Mu Yuze stared at the closed door, mind blanking out.

Along with the realization of who that young man was, a dreadful sensation swooped through his stomach, causing him to wince. He stepped away from the door and sat down on the couch, all the while rubbing his slightly churning stomach.

Weird... why was he feeling so restless? Was it because he still had not had breakfast this morning?

He had gotten used to eating only one meal per day, for God’s sake! He would already be thankful if it was not some kind of dry bread, stale biscuits or spoiled leftovers. And when such a thing occurred, he would usually take them home, steeped them in hot water and wolfed them down like soup. He never had any problems eating like that for years. So why...?

He had just been pampered by delicious food for a week and he already got an upset stomach when skipping breakfast for a day?! How ridiculous! This was why he was unwilling to let himself be lulled by the temptation of food. Now look at how fragile and delicate he had become!

Mu Yuze allowed himself to lean on the couch, feeling increasingly queasy by each second. He was deliberating whether he should call He Juan for help when his mind drifted to the last scene he had seen before the door closed – the beautiful omega, leaning so close to He Juan as though wishing for nothing but to fall into his embrace – and for some unknown reasons, his heart gave a terrible lurch.

This was the first time he had ever seen a fully grown omega, and true to the whispers he had eavesdropped from his classmates, omegas were born pretty and delicate. That young man’s skin was fair and unblemished, looking like a wide expanse of sweet milk. His voice was soft like it was dripping honey and his light brown eyes were akin to precious jewels, limpid and moist as they fell on the Alpha.

And He Juan... he had always liked sweet things, hadn’t he?

Mu Yuze gripped the armrest so hard that his knuckles turned white. ’Not good’, he thought dizzily. It seemed like he was about to vomit—

The door clicked open and He Juan stepped in, carrying with him a grim and somber aura. However, that lasted only until his gaze landed on Mu Yuze who was slumped on the couch, breathing weakly. "Xiao Ze!" He Juan’s eyes flew wide and he immediately rushed to Mu Yuze’s side, crouching down so that they were on the same eye level. "Xiao Ze, what’s wrong? Do you feel unwell somewhere? Where does it hurt?!"

Mu Yuze cracked his eyelids open and gazed at He Juan through his blurred vision. His eyes sluggishly moved to the closed door, noticing that no other person had come in. "Your... your colleague?" he forced himself to ask. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Don’t worry about him," He Juan answered in haste, a bit harsher this time. "How are you feeling? Where do you feel unwell? Your head, your chest, your stomach?"

Mu Yuze parted his chapped lips to answer when a faint scent drifted to his nose. He subconsciously inhaled more of it, taking in how nice and soothing it was. This scent... it was very familiar. He was certain that he had smelled it before... yes, that’s right; it was the time when he had a panic attack in the middle of the street. It was this captivating scent that had pierced through the turbulent smog of his mind and offered him nothing but a sense of security.

So it came from this man, huh...? How could he smell so good?

Seeing that Mu Yuze was zoning out instead of answering, He Juan’s concerned expression hardened into one of determination. He scooted forward and wrapped his left arm around Mu Yuze’s limp body. "Please bear with Gege for a bit, okay?"

Mu Yuze let his head fall onto the crook of He Juan’s neck as he sensed himself being lifted into the man’s arms. He closed his eyes and inhaled more of the comforting scent. Had he not been so nauseous that he would vomit if he were to open his mouth, he would have chortled at his own stupidity. He had not believed it when He Juan claimed to carry him with only one arm, and see... now reality had come back to slap him squarely on the face.

But the strange thing was, Mu Yuze could not bring himself to brood over it. He still felt so small, worthless and fragile, but being cradled in He Juan’s powerful embrace... he did not fear that the man would let him fall.

He Juan crossed the room in a few large strides and lowered him to the bed. Fortunately, Mu Yuze still retained a hint of clarity enough not to whine when the source of the captivating scent moved away. Instead, he pursed his lips tight and shut his eyes, trying to control the nausea in his stomach to a more tolerable level.

It worked, somehow. He assumed that it must be because he was distracted by He Juan who fussed over him like a mother hen. "How is it, Xiao Ze? Do you feel better now? Tsk, why does Doctor Jia take so long?" He paced back and forth beside Mu Yuze’s bed before coming to a halt. "No, I can’t just stay here. Wait for a bit, okay? Gege will go and bring Doctor Jia here—" He Juan had just turned away and taken the first step when he sensed a feeble tug on the hem of his shirt. The force was so small that it was almost unnoticeable, but He Juan still froze as if an invisible power was locking his limbs in place.

He Juan slowly turned his head and dropped his gaze, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Xiao Ze...?"

Alas, the person who received the most shock was not He Juan, but Mu Yuze – the very perpetrator who had stopped He Juan from leaving. Mu Yuze stared at his own hand that was grabbing onto He Juan with confusion. He did not remember ever moving... had his hand grown a will of its own?!

"Oh...!" As soon as he registered what kind of fiendish thing he had done, he hastily yanked his hand back as if scalded. The momentary lapse of control turned him into a stuttering mess. "I–I didn’t... I didn’t mean to..."

"Sssh, it’s okay." He Juan promptly forewent the thought of going out and sat himself beside Mu Yuze, murmuring reassuring words to him. "It’s okay, you don’t need to say anything. Look at me, I’m so anxious that I forgot I didn’t need to go out to summon Doctor Jia here." With a wry chuckle, He Juan bent down to press the button on the side of the bed, which in turn brought his face closer to Mu Yuze.

Mu Yuze sucked in a surprised breath. In such proximity, he could easily spot a faint scar on He Juan’s right temple, the shape of his sharp brows and the sweep of his dark lashes when he blinked. His long raven hair spilled over his shoulders like a bowl of black silk. How could this man be so... distracting...?

Fortunately, He Juan did not seem to notice anything. After pressing the button, he immediately straightened up and tucked the blanket up to Mu Yuze’s neck. "You can’t go to school like this. I will ask Chen Youzhi to take a leave for you, okay?." He reached out to place his large hand gently on Mu Yuze’s forehead. "Hmm... no fever. Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

"Stomach..." Mu Yuze could finally offer a proper answer. No one had ever treated him so gently before when he was sick that he couldn’t help but feel a bit discombobulated. He tried his best to ignore the rapid beating of his heart, and in a feeble attempt to do so, he blurted out the first question that crossed his mind,

"Your talk with your c–colleague... is done so soon?"