Chapter 18: Straight Top Falls Into the Pit, Step Two

Chapter 18: Straight Man Falls into the Trap, Step Two

Until the next day at work, Qin Shu kept thinking about it.

First, three years ago, he had ruined his bro's virtue.

Even though it was unintentional and he had saved Li Wuya's life, ignorance didn't fully absolve him—he was certainly responsible.

Second, a few months ago, he had ruined his bro's virtue again.

Even though it was still unintentional and he had saved Li Wuya's life again, he was, of course, still responsible.

It all boiled down to him being an illiterate time traveler.

He hadn't paid attention during the military's mental guidance classes either. Anything related to guides went in one ear and out the other.

How miserable must Li Wuya have been?

Hating homosexuality so much, yet being saved by his best bro in a gay way.

Although Qin Shu had also lost his dignity during the rescue, Li Wuya's sacrifice was clearly greater—as an interstellar citizen, his innocence was gone, just like that!

And Qin Shu had been completely unaware of it, and had no intention of taking responsibility!

Qin Shu couldn't even take responsibility in a social sense, because he was a Sentinel...

The terminal in front of him was frozen on a search page.

The search bar read: "How to sever a deep link."

A message icon blinked, and Qin Shu opened it.

"[10:11 AM]

Kongtong Unmatched 7432: So, does your temporary guide know about your deep link?

[11:00 AM]

L51: Just finished work, saw this now.

L51: He's a subordinate raised by the family from childhood, completely loyal, and just a nominal guide—he's never performed mental guidance for me.

L51: No one else but you.

L51: It's always been just you."

Qin Shu was silent for a good ten seconds.

"Kongtong Unmatched 7432: ...Bro, your wording seems a bit...

L51: What?

Kongtong Unmatched 7432: Never mind, forget it."

Qin Shu, Qin Shu, can you stop overthinking all the time? Your brother is just talking normally—how can you jump to thinking about homosexuality?

"Kongtong Unmatched 7432: Did you solve your problem?

L51: I've temporarily calmed the people under me. As for the rest... we'll talk in person.

L51: Want to come over at noon today? I made a new cake.

Kongtong Unmatched 7432: ...Fine."

Qin Shu snapped his terminal closed, stood up, and paced around his office.

No, no.

Why did this feel so weird?

Nothing seemed off, but everything felt off, so off that it made him uncomfortable all over!

Before he could figure it out, a knock came at the door.

The blonde guy walked in with a bunch of team members, instantly cramming the office.

Qin Shu: "...What's up?"

The blonde guy asked cautiously: "Captain, there's a rumor going around that you don't want the General to go on any blind dates. Is that true?"

Hearing "General" made Qin Shu feel uncomfortable again.

"What's there to verify?" Qin Shu said casually. "Blind dates with guides are a pain. He doesn't want me to go on them either."

The blonde guy gasped, and everyone else did too.

So it really was weird!

Why did something so normal make everyone react so strangely?

After shooing the bunch of idiots out of his office, the blonde guy clung to the doorframe, refusing to budge. Qin Shu crossed his arms and glared at him.

You'd better have something important to say!

The blonde guy eyed him: "Captain, I feel like you're in a bad mood today."

"..."

"Captain, if you're upset about the General, we won't bring him up anymore." The blonde guy whispered. "We're all on your side. Just give the word, and we'll storm the Military Affairs Bureau for you."

"..."

Why did he feel both touched and at a loss for words?

"Wuya and I aren't at the point of falling out yet!" He kicked the blonde guy in the butt.

"Oh! So you had a fight! Captain, you've gotta win!"

"Wuya and I didn't fight either!"

"Got it, got it!" The blonde guy hopped around, protecting his butt. "Wait, Captain, I still have something to say!"

He ran out of the office, then ran back in with a bouquet of flowers.

Sunflowers.

Qin Shu saw a small note on the flowers.

"Shu Ge, even though it's not a great time, I still want to give you these flowers! Hope you have a great day, Shu Ge!"

PS: Brother Shu deserves more and better—and prettier—flowers. Don't let yourself be won over too easily! —From Anonymous"

...What the hell is this?

Qin Shu showed this note to Golden Retriever.

Golden Retriever had the nerve to say, "Captain, I think so too. Don't be too easily impressed. A lot of people will send you flowers, not just the General."

"...What's Wuya got to do with this?"

Qin Shu's stomach twisted again.

"Yeah, Captain, isn't the General trying to win you over?"

What the hell, 'pursuing'?!

Qin Shu was about to blow his top!

He was about to argue back, but he suddenly remembered his role as a shield, shut his mouth tight, thought for a moment, and managed to spit out, "It's not what you think, okay?!"

"Then why's he sending you flowers every day—"

"Don't ask so many questions, kid!"

Qin Shu totally lost it. He snatched up the sunflowers and shoved Golden Retriever out the door with a few kicks.

Closing the office door, he dumped the sunflowers on the desk and got lost in thought!

