all of the other characters seem to see the relationship between Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe as romantic before the two even get together, spawning works like The Resentment of Chunshan.
- Under the System's restrictions, Shen Qingqiu initially can't act out how he pleases around Luo Binghe from taking care of him to even praising the protagonists abilities.
- If it's Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe always gets turned on if he hits him or pokes at him, even going so far as to tell him it's okay if his shizun hits him to vent his feelings.
- Even while they were still master and disciple, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe worked incredibly well together, easily able to convey what they wanted to do next with a look, or know what attack the other person will use.
- Luo Binghe acting like a doting housewife as he cooks Shen Qingqiu's meals and sticks close to his shizun whenever he can.
- Anytime a scene occurs where Luo Binge is near one of his original harem girls, Shen Qingqiu happily fanboys and steps back hoping Luo Binghe will fall for one of them. Shen Qingqiu fails to realize how Luo Binghe only shows his shizun any attention and how a lot of the original harem plots are suddenly placed onto him.
- While he considered himself straight, Shen Yuan was a fan of Luo Binghe long before he transmigrated and was angered that the protagonist got such a sad ending to his story which was nothing but misery and endless sex.
- The opening and ending songs have romantic undertones to them, especially when the ending song is basically "The Resentment of Chunshan" renamed.
- The fact that after he returns from the Abyss, Luo Binghe never refers to other men who teach him as his Shizun as he considers that title only for Shen Qingqiu.
- Even before they get together, Shen Qingqiu constantly spoiled Luo Binghe and the other does the same.
Main Story
Pre-Time Skip
- Shen Qingqiu saving Luo Binghe from his bullies and later on finding the other's jade pendant. In the donghua it illustrates the two's connection with Luo Binghe holding one of the leaves Shen Qingqiu used in his palm while it parallels with Shen Qingqiu holding Luo Binghe's jade pendant.
- After Shen Qingqiu allows Luo Binghe to ride in his carriage and treats him as kindly as he's allowed to under the System's watch, Luo Binghe is left in a daze afterwards when he recalls this memory and doesn't even hear Ning Yingying calling out to him.
- As the three are kidnapped by the Skinner demon, Shen Qingqiu is left only in his inner robes, and it slips enough that his left shoulder is exposed. Luo Binghe actually tries to sneak a glance a couple of times which Shen Qingqiu calls him out for internally.
- Shen Qingqiu hesitating to pat Luo Binghe's head in fear of the System docking points off for being too OOC. However he's allowed to follow through with this action and this in turn allows Luo Binghe to later show his shizun more affection such as hugging him.
- Shen Qingqiu gifts Luo Binghe with the proper manual and tells him to study properly, and when he leaves, Luo Binghe happily hugs the book close as he whispers it was a gift his shizun gave to him.
- Luo Binghe getting absolutely blood thirsty towards the demon with the No Cure Poison, and threatens to kill him if he doesn't give him the antidote for his Shizun.
- After the battle with the demons Shen Qingqiu wakes up to see Luo Binghe caring for him and he offers to feed his shizun a bowl of congee. While Shen Qingqiu asks him to set it on the table so he can eat it himself, once he praises how delicious his student's cooking was, Luo Binge's face practically lights up. In the donghua he even shown to be staring happily at his shizun while he eats. When Luo Binghe tells Shen Qingqiu he'll bring him new dishes everyday, Shen Qingqiu internally cringes and says to himself, "Don't say the same lines as you do to your harem."
- During a scene where Luo Binghe was supposed to accidentally drag Ning Ying Ying into his dreams Shen Qingqiu ends up being the one dragged in instead. He asks the System whether or not it's a bug and is genuinely confused at why he's part of this story line when he originally wasn't.
- As Shen Qingqiu is forced to make the Abyss plot happen and pushes Luo Binghe into the abyss, the donghua shows Luo Binghe still reaching out for Shen Qingqiu even as he falls.
