Chapter 6: A Grand Exhibition of a Straight Top’s Baffling Behavior

Chapter 6: Straight Guys' Most Baffling Behavior Awards

The cookie incident ended with Li Wuya posting a post on the internal network.

"L51: Sent by A Shu. [Image]"

The picture showed a bag of oddly shaped cookies.

There were no comments—Li Wuya had disabled comments for accounts that aren't his friends, and his friends list only had Qin Shu.

Qin Shu was scrolling through an anonymous forum on the internal network, confused. "Why is everyone saying 'The Empire will be destroyed tomorrow'? Is there some code I don't understand?"

Li Wuya looked indifferent. "I don't know."

Well, it wasn't anything important anyway.

Qin Shu brought up another topic. "Wuya, if what I made didn't taste good, you didn't have to force yourself to eat it all..."

The last piece of that bag of cookies was eaten by Qin Shu.

The taste was extremely weird, like roasted insect meat with sugar. How could Li Wuya eat so many with a straight face and still praise him?

Li Wuya smoothed his collar. "It was delicious."

...Alright, talk about brotherly spoiling!

-

After that, life was leisurely and boring. Without the blind dates, Qin Shu was a free spirit, occasionally going on field missions, often skipping work, and spending the rest of his time waiting to clock out.

But recently, there had been a small change.

At exactly twelve noon during lunch break, the team members were all looking toward the door. Sure enough, a staffer from the Military Affairs Bureau showed up, carrying a large lunch box. The team members were delighted and crowded noisily around him into the captain's office.

Qin Shu was lying peacefully on the sofa, a work manual covering his face, looking like he was out cold.

"Captain! Wake up! The general sent you lunch!" The golden-haired guy shook him like crazy.

"..." Qin Shu took the work manual off his face, squinting. "Put it on the table. Thanks for bringing it."

The young soldier delivering the food was bright red. "C-Colonel, you're my idol! You saved me two years ago, I-I-I..."

He pulled out another fancy box from somewhere, bowing at a ninety-degree angle. "These are my handmade cookies! P-Please accept it!"

Ugh, here we go again.

Qin Shu swept his messy hair back, roughly straightened his clothes, stood up, and accepted it seriously. "Thank you."

"N-No, no need to thank me, I-I-I—" The young soldier's face got even redder, and he hopped and stumbled away.

Everyone watched him go.

The door closed. Qin Shu sighed, opened the cookie box, took out the first piece and ate it, then motioned. A group of team members rushed over to fiercely devour the rest.

It was soon finished. Qin Shu opened a filing cabinet and put the box inside.

This filing cabinet already had four or five piles of all kinds of cookie boxes.

The golden-haired guy mumbled through a mouthful of cookies. "How many is this?"

"The ones delivered to the captain? Fifty-sixth, I think," one team member said.

Qin Shu: "I told them ages ago to stop sending, but it's no use."

Qin Shu was too embarrassed to refuse others' good intentions.

Besides, this whole trend of swapping homemade cookies in the military had recently been started by him...

Qin Shu thought of that weirdly viral post that secretly snapped a pic of him going to the bakery. How did the poster happen to catch the scar on his arm? People who knew him all recognized him!

Ah, forget it. In the end, he could only blame himself for having a brain fart and walking into that shop!

"Captain, captain, stop spacing out. Hurry up and see what delicious food the general bought you today."

Qin Shu opened the lunch box.

"Holy cow! The seasonal Jadeite Flying Fish from the central restaurant!"

"And jade bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat..."

"Golden Tofu..."

One by one, boxes were taken out: dishes, rice, and finally a dainty little box.

The team members looked forward to this part the most.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qin Shu opened it.

A little cake sat on the plate, with a crunchy caramel top and cloud-like fluffy mousse underneath, with a star-shaped piece of chocolate stuck in on the side.

"Ooh! Today the general made chocolate mousse!" The group applauded.

"The general is so skilled."

"The general's domestic skills are maxed out."

