The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 41

Mu Yan looked back. Shang Qiyue was leaning against the sofa, his face pale, his lips dry, and a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. His brows were tightly furrowed.

He seemed a bit unhappy.

Was it because he was in pain?

Normally, an Alpha in their susceptibility period is irritable, angry, and extremely possessive and aggressive. However, Shang Qiyue just looked as if he were sick.

Calling it “just” sick was, of course, inappropriate, as Shang Qiyue looked extremely miserable. Yet, Mu Yan felt a small, perhaps unkind, sense of relief.

He had originally prepared himself to be tormented for an entire week until he was half-dead.

Because of this slightly selfish relief, he felt even more guilty toward Shang Qiyue.

“Is it because of your illness?” Mu Yan reached out, wanting to support him. “Let me help you to the bed to lie down and rest for a while.”

Mu Yan appeared a size smaller than Shang Qiyue. Shang Qiyue looked at him and found it somewhat amusing.

“You don’t have enough strength. I’ll rest for a moment and go over by myself.”

Mu Yan reached out and touched his forehead; it was alarmingly hot. He hurried off to find a thermometer.

When he returned, Shang Qiyue was no longer on the sofa. After a moment’s thought, Mu Yan entered his room without knocking and handed over the thermometer. “Do you want to take your temperature?”

“Actually, measuring it doesn’t do much. This is how my susceptibility periods always are.”

Despite saying that, Shang Qiyue took the thermometer and put it in his mouth. He glanced up at Mu Yan and said muffledly, “Don’t laugh.”

“Sir, I’m not laughing.” Mu Yan clearly didn’t understand why Shang Qiyue would say something so random, but he answered seriously nonetheless.

“I brought up the medicine you took earlier. Do you want to take more now? Maybe you’ll feel better if you take a bit more.”

“No need,” Shang Qiyue said, his voice muffled by the thermometer.

Shang Qiyue slowly took the thermometer out and checked it: 38.7°C. “You can’t take too much of that medicine at once. Besides, it’s not very useful; it just makes things slightly more bearable, bringing it down from forty degrees to thirty-eight.”

Mu Yan took the thermometer from him. Seeing the startling number, he turned it to a different angle to check again in shock.

It was nearly thirty-nine degrees.

Even that one time he went to the hospital for an IV drip and felt like he was dying, his fever had only reached thirty-eight degrees.

“Don’t look at it. It’s like this every month; I’m used to it. Come up and lie with me for a while.” Shang Qiyue glanced at him with weary eyelids.

Mu Yan obeyed softly. He first helped Shang Qiyue change his clothes and tucked him into the quilt, then changed into his own pajamas and lay down beside him.

Shang Qiyue held him very tightly, as if bone were pressed against bone, heart against heart.

If he has a fever like this every susceptibility period, Shang Qiyue must really suffer, Mu Yan thought. Has he been going through this all these years?

“Baby.” Shang Qiyue buried his head in Mu Yan’s chest, sniffing his scent with contentment.

It smelled like freshly baked bread with a natural buttery fragrance.

Shang Qiyue felt the tightness in his chest ease slightly. Although the high fever left him with almost no appetite, Mu Yan’s pheromones made him feel exceptionally comfortable.

Mu Yan simply patted his shoulder gently, as if coaxing a small child to sleep.

“You’re here. Don’t leave even if I fall asleep.”

Mu Yan gave a quiet promise.

The night grew deep. Only a dim, amber bedside lamp was lit in the bedroom, its light falling on Shang Qiyue’s slightly furrowed brows, making his pale complexion even clearer.

He slept fitfully. His breathing was heavy, and sweat soaked his forehead layer after layer. Occasionally, his fingers would twitch as if unconsciously trying to grasp something.

Mu Yan lay by his side. His fingers on Shang Qiyue’s back relaxed and curled, but eventually, he held him back.

This Shang Qiyue was so different from his usual self. Even the Shang Qiyue in the car just an hour ago seemed like a different person compared to the man now.

Mu Yan was gradually learning how to deal with that Shang Qiyue, but he didn’t know how to treat the present one: this fragile version of Shang Qiyue who needed care.

He tentatively touched Shang Qiyue’s burning forehead. Even in sleep, the man seemed uncomfortable; perhaps it was because he was sweating so much.

Mu Yan took a towel from the bedside, wrung it out with warm water, and carefully wiped the sweat from the other man’s brow.

Sensing the embrace go empty for a moment, a groan escaped Shang Qiyue’s throat. He seemed on the verge of waking but quickly drifted back down, his eyes remaining closed.

After having his sweat wiped a few times, Shang Qiyue fell into a deeper sleep. Mu Yan gently rubbed away the frown between his brows.

There was no work tomorrow, but what about the day after? Should he ask for leave the day after tomorrow?

He had already used up his susceptibility period leave for this month. Before this, Shang Qiyue had used the excuse of personnel transfers to other departments to keep him away from work for over a week.

Mu Yan was a bit conflicted, but he was tired today as well. Before he could reach a conclusion, he fell asleep.

On the second day of Shang Qiyue’s susceptibility period, he remained groggy and didn’t wake until noon. Knowing that someone with a fever has no appetite and fearing his own cooking wasn’t good enough, Mu Yan ordered seafood porridge from the hotel Shang Qiyue usually frequented.

