Thread by @bingjiuwus

(dubcon/noncon elements) Modern dogblood romance #liujiu where fuerdai Liu Qingge is drugged at a party and somehow ends up in bed with Shen Jiu, whom LQG despises because he's always used underhanded tactics working for his employer, the Qiu Corporation.

Anyway, LQG wakes up the morning after and is horrified to see how mauled and hurt SJ looks, and both out of shame towards his own behaviour and a need to do right by the other man (cameras caught them leaving the hotel looking a hot mess ofc) LQG offers to marry SJ...

Thinking the man will refuse and he'll have to pay him a settlement instead... but to his surprise, SJ agrees and quits his job before they have a quick impromptu wedding.

Even though LQG doesn't expect much from his new husband, SJ accumulates surprisingly well to staying home full time. He learns to cook and do handy things around the house, and now that he's no longer working for the competition LQG discovers his charms more and more 🤭

He eventually falls for SJ for real, and they become intimate again, only this time LQG is determined to be a gentleman 😤

He even introduces SJ to the family and they all love him. They even start trying for a baby, and LQG is happier than he ever thought possible.

Only, one day at a family party, one of his relatives come to him with footage regarding the original incident where he got drugged. LQG doesn't understand what's going on until he sees footage of SJ talking to the person who roofied LQG's drink and was arrested for it;

just some scheming asshole who must have confused him with one of the countless beautiful women at the party, right?

Unfortunately the camera footage basically tracks SJ going from the hotel bar to following a drunken LQG, even pulling the man into his own hotel suite.

and LQG realises to his horror his husband instigated the whole incident.

And why not?

SJ had been notorious as a snake when he worked for the Qius, so why should this have been any different?

And look at how his life had changed since he quit and married LQG.

Even though their wedding had been modest, LQG had always treated him well, gave SJ the control of his finances and bought him real estate to manage and expensive cars and jewellery just because he could.

Honestly, he had been surprised at how few assets (and belongings) SJ brought to their marriage but hadn't thought too much about it because he was just grateful the man wasn't pressing charges instead.

His beautiful husband in silk blouses and a diamond bracelet on his wrist was a far cry from the pale, green-eyed vulture in a suit who had tormented the corporate world and the Liu family company particularly for years.

So how could LQG have been so naive he was hoodwinked by something as small as SJ bringing lunch to him at work, thinking he's changed?

A horrified and enraged LQG confronts SJ right then and there with all the Liu family present 😱 SJ dismisses the accusation at first, but when LQG points out the video evidence tying him to the original suspect, SJ grows pale and stops trying to defend himself.

A heartbroken LQG finally asks SJ if he did this on QJL's behalf, and when his husband can't look him in the eye LQG knows their marriage was just a sham to begin with. SJ must have slept with him to destroy LQG's reputation (how did the paparazzi get to the hotel so early?),

but decided he would rather have LQG's money than QJL's favour and agreed to marry him. It worked out for him too, since soon after he left the Qiu Corp went under and QJL arrested for embezzling corporate funds.

SJ runs out of the party, and though LQG's family wants to press charges, for the sake of their relationship LQG is willing to let go so long as he and SJ divorce quietly and SJ gives back his marital assets.

He returns home that night to discover nothing touched or taken, not even SJ's car or bank accounts. LQG realises SJ has run away, but is so betrayed still he doesn't care anymore.

Months pass though and LQG is finally able to acknowledge how much he misses SJ and his love, even with his betrayal. Their home is so empty without him, and LQG can't help but be reminded of how excited they were when they finally decided to try for a baby.

SJ even painted the nursery himself...

When search investigations still can't find SJ though, LQG is desperate for answers. He knows his husband was a cruel and heartless man, but it's so hard to reconcile the corporate assassin with the bratty tsundere LQG fell in love with.

He does something insane, and somehow arranges to get in a visit in prison to the original suspect of the drugging for info about SJ in exchange for money when the man is released.

Much to his surprise the suspect confesses easily enough; he admits to drugging LQG and SJ knowing about it, as they both worked for the Qius, but the incident was planned by QJL to have LQG be sexually assaulted and his reputation dragged through the mud by paparazzi after,

as he's always despised the Lius and LQG's high and mighty attitude in particular.

The suspect says SJ derailed the plan by following LQG and taking him to his own room, where he must have either instigated or accepted drunken LQG's advances willingly, ironically saving him from a brutal assault.

