beefleaf / canon compliant / 8.7k words / completed.
After the Mid-Autumn festival, He Xuan lets slip a thing or two about his mortal life in Fu Gu, where he wasn’t just a scholar. Shi Qingxuan is (in)appropriately delighted by this.
“Come on,” Shi Qingxuan wheedles, fan falling away from her face, “you didn’t tell me you knew things like this! Does this fall under Earth Master jurisdiction, or something?”
“Of course it doesn’t,” He Xuan scoffs. “Why would it?”
“Then it has to be from your mortal life!” she crows triumphantly. She leans all the way in, their faces just inches from each other. He Xuan’s dead heart is suddenly in his throat. “Tell me, Ming-xiong! Were you involved with plays and theater when you were a mortal? Is that why you can tell all of that is evidently not up to standard?”
“It’s sloppy is what it is,” He Xuan says, and immediately regrets it. Shi Qingxuan’s grin is not dissimilar to the one his fiancé had worn when she discovered He Xuan had a deft hand with makeup, both functional and theatrical.
I am BEYOND delighted to finally share my entry for the Beefleaf Minibang 2026, hosted by @beefleafweek2025! featuring: makeup sessions where He Xuan Really Doesn’t Want To Be Here (liar voice), musings on the nature of gender and its fluidity, and what was Scholar He like with his fiancée and sister, anyway? Find out in this stupidly self-indulgent fic ✨
I have been incredibly lucky to be able to work with @shagandaishi and @kintsu-tai for this event! Please give their accompanying art for this fic here and here some love; they are so indescribably glorious, I’m PUNCHING AIR IN JOY. Thank you, Momo and Tai, for being such delights to work with!
And: I’d like to dedicate this fic to my lovely friend @demon-xuan! Not only because this concept was first invented with you rambling into my inbox, but because I’ve had such a blast, and been so comforted, since getting to know you. You are (1) crazy (2) wonderful, hence, you get Beefleaf fic that I desperately wanted to yell at you about but refrained from doing so since we. Both ended up in the event as writers. HELP. Love you 💖
Without further ado: the fic! Please enjoy! Comments, kudos, and reblogs very much appreciated ✨
Upon a Breeze at the End of the World - SpiderGoddess16 - 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tian Guan Ci Fu | Heaven Official's Blessing - Moxiang Tongxiu [Archive of Our Own]
For all the Shi Qingxuan enjoyers out there! :p
Aaahhh thank you so much!!! I have beefleaf for you first, and I'll be posting the qiurong separately <3
beefleaf: 8. Shielding the other with their body
Prompt List
Read on AO3
He Xuan had a headache.
She’d had a headache for half an hour now, and judging by the volume of the music, the dull throbbing wouldn’t be going away anytime soon. Annoyed, she took another swig of whatever cheap drink that had been mixed for her and swallowed it down with barely a wince, her eyes sweeping over the poorly lit room in search of the culprit who’d dragged her here in the first place.
If He Xuan was going to have a headache for the rest of the night, then she at least wanted Shi Qingxuan to feel a little guilty about it.
The room was too dark for He Xuan to clearly see her target, but she knew instinctively that none of the people grinding against each other in the middle of the impromptu dance floor were her. Shi Qingxuan didn’t like to dance so intimately with strangers. She always preferred to make a spectacle all on her own at parties like these, swaying about to a song with far too much bass like a leaf carried to and fro in a crisp wind.
At least, that’s how things went whenever He Xuan was present, and she was always present, mostly because Shi Qingxuan demanded her to be.
Shi Qingxuan had more friends than any one person should have. Hell, she probably even knew whose house this was, but He Xuan could barely be bothered to remember the name of her lab partners, let alone the host of yet another college party. She only tagged along because Shi Qingxuan had asked her to, and saying no to Shi Qingxuan was almost impossible once the flighty little brat had gotten an idea in her head.
He Xuan scowled and took another drink, almost wishing she’d made more of an effort to stay home tonight. Especially if Shi Qingxuan wasn’t even going to spend time with her. What had been the point of dragging her out of their shared dorm if Shi Qingxuan planned to fucking ditch her after one drink?
