Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 483: One Of The Nine
"XIU!"
Ye Qiu arrived less than half an hour later, her presence rife with anxiety. Her bloodshot eyes darted around in fluster before settling on the sealed metal door. Her quivering lips voiced her unease, "H–He is in... there?"
He Juan let out a hum from where he was sitting on the sofa. He had attempted to catch a quick nap while waiting for Ye Qiu, but in the end he woke up with a throbbing headache which only served to sour his mood further. "Where are the others?" He asked, his voice edged with a rasp.
Ye Qiu turned her gaze away from the door and collapsed onto the seat across from him. Her fingers roughly scrubbed her face before she replied, "I dropped them off in Marius’ villa. I asked Xiao Gu to watch over everyone and rushed here. Marius, he..." Speaking of her sweetheart, the rims of Ye Qiu’s eyes turned even redder as if blood might spill forth at any instant.
Ah, that’s right, he had not informed Marius about any of this yet. He Juan resisted the urge to groan as he massaged his sore temple. Looking at Ye Qiu’s current state, he couldn’t help but think of how good it would be if Marius were here. At least, he would be able to console Ye Qiu and the other boys much better than He Juan ever could. Not only that, he must also be able to handle the situation in a much better way. Just as He Juan was about to offer to give the man a call, he heard Ye Qiu add in a slight stammer,
"I–It’s okay, there’s no need to inform him... for now. He can’t come here, and telling him will only make him anxious for nothing..." her words petered off into a hitch on her throat and she buried her face in her hands, her slight shudders belying the depths of her emotional turmoil. "I’m sorry, XIU... I’m so sorry... just... give me a moment, please."
I’m sorry. He Juan had heard this sentence so many times in the last two hours that he had turned numb. Rising from his seat, he made his way to the kitchen and prepared two cups of warm water. He placed one of them on the table before Ye Qiu and received the girl’s quiet murmur of thanks.
Ye Qiu cupped her hands around the glass and relished in the warmth it exuded. She took a couple of measured sips before lifting her gaze to meet He Juan’s eyes. "Everything happened so suddenly that I couldn’t react at all. I’m truly sorry... to make you do this." She bit down on her bottom lip, a faint crease of frustration marring her forehead. "I have witnessed several cases of mutated Alpha manifestations in the facility, but I didn’t expect that Ye Hu... that his type would be so swift and destructive. It’s supposed to be a rare type, as opposed to mine and Ye Gu’s gradual one. So far, I have only encountered one case like this and it’s... terrifying, to say the least. Perhaps I still remember the fear I felt back then, and I found my mind turning blank when the same thing happened to Ye Hu..."
He Juan listened quietly without a word. He chose not to reveal how he’d come across a case report of this exact manifestation – rapid and lethal – as early as three years ago. However, there had been no mention that the mutated Alpha found in Canada was a rarity. And even if he had known, he had no way to foresee or prevent it from happening.
A walking time bomb, it was not until now that He Juan truly grasped the weight behind that term.
"What will happen to him?" Ye Qiu asked in a whisper, her voice small and quiet. The usually strong and independent girl teetered on the brink of tears once more at the thought of his little brother’s uncertain fate. She choked out, "Those people he has harmed..."
He Juan did not try to sugarcoat the truth and laid it bare before her, "Nine people are dead. Sixteen suffer from heavy concussions and are currently in a comatose state. The number of casualties are huge, and I have no way to stop the news from spreading. We have to prepare ourselves."
Ye Qiu’s pupils shook and her breath stuttered in response, but she did not ask what they had to prepare themselves for. Perhaps deep down, she already knew the truth even without He Juan telling her.
He Juan released a sigh and stood up, grabbing his jacket. "I will go and assess the situation. You..." he hesitated for a brief moment before patting Ye Qiu softly on the shoulder twice. This might be the best consolation he could offer. "Stay here, rest and watch over him. I know it’s not his fault."
He Juan exited the house and slid into the car. Once inside, he did not immediately turn on the engine. Instead, he settled back against the seat and closed his eyes for a while. He attempted to rid himself of the messy thoughts clouding his mind, yet his efforts turned out to be futile.
Though he had uttered those consolatory words to Ye Qiu, he knew that it was useless for nothing could change the fact that Ye Hu’s pheromones had created a bloody massacre. He did not even need to scour the internet to know that the news must have spread far and wide. He could only hope that the recorded videos had not caught Ye Hu’s face, sparing the boy from the ordeal he had to suffer in the future, but...
What about himself? In a bid to shield Ye Hu, He Juan had left himself completely exposed and it was bound to become a problem sooner or later.
The more he mulled over the situation, the worse his headache became. He shook his head and murmured to himself, "Let’s take it one step at a time..."
He started the car and drove to the hospital where the injured were recieving treatment. Chen Youzhi had been waiting for him when he stepped into the lobby. "Boss," he lowered his head slightly for a greeting.
He Juan acknowledged him with a nod and directly cut to the chase, "Don’t forget to arrange monetary compensation for the bereaved. Be as sincere as possible. What about the comatose patients? What are the chances that they will..." his words abruptly halted, stuck on his throat.
His gaze locked onto a familiar figure crossing the hospital’s lobby from a distance, heading straight to the reception area. He looked so stricken with fear and terror that he failed to notice He Juan’s presence a few meters away.
That person was none other than He Xie, his younger brother.
He Juan felt as if someone had punched him on the gut when a terrifying possibility crossed his mind. No, no, it was not possible... it couldn’t be... Though his mind repeated it again and again, he heard himself giving an order, his voice oddly shaky and unstable, "The list of the deceased... show it to me."
Chen Youzhi had undoubtedly sensed He Juan’s perturbed state. He Juan did not even need a mirror to discern the wretched pallor that had likely overtaken his complexion. However, he couldn’t afford to care about it now. "Show the list to me!" He abruptly erupted, his tone bordering on a growl.
Startled, Chen Youzhi swallowed the question back to his throat and hastened to retrieve a piece of paper from the documents he was holding, presenting it to He Juan. Written upon the page were the names of the nine unfortunate individuals who had fallen victim to Ye Hu’s pheromones assault.
Only nine names, yet He Juan felt like he needed to muster all of his strength to scan it. His heart pounded heavily on his throat, and an unsettling queasiness settled in his stomach, making the base of his tongue bitter and sour. Until his eyes landed on a particular name, and in that instant, he felt as though the ground beneath him had crumbled away.
Xia Weisheng.
This name couldn’t have been more familiar to him, because he had once conducted a background check on this person before. The same man whom He Xie was opening his clothing store with, the man whom He Xie was currently sharing a house with, and also...
He Xie’s lover.