The suspect gives up this information willingly because he's furious about QJL not protecting him during the trial, letting him be railroaded to protect his own skin, but a numb LQG just walks out.

He just doesn't know what to think anymore.

Can he hate SJ anymore? Can he still pretend loving him was ok? The man still worked with the Qius, knew about the plot and might have let it unfold if he hadn't decided to play the game for himself and come out the victor.

And yet...

LQG had given SJ more.than enough rope and financial freedom to embezzle funds and steal corporate secrets, but SJ never had. He spent money on himself, yes, but no more than anyone else, and his tastes always leaned towards taking care of LQG anyway.

He doesn't understand. If SJ just wanted to protect him back then, why not just give the cops an anonymous tip? Why sleep with LQG, not knowing if he'd be like an asshole like other rich guys and just throw a was of cash at him after?

Why get married for a lifetime of riches, only to run away without taking a single cent?

LQG doesn't know anymore. And he can't find SJ to ask him those questions either.

Years pass, and despite it all LQG is unable to try looking for love again; he still has all of SJ's things

in the house, the nursery left untouched as well.

After seeing how LQG has grown quiet and withdrawn over the years, Mingyan encourages him to do something new to break out of his rut, and LQG, realising he will probably be like this until he does, agrees to moving

to a branch location of the company for a couple of years to clear his head.

Much to his family's bemusement though, he chooses a poor, rural province far from high society and the posh circles his family runs in; he just wants peace and quiet while he's there.

LQG doesn't expect much in his new place but to work and wilt away in an apartment instead of a grand villa. He walks the streets of the city he's living in now, and even though it's not THAT rural he sees how poor it is in comparison to where he's from.

He even sees a small boy in clearly secondhand clothes staring wide-eyed at a toy shop one day, and feeling charitable, gives the boy money and tells him to buy what he wants. The boy is suspicious at first, but when he sees LQG is the real deal he accepts gratefully

and buys a brand new toy that makes him beam.

LQG waits with the boy while they wait for his mama to come back from grocery shopping, and as they chat LQG can't help but be fond of the boy.

Even though he's poor he's bubbly and cheerful and lively... and it's stupid, but if LQG had a son, he imagines it would look just like the boy.

"Mama's here!" the boy says and runs off in excitement to the person who's just approached. LQG looks up, ready to introduce himself to a sweet middle-aged woman, only for his face to drain as he sees SJ again, only five years older and looking wan and thin in secondhand clothes.

SJ is equally horrified as he stares at LQG,.only his son babbling in excitement over how the kind uncle bought him the toy!

And it's been five years since they last saw each other...

LQG realises the boy must be HIS son, and before SJ can try to run again he begs just to talk to him again. A reluctant SJ agrees and LQG takes him and their son to a local restaurant.

Far from the polished beauty SJ once was, he now looks pale and tired and his grocery bag clearly only has rice and veggies and a bag of pork bones in it.

LQG offers to pay for their meal, and his heart stings when he sees their son getting excited over a whole plate of dumplings all to himself. Meanwhile, SJ doesn't order anything.

LQG asks SJ why he left so suddenly, and SJ says the Lius would have had him arrested otherwise.

Not to mention he was pregnant when LQG confronted him, and the shock of not knowing what would happen to his baby as a result made him run without leaving a trace.

As a result SJ and his son have been living in this poor, rural city ever since. SJ gets by, but neither he nor his son have priper identities and SJ is petrified of what'll happen now, as his son is finally old enough for school.

LQG tells him about the conversation he had with the suspect years ago, and SJ confirms it, much to LQG's despair. SJ confesses he'd always been quietly infatuated with LQG because he was the counter opposite of QJL even though they were both fuerdai, but knew they could never

get along because SJ worked for QJL. He was afraid of calling the cops because QJL always bribed them, but admits he could have let LQG sleep off the drug in his room instead of what happened. SJ wanted a kiss because he knew LQG would never give him the time of day otherwise,

and when a drunken LQG began to grope him, SJ let it happen because he knew it was the only way the man would ever want to touch him, even if it hurt after.

SJ agreed to marry LQG after because he knew QJL would have it out for him, and soon after they got married, leaked Qiu corporate secrets to the press and interested government officials so they'd realise QJL was cooking the books.

Ironically, that SJ had beem so poor at the start of their marriage was a good thing, because it turned out QJL had always paid him like shot and he had no assets to seize anyway when the Qius went under.

