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It was rare for Xie Lian to be left alone in Paradise Manor. San Lang had pretty much ensured the omega was by his side any given moment. But a disturbance at the Gambling Den called his alpha’s attention away the night before. The ghost king had been infuriated but Xie Lian insisted he’d go, sending him off with a kiss and a wish for his safe return before the god fell asleep.
Xie Lian woke up that morning alone with a silver butterfly hovering beside him. He smiled and reached out a hand. The butterfly immediately landed on it. The god brought the butterfly to his face. “Hello there,” he giggled.
The tiny insect flapped its wings in greeting. The butterfly then began to walk across Xie Lian, lingering on his cheeks, his plumper chest, his chubby belly, and his larger thighs. It was like it was surveying his body the way San Lang did every morning, giving attention to the newly soft parts of his body.
His mate had taken to the traditional Xianle forms of courting and would present the omega with food. The whole of Ghost City was in on it, happy to give their lord’s mate free treats whenever the couple strolled by. The results were Xie Lian gaining a decent amount of weight, something he and his mate adored. It was so nice to Xie Lian, to take up space and allow himself this comfort.
Xie Lian waited for it to hop off before sitting up and swinging his legs over his bed. “Tell San Lang that I’m awake and I’ll be waiting for him here when he gets back.” He instructed the butterfly, sending it off. With that, the god slid out of bed and went to get dressed.
After his favorite white robes stopped fitting, his mate went overboard by updating his wardrobe. San Lang gifted him a number of decorative robes. Metallic, pastel, and a whole assortment of new white robes with softer fabrics, each tailored to flatter his plumper frame.
He selected a new set of light pink robes that reminded him of haitang blossoms. They were soft and emphasized his new curves, perfect for him to lounge in as he waited for his mate’s return. Just as he finished tying the sash, there was a knock at the bedroom door.
Yin Yu’s voice came from the other side. ”Your Highness, may I come in?”
“Of course!”
The ghost slowly opened the door. He was dressed in a new cloak, likely a gift from Quan Yizhen, and his mask, carrying a large tray in one hand. “Good morning Your Highness.” He said, bowing as best as he could with the tray.
Xie Lian gestured for him to rise. “There’s no need for all of that. Good morning Yin Yu. I didn’t expect to see you so early today.”
“Chengzhu ordered breakfast to be brought to you as soon as you woke up,” he explained, setting the tray on a nearby table. “there’s a note for you too.” He passed a small sheet of paper to Xie Lian. The god opened it and read:
Gege, these are for you. Don’t be afraid to ask for more if you get hungry again. After I’m done with this filth, I’ll return to you soon.
-Your San Lang
Xie Lian smiled fondly. The characters were borderline legible. Looks like someone had been practicing their calligraphy. He set the note aside and pulled the lid off the tray. There was a large breakfast spread laid out for him. Large plates of pancakes, mantou, youtiao, pork jiaozi, tea eggs, and soy milk and a steaming pot of tea. Just the smell alone was enough to make his mouth water. He looked at Yin Yu, still standing, and gestured for him to take a seat across from him at the table. The ghost complied, sitting down.
With a small thanks, Xie Lian began to tuck into his meal. He grabbed a mantou, his favorite, and bit it, making a happy noise at the taste. He pushed a plate to Yin Yu, gesturing for the ghost to eat.
“There’s more than enough for us both.” Xie Lian insisted.
Yin Yu had grabbed some tea eggs, but picked at them, keeping his mask on. He glanced to Xie Lian, the god working his way through the large plate of mantou. Steeling his resolve, the ghost tentatively asked. “Your Highness, may I ask you for a favor?”
Xie Lian paused his eating and smiled. “Of course! What did you need?” He reached for another mantou when Yin Yu blurted out.
“Can you please ask Chengzhu to stop feeding you so much in public?”
Xie Lian’s hand froze inches from the plate. “Pardon?”
