Chapter 5: The Straight Top Learns a New Skill

Chapter 5: Straight Guy Learns New Skills

About three days after the field mission at that club, Qin Shu was feeling troubled.

His troubled expression was so obvious that his loyal team members decided to help him out.

Thus, the first Captain Support Meeting was convened.

Team member A asked the captain, "Captain Qin, what's bothering you?"

Qin Shu put his hands behind his head: "What's the point of telling you?"

As soon as he spoke, team members popped up from all around.

The vice-captain, a serious blond guy, said: "Captain, we all want to solve your troubles!"

The team's clerk, a girl with a bob haircut, raised her hand: "Many hands make light work; we're all your tacticians!"

The logistics officer was a girl with sparkling eyes and prominent canines: "Even if you're against the whole world, we've got your back!"

Qin Shu: ...

"Why would I be against the whole world?"

"Ahem, that's beside the point. The point is, we all want to help. Captain, what's really going on?"

-

The matter was actually quite simple, summed up in one sentence: Li Wuya seemed upset.

The team members were all shocked.

Blond: "General Li can actually get upset?"

Bob: "Captain, you must be mistaken."

Qin Shu sighed: "I wish I were wrong."

Li Wuya appeared as calm as a stagnant pond, but in Qin Shu's eyes, his emotional expressions were very obvious.

When happy, his eyes would brighten a little; when calm, he couldn't be bothered to show any expression; when unhappy, he would lower his eyes.

And recently, Li Wuya always had droopy eyes, listless, had no interest in playing games, and noticeably quieter during meals.

Li Wuya was definitely upset!

"Upset about what?"

Qin Shu sighed again: "Probably because of me."

Blond was shocked: "Why would the captain think that?"

"Wuya only gets upset because of me, right?" Qin Shu said this very naturally.

Team members: ?

"Wuya is someone who takes revenge on the spot. If someone provokes him, they'd be dead in the next second," Qin Shu explained. "No one else can make him unhappy for this long, except me."

The team members exchanged glances.

After a long silence.

"The captain is a sentinel laden with sin," Little Fang said gravely.

Qin Shu struck a pose: "If being handsome is a crime, then I'm indeed guilty beyond redemption."

"When did the general start feeling upset?" Little Fang asked.

Qin Shu said with certainty: "It started after the last field mission."

But he didn't think the field mission had anything to do with Li Wuya being upset. No matter how he thought about it, he had just gone out for a simple task, happened to bump into Li Wuya, and even did a good deed while he was at it!

However, all the team members' eyes widened.

Bob raised her hand hesitantly.

"Captain, since it started after the club mission, have you ever thought..."

"What?"

"Maybe the general isn't upset?"

Qin Shu raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe the general is jealous, Captain."

The air suddenly fell silent.

Little Fang: "I agree."

Blond: "+1."

Qin Shu: ?

"How is that possible? Who would Wuya be jealous of?"

Little Fang: "Nanzhi."

???

Hearing this answer, Qin Shu was even more baffled. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't figure it out.

Why would Wuya be jealous of an eighteen-year-old cross-dressing boy?

Yeah, why?

The team members were just a bunch of clueless young sentinels, unable to figure out this problem either.

But one thing was certain: three days ago, when Li Wuya arrived, they were all present, and they all felt the almost hostile pressure aimed at the little guide the captain brought.

They talked for a long time without coming to a conclusion.

Blond came up with an idea: "Anyway, Captain, since you've confirmed it's because of you, whether it's upset, jealousy, or any other emotion, you could buy some gifts and go see the general, right?"

Qin Shu had a strange look on his face.

He still thought "jealousy" was too absurd, but it was weirdly plausible, as if everything made sense. If that were the reason...

Forget it, better not to think about it anymore. The more he thought about it, the weirder it got.

"Captain? Captain?"

"Mm... you're right."

I'm ditching work today to go find Wuya.

-

First, buy a gift.

What the heck should I get for Wuya?

"What does the General like?"

Qin Shu: "Work."

Golden Retriever: "Then, Captain, give him some work."

Qin Shu chucked a file at his face.

"Anything else the General likes?"

Qin Shu: "Hanging out with me."

