The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I Won’t Eat You

The rich scent of Cypress wood pheromones poured out, saturating the air for what felt like forever.

Finally, Ji Hanyue released the back of Xie Mo’s neck. His dilated pupils slowly regained a sense of clarity. The Omega’s pheromones carried the freshness of lemon and the spice of ginger, with a faint, lingering hint of rosin underneath. The scents intertwined into a unique blend that Ji Hanyue found difficult to describe, but it was exactly as he had imagined—pure, natural, and very sweet.

Throughout it all, the Omega hadn’t fought back; his body simply trembled. Feeling a rare sense of relaxation, Ji Hanyue took a deep breath near Xie Mo’s neck. He supported the Omega’s slender waist and gave the back of his head a reassuring kiss.

“Come back with me later,” he murmured. “Forget about that bag.”

As he spoke, he turned the boy’s shoulders around to face him. As an Alpha, he felt an instinctive, possessive urge toward the Omega he had just marked. Noticing the redness on Xie Mo’s forehead where it had bumped the wall, Ji Hanyue rubbed it gently with his palm.

“You don’t even know how to say it hurts,” he said, before trailing off, remembering the boy was mute.

Feeling the warmth on his forehead, Xie Mo’s eyes shifted blankly. It took a long moment for the reality to sink in:

He had been marked by a total stranger.

In the dim light, Ji Hanyue couldn’t see Xie Mo’s expression clearly. Since he didn’t feel any new tears, he assumed the boy had accepted the situation. He picked up his trench coat, intending to drape it over Xie Mo. The autumn night was getting cold, and an Omega in a cheap t-shirt would catch a chill easily.

But as the coat touched his shoulders, Xie Mo seemed to snap awake. He yanked the garment off and bit his lip hard to stifle his tears. He touched the swollen, throbbing gland on his neck and stared at the overbearing man before him with pure resentment.

With furrowed brows, he signed frantically: “I hate you! Liar!”

In Ji Hanyue’s eyes, however, the Omega’s anger looked more like a pouting tantrum. He had taken a sign language elective in the past, but like most students, he hadn’t paid much attention. He only recognized a few basic gestures.

Seeing Xie Mo exhausted and on the verge of tears again, Ji Hanyue pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and opened a memo app.

“Stop gesturing. Type what you want to say. I don’t understand that.”

Xie Mo felt a wave of helplessness, like punching a cloud of cotton. He took the phone and tapped furiously at the keyboard. His vocabulary was meager; even his “insults” were toothless:

“I hate you so much. Liar. You said you’d take me to the courts, but you didn’t.”

His trembling thumb hovered over the keys before finally pressing the last few words:

“I already have an Alpha.”

Ji Hanyue’s expression darkened. Much of his earlier tenderness vanished instantly. He scrutinized the nervous, angry Omega with a gaze so sharp it felt like he was looking right through him.

Xie Mo turned his head away, but he caught a glimpse of Ji Hanyue smiling. It was a smile that made his skin crawl.

“You have an Alpha?” Ji Hanyue repeated slowly, savoring the words.

He pressed his fingertip—neither too lightly nor too hard—against the swollen nape he had just bitten. “Your gland was perfectly intact. What, is your Alpha just a ‘pretend’ Alpha?”

Ji Hanyue didn’t believe for a second that an Alpha wouldn’t demand comfort from their Omega during a Heat or Rut. Without waiting for a reply, he suddenly flipped on the lights of the equipment room.

He grabbed Xie Mo’s forearm and shoved his sleeve up. Under the bright lights, a dense cluster of needle marks marred the pale skin. Fresh marks overlapped old ones, proving beyond a doubt that this Omega survived his Heats solely through suppressants.

Xie Mo struggled to pull his arm back, but the grip only tightened. Ji Hanyue’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at the puncture marks. Panicked, Xie Mo shoved his other hand between them, turning his face away in avoidance.

Since they had only just met, seeing Xie Mo’s desperate resistance caused Ji Hanyue’s interest to cool. He narrowed his eyes, clutching the boy’s wrist. “What, not in the mood anymore?”

Xie Mo knew words—or signs—wouldn’t work. Just then, his phone rang loudly in his pocket, the sound startling in the quiet room.

As Ji Hanyue’s attention was diverted, Xie Mo broke free and pulled out an old, beat-up flip phone. The plastic casing was heavily worn, and the screen was caked in dust. He paused, looking at Ji Hanyue with wet, pleading eyes.

Though he couldn’t speak, Ji Hanyue understood the look instantly. He let out a scoffing laugh. “Answer it. I’ll stay quiet.”

Xie Mo didn’t fully trust him, but he had no choice. He moved to the corner of the room, faced the wall, and carefully pressed the ‘answer’ button.

A loud, irritable voice exploded from the receiver. Xie Mo swallowed hard, cradling the phone.

“Where the hell are you fooling around this late? I’m starving to death!”

The person on the other end was clearly used to Xie Mo’s silence. After venting his frustration, he asked, “Is there anything near you that can make a noise?”

Xie Mo raised his hand and knocked on the wall a few times. The dull thump-thump seemed to put Tang Yingrui somewhat at ease.

“When are you coming back? Nine or nine-thirty?”

Xie Mo checked the time; it was almost nine. Seeing no response, Tang Yingrui cursed and raised his voice: “Are you in trouble?”

Despite Tang Yingrui’s many faults, they had lived together for over a year. Xie Mo knew his temper, but the Alpha standing right behind him now represented an entirely different set of uncertainties.

Xie Mo bit his lip and balled his hand into a fist, knocking twice—a signal for danger.

Just as he was about to do more, he felt warm breath over his head. A whisper brushed his ear: “Need me to answer for you?”

It was unmistakably an Alpha’s voice. Ji Hanyue knew he should probably just let the boy go, but for some reason, he felt a nagging sense of irritation. He found himself resenting the fact that the Omega couldn’t speak.

Before Xie Mo could react, Ji Hanyue reached out and cut the call.

The moment the line went dead, Xie Mo’s heart skipped several beats. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Ji Hanyue watched the “little mute” get so worked up he looked like he might actually burst into speech. The Alpha’s lips curled into a cold, indifferent smirk.

“I won’t eat you, what are you so afraid of? You wanted to go home, right? I’ll take you back.”