The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 25

Mu Yan used to love him so much.

The elevator was crowded in the early morning. Mu Yan tried his best to shrink into the corner, not wanting the dirt and blood on his clothes to stain the clean attire of the other passengers. If his leg hadn’t been hurting so intensely, he wouldn’t have crowded into the elevator at all.

“Mr. Mu,” Director Zhang stepped in when the elevator reached the third floor. Seeing Mu Yan, he was visibly startled. “What happened to you? Are you alright?”

Meeting someone he knew in such a state made Mu Yan feel particularly embarrassed. He wanted to lower his head to avoid the gazes of the others, but felt it would be disrespectful to Director Zhang.

“I was hit by an electric scooter. It’s fine; it should just be superficial.”

“What about the person who hit you? Why didn’t they accompany you for an exam?”

Mu Yan shook his head, and Director Zhang didn’t press further. When the doors opened on the fifth floor, they walked out together.

“Going to see your mother?”

Mu Yan nodded. Director Zhang reached out to support him, but Mu Yan, being much younger, felt it wasn’t right to let an elder assist him and instinctively tried to decline. Seeing that he could still walk, Zhang didn’t insist.

“…How did this happen at a time like this?” Zhang sighed.

Mu Yan noticed his hesitation and bit his lip. He knew Zhang wanted to discuss the unpaid fees. Tomorrow was the day for the next infusion.

“Director Zhang, please rest assured, I will definitely…”

“Actually, I wanted to tell you last time, though it’s not entirely appropriate for me to say,” Director Zhang interrupted. “Infusion therapy isn’t a treatment everyone can afford, and long-term reliance on it can inhibit the body’s own synthesis. Over 70% of patients your mother’s age choose conservative treatment. It might sound harsh, but it’s the truth. This plan is a heavy burden for you and your brother, and your mother has asked me several times if she can switch to conservative care.”

“I understand your filial piety, but I believe the patient’s own wishes are very important. Mr. Mu, do you follow me?”

“I understand. But Director Zhang, this plan was a joint decision between my brother and me. We still feel that if the infusion is possible, we want to continue…”

Director Zhang nodded. “That is your choice, of course. I have no right to interfere.”

Back in the rental house, Lu Chong had also stayed awake all night.

Mu Yan hadn’t been home for dinner, so he had ordered takeout. The food turned out to be greasy and unpalatable—worlds away from Mu Yan’s cooking. He took a few bites and lost his appetite. He already suffered from stomach issues, and the combination of no dinner and insomnia left his stomach cramping painfully.

If Mu Yan were here, he would be heating a water bottle to soothe the pain and cooking a pot of warm porridge right now.

His phone buzzed constantly with messages from subordinates and partners. Lu Chong was frustrated and didn’t want to reply to any of them. It’s not even work hours yet; who are they performing for?

He couldn’t stay in bed forever, so he forced himself up to make instant noodles and began rummaging through the house for his stomach medicine.

Where is it? Why does Mu Yan always find it instantly?

It wasn’t on the table, not in the cupboards, and not in the medicine box under the TV. After turning the place upside down, he finally found it in the first drawer of the nightstand.

He remembered why it wasn’t in the medicine box. Mu Yan had moved it there before a business trip, fearing Lu Chong would have to stumble to the living room in the middle of the night if his stomach acted up. He had even placed small snacks and a water dispenser in the room.

On the nightstand, the pieces of the bracelet Mu Yan had smashed yesterday were stored in a biscuit tin. The broken shards in the cheap tin looked even more pathetic.

The bracelet hadn’t even come with a box. It was a sixty-eight yuan piece of Xiuyan jade; where would a box come from?

Mu Yan seemed truly angry this time.

Why did I have to be so sharp-tongued? If he didn’t like Mu Yan’s family, he didn’t like them; Mu Yan had never forced him to socialize with them.

After Mu Yan left, the narrow, cramped rental house suddenly felt terrifyingly empty. Usually, no matter how much he lost his temper, Mu Yan never got angry. Usually, no matter how sad Mu Yan was, a quick hug was enough to make it better.

He shouldn’t have let his pride get in the way. If he hadn’t said that one sentence, Mu Yan wouldn’t have left.

The very first bracelet was one he had given Mu Yan when he confessed his feelings. Back then, they weren’t officially together. He had been at an auction to buy a painting for an elder’s birthday when he saw a translucent glass-type jade bracelet. He could instantly imagine how it would look on Mu Yan’s wrist.

Mu Yan’s wrists were white and slender; the bracelet would suit him perfectly. From the first time he saw Mu Yan, he thought the man was like jade—gentle and restrained. Others couldn’t see his value, but someone who understood him would know how precious he was.

During that auction, even Lu Chong, who didn’t know much about jade, could tell someone was maliciously outbidding him. But he didn’t care. If he wanted something, he would have it. Problems solved with money were the easiest kind.

Without any suspense, Mu Yan accepted the bracelet and his confession. Lu Chong had kissed his hand and slid the jade onto his wrist. Mu Yan knew even less about jade; he just looked at it in wonder. “It’s so beautiful. Is it very expensive?”