Under his mask, Yin Yu was fighting to look ahead. “I know I’m out of line for asking this, but can you please ask Chengzhu to feed you privately? It’s causing some…problems…” he trailed off, unsure of how to explain.
Xie Lian didn’t take that very well. He asked urgently. “What kind of problems? Is it the servants? Are they stressed? San Lang promised he’d mention if they were overwhelmed by my demands.”
“No no no, not at all!” Yin Yu scrambled to say. “I swear, it’s not trouble for any of us Your Highness.” Even if he didn’t dread the ghost king’s wrath, he would say the same. Xie Lian was a dream to serve.
”Oh,” Xie Lian relaxed. “then, what is the problem? Is it just embarrassing to watch?”
It was, but no worse than the couple’s regular displays of affection. Not that Yin Yu would say anything, lest Hua Cheng send him to work under Black Water for a week. ”No, not at all. It’s nothing to do with you or Chengzhu specifically. It’s more to do with…Quan Yizhen.” Yin Yu admitted, muttering the last part.
”Ah,” Xie Lian smiled knowingly. “Is he trying to imitate San Lang again?”
Yin Yu nodded. He said, completely exasperated. “He’s decided that the best way to court me is to start giving me food like Chengzhu does with you. Apparently, fighting the few people who look at me wrong wasn’t enough.”
”I remember that. Poor Hui Fen should have listened when we told him to look away,” Xie Lian sighed. That civil god had no chance after Quan Yizhen saw him ogling Yin Yu. “Has this habit caused injuries?”
Yin Yu shook his head. “Nothing outside of him throwing baozi at me while I’m on patrol. But it has caused some…changes.”
Xie Lian tilted his head to the side. “Changes? What do you mean?”
“It’s better if I just show you.” Yin Yu said. He removed his mask and shrugged off his cloak. Xie Lian took the time to look Yin Yu over. He honestly didn’t see much difference. His face may have looked fuller and if the god squinted, he could see Yin Yu’s sash was tied looser. Anything else was hidden under the black robes. If Yin Yu hadn’t said anything, Xie Lian wouldn’t have noticed.
”You look a little different but it’s barely noticeable.” Xie Lian settled on saying. He didn’t want to make his friend upset.
Yin Yu sighed. ”I thought so too. I’m just worried. I didn’t think much of it until some of my pants stopped fitting right. I panicked.” He put his cloak back on, shrinking in on himself a little.
Xie Lian frowned. ”Have you talked to Quan Yizhen about it? He usually listens to you.”
“I tried but he’s insistent on making sure I’m “well fed.” He even stuffs candy into my mouth whenever I try to bring it up,” Yin Yu sighed “truthfully, I don’t know why this happened. Even if he’s just mimicking Chengzhu, Yizhen’s obsession makes no sense. We grew up with the same omega beauty standards but he’s acting like he’s never heard them before.”
”What does that have to do with it?” Xie Lian asked.
”You know why, Your Highness. Omegas need to be thin and breedable and all that. It’s the way we’ve been expected to look for millennia.”
“Actually, it’s not,” Xie Lian corrected, startling Yin Yu. “In fact, it used to be the opposite. Back in Xianle, omega beauty standards were more about corpulence. ‘A fat omega wife, a good, happy life’ was a common phrase people would use. It probably fell out of fashion with the plague and famines starving everyone.”
”No offense Your Highness, but I can’t imagine you being much larger than this.” Yin Yu said bluntly before slapping a hand over his mouth. His cheeks were pink in embarrassment.
The god laughed. “None taken. I get that a lot from Shi Qingxuan,” He grabbed yet another mantou. “There’s no need to imagine it anyway. I weigh much more now than I did back then.”
”But Chengzhu mentioned you were seen as a paragon of beauty.” Yin Yu stated slowly. It was phrased more like a question. He’d heard of Xie Lian’s legendary beauty from Hua Cheng and a few older gods. It was easy to see, Xie Lian looked exactly like the omegas in the drawings Yin Yu confiscated from his juniors. But if the god didn’t even fit the criteria of a beautiful omega for his own time, how was he seen as such?
