Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

"Here," Doctor Zhang placed a cup of steaming tea on the table in front of Mu Yuze, bringing him out of the trance he was in. He raised his head to see the white-haired doctor smiling kindly at him as he gestured at the cup, "You seem to be cold. I hope this tea can warm you up a bit. After all, traveling in such weather must be hard on you."

Mu Yuze did not say how he had always been like this every winter. Back in his old home, the heater would oftentimes stop working in the middle of the night and he would need to cover himself with a few more layers of thick blanket to shield himself from the cold. Even then, he could not seem to disperse the extreme chill that rattled his teeth and sent tremors throughout his body. Perhaps this was why his immunity grew weak, causing him to always catch a cold when the temperature reached an all-time low.

However, it was different this year.

Since He Juan took him in, he no longer had to wake up at night to search for another piece of blanket. He did not have to worry that he would freeze to death, thanks to the automatic heating. On top of that, the bathroom was also equipped with floor heating system, making Mu Yuze’s feet feel warm every time he stepped on the ceramic tiles.

Even now, he was wrapped snugly in the fur hood jacket that He Juan chose for him. It was thick, soft and very comfortable to wear. Nonetheless, he would still sniffle occasionally due to the cold air he inhaled and thus, he did not refuse Doctor Zhang’s kind gesture.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly, taking the cup between his hands and bringing it into his mouth for a sip.

He paused when the sweet taste permeated through his mouth, but then his face betrayed nothing at all as he took a few more sips.

Doctor Zhang took a seat opposite him, smiling. "I think I have gone through everything with you just now. Do you have anything else you want to ask?"

"No," Mu Yuze shook his head. "You have been very helpful. Thank you very much, Doctor Zhang."

Doctor Zhang blew on his own tea and took a sip. "You are very calm and mature for your age, Xiao Ze," he commented, not without mirth. "To be honest, when I heard that the patient is only fourteen years old, I was expecting to be bombarded with demanding questions. Some even burst out into tears and asked me to ’fix’ them. But surprisingly, you listened to my advice very well."

Oh, if only the doctor knew how hysterical he had been a few days ago...

’It was all thanks to Boss’ reassurance that I can remain so calm like this,’ Mu Yuze thought wryly.

Speaking of Boss... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Mu Yuze turned to look outside the window again where his silhouette was reflected along with the pitch black sky and drizzling snow. The examination was already over fifteen minutes ago, but the person he was waiting for had not shown himself yet.

A sliver of worry crawled its way into his heart. Where had He Juan gone in such freezing weather? What was taking him so long? He couldn’t have gotten into an accident, right...?

"Don’t worry," the doctor said as if reading his mind, startling Mu Yuze into breaking off the line of his thoughts. "It’s XIU we are talking about, he will be fine."

Mu Yuze chewed on the inside of his cheek. There it was again, the mysterious words laced with meaning. Somehow, he felt like there was something he was not privy to, but he had no idea where he should start to ask. In the end, Mu Yuze was still unable to hold back the curiosity scratching on his heart. "Doctor Zhang, may I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"In your eyes, what kind of person is he?" This was not the first time Mu Yuze had asked such a question. First, it was Chen Youzhi, and then Jia Molei. Alas, the answer they gave was so contrasting with each other that Mu Yuze became more confused instead. And now, he finally had the opportunity to ask for the third person’s opinion.

He just couldn’t help it. Even though they had been living together for months, He Juan remained an enigma in his eyes; a figure wrapped in countless façades and mysteries, and only when they were alone in the safety of their own house did He Juan deign to show a sliver of his true self. Worse still, Mu Yuze could tell that it was just a small part of the real him – not the whole.

He really, really wished to crack the complex code that was He Juan... even if he had to resort to asking a stranger for it.

"What kind of person, huh..." Doctor Zhang rubbed his finger on the rim of his cup, his eyes curving in amusement. "About that, shouldn’t you know him better than me? Truth to be told, this is the first time we have ever met."

"Oh, I see..." Mu Yuze lowered his head in embarrassment. It seemed like he had heard about this when they introduced themselves to each other in front of the elevator, but in his pursuit to know more about He Juan, he had totally forgotten about it.

"But I must say that I am quite surprised," Doctor Zhang rubbed his chin in thought. "He is very different from the rumors I have heard of him. Or... is it because of you?"

Mu Yuze blinked, puzzled. "Rumors?"

He had never heard anything about this before when he asked Chen Youzhi and Jia Molei. His heart started to race in anticipation. Somehow, he could tell that whatever Doctor Zhang was about to tell him would be able to give him a new insight about He Juan.

Alas, before he could ask further about it, his ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. All the thoughts and questions in his mind were immediately tossed aside as he snapped his head toward the closed door.

He could recognize these firm and steady footsteps everywhere – though it sounded uncharacteristically hasty right now. And true to his guess, the footsteps halted right in front of the door, followed by a firm knock.

"Come in," Doctor Zhang answered.

No sooner than the words settled in the air, the door swung open to reveal a drenched and slightly breathless He Juan.

Water was dripping relentlessly from the tip of his hair, with some strands even sticking to his face. He looked like he had run all the way here. Even then, his smile remained as dazzling as ever once he spotted Mu Yuze who was sitting on the couch. "Xiao Ze..." he took a deep breath to regulate his breathing, then stepped in and closed the door behind him. "I’m sorry for being late. Something urgent came up earlier and I needed more time to take care of it."

Mu Yuze could finally loosen the tension on his shoulders at the sight of the man. "No problem," he said as he rose to his feet and took a step toward He Juan. As long as the man returned to him, he was willing to wait no matter how long it took. "Is everything okay?" he asked in concern, his gaze raking all over He Juan’s drenched clothes. He was so wet from head to toe that Mu Yuze got chills just by looking at him.

Exactly how did he end up in this state? He couldn’t have run outside in such unruly weather, right? He would definitely freeze to death!

"En, everything is fine now." He Juan flashed a reassuring smile and reached out to pat his head as usual. "How is the examination? Is it going well?"

At that time, when He Juan’s arm moved in front of him, Mu Yuze’s keen nose caught a whiff of a particular scent he was very familiar with. He willed his body not to react so as to not alert the man in front of him.

He couldn’t have mistaken it even if he wanted to, because it was the exact same scent that had assaulted his nose when he shoved his father aside and caused him to knock his head; the same scent that had continued to haunt his nightmare for days after that.

Blood. He Juan smelled very faintly of blood.

.

A/N: sorry to disappoint you but there won’t be action scenes... for now :p A more exciting fight is waiting for you in the near future so please wait for it~