Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

"Did he... go out to buy breakfast?" He took a tentative guess.

This was not a strange reoccurence. Sometimes, when He Juan woke up earlier than usual – or not even sleeping at all – he would go to the breakfast stall on the corner of the street to buy steam buns (for both of them) and unsweetened soy milk (only for Mu Yuze). As thoughtful as he was, he would try to time it perfectly so that Mu Yuze would come out with a warm and piping breakfast on the table.

While Mu Yuze was making his coffee, he would sit in front of the counter and go through the morning news on his phone. Then, Mu Yuze would place the cup of coffee in front of him and receive a bright smile in return. Only then would they start to eat breakfast together.

That was the only explanation he could think of regarding why He Juan was not in the house, but—

But it did not explain Chen Youzhi’s presence here.

Did He Juan need him for something, perhaps?

In those short few seconds, Mu Yuze had come up with a plausible reason to explain He Juan’s absence. As though the more reasonable it was, the more he could explain the strange sense of panic that rattled him down to the core.

However, Chen Youzhi ruthlessly tore his facade apart with one sentence, "He left early this morning."

"He... left?" Mu Yuze felt strangely light-headed as he said those words. Why? They had agreed to talk tomorrow, no? So why would he leave all of a sudden without a word? Where had he gone? Mu Yuze knew that He Juan was not the kind of person who would go back on his words, so only one possibility remained. "D–Did something happen? Did he get into any trouble—"

"No." Chen Youzhi cut off his flustered ramblings with a firm voice. "Come here and eat first," he beckoned Mu Yuze closer, and only then did Mu Yuze notice the plastic bags that had been sitting on the edge of the counter. He only needed a glance to know that they came from the breakfast stall He Juan usually went to.

Mu Yuze took a step backward as a jolt of nausea swooped through his stomach, almost sending bile up his throat. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

No, every fiber in his cell screamed in protest. No, nononono— this was not right. This was a daily routine that belonged only to him and He Juan. The one in front of him was supposed to be He Juan and not someone else; He Juan, whose face would light up in smiles as soon as he caught sight of him; He Juan, who would tease his bird nest hair and smooth it down for him with gentle and graceful fingers; He Juan, who would apologize profusely for acting weirdly last night and explain that it was because he’d had a rough day at work...

He Juan, and not Chen Youzhi. Not anyone else.

This sense of violation of seeing someone else in the house that usually contained only him and He Juan alone was so strong that Mu Yuze had the urge to run away and lock himself in the room. However, years of self-preservation instinct kept his feet rooted in place, his face betrayed none of the wild emotions churning in his chest.

Against all urge and desire, he stepped forward and took a seat in front of the counter where He Juan usually sat.

What the hell was wrong with him? This was not normal, he realized. It seemed like he had become too... dependent on He Juan during the course of time they had spent together. Just like a baby bird who imprinted on the first thing it saw, Mu Yuze had also imprinted on He Juan.

He Juan, who showed him care and kindness for the first time.

No, Mu Yuze shook his head mentally, he could not allow this to happen. He could not let himself become weak just because of He Juan’s brief absence. He could not let himself become greedy and want more than what he had been given.

Do not be greedy, he repeated again and again as he received the steam bun from Chen Youzhi and bit into it almost fiercely. Do not be greedy.

"Don’t worry too much," Chen Youzhi said, presumably because Mu Yuze had gone strangely silent afterward. "Nothing happens to him."

Mu Yuze nodded numbly. He forced himself to chew and swallow before asking, "...Is he very busy?"

An awkward expression crossed Chen Youzhi’s perpetual somber face. "He... is quite busy. He won’t be back in a few days. He wanted me to let you know so you won’t get worried."

A few days... He Juan would be gone for a few days...

Mu Yuze suppressed the unreasonable urge to sulk. Again, he reminded himself that the one in front of him was not He Juan who would tease his little scowling face, who would coax him not to be angry anymore and even resorted to acting dramatic when Mu Yuze ignored him.

This was also good. A few days away from He Juan would give him sufficient time to sort out his abundance of emotions. Perhaps only that way would he be able to act normal when they met again later.

"Mn," he nodded. "I understand."

But not even a few seconds later, he couldn’t help but ask again, "He’s really okay, right?" He scrutinized Chen Youzhi closely, trying to find any hint of a lie on his face. The last time He Juan disappeared, he had come back with broken ribs and fractured arm. It was really hard not to worry when He Juan had such a bad record on his track, Mu Yuze reasoned with himself.

Chen Youzhi looked even more awkward; constipated even, as if he would rather talk about anything else than this. Mu Yuze was instantly alarmed when he saw this. "Mr. Chen...?"

Chen Youzhi cleared his throat, turned away and pretended to sort out the bottles of spices in the kitchen that could be counted with one hand. "Boss, he... he is in a rut period. You know what happens when an Alpha is in rut, right? Did they teach you that in school?" He moved to open the cabinets one by one, then closed them again just for the sake of doing something with his hands so he did not have to explain such a thing face-to-face to a teenager.

It was fortunate that Chen Youzhi was busying himself. Had he turned around, he would have noticed how Mu Yuze had blanked out still with one hand holding onto the steam bun, looking so ridiculous with his eyes wide and jaws slack, cheeks bulging out on one side.

He barely snapped back to his senses when he realized that Chen Youzhi’s question was still hanging in the air, waiting for him to answer it. He tried to swallow the food in his mouth, yet the usually mouth-watering and fragrant meat filling became as dry and coarse as sand now, sliding painfully down his throat. "Mn," he forced himself to say. "I know."

Of course, he knew what a rut was. Even in elementary school, he had learned about secondary genders in physical education lessons, though the specific of it was only discussed once he reached junior high.

Alphas would enter a susceptible period once a year, namely rut, and it would last for three to seven days depending on their capability and prowess. Simply put, it was the period when Alphas were especially prone to desires to breed and reproduce. They would lose their logical mind and act almost like a feral beast.

No wonder...

No wonder He Juan was acting weird last night. No wonder he had to leave the house early in the morning. He must have gone to...

...to where?

Such an Alpha of high caliber like He Juan couldn’t have spent his rut all alone, right? Surely, he must have gone to search for a partner and right now, the two of them must have been—

Mu Yuze shoved the bun into his mouth and worked his jaws mechanically. Chew, swallow, repeat. Only then could he distract himself from the treacherous thoughts that sprouted out wildly in his mind, threatening to tear his composure to bits.

’Not my place to interfere. Not my business to mind,’ he told himself again and again like a mantra. ’Do not be greedy.’