No, He Xuan decided abruptly. Shi Qingxuan wasn’t going to get away with this shit.
With a huff, He Xuan strode into the throng of people, elbowing her way through couples and drunk idiots until she made it to the hallway on the other side of the living room. She thought this way led to the kitchen, where she vaguely remembered Shi Qingxuan disappearing to after she’d downed her first drink.
Just what the hell was taking her so damn long in the kitchen? It didn’t take fucking forever to mix alcohol, especially if she just dumped random shit into a cup like usual! Knowing Shi Qingxuan, she probably got distracted yapping to some clueless bystander about who-the-fuck-knows-what and forgot that she’d left He Xuan alone in the loud as fuck living room with a developing headache and a drink that was too fucking strong to taste even remotely good.
The more He Xuan walked away from the irritating thump-thump-thump of the music, the better she felt. Only a little because she was still stuck at this shitty party with this shitty drink and an even shittier so-called best friend who’d abandoned her like the only cool breeze on a summer’s day, but at least the pressure of her headache had begun to lift.
He Xuan passed by a few doors on her way to the kitchen, all closed and quiet. She considered ducking into one for a moment of silence, but she didn’t want to risk opening a door and finding it more occupied than she would like. Slipping into a random room to make out at a party was one of Shi Qingxuan’s favorite pastimes, and she always made it a game to keep as quiet as possible so none of the other party guests knew what she was up to.
A game she usually lost. He Xuan would know, after all. She was always the one Shi Qingxuan dragged into those quiet rooms with her, and she was excellent at staying quiet, much to Shi Qingxuan’s dismay.
He Xuan kept walking until she reached the hallway’s natural end and her unfortunate destination. Already, she could feel her headache beginning to return. The kitchen sounded almost as bad as the living room, all incoherent conversations and clanging glass as people made one unpalatable drink after another. She paused, trying to decide how much Shi Qingxuan was worth walking into that noisy kitchen for, when the woman herself appeared as if she’d been summoned by He Xuan’s approach alone.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right back!” Shi Qingxuan called dismissively over her shoulder, her nose wrinkled in annoyance. Good, at least He Xuan wasn’t the only one having a bad night.
Still, Shi Qingxuan looked like a vision even with her pretty face sporting an irritated scowl. For tonight’s shitty party, she’d put on a teal blouse with billowing sleeves and an open collar to give a tasteful tease of cleavage. She’d tucked the shirt into her favorite white skinny jeans, making her waist look slim and grabbable, and He Xuan hated how her hands itched to reach out and do just that. To test how easily her fingers would wrap around that small waist, how it would feel to squeeze knowing that nobody else at the party was allowed to.
As soon as those dazzling green eyes landed on her, Shi Qingxuan’s whole demeanor brightened. Her shoulders sagged in relief, and she beamed as she effortlessly closed the distance between them far too quickly with the size of her heels. The moment she was within reach, Shi Qingxuan took the cup out of He Xuan’s hands and set it down carelessly onto the floor for some poor soul to trip on.
“I was drinking that,” He Xuan scolded, quietly relieved to be free from whatever foul-tasting drink Shi Qingxuan had mixed for her over an hour ago. She’d much rather have her hands free for food, even if this party’s offerings had been slim so far. Who the fuck hosted a party and didn’t order at least somejunk food? This jackass host, apparently.
“Not anymore!” Shi Qingxuan bounced back in front of her, and He Xuan took great care to keep her eyes from drifting down.
Thankfully she did because she had a front row seat to watch Shi Qingxuan put on her best seduction face, one that He Xuan was intimately familiar with. Her eyes grew molten beneath fluttering eyelids, and she playfully tucked the corner of her lower lip between pearly white teeth as she coyly swayed in place. “Say, He-jie, don’t you owe me a favor?”
“No.”