"The general is a master at this!"

Qin Shu: ...

"It's not for you, why are you so excited?"

He kicked out the group of blindly cheerleading idiots, then took a photo of the received food and sent it.

"Kongtong Not Interested 7432: [Image]

Kongtong Not Interested 7432: Received

L51: Mm"

He ate his lunch slowly. The taste was excellent—of course, this meal probably cost at least five figures. Li Wuya had been making it his mission to feed him lately.

Ever since Li Wuya discovered that someone was sending Qin Shu handmade desserts, he had taken over Qin Shu's lunch and post-meal dessert. The lunch was bought, and the dessert was made by himself every day.

Li Wuya was the real baking expert, upgrading rapidly from the first day's cream puffs to today's chocolate mousse.

This routine continued for four days. Qin Shu had gone from happily accepting on the first day to now being distressed and conflicted.

"Kongtong Not Interested 7432: Wuya, I think... there's no need to feed me such good things every day, right?

L51: I can afford to feed you."

Kongtong Buyue 7432: What I mean is, there’s no need to be so formal every day!

L51: Is it too much trouble?”

Sometimes, your buddies just don’t get it.

So he just sends a video call straight away.

The light screen spreads out, a virtual image forms, and Li Wuya is at his desk handling documents.

Qin Shu: “...Still working overtime during lunch break.”

“Was just about to take a break.” Li Wuya brushes past the topic. “A Shu, you don’t approve of me sending meals every day?”

“It’s not that. It’s just too much trouble. You’re so busy and yet you do all this—it takes too much time away from your work.”

Li Wuya’s gaze drifts past Qin Shu and lands on the file cabinet he forgot to close behind him.

Many people give him gifts—is “Li Wuya” the best and most special one?

Work really is affecting how well he can do for A Shu.

Thoughts wander, and he says: “If I quit, then it won’t be a problem.”

Qin Shu: ?

Li Wuya stays composed: “I mean, work has been cutting into my life lately. I should make some adjustments.”

Hearing that, Qin Shu gets it.

Qin Shu sympathizes: “Well, you are an admiral. But you still need to rest... By the way, what did you have for lunch?”

Li Wuya pauses slightly.

Qin Shu: ??

He can’t believe it: “Li Wuya, you’ve been sending me lunch every day, but you didn’t even have lunch yourself?”

Is his buddy’s brain scrambled?

Facing Qin Shu’s furrowed brow, Li Wuya’s mind races.

“Sorry, I just forgot today. I’ll go eat now,” he lowers his eyes. “Then, A Shu, do you have time to drop by the Military Affairs Bureau?”

“The cafeteria there has been serving great dishes lately, and there’s even a special dessert today. How about you join me for another meal?”

The irritation instantly shifts to the joy of mooching another meal. The black-haired young man flashes an “OK” sign.

“I’m on my way!”

The call ends. Li Wuya leisurely tidies up the files on his desk, then tosses the nutrient drink packaging he’d hidden in his blind spot into the trash.

“Push the meeting back by an hour and a half,” he tells his adjutant beside him. “Also, notify the cafeteria to set up a special dessert section immediately. No need to put food on it yet—just have it show up.”

The adjutant nods and goes to arrange things. Li Wuya opens his terminal.

It takes Qin Shu twenty minutes to get here from the Star Union Agency. He needs a dessert delivery that can arrive within fifteen minutes.

-

Qin Shu ends up eating two lunches and three cakes that day.

The Military Affairs Bureau’s special desserts today were really tasty—he finished his own and polished off Li Wuya’s portion too.

“It’s such a shame I never ate at the Military Affairs Bureau cafeteria before,” Qin Shu feels like the Star Union Agency seriously needs to take notes from the bureau!

Li Wuya: “You can come and eat here after this.”

“Sure.” Qin Shu agrees without a second thought.

Then he finally remembers why he came here.

“So, don’t bother making me desserts or sending lunch from now on. I’ll just come to the bureau for lunch and keep an eye on you eating yours, too.”

