The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Not Going

In the gathering dusk, Ji Hanyue drove Xie Mo away from that dilapidated district. On both sides of the street, lamps flickered to life one after another, casting warm yellow halos into the deepening night.

Ji Hanyue shook his head, trying to clear his mind. The person in his arms had been dragged into the heat of a feverish cycle, his consciousness a blurred haze. Curled on Ji Hanyue’s lap face-to-face, Xie Mo clutched the Alpha’s lapels, his entire body trembling.

Knowing that continuing like this would only lead to an “accident,” Ji Hanyue abandoned the idea of going home. He slammed on the brakes as they passed a hotel and carried the boy straight upstairs.

Despite his body’s desperate craving, Xie Mo felt a surge of terror when he realized what was about to happen. Ji Hanyue buried his face in the boy’s soft neck, circling him with his body like a large hound, his scorching breath searing Xie Mo’s skin.

The docile Omega suddenly snapped into a moment of clarity, instinctively pushing against the shackles on his chest. But under the weight of absolute power, all struggle was futile. He didn’t know that from the moment Ji Hanyue took him away, the Alpha had no intention of letting him leave easily.

…

Inside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the room was a mess.

The next morning, thin curtains filtered in a soft light, gilding the two figures lingering on the bed. Xie Mo’s eyelids fluttered; he was still held fast in a tight embrace. He struggled to turn his head, his gaze grazing Ji Hanyue’s relaxed sleeping face.

Ji Hanyue had superior bone structure—beneath the shadow of his high nose were thin, pursed lips, and a trace of lingering hostility was etched between his brows as his rut had not fully receded. Even so, it took Xie Mo a great deal of effort just to move the man’s hand away. He felt as if his internal organs had been rearranged, and a dull ache permeated every inch of his body.

The moment Xie Mo moved the hand encircling his waist, it tightened again. In the next second, he was hauled back into the still-warm crook of the Alpha’s arm.

Ji Hanyue was still exhausted. With half-closed eyes, he leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of Xie Mo’s mouth. Then, resting his chin atop Xie Mo’s head, he found a comfortable position and drifted back to sleep.

Xie Mo tried to push against the hard chest but was instead pinned back in place by his wrists. He could only stare blankly at the features mere inches away. Likely due to the lack of sleep the night before, it wasn’t long before Xie Mo fell back into a chaotic dreamland.

Ji Hanyue was eventually woken by a ringing phone. Annoyed, he opened his eyes and hit ‘answer’ just as the call was about to end.

“What is it?”

Nie Xi’s teasing voice rang out: “Oho, from the sound of your voice, you must have been very busy last night.”

Ji Hanyue was beyond irritated. “Get to the point.”

Nie Xi coughed a few times and straightened his tone. “Hanyue, did you forget something? Fang Qiran returned to the country today. The welcome banquet—”

Ji Hanyue usually had an excellent memory, unless special circumstances caused him to forget things he hadn’t made a deliberate effort to remember. Like now. A warm, soft body was nestled in his arms, sleeping peacefully, and the air was filled with a faint scent of cardamom. His mind was so full of Xie Mo that there was no room for anything else.

He thought for exactly two seconds before rejecting the offer decisively. “I’m not going.”

At that moment, Xie Mo was also woken by the talking. He opened his bleary eyes, not yet fully awake. Seeing this, Ji Hanyue couldn’t help but kiss his soft, pink lips.

He spoke back into the phone: “I don’t have time these next few days. I’ll treat him to dinner another time.”

On the other end, Nie Xi raised an eyebrow at the disconnected call and smiled at Fang Qiran, who was standing beside him. “Qiran, it’s not that I’m not helping you. Your timing is just off—you happened to hit his rut.”

A shadow of disappointment crossed Fang Qiran’s face. He had heard that faint sound of a kiss over the phone. He clenched his fist weakly, then let go after a long silence, murmuring, “I understand.”

As Fang Qiran dragged his suitcase toward the door, Nie Xi watched his back, feeling that things had truly changed. Fang Qiran had grown up with them; he was soft-spoken and gentle. His only flaw was being in love with Ji Hanyue—the one person who ignored him most—and constantly following him around. At first, no one took it seriously, just teasing them occasionally. Since the Fang and Ji families were of equal status and the two were childhood friends, most people assumed they would end up together.

No one expected that on the graduation year’s physical exam report, Fang Qiran’s gender column would change from “Omega” to “Alpha.” He had undergone a secondary differentiation.

On the road, Fang Qiran drove absentmindedly until he came face-to-face with a familiar Maybach. He caught a glimpse of that nonchalant side profile as the car brushed past him.

…

“Weren’t you studying in Vancouver? Why are you back?”

Once Xie Mo was fully awake, he clamored to go home regardless of what Ji Hanyue said. Ji Hanyue couldn’t understand what was so good about that dump of a place. Watching the boy’s constant sign language, in a fit of frustration, he ordered his assistant, Xia Yi, to forcibly take him back to the villa.

Afterward, Ji Hanyue drove aimlessly on the streets and happened to run into Fang Qiran. Fang Qiran was unable to hide his excitement, thinking Ji Hanyue had come specifically to find him. When he heard the question, he blurted out:

“I came back to see you. We… we haven’t seen each other in so long. I missed you so much.”

By the end of the sentence, his tone had dropped lower and lower. It was true—they hadn’t met in nearly two years, and Ji Hanyue had never once called him. Yet he, far across the ocean, had thought of Ji Hanyue every single day.

“Sir, your latte.”

the waiter spoke softly, placing the coffee on the table. Ji Hanyue took a sip. Looking at the way the other man was staring at him almost obsessively, he felt an unprovoked wave of nausea. Even his desire for coffee vanished.

“Fang Qiran, speak normally. We are just friends.”

Having said his piece, Ji Hanyue turned to his phone to shift his attention. By this time, Xie Mo should have arrived safely. Xia Yi had sent him a photo of the back of Xie Mo’s head as he stood at the villa entrance, followed by: “Young Master, is there anything else that needs arranging?”

Fang Qiran gripped his coffee cup, his legs trembling slightly from nervousness. Seeing that Ji Hanyue hadn’t looked up since he finished speaking, Fang Qiran opened his mouth to reclaim his attention. But after several attempts at polite conversation resulted only in perfunctory “Mhms,” even the gentlest person couldn’t help but feel angry.

“Ji Hanyue! I crossed such a long distance just to see you once, and you won’t even give me a decent look…”

As Fang Qiran spoke, his eyes followed Ji Hanyue’s gaze—

On the small screen was a boy with delicate features. His lips were slightly pouted from being swollen, and he was curled up in the Alpha’s arm, fast asleep. When Ji Hanyue looked at this photo, the furrow in his brow softened significantly.

The rest of Fang Qiran’s words were swallowed back into his throat; he was speechless. Feeling a gaze on his screen, Ji Hanyue unhappily turned the screen off.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving. We’ve met during the day, so I won’t be attending your welcome banquet tonight.”

Ji Hanyue had endured ten minutes at the cafe with him. Just as he stood up, someone’s hand nervously gripped his shoulder.

“Is the person in that photo your current partner?”

Fang Qiran didn’t believe it. At most, that person was a lover used to ease a rut—someone who couldn’t be shown in public. He had scouted Ji Hanyue’s recent movements both directly and indirectly; whether hanging out with friends or attending formal banquets, Ji Hanyue had never had anyone by his side.