Mu Yuze stared at him for one long moment before dropping his gaze to their clasped hands. He offered no answer to He Juan’s bold declaration, yet He Juan could not find it in himself to be disappointed, to be completely honest.

He knew that Mu Yuze had been through so much. Asking him to trust a mere stranger with his life was practically the same as handing a knife to another, while knowing fully that they were capable of cutting off his limbs. Only a foolish and naïve person would attempt something like that – which fortunately Mu Yuze was not.

He Juan was actually relieved this way. He liked how vigilant and cautious Mu Yuze was. It meant that he would not be easily tricked by others.

(Even though it meant that he had to work harder to gain the boy’s trust.)

Relieved that he had said everything he wanted, He Juan patted Mu Yuze’s hand one last time before raising to his feet. "Alright," he let out a groan and sighed. "I’m going to continue working now. Would you like to go back to the bedroom or... would you prefer to stay here?"

"Here?" Mu Yuze snapped his gaze up, taken aback. "I can...?"

"Of course. I never said that you’re not allowed in my study, did I?" He Juan replied in a matter-of-fact tone, amused that Mu Yuze would even question something like that.

If Chen Youzhi was here and heard him say this, the man would have suffered from an aneurysm by now. How... How could He Juan be so confident to let someone else enter his most private and secretive space – even if it was a boy who was still wet behind the ears?!

Alas, He Juan could not describe it very well either. If he had to offer a reason though, it was because he trusted – no, to be exact, his instinct compelled him to trust Mu Yuze. It was just like the time when he invited Mu Yuze to his house; he could not sense an ounce of rejection from his Alpha upon seeing the boy occupying his personal space. Instead, he was... pleased... and satisfied by the knowledge that Mu Yuze would be safe under his protection.

How about this time, then?

This was no longer about sharing common space and offering protection. The study was the place where he spent most of his time. His computer, especially, contained numerous encrypted files that would be detrimental to him once exposed. Of course, He Juan had put on a few layers of protection to them, but if Mu Yuze started spending his time here, he would definitely pick up a thing or two.

If that happened, then... XIU’s Achilles heels would be born.

He Juan checked in with himself and found that he was truly not worried that Mu Yuze would betray him – not at all. How weird... no matter how fond he was of Mu Yuze, there was no way he would trust the boy with his life, right? Especially his Alpha, it was certainly not one that was quick to warm up to others.

’What’s wrong with you?’ he asked the Alpha, only to receive a wave of confusion that mirrored his own.

At the rate he was going, it was only a matter of time until he would bare himself to Mu Yuze, inside out. It was just like... he was bewitched or something!

He Juan was amused when this ridiculous thought crossed his mind. How could Mu Yuze have such power over him? He was only a fourteen years old boy with nothing on his name, for God’s sake!

Wait, it seemed like Mu Yuze indeed owned a superpower...

It’s super ’adorable’ power, and also how his every action managed to tug on He Juan’s heartstrings like no one ever did before.

He gestured at the tall bookshelf with a smile. "Feel free to browse through the books if you want. Oh, but the computer is off-limits though." He scratched his cheek and offered tentatively, "If you want to play, Gege will buy you another set. How about it?"

"No!" Shocked, Mu Yuze quickly shook his head and refused vehemently. "There’s no need! Don’t waste your money on me!"

Oh, Mu Yuze, if only you knew... He Juan mentally added another point to his ’List of Things To Surprise Mu Yuze With’ that was growing longer with each passing second. "Okay, Gege will leave you on your own accord now," he announced cheerfully, walked to the table and sat back down on the swivel chair.

The screen was still frozen on the list of surveillance footage. He Juan grabbed the mouse and clicked play on footage number two. It turned out to be the street where that person passed by after bumping into He Juan.

He watched the screen in rapture, but only God knew that this attention was often diverted to the boy in front of him. He was awfully aware of each and every glance Mu Yuze snuck at him before the boy gingerly finished his glass of water and stood up. Through his peripheral vision, he saw Mu Yuze circling around the study like a curious cat sniffing his new territory. Then he stopped in front of the bookshelf and tilted his head to scan the books.

It was then that footage number two ended. Nothing notable was discovered so far. He Juan moved to number three while subtly watching the boy’s movement through the corner of his eyes.

What kind of book could have piqued his interest? He Juan began to zone out as he pondered on the question.

The footage gradually mapped out the route that person took. It seemed like they were quite familiar with this city because He Juan noticed how they walked with firm but still hurried place of someone who was clear on their destination. They merged with many throngs of crowds, crossed through a couple of streets, sometimes disappearing into a blind spot...

Fortunately, A-Mu’s keen eyes could always trail after their figure, persistently marking them with a huge red circle.

He Juan was dismayed to find that he could not discern anything about that person through the footages. Not what they looked like, their age, their prominent traits – nothing. They always had the hood of their coat on, rendering He Juan unable to see their appearance. Not only that, they were also careful not to let their face be captured on camera even once.

This was clearly the gait of someone who had gotten used to avoiding surveillance cameras.

In the end, he watched as that person arrived at the subway station, smoothly passed through the security booth, lined up with others behind the yellow line then boarded the train. This was the last video on the file.

Wait... what about that person’s identity? Where did they come from? And where did they go after boarding the train? A–Mu couldn’t possibly fail to complete such a simple task, right?

Just as He Juan thought that this was all there was to the footage and was prepared to close it, the screen abruptly turned black, only to be replaced with... the recording of A–Mu with a head full of messy curls, staring straight at He Juan with his big doe eyes and full pouty lips.

The young man’s voice echoed out from the high-quality speaker on the table, "I can find this person for you. Their name, appearance, age, occupation, how many lovers they had had before... hell, I can even dig out the history of their ancestors for you. But on one account, XIU, I will not accept your money. Is it so hard to sleep with me once? I swear, I will be the best omega—"

Silence returned to the study once He Juan scrambled to close the video, almost dislocating his wrist in the process. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest and his gaze was still fixed on the screen in front of him. He could even feel a droplet of cold sweat sliding down his back.

Why hadn’t he realized how loud silence could be until today?

With a movement so slow that he could literally hear the cracks of his neck, he raised his head and met Mu Yuze’s inscrutable gaze across the room.

He Juan’s heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out without thinking, "I can explain."