“Breakfast and dinner could be together as well.”

Qin Shu thinks it over—what a wonderful life it would be to have all three meals covered by Li Wuya. Touched, he leans on his shoulder: “Are you trying to corrupt me into becoming part of the Military Affairs Bureau?”

What does the boss mean?

Li Wuya strokes his hair: “If you want to come, I’d even give you my seat.”

“No thanks.”

Qin Shu pulls back, uninterested.

Why trade a good idle life for an overtime grind? He’s not as career-driven as Li Wuya.

They fall silent, with Qin Shu leaning on Li Wuya’s shoulder, playing with his terminal, until he catches a glimpse of someone outside the glass window out of the corner of his eye.

Looks like Li Wuya’s adjutant?

He looks anxious.

Wait—a flash of insight hits Qin Shu, and he suddenly realizes!

“Lunch break is over! Wuya, why haven’t you started work yet?”

Li Wuya responds with an “Oh.”

Then he slowly opens his terminal, pretending to start working.

Qin Shu grabs his shoulders and shakes him: “Buddy, get back to your office! Your adjutant is outside! Don’t pretend you didn’t see him!”

Li Wuya twitches the corner of his mouth.

“Hey, you just went ‘tch,’ didn’t you!”

The admiral is slacking off like this—the Empire is doomed!

Under the adjutant’s grateful gaze, Qin Shu pushes the reluctant Li Wuya out of the cafeteria.

All the way, the adjutant whispers work updates to Li Wuya.

Qin Shu isn’t interested in any of it; even if Li Wuya doesn’t hide it from him, he doesn’t want to listen.

So he deliberately slows his steps.

Strolling along leisurely, the distance between him and Li Wuya grows wider and wider.

The building buzzed with people coming and going, as usual—the Military Affairs Bureau was always busy, especially with Li Wuya as the top boss.

Workaholic, efficiency freak, strict and serious, meticulous to the last detail.

Imagining Li Wuya putting on a stern face and scolding someone, Qin Shu found it a bit amusing.

Suddenly, a young sentinel ran up to him from behind.

A round-faced boy who looked young, holding a box in his hands.

The people around almost imperceptibly paused, and the smile on Qin Shu's face stiffened, a bad feeling creeping in.

Please, no?

—

Qi Si

had had a crush on Qin Shu for a long time, ever since he first enlisted.

He joined three years ago, when Qin Shu was already known as the "Supernova" war god, leading the charge, invincible in every battle, his reputation at its peak.

Qi Si was weak and unlucky. Just out of training camp, he ran into a Star Beast tide, broke three ribs, and suffered damage to his mental sea, honorably sent to a field hospital.

At that time, Qi Si's greatest pleasure was packing into the hall with his comrades to watch the battle reports looping on the projection.

Everyone in the hospital—doctors, patients, sentinels, guides—all loved watching those projections.

The projections were all of Qin Shu: Qin Shu descending from the starship, Qin Shu covered in blood, Qin Shu with explosions and dust swirling behind him.

Qin Shu's blade was always stained with blood. Qin Shu had a scar on his arm. Qin Shu's expression when facing the camera was always indifferent, with two cold glints in his eyes.

The planet's defenses collapsed, and just before the Star Beasts rampaged through the hospital, the projection still showed Qin Shu.

Wounded soldiers rushed to help, people around him fell one by one. The Star Beast's tail stinger pierced through the two comrades in front of him, just three meters away. He couldn't escape—his leg was pinned under rubble.

Everything around him became a blur, voices indistinct, his vision going white, his mental sea roaring, oscillating, oscillating—then a cold, sharp sensation.

…Sensation?

The figure in the projection descended from the sky.

Literally. A drop ship roared past at low altitude, the hatch opened, and someone jumped straight down—no deceleration device, no landing buffer—just landing hard from over twenty meters.

Was it an artillery shell, or just one strike of his sword?

Dust billowed into the air as the Star Beast crashed to the ground.

