Chapter 16: For You, I’m Willing!

Chapter 16: For You, I'm Willing!

After that, things settled into a routine.

Except that every time he met Li Wuya, Li Wuya would give him a bouquet of flowers.

Today at noon, he arrived at the Military Affairs Bureau and walked into the suite next to the director's office, which had recently been converted into a small dining room.

On the table were exquisite dishes, and in front of his seat sat a pretty little cake.

Li Wuya was already waiting there, holding a small, elegantly wrapped bouquet.

"Wuya, I've noticed you've been particularly free lately," Qin Shu teased.

"A little," Li Wuya said, handing over the flowers.

A bunch of light blue flowers, still dotted with droplets of water.

Qin Shu sat down and pinched a petal: "What's today's flower called?"

"Forget-me-not."

"I won't forget."

"...I mean, the flower's name is Forget-me-not."

Qin Shu was puzzled: "I know that."

"..."

Watching Qin Shu finish his lunch, Li Wuya asked leisurely, "Where shall we go for dinner this afternoon?"

They had just finished lunch, and he was already thinking about the afternoon.

Qin Shu bit into a slice of matcha cake roll that Li Wuya had made, said with his mouth full: "Seriously, haven't you been too idle these past few days?"

"I've just finished dealing with everything."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm."

Qin Shu gave him a reproachful look, stood up, and opened the door for the anxious adjutant waiting outside.

-

Qin Shu felt a particular sense of responsibility for making sure Li Wuya worked properly, probably because he thought he was the one leading him astray.

Still chewing on the cake roll, he listened as the adjutant asked Li Wuya for instructions.

"General, about that banquet..."

"I'm not going."

"And Her Majesty the Empress's salon—you've already declined many times—"

"Refuse it once more."

A clear look of annoyance crossed Li Wuya's face.

Few things could make Li Wuya show such an expression.

Qin Shu interjected: "What banquet and salon?"

"Just political blind dates," Li Wuya said.

Qin Shu was surprised: "They're still trying to set you up on blind dates?"

Wasn't Li Wuya's refusal obvious enough?

Li Wuya said, "They always think that a marriage contract can make them my co-owner."

"Co-owner?"

"Co-owner of everything I have—power, status, military achievements..." Li Wuya looked at Qin Shu. "You have a share in all of this, and I won't give them to anyone else."

Qin Shu asked, "Doesn't refusing work?"

Li Wuya shook his head.

"For now, as long as the position is vacant, they'll keep bothering me."

"Is Her Majesty the Empress involved too?"

Qin Shu recalled that at the previous celebration banquet, the Empress had attended. She was a very gentle and ethereal guide. He couldn't imagine her playing matchmaker.

Li Wuya nodded: "The royal family's specialty is arranged marriages. Over the past half month, I've met over twenty royal-blooded guides... all men."

That sounded awful!

Finally understanding why the workaholic hadn't wanted to come to work these days, Qin Shu patted Li Wuya's shoulder sympathetically: "Then don't go. I'll treat you to a meal this afternoon."

The adjutant said softly, "But General, we've used up all our excuses. Her Majesty the Empress is mixing kindness with pressure, insisting that you have to go."

Li Wuya seemed to be in a bind.

No question about it—he had to help!

Qin Shu poked his head in: "How about I come with you—"

Li Wuya said coldly, "No!"

Qin Shu was caught off guard.

"Fine, don't then. No need to snap," he complained.

"Sorry, but that's an event full of unmarried male guides. You wouldn't want to—"

Qin Shu jumped in: "For you, I'd be willing!"

"..."

As his words fell, both Li Wuya and his adjutant fell silent, the atmosphere growing awkward.

Realizing belatedly how gay that sounded, Qin Shu also fell silent.

Just as he was thinking of how to cover it up, Li Wuya spoke.

"Don't say that for now."

"...Oh."

Li Wuya drawled slowly, "But if you're willing to help, that'd be great."

Qin Shu's eyes lit up.

So there really was a place for him after all?

-

Five minutes later.

The adjutant drafted the rejection and read it aloud to Qin Shu and Li Wuya.

As far as Qin Shu could tell, after cutting through all the fancy social fluff, it basically said: "Li Wuya's free time is reserved for Qin Shu, so he can't make your crappy salon."

Qin Shu tilted his head. "That works?"

Li Wuya gave a nod.

"I don't get all your political stuff, but isn't this basically saying you're too busy hanging with a friend to do real work?"

Li Wuya smiled. "Hanging with you is the real work. They wouldn't dare mess with you."

"That's true."

"Thanks, A Shu, for letting me borrow your rep."

"No need for that between us."