- Shen Qingqiu only receives his points a week after this incident happened because Luo Binghe was waiting below in the Abyss, hoping his shizun would tell him he made a mistake and come and rescue him.
- Everyone making note of Shen Qingqiu's depression since Luo Binghe's fall into the Abyss with many even likening it to him "losing his soul". When he hears this he's less than pleased at the gossip. Shen Qingqiu even made a gravestone for Luo Binghe with the remains of Zheng Yang.
- Anytime Shen Qingqiu runs into Gongyi Xiao, all he can think about is how much the boy reminds him of Luo Binghe, but obviously not as great as his former disciple once was.
- The fact that the author himself, Shang Qinghua quickly picks up on Shen Qingqiu's feelings towards Luo Binghe going off of all of his odd behavior towards the protagonist. Shen Qingqiu can't do anything to deflect the claims besides covering his ears and pretending he can't hear the other as each of his analytical remarks hit home.Shang Qinghua: You... do you really have a bit of a tendency towards being a trembling M?
- As he attends a meeting, Ming Fan and Ning Yingying stand at either side of his seat, and his brain suddenly thinks, "If Luo Binghe were still here, he would be the only one standing behind my chair." When he catches himself, he mentally tries to wave bye-bye to that thought about the protagonist.
- Luo Binghe catching his shizun and pinning him to the wall, all while reciting romantic poetry under the moonlight.Luo Binghe: Separated for many years, yet upon meeting each other under the golden evening wind and amongst the pure white early morning dew... Shizun only calls other people's names. This disciple is a little sad.
- Luo Binghe force-feeding Shen Qingqiu his demon blood, meaning he can track him anywhere and literally destroy his insides with the lift of a finger. Shen Qingqiu then recalls Luo Binghe using his blood parasites in the original novel as a sex tool.
- As Luo Binghe chases Shen Qingqiu and pins him to the a wall by his throat once he sees the disease on Shen Qingqiu's hand, his expression softens as he uses his blood to remove the disease.
- Qi Qingqi as she attempts to object to the unfair accusations thrown at Shen Qingqiu, she almost brings up how depressed he was over Luo Binghe's supposed death and how long he had mourned for his disciple. Shen Qingqiu immediately coughs loudly to get her to stop because he couldn't bear hearing how he looked like he had "lost his soul", but the words seem to shock Luo Binghe as he listens intently.
- The Water Prison. Shen Qingqiu is tied up in an Immortal Binding Cable and Luo Binghe demands to know why his shizun pushed him down into the Abyss with the either unable to give him a proper answer. As his temper flares the System offers a scenario pusher which Shen Qingqiu takes. This leads to Luo Binghe to grab and accidentally tear Shen Qingqiu's robes, exposing his shoulders and chest. Both parties are stunned and Luo Binghe tosses his outer robe onto Shen Qingqiu who is confused by this gesture and tries to give it back. Luo Binghe then angrily vents his feelings out by punching the walls of the prison and leaving in a huff. Shen Qingqiu even likens Luo Binghe giving him his robe as a girl being rescued by her boyfriend as he drapes his coat over her. He even shows his quiet disdain towards the Palace Mistress who attempted to hurt Shen Qingqiu with her whip but stops her and even crushes her weapon in his hand before coldly telling her to get out.
- Gongyi Xiao later comes to give Shen Qingqiu a letter and once he sees the state of his robes and the red marks on his skin, he seems to come to the conclusion Luo Binghe is taking advantage of his former shizun since he even stated no one else but him is allowed to enter the Water Prison. This leads to him agreeing to sneak Shen Qingqiu out, although Shen Qingqiu feels the boy has the wrong idea.
- After returning from the Abyss, Luo Binghe makes it a habit to sneak behind his Shizun and speak closely to his ear.