Military boots clicked, unhurried, and a vague figure solidified in the haze.

First, he saw the blade.

A long blade, viscous liquid dripping from its edge, its surface reflecting the blazing fire.

Then, the hand—slender, cold white, with the iconic scar on the arm.

Qin Shu stood in the real world, the impact of his presence a world apart from watching him in the projection.

A sharp, overbearing cold aura overshadowed the delicacy of his face, making him even more beautiful—a beauty like a weapon. In the backlight, all attention was drawn to the light in his eyes. Qi Si struggled desperately, wanting to stand up, not wanting to be so helpless in front of Qin Shu—

Qin Shu bent down, lifting the rubble off Qi Si's leg with one hand.

"Wuya, there's someone alive here," he said.

At that moment, they were so close that Qi Si could feel his breath—but only that once. Yet wasn't "that once" enough to make Qi Si fall in love with him?

Everyone would marvel at his luck for being saved by Qin Shu. Qin Shu had saved thousands, but not everyone had the fortune to be this, this close to him.

Qi Si also considered himself lucky—saved by Qin Shu's own hands, his surname initial matching Qin Shu's, surviving two years on the battlefield, and being assigned to the Military Affairs Bureau after the war.

Because of Director Li's influence, Qi Si often got to see Qin Shu from a distance.

But never too close. Every time Qin Shu came to the Bureau, the Director would keep the crowd away from him, always preventing irrelevant people from talking to him.

Recently, the Director had asked for people to run errands. As soon as colleagues learned the destination was the Star Union Agency, they all scrambled to be chosen. Qi Si wanted to go too.

If chosen, he could see Qin Shu—even if just for a moment. He could confess his feelings and give Qin Shu the sweets he made. Qin Shu would definitely accept and appreciate them. Who wouldn't want a legitimate reason to see Qin Shu?

Qi Si dreamed of this for four days, learned to make desserts countless times, practiced what to say when meeting Qin Shu countless times. But as a nobody, he never got the chance, so he could only dejectedly take his handmade chocolates back.

Who knew that at noon, up ahead, in the corridor—

A silhouette almost etched into his soul.

The crowd faded. Only Qin Shu existed in his senses. The chocolate in his hand gained meaning. Now, there was only one thing he wanted to do.

"Colonel Qin…!" He ran up to Qin Shu, stammering, "I-I made this chocolate. I li—"

Qi Si abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Qin Shu had covered his mouth.

With overwhelming force and lightning-fast reflexes, Qin Shu steered him into a corner, quickly concealed them, then pushed open a window and fell out.

Seven floors up, the two of them fell, fell.

Qi Si's eyes were fixed on Qin Shu.

Rustling sounds. Leaves and grass, thick and layered. Qin Shu landed on the lush greenery, pinning him underneath—what was Qin Shu doing?

It finally dawned on Qi Si. Why had Qin Shu covered his mouth?

His face flushed crimson, his heart about to explode. He didn't have time to think or dare to think.

Not on the battlefield, no smoke or gunpowder. Qin Shu lacked that dangerous edge. Softened by the midday sunlight, he was dazzling and radiant.

The handsome man frowned, looking slightly puzzled. The warmth of his palm spread to Qi Si's heart.

"Kid, confessing to me right in front of Li Wuya? Do you still want to keep your job in the Military Affairs Bureau?" Qin Shu said.

-

At the critical moment, Qin Shu stopped the poor kid from saying the key word, and just as Li Wuya seemed about to turn around, he whisked the kid away from the scene.

The timing and place of this confession were far too unique. Qin Shu was so startled that he didn't care about straight guys, gays, homophobia, or right and wrong—he just grabbed the kid and ran!

A male sentinel—wearing a Military Affairs Bureau uniform at that—how dare he confess to Qin Shu in front of Li Wuya?

Was Li Wuya's homophobia not loud enough, or had this person forgotten what happened to the seventy-seven sentinels who confessed to Qin Shu?