The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 4

“Xiao Yan wouldn’t discriminate against a liberal arts student, right?” Yi Zhuo teased, exaggerating his tone. “A-Chong is reliable. I swear on my precious luck with the ladies; if he isn’t reliable, I won’t find a partner before graduation.”

“You only have one semester left, and you haven’t had a partner for three years. Does one more semester really matter?” Lu Chong spoke up to defend Mu Yan, noticing that the younger man was struggling with the banter. Mu Yan shook his head hurriedly.

“Student Lu… is studying International Business Law. What made you think of joining a modeling competition?”

Mu Yan realized after the words left his mouth that Lu Chong hadn’t actually introduced his specific major yet. He felt a wave of embarrassment, but Lu Chong only smiled, seemingly unbothered.

“I just wanted to try something I’ve never done before. Meeting new friends is also quite nice.”

Lu Chong’s tone was calm, showing no surprise or offense. When he mentioned meeting new friends, he looked at Mu Yan tenderly, as if the words were directed specifically at him. It made sense; Lu Chong knew he was famous. It wasn’t strange to him that a stranger would know his major.

His conversational habits were entirely different from Mu Yan’s. When answering a question, he made it a habit to look Mu Yan directly in the eyes. Mu Yan felt it would be impolite to look away, so he forced himself to maintain eye contact.

Mu Yan’s major was full of Alphas, including Yi Zhuo, but no one had ever made him feel this way—constantly wanting to lower his head and avert his gaze. For some reason, his ears felt incredibly hot. They were surely red by now, and he only hoped the other two wouldn’t notice.

It was not yet six in the morning. Most people at the school gate were students heading out for the competition. Since the next few days involved constant all-nighters, most chose to book hotel rooms to avoid disturbing roommates and to facilitate communication.

Yi Zhuo knew many people. He greeted every passing acquaintance with great enthusiasm, clearly failing to notice Mu Yan’s reddening ears. Mu Yan hoped Lu Chong would be the same, but Lu Chong had no intention of entertaining the people trying to exchange pleasantries. Instead, his attention remained fixed on Mu Yan.

“Why are your ears so red? Are you cold?”

He unwound his scarf and, after a brief hesitation, held it out to Mu Yan.

Since scarves come into contact with the glands on the back of the neck, if Mu Yan were an Omega, Lu Chong handing him an item saturated with his pheromones would be bordering on sexual harassment. But Mu Yan was just a Beta. He couldn’t smell pheromones, so the gesture wasn’t considered rude.

Mu Yan actually recognized the brand of the scarf. He had heard a housekeeper mention it while he was tutoring; a scarf from this brand cost over ten thousand yuan. He didn’t even think about pheromones; he just thought the scarf was too expensive and shook his head, saying he wasn’t cold.

Lu Chong didn’t take the scarf back. His gaze remained on Mu Yan’s red ears.

“Are you truly not cold?” Lu Chong asked. “Your face is red from the chill, too. Don’t catch a cold.”

He took a step forward—just a small step—and looped the scarf around the back of Mu Yan’s neck. He tied it for him, carefully avoiding any contact with Mu Yan’s skin, acting with the poise of a perfect gentleman.

“Pretentious brat.” Yi Zhuo had been standing at a distance to chat with an acquaintance. Once that person’s teammates arrived, he retreated to Mu Yan and Lu Chong’s side, grumbling under his breath.

Mu Yan was startled by the sudden comment and let out an involuntary gasp.

“Didn’t you see him? That guy, Gao Yiming. He’s from our year. He always slacks off during group projects, and now he’s bringing an Omega to the competition. What a poser.”

Yi Zhuo was naturally dense, fitting the public’s stereotype of an Alpha in their major. He cursed for a long time without even noticing that Lu Chong’s scarf was now around Mu Yan’s neck. It was only after he finished venting that he sensed a slight shift in the atmosphere.

Lu Chong hadn’t really been listening to the rant, ignoring the main point entirely. “You can bring an Omega to the competition, too.”

“Is that the point? All you heard was ‘bringing an Omega.’ Lu Chong, I’ve realized you’re not a good person either.”

Mu Yan wanted to agree that such people were annoying, but he felt it was inappropriate to jump in right after Yi Zhuo called Lu Chong “not a good person.” He was a bit slow and always worried that his words might make others uncomfortable, so he usually rehearsed his sentences in his head before speaking.

Fortunately, Lu Chong’s family driver arrived at that moment, parking at the school gate and opening the doors for the three of them. By leaving now, they would arrive at the hotel just a few minutes before the competition problems were released at six o’clock.

Yi Zhuo’s family was well-off. For previous competitions, he had always taken the lead in booking the hotels. Fearing Mu Yan would insist on splitting the cost, he always claimed the hotel belonged to a friend’s family and cost him nothing.

This time, Lu Chong had booked the hotel. As soon as they entered, staff members greeted them and pressed the button for the penthouse elevator.

