That sentence came out less like a tease, and more like a rueful woe from the bottom of his heart. Once again, He Juan failed to realize how much he sounded like a creep until the ceramic spoon slipped from Mu Yuze’s hand and hit the bowl with a resounding clang, jolting Mu Yuze out of his reverie.

He snapped his gaping mouth shut, his face so red that it was almost dripping blood. "Y–You..."

"Oops." He Juan covered his mouth with a sheepish look. "My bad, I didn’t mean to say it out loud."

So you’re going to let it stew in your head only?! It was better if he had not said the last sentence out loud, because once he said it, Mu Yuze couldn’t keep his thoughts from straying in a wild direction. It was just like last time on the phone call, when He Juan let it slip how he had made a call simply because he wanted to hear Mu Yuze’s voice. He had blurted it out in passing as if commenting about weather, not realizing that on the other side of the line... Mu Yuze had been turned into a flustered mess!

In the end, he had turned and tossed in bed, unable to catch a wink of sleep even after dawn! All because He Juan had said that sentence with that deep, cello-like voice of his!

It was better last time because he could not see the man’s face and thus he would not have to worry about anyone seeing how pathetic he was – except for Kitty, but Mu Yuze did not mind it a bit if it meant he could bury his face into the feline’s soft belly and let out a silent scream – now though, He Juan was right in front of him and it made everything a hundred times worse!

Mu Yuze gripped onto the chopstick so tight that his knuckles turned white. If this was a cartoon, perhaps steam would have burst out of his ears by now from how hot they were. At a loss of how to respond, he could only let the anger take charge and spat out, "Y–You shameless flirt!"

How could Mu Yuze take any of this man’s words seriously? He realized it now, He Juan must be hellbent on pulling out all sorts of reactions from him!

Had Mu Yuze known that something like this would happen, he would not be so foolish as to match his eating speed with He Juan’s! He wished he could go back to half an hour ago and slap his ridiculous self to death! How stupid! 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He Juan’s eyes widened, shocked at being labeled as a shameless flirt on top of a pervert. "I–I’m not—"

However, Mu Yuze could no longer listen to any excuse He Juan might give. He had to get out of this place as soon as possible or else he would really shrivel up and die! Grabbing the bowl of ramen with both hands, he brought it into his mouth, tilted his head back and wolfed it down by sheer willpower alone. He heard He Juan exclaim his name out of surprise, but he couldn’t care less about it. Just let everything be damned!

Miraculously, he did not choke after attempting such a crazy stunt. Placing the empty bowl on the table, he stood up and said without looking at He Juan, panting, "I–I’m going outside first. You... take your time!"

After saying that, he scrambled out of the ramen shop like the pathetic and wretched teenager he was. And when he thought that he could finally have a few minutes of respite to regain his composure, he heard a series of footsteps catching up to him. "Xiao Ze, wait...!" Mu Yuze must have gone crazy to imagine a hint of distress in that voice.

Clearly, He Juan had not heeded his words and had chosen to come out to...

What did he come out for?! To apologize?!

The anger and humiliation crashed onto him like the might of a gigantic tsunami, catching him off guard with its intensity. It burned hot and bright, sending a prickle of tears to his eyes. He had no idea why he was reacting like this either. It was not He Juan’s fault, he knew. The man might just be a natural at catching people off guard, and it was kinda unfair for Mu Yuze to blame him because it was his own mind that decided to overthink every damn word. But... But he couldn’t help it! He was just so angry. He needed to vent out this vortex of loss, confusion and panic swirling in his chest!

Disregarding the passersby around and how they might become a laughable spectacle, Mu Yuze spun on his heels and screamed, "Go away!!"

Next, everything happened too fast for him to comprehend it.

One moment, he was still glaring at He Juan who stood a few meters away, strands of his long hair sticking out in a few places as if he had jogged out in a hurry and this time Mu Yuze could see it clearly – the guilt and distress etched on his features. And then, in the next moment, someone rushed out from the crowd and bumped into He Juan.

Mu Yuze did not catch a clear look on what that person looked like because almost in an instant... He Juan collapsed on his knees and clutched his chest, his face distorted in pain.

In that split second, Mu Yuze’s mind turned blank and all he could do was gape.

He felt as if someone had struck him right in the middle, swaying his center of balance. The whole world seemed to have faded away and all he could see was He Juan, whose frame shuddered as if enduring a wave of agony. Mu Yuze subconsciously took a step back to center himself and before he knew it, he had sprinted forward and crashed to his knees in front of He Juan, his hands hovering over the man’s broad shoulders, not daring to touch.

"W–What happened?" His voice was shaky, his breathing shallow and rapid. "What happened to you? I... What... What should I do..." Was it his fault? Was it his fault that He Juan ended up like this? If he had not run out as he pleased, if he had not gotten angry on his own, then...

A familiar darkness started to permeate his core, spreading icy numbness from his limbs down to the tip of his fingers. And oh, it was so familiar. He realized that it was the same feeling he got when he used all of his strength to push his father away only for the man to knock his head and bleed enough to cover the entire floor.

— It was fear.