Yao Shen watches Heimao's path across the house in amusement, as he walks past them all, with his tail swinging high in the air. He returns moments later wearing a pair of boxer briefs, with another in his hand which he throws at Jincan's face.
"Those are mine," Xin Hulei says, stating the obvious.
Heimao ignores him and takes a seat on the sofa, crossing his legs and inspecting his long nails. "You must have questions."
Yao Shen can't help it and lets out a snort.
Heimao's eyelashes flicker upwards, his red eyes flashing. He smiles warmly, and pats the spot next to him on the sofa. "Sit here, I want to curl up on your lap."
Amused, Yao Shen is about to do as he says, just to see the look on Xin Hulei's face, when an arm shoots out and stops him.
"Stay where you are," Xin Hulei says, his own dark gazed fixed on Heimao's smirking lips.
Yao Shen doesn't move, his heart fluttering a little at the subtle show of possessiveness. Something to add to his spreadsheet, perhaps.
Now dressed in the pair of boxers, Jincan clears his throat. "Is Master still going to kick out Jincan?"
With a sigh, Xin Hulei rubs his temples. "Sit down."
Jincan does as he's told and dashes towards the couch, sitting down next to Heimao, his hands folded nervously over his joined knees.
"How long have you two had human forms?"
Jincan glances at Heimao as if looking for guidance, but Heimao just continues to inspect his nails distractedly.
Swallowing dryly, Jincan admits, "A couple of years."
That's a lot more than Yao Shen expected, but when he looks up at Xin Hulei's eyes to gauge his reaction, he doesn't look particularly surprised.
Jincan must think he's in big trouble though, because he hurries to add, "It was Heimao's idea! The day I finally cultivated a human form I was really happy and wanted to tell Master, but Heimao said Master would get rid of me because I could now fend for myself in the human world."
His clear eyes fill up with tears at the mere thought, and Yao Shen is almost moved by the pitiful display. Despite his terrible temper, and literal prickly attitude in animal form, Jincan's human form is very endearing. He's the polar opposite of the spiky caterpillar Yao Shen met.
Jincan's eyes are subtly upturned and filled with feeling, his golden hair falls in fluffy waves around his smooth features, making him look even more charming. His pouty pink lips tremble with barely restrained emotion.
Some people would work tirelessly to cultivate an appearance of such seductive innocence, and yet -- Yao Shen nips that thought in the bud -- that's exactly what Jincan did, too!
Who's to say his current appearance isn't the result of a carefully calculated effort to become Xin Hulei's ideal type?
Yao Shen is self-aware enough to know Xin Hulei has a thing for starry-eyed ingenues, although it pains him to refer to himself as such.
Just like that, all his compassion for Jincan evaporates.
"Do you always do as Heimao says?" Xin Hulei asks, his tone stern.
Jincan lowers his head. "Yes."
Heimao laughs, and runs his fingers through his messy black hair, disheveling it even more. "What can I say? I'm a natural leader." He winks at Yao Shen, as if he expects him to agree.
There's a roguish charm to Heimao's human features. As if he's in on a joke that no one else is smart enough to understand. He's handsome in a dangerous way, his red eyes promise as much pleasure as they do pain.
Yao Shen is intrigued by his demeanor. It's as if he carefully observed Xin Hulei to mimic his icy good looks, but decided to add his own twist to Xin Hulei's bad boy appeal by being an asshole about it.
Any moment now, Yao Shen expects him to start blowing kisses at him and calling him 'little beauty', and other slightly objectifying pet names.
He misses the cuddly cat who snuggled up to him in bed.
"I was never going to kick any of you out just because you have human forms," Xin Hulei says. "I'm considering it now."
Jincan lets out a strangled moan. "Please Master, Jincan will do anything!" His lower lip starts trembling harder. He shoots Yao Shen a vicious glare. "Jincan can do everything he does, except much better."