Golden Retriever made a grand gesture: "Then, Captain, wrap yourself up as a gift and deliver yourself over!"

A second file flew right into Golden Retriever's face.

Then the rest of the team jumped on him: "Golden Retriever, you idiot!"

"How could the Captain be a gift! That's an insult! That's objectification! That's wrong!"

"Exactly! It should be the General gifting himself to the Captain!"

Qin Shu rubbed his chin: "He comes to my place every day, that doesn't really count as a gift."

The room went silent for a few more seconds.

Little Fang said gravely: "Captain, you're a truly sinful Sentinel."

-

The team members were too idiotic, Qin Shu had realized—a bunch of fools can't match a single wise man.

Come to think of it, he rarely gave Wuya gifts; it was always Wuya giving him a ton of things. That didn't seem right, even though Wuya probably didn't care...

Going by Qin Shu's habits, he preferred giving friends practical items.

Like guns, knives, and all sorts of battlefield gear.

But now that times were peaceful, those things seemed pointless.

Qin Shu decided to get him something not war-related.

Ten minutes later, Qin Shu ditched work and arrived at the mall.

Twenty minutes later, Qin Shu sat there looking grim on a public bench.

Wuya has plenty of clothes, doesn't wear jewelry, and most importantly, has plenty of money.

Is giving a gift really this hard?

He suddenly heard people talking nearby.

"Did you figure out what to give him?"

"No," another person said glumly, "he seems to lack nothing."

"Then go to a DIY store and make him something handmade? It's the thought that counts."

Holy shit.

Qin Shu turned slightly: "Excuse me, what kind of handmade stuff can you make at a DIY store?"

Ten minutes later.

Qin Shu stood silently in a pink baking studio, utterly out of place among the gentle or cute Guides.

The shop assistant, a female Guide, was very shy, handing him something with both hands. Qin Shu took it and shook it open.

A brown puppy apron.

"Um, sir, what would you like to make?"

Qin Shu: ...

How did things end up like this?

-

The Guides around were all secretly glancing at the Sentinel standing out like a sore thumb.

Tall, cold, wearing a short leather jacket with sleeves rolled up, revealing lean, powerful arms with scars that weren't fierce but added to his charm.

A young Guide murmured: "His lover must be so happy..."

Qin Shu suddenly looked up: "I'm making it for a friend."

The Guide cupped her face with both hands: "Oh my! The will-they-won't-they phase!"

Qin Shu: ...

That's not the case!

The employee teaching him to make cookies smiled with eyes crinkling: "Sir, you'll definitely get him. You're so handsome and so gentle."

Qin Shu: ...

That's not the case either!

This was all the fault of those two strangers who pointed him in the wrong direction... he thought a DIY shop meant pottery or woodworking, but how did it end up being baking?

He also had a brain fart for actually coming in. How is this any different from asking for trouble?

But since he was already here...

It's fine, Qin Shu comforted himself. Back when they were fighting, he used to roast insect meat for his comrades. Cookies and bug meat are basically the same, right?

So can these Guides stop staring at him?

-

A post quietly surfaced on social media.

"@xxxx: Oh my! Met a super handsome Sentinel guy at a DIY baking studio... In my next life, I'm definitely dating someone like this!

[Image][Image]

Location: Come Make Desserts Together"

When the image was opened, it didn’t capture his face—just a glimpse of an arm and a tall, slender back.

Maybe it was some odd algorithm push, or maybe it was just that rare to see a Sentinel in a baking shop, but the post went viral.

In no time, it garnered over a million views. An insider spotted it, squinted, and casually forwarded it to the military’s internal anonymous forum.

“Guys, isn’t that scar on the arm Colonel Qin’s? Is he seeing someone?”

Suddenly, every officer’s terminal blew up with messages.

At the top-floor conference room of the military headquarters.

Li Wuya stared at the image for five minutes.

A back he knew to the marrow—the scar on the arm was an old wound from three years ago.

A brown puppy apron, sleeves rolled up, fingers that once gripped a blade now dusted with white flour, against a pink heart-shaped wall.

...

The entire conference room was as quiet as a tomb.

