The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 27.2

Shang Qiyue had just finished calling a family doctor to come check Mu Yan’s leg. He was a bit confused at first, but after a moment, he realized Mu Yan might be thinking about the rule that bandages shouldn’t get wet.

“Oh, sure. I’ll find a set of loungewear for you. Can you wash yourself, or do you need help?”

 

“No… no need,” Mu Yan said with his head down. He had a bit of a shadow regarding bathrooms; they were often too narrow, the walls too cold, and eventually, he would find himself almost unable to stand.

 

Shang Qiyue gave a casual response, not looking particularly unhappy.

 

When Mu Yan came out after his shower, a strange Alpha was sitting in the living room. Mu Yan froze.

 

“Are you Mr. Mu? Aside from the leg pain, are there any other symptoms?” the Alpha asked before Mu Yan could think of anything else. “For example, any discomfort in your neck or spine? Any headaches or other issues? Have you had a CT scan?”

 

“He says it’s just his leg. I thought the hospital was too crowded, so I didn’t take him for a CT,” Shang Qiyue interjected. “Is it better to get one?”

 

“It’s fine,” Mu Yan explained softly. “I was just hit by an electric scooter. He had already slowed down when he saw me. It’s not very serious. Sorry to trouble you to come all this way.”

 

The family doctor smiled. “It’s no trouble, just doing my job. If it was an electric scooter, then it really shouldn’t be anything major. Let me bandage that for you.”

 

The doctor looked young but bandaged the wound skillfully and quickly. “Alright, make sure to avoid strenuous exercise for the next few days. Keep your diet light and avoid spicy food.”

 

Mu Yan nodded. The doctor greeted Shang Qiyue, picked up his medical bag, and left.

 

“Sir…” After confirming the doctor was gone, Mu Yan called out to Shang Qiyue softly and said haltingly, “Do you want me to help you with… that now? I just… looked it up online… to learn how to do it.”

 

It took Shang Qiyue quite a while to realize what he was talking about.

 

Mu Yan kept his head down as he spoke, his expression hidden, but his earlobes were flushed a deep red. Shang Qiyue gently pinched his chin and lifted his face.

 

He really is so obedient; it makes me want to bully him.

 

“Can you even do it with your leg injured like that? Helping me with that requires you to kneel.”

 

“You’re really asking to be f***ed.”

 

Mu Yan’s pupils suddenly contracted when he heard those words. But now, he had no grounds to refuse Shang Qiyue.

 

“I…” Before Mu Yan could say the words “it’s okay,” Shang Qiyue released his chin.

 

“I’m not so desperate that I can’t wait. Let your leg heal first.”

 

“You just said you wanted to shower, did you think I brought you here just for that?”

 

Looking at Mu Yan’s expression, Shang Qiyue knew he had guessed correctly. He knew he wasn’t some saintly gentleman who could remain unmoved by temptation, and he would admit to the things he actually did. However, when things he hadn’t even thought of were attributed to him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.

 

He frowned, and his expression turned cold.

 

“Sir, I didn’t mean to think of you that way on purpose…” Mu Yan panicked when he saw the change in expression and reached out to grab Shang Qiyue’s sleeve. “I know you’re a good person. You gave me money and even hired someone to bandage me. I’m truly grateful to you.”

 

“You really have helped me so much,” Mu Yan said, this time looking up into Shang Qiyue’s eyes instead of looking down. “I’m truly grateful. Yesterday, the doctor already advised us to stop my mother’s dialysis. My brother almost took out an online loan with a very high interest rate. If it weren’t for you, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

 

Mu Yan’s eyes were actually very bright and beautiful, but he often kept them lowered when speaking to Shang Qiyue. Shang Qiyue instinctively reached out to brush the hair from Mu Yan’s forehead, revealing his features completely. Mu Yan didn’t pull away.

 

“It doesn’t matter what you think of me; I don’t care that much. I will certainly f*** you, so you better heal your leg quickly. You’ll stay here from now on. What about your old place? Have you canceled the lease?”

 

Mu Yan shook his head. “I haven’t found a new place yet.”

