Chapter 26: Day Two of the Cold Shoulder

Chapter 26 The Second Day of Silent Treatment

The next day was his day off.

The sun was high in the sky when Qin Shu opened his eyes.

He felt something on his ring finger.

Through sleepy eyes, he saw what it was:

A ring.

He stared blankly for at least three minutes.

Three minutes later, he suddenly jumped out of bed.

He felt awful all over, pacing from wall to wall, finally squatting by the window, looking world-weary as he pondered life.

The events of the previous day replayed in his mind like a slideshow:

First, he got married. Second, he got married. Third, the good brother he married turned out to be gay and made a move on him.

And he had kissed that brother who turned him gay...

The kiss made his brother's IQ suddenly plummet. He not only confessed his feelings but also admitted he'd been lying all along. He'd been completely manipulated by his brother's act of vulnerability!

So Li Wuya really had been treating him like a fool?

Yesterday, he'd been such an idiot. When his brother kissed him, he still thought it was just acting...

Looking back, it was obviously the genuine feelings of a gay guy, and he walked right into it without a second thought!

Qin Shu wiped his lips angrily and sorrowfully.

His innocence was completely gone now!

He had made his own choices—he wouldn't regret them, even if they were made under deception. But…

But what really bothered him was Li Wuya lying to him.

Besides, even if he was gay now, why couldn't he just tell him directly?

They were so close. Normally, how could Qin Shu bear to stay away from him?

He didn't know where Li Wuya's fear came from. But it was that fear that made him so bold.

Li Wuya knew very well that Qin Shu hated deception more than he hated gay people.

How could he dare treat him like this?

He took off the gem-studded ring, put it back on, then finally set it on the nightstand. Qin Shu thought for a long time and let out a heavy sigh.

No matter how he thought about it, it was still a tangled mess. He'd just take it one step at a time!

At least for now, the one who had to worry definitely wasn't him.

After washing up and changing clothes, Qin Shu opened the bedroom door.

Sure enough, Li Wuya was still standing there.

He walked over to him. "A Shu, I'm completely calm now. Please give me some time to expl—"

Qin Shu looked away in displeasure, and Li Wuya immediately fell silent.

Qin Shu stepped around him and grabbed a bag of nutrient solution from the shelf.

Qin Shu downed the nutrient solution, stared straight ahead, and walked out the door.

Silent treatment—he was serious!

The door shut with a cold, hard click.

-

Li Wuya stopped hiding the anxiety and neuroticism on his face. A strange, mixed emotion churned in his stomach. Awkwardly, he rubbed the ring on his other hand.

...A Shu had taken off the ring. A Shu was ignoring him.

But A Shu still allowed him to stay here.

He listed his sins for the umpteenth time: foolishness, delusions, deceit, greed, boundless desire.

He should be grateful, shouldn't he? A Shu's only punishment was ignoring him. How merciful.

But why—where did this fear and sense of loss come from?

...A Shu had even left you a door—

Even though just yesterday they had been closer than ever.

After a brief silence, he followed.

Qin Shu was heading out today to visit the Marshal.

-

The Marshal was the leader who had always supported him, perfect in every way except that he was too eager to find him a partner.

Maybe that's just how old people think—they believe having a partner means never being lonely.

If the blind dates the Marshal set up for him hadn't all been men, he probably wouldn't have resisted so much.

Unfortunately, this was a world where everyone was gay.

They hadn't been in direct contact for over a month—at first Qin Shu was afraid that contacting him would lead to blind dates, and later, because he became Li Wuya's shield, he didn't dare contact him at all.

The Marshal was a traditional old Sentinel who didn't accept Sentinel-on-Sentinel relationships or same-sex relationships. Most importantly, he hated Li Wuya as a person.

Obviously, the Marshal would be absolutely against this marriage. He hadn't even shown up at the wedding yesterday.

...Speaking of which, who actually liked Li Wuya?

After three seconds of racking his brain, Qin Shu was shocked to realize: in the entire military, there wasn't a single person who liked him!

He was lost in thought for a long time until he finally arrived at the Marshal's residence.

Qin Shu got out of the car, carrying gifts.

The Marshal's little granddaughter was very cute, walking a big-eared puppy. The two of them circled around Qin Shu, making it impossible for him to move.

Luckily, he had also prepared a gift for the child.

Qin Shu took out a box of chocolates, and the little girl happily tore it open and ate them.

What about the little dog that couldn't eat chocolate?

Qin Shu rummaged in his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky.

Well, it was originally bought for Li Wuya.

Three seconds later, the little dog happily pawed at the jerky and gnawed on it.

"If you like children, you can register at the fertility center," a middle-aged voice said.

The Marshal walked over with his hands behind his back, looking stern.

"No thanks, sir, I have no plans to settle down yet," Qin Shu replied reflexively.

After he spoke, both of them fell silent.

Marshal: "Forgot to wish you a happy wedding."

"...Oh, oh."

The two of them went to the study.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the gifts were placed on the table.

The Marshal took a sip of tea: "My health is fine. I'm just staying home pretending to be sick to avoid seeing General Li's face. I appreciate your concern."

"Oh, oh, that's good. Take care of yourself," Qin Shu said awkwardly, rubbing his nose.

"Hearing about your marriage to General Li really killed my appetite."

"..."

"But seeing you like this, I can tell you didn't come just to check on my health, did you?"

Qin Shu rubbed his nose again.

