Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

The next day, instead of the jubilant and merry ambience of embracing yet another year, the entire country was shrouded in tension and fear. The cause of it was none other than the morning news that was dominated by the cases of explosions happening at the same time as New Year countdown. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

On the huge billboard, the female broadcaster was reporting with a grim look on her face, while the screen was showing various scenes of the aftermath. "...the series of explosions last night happened in two chemical plants, a plastic factory, and a ship mill in four cities. The number of casualties reported so far is 18 deaths and 42 injured. Until now, the police are still investigating the connection between these cases, but one thing for certain, the possibility of an accident has been ruled out..."

"Goodness..." a woman in her forties halted on her tracks and murmured under her breath. She was one of many who was standing on the street to watch the news. "Look at what our country has become. Two months ago, there were multiple arsons and now, there are explosions!"

"Do you think it was done by the same group of people?" Her companion, who looked similarly in age, asked in trepidation.

She shrugged to indicate that she had no idea about this at all. "What does it have to do with us? Either way, we should just bury our nose, make sure our children are home and lock our door tightly at night."

A middle aged man who heard their conversation couldn’t help but speculate, "Don’t you think it’s such a coincidence that these disasters are all happening around the election period?"

The two women were shocked, but in the end, they could only shake their heads in helplessness.

What did it matter what they thought of? Citizens had long felt unsafe even in their own country and the government did nothing to solve their plight. The number of crimes kept increasing each day, yet there was no news that the culprit had been caught. All the police gave was one statement, ’We’re still working on it, so please be patient.’

Until when did they have to be patient? Until when did they have to live under the cloud of unease and turmoil? Unfortunately, no one could give them an answer.

He Juan lightly touched the back of He Xie’s head to draw his attention away from the billboard. "Let’s go," he said in a quiet voice. They had just come back from having breakfast when He Xie saw the news and stopped on the side of the street.

"What do you think, Ge?" He asked once they started walking again. "Does it happen because of the election? Is this the politicians’ dispute? But why would they set off bombs? So many innocent people are dead and injured..." his brows creased in anxiety and dismay.

He Juan couldn’t help but smile when he heard that. "A-Xie is so kind," he commented.

It was only at a time like this that he clearly felt how different he was from his brother and all of the people around him. Because as soon as he caught wind of the news – and that was when he woke up in the morning – the first thing that crossed his mind was, "The audacity these people have to provoke me."

He had recognized the pattern of the explosion before the police did. Simply because those places were either Xuanlong’s property or ones which Xuanlong had major shares in.

He Juan had gone to those locations for an inspection a few times in the past, both alone and with his men. And coupled with Mo Feng’s grand escapade yesterday, he didn’t even need to use his brain to know that the man must have brought the information to his new ’employer’.

What was this if not a declaration of war to Xuanlong, and especially to He Juan himself?

It was not until He Xie made that comment that He Juan was brought out of his plans for revenge and recalled that there were so many casualties due to this accident he must compensate for. His heart ran cold at the sudden realization. Why was he like this? Where was the guilt and remorse that he was supposed to feel?

Just what kind of person had he become?

He Xie was baffled, "How am I kind?"

"So kind and pure to worry about those people..." while your big brother had become a monster. He Juan let out a mirthless chuckle and adjusted He Xie’s scarf so that it would cover him better. He pretended not to notice the confused frown on the teenager’s forehead and beckoned for him to continue walking, "Let’s go. Didn’t you say there is this new game console you want to buy today?"

He Xie felt like something was off with his big brother’s smile, yet he just could not put his finger to it. Shaking his head, he decided to shelve the doubt to the back of his mind for the time being and trotted after He Juan.

***

Ten days with He Xie passed by in a blink of an eye, and the separation hung over them like heavy thunderclouds.

He Xie exited the school with only his uniform and backpack on his body, yet when he returned, he was dragging two huge luggage with him and there was also the new mattress that would be delivered later today.

"Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything?" He Juan’s mother hen mode was activated and he couldn’t resist nagging. "Your phone, charger, and wallet are all here? Have you packed all your belongings properly? Tell me if you forget something so I can return to get it. How about money? Do you have enough? Don’t be frugal and just eat whatever you want, do you hear me?"

Torn between laughter and tears, He Xie could only nod again and again, "I know, I know. I hear you very well." He Juan had repeated himself so many times each year that he could practically recite it backwards.

"You..." He Juan wanted to say more, but he decided against it in the end for fear that he would annoy his brother. Pulling He Xie into a hug, he told him, "Eat well and sleep well. Ge doesn’t need you to be the top of your class. As long as you don’t get expelled and you don’t do drugs, everything is fine."

"Just hear yourself," He Xie grumbled from where his face was buried into He Juan’s chest. However, one could still hear the mirth in his tone."Is this something a guardian could say? At a time like this, shouldn’t you say that you will put me under house arrest and confiscate my game console if I fall back in rank?"

He Juan threw his head back and laughed out loud. He pulled away so that he could look at his little brother properly, "What?" He teased and tickled his brother’s side. "Student He, do you want to be put under house arrest? Hmm?"

"No!" He Xie hastily dodged his misbehaving claws, laughing. "I was joking, Ge...!"

Immense bliss permeated He Juan’s heart at the sight of his brother’s laughter. He finally let himself indulge a bit and rubbed He Xie’s head, only to be swatted away by the teenager. "Ge!" He whispered and glanced around in fluster, only to be relieved when he saw that none of his friends or acquaintances were around. "I am not a child anymore! People will laugh at me if they saw you do that!" He added with a sullen look.

"Okay, okay, I won’t do that anymore," He Juan muffled in a chuckle, unrepentant. He pulled his brother into one last hug and told him seriously, "A-Xie, live your life well, okay? Ge only wants to see you happy, and that is already more than enough for me."

’Me too,’ He Xie thought bitterly. ’I also want to see you happy.’

However, he knew that his brother was still carrying some kind of burden on his shoulders, one that he was not privy to. He felt sad knowing that he could do nothing to help He Juan, for he could already guess that He Juan would just dismiss his concern with carefree laughter as usual.

Thus, he merely nodded and said, "En, I know. Don’t worry, Ge. I am happy now."

They bid farewell in front of the gate, and He Juan watched until He Xie entered the school and disappeared from sight before he slid into the car.

Just as he was turning on the engine, his phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out to see Marius’ name on the screen.

.

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A/N: Important announcement!

Hi everyone, I’m very sorry to announce this but next month, CBCD’s update will be sporadic between 1 or 2 Chapters per day and that’s why I will also be reducing the privi price. I will still update daily as usual, but perhaps it will be one more often than not. I will still try to do two though, so thank you so much for your understanding ^^

*cough* in case you haven’t noticed, I am entering a new book for WSA 2023 contest ’When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle’ please check it out if you like horror, suspense and survival game! It will be greatly appreciated if you can shift the votes for PS, GT and gift for that book instead so that it will become more visible in the ranking list. Tysm ><