The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 27.1

 

Where did he put that business card?

 

Mu Yan reached into the card holder of his wallet to search, his fingertips trembling slightly.

 

Not here. Still not here.

 

He hadn’t put Shang Qiyue’s business card in the card holder. Back then, he didn’t intend to help Lin Guojun pay off his debts, and he had no idea things would come to this. He only wanted to live his life in peace and had never planned to seek out Shang Qiyue.

 

Hope suddenly collapsed. His chest felt as if heavy steel bars were pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. Mu Yan bit his lip, telling himself not to cry. Now was not the time for tears.

 

He would count them one more time, check them again. Maybe it was still there. He remembered that the business card was very simple, with only Shang Qiyue’s name and a number. It should not be hard to recognize.

 

Under the stress, his fingers shook even more violently. He carefully went through the entire card holder but still could not find it.

 

After a few seconds of his mind going blank, Mu Yan remembered. Shang Qiyue’s business card had indeed been torn up by him and thrown into the trash.

 

Mu Yan limped into the restroom with his phone and wallet, pushing open the door to the innermost stall.

 

Don’t cry. Crying is the most useless thing. Think if there’s any other way to contact him.

 

But Mu Yan was just an ordinary person, worlds apart from Shang Qiyue. If Shang Qiyue wanted to see him, he only had to nod; if Mu Yan wanted to see Shang Qiyue, it was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

 

He had already made up his mind. He wanted to sell himself.

 

Mu Yan tilted his face back and covered his eyes. Tears flowed uncontrollably through his fingers, and his entire face became wet.

 

Just one minute of crying. Just one minute.

 

Mu Yan watched the numbers on his phone screen jump from twenty-three to twenty-four. He took a long breath, trying to calm himself down.

 

But he was so sad. His knees hurt so much. He wanted to just let go and keep crying, but in the end, he pushed open the stall door and walked out.

 

At the sink, the person in the mirror had swollen eyes and a face covered in tear stains, looking incredibly pathetic. Mu Yan scooped up some water, washed his face clean, and walked out of the restroom with his head down.

 

With a thud, he collided head-on with an Alpha walking toward him.

 

Mu Yan’s leg was already injured, and the force of the collision nearly knocked him to the ground. But it didn’t. Because the Alpha caught him.

 

To say “caught” wasn’t exactly accurate. Since they collided right at the restroom entrance, the man likely didn’t want to block people coming in and out, so he quickly reached out, wrapped an arm around Mu Yan’s waist, picked him up like a child, and moved to the side.

 

Mu Yan had been an adult for a long time; it was the first time he had been treated this way. He let out a soft cry of surprise. Once they reached an open area, the man quickly set him down.

 

“Why do you make yourself look so pitiful every time?” the man said.

 

The man was tall with cold, sharp features. Once Mu Yan saw his face clearly, he froze.

 

Because he had just been crying so hard, Mu Yan could hardly speak. When he opened his mouth, only uncontrollable sobs came out.

 

“What happened to your leg?” Shang Qiyue asked him.

 

Mu Yan didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out and gently grabbed the man’s sleeve.

 

“What is it?” Shang Qiyue looked down at Mu Yan’s hand clutching his sleeve, waiting patiently.

 

“Sir,” Mu Yan didn’t dare look up at him. His voice was soft and carried a hint of a sob. “The agreement you mentioned… is it still… still valid?”

 

Shang Qiyue looked at him and didn’t answer immediately.

 

Mu Yan’s heart was beating very fast. He suspected that even Shang Qiyue could hear the thumping in his chest. A man like Shang Qiyue must have many people around him; would he even remember who Mu Yan was?

 

His heart beat faster and faster, as if it were about to jump out of his chest. His sense of shame was almost entirely consumed by the anxious waiting. Mu Yan kept his head down, terrified of hearing a rejection from Shang Qiyue’s mouth.

 

If that happened, where would he get the money for his mother’s dialysis?

 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend? Why not ask him for help?”

 

After an unknown amount of time, Shang Qiyue finally deigned to speak. His tone was always calm, even sounding a bit like a joke, but it made Mu Yan feel like he had fallen into an ice cellar.