Likely due to his poor appetite, Shang Qiyue only realized halfway through that it was from his usual place.

“The seafood porridge from this place is expensive. Why didn’t you ask me to order it?” he asked Mu Yan, his voice raspy.

“It’s fine. You’ve already given me a lot of money.” Mu Yan thought for a moment and added, “I have money.”

Shang Qiyue chuckled softly. “How have you still not learned how to take advantage of me?”

“I have already received a lot of benefits.” Mu Yan looked at him and spoke earnestly.

So much money, his brother’s job, and his gambling-addicted father being looked after. He was already very, very satisfied.

He didn’t feel at peace holding onto so much money. Spending it on Shang Qiyue actually made him feel more comfortable.

“Do you have work tomorrow? Go to work; don’t take leave for me. You’ve missed several days at the company this month. I can help you with the leave, but it’s not good for it to be too frequent after all.”

Mu Yan had actually considered these points, but hearing these logical reasons to go to work from Shang Qiyue’s own mouth made him feel hesitant instead.

“Sir, don’t you need someone to take care of you?”

“No need. I just have a fever. It’s been like this for over a decade; I’ve long since gotten used to it.”

“But will you be here alone? Should I call Assistant Luo and ask him to take you back to your family home? There should be people there to look after you.”

“There’s a maid at home. But it’s the same whether she’s there or not. I’m an adult; I can call and order takeout. There’s nothing much to take care of.”

More importantly, he wanted to stay here. This place had Mu Yan’s scent.

During his susceptibility period, the influence of these pheromones was particularly pronounced.

Originally, his susceptibility periods were so miserable it felt like he was dying. He could hardly sleep at night, and his headaches felt like his skull was splitting.

But with Mu Yan here this time, it was much better than before. He still had a fever and a headache, but he could actually fall asleep at night.

He actually wished he could lock Mu Yan in the house and not have him leave for even a single second, but after this susceptibility period, there would be another. He didn’t want to cause unhappiness between him and Mu Yan.

Mu Yan wasn’t someone who could be replaced by just anyone. Even without the pheromones, he was gentle, obedient, and beautiful. Shang Qiyue wanted Mu Yan to stay by his side for a long time.

“Next time you have your susceptibility period, I’ll take leave to stay with you, okay?” Mu Yan looked at Shang Qiyue, feeling particularly apologetic. “I really can’t find the time this month and I used my physiological leave earlier. I will definitely stay with you next month, okay? I’ll use my physiological leave to accompany you.”

“I promised from the start not to affect your work,” Shang Qiyue said calmly. “But see if you can avoid overtime and come back early. Smelling your scent makes me feel much better.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Mu Yan felt both guilty and grateful. “I’m sorry. I’ll definitely come back as soon as I finish work.”

“Mm,” Shang Qiyue replied listlessly. “Do you finish at six? Everyone gets off then, so it might be hard to get a taxi. Save Luo Cheng’s number; I’ll have him pick you up.”

This was the first time Shang Qiyue had mentioned to Mu Yan that he could smell Mu Yan’s pheromones.

Mu Yan had searched Shang Qiyue’s condition on Baidu before. In one post, he saw someone mention that Pheromone Disorder is essentially a pheromone identification disability. Normal Alphas and Omegas can obtain a lot of useful information through pheromones.

Simple things like whether the other person is an Alpha or Omega, if they are in a susceptibility or heat period, or if they have a permanent mark. Complex things include the other person’s mood, age, and physical condition, though this requires being a top-tier Alpha or Omega.

Patients with Pheromone Disorder often cannot do this. For many, they even find the pheromones of the opposite sex unbearable. Identifying extremely faint pheromones is a unique ability of top Alphas, much like their superior physical strength and hearing.

Betas also have a very small amount of pheromones, but it’s a matter of quantity; even tap water is toxic if you ignore the dosage. Thus, a very small number of top Alphas with Pheromone Disorder can smell the pheromones on a Beta.

Despite growing up in a village full of Betas, Mu Yan had fantasized many times as a child about the scene of himself differentiating into an Alpha. If he could become an Alpha, maybe he could go to the military academy. He could pass the physical, and his grades were good enough. The military academy provided food and housing, plus a monthly stipend. If the family produced a military student, his mother and brother would be held in higher regard.

Mu Yan was actually a bit curious about what his pheromones smelled like, even though he knew it wouldn’t change the fact that he had differentiated into a Beta.

However, Shang Qiyue looked unwell, and Mu Yan didn’t want to annoy him at a time like this.

“Okay,” Mu Yan recorded Assistant Luo’s contact information according to the numbers Shang Qiyue recited and confirmed it again. “Okay, Sir, I will definitely come back early.”

He thought about it and quickly added earnestly, “As soon as it’s time to clock out, I’ll leave immediately.”

Shang Qiyue couldn’t help but laugh at his serious expression.

“Do you know what you look like right now?”

Mu Yan tilted his head slightly, stunned. “What do you think I look like, Sir?”

“Like a parent promising a kindergartner they’ll be the first to pick them up after school, but you’re much more solemn about it. My mother used to brush me off like that frequently, but she’d always just end up sending the nanny to get me. The nanny didn’t dare push to the front, so in the end, I was always among the last to leave.”

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