Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

Chen Youzhi shook his head again, causing creases to form on He Juan’s brows. What about the single missed call two days ago then? Was it really an accident?

Well, he would know the answer after seeing Mu Yuze later. Shaking his head, He Juan shelved the thought to the back of his mind for the time being.

After finishing his tea, he returned to the room and took a short nap before heading to Xuanlong’s headquarters to catch up on some work.

This time, he finally received news from Luo Xuan.

"XIU!" The staff called out to him and handed him a letter. "This arrives in our mailbox today."

"Thank you," He Juan told him and took the letter with him to the office. He closed the door behind him, walked to the swivel chair and sat down before focusing his attention on the letter in his hand. The envelope was light brown in color with the illustration of Big Ben in front, an official stamp and Luo Xuan’s beautiful and cursive handwriting which he could recognize anywhere — To: XIU

Luo Xuan had never sent a letter to him no matter where he had gone. What had brought forth the change?

Curious, He Juan tore open the envelope and took out the thin paper inside. He was slightly startled when his gaze fell on the opening sentence, [To my dearest friend, XIU.]

They were... friends?

He Juan’s expression turned complicated. He had no idea that Luo Xuan considered him a friend. Partner in crime? Yes. Leader and subordinate? Yes. But as for friend... He Juan had no idea.

They had come together to build Xuanlong thanks to the same goals and aspirations. They were sick of the unlawful society, of the world where the strong preyed on the weak, of the foul corruption that spread a stench of despair and decay over the country. When Luo Xuan rose to become the leader, He Juan had been the first person to swear allegiance to him. Seeing how he, a superior Alpha, willingly bowed down to an omega was enough to spur the others to step forward too, gradually forming the fearsome organization that was Xuanlong today.

Alas, He Juan had never thought that they were friends. Not only because they knew almost nothing about each other, but also because Luo Xuan always exuded a sense of alienation that somehow kept people at arm’s length. To this day, He Juan felt like he had never seen Luo Xuan’s true face even once.

That’s why their relationship had always been limited to cordial, never friendly or intimate.

But the way Luo Xuan wrote the letter was truly as if he was addressing a friend. He wrote of how he decided to travel around London a few days ago, how he had visited a lot of amazing places like the Buckingham Palace, the British Museum and many more...

He Juan’s eyes eventually moved to the end of the letter.

[I’m relieved to leave Xuanlong’s supervision in your hands, XIU. But recently, I heard that you’re looking for me? Don’t worry, I will come back as soon as I’m done with my business here. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Yours truly, Xuan]

As for what the business entailed, of course Luo Xuan would not divulge that. He Juan heaved out a sigh. He finally understood why Luo Xuan sent him this letter.

He was telling He Juan not to find him, not to stick his nose to where he did not belong and for him to stay in China obediently to hold the fort.

He Juan couldn’t help but sneer. What ’dearest friend’? It was utter bullshit. In the end, this was merely a letter of warning.

His emotions, that were still influenced by the aftereffects of rut, started to simmer like an earthquake deep in the ocean, sending rumble after rumble of crashing waves that shook the shore. His silver eyes were thunderous and in that split second, he had a very strong urge to overturn the table just to vent the stifled frustration.

But in the end, he did not do that. He refused to be carried away and did something stupid he would regret later on. Instead, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and emptied his mind of thoughts.

As soon as he brought his wild emotions under control, he pulled open his drawer and threw the letter inside. Out of sight, out of mind. Then he focused on the stack of documents in front of him that had been neglected for days and started to look through them.

It was not until the sky outside began to darken did he decide to call it a day. He sent Mu Yuze a message, telling him not to eat first because he would be bringing dinner home before grabbing his car key and walking out of Xuanlong’s headquarters.

Due to the heavy snow, the visibility was severely reduced and the journey that should have only taken him thirty minutes ended up being more than an hour. He carried the plastic bags with him and hastily entered the apartment building, grateful for the invention of insulation box that could keep the food warm.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he spotted the cat bed and blankets on the hallway that held traces of being slept on, albeit the aforementioned cat was currently missing.

Despite her bulging belly, Kitty remained an adventurous cat who would not be deterred by the freezing weather. Even now, she must be walking around the neighborhood and playing with the snow instead of seeking warmth in the blankets.

Shaking his head helplessly, He Juan continued to walk toward his door, entered the passcode and opened it, only to find Mu Yuze on the couch. The scene was practically a déjà vu, except this time he was staring out of the window with a vacant look, his mind wandering to God-knows-where.

For some reason, He Juan’s heart twinged when he saw this. An air of desolation and loneliness draped heavily over that thin shoulders, and before He Juan knew it, he parted his mouth to call the boy, "Xiao Ze..."

His voice was not even louder than the whistling wind outside, yet Mu Yuze still jumped in shock as if he had been electrocuted. He swiveled around to face He Juan, eyes wide in surprise. "Y–You’re back?"

"Mn," He Juan smiled, toed off his shoes and walked toward the boy. He placed the plastic bags on the low table and sat himself down beside Mu Yuze. "I’m so sorry," he started with a remorseful look. "I have to leave in a hurry that day and I just couldn’t bear to wake you up."

"I know," Mu Yuze replied lightly, his eyes fixed somewhere on He Juan’s shoulder. "Mr. Chen told me."

He Juan stared at him with his brows furrowed. "Then why are you..."

Why are you not looking at me? He Juan wanted to ask. Why don’t you look happy to see me? Did something happen? Why do you look... sad?

Alas, those questions ended up stuck on his throat, unable to be voiced out loud. Something was off with Mu Yuze, he sensed it keenly. The boy was almost acting like the first week he had come to stay here, when their relationship was still strained and not as close as now, when he was still covering himself in prickly thorns to show his defiance to the whole world.

But they had gone past that point, hadn’t they?

"Why am I... what?" Mu Yuze asked when He Juan became silent all of a sudden.