 

“Then it’s perfect. You can check if the distance from here to your workplace is far. If it’s inconvenient, I have other properties. Don’t go looking for messy places yourself. If I have to drive for hours to find you, it’s a huge pain. I’m not short on money.”

 

Mu Yan opened a ride-hailing app to check. It wasn’t far from the office, just a bit far from the subway station.

 

“Thank you, President Shang. It’s quite convenient.”

 

Shang Qiyue leaned over to look at the screen, which showed a route to the nearest subway station. “Taking a taxi doesn’t cost much. You don’t still want to walk or bike to the subway station and then take the train, do you?”

 

“Can you have a little more ambition? I just gave you a million.”

 

Taking a taxi there would cost twenty yuan. Doing that back and forth every day was not a small amount.

 

“I…”

 

Shang Qiyue was so exasperated he almost laughed. “Whatever you want. I’m ordering takeout. Since you’ve got a bone injury, I’ll order some pork rib soup for you. Is there anything else you want to eat?”

 

“Anything is fine.”

 

Shang Qiyue didn’t press him further and simply had the hotel send over a few light dishes.

 

“Do you know how to cook?” Shang Qiyue asked Mu Yan suddenly after sending the message.

 

“I can cook a few simple dishes,” Mu Yan nodded. “But they can’t compare to the ones from outside.”

 

After this brief interaction with Mu Yan, Shang Qiyue roughly understood his patterns of speech. According to Mu Yan’s logic, saying he could “cook a few simple dishes” probably meant he was actually quite good at it.

 

“I’ll have to taste your cooking sometime.”

 

“Sure,” Mu Yan smiled, his eyes lighting up. He actually seemed quite happy that Shang Qiyue was asking him to cook. “When are you free, President Shang? I’ll go buy groceries in advance. What do you like to eat?”

 

“Anything. Just cook whatever you’re good at.”

 

Shang Qiyue thought this person was truly strange. Other lovers kept on the side would want nothing more than to do nothing but be f***ed, but Mu Yan was eager to serve him. His eyes even lit up at the prospect of cooking.

 

After dinner, Shang Qiyue went to the master bedroom to sleep. Although he left Mu Yan with the second bedroom, it was much larger than the master bedroom in his old rental. Of course, that rental only had one bedroom to begin with.

 

The room had a pleasant aromatherapy scent, perhaps with sleep-inducing ingredients. Maybe because he had stayed up all night before, Mu Yan slept quite soundly on his first night there.

 

The next day, he had to take his mother to dialysis. He woke up early and tried to wash up as quietly as possible to avoid waking Shang Qiyue. The soundproofing of the house was probably good, but Shang Qiyue still came out of his room.

 

“Did I wake you?”

 

“Getting up this early to go to work? With your leg like that, won’t the company approve sick leave?” Shang Qiyue didn’t answer the question, asking one instead.

 

“No,” Mu Yan answered honestly. Xinqi was a large company; they wouldn’t force an employee to work with a leg injury. “I already took leave. Today, I’m taking my mother for dialysis.”

 

Yesterday, he had used his “physiological leave” because of Lu Chong’s rut. Physiological leave allowed for five days at a time and was paid. Since he had it, he might as well use it; Mu Yan wasn’t that obsessed with work.

 

“Didn’t you say yesterday you have a brother? Your leg is like this; can’t your brother go? No other relatives?”

 

Mu Yan paused, not answering immediately. Lu Chong had actually asked similar questions many times. It took Mu Yan a lot of time to make Lu Chong understand that in the small companies where his brother and Xiang Zhuo worked, employees were not allowed to take leave during work hours for any personal reasons. If they weren’t satisfied, they could resign and find the next company that also wouldn’t let them take leave.

 

So, whenever there was a weekday morning dialysis session, Mu Yan tried to take his mother himself, leaving his brother to handle weekends or sessions after five o’clock. After hearing this, Lu Chong commented that this was just how it was for “easily replaceable labor.” Mu Yan knew he was right, but it still made him feel sad.

 

“I already took leave—physiological leave. It would be very troublesome for my brother to take more leave. Our other relatives are scared of us because of all the money we’ve borrowed; they wouldn’t be willing to help,” Mu Yan thought for a moment and decided not to tell Shang Qiyue all those reasons. He lifted his face and smiled at him. “Besides, I only took a fall. I feel much better today. The doctor you found is really amazing.”