Xie Lian nodded, chewing his food before answering. “While I was considered beautiful in general, I wasn’t seen as very omega-like. My interest in martial arts made people think I’d be an alpha. After I presented as an omega, the ministers claimed that I was ‘too thin’ and tried to restrict my training. Feng Xin was not happy about that.” The god chuckled, recalling how his beta friend swore like a sailor at the eunuch who tried to ban Xie Lian from the training fields.
It was one of the many times Feng Xin helped him of his own volition. He would purposely find the prince to spar whenever a minder tried to steer him towards the dining hall or would threaten the few who’d insulted their prince’s body to his face. He was very protective of Xie Lian during that time and he hadn’t even been his guard yet.
…Now that Xie Lian thought about it, Mu Qing hadn’t been much better on that front. For all his prickliness, the alpha never made comments about Xie Lian’s weight. Instead, he purposefully picked out clothes that emphasized Xie Lian’s lean build and glared at anyone who stared too long. There was also the incident after they ascended when he nearly shattered a beta goddess’s teeth when she asked Xie Lian where the “rest of him” was. He should talk to him about it later.
Yin Yu frowned in sympathy. “That sounds rough.”
”It was. I didn’t understand why it was a problem, only that I wasn’t what an omega was supposed to be. For a while, it made me very insecure. I would sneak food from the kitchens after hours or force myself to eat until I was sick. Everyday, I would pinch my waist to check if I was getting fatter.” Xie Lian shook his head. He remembered those nights where he stared at the mirror, depressed that he wasn’t curvy like his mother. He’d felt so worthless as an omega, as a human really.
He smiled. “Thankfully, my parents put their foot down. They didn’t care how I looked as long as I was healthy and comfortable in my own body. After I ascended, people ignored my designation or just depicted me chubby like omega fertility deities. But I didn’t care, I was happy and healthy and that’s all that mattered to me.“
”And now? Does any of this bother you?” Yin Yu asked. Xie Lian’s weight gain was very obvious, something Hua Cheng would show off to everyone in the heavens. It must have been a shock for him to change so much after 800 years.
”Not at all. Sure, I was fine no matter how I looked. But it wasn’t great to hear how I was suddenly the epitome of omegan beauty because I was starving and frail. If anything, it just made me realize how disturbing this was. While the standard may have changed,” Xie Lian put a hand on his belly. “I prefer this. It means I’m finally safe, able to relax, and that I’m very loved. It also helps that San Lang paints and sculpts me how I actually look and acknowledges that I’m an omega at the same time.”
While it was nice to hear Xie Lian managed to reach a point where he was comfortable in his body again, Yin Yu could think was ‘That explains a lot.’ Apparently, his master’s habit of referring to Xie Lian as ‘his beautiful omega prince’ had more to do with the god’s self esteem than his need to brag about his mate. Or, it could be both. Hua Cheng was probably doing both.
”But that’s enough about me,” Xie Lian said, getting the ghost’s attention. “You wanted to talk. Why does your weight bother you? Do you only hate how you look?”
“Not exactly,” Yin Yu said. “back in the sect, omegas were expected to be small and dainty. They learned healing arts or music before finding a mate. Instead, I managed to beat the odds and I became head disciple. It didn’t matter that I was an omega. No one cared if I was too bulky or too tall because I proved I was more than that. At least, they did…”
“Until you ascended.” The god finished, fishing for more mantou.
Yin Yu nodded. He toyed with a loose lock of hair, looking rather uncomfortable. “When Yizhen came to the sect, he blew everyone else out of the water. It didn’t single me out since no one could beat him. When I appointed him and he gained more followers than me, it was more than just him being more skilled than me…” He trailed off, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. “…people said he was a better god than me because he was a good alpha and I was a bad omega.”
Xie Lian choked on his mantou. He coughed roughly, gasping for breath. When he finally managed to calm down and looked at Yin Yu, his normally kind eyes were hard and steely. “They said what?” he rasped.