“No?” Shi Qingxuan repeated with a slow blink of those big eyes of hers. One of her hands rose up to catch a strand from He Xuan’s high ponytail, which she wound around her pale finger with a slow indulgence that made He Xuan’s heart give an annoying flutter in her chest.
Shi Qingxuan always did shit like this. She flirted and begged and pouted those full lips of hers, and then she always asked for something. She’d dragged He Xuan out of the house, hadn’t she? Wasn’t that enough for one night?
“No,” He Xuan confirmed with a glare, determined to stand her ground this time. Whatever the fuck Shi Qingxuan wanted, she could go get it from somebody else.
“Not even if it’s a little favor? Just a small one?” Shi Qingxuan tilted her head as she leaned in close enough for He Xuan to feel the heat of her breath as it fanned over her cheeks. She smelled vaguely of something sweet and floral, likely the remnants of whatever drink she’d mixed for herself on a whim, but her gaze remained startlingly sober.
“Not even,” He Xuan confirmed with a confident smirk, certain she would have Shi Qingxuan pleading and pouting next. She always looked so cute when she puckered her lips and whined He Xuan’s nickname like her favorite song.
Instead, Shi Qingxuan heaved a dramatic sigh. Her shoulders slumped in dismay, and she stepped back, slowly unwinding He Xuan’s hair from around her pale fingers. Her mouth twisted into a disappointed frown as she cast her eyes to the side, the perfect image of utter defeat.
And He Xuan hated every moment of it. The fuck?! This victory tasted even worse than her shitty drink had! She swallowed the urge to immediately ask what Shi Qingxuan needed and instead stood her ground.
This had to be a new tactic of hers. Next, Shi Qingxuan would probably act all sad and expect He Xuan to give in just to make her smile! Well, it wasn’t happening! He Xuan didn’t always need to give in to her stupid whims!
“Okay, He-jie,” Shi Qingxuan relented with another sigh. Her gaze flickered back up to He Xuan momentarily before lowering again, fixing on her hands as she fiddled with the golden leaf pendant that dangled around her neck. “I guess I’ll just have to ask somebody else to make out with me.”
He Xuan’s hand shot out unbidden to grab Shi Qingxuan’s arm before she could turn away. “What.”
“That’s the favor I need,” said Shi Qingxuan, a subtle whine building in her voice as she glanced back in the direction of the kitchen. “There’s this guy that won’t leave me alone! So I thought if he saw me kissing you, he might get the hint and go away.”
“That’s where you’ve been?” He Xuan demanded as her blood simmered with a sudden, irrational rage. “Some bastard wouldn’t quit bothering you?”
Shi Qingxuan peered up at her, doe eyes glittering triumphantly, but she still kept up her little act as if she wanted to see how much more it would take for He Xuan to crack completely. “He wouldn’t believe me when I told him I was here with someone! He even brushed my arm! Can you believe that?”
He Xuan’s hand moved instantly, palm dragging over Shi Qingxuan’s arm so possessively that it would have been embarrassing if not for the way it made Shi Qingxuan’s eyes gleam. “And you think making out with me will convince him to leave you alone?”
“Yeah,” said Shi Qingxuan with a flippant shrug. She raised her hand, and her perfect, manicured nails grazed He Xuan’s cheek, slow and indulgent. “If I saw the person I was just flirting with kissing the prettiest girl at the party, I’d certainly be waving the white flag.”
He Xuan scoffed, but she still drew Shi Qingxuan closer, one hand wrapped around that fantastic waist of hers while the other abandoned her arm in favor of cradling her jaw. “Resorting to flattery already. He must be annoying.”
Shi Qingxuan giggled, airy and pleased. “Annoying doesn’t even begin to describe him, He-jie! But there’s also another reason.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m tipsy, and I really wanna be kissing the prettiest girl at the party right now.”
He Xuan barely let her finish before she reversed their positions, eagerly pressing Shi Qingxuan into the wall and into a mind-numbing kiss. Her lips tasted of wine, He Xuan could now recognize. Light and fruity and saccharine, and He Xuan was so, so hungry. How could she resist delving in for a sample of that decadent flavor? The way Shi Qingxuan hummed in delight only sweetened the kiss, and soon He Xuan found herself wrapped up in the familiar ebb and flow that was kissing Shi Qingxuan, her headache long forgotten in this bubble of quiet familiarity.