The person who’d just been reporting looked as if they were attending their own funeral, already mentally drafting their suicide note. The adjutant kept his eyes lowered and his expression neutral, zoning out, sneaking glances at the anonymous forum refreshing like crazy on his terminal.

“: ????? Colonel Qin knows how to bake?

L51: .

“————This post has been locked————”

Li Wuya lifted his gaze to the conference room with snow swirling outside.

“Continue. Finish in five minutes.”

-

For the rest of the meeting, Li Wuya didn’t hear a single word.

His mind was processing two things in parallel. On the surface, it was military affairs—he made all the correct decisions—but deep down, something dark and viscous was slowly rising.

That photo. Those hands. That pink heart wall. Those clamoring comments.

Qin Shu must have run into something outside—maybe encouraged by his squad, or some other reason. He must have ended up in that baking shop by accident. Qin Shu wouldn’t have done this intentionally.

So who were the desserts for?

Logically, he was the person closest to Qin Shu in this world. The desserts would most likely be for him—

Unless Qin Shu wasn’t doing it “for someone else.”

“Someone else.”

What if Qin Shu had gone to that bakery with a purpose? What if he was seriously trying to make handmade desserts for “someone else”?

Countless thoughts pierced that dark, viscous mass, then were swallowed up, merging into the same substance.

It was entirely possible. Qin Shu was always gentle with every request, especially with women—or anyone who merely looked like a woman.

Three days ago, he’d brought back a young Guide in a dress.

...

Before he realized it, he was back in his office.

The adjutant’s words finally registered with Li Wuya.

“…General, Nanzhi’s enrollment is all set, but he tried to contact Colonel Qin today.”

Li Wuya gave a slow glance.

The adjutant hastily added, “Don’t worry, he didn’t get through. His communication permissions are limited to the outer ring star sector, as per your orders.”

So it wasn’t Nanzhi, then.

Then who could it be?

Li Wuya knew Qin Shu’s social circle inside out. He was embedded in every aspect of Qin Shu’s life. If Qin Shu had met a woman, he would have told him right away.

…No, just recently, he had no idea Qin Shu was going on blind dates. Qin Shu didn’t tell him everything—why? Weren’t they the closest of comrades? Why did Qin Shu always do things that drove them apart?

His mental power spread involuntarily.

The adjutant, sensing trouble, fled, not forgetting to turn on the office’s mental power dispersion device before leaving.

Unlike Qin Shu’s radiant sharpness, Li Wuya’s mental power manifested as a sticky black substance, like a surging, churning black sea, loosely wrapping around him in that moment.

Cold and dim, a shadow, or maybe a black hole.

…But Qin Shu didn’t mean it. Li Wuya thought, adrift in that black sea.

Qin Shu couldn’t have meant it. He was just sincere and gentle—if he weren’t, Li Wuya would never have become his best friend.

So what needed to be done now? It was obvious.

It didn’t matter who Qin Shu had originally intended to make those desserts for. As long as he rushed over, devoured them all, chewed, swallowed, and put them in his stomach, then the desserts were made for him.

-

Qin Shu was seriously wrestling with the cookies.

And it really was a struggle—how was whipping cream harder than fighting a Star Beast?

With great difficulty and the shop assistant’s help, he finally got the batter ready, stuffed it all into a piping bag, and gave it a gentle squeeze—Qin Shu swore it was just a gentle squeeze.

The piping bag burst.

Shop assistant: …

The watching Guides: …

Qin Shu, splattered with batter: …

WTF, was this plastic made of paper?

In frustration, he scraped together what was left of the batter, shoved it into the oven.

Qin Shu washed his hands in annoyance. The Guides still hadn’t dispersed, their eyes sparkling as they crowded around him with questions.

He felt like he was sacrificing way too much for his buddy. Just giving a gift—how had it ended up emotionally scarring him?

But he couldn’t refuse them, and he had to wait for the cookies anyway, so he leaned against the wall, selectively answering the little Guides’ questions.

“Who’s this for? My good friend.”

"No, I just stumbled in. I'm not into baking."

"He's my best friend, really. We've been through hell together on the battlefield."