Yin Yu just tugged up his hood, sinking into the fabric to hide. His pained expression was all the confirmation Xie Lian needed. The ghost continued. ”I got whispers of how I wasn’t refined, that I was too plain and too big to be beautiful. That I was just an omega playing soldier and I should become some lesser god’s concubine because if I was Qi Ying’s mate, I’d just embarrass him.”
”That’s some of the most vile things I’ve ever heard.” Coming from Xie Lian, that was truly saying something. “Even when I was insulted for my designation, it was never used to question my competence. How could the court be so cruel to you?”
Even with the god’s protective ire, Yin Yu felt he was ready to cry. He kept his voice steady as he continued. “They were,” he agreed “they were so rude and I…I just started to believe them after a while. I stopped caring after I was banished and began working for Chengzhu. No one cared what I looked like under the mask. But now that I’m with Yizhen, I’m worried that they’re right. My body now probably looks so ugly to them.”
Xie Lian stood up and walked over to Yin Yu. kneeled down in front of the ghost and looked him in the eyes. ”Hey. I’m perfectly happy with how I look now. But that’s how I feel about it. What I’m trying to say that there’s no right way for an omega to look. Standards change and you don’t need to do so to meet them,” he gently grabbed Yin Yu’s hands. “All that matters is how you feel. If you’re not comfortable with it, then you can change it. It’s your body. You should be allowed to have it look the way you want. Not worry about how other people think you should look. Not even your mate. So, how do you feel?”
Yin Yu paused to think. After a moment, he spoke up again. “I’m okay with the weight,” he admitted, looking at the floor. “It’s really not a problem for me. And as embarrassing as it is, I don’t mind Yizhen feeding me. I’m more worried that someone will say something to him about how his omega let himself go. They’ll mock him for it or he’ll become disgusted with me and finally leave. It’s silly, but it scares me.”
Xie Lian squeezed his friend’s hands. “Not at all. San Lang told me that what upsets me isn’t silly. The same goes for you.”
”Of course Your Highness. Speaking of Chengzhu, would you sit back down? I don’t want you to get your new robes dirty.”
The god laughed. ”I know you’re just worried about San Lang getting angry at you if I did, so I’ll put you at ease.” He gave Yin Yu’s hands one more reassuring squeeze before standing up, brushing himself off, and sitting back down on his chair.
“You should try to talk to him about it,” the god said again. “just straight and to the point. We both know when it comes to feelings he’s…”
”Dense as a rock?” Yin Yu supplied, smiling. It made his eyes light up just a bit.
Xie Lian coughed primly into his fist. Yin Yu could tell he was trying not to laugh. “That’s one way to put it. He’s probably not listening to you since you kept bringing up how other people may feel about your body, not how you do. And he doesn’t really care for much besides fighting and you.”
”That's…a fair point.” Yin Yu said. “I’ll tell him when he inevitably breaks into my room later.”
”Fair enough,” Xie Lian said, pushing a few treats to the ghost. “now, let’s finish eating this before it gets cold. I can tell you’re hungry too; I saw you eyeing the youtiao.”
Yin Yu smiled, grabbed one off the plate, and took a bite.
Xie Lian woke up to kisses being pressed across his cheeks. It was a pleasant addition to the mix of sensations he’d been feeling for the past hour or so.
The breakfast spread had been throughly demolished, making him and Yin Yu warm and sleepy, almost drunk. In a daze, Xie Lian had pulled pillows and blankets from off the bed to build a nest, Yin Yu joining in himself. They managed to get everything right before the two curled up together in a chubby, cuddly omega pile for a nap.
The absence of his omega friend and the larger body beside him, smelling of incense and sweet wine, meant one thing.
“San Lang…you’re home…” Xie Lian said groggily, cracking his eyes open. His alpha was there, shapeshifted into his youthful disguise and smiling down at him.
The ghost king chuckled and pressed a kiss to Xie Lian’s head. “Hello Gege. Your San Lang missed you.”
