The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 3

The message just now was from Lu Chong.

When Mu Yan clicked on it, he realized there was more than one. The earliest had arrived at ten o’clock. At ten, Mu Yan had already drunk the tea laced with sedatives given to him by his foster father.

The first message from Lu Chong read, “My rut seems to be coming early. I am coming home tonight, so do not stay over there.”

The message before that was from Mu Yan, saying he might sleep at his father’s place and would not be back. He had mentioned he made dinner and left it in the fridge; it was not leftovers, and he told Lu Chong to heat it in the microwave when he got back.

At midnight, there was one missed voice call.

The final message was the one he just sent: “Heading to the office. No need to call back when you see this.”

Lu Chong was likely angry. He was not one to vent his emotions; when they quarreled, he usually resorted to a silent cold war.

During his rut, Lu Chong was sexually aggressive. Mu Yan was a male Beta, and his reproductive cavity was somewhat underdeveloped. Without pheromones to soothe an Alpha, the experience was often difficult to endure. He would suggest that Lu Chong use suppressants during the first and last days of the rut, but Lu Chong always felt that Mu Yan did not understand the struggles of an Alpha.

He probably felt the same way this time.

The cold message from his lover crushed Mu Yan’s hope for comfort. Before he even stepped out of the hotel, his left hand suddenly lost its strength, and he nearly dropped his phone.

“Sir, are you alright? Do you need us to call a car for you?” A waiter nearby noticed his unsteady steps and pale face and rushed over to support him.

The young Beta was deathly pale. His legs were not visibly shaking, but his posture was strange. People in this industry had sharp eyes; one look at the young Beta told the waiter he had been thoroughly used.

However, as a plaything for the elite, his appearance was a bit too ordinary. He was not unattractive, but he lacked a certain allure. He looked like a recent college graduate, and he was a Beta. The staff wondered how he had managed to land the benefactor upstairs.

“It is a free service,” the waiter added with a polite smile.

Mu Yan had never set foot in a hotel of this caliber and had no idea such services existed. He was momentarily stunned. Having just gone through such an ordeal, he was naturally wary of others.

“It is fine, thank you. I can walk to the subway station myself.”

The waiter felt like laughing at the guarded look in his eyes, but maintained a professional smile. “Very well, sir. Walk five hundred meters this way and turn left at the first intersection.”

Mu Yan checked the map on his phone. The insides of his thighs felt weak; he could not walk that far. He calculated his remaining funds and finally steeled himself to call a taxi to his office. It was 8:10 AM. If he left now, he would not be late.

“Sir, you look very unwell. Are you motion sick? Should I pull over so you can sit in the front?” the driver asked tentatively. Mu Yan had been picked up from one of the city’s best hotels; the driver had picked up many hungover passengers there and knew how unpleasant it was when someone got sick in the car.

Mu Yan shook his head. “Thank you, I am fine.”

His chest felt tight. He just wanted to find a place where he could be alone. Through the rearview mirror, the driver saw the young Beta hanging his head. His expression was hidden, but his shoulders were trembling slightly.

He was likely crying.

The driver did not dare disturb him further and drove quietly. It was the morning rush hour, but the driver did not honk his horn as he usually would.

“It is so crowded,” the young Beta said.

His voice was thick with tears. The driver, wanting to avoid an awkward encounter, kept his eyes off the mirror.

“This stretch is always congested,” the driver said gently. “Once we are through, I will speed up. I will try to make sure you are not late. Is it nine o’clock?”

“Thank you.”

Being late was not a huge deal. Being late once a month would not affect his perfect attendance bonus, especially since the month was almost over. But Mu Yan’s emotions suddenly gave way. Even though he grit his teeth to stop the sobbing, the sound escaped anyway.

The driver said nothing more. Once the traffic cleared, he sped toward the office. Fortunately, Mu Yan arrived on time.

During his lunch break, he hid in the pantry and secretly called Lu Chong. Lu Chong could be very childish. He would say “no need to call,” and if you called, he would snap at you for not listening. But if you actually did not call, he would be even angrier.

Mu Yan had always thought it was fine. He knew Lu Chong came from a wealthy background and had likely been pampered and protected. Though they were the same age, Mu Yan felt more mentally mature and felt it was his responsibility to be patient.

He loved Lu Chong. He knew these childish actions came from a place of affection. Between lovers, there was no need to keep score.

But now, Mu Yan had no energy left to coax him. He was in a terrible state. After everything that had happened, he was the one who needed comfort.

Lu Chong did not take lunch breaks; his schedule was as rigid as a robot’s. Mu Yan decided that if Lu Chong did not answer by the third ring, he would stop calling. On the first ring, the call was answered.

Lu Chong said nothing. He was likely waiting for Mu Yan to apologize.

Mu Yan loved Lu Chong, but he truly disliked this side of him. Lu Chong acted like a high judge, waiting for Mu Yan to confess his sins. It felt like being called into a teacher’s office for no reason; the teacher says nothing and just stares, making you feel guilty even if you did nothing wrong.

“You have nothing to say? Why did you call me?” Lu Chong’s voice was calm, devoid of accusation, yet it made Mu Yan feel as if he were falling into a pit of ice.

“Can you pick me up after work today?” After a whole morning, Mu Yan’s voice was only slightly raspy; otherwise, he sounded normal. “I want to talk to you in person, okay?”

There was a long silence on the other end, but the sound of faint breathing reached Mu Yan. He knew what Lu Chong was thinking; he wanted to hear Mu Yan soften his tone and say something sweet.