- Once he puts Shen Qingqiu under an illusion, Luo Binghe plays around with him in a game of cat and mouse, even making Shen Qingqiu fall into his chest multiple times and hugging him. Shen Qingqiu then recalls when he taught a younger Luo Binghe how to do his form properly. The personal lessons soon lead to Luo Binghe "accidentally" tripping so he kept falling into his shizun's arms. It's only after Shen Qingqiu scolds him for this does he finally stop.
- As Luo Binghe notices Gongyi Xiao's outer robes on Shen Qingqiu, he immediately tries to tear it off to Shen Qingqiu's growing confusion.Luo Binghe: When I see Shizun wear this robe, my heart become ten time unhappier. It's better to take it all off. (...) Shizun, what are you thinking? (coldly) If it's Gongyi Xiao, I advise Shizun stop thinking about him.
Shen Qingqiu: ...What is it about Gongyi Xiao? - The reason Luo Binghe joined Huan Hua Palace was because he thought if he joined the most righteous sect to be like his shizun, Shen Qingqiu wouldn't be angry at him anymore.
- As Luo Binghe slowly succumbs to Xin Mo's influence he tells his Shizun "During those three years in that enldess abyss, all I did was spend eery moment, every second, thinking about Shizun."
- Shen Qingqiu's last words to Luo Binghe before self-destructing his golden core was for Luo Binghe to not let his heart be swallowed up by Xin Mo. After catching his shizun's now lifeless body Luo Binghe slowly breaks down into tears, even brushing off some blood from Shen Qingqiu's face as he cradles him.Luo Binghe: I didn't want to kill you. Shizun, I really...
Post-Time Skip
- The fact that there are rumors of Luo Binghe trying to come onto his Shizun when he was still a disciple, which was why Shen Qingqiu turned him away. Shen Qingqiu has to keep himself from physically slamming his head onto the table in outrage and confusion.
- When Sha Hualing ponders about taking disciples from Qing Jing peak, she's unable to go through with it because Luo Binghe made it clear no one on Qing Jing Peak, nor the peak itself will be harmed in anyway. It's likely the reason he made this order was because he knew his shizun would not want anything to befall Qing Jing peak, so he let it be.
- Luo Binghe refusing to give up Shen Qingqiu's corpse to Liu Qingge for years, staying at his shizun's body everyday and mourning his loss.
- During one of Luo Binghe's moments where he once more accidentally drags Shen Qingqiu into his dreams, he wonders if he's finally allowed to have something nice in his dream as he comes up to Shen Qingqiu and attempts to kiss him. Shen Qingqiu then pushes him away, leaving Luo Binghe to pout and ask if he wasn't even allowed to do it in his dreams. He later on tells Shen Qingqiu that he knew that his Shizun wasn't a part of his dream and what he saw were his true feelings for Shen Qingqiu.
- Luo Binghe's plan to bait Shen Qingqiu to reveal himself by claiming he will attack the Cang Qiong sec. Once Shen Qingqiu appears to stop the fight between Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge, Luo Binghe grabs his wrist and refuses to let go. Whenever Shen Qingqiu tries to calm him throughout the exchange, Luo Binghe quickly clams down in his presence and obeys his shizun.
- Liu Qingge telling Shen Qingqiu not give himself over, but words it as if Shen Qingqiu was going to give his chastity over to Luo Binghe.
- Even though Shen Qingqiu coldly tells Luo Binghe he doesn't want to see him at all if he can do that, Luo Binghe still cooks Shen Qingqiu's foods as his staff tells him they weren't allowed to tell who made his meals, but he can tell by the taste who cooked it.
- In his new quarters, Luo Binghe tells his shizun he can't hold back anymore and attempts to kiss him once more. The two end up rolling all over the room with Shen Qingqiu drawing a reforged Xiu Ya to Luo Binghe's throat before the other tears his clothes.
- Although it was so they wouldn't get caught by the monsters outside, Shen Qingqiu is covered by Luo Binghe and has to hold him close to avoid the creature's hands and even has to cover his glowing demon mark with his mouth. He realizes it looks like he's kissing Binghe's forehead, but he denies it since his hands were already occupied. He then accidentally touches Binghe's sky pillar thinking it was Xin Mo.