They weren’t dating—at least, not officially—but He Xuan knew exactly how Shi Qingxuan liked to be kissed. How to angle her jaw in a way that made her sigh. How long she could push her before Shi Qingxuan needed to gasp for air. How easily she could create constellations of goosebumps on her throat with just a few well-placed kisses.
“He-jie,” Shi Qingxuan complained, deprived, and pulled her back in for another lengthy kiss. He Xuan felt like the tide, drawn back to the shore that was Shi Qingxuan time and time again. Why would she not double her efforts to make them both drown?
It wasn’t long before they gained a small audience. The jackasss who’d been bothering Shi Qingxuan, probably. He made some kind of offended noise at their display, and He Xuan reluctantly pulled away to level him with her most devastating glare, both for his interruption and for keeping Shi Qingxuan from her all evening.
“Scram,” she hissed, her tone a warning that she almost hoped he wouldn’t heed.
“The fuck—!?” The man’s expression twisted, a healthy level of fear mixing with drunken stupidity that resulted in a dangerous cocktail. While Shi Qingxuan had been hoping that he would just back off once he realized she wasn’t interested, He Xuan knew better than to expect such a clean resolution.
And she’d been right to keep her eye on him. He barely even gave it a second to think before he hurled his drink at them, some bright red concoction that would certainly ruin Shi Qingxuan’s pristine white jeans. Instinctively, He Xuan moved to shield her, letting the majority of the lukewarm drink sink into her black tank top and jeans. Without looking closely, nobody would be able to tell that a drink had been thrown at her, but that didn’t stop He Xuan from narrowing her eyes and taking a thundering step toward the guy.
“Oh shit!” the bastard exclaimed, pale and terrified. He scrambled back a few feet, tripped over He Xuan’s forgotten drink, and then booked it for the kitchen.
“Fucking bitch,” He Xuan rumbled as she set out to follow him. Nobody threw a drink at Shi Qingxuan and got away with it. Not on her fucking watch. She needed to acquaint her fist with his face, and she wasn’t leaving until she had.
Then a dainty hand caught her wrist, effectively putting a stop to her impulsive pursuit. A gentle voice called her name so sweetly that she was helpless to resist, and she drew back her anger with a deep, trembling breath. Her fury hadn’t abated, but she still turned to Shi Qingxuan to hear whatever pathetic excuse she would use in order to preserve that man’s worthless face.
Shi Qingxuan thankfully hadn’t been splashed by the drink, still pristine aside from her smeared her lip gloss. She looked a little dazed from the kissing, but something else shone in those infuriatingly wonderful eyes of hers. Appreciation and, if He Xuan chose to read into it, adoration.
“He-jie, don’t worry about him! Let’s get you home so you can get cleaned up!”
He Xuan huffed. She would have rather kicked that guy’s ass before they left, but she still hadn’t figured out how to say no to Shi Qingxuan. And how could she learn now, when Shi Qingxuan kept looking at her like she hung the fucking stars? He Xuan’s stomach gave a hungry lurch, and she hastily turned her head to hide the color that had begun to spread across her cheeks.
“Fine. This party sucks, anyways.”
“Oh, I know, doesn’t it?” Shi Qingxuan casually caressed the bare skin of He Xuan’s arm, her fingertips searching for any lingering drops of that bastard’s drink before she looped their arms together. “If I’d known they weren’t going to have any snacks, I wouldn’t have even suggested coming! And that guy back there? Ugh! Maybe you’ll give him nightmares. I know I’ll be dreaming of you after that! Ahahaha! You’re really something when you get pissed like that!”
“Hm.” He Xuan let herself be dragged through the living room and out the front door. Cool, autumn air hit her cheeks, a welcome reprieve after so much unnecessary noise even if it also made her shiver in her sticky, soaked clothes. Parties like this one were exhausting and not worth her time, but she’d rather go than deal with Shi Qingxuan’s disappointed whining.