”I missed you too…” Xie Lian smiled. He scooted over, allowing his mate to settle in nest beside him. “How was it? You were gone for quite a while.”
San Lang laid down and snuggled against Xie Lian with a sigh, drinking in his sandalwood scent. ”Utterly dull. It turned out to be some upstart ghouls looking to embarrass themselves by challenging me. It only took so long because more of their posse came out of the woodwork and I had to deal with it. I came back home, but I found that my mate fell right back asleep and with my officer too, before I sent him back to his rooms. I thought Gege said he’d be awake for me?”
”Sorry,” Xie Lian yawned, rubbing his eyes. “Yin Yu and I were sleepy after breakfast and ended up napping together. Thank you for that by the way, it was delicious.” The god put a hand on his full stomach. “I don’t even need lunch today. There was so much I couldn’t eat.”
San Lang’s smile brightened. ”You’re welcome. I’m glad I could satisfy Gege,” He patted Xie Lian’s belly, looking at his mate with reverence. He shifted until he could whisper in the omega’s ear. “Good job on not forcing yourself to eat too much. It’s no fun if Gege gets sick trying to please me. You deserve to be spoiled only as much as you want. Still, I didn’t expect you to share with Yin Yu.”
The god squirmed in his hold. “I insisted. He wanted to talk with me and he seemed hungry. I hope that’s okay.”
”Of course it’s okay. Gege can do what he wants with his meals as long as he eats too. Yin Yu needs a normal meal anyway, considering his dunce of a mate thinks throwing baozi at someone counts as providing.”
Xie Lian giggled a bit. ”He mentioned that. It’s part of this whole situation between them. I was worried Yin Yu was about to cry, he seemed so distressed.”
He felt San Lang stiffen at that. “What did that idiot do now?” The ghost king growled.
Xie Lian’s stroked the alpha’s hair and released his scent to calm him. “Nothing too serious. Apparently he’d taken to feeding Yin Yu like you do with me. Yin Yu gained a little weight because of it. Since Yin Yu grew up with thin omegas being considered beautiful, he feltinsecure about what others would think. I think I straightened it out. They should be talking about it soon. Maybe I should’ve done more?
San Lang calmed down, huffing into his mate’s hair. “Gege already helped as best he could. The last thing I need is that idiot making things difficult for my officer. But if it’ll please you, I’ll send Yin Yu some larger robes tomorrow. They won’t be as lovely as yours though. My Gege is so beautiful in pink.” He kissed Xie Lian soundly on the mouth, making the god giggle.
“Speaking of larger robes,” Xie Lian said. “I think San Lang should shift back into his true form. I missed him holding me last night and he deserves to feel comfortable too.”
His mate grinned and nodded, kissing him once more before crawling out of the nest. Xie Lian watched as San Lang shifted from a thin human youth to a soft ghost king. His truest form.
San Lang had shown him after Xie Lian joked about being unable to wear San Lang’s robes due to his weight gain. It had been a jest, Xie Lian wasn’t that big, but San Lang decided that he needed to show Xie Lian what he truly looked like.
Ghosts weren’t actually immune to gaining weight, many just didn’t because they didn’t really eat, despite their hunger. San Lang wasn’t one of them, preferring to enjoy the luxuries his position gave him and it showed. He was fat, with stomach rolls and love handles, a double chin, and stretch marks all over his round body. He carried it well, almost regally, but hid it under his shapeshifting. He thought it best to look like what he believed Xie Lian would find most attractive.
Xie Lian adored his mate’s body no matter how it looked. He knew San Lang just needed the extra assurance to shift to his most comfortable one. Once he’d reached that form, the ghost king went back into the nest. He pulled Xie Lian against him, the two sighing. The god cheekily nipped his mate’s soft chin, earning growls and a bite to his cheek. Xie Lian moved them around so that San Lang could nuzzle his chubby belly.
San Lang’s growling turned to gentle rumbles, accompanying Xie Lian’s omegan purrs. They melted into each other, soft and warm and loving.
