Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 447: Why Can’t You?

He Juan cradled the boy with one arm as he headed towards the study.

Like this, Mu Yuze stayed quiet with his head resting against He Juan’s shoulder, only his labored breathing betrayed his discomfort. With his free hand, He Juan pushed open the study door, flicked on the light and rummaged through his drawer for a medicine kit.

First, he retrieved a digital thermometer which he had bought when Mu Yuze first came to live with him. "Open your mouth," he instructed, and when Mu Yuze complied, he gently placed the thermometer inside and said, "Don’t let go until it beeps."

Next, he searched through the kit until he found what he was looking for. Taking out the sealed syringe, he bit down on the cap, tore it open and injected the liquid into his own arm with practiced ease.

Mu Yuze’s eyes widened slightly, as he had initially thought the syringe was for him. Was Juan-gege sick too? With the thermometer still in his mouth, his voice came out muffled, "What is that?"

He Juan spat out the cap from his mouth and discarded the empty syringe to the trash bin. "Rut suppressor," he replied.

Better safe than sorry. He did not want to risk triggering his rut while taking care of Mu Yuze. After retrieving the cotton buds, disinfectant and gauzes to clean Mu Yuze’s wounds, he closed the medicine kit and returned it to the drawer. As he turned to face Mu Yuze, he was shocked to find the boy’s tear-stained face. Unbeknownst to He Juan, he had started crying again, and this time it looked more heart-wrenching because he did it without a sound, only letting the tears cascade down his cheeks in an unstoppable stream.

Flustered, He Juan swiftly walked over to the couch and gently lowered Mu Yuze onto it. However, at the last moment, the boy clung tightly to his neck, refusing to let go.

"What’s wrong, Xiao Ze?" He Juan asked anxiously. He tried to catch Mu Yuze’s eyes to no avail, as the boy had his face buried on the crook of his neck. In a blink of an eye, a wet patch formed on the fabric of He Juan’s shirt. "Are you in pain? Tell me, okay? Is it your stomach? Or your neck?"

Mu Yuze shook his head again and again with each question he asked. "Why..." he rasped in a hoarse voice, struggling to speak. "Why did you... inject it...?"

He Juan blinked, surprised that it was the first question Mu Yuze asked. Just then, the thermometer let out a faint beep and he removed it from the boy’s mouth, his brows furrowing when he saw that it was 38.9 degrees Celsius. "Of course, I can’t get into a rut with you here. Your fever is so high," he gently cupped Mu Yuze’s face and wiped his tears away. "Don’t cry anymore, you will feel worse this way. Come, it seems like Gege has an ice compress somewhere in the kitchen."

Again, he bundled Mu Yuze up into a tight cocoon and hoisted him up, holding the boy in his arm as he made his way to the kitchen.

However it seemed like Mu Yuze was unwilling to let go of the previous topic. Gasping for breath, he continued to ask, "Why can’t you... get into a rut...?" It was clear that his consciousness was barely hanging on a thread, but he still persistently cracked his eyes open and waited for He Juan’s answer.

He Juan was simply helpless when faced with this stubborn Mu Yuze. What kind of question was that? But knowing that the boy might not rest without a satisfactory answer, He Juan could only resign himself to reply, "Do you even know what a rut looks like, Xiao Ze? You don’t, do you? A rut, especially a superior Alpha’s rut, is very violent and intense. Gege can’t have you hurt when you’re in the middle of your manifestation period, so I have to use a suppressor. Is that clear?"

Mu Yuze let out a quiet ’mn’, leaning against He Juan’s shoulder and closing his eyes.

Alas, before He Juan could even release a sigh of relief, the boy spoke again, his tone soft and weak, "So it’s not because... you..." the rest of his words were lost in an unintelligible murmur.

"I... what?" He Juan asked. When he received no response, he glanced down to find that Mu Yuze had already drifted off to sleep, though his brows remained furrowed as if he was enduring some unspeakable torment.

Helpless, He Juan quickened his pace and entered the kitchen, searching around a few spots where he remembered the compress was. Fortunately, he located it quickly. After filling it with ice cubes, He Juan carried Mu Yuze back to the bedroom and gently placed him down on the bed.

He gazed at Mu Yuze’s flushed face with an extremely complicated look and delicately placed the ice compress on his forehead. "Sshh..." he hushed softly when the boy let out a muffled grunt of pain. "It’s okay, everything will be fine. You will be fine. Gege is here..."

Perhaps soothed by He Juan’s voice, Mu Yuze slipped back into slumber, and the creases between his brows smoothed out. Noticing that, He Juan immediately took the chance to address the wounds on Mu Yuze’s knuckles and torso.

Throughout the entire night, He Juan dared not close his eyes even for a moment. He helped Mu Yuze up and fed him water every hour, then wiped his sweat for him. As the night deepened, the sweet pheromones in the room abruptly exploded like a newly blooming flower; alluring and enticing. Filling every crook and cranny of the house and saturating the air.

He Juan could finally identify what scent it was— lavender and peppermint. Not the cloying kind which majority of Omegas had, but just the perfect balance of sweetness and iciness. Somehow, it suited Mu Yuze perfectly.

At that moment, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He glanced at Mu Yuze, who was still sound asleep, and reached for the phone to check a new message from Marius.

[Is everything okay? We’ve got Jay here. Can you come over?]

As expected of Marius. He Juan knew that he could always count on the man at a time of need. He was typing in a reply when another message came.

[Your friend... he doesn’t look too well.]

He Juan paused, realizing that Marius must be talking about A–Mu. He neither asked nor demanded He Juan to do anything, merely expressing concern based on what he had observed. But having known Marius for a long time, He Juan could easily discern the meaning behind his words. After all, tonight’s operation owed much of its success to A-Mu. It did not sit right with He Juan to keep ignoring the man when he was in such a bad state.

Sighing, he responded,

[I can’t. Xiao Ze had a mishap, and I need to watch over him for a while. I will visit A–Mu later. Please relay my thanks to him.]

Tossing the phone aside, he returned all his focus to Mu Yuze. As dawn burst through the horizon, the boy’s fever finally broke and He Juan’s nerves – which had been tense for hours – loosened at last, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief. Keeping his Alpha in check all night was more exhausting than he’d expected and after checking that Mu Yuze was okay for one last time, He Juan finally succumbed to sleep.

Unbeknownst to him, as he drifted off, Mu Yuze opened his eyes in a daze.