 

He smiled very sincerely. As if to prove he “felt much better,” Mu Yan even stood up and took a few steps.

 

Shang Qiyue was almost laughed to tears by this. Mu Yan was a truly remarkable person. He could treat the feelings of everyone except himself as extremely important. Whether his brother could take leave was important; whether he had woken Shang Qiyue was important; yet whether his own leg hurt or whether he was tired was irrelevant.

 

Shang Qiyue suspected that even if he had worked Mu Yan so hard yesterday that he couldn’t get out of bed, Mu Yan would still have gotten up alone today, showered quietly for fear of waking him, and then dragged himself to take his mother to dialysis. He was now truly curious about how Mu Yan had managed to break up with that ex-boyfriend he had loved so much. With Mu Yan’s personality, he could probably find a reasonable excuse for whatever the other person did.

 

“You really are doing this on purpose to mess with me, aren’t you?” Shang Qiyue said crossly, grabbing his car keys and putting them in his pocket. “Go, go, go. I’ll take you.”

 

Mu Yan hadn’t expected Shang Qiyue to offer a ride. By the time he snapped out of it, Shang Qiyue was already changing his shoes.

 

“Didn’t you say you were feeling better? Still acting spoiled? Do you want me to carry you again?”

 

“No… no.” Mu Yan hurried toward the door.

 

Having a car was indeed very convenient. The journey that usually took over an hour and multiple transfers by subway took less than half an hour with Shang Qiyue driving.

 

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mu Yan had his first thought about buying a car for commuting. But then he decided against it. Buying a car meant paying for gas and maintenance; it was quite expensive. Although he had the money from Shang Qiyue, a car wasn’t exactly a necessity. And with this million, the transplant that he and his brother had never considered before might be possible; it was better not to touch this money.

 

“Sir, can we stop for a moment? I want to buy some xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) for my mom.”

 

“Alright.” Shang Qiyue agreed and pulled over. He had driven a relatively low-key Cayenne today, so it wasn’t too eye-catching.

 

“Sir, the soup dumplings and shengjian (pan-fried buns) at this shop are quite good. Would you like to try some?” Mu Yan asked hesitantly before getting out.

 

Rich people like Shang Qiyue had probably eaten all kinds of delicacies, and the environment of this shop did look a bit dirty. But Shang Qiyue had gotten up early and accompanied him to the hospital on an empty stomach; Mu Yan felt a bit bad about it.

 

Shang Qiyue was also having an internal struggle. Even if a Michelin-starred chef were inside a dirty little shop like this, Shang Qiyue wouldn’t usually give it a second glance. But he had driven all this way while hungry, and the Beta next to him smelled like freshly baked bread brushed with butter—who could stand that?

 

After a moment of internal conflict, President Shang finally deigned to get out of the car and walk into the breakfast shop.

 

“President Shang, wait a moment.”

 

Mu Yan likely noticed his distaste for the environment. He took a tissue from his bag, leaned down, and wiped the peeling paint off the old stool for him. The Beta was slender. As he leaned over, his fitted sweater and loose cargo pants outlined his thin waist.

 

People came and went in the breakfast shop, but no one looked their way. Shang Qiyue’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he immediately pulled him up.

 

“That’s enough. I’m not that picky.”

 

“Okay. Then I’ll go order. I’ll wipe the table when I get back. Do you want soy milk or doufunao (tofu pudding)?”

 

Most of these shops used powdered soy milk, but powdered soy milk was usually tested and shouldn’t cause any problems.

 

“Soy milk, sweet,” Shang Qiyue replied.

 

Mu Yan quickly finished ordering and sat down, using his own tissues to seriously wipe the table. The owner brought a plate of shengjian and two baskets of xiaolongbao. Mu Yan took three small side dishes and asked Shang Qiyue if he wanted chili and vinegar.

 

“Both.”

 

Mu Yan picked up the vinegar bottle—the kind that looked like it would leave grease on your hand just by touching it—and added vinegar to the two dishes in front of him.

 

“Do you want fresh chili or chili oil?”