 

“I’ve broken up,” he answered softly.

 

“You only come to me after breaking up. You have quite the principles,” Shang Qiyue sneered. “Is it because he’s unwilling to help you?”

 

Mu Yan was stunned. By the time he reacted, tears were falling like broken pearls. He knew he had no right to feel wronged in front of Shang Qiyue. During their first meeting, Shang Qiyue had found his crying annoying. He wanted to calm down quickly, but the more he tried to stop, the harder the tears fell.

 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Mu Yan sobbed. “But I really have no other choice. Can you help me? I’ll do whatever you want.”

 

“I can,” Shang Qiyue replied quickly this time. “But you’ve already rejected me once. Naturally, I can’t offer you the same terms as that day.”

 

Mu Yan said urgently, “I understand.”

 

Shang Qiyue couldn’t help but smile at his expression. He reached out and used his thumb to wipe away the tear stains from the corner of Mu Yan’s eyes. The tears were still warm. “What do you understand?”

 

Mu Yan looked at Shang Qiyue through teary eyes. He clearly didn’t understand what Shang Qiyue’s words meant.

 

“I have to see your sincerity first.”

 

Mu Yan froze for a moment, then realized what “sincerity” Shang Qiyue was referring to.

 

“Right now?”

 

“It doesn’t matter to me. If you’re not in a hurry, it can be in a few days.”

 

“I am in a hurry, sir,” Mu Yan panicked, and tears fell again. “Dialysis is tomorrow. If I can’t pay today, my mom…”

 

“Do you know how to give oral sex?” Shang Qiyue asked directly.

 

His words crashed into Mu Yan’s eardrums, making him feel dizzy. Shang Qiyue’s expression was indifferent, as if he didn’t realize anything was wrong. But it wasn’t exactly an insult; wasn’t this the very thing Mu Yan had offered himself up for? Shang Qiyue certainly wouldn’t just ask a random person on the street if they could do this.

 

“I’m sorry, I…” Mu Yan spoke with difficulty. “I can learn.”

 

Shang Qiyue’s gaze was playful, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

 

Seeing this, Mu Yan’s heart grew even more terrified. He murmured apologies, but he didn’t know what else he could do to prove his “sincerity” to Shang Qiyue.

 

“You never did this for your ex-boyfriend?” Shang Qiyue asked.

 

Mu Yan didn’t know why he was suddenly asking this. He lowered his eyes and shook his head. He didn’t dare look at Shang Qiyue, waiting for the final judgment like waiting for a suspended Sword of Damocles to fall.

 

“You can just…” Mu Yan thought of the forced scenes in the few adult movies he had seen and said haltingly, “You can… just finish in my throat.”

 

As long as you give me the money.

 

But Shang Qiyue said nothing. To Mu Yan, it felt like a century had passed before Shang Qiyue finally raised his hand and stroked his hair like he was petting a puppy.

 

“If I did that, your lips would tear and your throat would be ruined.”

 

“Here,” Shang Qiyue touched both corners of Mu Yan’s mouth. “It would be very obvious. Tomorrow when you take the subway or go to work, everyone who sees you will know someone stuffed their member in your mouth. Are you willing to do that?”

 

His words were incredibly cruel. If a twenty-year-old Mu Yan had heard someone say this to another person, he would have slapped them regardless of who they were. But today, Mu Yan didn’t feel any sadness or anger.

 

It was 150,000. If he could earn 150,000 just like this, it wasn’t so hard to accept.

 

“It’s okay,” Mu Yan said in a small but firm voice. “It’s okay.”

 

Because he had just cried, his eyes were red. His eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a little rabbit.

 

So obedient, so easy to bully, Shang Qiyue thought. If he hadn’t met me, he would have been bullied to death by others.

 

“Come here and kiss me, and I’ll give you the money.”

 

Mu Yan was stunned, not understanding what Shang Qiyue was thinking at all. But he quickly and obediently leaned in. Shang Qiyue’s handsome eyes and high bridge of his nose became very close. He hesitated for a moment, and the first kiss landed on the tip of the nose.

