He Juan pushed the bowl of piping hot ramen in front of Mu Yuze. Not only that, he also gave his marinated pork belly to the boy. "Eat up," he urged with an encouraging smile.

"You—" Mu Yuze snapped his gaze up in shock.

He Juan laughingly pointed at his right arm and lied straight through his teeth. "The doctor told me to cut down on meat and spice. Rather than let it go to waste, you should finish them all, okay?" He did not mention how he could just order another kind of ramen, one with a clear broth with only steamed eggs and vegetables. And fortunately, Mu Yuze was too gullible to question something like that, presumably too shocked by the small hill of pork forming in front of him.

Humming a random tune, He Juan picked up the spoon and began the arduous journey of eating noodles with his non-dominant left hand. He had had a lot of time to practice when he recuperated in the hotel room these past few days, but his movement was still considered clumsy compared to normal.

Chen Youzhi could no longer bear it after seeing He Juan carefully scoop up a spoonful of noodles only for it to splash back into the broth for the second time. He placed down his chopstick and offered, "Let me help you."

"Help?" He Juan immediately dismissed him with an amused chortle. "What are you helping me with? Are you going to feed me?"

Chen Youzhi frowned. "Boss—"

"It’s okay, Chen’er. I can manage just fine." He Juan reassured him with a gentle smile, yet his tone was firm and left no room for rebuttal. "I may be a little slow, but I can still do it, okay? What will our Xiao Ze say if he sees me, a big and strong Alpha, being fed like a baby?" He was just this stubborn. For matters that he could do himself, he really did not like to inconvenience others. He had just fractured an arm, it’s not like he was crippled for life! More importantly, where would he put his face if Mu Yuze saw him being so fragile and delicate?

"I didn’t see anything," Mu Yuze murmured under his breath from where he was burying his head in his ramen, almost making He Juan choke in laughter.

He cleared his throat and pointed his spoon at Chen Youzhi in a playful gesture. "Either way, no. Just let me do it myself." When he put it like that, Chen Youzhi could only begrudgingly return to his curry ramen, leaving He Juan to tackle the mission in front of him with a peace of mind.

In the end, it was Chen Youzhi who finished his ramen first. He wiped his mouth with tissue and stood up to say, "I’m going to have a smoke outside." He reached out for the bag of snacks and backpack beside He Juan and walked out without a word, much to He Juan’s helplessness.

Left together with Mu Yuze, He Juan attempted to devour his ramen slowly all the while sneaking glances at the boy. He couldn’t contain a satisfied smile on his face when he saw noodles disappearing into Mu Yuze’s stomach. This sense of achievement that came out of nowhere was baffling, but the stranger thing was how his Alpha was perfectly in tune to him, urging him to feed the boy even more until he could grow up tall, handsome and most importantly – healthy.

For a temperamental Alpha who was easily provoked and wished for nothing but violence, this was the first time He Juan had sensed such a tender and almost paternal instinct from it, catching him utterly off guard.

He did not think too much about it though. He reasoned that it must be due to how likable and cute Mu Yuze was. See, not only He Juan, but his Alpha acknowledged it too!

"Is it good?" He asked softly.

Mu Yuze hummed with his cheeks bulging like a hamster hoarding food.

He Juan would take it as a yes, then. Happy and contented, he bowed his head and continued to eat his ramen. And it was not until he almost finished with his food that he discovered how Mu Yuze was still eating. Strange... the last time they ate together, it did not seem like he was a slow eater. Did the noodles not suit his taste after all?

Confused, He Juan decided to observe him a bit, and then he suddenly discovered something shocking.

Each time He Juan ate a mouthful, Mu Yuze would also slurp on his noodles, chewing extremely carefully. And if He Juan sipped on the broth, Mu Yuze would also take a sip.

He Juan raised a brow. A ridiculous theory started to materialize in his head. He decided to test it.

This time, he brought the spoon to his mouth and did not move, letting it stay there just like that. Still with his head bowed, Mu Yuze started to stir the noodles with his spoon. He would pick the noodles up with his chopstick only to let it fall back into the broth. This repeated one more time before he began to get restless. He raised his eyelids and peered up at He Juan, only to be stunned silly when their gazes instantly collided in midair.

Mu Yuze: "...!!!"

"Pfft..." He Juan could no longer contain his laughter. He laughed so hard only to grimace when the movement caused his broken ribs to throb in protest. Even then, He Juan still could not stop laughing. He had no idea how comical he looked right now – half laughing and half hissing in pain – but he was sure as hell that nothing could beat the expression of the boy in front of him. "Xiao Ze, you..." He Juan wheezed, almost breathless. "Don’t tell me... are you trying to be considerate? Hmm?"

To eat a mouthful only after He Juan did, this way they would finish eating around the same time and He Juan did not have to be mindful of his crawling pace.

"You..." Mu Yuze sputtered out in a mixture of outrage, shock and humiliation at being caught red-handed. "W–What are you talking about?! Don’t speak nonsense!" He would have sounded more convincing had his face not turned a bright shade of crimson like a boiled lobster.

Either way, the similar portion left in their bowls already told He Juan everything he wanted to know.

"Xiao Ze ah, Xiao Ze..." He Juan’s laugh petered off into a helpless yet fond sigh. Just how did he do it? How could he touch He Juan’s heart so easily with this simple and ridiculously kind gesture? His silver eyes softened immensely when they landed on the boy, like the calm surface of the lake that reflected the brightest ray of moonlight. "How can I like you this much?"