He Juan squeezed his shoulder out of exasperation. The stern façade he tried so hard to put on finally cracked and disintegrated into dust, blown away under the terrifying might of Mu Yuze's tears.
"You silly, silly boy…" he chided softly, yet there was also a hint of distress and heartache in his tone. "I am not disappointed in you, and I never will. Do you hear me? Gege is not disappointed in you, Mu Yuze. So erase that foolish thought out of your mind because it will never happen." He felt like he had to instill this important point first lest Mu Yuze's thought got ahead of him yet again.
And sure enough, he felt Mu Yuze's body jerk as though he was waking up from a dream, and he pulled away to peer up at He Juan hesitantly. "You are not…?" His eyes were so full of naked hope, so fragile and vulnerable that He Juan's heart broke all over again.
