The first morning after snow descended gently upon the city, trouble came knocking on Jia Molei’s doorsteps.

He Juan received the news when he was driving Mu Yuze to school. Usually, he would let the boy walk or ride a bike on his own, but it had just started snowing today and he was afraid that Mu Yuze would catch a cold if he was exposed to the freezing weather for a period of time. Or worse, what if he slipped in the middle of the street and broke some bones? The more He Juan thought about it, the more he felt like such scenarios were very likely to happen. In the end, he insisted on driving Mu Yuze to school, unmoved no matter how many times the boy tried to persuade him otherwise.

"I understand," he replied to the person on the other side of the line. "Suppress the news for now. I will go and check out the situation."

"...Work?" Mu Yuze asked two seconds after he hung up on the call. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He Juan curled the corner of his lips into a slight smile. "Yes, just a little trouble. Nothing for Xiao Ze to worry about. Oh, here we are!" He pulled over on the side of the road instead of directly dropping Mu Yuze in front of the school, as per the boy’s wish. He Juan turned to him and asked in concern, "Have you tied your shoes properly? Be careful, the road must be slippery right now. Button your jacket up and don’t take it off until you reach the class, okay? How about your hot water bottle? Is it full? If it’s not enough, just go to the infirmary and ask the school doctor for more. You’re in a very important phase of your recovery, so make sure not to catch a cold!"

"Mn," Mu Yuze replied curtly as he undid his seatbelt and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"’Mn’?" He Juan gasped in mock disbelief. "I’ve said so many words and you only give me an ’mn’?!"

Mu Yuze cast him a helpless yet annoyed look, knowing that He Juan was being dramatic as always. "I know. Don’t worry, I won’t catch a cold. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?"

"So what?" He Juan huffed. "I’d rather make sure that Xiao Ze reaches the class safe and sound!"

"Don’t," Mu Yuze glared in warning.

He had always acted like this whenever He Juan showed any intention of showing up in his school. Because of that, he even forbade He Juan from coming close within fifty meters radius around the building. Of course, He Juan was aware that his appearance might attract a lot of unwarranted attention to Mu Yuze, but sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder, did Mu Yuze hate being seen with him so much? Alas, there was no use brooding over this matter. He knew that he was steadily making improvements in their relationship, and for that, he should not force the boy to do what he did not want to. After all, He Juan was the adult between them, so wouldn’t it only be natural for him to be more understanding?

"Alright, alright," he let out a chortle and ruffled Mu Yuze’s hair in passing. "Gege is just joking, so don’t worry about it."

"...I know," Mu Yuze said quietly. He opened the door and slid down from the car, hoisting the backpack higher on his shoulder. "Thank you for the ride, Boss. Drive carefully."

The corner of He Juan’s eye twitched in response, but before he could comment anything about it, Mu Yuze closed the door and trudged toward the school building, his already thin and small stature looking even tinier amidst the drifting snowflakes.

He Juan watched him like a mother hawk until his back disappeared into the gate, and only then did he pull the car signal and drive away.

"Stubborn little guy..." he murmured under his breath, helpless. Until when would Mu Yuze continue to call him ’Boss’? Not that it was anything bad. After all, He Juan was already used to his men addressing him that way, but for some reason, hearing Mu Yuze say it felt... wrong.

Alas, the boy was so obstinate that nothing He Juan said could make him change his mind.

Shaking his head, He Juan returned his focus to driving and steeped the accelerator a little harder, heading straight toward Jia Molei’s clinic.

***

As soon as He Juan walked through the door, he instantly sensed a strange tension brewing in the air.

It took him two full seconds to realize that it was because Jia Molei did not come out to welcome him as usual. The huge mansion in front of him looked so empty and desolate; He Juan could not detect any signs of activity around as if no one was here in the first place. However, the fact that the gate was opened for him had already proved that Jia Molei was aware of his arrival.

So where had the doctor gone?

Without looking around, he marched straight to the grand staircase and climbed to the second floor, intending to head directly to Jia Molei’s office to see if he could find the man there.

However, He Juan was only halfway there when he found Jia Molei sitting on one of the long benches on the hallway, back hunched low with his head cradled in his palms.

He Juan paused in his steps. This was the first time he had ever sensed such vivid frustration and utter helplessness from the man who had always put on a menacing scowl on his face. "Doctor Jia...?" he called out gingerly, not knowing why he was lowering the volume of his voice. Whatever the problem was, it must be severe enough to make the doctor look so grim.

Jia Molei raised his head to glance at him, only to bury his face into his hands again with a groan. "Fuck, the news have travelled so fast?"

"You know that I’ve always preferred to be up to date." He Juan let out a chuckle and walked toward the man. "Don’t worry, I have blocked the news for the time being. Only a handful of my men knew it, but they are not nosy enough to—" he abruptly halted on his steps, eyes wide and senses fully alert.

He cautiously sniffed the air around him to trace the faintest scent in the air. His head moved along to follow the source of the scent and landed right on... Jia Molei.

"Doctor Jia?" he asked in utter disbelief. "You accepted... an omega patient?"

A-Mu could be considered a very rare case, but it was only because he suffered from a minor brain tumor that Jia Molei was willing to operate on him. Jia Molei was notorious for his aversion in dealing with anything that had to do with secondary genders. But the scent He Juan had caught in the air told him otherwise.

It was the sickening sweet scent of an omega in heat.