The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Strange

Before Xie Mo’s eyes was a scene he had never witnessed before.

The transparent floor-to-ceiling windows acted like a giant mirror, reflecting the entire office area with brilliant clarity. Rows of workstations were arranged in perfect order. White-collar professionals in formal attire sat focused at their desks, handling business with consistent concentration and an air of efficiency.

Xie Mo stared in awe. Ji Hanyue intentionally slowed his pace, remaining side-by-side with him so that Xie Mo didn’t have to struggle to keep up.

As Ji Hanyue passed row after row of desks, Xie Mo suddenly heard a collective sigh of relief from the employees. Glancing back, he saw those same faces now filled with exhaustion and the weary “when can I go home” look of burnout.

Xie Mo: “…” Their work pressure must be enormous for them to be that tired.

Ji Hanyue seemed to have urgent business. He instructed Xia Yi to lead Xie Mo into a spacious private office and then left immediately.

As soon as Xie Mo sat down, a cup of hot tea was placed on the coffee table. Xia Yi gave him a small smile. “The Young Master has matters to handle. Sit here for a while.”

Xie Mo looked at him, then at the tea. “Mr. Xie, it isn’t poisoned,” Xia Yi explained earnestly.

Xie Mo had never drunk tea leaves before. He held the cup and took a small sip; his brow furrowed instantly. So bitter.

After giving his instructions, Xia Yi closed the office door and left, leaving a fidgety Xie Mo alone. Ji Hanyue hadn’t yet told him why he had been brought here.

Xie Mo sat on the leather sofa, his slender white fingers curling and uncurling. He scanned the room: the interior was high-end. Aside from a computer and a few neat stacks of documents, the desk was bare—no photo frames, no plants, not even a stray pen. It was clear Ji Hanyue rarely came to the company.

He sat in boredom for a long time. Then—creak—there was a slight movement at the door. Xie Mo thought Ji Hanyue had returned. He looked up, only to meet a pair of smiling “peach blossom” eyes.

Ren Wen walked in as if he were entering his own home and plopped down on the sofa. Xie Mo didn’t have a good impression of any of Ji Hanyue’s friends. He pursed his lips and shifted half a foot to the side, leaving enough space for another person between them.

“I didn’t expect Hanyue to bring you directly to the office,” Ren Wen said naturally, a smirk playing on his lips. He tilted his head to see that Xie Mo was practically sitting on the armrest.

“Why are you so nervous?” Ren Wen raised an eyebrow. Xie Mo flicked his eyes toward him and then froze. The best way to avoid trouble was to ignore it. He turned his head away, pretending to look out the window, leaving only the back of his head facing Ren Wen.

Xie Mo buried his face in his fluffy scarf, staring at the bustling streetscape below. He held this stiff posture for a long time until his neck began to ache and the noise beside him ceased. He tentatively turned back.

The moment he turned, his heart jumped into his throat.

Ren Wen had leaned in close at some point; their noses were nearly touching. His warm breath brushed against Xie Mo’s eyelashes. His pupils were very dark, staring straight at him, yet he wore a smile that was no less unsettling than a ghost’s in a horror movie.

Xie Mo’s pupils contracted. He leaned back by reflex, hitting the cold, hard wood of the armrest. Luckily, his thick clothes cushioned the blow.

A fingertip brushed against his long lashes—the touch was light as spider silk. A cold sweat broke out on Xie Mo’s skin. The atmosphere was inexplicably eerie.

Xie Mo had met Ren Wen a few times before, but Ren Wen rarely spoke, so they had almost never interacted. He had assumed Ren Wen was different from Nie Xi and Ji Hanyue. Now, it seemed they were all the same.

Seeing Xie Mo frozen and pale, Ren Wen finally withdrew his hand. He sat up slowly and asked softly, “Your name is Xie Mo, right?”

Ren Wen’s expression was calm, as if the deliberate closeness had never happened—as if it were all Xie Mo’s hallucination. Seeing that Xie Mo remained silent, he wasn’t annoyed; instead, he nodded politely in apology.

“Sorry about that just now. I just felt you looked a bit like an Omega I used to know.” He paused, his gaze searching Xie Mo’s face with what seemed like regret. “But looking closer, you don’t look that much like him after all.”