Knowing their marriage had started from a place of deceit, SJ vowed to protect LQG from now on and never betray him, and a heartbroken LQG remembers how his husband always looked after his health and ensured he could never be cheated, whether in business or personal finances.

The real estate SJ managed always made a healthy profit and his books were immaculate. Far from the golddigger some people thought he was in the beginning, SJ became a trusted member of the family and even LQG's grandparents loved him.

It was just...

Could their many years of happiness outweigh the scheme in which they'd gotten together in the first place? Could LQG forgive SJ for keeping the truth from him, knowing he would have never told him unless confronted?

Could he forgive him for breaking his heart, and for showing him how beautiful life could be with your beloved by your side?

Honestly, LQG doesn't know.

SJ begs LQG to take care of their son from now on, and LQG realises the man thinks he's going to turn him in.

And legally speaking, that might be the right thing to do.

But SJ is all their son knows, and the boy adores him. LQG doesn't know if he can tear them apart, much less break someone else's heart.

And truthfully speaking, ever since SJ admitted held always admired and crushed on LQG from afar, even when they had publicly hated each other, his heart began to soften again.

It hadn't been fake. His husband's love for him hadn't been fake.

Unable to make a decision, LQG asks their son if SJ ever told him about his other parent, expecting SJ to have kept it a secret.

Surprisingly, their son can go on for hours about the sire he's never met, including his personality quirks and favourite food and that "he's more handsome than Going Jun". LQG realises their son is talking about him and is moved despite himself.

He wants to hate SJ and can't. He wants to forgive him whole-heartedly, and he can't do that either. His husband deceived him, but he never cheated LQG after, and raised their son to think the world of him.

It's just...

Where do they go from now on?

LQG asks SJ if he regrets anything, and after a long pause, SJ says he regrets leaving without apologising. He's always known LQG was too good for him, but those were the happiest years of his life and he wanted to believe he deserved said happiness, even if it came from a lie.

SJ made LQG happy then, too.

LQG knows that if he separates father and son, all three of them will be miserable. LQG won't be made any happier by justice being served, SJ will probably spend the rest of his life in prison, and their son will hate LQG for as long as he lives.

It's a situation his simple heart was never made for - but then, nothing about life and love is simple. And after seeing SJ and their son interact LQG can admit he still wants SJ and a life with him, even with the complexity and turmoil he's brought into his life.

Truly, no one has ever made him feel like this before.

(And no one else will, after.)

LQG is not yet ready to give into everything yet. But he tells SJ he won't tell anyone about him or their son, much to the man's relief.

He tells SJ about why he's in the city, that he'll be staying a few years. SJ reveals he works in a restaurant near LQG's office, and tentatively agrees when LQG asks if he can visit sometimes. Their son asks if he can see LQG again too, and LQG smiles and nods.

So there's that.

It's not the perfect beginning not ending, but afterward the three of them take a walk. LQG is unable to stop himself from buying the family a kilo of fresh meat to take home and SJ mumbling an embarrassed thanks, unable to look him right in the eye.

So cute. Just like before.

LQG goes home alone that night, for once he finds himself sleeping easily. He visits SJ's restaurant for lunch the day after, and gets to see the man in an apron when he serves him food.

(He even lays everything out on the table just like LQG likes.)

It's not much. But as LQG spends more time in the city he sees SJ and their son more and more, until they start spending whole days together by sheer coincidence.

One of these days, LQG knows, is going to end with him unable to stop kissing SJ senseless until the man pleads him to stop, or like he used to do, goad LQG into keep going.

One of these days.

Their new life, their new routine is nowhere as idyllic and perfect as their marriage during its best days. They're both older and work out now, and they know the truth about each other, and what they'll have to do if they want to be around each other again.

But... it feels honest. Truthful, and sincere. Like SJ is no longer hiding anything from LQG, like he's seeing his true self for the first time in years.

Perhaps it's only a matter of time before they draw together or pull eternally apart. LQG certainly doesn't know the future.

But he does know he and h are finally standing on level ground with each other, seeing each other.

And he's good with that.

END

(liujiu will get together again eventually with their bab, but it's definitely a slow burn reconciliation! This is definitely the best boy version of LQG, look at how sweet and innocent he is in comparison to divorce or yan LQG 🥺 thanks for reading!)

Worn out now*

Apologies for the many typos ugh, wrote this on mobile 😔