The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Unwillingness

“During that time… have you just been relying on suppressants?”

Xie Mo nodded. “Yes.”

“Do suppressants hurt?”

Hearing these words from Tang Yingrui felt inexplicably eerie. Perhaps because he knew he couldn’t help the Omega, Tang Yingrui usually avoided the topic of heat cycles and never brought them up. Even on the several occasions when Xie Mo was suffering through a heat while he was right there, Tang Yingrui would turn a blind eye. He’d either turn his head to play on his phone or simply leave the house for some air, leaving Xie Mo alone.

Xie Mo hesitated for a moment before signing his reply:

“It hurts a little, but after you get used to it, it becomes a habit.”

As a cigarette burned to its end, Tang Yingrui crushed the butt against the concrete floor. A few seconds later, he looked at Xie Mo. His pupils seemed coated in a thick layer of ash—dark and deep—as he suddenly asked, “Have you ever thought about leaving this place?”

Xie Mo shook his head frantically, signing and mouthing the words simultaneously:

“I’ve never thought about leaving. Don’t worry.”

The Alpha seemed satisfied with the answer, yet his tone suddenly spiked with a neurotic agitation. “Why haven’t you? You haven’t enjoyed a single good day following me. I don’t believe you haven’t thought about it for even a second.”

If it were anyone else, they certainly would have. No one would tolerate an Alpha who was as incompetent as he was obsessed with maintaining a “big man” persona. But Xie Mo truly hadn’t thought about it. He looked at Tang Yingrui, at a loss, simply not knowing how to respond. He tried his best to follow Tang Yingrui’s train of thought, but the man’s mind shifted by the second.

Tang Yingrui’s voice suddenly softened. “It’s okay if you have. You can tell me; you don’t need to worry.”

“…” Xie Mo pursed his lips and looked down, signing, “Tang Yingrui, what is it you really want to ask?”

All these questions were nothing more than a probe. And Xie Mo suspected the result of this probing wouldn’t be anything good.

Tang Yingrui exhaled and finally came clean, his eyes flickering with an indistinct madness. “You’re something I bought. You should listen to me, right?”

“During your next heat, how about I find an Alpha for you to help ease the pain, hmm?”

Xie Mo’s pupils contracted as he listened. He doubted his own ears. In the nearly two years he had spent by Tang Yingrui’s side, no matter how angry the man got, he had never thought about giving Xie Mo away to someone else.

“Once it’s over, I’ll come get you. You like eating ribs, right? I’ll buy them for you every day.”

Xie Mo stared in disbelief, his eyes filled with terror. Looking at Xie Mo’s pale face, Tang Yingrui also felt a momentary tightness in his chest. But then, remembering something that gave him a surge of false confidence, he slowly pulled his lips into a smile.

He was an Alpha; he was supposed to have a place in this society. He should have achievements and a grand career, not be subservient under another Alpha. Every time he saw a message from Kou Xingyu, he wanted to crush his phone.

Why? Why did someone like Kou Xingyu get to hold a high position and live without worry, while he could only scrap for food among the dregs of the lowest social strata?

Tang Yingrui was deeply unwilling. He chose to ignore the fundamental reality of their class difference.

…

Since the day his gland was slashed, it meant Tang Yingrui could no longer live a normal life like most Alphas. He had locked himself in his room for months, drowning in passivity and self-doubt. Eventually, he took the compensation money—which was supposed to be used to pay off his debts—and fled to a destitute town.

With that money, he bought the newly-turned-adult Xie Mo.

On the first night, he drugged Xie Mo, forcing him into a pseudo-heat. After several attempts, Tang Yingrui discovered a terrifying fact: He could no longer get it up.

This was no different from a sudden bolt of lightning striking from a clear sky. Tang Yingrui forced himself to stay calm. He rationalized that it was a psychological reaction to stress and that he would recover after some time.

Until one night, a former gambling buddy contacted him, claiming to have found a guaranteed way to make money and giving him an address. He didn’t know that the friend was being coerced. When he arrived, he found the same debt collectors who had slashed his gland waiting for him.

The group wanted one of his legs, saying they’d “reattach” it once the debt was paid. The reason they didn’t take a hand was simple: if he lost a hand, he couldn’t gamble, and they considered themselves very “thoughtful” for that.

Tang Yingrui was unwilling, but he was no match for a dozen Alphas. In his moment of despair, Kou Xingyu appeared. He casually pulled a checkbook and a pen from his wallet, wrote down a massive figure, and settled Tang Yingrui’s debt.

It was highly theatrical: Tang Yingrui had spent money to buy an Omega, and now he himself had been bought by an Alpha. In a situation desperate enough to drive a man insane, Tang Yingrui could only agree to Kou Xingyu’s terms.

After the first seven days passed, Tang Yingrui immediately went back to try again. Finally, he realized he was completely impotent.

…

An Alpha acting as the submissive “receiver” is painful enough, let alone when the partner is also an Alpha. Two years had passed, and Tang Yingrui still could not accept this humiliation. Even more infuriating was that the money Kou Xingyu gave him was pitifully little.

They met once every three months. Aside from one time when Kou Xingyu was too rough and gave him 20,000 as compensation for the injury, every other time he was given exactly 1,314 yuan.

It was a specific, taunting amount—almost like a handout to a beggar. It was enough to keep him from starving, but not enough to save.

He could only turn this rage and disgust into alcoholism and gambling to fill his inner void. Drinking was an emotional outlet; gambling was a fantasy of one day striking it rich. If he lost, it didn’t matter—Kou Xingyu would cover him. If he won, he could afford the surgery to repair his gland. Then, he could take the little mute who followed him so faithfully and live a good life.

But reality was always a crushing defeat. At the gambling table, he won small and lost big. Gradually, a certain string in his mind finally snapped during a relentless seven-day entanglement with Kou Xingyu.

The moment he saw Xie Mo at the hotel entrance, a different, powerful idea took root and grew wildly. Xie Mo was an Omega; enduring such things would be easier for him. Tang Yingrui comforted himself that this was a “win-win”: it would relieve Xie Mo’s heat and help Kou Xingyu through his rut.

He convinced himself he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Yet, seeing the sadness in Xie Mo’s eyes still felt like a thin needle stabbing into his heart, making it hard to breathe.

…

While Tang Yingrui was home, he bought ribs for every meal. Looking at the glossy chunks of meat on the porcelain plate—food he used to love—Xie Mo now felt a dull wave of nausea.

He didn’t understand why things were becoming worse than before. Even if he had to spend his entire life on suppressants, Xie Mo was willing. He didn’t need Tang Yingrui to find an Alpha for him.

But every time he tried to gesture and express his feelings, Tang Yingrui would turn his face away, pretending not to see, and turn to other tasks. Xie Mo couldn’t make a sound; he felt powerless to the extreme.

Time flowed like water, and three months passed in a flash. Perhaps because he was living in constant fear, Xie Mo had almost forgotten about Ji Hanyue’s existence.

Until one late night, Xie Mo was staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Tomorrow was the day he might have to face the unknown.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from outside the window. The sound got closer and closer. Holding his breath, he rolled out of bed and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor.

He pulled back the curtain, and then, his eyes met those of Ji Hanyue outside the window.

“…?”