At lunch, Qin Shu opened his office door, looking gloomy.

-

Then he froze at the sight of dozens of flower bouquets gathered at the door.

A riot of colors, all kinds of flowers, all in full bloom.

Little Fang grinned from ear to ear, "Captain, you finally came out! These are all for you! See the third row, second from the left? That one's from me!"

Qin Shu was stunned: "Did I die or something?"

Were they bringing flowers to his grave?

Golden Retriever zipped over: "Captain, don't say something so unlucky! We just saw you weren't in a good mood, so everyone wanted to give you something..."

"Flowers might cheer you up!" Bob said.

"..."

It was nice being cared about, but where was he supposed to put all these flowers?

Qin Shu: "Thanks, but whoever sent these, please take them back. I can't keep this many."

"But Captain, most of these just showed up at the Star Union Agency entrance out of nowhere. We couldn't find anyone on the cameras, and they were blocking the entrance, so we brought them back. Our military sentinels are really something!" Golden Retriever chuckled.

Qin Shu: ...

He sighed, gathered the little notes from a few bouquets, snapped a photo of the spectacular flower display, and posted it on the military intranet social feed.

"@KongtongNoDates7432: Thanks for the flowers, everyone. They're beautiful, but I can't keep this many. It'd be a shame to just let them go to waste. Anyone want to come to the Star Union Agency and pick theirs up?

P.S. I'll keep all the little notes you left me.

[Image][Image]

Location: Star Union Agency Main Building"

He had quite a few followers on the intranet, because back in the day he was an internet addict, spending all his time on social media, and the followers just piled up.

But he hadn't posted in a while. Why? He'd found something more fun than social media: holographic games.

In an instant, a flood of comments appeared.

"@xxx: Brother Shu, we love you!!

@zzz: Those are for you! Even if Brother Shu threw them in the trash, the flowers would be honored!!"

Qin Shu: ...

"@KongtongNoDates7432 replied to @zzz: What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not gonna throw them away.

@zzz replied to @KongtongNoDates7432: My brother replied to me... [Ultimate Sentinel Dies on the Spot.GIF]"

These young sentinels, why were they getting more and more hyper?

After waiting about ten minutes, no one said they wanted to take theirs back. They all urged him to keep them.

One person even posted a receipt, telling Qin Shu he'd be happy even if the flowers wilted there.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed with a special notification.

Li Wuya commented on his post.

"@L51: I can handle it."

The diverted attention came back, and Qin Shu started feeling uncomfortable again.

But he had to reply to his brother's comment—their interaction rate was a hundred percent.

"@KongtongNoDates7432 replied to @L51: No need, I'll keep them all!"

Closing the terminal, Qin Shu first put the pile of small notes back in the office, then called his team members over to give orders.

Ten minutes later, almost every window and desk in the three Star Union Agency buildings had a vase.

Thirty-five minutes later, Qin Shu arrived at the Military Affairs Bureau, at the Director's office.

Li Wuya was waiting at the door, holding an extremely exquisite and ornate bouquet.

"Good afternoon, A Shu."

Qin Shu: ...

How childish could this guy be!

Ten minutes later, the bouquet was arranged as a flower display on the office table.

-

Qin Shu took a deep breath and said to Li Wuya what he'd been thinking all morning.

"I'm sorry, Wuya. Even though you went so far as to ask for my forgiveness, I think I'm the one who should apologize." Qin Shu looked him straight in the eyes.

"I had no idea what that gesture really meant. I took away your right to choose a guide, and without realizing it, I put you under a lot of pressure."

"Those pressures might have hurt you... and as your best friend, I never even noticed, all this time."

"But if I had to do it again, I’d still make the same choice. I’m still glad that I was able to form a deep link with you, because it meant our friendship didn’t have to end with your death."

As he finished speaking, Qin Shu felt uncharacteristically nervous.

He didn’t know what the consequences of saying these words would be, but he believed that honesty would bring about a good result.

After a long silence, Li Wuya let out a quiet "Mm."

Qin Shu let out a sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Can we still be best friends from now on?"

He inwardly cursed himself for being so childish at twenty-six, but he really needed to know—he didn’t want any distance between him and Li Wuya!

Li Wuya smiled. "Is friendship really that fragile? How could some deep link become a barrier between us?"

Qin Shu’s eyes went wide!

That’s right, exactly!

How did his bro get him so well?

He was so moved. "Wuya, how can you be so good?"

Li Wuya said, "A Shu, I want to talk to you about something—some trouble I’m in..."

Qin Shu replied seriously, "Go ahead!"

For Li Wuya, he would walk through fire without hesitation!

-

Three minutes later, Qin Shu’s face went blank.

Just now, Li Wuya’s request seemed to go beyond the matter of walking through fire.

It was something deeper, weirder, and more tied to the secrets of human society—

"Wuya, are you saying... get married?"

Li Wuya nodded earnestly. "Yes, A Shu, could you marry me? Like, a contract marriage?"