- Later on after Luo Binghe regains consciousness and realizes that Shen Qingqiu was trying to protect him, he gets overjoyed, apologizes for ever doubting his shizun, and starts noticeably getting hard.Shen Qingqiu: (internally) Hello sky pillar! Good-bye sky pillar!
- Resentment of Chunshan, which is literally just fanfiction of Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe's relationship. It became so popular in the demon and human realm long before Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe actually get together that even Tianlang-Jun knows about it and asks Shen Qingqiu if it was true.
- Tianlang-Jun attempting to play matchmaker between Zhuzhi-Lang and Shen Qingqiu. Zhuzhi-Lang brushes it off and says his feelings for Shen Qingqiu are absolutely nothing like Luo Binghe's, which only leaves Shen Qingqiu more baffled.
- Shen Qingqiu waking up in his tent and thinking Luo Binghe came to him in his dream. Before he could talk, Luo Binghe immediately throws himself at Shen Qingqiu and kisses him. It takes him a few moments to shove Luo Binghe off and discipline him so he could talk.
- Luo Binghe waking up and fearing his shizun had left his side, but once he notices the Qin Si roots growing on his shizun's skin, he realizes that Shen Qingqiu was pushing him away to protect him and immediately apologizes for doubting him.
- Under Xin Mo's influence Luo Binghe forces himself on Shen Qingqiu, but Shen Qingqiu refuses to fight back knowing it wouldn't help the situation. Afterwards Shen Qingqiu does his best in comforting Luo Binghe and assuring him that he will remain by his side and not leave him again.
- As Shen Qingqiu tells Luo Binghe his plan to disperse Xin Mo's energy and stop the two worlds from colliding and hopefully keeping Luo Binghe alive, Luo Binghe tells his Shizun that if he plans on dying again, he'll join him because he doesn't see how life is worth living without him. After succeeding in their goal, Liu Qingge finds the pair drifting down a river. Once they were retrieved, they apparently were holding on so tightly to one another it was near impossible to tear them apart.
- Shen Qingqiu wakes up after all that happened and his first question was to ask where Luo Binghe was.
Extras
- Shen Qingqiu actually likes to tease Luo Binghe and get him to beg for affection, so when he doesn't and listens to his words he immediately gets bummed.
- Shen Qingqiu allows Luo Binghe to sleep next to him in his bed. This unfortunately causes the teen to leave in the middle of the night to douse himself in a cold spring. He then gets flustered when Shen Qingqiu chases after him and begs him to stay away. It doesn't take much to figure out what exactly Luo Binghe is trying to hide.
- When Luo Binghe qi deviates and is stuck in the body of a child, Shen Qingqiu carries him up to Qi Jing Peak. Rumors start flying immediately starting from the stair sweep, to the disciples, to Liu Qingge believing Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe were able to sire a child together.
- Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu come across a couple getting married and it sticks to Luo Binghe so much that he's lost in his thoughts for a few days before he stumbles and finally asks Shen Qingqiu to marry him.
- Luo Binghe gathering his best generals and Sha Qinghua for a conference... on how he can woo his shizun who doesn't seem to be accepting his other advances.
- After waking up from a dream of Luo Binghe watching over his corpse for years, Luo Binghe worriedly leaning over him, he asks if his shizun was alright. Shen Qingqiu responds by kissing Luo Binghe on the lips and initiating more intimate contact. Luo Binghe is confused and asks again if something was wrong.Shen Qingqiu: Tonight... I just really like you.
- The Luo Binghe from the original canon accidentally transports himself into the main story's changed timeline and becomes not only jealous but possessive of this Shen Qingqiu. It almost escalates into him forcing Shen Qingqiu into having sex with him before his Luo Binghe returns. Once Bingge sees Bingmei and Shen Qingqiu as a couple, he takes Xin Mo and leaves the two.