“Not expensive. As long as you like it,” Lu Chong had whispered. “I heard jade can protect the wearer and ward off misfortune. You’ve suffered so much in the past; you’ll have a life free of illness and disaster from now on.”

Mu Yan loved that bracelet. Even after Lu Chong’s “family went bankrupt” and he started his business, Mu Yan sold every other gift he had ever received to support him, but he kept that bracelet.

During those early days of the startup, Lu Chong was constantly busy seeking investment. Those investors and product managers were all snobs; sometimes they’d hang up before he even finished his introduction. Work and life were impossible to separate; he couldn’t afford not to answer a potential investor’s call.

One time, after an hour of smiling through a phone call, the investor told him they would “wait and see.” In that world, “wait and see” meant they weren’t investing. “Consider it further” meant they thought it was poor.

Lu Chong, who used to be the one looking down to give those evaluations, was now the one receiving them with a forced smile. He hung up and saw the bedroom door open. Mu Yan was standing there, his eyes red. He had heard everything.

He was crying. Lu Chong felt a pang in his heart, sharper than the rejection from the investor.

“Is it a lot of money?” Mu Yan asked, walking over to sit beside him.

“It’s not that much. Don’t worry, I’ll solve it.”

It really wasn’t much, a few hundred thousand. Back then, it was the price of a single outfit. But now, it was a mountain. Mu Yan hugged him, his shoulders shaking. “I don’t want you to be this tired… I’m so sad.”

“I chose to start this business; I don’t feel wronged,” Lu Chong said, wiping his tears. “Don’t cry.”

“If I sell this bracelet,” Mu Yan asked softly, “how much would it get?”

Lu Chong froze and shook his head. “Not much, don’t think about it. Keep it; it’s the only thing of mine you have left.”

Jade prices weren’t like gold; they fluctuated wildly. If you were desperate to sell, a million-yuan piece might go for a hundred thousand. Plus, Lu Chong had bought it at an auction with a significant premium.

But Mu Yan had secretly gone to a jade shop to ask. When he came back, he tried to fish for the original price. His attempt at being subtle was so clumsy Lu Chong almost laughed. “You went to ask? What did they offer you?”

Mu Yan was shocked he knew. “Four hundred and twenty thousand.”

“I bought it at an auction for 1.2 million. I got carried away with the bidding. Normally, it might be a million. You’re losing that much; do you still want to sell?”

Mu Yan was stunned by the value, remaining silent for a long time.

“Sell it,” he finally said, his voice low but firm. “You need the money now. Your business will succeed, and we’ll have more money. You’ll buy me a new one.”

Lu Chong was dazed. At that moment, even he didn’t fully believe he would succeed. Without the Lu family, he doubted his own worth.

“Okay,” Lu Chong agreed softly. “I’ll buy you a new one. As many as you want.”

“I don’t just like bracelets,” Mu Yan said, hugging him. “I like this one because… it was the first gift you gave me.”

The bracelet eventually sold for 510,000 yuan after Lu Chong negotiated. When the jeweler went to take it off Mu Yan’s wrist, it was strangely difficult, as if the jade and Mu Yan had formed a bond. Mu Yan cried from the pain of it being pulled off.

“Wait until you make money,” Mu Yan choked out. “You have to buy it back for me, or buy one exactly like it.”

“I will.”

“When you’re rich, you can’t leave me. You can’t marry another Omega or buy them bracelets.”

“I won’t.”

“But if you do fall for someone else… or if you just stop loving me,” Mu Yan added, “you have to tell me…”

Lu Chong interrupted him. “I won’t. I won’t love anyone else, and I won’t stop loving you.”

Lu Chong remembered it now. Back then, when he said those things, it felt like the truth. For a moment, he truly believed he would love Mu Yan forever.

They solved the funding issue. That day, he took Mu Yan to a mall. Everything was expensive; even the cheapest set meal was two hundred yuan. Mu Yan, always practical, noted that two hundred yuan could buy enough groceries for a week’s worth of home-cooked feasts.

They ended up eating McDonald’s. Mu Yan told him with a smile that the first time he had a burger was back in his hometown, a cheap brand that people joked would give you a fever. Ten yuan for three burgers; one for him, one for his mom, and one for his brother. It was the best thing he had ever tasted.

Mu Yan said that as long as he was with Lu Chong, he was happy eating anything. They stayed at the mall until late, kissing in the dark fire escape. Before the shops closed, Mu Yan led him to a stationery store and picked out a sixty-eight yuan Xiuyan jade bracelet.

“The one you gave me was this color. A bit white, a bit green, translucent.”

To Lu Chong, the two bracelets were nothing alike. Calling it a cheap imitation was an understatement.

“Buy me this one, Lu Chong. It’s okay if you don’t make money. It’s okay if you never buy that other one back. As long as it’s from you, I’ll love it so, so much.”

How could Mu Yan not want him anymore?

Mu Yan used to love him so much.

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