"The favor you’d like to ask is... this?" Chen Youzhi asked tentatively half an hour after the phone call. He had just entered through the door and had not even taken his shoes off yet when He Juan came out to welcome him, and trailing behind him was a child whom he had never seen before.

Mu Yuze raised his chin and stared at the man right in the eye, vigilant yet dauntless. "Who are you?" The line of his whole body was tense and he looked like he was ready to attack if Chen Youzhi were to make a move.

He Juan was positively amused when he saw this exchange. Despite being a Beta, Chen Youzhi’s figure was bulky and broad, with his body made up of 90% taut muscles. Standing in front of the tiny and slender Mu Yuze, he looked almost like the Hulk. Not to mention the fact that he always exuded a solemn and fierce aura as if he was on his way to murder someone. But He Juan knew that the man was a huge softie inside. He had seen Chen Youzhi sew a cotton doll for another man whose sister had just given birth and the result turned out better than the one sold in the stores!

"Okay guys, what’s with this tension?" He Juan clapped cheerfully to thaw the tense atmosphere in the air. "Let me introduce you to each other. Xiao Ze, this is Chen Youzhi, he is my..." Subordinate? Lackey? Why did it sound awful the more he thought about it? In the end, he settled with, "...assistant." Alright, that sounded much better than the other two. Ignoring the bewildered look Chen Youzhi gave him, He Juan continued to say, "And Chen’er, this is Mu Yuze, my new roommate."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuze snuck a glance at him and hastily looked away. He begrudgingly softened his defensive stance and mumbled under his breath, "Nice to meet you."

He Juan’s heart sank lightly when he saw that Mu Yuze still could not look him in the eye. What’s wrong? Was the boy still angry at him? Hadn’t he apologized already for his carelessness?

Ever the polite man he was, Chen Youzhi subconsciously returned the greeting even though a lot of questions were swirling in his mind right now. "Hello, nice to meet you too." Then he turned his gaze toward He Juan and hesitantly said, "Um, Boss, about Blue—"

"Let’s talk inside." He Juan cut him off before he could complete his sentence. He recalled that he still had not revealed his identity to Mu Yuze yet. He knew it was silly of him to hide something like this. Mu Yuze was going to be his roommate, for God’s sake! He deserved to know what kind of person would be living with him under the same roof! Alas, He Juan just couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Later, he promised. Mu Yuze was still on guard against him and He Juan did not want to scare him away by exposing himself.

It was so strange; He Juan had clearly gotten used to being feared whenever he went. But when it came to Mu Yuze... he realized that he did not want to see any hint of fear in those beautiful and pure eyes – ever.

"As for you..." He Juan turned to Mu Yuze and instinctively reached out to pat his head only for the boy to shrink away in reflex. He Juan’s smile froze for a split second on his face, but he swiftly composed himself and took back his hand as if nothing had happened. "If you’re hungry, you can look for yesterday’s leftovers in the refrigerator. You know how to use the microwave, right?"

Mu Yuze nodded, still with his eyes trained somewhere on the floor.

"Good." He Juan suppressed the bitterness in his heart and beckoned for Chen Youzhi to follow him.

And as expected, as soon as they entered the study, Chen Youzhi closed the door behind him and asked with a frown, "May I ask who is that boy, Boss?"

He Juan did not attempt to hide the truth from him. "Mu Sicheng’s son. They are going to make him a scapegoat. I took him in instead."

"Mu Sicheng..." Chen Youzhi let out a groan. "Boss, you do know that Mu Sicheng is hunted down by a few organizations, right? Liuyang, Shufeng, Jingyu... they all want Mu Sicheng’s life! And now that you took his son under your wings, what would they think? They will assume that Xuanlong is protecting Mu Sicheng!"

"I know," He Juan chuckled softly, amused by the other man’s concern. "Of course I know, Chen’er. There’s no need for you to remind me. But my decision is already set. From now on, no one shall touch Mu Yuze or else... they will have to face my wrath. Either way..." he shrugged and spread his palms helplessly. "Even without Mu Yuze, it’s not like Xuanlong’s relationships with the other clans are good. We act so prim and proper on the surface, but who doesn’t know that we have always tried to kill each other in secret?"

Knowing that he would not be able to change He Juan’s mind, Chen Youzhi could only knead his temple with a constipated face.

"One more thing..." He Juan trailed off.

"What?" Chen Youzhi asked with a pained look. "What is it?"

He Juan let out an awkward cough. "I might have... provoked Liuyang very recently?" He tried to put it in a way that would not shock his subordinate too much. Nonetheless upon hearing it, Chen Youzhi’s face turned blue and he wheezed as if he couldn’t quite grasp his breath.

"You have... what?"

"Well, who told them to hurt someone under my wings?" He Juan’s smile did not quite reach his eyes and displeasure brewed in his heart whenever he thought of the bruises on Mu Yuze’s body. It was already very merciful of him not to drop a single blood last night. They could even escape with their lives and limbs intact! "But don’t worry," he put on a reassuring smile and patted Chen Youzhi’s shoulder, who looked as if he was seconds away from asphyxiating. "I’ve already promised to compensate for their physical and mental damage! If they know what’s best for them, then they won’t dare to try anything for the time being!"

"I understand..." Chen Youzhi took a deep breath to regain his composure. "I will keep an eye on Liuyang."

He Juan beamed. "I know I can always rely on you, Chen’er. Now about the favor I’d like to ask you..." his smile turned sheepish. "Can I trouble you to be Mu Yuze’s chauffeur for the day and help him move his things into this apartment? Oh and make sure to buy him delicious food for lunch too."