 

Shang Qiyue could see a teardrop on Mu Yan’s eyelashes. After a moment, that teardrop fell as the eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings.

 

Shang Qiyue had a pheromone disorder and couldn’t stand the pheromones of Omegas. Mu Yan was a Beta; normally, he shouldn’t have pheromones. But on the night they first met, for no reason, he had smelled a faint scent of freshly baked bread brushed with butter from this ordinary-looking Beta.

 

He had asked a doctor, and the doctor said that Betas can produce a very small amount of pheromones when their emotions are extreme, but it’s very hard for normal people to smell. Shang Qiyue was a top Alpha, not among normal people. Coupled with his pheromone disorder, it was very likely his body had mistakenly identified Mu Yan as an Omega. Their pheromone compatibility was high, achieving an effect similar to a “fated pair” between an Alpha and an Omega.

 

Fated pairs are naturally more sensitive to each other’s pheromones.

 

Shang Qiyue had never thought about spending his life with a Beta of ordinary birth, but a treatment for his illness hadn’t been found yet, and Mu Yan happened to show up at this time. He was so pitiful and obedient; for just the price of a set of golf clubs, he would let himself be bullied.

 

Seeing no reaction, Mu Yan hurriedly offered a second kiss to please him. The second kiss landed on his cheek.

 

How is he like a forest spirit, so good at seducing people?

 

Smelling the bread scent on him, Shang Qiyue couldn’t resist wanting to take a bite of his face. He picked Mu Yan up like a child, walked to a nearby chair, sat down, and held him by the waist on his lap to kiss him.

 

“You’re too thin. There’s no meat on your body at all. You’re so bony to hold.”

 

Mu Yan couldn’t grasp the meaning of these words and instinctively began to apologize again. He was too afraid of being hated by Shang Qiyue. Without him, he really didn’t know how else to get the money for his mother’s dialysis.

 

Shang Qiyue didn’t like hearing him apologize endlessly. He frowned impatiently, held Mu Yan’s head, and blocked the apologies with his lips and tongue.

 

Mu Yan’s hair was soft, just like him, feeling like a puppy’s head. After Shang Qiyue finished kissing him, he ruffled his hair, took out his phone, and transferred the money.

 

“I’ll have my assistant draft the contract and send it to you later. 200,000 a month. There are three requirements. First, you are not allowed to date or sleep with others during the agreement. Naturally, I don’t like crowded relationships, so I won’t have anyone else either. Second, you must be on call,” he saw Mu Yan’s hesitant look and added, “Don’t worry, I have a job too. I won’t be wasting your work time with daytime lust every day.”

 

“I’ve transferred one million to you first. It’s not part of the contract. Is that enough for your mother’s dialysis bills?”

 

Mu Yan looked down at his phone, uselessly counting how many zeros were after the one.

 

“What about the third requirement?”

 

“Don’t say ‘I’m sorry’ for every little thing. Those who don’t know better would think you cheated on me.” Shang Qiyue stood up while holding him, then let him go and leaned over.

 

“Get on,” he signaled to Mu Yan. “I’ll carry you.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“Do you think this is an idol drama? There are so many people in the hospital; do you want me to carry you in my arms?”

 

“Sor…” Mu Yan was about to apologize but remembered the three rules. He quickly swallowed the words. “I didn’t mean that. I… I can walk by myself. I’m just a bit slow.”

 

Shang Qiyue didn’t have much patience. “I told you to get on, so get on.”

 

It had been a long time since Mu Yan had been carried on someone’s back like a child. The last time was when he was young. Back then, his older brother hadn’t presented as an Omega yet and was two heads taller than him. He had twisted his ankle during P.E. class, and his brother carried him all the way home, saying he was as light as a little girl.

 

Shang Qiyue tucked him into the passenger seat. Just as Mu Yan was about to pull the door shut, it was opened again from the outside.

 

“You just said if you couldn’t pay today, your mother wouldn’t be able to get dialysis tomorrow. What’s the situation?” he asked.