Li Wuya just smiled again.

The adjutant saluted, then turned and left.

-

In the Military Affairs Bureau office, which was idle for now, most people were just scrolling through their terminals.

The screen showed the military's internal anonymous forum.

"[Burn After Reading] Today's Stalker Thread

Topic: You know what's up. Screenshot-proof. Deleting later."

"...

#: Anyone know when they're coming out? I wanna send my brother flowers.

#: What's the occasion? I don't log in much, can't follow your riddles.

#: Huh?

#: Then didn't my bro send flowers back the next day? I don't buy that was some marriage proposal either!

#: WTF? So what if he's pissed? It's not like he'd kill me. Even if I die, I'd still say he's bad news!

#: ...

#: Yeah.

#: I'd better think this over...

The second that message popped up, most people in the office looked up, shocked, exchanging glances.

The adjutant, who had just walked in, shut the door and met their eyes, nodding gravely.

-

Now that he had a legit excuse to slack off, Qin Shu ditched any sense of responsibility to reform Li Wuya and happily played a few hours of co-op games.

After getting bored with gaming, he and Li Wuya watched a movie.

It was a carefully picked plot-driven movie with no romance subplot, and the main character really had no love interest, but at the end, two male side characters kissed.

Words couldn't describe the frustration. Qin Shu covered his own eyes and Li Wuya's too.

Li Wuya fumbled around and turned off the movie.

"A Shu, it's after work. Let's go eat."

Li Wuya pulled Qin Shu's hand away, his lips barely brushing against Qin Shu's palm.

The wound from a few days ago was now just a faint white line, making you want to bite it.

Thinking that, he actually bit down.

The texture was delicate.

Qin Shu's strength was his adaptability; his weakness was the same thing.

After that day, Qin Shu didn't think it was weird anymore. Even after getting bitten, he didn't run. Instead, he leaned in close, his fingers prying Li Wuya's lips open.

His fingertip pressed against Li Wuya's canine tooth, pushing down a little.

The black-haired sentinel was dead serious, very profound: "I've already looked it up. It's called the oral phase."

...So good at making excuses for me.

Li Wuya gently pressed his canine tip against Qin Shu's index finger.

Qin Shu rummaged through his pocket with his other hand and pulled out a wrapper.

He tore it open and stuffed it into Li Wuya's mouth.

A very hard piece of jerky.

Li Wuya: ...

Li Wuya held the jerky in his mouth and stood up coldly. "Let's go eat."

-

The dinner restaurant was close to the Duke's mansion.

After dinner, Li Wuya asked if Qin Shu wanted to stay over at his place, and Qin Shu readily agreed.

Getting into Li Wuya's car, Qin Shu noticed the sachet he had given Li Wuya hanging in the vehicle.

It clashed with the low-key luxury interior but was still quite cute.

Qin Shu squeezed the sachet.

Li Wuya asked him, "Where did you put your sachet?"

"In the wardrobe."

Qin Shu rolled up his sleeve and held it in front of Li Wuya's nose. "Smell it. Isn't it nice?"

Li Wuya: "...It's nice."

"You said that so reluctantly."

Li Wuya was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "It looks like there's someone ahead."

Someone?

Qin Shu looked out the car window.

They were near the Duke's mansion. A car was blocking the road, and a heavyset man got out, waving frantically.

Qin Shu looked at Li Wuya, who also seemed confused.

"Should we go down and take a look?" Qin Shu suggested.

So Li Wuya opened the car door.

Naturally, he didn't need to get out himself; the heavyset man came up to him: "General, I've finally seen you—"

He wiped the sweat off his face and instinctively glanced into the car.

He froze at the sight, immediately averted his gaze. His mind raced, and his expression quivered.

"General, I apologize for the intrusion." He smiled ingratiatingly.

Then he took a deep breath and spoke faster: "Your psychological evaluation report after the decisive battle has been leaked for four days now. Public opinion has been suppressed, but my subordinates... perhaps we are too slow on the uptake to grasp your intentions, and can't help but feel uneasy."

"From the current external situation, you indeed need a deep link. The nobles are eyeing you greedily, and the White Tower is just waiting to take over under the pretext of loss of control. I know you are resourceful and far-sighted, but a high-level sentinel without a deep link will eventually have their mental domain coll—"apse.

His words cut off as Li Wuya closed the car door.

Watching the receding car, the official wiped his sweat and murmured, "Finally said it..."

For the past four days he had waited here, the General had simply ignored him. The reason for stopping today, given the passenger in the car, was crystal clear.

The General had a purpose in everything he did, but he wondered: why did Colonel Qin Shu need to hear what he had just said?