“Young Master Lu is quite extravagant,” Yi Zhuo remarked, looking down on Lu Chong’s showy behavior. “Booking a presidential suite just for a competition?”

“It’s larger, so the three of us can stay together for easier communication,” Lu Chong said calmly. “Did you expect me to bring an Omega instead?”

Yi Zhuo didn’t have an Omega to bring, but using that to counter Lu Chong was clearly even more embarrassing for an Alpha. He shut his mouth sullenly and followed Lu Chong into the room to sit down.

Mu Yan had already taken out his laptop and plugged in the adapter. His computer was a second-hand find a roommate had helped him snag; it looked old, the processor was average, and it was a bit slow when running code. During competitions, Mu Yan rarely felt insecure about such things. After all, everyone knew that no matter how fast a processor was, it was useless without a good algorithm.

“By the way, Student Mu Yan, could you help me configure the virtual environment? I can’t seem to get a few packages right,” Lu Chong asked politely. He was responsible for writing the paper and presenting the results after the modeling was finished, so his participation in the coding wasn’t strictly necessary. “I wanted to try and help you two out a bit over the last few days.”

Mu Yan’s reaction was a beat slow. He wondered why Lu Chong had asked him instead of Yi Zhuo, who was much closer to him. After a moment, he snapped out of it. Perhaps it was because Lu Chong had just bickered with Senior Yi Zhuo and didn’t want to give him another opening for a joke.

“I can… of course. You don’t necessarily have to follow the online tutorials; some package versions are outdated and no longer used.”

Mu Yan kept his head slightly lowered as he walked over, so he missed the massive eye-roll Yi Zhuo gave Lu Chong.

Mu Yan had learned mathematical modeling through online resources, summoning the courage to email faculty advisors when he hit a snag. He naturally assumed Lu Chong was the same. In reality, if Lu Chong wanted to learn, his family could fly the entire competition committee in from abroad to tutor him. There was no way he didn’t know how to configure a basic environment.

While Mu Yan worked, he sat in Lu Chong’s chair while Lu Chong stood beside him, leaning over to watch the screen.

“So that’s how it’s done,” Lu Chong said. His voice was steady, yet not without a hint of admiration. From someone like him, a sentence like that was equivalent to saying, “Student Mu Yan is amazing.”

Mu Yan felt his face heat up. “It’s not hard. It’s just that this package is rarely used now, which is why you couldn’t find the installation guide.”

“Then the fact that Student Mu Yan knows it makes you even more impressive.”

Lu Chong might have been slightly nearsighted, as he leaned in close to see the screen. To Mu Yan, the distance felt too intimate; he could almost feel the steady rhythm of Lu Chong’s breath. Just as Mu Yan was debating whether to lean forward to create some space, Lu Chong straightened up.

From the corner of his eye, Mu Yan saw him looking down at his phone, replying to a message.

“Why?” Lu Chong typed, questioning the person who was less than three meters away in the same room but insisted on texting.

YZ: “Lu Chong, show some mercy. There are so many Omegas throwing themselves at you; why do you have to target such an honest kid? I’m begging you, you’re never going to marry him, so don’t toy with his feelings.”

YZ: “Can’t configure the environment? Have some shame. Are you going to pretend you can’t eat next so he has to feed you?”

L: “Whose feelings have I ever toyed with?”

Yi Zhuo was silenced. He had known Lu Chong since childhood; it was true that Lu Chong had never been in a relationship or toyed with anyone.

But the gap in status between him and Mu Yan was simply too vast. Would the heir of the Lu family truly marry a commoner Beta?

The first time Yi Zhuo met Mu Yan, the kid was wearing a faded T-shirt and clutching an old laptop. He was extremely polite, and his code was fast, clean, and highly readable. After getting to know him, Yi Zhuo felt even more for the kid; his mother was seriously ill and needed money, and his father was irresponsible. Yi Zhuo tried to help where he could, setting Mu Yan up with a few tutoring jobs.

It was just a small favor to him, but Mu Yan was incredibly grateful. Occasionally, when Yi Zhuo went to the canteen where Mu Yan worked part-time, Mu Yan would quietly scoop extra meat into his bowl while keeping his head down.

“Will your supervisor scold you?” Yi Zhuo had teased him once.

Mu Yan’s eyes widened. After a stunned moment, his face flushed slightly as he shook his head, answering seriously, “He won’t find out.”

He was both simple and sincere.

YZ: “If you actually pursue him, would you consider marrying him?”

Lu Chong typed back: “Why do I have to consider marriage? So many people date in university; does every couple have to consider marriage?”

Yi Zhuo was stumped. He still felt Lu Chong’s starting point was wrong, but he wasn’t good at arguing and didn’t want to debate the ethics of it with him.

YZ: “In short, Xiao Yan is off-limits. Go find someone else.”

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