Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 602: Somewhere To Be

"I..." Zhong Yun began to wheeze, his chapped lips parting as he struggled to gasp for air. His already horrible complexion turned even more ashen as though he was reliving a horrifying memory. "I... I ran away..."

On that fateful day, the Goddess of Luck seemed to favor Zhong Yun.

Not long after Qin Zhen left, Zhong Yun had received a high-paying client who sought his services, so he returned to his own apartment to catch up on some work. He’d expected Qin Zhen to give him a call as soon as the man was done with his business, yet strangely, even after the sun dipped below the horizon, his phone was still devoid of the special ringtone he had set only for the man.

Had the meeting gone so badly that Qin Zhen couldn’t even bring himself to call?

Growing concerned, Zhong Yun wrapped up his work, grabbed his jacket and made his way to Qin Zhen’s apartment. His eyes immediately lit up when he caught sight of Qin Zhen walking into the building, and he opened his mouth to call the man’s name, only to close it again in the end.

After months of obsessive stalking, Zhong Yun could say with confidence that he’d learned everything about Qin Zhen inside out – from the flutter of his soft lashes to the bounce of his fluffy hair, from the way he would scrunch up his nose when he was lost in thought, to the width of every step he took whenever he was in a hurry. He was extremely familiar with Qin Zhen’s body language and every micro gesture he made.

Yet right now, as he gazed at his lover, every single cell in his body was issuing an alarm that something was— wrong, wrong, wrong!

What’s the matter? It was clearly Qin Zhen before him, his lover in the flesh, so where did this strange feeling come from?

The first incongruity that caught Zhong Yun’s attention was the height and body frame. He’d spent countless hours staring fervently at Qin Zhen’s narrow waist and slender legs, while this person... he did not possess even an ounce of Qin Zhen’s grace or beauty at all. Moreover, Qin Zhen would always stop for a few minutes to pet the calico cat that often hung out on the side of the building. But on that day, Qin Zhen immediately sauntered into the building, and the cat – which always acted spoiled toward him – acted cold and indifferent too as though it had never known him at all.

Witnessing that scene, the alarm bells in Zhong Yun’s mind rang louder, and he began to break out into cold sweats. His breathing quickened in pace as an unsettling chill crawled up his spine.

Qin Zhen had never mentioned any siblings or twins before, so there was no way it could be Qin Zhen’s family. Moreover, the outfit... that was the outfit Zhong Yun had picked for his lover this very morning. He couldn’t have been mistaken about it.

So how was it possible for someone to be Qin Zhen, but so unlike him at the same time?

The mere idea of it was so inconceivable that Zhong Yun was unwilling to acknowledge the other possibility that popped into his mind. Instead, he tremblingly put on his hat and turned to march into the convenience store. He purchased a face mask and a cold lunch box, and then bringing the plastic bag with him, he dragged himself to the front of Qin Zhen’s door.

Until that moment, Qin Zhen still had yet to give him a call.

Swallowing hard, Zhong Yun reached out to press on the doorbell, despite knowing the password to the apartment. The subsequent eight seconds of waiting felt like half an eternity. All the time, his mind remained dreadfully blank and his stomach felt queasy as though he was going to puke out his dinner.

What am I doing? he asked himself. Exactly what did he hope to confirm by doing this? How was it possible that—

"Yes?" Qin Zhen’s soft and gentle voice echoed from behind the door. "Who is it?"

Hearing that, Zhong Yun somehow managed to force out, "...Food delivery." His voice sounded strange and distorted even to his own ears.

The door cracked open a bit and Qin Zhen peeked out through the gap with a confused look. "I didn’t order anything..."

It was a face so intimately familiar that Zhong Yun could trace every line and contour of it with his mind alone. It was an expression so endearingly familiar that Zhong Yun could literally picture it even with his eyes closed. However, when he looked into Qin Zhen’s eyes... when he looked into those dull and bottomless brown eyes, he immediately knew.

This person was not Qin Zhen at all. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Who? Who was he?! How could he look exactly the same as—!

.

Zhong Yun took in a shuddering breath as he fumbled to scrub away the tears on his face. "My mind kinda went blank at that moment. I gave an excuse that I got the wrong room and ran away from there."

"And the Master Manipulator let you go just like that?" This time, it was Chen Youzhi who questioned, his brows furrowed in consternation and a hint of doubt. He Juan kept silent because the man had voiced the exact thought in his mind.

In usual cases, Ku Jin’s victims had one glaring similarity – they were all loners. Either they had lost their family, or they were individuals without significant bonds in their lives. Simply put, they were the kind of people who wouldn’t be missed even if they went missing, as it would severely affect the plan’s chances of success. While Qin Zhen indeed fulfilled all the conditions, the Master Manipulator had overlooked one extremely crucial factor – Qin Zhen’s stalker, Zhong Yun.

Unless Zhong Yun had somehow escaped from his radar.

But could anyone really manage to evade the Master Manipulator and live to tell the tale?

"Let me go?" Zhong Yun let out a bitter, ironic laugh. He raised his hands – the once stable and powerful hands, now rendered shaky and trembling due to the prolonged usage of drugs. "After seeing me in such a state, do you still think he is cutting me some slack?"

The corner of He Juan’s brow twitched. No, Zhong Yun did not know that cunning bastard as well as he did. It was completely unlike Ku Jin to allow someone like Zhong Yun to live, someone who harbored a grudge against him and could potentially bounce back to bite him in the ass one day. If he did, it would most likely mean one thing— Zhong Yun still held some value to him.

Now came the most important question: what was the worth of this young and vengeful drug addict to the Master Manipulator?

Oh He Juan couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of it all, because if Ku Jin thought that he was laying a trap by doing this, then He Juan was more than ready to reciprocate the gesture. He was about to give Chen Youzhi a signal, when the phone inside his pocket buzzed.

He Juan’s jaws ticked with annoyance. Who would be calling him at such wee hours— that’s right, Mu Yuze! Goodness, he had promised to send the location of his current residence to the Omega earlier, but the encounter with Zhong Yun had succeeded in distracting him aplenty!

He pulled out his phone, and sure enough it was a missed call from a single rabbit emoji.

"Boss?" Chen Youzhi asked upon sensing the shift in He Juan’s mood.

Raking his fingers through his hair, He Juan shared his address with Mu Yuze, instructing him to go there first as he informed the two men, "I have somewhere to be."

He turned his gaze to Zhong Yun and leveled the anxious man with a sharp yet meaningful smile. "Don’t worry, Zhong Yun. If your goal is really the Master Manipulator, then I will gladly lend you a hand. But before that, I need you to confirm a few more things for me, and I’m sure Chen Youzhi can walk you through it. Can’t you, Chen’er?" The last question was directed toward Chen Youzhi, to which the man responded with a firm nod.

"Good," He Juan smiled, satisfied. "It’s already quite late. Let us return and catch some rest first."