Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 398: Little Bunny’s Sweet Hug

Hearing that, He Juan immediately dropped the bag of potatoes he was holding and shifted his whole focus on Mu Yuze. With him still kneeling in front of the refrigerator, they were automatically on the same eye level. "Okay, let’s hear it."

W–Why would He Juan stare at him like that? There was no need to get so serious, right?

What Mu Yuze did not realize was, it was such a rare occasion for him to reach out to He Juan on his own regarding his needs as he would prefer to solve it himself or endure it instead. And that’s why He Juan couldn’t help but put more than a hundred percent of attention to it, wondering what Mu Yuze could be asking for.

"Um, it’s nothing big... I just..." he kept his gaze on the floor, unable to bring himself to meet the man’s straightforward and earnest gaze. Even though this matter had indeed been haunting his mind for days, he had only brought it up to keep He Juan from finding out that he was bothered by the girl whom they had just met! Who knew that He Juan would react like this? Mu Yuze had no choice but to bite the bullet and finished his sentence,

"I’ve just been thinking that... maybe I should learn how to defend myself properly." He peeked at He Juan through his lashes, "Can I?"

"You mean," He Juan blinked in slight surprise. "You want to learn how to fight? Something like kung fu, taekwondo or boxing?"

Mu Yuze nodded. "Something like that."

"Oh..." He Juan’s eyes immediately softened. It did not take long for him to realize where the boy was coming from. "You are still troubled over that incident, huh?"

When he saw Mu Yuze’s head that hung even lower as if he wanted to hide himself away, He Juan gently placed both hands on the boy’s shoulders to catch his eyes. He flashed a reassuring smile at him, "Thank you for being honest with me, Xiao Ze. Actually, I should have considered it early on, but I’m just reluctant to see you get hurt. Indeed, it will surely be more beneficial in the long run if you know how to defend yourself, but the process... it will be hard, painful and difficult. In spite of that, do you still want to try?"

Mu Yuze clenched his fists and stated firmly, "I do."

"Of course, you do," He Juan chortled and continued to place the rest of the groceries into the refrigerator. "Why did I even ask? After all, you are not the kind of person to shy away from any challenge."

Mu Yuze flushed crimson. He did not expect that He Juan’s opinion toward him would be so high and noble. When in fact, he was nothing more than a petty, inferior and narrow-minded boy...

Even with this request, he had his own selfish reason for doing so. Not only did he not want the previous accident to repeat all over again, he also thought that... if he were to become more skillful, perhaps he would be able to get one step closer to He Juan. As simple as that.

"Okay!" He Juan rose to his feet, closed the refrigerator and patted his head with a smile. "Leave this matter to Gege. I know the perfect person who can teach you about the basics. Why don’t you go and wash up while I make some calls?"

Mu Yuze chewed on his bottom lip for a second, peered up at He Juan and braced himself to rush forward and wrapped his arms around He Juan’s torso. He only did it for a split second before he let go and took a step back, not even enough to give He Juan time to digest what was going on.

With his face burning red, he stuttered out, "T–Thank you, Juan-gege. Good night!" After saying that, he spun on his heels and escaped into the safety of his room, leaving the shocked He Juan behind.

He Juan stared at the spot where Mu Yuze had been standing a moment ago, still unable to react. He then pinched his thigh and sucked in a breath when a sharp pain jolted him out of his trance.

What... was going on here? Did Mu Yuze just give him a hug on his own accord?!!

Running his fingers through his hair, He Juan let out a helpless chuckle, "Sneaky little bunny..." he murmured under his breath. "How can he be so cute?"

***

The next day, Mu Yuze was spotted with dark circles under his eyes.

All night long, he was torn between the mortification of daring to attempt such a bold action, and proud of himself for being able to hug the man he adored. Last time, he had missed the chance to hug He Juan because he was too timid and the regret had been gnawing on him ever since, giving him a sudden injection of courage in the heat of the moment. After tossing and turning in bed, he ended up not getting a wink of sleep, but he still woke up in time to make He Juan his daily morning coffee.

Mu Yuze was placing He Juan’s mug on the counter when the man emerged from the hallway while humming a random tune, smiling so brilliantly that he seemed to steal all the lights away, "Good morning, Xiao Ze!"

Mu Yuze had the urge to shield his eyes from the man’s radiance, but fortunately he managed to hold back and spare himself from the humiliation.

Usually, He Juan would be a little cranky and subdued in the morning due to the lack of sleep, but today, he seemed to be in an exuberant mood. It was such a funny contrast how dashing and suave He Juan was, compared to him who struggled to deal with his bird nest hair and thick eyebags.

It made Mu Yuze feel like he was the one who was still affected by what happened last night...

"You look like you’ve had a good night’s sleep," he commented sullenly and took a sip out of his own glass.

"Of course!" He Juan beamed. "How can I not, when my little bunny gave me such a sweet hug last night?"

"Cough—" Mu Yuze choked on his lukewarm water and covered his mouth to prevent himself from spraying the water all over the place.

"Xiao Ze!" Standing up, He Juan quickly went around the counter to rub his back, "Look at you. You can even choke when drinking water. How can you be so clumsy?"

’Isn’t that your fault?!’ Mu Yuze grumbled inwardy, though he did not dare to say anything at all because the embarrassment was rapidly catching up with him. He should have known that the man was going to tease him for it!

After he stopped coughing, He Juan urged him to wash up and change his wet clothes because he was going to take Mu Yuze somewhere, and Mu Yuze instantly seized the opportunity to flee from that place and give himself some time to calm down.

When he exited the bedroom clad in a thick sweater and jacket fifteen minutes later, he had more or less returned to normal, save for the reddening tips of his ears.

"Where are we going?" he asked curiously once they got into the car. Now he was already proficient in fastening the seat belt around himself. "Don’t you have to work today?"

"You will see..." Smiling, He Juan left that one mysterious sentence as he started the car and drove away from the house.

For the first ten minutes, Mu Yuze was still wondering where they were heading to, but somewhere between the gentle lull of He Juan’s driving and the warm air emitted from the heater, he ended up falling asleep by accident.

Mu Yuze had no idea how long he was out like a light. And it was not until he felt a soft caress on his face that he was startled awake, though he kept his eyes closed and breathing even.

His heartbeat kicked up a notch when he sensed a familiar presence close to him, followed by gentle fingers that brushed the hair on his forehead away. W–What was He Juan doing?!