 

“We owe the hospital 150,000 in dialysis fees. The hospital’s limit is 150,000. If we don’t pay it off, we can’t continue the treatment. My mom used to get dialysis twice a week. Tomorrow was originally her scheduled day.”

 

Shang Qiyue had never been a patient in this kind of hospital and didn’t know where all these rules came from. He frowned and asked Mu Yan if it was okay to pay tomorrow. Mu Yan nodded.

 

“That’s fine then.” Shang Qiyue felt relieved, but then he thought of something and quickly changed his mind. “Forget it. I’ll go settle it for you. Wait for me in the car.”

 

After all, it wasn’t a small matter; it was better to resolve it early. Besides, he heard that even paying money in this kind of hospital was a hassle. Was he supposed to let Mu Yan limp around to handle it tomorrow?

 

After paying the money, Shang Qiyue returned through another entrance of the parking lot. When he opened the driver’s side door, Mu Yan was leaning against the seat staring at the car window, looking in the direction where Shang Qiyue had left. Seeing the door open, he turned his head.

 

Did this person just keep staring at the direction I went? He’s staring so hard he’ll turn into a stone statue. Why is he so dense?

 

Shang Qiyue handed the receipt to him. Mu Yan looked at it carefully over and over again, and his eyes turned red again. His mother could continue her dialysis, and his brother wouldn’t have to take out those messy online loans for this.

 

“President Shang,” Mu Yan spoke urgently. “That one million you sent me earlier give me a card number, and I’ll return it to you.”

 

“If I haven’t asked for it back, you keep it,” Shang Qiyue said. “Can’t you have a little awareness of being kept? Take what you can get. It’s not like you’re not short of money.”

 

Mu Yan looked up at him with a terrified gaze. The words “I’m sorry” were about to burst out, but he forced them down.

 

After Shang Qiyue finished speaking, he was a bit surprised by his own loss of control. He normally wouldn’t say such things. He was good at maintaining a gentle, gentlemanly facade in public, but for some reason, in front of Mu Yan, he especially wanted to say the kind of mean things he wouldn’t normally say, just to see Mu Yan’s sad and terrified expression that he didn’t dare to show.

 

But Shang Qiyue was not the type of person to look for reasons within himself. He attributed his unusual behavior to Mu Yan being too gentle, too obedient, and too much of an invitation to be bullied.

He didn’t speak, driving the car toward the villa he had recently purchased.

Mu Yan sat in the passenger seat, hanging his head quietly. He looked at the receipt repeatedly, staring at the Songti font that read “One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Yuan Only” and the bank’s official stamp. His whole body felt as if it were floating.

 

Only then did he remember to message his brother. His brother replied almost instantly: “Did Lu Chong lend it? I’ll pay it back with you.”

 

“It’s another friend,” Mu Yan replied after a moment of thought.

 

Shang Qiyue wouldn’t ask him to pay the money back, so naturally, he wouldn’t take his brother’s money. However, Mu Yan didn’t know how to explain this situation to his brother yet. He carefully chose his words and made an excuse, saying he would explain everything later.

 

He had done this willingly; no one had forced him, and Shang Qiyue wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t want to make his brother sad.

 

The car came to a stop. Mu Yan followed Shang Qiyue out of the car. As he began to limp toward the elevator, Shang Qiyue walked over and picked him up. Mu Yan whispered that he could walk by himself, but Shang Qiyue ignored him.

 

Mu Yan said nothing more. Shang Qiyue carried him to the sofa and set him down. Knowing what was likely to happen next, Mu Yan nervously gripped the hem of his shirt.

 

Shang Qiyue didn’t do anything to him immediately. He went into the bedroom to make a phone call. Mu Yan didn’t know if he should shower first, so he waited anxiously for Shang Qiyue to finish.

 

The furnishings in Shang Qiyue’s home were very simple, not looking like a place where someone lived regularly. Mu Yan’s gaze felt like it had nowhere to settle, so he lowered his head to look at the tips of his shoes.

 

Shang Qiyue soon finished the call.

 

“President Shang,” Mu Yan asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question, “Should I go take a shower now?”