Xie Mo swallowed hard. Why is every Alpha I meet so mercurial? Dangerous and pressing one second, mild and polite the next. He couldn’t tell if Ren Wen was being honest or just making up a temporary excuse.

Xie Mo didn’t want to engage, but seeing Ren Wen’s unblinking stare—which suggested he wouldn’t stop until he got a response—he finally relented. He typed a string of words on his phone and showed them: “Please stay away from me.”

This is Ji Hanyue’s office, Xie Mo reassured himself. No matter how bold Ren Wen is, he wouldn’t dare do anything truly out of line here.

Ren Wen indeed did nothing else. In fact, after seeing the text, he stood up from the sofa and sat on a single stool nearby.

“I wasn’t lying to you.” Ren Wen turned his phone screen toward him. On the screen, a young man was smiling brightly at the camera. Under chestnut hair, his curved eyes were full of sunshine. His face shape and lip lines bore a subtle resemblance to Xie Mo. However, the likeness was mostly in the smile; with a neutral expression, they didn’t look very similar.

Xie Mo looked at the photo, then at Ren Wen’s genuinely apologetic face. It seemed he hadn’t lied. He thought about how Ren Wen hadn’t actually done anything physical to him. Am I just being too high-strung?

Xie Mo’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but he didn’t drop his guard. Touching someone’s eyelashes for no reason was still incredibly offensive.

Just then, the office door clicked open again. Ji Hanyue’s tall figure appeared.

For the first time ever, Xie Mo felt a wave of relief. As Ji Hanyue approached, he instinctively reached out and ruffled the top of Xie Mo’s hair, a gesture as natural as petting a puppy. He glanced at Ren Wen, his eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Before Ren Wen could answer, Ji Hanyue noticed Xie Mo’s lowered head. He paused, his brow furrowing instantly. He changed his question: “When did you get here?”

Ren Wen stood up lazily, his tongue pressing against his back molars. He said with a half-smile, “I happened to be passing by and thought I’d come up to test my luck. Didn’t expect to actually run into you.”

Ji Hanyue stared at him for a while, sensing that something was “off.” But the other man’s demeanor was frank, and he couldn’t find a specific fault. He withdrew his gaze, patted Xie Mo’s back, and glanced at Ren Wen. “Let’s go. Back to school.”

On the way out, Ren Wen kept a safe distance, making Xie Mo feel even more that he had perhaps been too sensitive.

As they walked, Ji Hanyue’s gaze fell on the crown of Xie Mo’s head several times. He suddenly spoke: “I came back to the office to get my keys. I left them here last time.” He didn’t even realize why he was explaining himself, but seeing Xie Mo walking in silence made him instinctively want to say something. Last time he left school, he came straight to the office and left his dorm keys in his father’s room.

Xie Mo gave a small nod to show he heard.

Ren Wen leaned against the car and let out a bored yawn. Ji Hanyue caught the lazy gesture and scoffed, “Sleepy again?”

Ren Wen replied vaguely, “Yeah, a little.”

Xia Yi stayed at the company to handle affairs for Ji Hanyue, so Ji Hanyue had to deign to be the driver himself. “I have no idea where you go fooling around at night; you look like your soul’s been sucked out every day.”

No one replied from behind. Ji Hanyue turned around to see Ren Wen holding the back door open for Xie Mo. Xie Mo was frozen in place, fingers twisting the hem of his clothes, caught in a dilemma. Ren Wen said with a smile, “Mr. Xie, get in the car.”

“Come here,” Ji Hanyue’s voice went cold instantly. His gaze pierced toward Xie Mo. “Sit in the front passenger seat.”

Ren Wen’s hand on the car door paused, though the smile remained on his lips. He watched as Xie Mo obediently shuffled to the front seat and got in.

A sharp honk sounded as Ji Hanyue tapped the steering wheel impatiently. “If you’re not getting in, then get lost.”

Ren Wen’s brow relaxed, and he tactfully opened the back door. “If Master Ji is the driver, how could I possibly refuse a ride?”

Ji Hanyue couldn’t help but feel that ever since Fang Qiran was mentioned last time, Ren Wen had been acting strange in every possible way—sudden silences during conversation, and even his jokes felt a bit forced. But Ren Wen had helped him with the Tang Yingrui situation.