Yao Shen takes offence to that. He's about to put Jincan in his place but Xin Hulei pulls him to his side, wrapping a possessive hand around his hip. "You don't need to do anything. We've been friends for centuries of course I'd let the two of you stay."
Jincan's gratitude seems to hit the wall of his rage at seeing Xin Hulei's grip on Yao Shen's hip.
This is turning out to be very amusing for Yao Shen.
He turns to Heimao, who is also giving the two of them annoyed looks. Yao Shen feels like a parent disciplining unruly children.
"Why did you message me on weibo?"
Heimao shrugs, his lean muscles rippling. "That was Jincan's idea."
Jincan shoots him a glare, before turning his pleading eyes up at Xin Hulei. "Jincan just wanted Master to notice him, so he thought if Master saw the homewrecker having inappropriate conversations with someone else, he would finally realize he wasn't good enough."
Heimao nods. "And I would pick up the pieces," he says, winking at Yao Shen.
"That plan would never have worked," Yao Shen says, smug. "I don't talk with fan accounts."
Unbothered, Heimao shrugs. "We had others."
There's something to be said about their sheer determination, although Yao Shen doesn't think it's anything good.
"I'm going to make things very clear," Xin Hulei says, his dark gaze fixed on Jincan's golden eyes. "I don't have any feelings for you, nor will I ever. I appreciate your friendship, and feel responsible for you, for all the centuries you spent as a creature who needed my care to survive, but that is all."
Jincan gasps, his eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.
But Xin Hulei is not done. "I can no more love you as a human than I could when you were a caterpillar who could fit in the palm of my hand."
Without another word, Jincan jumps out of the sofa and runs to the guest bedroom, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang.
Heimao hisses at Xin Hulei, his large black ears going flat against his head. "Did you have to be such an asshole about it? His prickly exterior hides a very soft inside, runny almost."
He gets up to follow after Jincan, shaking his head as if he can't believe Xin Hulei. He stops at the door, listening in. He turns to Yao Shen and points a finger at Xin Hulei.
"Little beauty, I would be careful if I were you. Don't think he won't make you cry too."
Heimao disappears inside the guest bedroom, Yao Shen can't decide if his words are a warning or a threat.
---
It doesn't look like either Jincan or Heimao are planning on leaving the guest bedroom any time soon, and eventually Xin Hulei just pulls Yao Shen with him towards the kitchen.
"What do you want to eat?"
He says, "don't say 'anything is good'", at the same time Yao Shen says, "anything is good."
"But it's true!" Yao Shen lets himself slump against one of the counters and crosses his arms over his chest. "Everything you cook is delicious."
Xin Hulei's lips twitch, as if he wants to smile but is resisting the impulse. "You haven't told me what your favorite food is."
"Maybe my favorite food will be whatever you cook for me next."
This time, Xin Hulei loses the battle and his lips curl up in an indulgent smile. His arms come around Yao Shen's hips, boxing him in against the counter.
"Little menace, you test my patience, did you know that?" he asks, whispering the words against Yao Shen's neck.
Yao Shen is momentarily distracted by how much he prefers being called 'little menace', instead of 'little beauty'. With his thoughts enveloped in in a rose-tinted haze, brought upon by Xin Hulei's sultry voice, his words only register belatedly.
"How do I test your patience?"
"You're running hot and cold," Xin Hulei says, bringing their bodies closer, fitting one knee between Yao Shen's legs and bullying them apart. "It's driving me insane."
Yao Shen wants to defend himself, but then he remembers his enthusiasm when they first got into bed, followed by the distance brought by the revelations of his role in Xin Hulei's past.
It makes sense that Xin Hulei would feel like Yao Shen was toying with him, playing hard to get.
"Maybe I want to take things slowly," Yao Shen says, since he can't truly explain himself.
Xin Hulei brings his knee higher, and Yao Shen chokes on his own saliva.
"Maybe I'm tired of waiting," Xin Hulei says, and captures Yao Shen's lips in a hungry kiss.