Well, his superior guessed right—he did have a few things he wanted to ask.

-

Leaving the Marshal's residence, he headed back.

Qin Shu was still thinking about what the Marshal had said.

"Li Wuya is at the height of his power now. How many constraints do you think he has? The political enemies standing in his way have disappeared one by one. The only ones who can be called his enemies now are the royal family," the middle-aged man said calmly. "The royal family does fear him, but what can they do to him? His methods and schemes—I hope you understand them better than I do."

"The difficulties exist, but they don't have to be solved through marriage. Qin Shu, I'm not angry that you got married—I'm angry that he used his tactics on you. Tying you down, and then what? I don't want you to be his pawn."

The gentle Li Wuya, the cold Li Wuya, the Li Wuya who seriously made cakes, and the Li Wuya known as a schemer.

The Li Wuya who knelt eagerly before him and said, "You saw my love."

The Marshal was a bit biased—he was certainly not Li Wuya's pawn. When facing him, Li Wuya seemed almost ready to kneel.

But some of it was true. The persona Li Wuya showed him was too different from the one he showed the outside world.

Which parts were lies, which were just an act?

Lost in thought, he found himself at the doorstep.

Li Wuya had silently sidled up next to him.

Qin Shu turned and kicked, sending the man stumbling and crashing into the opposite wall.

Could he stop interrupting his train of thought?

-

Li Wuya was resilient—even after taking the kick, his expression didn't change, and he slipped through the door the moment Qin Shu opened it.

"A Shu, I've really calmed down now," Li Wuya said in a low voice. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Just don't ignore me, alright?"

Silence was his only answer.

Qin Shu was fiddling with his terminal.

He had a backlog of messages he hadn't replied to—some people wished him a happy wedding, others complimented him on how handsome he looked yesterday, and surprisingly, no one asked why he left the wedding banquet halfway through.

To those who complimented his looks, he replied with a smug emoji. Qin Shu thought about the cake from last night.

He hadn't gotten to eat it—what a shame.

Li Wuya stood behind him: "Can I make you something to eat?"

Qin Shu ordered takeout right in front of him.

They fell silent again.

"The beginning of my scheming started when I first arrived in the capital—"

Qin Shu retreated to his room.

...Was he just pretending not to hear?

Li Wuya cautiously brought up a few sensitive topics and quickly realized that Qin Shu simply wasn't listening at all.

Qin Shu had completely refused to hear any explanation or confession.

It seemed another crime had been added to his list: "being completely denied the opportunity to explain."

The unpleasant feeling spread through his chest again. Self-loathing and fear churned in his stomach.

This feeling had started the moment Qin Shu first avoided him and had continued until now—Li Wuya was becoming somewhat used to it.

The second half of last night's wedding banquet was hosted by Li Wuya.

-

His marriage to A Shu was full of love, their relationship had always been good, and it still was. A Shu left because of an urgent matter...

Please, don't overthink it even a little.

He issued that warning, and no one objected.

The Empress seemed to agree as well.

"That's right, Colonel Qin truly prepared this wedding with great care," she said, smiling.

In the past, it had always been about power struggles and sharp exchanges, but at that moment, Li Wuya felt a clear intent to kill the Empress.

The wedding banquet ended an hour early.

It took him a few minutes to come up with a plan that would cause the Empress trouble. He then rushed to the tavern where Qin Shu vanished.

The owner was suspicious of Li Wuya, and the tavern had no way for his guys to hack the network or plant any devices. All he could do was stand outside, picturing how Qin Shu and that damned Zuo Chou would be together in the same room.

Intimately. Alone together.

Qin Shu wouldn't skimp on his smiles. After drinking, Qin Shu's eyes would get all shiny. Qin Shu would lean in close; Qin Shu was clueless about personal space.

How could this happen? All of this used to be his, damn it.

But it was indeed his fault. It got exposed because of his stupidity and lowness. But how could this be? They'd just kissed, not long ago.

Downstairs at the tavern, he saw the transfer notification from Qin Shu.

… Trying to cut ties?

It was painful enough as it was, so surprisingly, Li Wuya felt kind of calm.

Too bad. Even if you sent all this money back, I'm not leaving you.

He waited outside for Qin Shu to leave, then followed him till he was near home.

He showed up slowly. Qin Shu wasn't surprised. He followed Qin Shu home, but Qin Shu didn't even look at him.

In the dark, he spent the whole night replaying that soft kiss.

And then came today.

… Qin Shu wasn't wearing the ring. Qin Shu kept ignoring him. Qin Shu went to see the Marshal.

He had no way of knowing exactly what they said, but he could guess. That Marshal loved badmouthing him.

Would Qin Shu believe that trash talk?

No, before this, he wouldn't have.

Qin Shu believed in him, no question. When it came to matters concerning him, Qin Shu would only trust his version of events. He always got to explain first, and Qin Shu's trust was pure and straightforward.

That was why he dared to send invitations to those mad dogs on the border, and to Zuo Chou.

When Qin Shu remained completely unmoved, their opposition and hate were the best wedding gift he could ask for.

And he personally destroyed that trust.

So he probably deserved it. The pitiable one was A Shu.

Truly pitiable, to have trusted someone like him. Even ignoring and rejecting him couldn't drive him away.

He needed to confess and apologize, but Qin Shu hadn't given him that chance yet.

Li Wuya touched his kicked stomach, dazed.

Was he a good punching bag?

Probably not. If he were, he would have been kicked a few more times just now.