“You were like a hero in there! Hahaha, is it bad that I like seeing you get all angry and intimidating for my sake? You really know how to make a girl feel special, He-jie! Ooohhh, I know! How about I order takeout while you’re getting cleaned up? Then we can cuddle on the couch and watch a bad movie. Wasn’t there a shark movie or something you wanted to watch?”
“Hm,” said He Xuan again, the only answer that Shi Qingxuan needed to resume her incessant yapping.
“That’s what I thought! And then maybe once the movie gets really bad and you get all pissed off about the ocean-related inaccuracies, we could make out some more?”
He Xuan glanced over to watch Shi Qingxuan wiggle her eyebrows suggestively, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Spoiled. Insatiable.”
Shi Qingxuan laughed, loud enough that the breeze caught the sound of it and carried the echo far into the night. “Maybe I am!” she agreed with an easy shrug of her shoulders and an even easier smile. “But that wasn’t a no, was it?”
vicious deep sea creature hx… wide milky eyes….. mouth full of needle-thin teeth, rows and rows… skin bordering on transparent, fingers webbed and nails sharp, unearthly glow a beacon to lost mermaids like sqx…
elegant little sqx, speckled with greens and yellows all over her shining white scales, losing her way in the deep after an argument with her brother. controlling and angry, he had tried to tighten the leash, tried to force sqx into staying inside in solitude like an obedient little heir. instead she had swum away, dived deep into the chasms she'd been told never to approach.
now she swims frantically in the pitch black - confused, fearful, unable to see the light of the sun. there’s a glow in the distance - milky-white, a spot in the dark. sqx does not know which way is up, but surely light is a sign - surely if not the sun, at least it could be civilisation.
the closer she gets, the brighter the light is. the source is huge - three times her body length. it’s a figure that glows, the largest creature she’s seen. hair pitch black, milky eyes with long lashes, wide-set ribs point and prominent. they’re hungry.
“are you lost?” they call, alluring. their mouth opens wider than it should, displaying rows of teeth. sqx is enthralled. she wants to reach her hand out and touch them, no matter how sharp they seem.
“i can help with that,” hx sings.
their voice isn’t sweet or kind or trustworthy. it’s rough, reverberating, a deep sonar call cutting through the chatter of the ocean. it hits sqx down to her very bones, rattling the cage of her chest, drawing her forward like a hook through her mouth. it’s alluring all the same.
sqx has never been shy. sqx has never had a sense of self-preservation. she approaches, and hx’s jaw does not unhinge. she gets close enough to touch. the monster waits.
up close, sqx sees the little flaws. the scars scattering their skin, slicing through their temple where their brows should be. the sunken cheeks and dark circles. this creature is hungry, and has been hungry for a long time. they've survived off of krill and plankton and scraps and survived long enough for sqx to save them. she holds a palm to their cheek, and they stay still, tracking her every move. their skin is warm, speckled with bioluminescence.
“you seem hungry,” sqx croons. unlike her counterpart, her voice is alluring - tones as light as the wind, the voice of a siren calling sailors to dash themselves upon the rocks. she knows she's a spectacle in the dark, shining with pearls in her hair and stars in her eyes. a vision. “i can help with that.”
sqx reaches her hand out boldly, and hx shakes it. their hand dwarfs hers, gigantic, alabaster white to the brightly-speckled scales trailing sqx’s arm.
and so sqx - small as she is - curls herself into hx’s hair, the crook of their neck - a bright, multicoloured warning sign. a flashing little kaleidoscope, lovingly braiding bones and shell fragments into the hair of her lover.
she’s bright, and coloured, and deadly poisonous. she was never going to be eaten. she cheats death time and time again, and if she dies, she would take hx down with her.
if you see a beautiful, alluring mermaid, with shining bright colours on her alabaster tail and pearls braided into her hair, swim away. there are needle-sharp teeth lurking just behind her.
