The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Gone

Xie Mo felt as if he were about to faint from the stench before the van finally ground to a halt. The other Alphas in the vehicle, having clearly reached their limit as well, scrambled out the doors to breathe in the fresh air.

Under the dim glow of a streetlight, Xie Mo realized they were on a deserted street. They were at the very edge of the area, facing an inconspicuous small iron gate. It was covered in rust and exuded a sinister aura.

The Alpha beside him gave Xie Mo’s slender waist a suggestive squeeze and urged him out. “Don’t be scared by what you see.”

Xie Mo’s scalp tingled. He followed the group out of the car mechanically. The Alpha chewing on a cigarette scanned the surroundings alertly. Once confirmed clear, he shoved open the creaking iron gate. As the others filed in, Xie Mo froze, his nails digging deep into his palms.

Instinct told him that nothing inside that gate was safe. Before he could react, something hard pressed against his lower back. In the next second, he was hoisted roughly onto a shoulder. The last Alpha to enter took care to bolt the gate shut. The dark alley returned to a deathly silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

…

Ji Hanyue should have known that Xie Mo wouldn’t stay obediently at the villa. He parked his Maybach familiarly by the roadside and got out.

As soon as he reached the second floor of the apartment, he saw a dim yellow light leaking from the crack of the door on the right. The door frame was shattered on the floor, wood splinters scattered everywhere. His heart sank. Suppressing his worst fears, his face turned ashen as he strode into the room.

The place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. The already meager furniture was smashed to pieces, lying crookedly amidst the wreckage. The person he wanted to see was nowhere to be found.

A bad premonition surged within him. His phone vibrated violently in his pocket—his father, no doubt, urging him to come home. He ignored it and turned to leave, but as he rounded the corner, a faint rustle came from the bedroom.

Ji Hanyue froze. The phone continued to buzz. He reached through the fabric of his trousers to hit the mute button, then slowed his pace toward the source of the sound.

In the yellow light seeping from the corner, a huddled shadow was moving rhythmically by the bed. As he approached, the silhouette on the wall looked distorted, almost monstrous. The sound of fabric rubbing against the floor and suppressed breathing was sharp in the silent room.

Ji Hanyue’s eyes sharpened as he scanned the broad shoulders. Though the figure was trembling with fear, that burly frame couldn’t possibly belong to Xie Mo.

The intruder swallowed hard and suddenly threw off Ji Hanyue’s hand, shrieking at the top of his lungs, “Wait, wait! I’m sorry! My mistake!”

The man apologized like a woodpecker pecking wood, the jagged scar at the corner of his eye twitching with his distorted expression. This was Lai Teng. He had just been looking for a place to crash, saw the broken door, and let his thieving heart lead him inside. He thought he’d find something valuable, but after ransacking the place, he’d only managed to dig two thousand yuan out from behind a dead computer monitor.

When he heard footsteps, his heart had jumped into his throat, thinking the owner had returned. He didn’t expect a much more terrifying Alpha instead.

“You again?” Ji Hanyue’s temple throbbed. This man was one of the thugs who had been loitering outside Xie Mo’s door before—the one who had taken a solid punch from him.

Lai Teng stared at the Alpha’s tensed jawline, knowing he stood no chance in a fight. He gritted his teeth and pulled out the stolen cash. “This is all there is! This dump has nothing but these two thousand bucks. I’ll give it all to you, just let me go, okay?”

Ji Hanyue didn’t care about the money, but as he turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught something. Amidst the crumpled small bills were two thousand yuan in crisp, consecutive new notes.

Weren’t those the two thousand he had given Xie Mo?

Lai Teng thought the man didn’t want them and started to tuck them back into his pocket, but a hand flashed out. The money vanished into Ji Hanyue’s pocket, and the Alpha left without looking back.

Once out of the area, Ji Hanyue realized he was flying blind. He had put a tracker in the new phone, but Xie Mo hadn’t taken it. He could only drive aimlessly, following his gut. It wasn’t that he “liked” Xie Mo, he told himself; it would just be a pity if such an Omega met with an accident.

His father, Ji Chenghong, called again. He finally answered. A booming, angry voice exploded: “Where the hell are you in the middle of the night?!!”

Ji Hanyue was an only son and had never feared anyone, but his father controlled the funds. He gripped the steering wheel and suppressed his irritation. “Business. I’m out.”

A soft voice could be heard on the other end, seemingly coaxing Ji Chenghong to calm down. Ji Chenghong’s tone softened slightly. “What business is worth leaving Xiao Xuan alone for tonight?”

A second call popped up on the screen—Ren Wen. Ji Hanyue grabbed a quick excuse. “Nie Chongshi is back. We’re having a dinner meeting.”

The news of the Nie family’s eldest son returning had already spread through their circle. The rising business star had disappeared for six months following a car accident; using him as a shield was a flawless excuse. He hung up and took Ren Wen’s call.

“Hey, when are you getting here?” Ren Wen barely got the words out before a drunken Nie Xi snatched the phone away, roaring, “We’re on our second round! Ji Hanyue, if you don’t show up, I’m opening that wine we buried last year!”

Ji Hanyue was silent. Nie Xi, thinking the party was too loud, stumbled toward a quieter hallway. “Hello? Hello!”

“Give the phone back to Ren Wen,” Ji Hanyue snapped. “I have something to ask him.”

“Ooh, secrets between you two?” Nie Xi’s voice rose.

“Are there any abandoned warehouses or unfinished buildings near Binzhuang Avenue?” Ji Hanyue asked. Nie Xi knew the city like the back of his hand, but his drunk brain was a mess. After a three-second blank, he slurred, “Bin… Bin-what?”

Ren Wen caught up and reclaimed his phone. “Are you in trouble?”

Ji Hanyue’s patience was at its end. He repeated the question and added another: “That suspicious van from this afternoon—which way did it go?”

Ren Wen was sober enough not to ask why. He thought for a moment. “At the Binzhuang intersection, it went a different way from me. It looked like it was heading toward the suburbs. There aren’t many warehouses there.”

Just as he was about to ask for details, Nie Xi grabbed the phone again. “That place? Wait, I remember. It’s a mess over there. Don’t go without backup, or you’ll get mugged.”

“What kind of ‘mess’?” Ji Hanyue pressed.

“Why are you asking this at midnight?” Nie Xi smacked his lips, but sensing the gravity, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “There are several underground casinos in that area.”

He paused as if remembering something. “Kou Xingyu has been heading out that way for the past two years. Zhou Minghe said he’s keeping a little lover there who’s addicted to gambling. Kou is always cleaning up the person’s messes. I don’t know what he’s thinking…”

Click. Ji Hanyue hung up.

Once Nie Xi started talking, he wouldn’t stop, and most of it was drunken nonsense. But as Ji Hanyue slammed the accelerator to the floor, his eyes turned cold.

So, Xie Mo and Kou Xingyu really were connected.