Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 507: Is That You?
"Boss, are you... alright?"
Chen Youzhi couldn’t resist asking when he noticed that He Juan was lost in thought. It happened again; despite the warm embrace of the sunset’s glow, for some reason He Juan seemed shrouded in darker shadows than ever before. Chen Youzhi hesitated for a moment before adding, "What Doctor Jia said is correct. None of this is your fault. It’s all an accident."
Hearing that, He Juan let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Ha..."
He also would like to think that it was not his fault, but... what was up with this overwhelming guilt suffocating his chest? What was up with this shame and remorse that engulfed him whenever he recalled the way Sirius had begged for his brother’s return?
Again and again, he found himself thinking... if only, if only he had noticed something amiss that day, would the subsequent events not have happened? If only he had persuaded Marius not to attend this transaction in person, would he have been fine? Or perhaps worse, if he had not dragged Marius into this mess in the first place, if he had investigated the secret experiment on his own and bore the burden all alone...
Would everything have turned out differently now?
"Boss?" Chen Youzhi grew even more concerned when he saw He Juan in this state. Alas, before he could speak a few more words, He Juan’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
Retrieving the phone, He Juan’s pupils trembled as he glanced at the caller’s name. He waved a hand to Chen Youzhi, signaling that he would like to be left alone.
It was not until he was certain that Chen Youzhi was out of the earshot that he swiped the green button and brought the phone to his ear. For a while, silence hung heavy on the line with only the sound of crashing waves and soft breathing echoing. Until the other person broke the silence first,
"Let’s meet."
***
The morning air in winter was crisp and cool, the breeze bordering on freezing. He Juan left the port and spent more than half a day driving to reach the address Luo Xuan provided – a private and luxurious residence. He was welcomed by the servant and led to the back of the house where the garden had been transformed into a personal golf course.
In the early hours, Luo Xuan was already decked in full professional gear – white attire, sun visor hat with his long brown hair tied in a high ponytail. He looked every inch like a rich pampered omega rather than the mysterious boss of a mafia syndicate.
"Mr. XIU is here, Sir," the staff announced.
"Please leave us alone, thank you." Luo Xuan instructed without turning around. Instead, he positioned himself beside the ball and practiced a few swings, attempting to gauge the appropriate force he should use for his next shot.
Along the way, He Juan had told himself again and again that he should keep a cool head when he saw Luo Xuan later, that he must not let emotions get the best out of him. He had resolved to have a long talk with the man, even if the outcome was proven to be worse than before. Alas, it seemed like he had sorely overestimated himself. Because the moment he laid eyes on Luo Xuan, the moment he witnessed how unfazed the omega was, his thoughts immediately turned to Marius whose fate was still unknown until now, possibly adrift in the boundless expanse of the sea, dying somewhere no one knew.
The mere notion of it ignited an inferno of rage and resentment within him, and they rolled off his body in a wave so intense that he could feel his breath quicken in pace. He closed the distance between them in a few long strides and asked through gritted teeth, his voice strained, "Is that you? Did you plan everything?"
Luo Xuan swung the club and hit the ball this time, sending it rolling across the lawn. "Really, XIU?" he turned to face He Juan with a touch of incredulity. "I invited you here, and that’s the first thing you ask me? If I hadn’t called you away, how long would you have remained by the seaside?"
He Juan’s fists tightened by his side and he bit out, "Answer my damn question, Luo Xuan. Is that you or not?!"
Luo Xuan appeared taken aback, a flicker of surprise flashing through his brown eyes. Granted, He Juan seemed to have never raised his voice at him. Ah right, there was that one incident in Busan where He Juan had allowed his emotions to slip through, but even then he had managed to keep his emotions in check in the end. But now... oh God, he swore that he could not hold himself back anymore. The days of hope followed by crushing development had taken a huge toll on his psyche, leaving him short-tempered and explosive. Facing the very person who was most likely the culprit behind Marius’ accident, how was he supposed to remain composed? How?!
Despite He Juan’s outburst, Luo Xuan seemed utterly unaffected, merely casting him a furtive glance. "You seem to already have your answer, don’t you?"
For some reason, that simple statement hit He Juan harder than if Luo Xuan had explicitly admitted the truth, and a hollow laugh tumbled off his lips. "So that’s a yes," he murmured under his breath. His nails sank into his flesh from the force he used to clench his fists, and he ground out through gritted teeth, his voice resembling a growl. "Why?! He never posed any threat to you! If this is because of the experiment, you should have come after me rather than—"
"This is precisely why," Luo Xuan interrupted him halfway, his expression mildly annoyed.
"...What?" He Juan whispered in disbelief. What did he mean by that?
"He never posed any threat to me?" Luo Xuan scoffed in utter disdain. "Look at you. Look at the lengths you’ve gone to just for him. He managed to snatch my left hand man away from me, and you still claim that he’s not a threat?"
He Juan let out a disbelieving laugh as he stared at Luo Xuan as if this was the first time he’d ever seen the man. And indeed, the person before him right now felt utterly unfamiliar, as he could no longer see the shadow of the leader he had sworn allegiance to. He Juan felt as if the ground beneath him had turned unstable, his mind reeling from the words the omega had just uttered. He could not even begin to guess the line of Luo Xuan’s thoughts that had led him to such an inconceivable conclusion.
"You’re saying that... he snatched me away from you? That’s why you plotted against him and—" he choked on his words, unable to finish that one sentence.
In that instant, his emotions exploded all at once like an erupting volcano – the disbelief, fury, and resentment – all of them rolled off his body in waves and manifested as powerful pheromones, causing Luo Xuan’s face to go pale.
He seized the omega by the collar, his bloodshot eyes locking onto him. "You know very well that Marius is not the reason we drifted apart. It’s because of you and your absurd vision! It’s because I couldn’t bring myself to support your twisted plan. And now you dare to harm an innocent person because of that?!" His voice trembled with anger, and he continued with intense fervor, "Are you going to tell me next that Marius’ accident is all because of me?!"
