Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

He Juan’s mind abruptly crashed down and started to show repeated error warnings like some kind of virus had invaded it. For a few seconds, he could only gape at the boy, thinking that the sleep deprivation had finally gotten the best out of him and caused him to have auditory hallucination.

But then, he heard Mu Yuze say again, this time a little louder so that the other two could hear him, "Don’t go. Stay here with me."

He Juan’s jaws dropped to the floor in shock.

What was this? What was with this sudden request that came out of nowhere? Moreover, from Mu Yuze, of all people? Mu Yuze, who would rather die than to show a sliver of weakness in front of others? That Mu Yuze? Had He Juan gotten stranded into a parallel universe somehow??

On the other hand, Sirius’ eyes widened in anger when he heard that. He had just asked XIU to treat him to breakfast, but this little shortie dared to stop him?! He rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight at the blatant provocation. "Hey, you! What the hell are—owww! What was that for?!" He shot a glare at his brother, the culprit who had slapped his head again. Whose fault was it that he grew up stupid?!

Marius rose to his feet and hauled his silly brother along with him, clamping his powerful arm around the boy’s middle and carrying him like a potato sack despite his howling and kicking.

"Please don’t mind us, XIU," he said with a courteous smile, though He Juan could clearly see the teasing twinkles in his eyes. "I will take my idiot brother to fill the black hole in his stomach first. And don’t worry, I have actually booked a hotel around here. I was just here to surprise you."

"Wait a minute—" He Juan was flabbergasted. What was with this sudden turn of development?

"I will give you a call later. For now," he gave He Juan a wink. "You’d better coax your little roommate first. See you later!"

Like a whirlwind, the two of them left just as suddenly as they arrived, bringing all the chaos and clamor together with them and leaving He Juan to deal with the unknown tension in the air.

He eventually tore his gaze away from the door to look at Mu Yuze who had his eyes lowered, glowering fiercely at the floor with a look as if he was ready for an execution. This ’I truly regret what I have said so please tell me how can I turn back time’ look was so adorable that He Juan couldn’t resist a laugh, "Pfft—" but then when he saw how Mu Yuze’s face was flushing red with a speed visible to naked eyes, He Juan’s heart suddenly turned soft and sweet like sticky marshmallows heated on a pan.

After all, this was Mu Yuze’s first request for him, and he had said it in front of other people to boot! How could He Juan ever make fun of him?

"What’s wrong, Xiao Ze?" He asked gently as he took Mu Yuze’s small hands into his, clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction when he noticed how cold it was. "Is there something you want to tell me? Are you not comfortable with them? Or..." are you simply jealous?

Alas, before He Juan could finish that sentence, Mu Yuze let out a huff and told him, "Go to sleep."

He Juan stared at him blankly. "...Huh?" It seemed like his brain had been lagging a lot today.

Mu Yuze raised his eyelids and glared straight at him. "Have you seen what your face looks like? How many days has it been since you last slept?"

"Ah?" He Juan patted his cheek. "Is it that terrible?"

Mu Yuze nodded. "You should go to sleep instead of entertaining your guests if you’re this tired," he advised He Juan with a solemn look. "I’m sure that they will understand."

He Juan blinked, then blinked again as he finally registered what Mu Yuze was saying. Oh... oh, so that’s how it was. The reason why he told He Juan not to go was because he was worried about how horrible He Juan’s complexion was? A warm and tingly sensation spread all over He Juan’s chest at the unexpected concern, yet at the same time, there was also a sliver of disappointment.

So Mu Yuze did not forbid him to go because he was jealous of Sirius, huh...

Shocked, He Juan quickly shook his head to erase the thought. What the hell was he thinking? Wasn’t it good that Mu Yuze was calm and broad-minded? Sirius was six years younger than him, for God’s sake! Perhaps he did not even take that boy into his eyes!

He Juan chuckled at how ridiculous he was. It seemed like he really needed to sleep, seeing how his mind kept straying off the path. "You’re right," he told Mu Yuze with a wry sigh. "I’m so sleepy that I feel like I can fall asleep as soon as I lay on any horizontal surface. Xiao Ze is still the best, worrying about your Gege!"

Mu Yuze gave him a side eye that seemed to say, ’What kind of nonsense are you spouting again?’

Of course, He Juan pretended not to see it. He propped his cheek up with his palm and let out a wistful sigh, "But what to do? I really, really want to drink Xiao Ze’s coffee..."

"Coffee will keep you awake," Mu Yuze frowned in disapproval. He Juan could almost see how stern and disciplined he would be when he grew up, and his lips curved when he thought of how he should tease Mu Yuze when that time came. "But..." he showed a hesitant look and finally deigned to show some leniency on poor He Juan. "But if you want, I can make it for you after you wake up...?" he offered tentatively.

Laughing, He Juan reached out and tugged the boy into his embrace, squeezing him. "Xiao Ze is truly the best! The best bunny in the whole world!"

Mu Yuze went abruptly still and his eyes widened in shock, just like a dazed rabbit. He Juan couldn’t help the delightful laughter that spilled out of his throat when he saw how adorable the boy’s reaction was.

"Okay, Gege will listen to you and go to sleep. About your breakfast..."

Mu Yuze snapped back to his senses and replied angrily, "No need to worry, I can take care of it on my own!"

He Juan clicked his tongue. Why did children have to grow up so fast? In a blink of an eye, the timid boy who could not sleep due to nightmares had already grown up to worry about his well-being. He Juan felt proud, joyous but also melancholic at the same time.

Ah, there he goes again with his wayward thoughts.

Shaking his head, He Juan finally rose to his feet and patted Mu Yuze’s head in passing, "Alright, Gege is going to take a rest now. Goodnight, Xiao Ze."

.

.

"...Have a good rest," it was not until He Juan closed the door behind him that Mu Yuze murmured those words quietly.

He let out a huge yawn. Thanks to the appearance of the sudden guests, he also had not gotten a wink of sleep, too anxious to think of how he should deal with them if He Juan did not come back. But fortunately, he did.

Mu Yuze’s eyes darkened when he thought of how that unruly and noisy child was clinging to He Juan like a tree, but he quickly shook the thought out of his head. He couldn’t possibly feel jealous just because of something like that, right? It would be so petty of him!

"I need to help Kitty clean her bed..." he murmured to himself as he was walking back to his own room.

"Ah right," he grimaced as he suddenly recalled a very important thing. "I forgot to tell him about the kittens..."