Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 415: May I?
"I see that you have been taking care of the house very well," He Juan commented once he stepped through the door, trying to lighten the somber atmosphere in the air. "Good job, Xiao Ze. I’m very proud of you."
Mu Yuze pressed his palm on his burning face, unable to bring himself to look the man in the eye even after he had been placed on the couch in the living room.
"Wait here," He Juan told him before he walked away in brisk steps, leaving Mu Yuze to stew on the mortification and horror that had quickly caught up to him following his emotional outburst.
He buried his face into his hands and let out an internal scream. Good job, Mu Yuze... good job with messing everything up!
He had been so thrilled by the prospect of He Juan’s return that he could not think of anything else. After turning the entire house upside down and not finding the man anywhere, he had run out of the house without even wearing shoes, only to stop in the middle of the street because he had no idea where he should start to look.
Where had He Juan gone? Why wasn’t he in the house? He couldn’t have left so quickly again, could he? If not for the suit jacket still in his clutch, he would have thought that everything was a mere wishful dream, that he had missed He Juan so much to hallucinate about his return.
But this was neither a dream nor a hallucination. Oh my God, Juan-gege has really come back... and he even said that he’s proud of me for taking care of the house well...
The full revelation finally sank into his mind, and Mu Yuze let out another internal scream.
"Xiao Ze?"
That deep, gentle voice snapped him out of his spiral of hysterics and he raised his head to see He Juan staring at him in concern. The man was holding a medical kit in one hand and a glass of water in another hand as he hovered around Mu Yuze, not quite daring to get close yet. "A–Are you okay? Are your eyes uncomfortable? Can you tell Gege if you’re hurting somewhere? Here, drink this first."
Mu Yuze accepted the glass and drank the water in a few large gulps to moisten his parched throat.
This was the first time he had ever seen He Juan behaving so awkward around him. He was confused for a split second before the recollection hit him like a freight train.
Not only had he run out of the house without wearing shoes, he was also clad in nothing but old and baggy pajamas! He had not washed his face, brushed his teeth and combed his hair yet, and he had already broken down so badly in front of He Juan with tears and snots all over the place! Moreover, the fact that he woke up with He Juan’s suit jacket in hand must be because the man had come back to see him some time last night, meaning he had found out how Mu Yuze secretly hoarded his clothes like a pervert. Goodness, could things get any worse today?!
This was clearly not what he had planned for on the day when He Juan finally returned – not in the slightest bit!
He bit his bottom lip hard and hung his head low, mortified. No, he had to get away from this place before he died of literal shame. Now! "I... I will go—" Alas, he had just placed the glass on the table and risen to his feet when He Juan pressed him down to sit on the couch again, sending him freezing in shock.
"Where do you want to go?" He Juan asked with a slight frown. Perhaps sensing that his tone had been too harsh, he added again, softer this time, "Sit down first and show your feet to Gege."
"M–My feet?"
"En," He Juan placed the medicine kit on the low table and took a seat beside him. Without a word, he reached out toward Mu Yuze’s leg only to halt midway. He peered up at Mu Yuze and asked with a little hesitation, "May I?"
M–May he... what? Mu Yuze felt like his brain had turned into a glob of paste now that he was finally back in He Juan’s presence. Without a doubt, one year was too short for him to quell the rampant and untamed feelings he was harboring for He Juan, but it was certainly long enough that he began to forget how overpowering He Juan’s aura was – a presence capable of draining all the oxygen in the room, even when he did nothing but to sit quietly there. He was still the kind and gentle man in Mu Yuze’s memory, yet at the same time, it seemed like something had subtly changed about him, making him look more mature and refined.
Mu Yuze quietly clutched his chest, trying to suppress his wildly thundering heartbeat to no avail. W–Why was he so nervous? Was it because he had not seen He Juan for so long?
"Hey," He Juan snapped his fingers in front of Mu Yuze’s face, slightly amused. "Why are you so lost in thought, Xiao Ze? I’m asking, is it okay if I take a look at your feet?"
O–Oh, so that was what he had been meaning to ask. Still lagging a beat, Mu Yuze gave a jerky nod, and a quiet gasp escaped his lips the next second when He Juan bent down to hold his ankle, placing it across his own lap. This position automatically caused Mu Yuze to face him instead. "J–Juan gege!"
Oh God, his leg... he had his leg on He Juan’s lap!
Alas, the said man was utterly oblivious of his inner panic as he was engrossed in checking out the red blisters forming on the sole of his foot. Clicking his tongue, he demanded, "Where’s your other foot? Let me see it too."
And thus, Mu Yuze had to cope with the mortification of having his feet poked and prodded by He Juan. T–This was too much for his heart so early in the morning! He bit his bottom lip and clenched his fists tightly as He Juan started to clean his dirty feet before applying cooling balm on the blisters. The man’s touch was nothing but gentle and careful, but it was exactly for that reason that everything became all the more unbearable! Mu Yuze felt as if every nerve in his body was concentrated on the point of contact between them, amplifying the tingling and ticklish sensation that shot up his calves.
"Does it hurt so much?" He Juan asked in genuine worry because he sensed that Mu Yuze kept flinching and recoiling everytime the cooling balm was dabbed on his foot.
"N–No..." Mu Yuze stammered out.
He Juan let out a quiet sigh as he moved deftly to wrap the bandage around Mu Yuze’s feet. "Do not do something like this again, do you hear me?"
’I have not done anything like this before!’ Mu Yuze screeched inside his heart. ’It’s only because of you that I became so childish and unreasonable!’ However, what came out of his mouth was only a quiet, "Mn."
He Juan’s movement was fast and efficient. In a flash, Mu Yuze’s feet were securely bandaged, yet the man did not show any signs of letting go. He had his fingers wrapped around Mu Yuze’s slender ankle and his gaze lowered, seemingly lost in thought. Just as Mu Yuze could not bear it anymore and was going to pull his legs back, he heard He Juan say,
"I’m sorry, Xiao Ze. For leaving without a word, for not contacting you at all, for not being here when you woke up..." he raised his head and put a forced smile on his face. "And for all the hurt and pain I have put you through. But I guess it will not be so easy for me to ask for your forgiveness, huh? Do you really hate Gege now?"
