Chapitre 23: True Mate

He Juan tried to calm himself, but it was no use. Everywhere he went, his house still smelled like Mu Yuze. When he looked at his bed, he would think of how Mu Yuze had climbed into his lap, the solid weight of his body on He Juan, the electrifying sensation of his hand stroking He Juan's gland…

To his absolute horror, even his whole body reeked of Mu Yuze's pheromones!

He Juan paced around the living room like an agitated beast, his lips quivering into a snarl. The rut had settled in faster than he expected, stoking the flame within him into an erupting volcano. His blood was boiling, so hot that he could not stop sweating. His shaft swelled and hardened inside his pants and He Juan was sure… if he were to grab it right now, he would definitely come all over himself immediately. Nevertheless, he kept his fists by his side, stubbornly ignoring the throb of arousal no matter how tempting it was to just jerk himself off with the image of Mu Yuze's soft body wrapped around him.

He Juan could not help but let out a mirthless chuckle. Goodness, exactly what kind of spell had Mu Yuze casted on him?

Left with no choice, He Juan could only lock himself in the bathroom — the one inside his room because he knew the common bathroom outside also smelled like Mu Yuze — and took a long, cold shower. It helped, somehow. Even though he knew it was not good for his health in the long run. He let the cold water hammer down on his body until he heard the sound of someone inputting the codes on his front door.

There were only less than five people in this world who knew He Juan's door password. Two, to be exact. Now that Jia Molei was still occupied with a major surgery, He Juan instantly knew who Er Meilin had sent his way. He could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

As he expected, the door opened and a familiar voice drifted out, "Da-ge[1]?"

He Juan fumbled to dry his body and dress himself, letting his long wet hair drape over his back. There was a knock on his bedroom door. "Da-ge, are you inside?"

The corner of He Juan's lips tugged into a smile. Ever the polite and considerate man, Su Xieren was. The relief was evident in his features as he opened the door and found a tall Beta standing outside, frowning immediately as he caught sight of He Juan's disheveled state.

"Xieren, thank you for coming." His voice came out light, almost fragile.

"How can I not come when Miss Er called me with such a panicked tone?" Su Xieren furrowed deeply. "You look terrible."

"I know." He Juan chuckled. He walked past Su Xieren and gestured to the kitchen. "What do you want to drink, Xieren? Water, coffee, juice?"

"Stop." Heaving an exasperated sigh, Su Xieren grabbed his arm and forcefully hauled him toward the couch. "How can you serve drinks to your guest when you're like this, da-ge? Just sit there and wait for a while."

He Juan's eyes followed Su Xieren's back helplessly as the Beta strode toward his kitchen. As he withdrew his gaze, he immediately caught sight of a tray on the table. The glasses of water, juice and tea he had prepared for Mu Yuze were still untouched. He covered his eyes with his palm and let out a pained chuckle. Now that his head was cleared enough to go back to the previous event, he could not help the bitterness that permeated his chest.

What have you done, He Juan? You have gone and messed everything up with the first person you have ever attracted to. Well done!

"Take this. It's a mild rut suppressor." Su Xieren came back less than a minute later to hand him a pill and a glass of warm water. "You have never taken one before so it's better to be cautious."

He Juan offered him a grateful smile as he swallowed the pill. The effect would not be instantaneous, so he could only wait for it to fade away. Once again, He Juan was truly relieved that it was Su Xieren of all people who had witnessed his boner in the middle of the living room.

As a professional acupuncturist and physical therapist at the prime age of 28, Su Xieren had seen much worse. Aside from Jia Molei, Su Xieren was the one He Juan was indebted to the most. He was the one who had taken care of He Juan after he woke up seven years ago and put up with his aggressive behavior and also the one who had, quite literally, helped He Juan get back on his own feet.

One of the most severe side effects of his accident, other than the memory loss, was how he had to learn to do everything from the beginning all over again. Eating, talking, sitting up, standing, walking, regaining his balance, everything became a torture for He Juan. For the first few weeks, he was as good as an invalid. He could not even walk two steps before tripping on his feet.

Even though Su Xieren was a Beta, he was not the slightest bit intimidated by Alpha's superior physical capability. Not only that, he was also insanely strong, both physically and mentally. He Juan could not count the number of times he had inconvenienced Su Xieren with his random outburst of frustration, self-doubt and loathing, yet every single time, Su Xieren steadfastly stayed by his side and helped him up. Again and again. Until He Juan gradually learned how to maneuver his bruised and battered body.

After He Juan was discharged from the hospital, he still stayed in touch with Su Xieren because of his regular checkups and in the end, they became close friends — no, to be exact, He Juan had taken him as a little brother.

Majority of people who had interacted with Su Xieren would deem him expressionless, placid and boring, but He Juan thought that Su Xieren was one of the kindest and gentlest people he had ever known.

As always, Su Xieren only took a seat opposite him and waited until he was ready to talk. Contrary to his bulky form, he had a very thin presence that would often make him tend to be overlooked. There was no pressure to talk, unlike when he was with Jia Molei where He Juan would try his best to look like he had his act together.

Slowly He Juan felt tension loosened from his shoulders. The medicine had started to work, much to his relief.

"Why don't you become a therapist instead?" He Juan huffed out a small laugh as he opened his eyes. Su Xieren was ready with a small towel which he offered for He Juan to dry his hair with.

"You have asked me countless times before, da-ge." Su Xieren answered with a snort. "And my answer still stays the same. I am not interested in hearing people talk about their problematic lives."

He Juan's eyes crinkled with mirth. How could anyone ever think that Su Xieren was placid and boring when he had such a sassy side to him? "Xieren ah… what would I do without you?"

"Maybe fall into a ditch somewhere?" Su Xieren lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "So… can I ask how you are feeling now?"

The corner of He Juan's lips slowly flattened. He let the towel hang around his head as he heaved out a sigh and palmed his forehead. "I'm sure you have heard the gist from Miss Er. It's not normal, isn't it? This is the first day we met and…" He Juan made a frustrated noise. "...and I already wanted to fuck him all the way to Sunday." The more He Juan thought about it, the more terrible he felt. He buried his face into his palms and groaned low. "I nearly pounced on him, Xieren. It was a close call just now…"

Su Xieren's face did not even change at his bold declaration. He merely narrowed his eyes and hummed. "An omega, whom you have just met today, has triggered your rut which has not happened for the last seven years. That's indeed unusual."

He Juan spread his hands in the helpless gesture of, "See?"

"Unusual doesn't mean that I have not heard about it before, da-ge." He Juan snapped his eyes up in surprise. What did Su Xieren mean by that? The Beta hesitated a bit, which was a rare sight to see. In the end, Su Xieren spoke tentatively, "You can't keep your hands off him, you desire him as a mate and you can't control the urge within you. Is that true?"

"Yes," He Juan admitted with all honesty, sighing.

"I think…" Su Xieren stared at him solemnly. "You have found your true mate."

[1] Da-ge = big bro // a casual way to address a man older than you