Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

"Okay, just take your time," He Juan told the person on the other end of the call who was none other than the private investigator he had hired to do a background check on He Xie’s friend – the one whom he had promised to open a clothing store with.

Habit was truly hard to be erased. Even though he knew that nothing would come out of the results, he would still like to know about this person inside out so that he could be rest assured. "Yes, I’d like to know everything. His routine, the people he often meets, his hobby, his family – everything. The more the better."

He Juan listened to what the private investigator said with a mirthless smile on his lips. Standing on the balcony on the seventh floor, he took in a deep inhale of the chilly wind and replied, "Don’t worry about the price. How about double – no, triple? Yes. Give it to me as soon as possible." White mist wafted out of his mouth to curl in the air with each word he spoke, and he confirmed a few more details before hanging up.

"Ge."

He turned around and his icy silver eyes thawed into pools of tenderness as soon as he caught sight of a sleepy He Xie who had opened the balcony door enough to pop his head out. "You’re not sleeping?" the teenager asked.

"Soon," He Juan chuckled. He hurriedly ushered He Xie in and closed the door again to cut the freezing air off. "Just need to make a few calls. How about you? Why are you up..." he glanced at the clock and saw that it was already two in the morning. "...at such an hour? Do you feel unwell?" He Juan frowned, already feeling worried that his brother would catch a cold. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He Xie shook his head, but did not elaborate why he awoke at such an hour. Following behind He Juan who was heading toward the kitchen, he commented in a careful tone, "You seem awfully busy."

"Ah, really?" he grimaced. He turned to see He Xie nodding solemnly at him.

Out of reflex, he reached out to ruffle the teenager’s hair, only to recall that He Xie despised it if He Juan were to treat him like a child. As such, he could only pretend to grab a glass from the rack on the side. It seemed like he had gotten too used to rubbing Mu Yuze’s head and now, he was starting to have withdrawal symptoms...

He shook his head and chuckled at his own ridiculousness. "You know it, just the usual business that needs to be confirmed. No need for A-Xie to worry about," he said as he turned on the stove to heat up milk for his little brother.

He Xie hummed and to He Juan’s relief, switched the topic, "Looks like I have gotten used to the dormitory’s hard bunk bed. Now that I am sleeping in a soft bed, I keep feeling like something is amiss." He huffed in slight annoyance.

He Juan pondered for a while, "We have no plans tomorrow, right? How about buying a new mattress? You can choose the one that suits your taste then."

"Ah, there you go again," He Xie clicked his tongue. "At a time like this, you should scold me for being spoiled instead of indulging in my whims, Ge. Either way, I am going back in three days. Why would I need a new mattress? It will just be a waste of money."

"For my little brother’s comfort, how can it be called an indulgence?" He Juan retorted.

Be it He Xie or Mu Yuze, why did the two always complain when He Juan spent his own money on them? Surely they would be good friends, right? En, He Xie and Mu Yuze’s personalities were mild, taciturn and preferred to keep things to themselves. They would find so many things in common with each other.

He Juan weighed the possibility of letting the two of them get acquaintanced with each other as he poured the heated milk into a glass and pushed it toward He Xie. "Drink it up," he urged with a smile. "It will help you sleep better."

"I am not a child..." He Xie grumbled softly, but in the end, he still took the glass and drank the milk sip by sip.

The next day, He Xie was unable to stop his big brother and they ended up in a furniture store, much to his helplessness. The staff was enthusiastically recommending various types of mattress to them, all the while inviting the brothers to take a seat if they’d like.

"Go on," He Juan patted his brother’s back, his voice muffled from the mask covering his face. Yet nothing could conceal the mirth in his silver eyes as he took in his brother’s exasperation. "There are still two days left, A–Xie. What should I do if you keep losing sleep? Anyway, your Ge doesn’t lack this little money, so just buy whatever you want, okay?"

He Xie snorted in amusement at his pompous words. But in the end, he stood no chance against He Juan’s insistence at all and went to try out the mattresses under the staff’s guidance.

He Juan smiled, his eyes habitually shifted to the CCTVs around the store and he pulled the brim of his hat lower to shield his face.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated. He pulled it out and the smile on his eyes faded into nothingness as he saw the caller’s name on the screen. It was the man whom he had ordered to keep track of Mo Feng.

"What is it?" He Juan’s voice was dangerously low as he answered the phone, his gaze landing on He Xie who had a tiny smile on his face as he patted the mattress he was sitting on.

"B–Boss...!" The man sounded extremely flustered, and He Juan’s heart abruptly sank before he even heard what the man had to say. "We lost him!"

He Juan took a deep breath to curb the killing intent permeating from his body. When his gaze met He Xie’s in midair, he pointed at the phone in his hand, then the emergency exit door a few meters away. He Xie nodded with his lips pressed into tight lines, upset.

Making sure that no one was in the vicinity, He Juan gritted out, unable to keep the anger from his voice. "I gave you only one job..."

"Boss, have mercy! Please... Please listen to me!" The man started to explain with a trembling voice.

Apparently, as it was the last day of the year, there was a huge sale in the supermarket Mo Feng often visited. As they had been following him for more than a month and learned his routine by heart, they ended up lowering their guard once they saw Mo Feng step into the supermarket, thinking that he was also here because of the sale.

Who could have guessed that Mo Feng was still not out even after they had been waiting outside for an hour?!

Sensing that something was off, the leader asked two of his men to check out the supermarket, only for them to come out five minutes later, panicked, with no Mo Feng in sight.

He Juan’s knuckles cracked from how hard he was clenching his fists. Waiting until the men lower their guard and taking advantage of the crowd to shake off his trail... it seemed like Mo Feng had long realized that someone was following him! Damn it!

He cursed under his breath and demanded, almost in a growl, "I will give you two hours. You’d better find out where he has gone... or I will have your head once I return!"