He Juan’s smile stiffened. Even a deaf could hear that Mu Yuze was just humoring him. He lowered the shirt and asked tentatively, "You don’t like it?"

Mu Yuze blinked, "I do."

He Juan: "..." But you don’t sound like it at all!

He heaved out a wistful sigh. "Well, even if you despise it, you still have to wear it for tonight. Tomorrow, Gege will take you to buy some more clothes, okay?"

Mu Yuze’s gaze snapped to him, shocked. His brows furrowed deeply, "Why would you buy me clothes?"

Now it was He Juan’s turn to blink owlishly at him. "Do I need a reason to?"

He attempted to suppress his giddiness to no avail. That’s great, Mu Yuze had not shown any refusal whatsoever when He Juan referred to himself as ’Gege’! Did it mean that the boy had started to accept him? No, He Juan was quick to deny his own assumption. Perhaps Mu Yuze was just stumped by his sudden offer and missed the way He Juan had addressed himself with. That’s right, it might not mean anything at all.

But why did he look so shocked? Was there something wrong with He Juan’s offer?

Next, He Juan tried to put himself in Mu Yuze’s shoes and imagined the appearance of a stranger Alpha who offered to buy him clothes upon their first encounter, and he instantly got goosebumps along his arms. It was still okay to be treated to dinner, being offered a temporary place to stay already started to sound suspicious, but to have the aforementioned stranger buy him clothes... it was nothing but plain creepy!

Goddamnit He Juan, it turns out you’re such a creep!

Seeing how Mu Yuze’s face crumpled like he wanted nothing but to bolt out of this place, He Juan was left flabbergasted. He tried to explain himself, "Wait, no, I... I don’t mean anything by that! I can swear on it!"

However, Mu Yuze’s expression did not clear up at all, his dark eyes were still gazing at He Juan with such prickling wariness that it made He Juan wish he could go back in time to take back his words. Alas, there was no use crying over spilled milk. His image as a functional and dependable adult had already crumbled into dust, and Mu Yuze might have even labeled him as a closeted pervert.

He Juan’s shoulders deflated and in the end, he could only take one step back, despite his Alpha’s displeasure. "Okay, it’s my fault. I have taken things too far. We don’t need to buy new clothes, but... if you’re staying here, you will definitely need to change. I will bring you back to your house tomorrow and then you can pack up your belongings, how about it?"

He Juan sensed it keenly when Mu Yuze heaved out a sigh of relief and the tension in his body melted away. "That’s... fine. But I have to trouble you—"

He Juan waved his hand. "No trouble. There’s no trouble at all! Here," he handed the shirt over. "Just make do with it, okay? There’s no way you can be comfortable with sleeping only with towels." Right now, Mu Yuze had a large bath towel wrapped around his body and also another draped over his head, making him look like a nun. The only spots that were not covered were his face, hands and feet, and He Juan tried not to let his gaze stay on the bruises that seemed to have become more hideous under the light.

After Mu Yuze accepted the shirt, He Juan sensibly turned around. "Just wear it right here. I swear I won’t peek at you." To prove his words, he walked toward the couch and started to pick up the messy documents laying around and move them to the table. If he was not wrong, it seemed like he had a box of medicine kits somewhere around...

Aha, there it was!

He happily pulled out the medicine kit on the corner of his couch in time to hear Mu Yuze say quietly, "I’m done."

He Juan turned around by reflex and the sight in front of him caused his eyes to go wide.

He had expected that the shirt would be too big for Mu Yuze but... not this big. It had literally become a dress! Not only that, the collar was also too wide for Mu Yuze’s small frame and it kept slipping to the side to show a glimpse of dark bruises on his otherwise fair skin...

If only there were no ugly bruises... if only he was not so thin that it was painful to see, he would have been an adorable and handsome boy.

He Juan’s jaws ticked and he forcibly smoothed the creases on his brows, not wishing to make Mu Yuze more uncomfortable than he already was. With a gait as natural as possible, he walked back to Mu Yuze and offered the medicine kit in his hand. "Take this," he said. "Can you do it yourself or... do you need me to help you?"

Mu Yuze was briefly stunned, apparently not expecting He Juan to care about his wounds. Then hearing He Juan’s offer, he snapped back to his senses and snatched the medicine kit into his arms lightning fast. "I can!" He declared loudly, as if fearing that He Juan would insist on his offer. "I can do it by myself! It’s not like... It’s not like I haven’t been doing it alone all this time..." his voice got softer in the end, almost like he was talking to himself.

And there it was again, a flicker of anger burning in the depth of He Juan’s heart. And it became all the more frustrating when he had no target to vent it on. Why? He had always prided himself for being an Alpha with sufficient self-control. But why did it seem so difficult to hold his emotions back around this boy?

"Good," he forced his voice to soften and gently ruffled the boy’s damp hair. "You must be tired running around all day. Go and treat your wounds. Remember not to sleep without drying your hair, yeah?"

Mu Yuze gave a minute nod before turning away to return to his temporary bedroom.

He Juan leaned on the doorway and gazed at his thin back. So small and fragile, he looked like he could disappear at the slightest touch. He had no idea what compelled him, but the next thing he knew, he had called out, "Xiao Ze."

Mu Yuze subtly flinched in surprise and turned back warily.

He Juan curved the corner of his lips and waved at the boy. "Goodnight, Xiao Ze. Have a good rest and sweet dreams."

Mu Yuze stared at him for one long moment, nodded and continued on his way. And it was not until he opened the door that he paused and murmured in return, "...Goodnight. Also," he paused, gritted his teeth and forced himself to say, "I’m sorry for kicking you earlier!"

The door closed behind him, leaving behind He Juan who was still stunned on the spot. He never thought that Mu Yuze would still keep that little event in mind. A gentle smile made its way to his face and he shook his head helplessly.

Really, such a good boy he was.

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A/N(19/3/2023): the Chapter is now with fanart! Kindly open the comment section and show your love there! Much love for Ying who has drawn little Mu Yuze for us! Isn’t he the most precious thing in the world? QAQ