The Beautiful Wife I Picked Up Is A Little Mute - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Disgusting

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Xie Mo told Tang Yingrui a vague version of the truth, keeping only the parts he could share.

However, he forgot one crucial thing: Alphas are extremely sensitive to the scent of another of their kind.

Especially an inferior Alpha like Tang Yingrui, who was unable to mark an Omega.

From Tang Yingrui’s perspective, he could only see the crown of Xie Mo’s thick hair and his stiffly gesturing hands.

“…Tell the truth.” Tang Yingrui’s voice dropped several degrees in pitch.

Xie Mo had no idea that he was currently wrapped in layers of Ji Hanyue’s pheromones. The scent was like being soaked in a deep pool, permeating every inch of his skin and muscles. He was radiating the unique scent of Ji Hanyue from the inside out.

One could say that while the stranger Alpha brought him external threats and pheromonal pressure, Tang Yingrui made Xie Mo tremble from the depths of his soul.

With just one questioning look, Xie Mo’s resolve began to crumble.

But before he could confess the truth, Tang Yingrui’s phone suddenly rang. Xie Mo bit his lip, bracing himself for a scolding.

Instead, as Tang Yingrui answered the call, the color drained from his face, and his expression became incredibly grim. Xie Mo had never seen him so panicked; this usually arrogant Alpha actually seemed afraid of the person on the other end of the line.

He couldn’t help but sign, “What happened?”

Tang Yingrui didn’t even spare him a glance, repeating only “Mhm,” “I know,” and “I’ll be there” into the phone. His voice carried a rare tone of compliance.

Xie Mo pursed his lips and stopped asking. It was common for Tang Yingrui to head out in the middle of the night.

Ever since the day his relatives sold him to Tang Yingrui, it seemed the man always had many things to handle. Every time he returned, aside from a sour expression, he would usually have some extra cash on him. However, no matter how much money it was, he would dump it all into online gambling.

When Tang Yingrui was in a good mood, he would wrap an arm around Xie Mo’s shoulder on their old sofa and talk about the future—fantasizing about the day he’d strike it rich, repair his damaged gland, and become a “normal” Alpha. Then, he said, he could finally help Xie Mo through his heat.

Xie Mo never knew what he did every day, nor why his gland was damaged; he simply listened in silence. He knew that if he asked too many questions, the facade of warmth would vanish instantly, and Tang Yingrui would revert to being that volatile, irritable Alpha.

Hanging up the phone, Tang Yingrui shoved Xie Mo into his room and turned to leave, not forgetting a final warning:

“Don’t you dare step a foot out of this room until I get back!”

It all happened so fast. Xie Mo watched Tang Yingrui shut the door and then felt the two thousand yuan in his pocket. He decided to hide it well and use it for their daily meals.

Tang Yingrui likely assumed he didn’t make much from selling bottles, so he had never tried to take money from Xie Mo’s wallet. Over the past six months, Xie Mo had saved six hundred and fifteen yuan. Because it was all earned by his own hands, he felt a great sense of achievement.

He thought that if he could save enough money for Tang Yingrui to fix his gland, perhaps the man’s temper wouldn’t be so bad. After all, an Alpha’s gland was just as important as an Omega’s.

Xie Mo’s hiding spot was in a crack in the wall behind Tang Yingrui’s computer. There was a palm-sized indentation—deep, hidden, and perfect for storing things.

After washing up, he planned to set aside thirty yuan for groceries and save the rest. But holding the crisp hundred-yuan bills Ji Hanyue had given him, he hesitated. Feeling the thick stack of cash, he eventually pulled thirty yuan from the change he’d earned selling recyclables yesterday. He carefully folded the new two thousand yuan and stuffed it into the deepest part of the wall. He even reached in to press it down, ensuring it was well-hidden before straightening up.

The computer screen was still on. As one of the few high-power appliances in the house, Tang Yingrui usually turned it off immediately after use. This time, perhaps in his rush to leave, he had forgotten to cut the power.

Xie Mo leaned over, about to press the power button.

Suddenly, a series of rapid “ding-ding-ding” notification sounds from QQ rang out. A chat window in the top right corner remained open, and a new message jumped out.

It was from a contact named “Yu”: How much longer until you’re here?

Tang Yingrui had replied quickly: Five minutes. Just waiting for the elevator.

Another line appeared in the chat: Remember to buy “byt.” I forgot to bring them.

Byt?

Xie Mo filtered the letters through his mind, looking at them in confusion. Did it mean “Heavy Rain Day” (Baoyu Tian)? “Pathogen” (Bingyuan Ti)? Or “Spare Tire” (Beiyong Tai)?

A few seconds later, Tang Yingrui’s new message popped up: No money to buy them.

Yu: You spent the twenty thousand I gave you already?

Xie Mo stood before the screen, watching the exchange. He couldn’t quite understand the messages, so he tried hard to decipher them. When he saw the number “twenty thousand,” he froze for a long time.

Especially when Tang Yingrui replied: Is twenty thousand a lot? Xie Mo doubted his own eyes.

Twenty thousand yuan. Five digits. An astronomical sum that would take him forever to save by picking up bottles. And Tang Yingrui hadn’t brought money home for a long time. Seeing him dismiss that amount so casually felt unbelievable to Xie Mo.

In truth, six months ago, Tang Yingrui hadn’t been so ill-tempered, and the household hadn’t been this poor. If he hadn’t had some family wealth, he wouldn’t have been able to buy Xie Mo from his family in the first place.

Until that one cold night, when Tang Yingrui burst through the door covered in snow. He had dragged Xie Mo out of bed, and they fled their home in the city center overnight, moving into this nearly deserted, dilapidated residential building.

Since then, the smile on Tang Yingrui’s face had vanished, replaced by a constant scowl and an increasingly impoverished lifestyle.

…

Tang Yingrui frowned as he pocketed his phone after sending the message. After a few seconds, he walked out of the hotel and turned into a nearby adult store. If he didn’t buy them, he’d be the one suffering in the end—sticky and disgusting.

Standing at the hotel room door, Tang Yingrui took a few breaths and knocked. After three raps, the door creaked open slightly to reveal a strange face.

Tang Yingrui didn’t recognize him, but he knew the man was also an Alpha.

“Tch, not a bad looker.” Zhou Minghe glanced at the box of condoms in Tang Yingrui’s hand and gave a small hum. “Didn’t expect Xing Yu to go for this type. No wonder I haven’t seen him find an Omega in all these years.”

With that, he kindly waved goodbye to Tang Yingrui and turned to leave.

Tang Yingrui thinned his lips, staring at the corner where the man disappeared before looking into the half-open door. A thought suddenly struck him, and he felt a wave of intense revulsion. This person had just finished with someone else and was already impatient to call him over.

“You’re here? Come in.” A muffled male voice rang out from the room. Tang Yingrui suppressed the nausea rising in his throat and walked inside.