“You stay out all night and do not reply to messages. Are you the one feeling wronged?” Lu Chong said coldly. “Have you thought of an explanation? I do not have time to wait.”

The feeling of being wronged stuck in Mu Yan’s throat. He could not find the words. Should he say he didn’t come home because his own father drugged him and sent him to another man’s bed? Should he say a powerful Alpha insisted on troubling a Beta like him despite having so many Omegas to choose from?

Mu Yan gripped his phone, his nose stinging. He was exhausted and heartbroken; he had no energy left for Lu Chong.

He hung up. He spent the rest of the day in a daze, eventually dragging his aching, weary body home. At this hour, there were no seats on the subway. Mu Yan hesitated, weighed the cost of a taxi, and eventually chose the subway.

On the way home, he passed a mall with a dessert shop that sold a Basque cheesecake Lu Chong liked. The money he saved by not taking a taxi was just enough to buy a pistachio-flavored one. What happened to him was not Lu Chong’s fault.

He had been so tense for so long that he nearly fell asleep standing up on the train. When he pushed open the door to their home, the lights were off. Lu Chong was not back yet.

Lu Chong was busy with his startup. There was a sofa in the studio where he had slept before when work was too demanding. But today, Mu Yan knew it was not because of work.

Mu Yan had not eaten yet. He took some tomatoes and eggs from the fridge, planning to make a bowl of noodles. He could prepare a three-course meal for Lu Chong to eat alone, but he could not find the motivation to do the same for himself.

While washing the tomatoes, he noticed three unwashed plates in the sink. No chopsticks, no bowls; just three unwashed plates.

Lu Chong would never have finished his meal and washed only the chopsticks while leaving the plates for Mu Yan. It meant Lu Chong had taken the food Mu Yan made and thrown it all away without eating a single bite.

Mu Yan’s first instinct was to explain to Lu Chong that those were not leftovers, but dishes he had specifically woken up early to cook. He had not forgotten that Lu Chong did not eat leftovers.

He numbly continued to score a cross into the top of the tomatoes. His brother had taught him that for tomato and egg noodles, you must blanch the tomatoes after scoring them to bring out the flavor.

Boiling water splashed onto his hand. The area quickly turned red and painful. Mu Yan seemed dazed; he only thought to apply ointment after he had already put the noodles in the pot.

He remembered that Lu Chong did not eat leftovers.

Lu Chong’s family must have been very well-off. Back in university, aside from his refusal to eat leftovers, he almost never acted like a spoiled young master. When they first started dating, they had both just graduated. Mu Yan was naive about renting and only checked if the apartment had air conditioning. After moving in, they discovered the unit was broken.

They called someone to fix it, but the repair cost almost as much as a month’s rent. Mu Yan swallowed the loss and planned to endure the month before moving elsewhere. He did not mind for himself, but he worried Lu Chong could not handle it. Lu Chong, however, simply shook his head and said it was fine.

Lu Chong truly was not picky. Instead, it was Mu Yan who first suffered heatstroke in the rental. Lu Chong fed him medicine and cooked mung bean soup for him. The next day, he hauled several large blocks of ice home, placing them in front of a fan to cool the room.

Mu Yan truly felt that Lu Chong had suffered a lot being with him. Lu Chong should have been well-provided for, but now he was living a hard life without even air conditioning.

Mu Yan and Lu Chong had met in university. Back then, Lu Chong was a golden boy, a “young master” who was incredibly handsome. Even before they officially met, Mu Yan had heard of this person in the law school.

He came from a wealthy family, was the top liberal arts student in S-City, and was handsome enough to be a celebrity. He was also beyond reproach; countless Omegas had pursued him since he enrolled, but he always rejected them gently and politely from the start. Such a person should have had no connection to Mu Yan at all.

They truly met during a modeling competition in their junior year. Mu Yan had participated in many such competitions. Modeling was related to his major and was something he excelled at. Moreover, the prize money was substantial, coming in faster than any part-time job, so he almost never missed one.

One of his teammates was a senior from his major whom he had worked with many times. They trusted each other’s abilities. Mu Yan was busy with work and studies and rarely socialized, so the task of finding a third teammate usually fell to Yi Zhuo, the senior.

Yi Zhuo set up a group chat early on, saying that introducing themselves online was too awkward. He said he would introduce them on the day of the competition, and they would become close after pulling a few all-nighters together.

On the day of the competition, Mu Yan arrived early at the school gate to wait for Yi Zhuo and the other teammate. The two arrived together. Yi Zhuo saw Mu Yan, waved from a distance, and then led Lu Chong over to introduce them.

Actually, an introduction was unnecessary. Lu Chong was famous throughout the school. Even a bookworm like Mu Yan, who ignored the world outside his window, had heard of him.

Lu Chong wore a khaki trench coat that complemented his tall, elegant figure. He was even more handsome than the rumors suggested, yet his aura was not as cold or unapproachable as people said. When Mu Yan looked at him, he even offered a gentle smile. It was not a mere polite grin, but the kind where you could see the warmth in his eyes even if he were wearing a mask.

“I heard from Yi Zhuo that you needed a writer for the paper. My English is decent, so Yi Zhuo agreed to let me join the team. I have also self-studied some modeling and coding, though I am not sure how much help I can be.”

Yi Zhuo. A very intimate way to address him, Mu Yan thought instinctively. At the time, he did not realize why that name made him unhappy. He thought it was just because Lu Chong and Yi Zhuo seemed so close, whereas he, despite having competed with Yi Zhuo a few times, was not actually that close to him.

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