Right as he was about to tell these young guides how epic his friendship with Wuya was, the doorbell jingled.

A bunch of people in the shop looked up on instinct.

Then went dead silent.

A Sentinel walked in, wearing a black uniform with cold shoulder boards, long legs in military boots, his icy vibe totally out of place in this strawberry-cream world.

Qin Shu was shocked: "Wuya?"

"Yeah."

The crowd parted like the Red Sea as Li Wuya stepped forward, lowering his eyes, all meek: "Making cookies?"

Li Wuya knew why Qin Shu was shocked—he should explain how he'd found him again, like at the blind date, on the mission, and now. The coincidences were getting way too frequent.

But he didn't feel like it. He just wanted to find whatever Qin Shu made and eat it.

Qin Shu smoothly switched topics: "Yeah, cookies. They're almost done. You want the first one?"

"..."

Qin Shu took a sec to introduce him to the clerk: "This is that good friend I mentioned."

"..."

The clerk stuttered, "Sir, your, your friend, how is he a..."

Qin Shu realized a little late his buddy was kind of a big deal among the Empire's citizens.

After the war, they needed to prop up a war hero. Qin Shu flat-out refused, so the media naturally turned to Li Wuya, who'd gone into politics.

The Empire's youngest general. Permanent seat on the Military Strategy Council, and joint authority over the White Tower. After the border war ended, he was seen as the central power figure for the Empire's next twenty years...

That was his quiet buddy's rep.

Basically a celebrity. And he still strutted around in such an obvious uniform?

Li Wuya said, slow and deliberate: "I want to be the first."

Right then, the oven went "ding."

Qin Shu turned to grab the baking sheet, and Li Wuya watched his back.

The puppy apron was tied in a lopsided bow at his lower back, a little tight, showing off his waist.

Qin Shu tied it himself—so typical of how he handles clothes.

-

They were back in the car.

Getting stared at by the guides was kinda awkward, and with Li Wuya being a public figure, being together got twice the attention, so the car was the safest bet.

Qin Shu pulled a warm cookie from the bag and casually shoved it at Li Wuya.

"Eat," he ordered.

Li Wuya obediently popped it in his mouth.

Chewed, then swallowed.

The crunch sounded like cracking open a Star Beast's shell.

"How is it?"

"Delicious."

Li Wuya dropped his gaze, starting to scheme about how to reasonably claim the whole bag.

Qin Shu was satisfied: "Guess I'm a baking prodigy after all."

The next moment, he tossed the entire bag into Li Wuya's hands.

"All for you," he said casually.

"It's my gift. Don't turn your nose up at it—took me over an hour, you know."

...What?

The bag landed on Li Wuya's lap, its warmth felt even through the fabric of his military pants.

He wanted to grab it, but feared he couldn't control his grip, so he stiffly let the cookies rest on his thigh.

"It's for me?" Li Wuya asked.

"Who else would it be for?" came the very offhand tone.

"..."

Qin Shu explained, "You've seemed down lately. Wanted to give you something to cheer you up, but didn't know what. Then I stumbled into that bakery..."

His expression turned a bit pained at the word "stumbled."

"Anyway, I made cookies... Wuya, why aren't you saying anything? You're not turning them down, are you?"

Li Wuya had indeed been silent, because suppressing his unruly breath, pounding heart, and turbulent mental sea was taking all his effort. He absolutely couldn't show any abnormality during this important moment of Qin Shu giving him a gift.

"I'm not turning them down. I really like them," he said slowly.

"Like them so much I wish I could cut open my heart to prove my love."

"And I haven't been down lately."

"Just thinking about you liking girls, a bit too intensely, too afraid to get too close."

Qin Shu narrowed his eyes.

"Not down?" He pinched Li Wuya's cheek, cold stars glinting in his eyes, smelling sweetly of the bakery. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"

Qin Shu's instincts were never wrong, so Li Wuya figured he probably did have some negative emotions.

But they were all directed at himself—emotions close to hatred.

Hating that he became strange when agitated, hating that he couldn't face Qin Shu liking women, hating that he maliciously speculated about Qin Shu's actions...

Most of all, hating that he needed Qin Shu to go to such lengths to "cheer him up."