I adore all the AUs where Shen Yuan is a shixiong or about Binghe’s age but you know what the fandom is missing? Shidi Shen Yuan!
There are some stories where Shen Yuan is younger and Shen Jiu’s son, but I’m talking about a regular disciple Shen Yuan admitted to Qing Jing peak after Luo Binghe.
I just need tiny child Shen Yuan using the full force of his spite to feud with the strategist Peak Lord… only to actually win most of the time!
How could Shen Yuan possibly win against a paranoid sect strategist you might ask?
First, he could take full advantage of Shen Qingqiu’s complete disinterest in him, and his own disinterest in impressing Shen Qingqiu, to run rampant for quite a while before Shen Qingqiu catches on. He would seem to be just some stupid precocious child.
Second, I firmly believe Shen Yuan’s wifebeam, when directed at adults, could be an effective parentbeam. He could use all the little tidbits he has memorized about the other peak lords, the Qing Jing hall masters, the servants, and his fellow disciples, along with his genuine kindness and helpfulness (and a lack of Shen Qingqiu sabotage…at least to start with) to endear himself to a great many of them!
Third, he has the advantage of an adult’s brain in his child body, along with all sorts of knowledge nobody would reasonably suspect a child his age to have. Just because Shen Yuan has a giant blind spot regarding romantic intent and his importance to others, doesn’t mean he isn’t incredibly clever in many other ways, and fully capable of using the full force of that cleverness on Binghe’s behalf!
Fourth, Shen Qingqiu would have literally no clue what the kid was actually after. All that work just to make the life of Shen Qingqiu’s least favorite student a little bit better? Shen Qingqiu would never see it coming, and what is that if not the greatest weakness of all?
I just really want Shen Qingqiu, the man who starts feuds with children —including trying to murder one particular kid— to find out that his arch enemy is actually some other kid that he completely ignored. And the kid is winning via the secret tactics of “being nice” and “having no real ulterior motives (beyond the ‘being nice’ thing)”.
Also, Luo Binghe being protective of his little shidi who is somehow constantly getting himself in situations™. (It’s not Shen Yuan’s fault distraction is often his best ‘stop bullying Binghe’ technique).