Yin Yu woke up to the slamming of a door and a cry of “Shixiong!”
He sat straight up, somehow in his own bed, and winced at the pain in his stomach. Breakfast clearly hadn’t been that long ago. What time was it? Yin Yu didn’t have time to think on it, as he was forced onto his back by a large weight slamming into him, almost making him keel over and retch. He opened his eyes to find his mate on top of him, buzzing with energy.
”Hello Yizhen.” Yin Yu said fondly, giving a smile.
The alpha smiled back at him. “Hi Shixiong.” Quan Yizhen said dreamily. Before Yin Yu could stop him, the god leaned down and kissed him firmly on the lips. Yin Yu allowed himself to kiss back, thankful his mate wasn’t being too rough.
Quan Yizhen pulled back, still smiling. “Shixiong looks so beautiful today.”
Yin Yu snorted. “You say that everyday.”
”But it’s true! Shixiong is beautiful everyday. Especially when your smile’s all big like it is now,” he kissed both corners of Yin Yu’s mouth “Shixiong has the prettiest smile.”
Yin Yu felt himself flush. “You’re ridiculous…but it’s sweet.” He said fondly. His mate may have been a bit messy with words but he managed to say some kind things at times.
After hearing the word ‘sweet’, Quan Yizhen pushed himself up. “Shixiong, I have a gift for you! They were making cakes at a stall here, so I grabbed you some!” He opened the pouch at his side to reveal a collection of cakes. Yin Yu felt his mouth watering at the idea of them.
Before his mate could force them into his mouth, Yin Yu held up a hand to stop him. “We need to talk first.”
Quan Yizhen frowned, cocking his head in confusion. ”What’s wrong? Do you not want them? It’s okay, I can find you something else!” He scrambled to climb off but Yin Yu grabbed his waist, making the alpha stop.
Yin Yu shook his head. ”No, the cakes look great. I can’t wait to eat them. I just wanted to talk about something. Will you listen?” He squeezed the god’s waist. Quan Yizhen nodded, face red and eyes blown wide.
Knowing that was the best response he’d get, Yin Yu cleared his throat. He bit his lip, before saying bluntly. “I gained a little weight,” he said carefully.
Quan Yizhen cocked his head. “Is shixiong upset about it?
“I don’t mind it. But I’m worried that if you feed me too much, I’ll ruin your reputation or you’ll leave me out of disgust. When we were gods together before, people mocked me about being a bad omega, that I was too plain for you and that I’d ruin your image.”
Quan Yizhen blinked, slowly processing his mate’s word vomit one bit at a time. Finally, his face contorted in rage. “They said what?” He roared. “Who was it?! I’ll fight them! How dare they insult you like that!”
The ghost sighed. Of course that’s what his mate was stuck on. “That was a long time ago. Can you focus? This is more about how me getting fat would make you look bad-“
”Shixiong’s the most beautiful omega ever. Everyone knows that!” Quan Yizhen insisted. With his own hands on Yin Yu’s waist, he squeezed hard, feeling padding there. There was a fire in his eyes as he declared. “so what if you’re squishy now? You’re the best and you make me so happy. Shixiong’s happy too. That’s good, right?”
”Squishy doesn’t make for a good omega.” Yin Yu huffed, rolling his eyes. “people think they’re supposed to be dainty and small. They think they shouldn’t spar or eat too much.”
Quan Yizhen’s face screwed up in disgust. ”That’s so dumb! Who wants a mate like that? Shixiong isn’t like that and I don’t want him to be either. I just want you, squishy or not.” he said. He reached for his bag and pressed a cake to Yin Yu’s mouth. “now will Shixiong eat? Your face has gone all sour and Shixiong looks happiest when he’s eating.” He poked Yin Yu’s cheek, starting to smile again.
The ghost said nothing. He’d at least learned what Quan Yizhen thought about it all of this. They’d talk more later, he knew they would need to. But for now, he was content to just go along with Quan Yizhen. Yin Yu opened his mouth, takes a bite of cake, and swallowed.