 

“Chili oil for the shengjian, and chopped chili for the soup dumplings,” Shang Qiyue replied.

 

Mu Yan added them one by one. He then tore open the plastic bag around the straw, discarded the bottom half, and used the top half to insert the straw into the soy milk. He was obedient and diligent, as if he were born to be busy for others.

 

Mu Yan didn’t often eat the xiaolongbao here himself; he usually only bought them for his mother. A basket of soup dumplings was seven yuan, while a single bun was only two yuan. He could get full on two buns, a difference of three yuan. But the soup dumplings here were indeed delicious, full of juice and real meat broth. The skin was also very thin.

 

The taste was truly good, especially when fresh out of the steamer.

 

“Not bad,” Shang Qiyue commented. “No wonder it’s so crowded.”

 

Seeing that he wasn’t just being polite—given Shang Qiyue’s status, there was no need to be polite—Mu Yan smiled happily. “I’m glad you like it.”

 

“Aren’t you eating the shengjian? Did you only order them for me?”

 

“I’m full. You eat. The shengjian here are also good; I wanted you to try them too.”

 

Shang Qiyue looked at him and placed two shengjian on his plate. “You eat so little and worry about everything all day long. No wonder you’re so thin.”

 

Mu Yan froze, wondering where the conclusion “worrying about everything all day long” came from. He and Shang Qiyue had only known each other for a short time. Excluding that absurd first meeting, it was only their second day of knowing each other. He had never told Shang Qiyue anything about himself.

 

Shang Qiyue pointed his chopsticks at the shengjian in front of him, signaling him to eat. Mu Yan hurriedly lowered his head and bit into the shengjian, the juice flowing out.

 

“It’s not hard to guess. People like you are just like this—making yourself so tired and busy every day, heaven knows with what,” Shang Qiyue said casually.

 

“People like… me?”

 

“Good ability, but unlucky. Too many things beyond your control, yet you love to take on unnecessary responsibility. I’ve seen many people like you. They either strike it rich before thirty or get depression before thirty.”

 

“Eat,” Shang Qiyue urged when he saw Mu Yan stop eating again and just stare at him blankly. “Are you a child? I have to coax you for every bite?”

 

Mu Yan hurriedly buried his head and finished both shengjian.

 

“President Shang, I think… you’re amazing.”

 

“Amazing at what?”

 

Being able to transfer a million to someone at a young age? Just good reincarnation. The ability to make sharp comments? If he said those things to anyone else, he’d be lucky not to get yelled at. His friends often commented that Shang Qiyue looked human but was actually wicked to the core inside.

 

Mu Yan didn’t answer directly; he really wasn’t good at flattery. “How can someone strike it rich before thirty?”

 

“It’s fate,” Shang Qiyue replied. “Making money isn’t something you can achieve just by working hard. Even pigs can fly when the wind is right. If you were lucky and bought some Bitcoin ten years ago, you’d be financially free by now. If you’re unlucky and buy an unfinished building, you’re still stuck with a mortgage.”

 

Mu Yan lowered his head in a bit of disappointment. What Shang Qiyue said was indeed true. He had tried to seize every opportunity he could in his life. He got into the town’s best middle school, got into A University, chose the major that was supposedly the most promising at the time, and went to a big company that was the most tiring but paid the most. Yet everything still ended up like this.

 

Meeting Shang Qiyue had actually turned out to be the only thing in his life that could be called an “opportunity.” He had paid off his debts and given him an unexpected sum of money, solving almost all of his difficulties. At first, he had righteously said he wanted to live a normal life, but after actually accepting it, Mu Yan felt very grateful to heaven for letting him meet Shang Qiyue. At least his mother could continue her dialysis.

 

So, he quickly looked up again with a smile. “But I’ve met President Shang now. That’s the luckiest thing in my life. No matter what, I’m very thankful to you.”

 

Shang Qiyue’s heart skipped a beat when he saw those lamb-like eyes. He really wanted to tell Mu Yan that he wasn’t some saintly benefactor helping him for free; he gave money, and Mu Yan gave his body, it was a transactional relationship where neither owed the other.

 

But looking into those eyes, Shang Qiyue couldn’t say a word.