Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 465: Hidden Meaning

He Juan’s mind drew an abrupt blank when he saw tears streaming down Mu Yuze’s face.

Wait, did he say something wrong? Why did the boy suddenly start crying?! Amidst the whirlwind of thoughts, he tried to guess which word had triggered such a reaction from Mu Yuze, but in his inattention, he ended up tripping over the threshold of the hallway.

"Careful!" Mu Yuze hurried to catch him, but he was nearly overwhelmed by He Juan’s weight. They would have crashed together to the floor if He Juan had not grabbed onto the wall just in time, preventing a catastrophe from happening. "Y–You can’t even walk properly, and you still don’t want to get treated?!"

In such close proximity, the faint scent of Mu Yuze’s pheromones wafted to his nose – sweet lavender and cool peppermint. He Juan tensed and held his breath at once, though his eyes couldn’t help but wander to the back of Mu Yuze’s smooth and fair neck. Oh God... it had been so long since he had smelled Mu Yuze’s pheromones, and the effect was simply devastating!

His heart began to race, and his throat bobbed. He was akin to a dying traveler who finally encountered a drop of water in the desert. Instead of relieving his thirst, it only made him yearn for more.

He Juan closed his eyes and berated himself, ’Do not! Do not even think about it!’

Nothing could be detected on his tone when he spoke again, except for a hint of helplessness. "I’ve told you before that I— Xiao Ze!" He was shocked when Mu Yuze suddenly crouched down before him and grabbed hold of his ankle.

"What?" Mu Yuze retorted with a nasally tone, sniffling once in a while. "I can’t even help you take off your shoes?"

’It’s not like that at all!’ was what He Juan wished to say. He palmed his forehead, feeling his mind grow increasingly sluggish and slow. Oh no, it seemed like he had contracted a fever. Since when did it happen? He moved his hand to peer down at Mu Yuze, only to feel his breath catch on his throat at the sight of the boy in such a position. Heavens, this was just so...

He Juan instinctively felt that he had to get himself out of this situation as soon as possible, or else he might do something he would regret later. As such, he quickly toed off his shoes and plastered a reassuring smile on his face, "See, Gege can do this himself. It was just a dizzy spell earlier. I will be fine after a good rest, and this..." he let out a self-deprecating chuckle as he gestured at his own body. "It’s not my blood."

Deep down, he wanted to keep this side of him from Mu Yuze, because he realized how badly he wished to appear in front of the boy as the best version of himself. Kind, gentle, considerate, thoughtful... and not this. Not this kind of He Juan who reeked of the stench of blood and death. He had made that error once and since then, he resolved to be on his best behavior around Mu Yuze so that the boy could gradually forget that horrible memory. Alas, he had no other option now. Unless he told the truth, Mu Yuze would keep worrying about him.

Blame him for being so weak towards the boy’s tears!

He Juan let out a light chuckle to disperse the somber mood, and tried to keep his tone as casual as possible, "Let’s go inside. Until when will you stay like that? Hmm?"

Mu Yuze blinked his wet and moist eyes, then he lowered his head and uttered, "Oh."

He Juan couldn’t discern anything from his tone. Was he mad? Disappointed? Or did he feel repulsed now that he reaffirmed what kind of horrible person He Juan truly was?

He Juan’s gaze followed the boy as he moved to put the shoes into the cabinet. Without waiting for the boy to support him, he forced himself to stand up straight and walked deeper into the house, heading straight to his own room.

So that Mu Yuze would not notice anything amiss, he put up a composed façade and struck up a light conversation, "Why are you still not asleep? It’s already so late..."

Wrong question, because the next second, he heard Mu Yuze speak from behind,

"You didn’t reply to my message," his voice was tiny and soft, yet for some reason it echoed loud and clear in He Juan’s ears, to the point where he could track the rhythm of the boy’s breathing. Then he added, "If I hadn’t stayed up all night, you would have left, wouldn’t you?" Though it was a question, he sounded so sure of himself, and coupled with the sentence he had said earlier, it became laden with hidden meaning.

I already knew the answer to that message without you telling me.

Fortunately, Mu Yuze was not facing him right now, otherwise he would have seen how He Juan’s face twisted horribly for a split second before he promptly smoothed it down. In fact, he had nearly forgotten about that message had Mu Yuze not reminded him, as his mind was full of the signature he discovered in the archive room. Alas, it was too late to defend himself now, because He Juan had indeed planned on leaving.

Because He Juan was indeed avoiding him.

He Juan stopped in front of his room and subtly took a deep breath. "I didn’t..." he said as he turned around and put on a troubled look. "I’ve just been very occupied with something. How can you even think of that, Xiao Ze?" His composure almost cracked when he raised his head to meet Mu Yuze’s quiet eyes, which seemed to stare deep into his soul. But He Juan mustered every last drop of strength he had to continue his act, "I’m almost finished, so I should be able to come home sooner from now on. Okay, go back to your room. Staying up late is not good for you. Good night, Xiao Ze."

Without waiting for a response, He Juan quickly pushed open the door, stepped in and closed it behind him. He stood still for a moment until he heard the sound of Mu Yuze’s footsteps moving away, and only then did the tension on his shoulders loosen.

"Fuck..." he cursed and rubbed his face roughly.

Why did it become harder and harder to lie to Mu Yuze’s face? Was it because of the way Mu Yuze looked at him, as if he could see through all of He Juan’s inner dilemma and cowardice? Or was it because of his weakened state right now?

He Juan was more inclined to think of the latter, and thus he decisively shoved the messy thoughts to the back of his mind.

He tore off his tie and tossed it to the hamper. Next, when he discarded his bloody jacket, disgust flashed through his eyes. He would definitely need to incinerate it as soon as possible, but he’d better not play with fire now. Resigning to his fate, he tossed it to the hamper as well to be dealt with tomorrow.

Feeling slightly cleaner, he sat down on the side of the bed and bent down to get a first aid kit from the bottom drawer of the nightstand. He had just rolled up his sleeve to reveal the cut on his arm when a timid knock landed on his door.

"Gege?"

He Juan’s brows twitched. Had he locked the door just now when he came in? Damn it, he couldn’t remember! Taking a deep breath, he replied, "Do you need something, Xiao Ze?"

"I brought you water and cold medicine. You have been away for so long, so there’s no water in your room. When I touched you earlier, you were burning hot. May I come in?"

It was such a suitable excuse that He Juan was left momentarily tongue-tied. Rejecting it would do nothing but raise suspicion. So, gritting his teeth, he rolled down his sleeve again and said, "Sure."

Mu Yuze entered the room and placed the cup of water and medicine on the nightstand. His eyes then fell on the first aid kit He Juan had taken out, causing He Juan’s heart to skip a beat. Oh no, he had forgotten to put this away!

"You’re injured," Mu Yuze stated, his gaze turning sharp and accusing.