Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

"Mr. He!" Kang Guanyu was shell-shocked when He Juan suddenly took action. Even Tak Jung-Hwa stepped on the brake in a hurry, causing the tires to screech shrilly against the asphalt. However, it was too late by the time they wanted to stop He Juan because He Juan already unlocked the gate and pushed it open.

He Juan could feel his blood running cold as soon as the yard was revealed in front of him. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong here. He had lived with Jia Molei for so long and thus, he knew very well how much the Beta cherished his plants. He would always take the time to water them before he went to work and carried them inside the house when the storm was raging. But now... he saw Jia Molei’s favorite potted plant shattered to pieces on the ground, uncared for. Not only that, there was also a trail of muddy footprints on the porch. It was impossible for a clean freak like Jia Molei to leave something like that behind, so the only possibility was—

Before he realized it, his feet had carried him across the yard toward the front door. "Molei!" he cried out, fully afraid of what he would be finding inside. What if... What if a terrible accident had happened to Jia Molei and he had come too late? What if...

He Juan’s mind abruptly screeched to a halt when he saw that the front door was ajar. Once again, Jia Molei would not make such an error.

"Mr. He!" Kang Guanyu finally caught up to him. He sidestepped the muddy footprints on the floor and pulled him to the side. His usually cheerful and easygoing look was nowhere to be found. Instead, he had a solemn look on his face as he told He Juan seriously, "I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go in just like this! First, there’s a possibility that you may get into danger and it’s our duty to protect a citizen like you. Second, this is the house which the imposter has stayed in for the night. We have to proceed carefully lest we mess with the evidence inside!"

Behind them, Tak Jung-Hwa already put on a pair of black nylon gloves. "Step aside," he told them in a hushed voice, then he plastered his back to the door and peeked into the gap, trying to inspect if there was any sign of activity inside.

He Juan clenched his fists and tried to reign in his anger and frustration. He wanted to tell the two officers not to treat Jia Molei’s house as a... as a crime scene or something! But then, the logical part of his mind also knew that what Kang Guanyu said was reasonable. Jia Molei was completely unreachable right now and he was most likely in danger. If... If He Juan acted alone, he might not even know where to start, so it might be better for him to cooperate with the police for the time being.

Tak Jung-Hwa turned to them and gave an OK gesture, then he took the lead to enter the house, He Juan and Kang Guanyu hot on his trail.

He Juan’s heart was hanging on his throat as he swept his eyes over the familiar layout. He had no idea why, but his broken brain decided to make the situation worse by replaying the moment when he found Zhao Xinya’s body on top of the dark and dingy elevator cubicle. No... he pleaded. Please don’t. Molei has to be alive. He has to. He Juan had no idea how he would fare if he were to push open Jia Molei’s bedroom only to find his best friend’s stiff corpse inside.

Just the mere thought of it was already enough to drive him insane.

"I will go that way," Tak Jung-Hwa pointed to the hallway that led deeper into the house. "You stay here with Mr. He and look around."

Kang Guanyu nodded readily. Once Tak Jung-Hwa left, the officer turned to He Juan who was still frozen on the spot. He hesitated briefly before patting He Juan twice on the shoulder. "It’s okay, Mr. He. I am sure that everything will be fine! Your friend... uh, he might have just gone out to buy something!" He tried very hard to cheer He Juan up, even though it did not seem to work that well.

He Juan shook his head. He knew Jia Molei very well. The messy state of his house, the ajar door, and on top of that, his phone that had been turned off... all of those signs told him that Jia Molei had landed himself into trouble. He Juan would not lie to himself that Jia Molei was fine. Or else there was no way Jia Molei would allow anyone to run around searching for his whereabouts. At least, he would definitely leave He Juan or Su Xieren some kind of message so that they would not have to worry about him.

"He’s not here..." he said in a hoarse voice, his face was ghastly pale. "Molei is missing."

Sure enough, Tak Jung-Hwa returned a few minutes later and shook his head. "There’s nobody inside."

Kang Guanyu, who had checked the kitchen, bathroom and living room, also shook his head. "I don’t find anything suspicious either."

"How about the field officers?"

"En," Kang Guanyu glanced at his phone. "They’re arriving in... ten minutes."

Tak Jung-Hwa thought for a second and made a decision. "I’m going to the management office to view the surveillance footage. How about you guys?" Kang Guanyu hesitated and shot He Juan a glance, clearly waiting for him to make a decision first. In response, He Juan shook his head weakly.

"I’m going to stay here and wait for the police to arrive. You guys go." He Juan felt utterly drained and the base of his skull had been pounding since then. He was not certain if he had the energy to analyze the surveillance footage with a clear mind. His stomach felt queasy and he had an urge to puke out the porridge he had eaten earlier. However, in the face of Kang Guanyu’s concern expression, he forced a smile on his face and said, "I am not feeling very well right now. Don’t worry, officers, I won’t run around as I please and mess with the house. Please, don’t let me delay your precious time."

Tak Jung-Hwa stared at him for one long moment, then he tugged Kang Guanyu’s arm along. "Let’s go."

"W-Wait! I will go, don’t pull me!" Kang Guanyu waved at He Juan. "We will return soon, Mr. He!"

He Juan nodded. He maintained his polite demeanor until the two of them disappeared beyond the door, then he let himself collapse gracelessly on the couch. He pressed on his aching temple and sighed heavily, "Molei, where are you...?"

He Juan was not expecting any answer, yet as soon as his question settled in the air, there was a clear ’ding!’ that sounded very close to him. He Juan froze. What... was that? Was he hallucinating?

As though reading his mind, another two consecutive ’ding!’s echoed in the air and this time, He Juan was alert enough to notice that it came somewhere from the couch he was sitting on. Stunned, he patted the soft surface, then slipped his hand in between the crack of the couch and touched something solid. He pulled it out and discovered that it was a phone.

Not Jia Molei’s phone.

The screen was facing him and He Juan could see the pop-up notification of the three messages that had just come in. In the next second, his pupils dilated in shock and he sucked in cold air.

[Long time no see, XIU~]

[Are you looking for me? Hehe ><]

[How about a meet-up after seven long years? It will be only a few of us old acquaintances. No police, okay? Otherwise, Boss is going to get angry ^^]