The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 42

“Your mother might have just been busy with work. If she could, I’m sure she would have wanted to be the first one to pick you up too.”

Mu Yan gently patted Shang Qiyue’s back. If it was something he still remembered so clearly even after growing up, it must have been a deep disappointment for the young Shang Qiyue.

“She wasn’t busy,” Shang Qiyue said. “She didn’t have a job, either.”

Seeing Mu Yan’s slightly stunned expression, Shang Qiyue realized he had misspoken.

He must be out of his mind, telling Mu Yan these things. Did he really expect Mu Yan, who had grown up in such miserable conditions, to comfort him?

Shang Qiyue avoided Mu Yan’s gaze, wanting to say something to change the subject.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mu Yan still looking at him earnestly with calm eyes.

“What is it?” This time, Shang Qiyue didn’t look away. “Say whatever you want to say. I won’t be angry.”

Mu Yan seemed to ponder for a moment. It was only a few dozen seconds, but Shang Qiyue felt himself growing anxious waiting.

“I don’t know if I… should comment on your private matters, Sir. But I feel… I feel your mother was wrong to do that. If I have children in the future, I won’t treat my children like that.”

Mu Yan didn’t think he was complaining about nothing.

He had always known that suffering cannot be compared.

He was poor, and he used to think that the children who grew up in the city always had enough to eat and wear, and wondered if they had any troubles at all. But in the end, there were people in the world for whom even health was a luxury. Did their existence mean his own life wasn’t bitter?

Though now, because of Shang Qiyue, his situation truly wasn’t as difficult anymore.

He softly promised Shang Qiyue once more that he would definitely come home early—straight home after work.

Shang Qiyue looked at him, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Okay. I know.”

Mu Yan walked over to his side. “Do you want to sit a bit longer, or should I help you to the bed?”

Shang Qiyue shook his head slightly. Mu Yan reached out to support him but was suddenly pulled into a hug.

Knowing that Shang Qiyue was currently unwell, Mu Yan didn’t dare to struggle, nor did he dare to stay sitting on his lap. He was caught in a dilemma.

Fortunately, Shang Qiyue only kissed him on the cheek and didn’t continue holding him with that initial force.

“Let me help you to the bed,” Mu Yan said, his face flushing red as he avoided Shang Qiyue’s eyes.

“I just suddenly wanted to kiss you,” Shang Qiyue said almost at the same time, even though Mu Yan hadn’t asked.

Mu Yan gave him a light peck on the cheek in return. “I wanted to kiss you too, Sir. Now, can I help you to the bed?”

It was as if a switch had been flipped. Shang Qiyue looked up at Mu Yan and then quietly allowed himself to be helped up.

He wasn’t used to leaning his body weight onto Mu Yan, so by the time they finally reached the bedside, he lost all strength and practically collapsed onto the bed.

Mu Yan let out a soft cry as Shang Qiyue used the momentum to pull him onto the bed with him.

“You have work tomorrow… and the day after, you have to take your mother for dialysis,” Shang Qiyue murmured.

During his susceptibility period, Shang Qiyue was seventy percent like his usual self, but the remaining thirty percent was childish in a way that Mu Yan found completely unpredictable.

Even though he had already told Mu Yan that he didn’t need to take leave to accompany him, Mu Yan still felt a bit uneasy.

“I… I can also choose not to go, Sir. I’ll go for the dialysis early and be back before you wake up,” Mu Yan’s voice grew quieter as he spoke.

Shang Qiyue interrupted him: “So you have to stay with me all day today.”

Mu Yan gave a soft “okay” and snuggled into his arms. Shang Qiyue contentedly ran his fingers through Mu Yan’s hair. Mu Yan’s hair was softer than most people’s; he didn’t know if it was natural or because of some shampoo.

In the agonizing susceptibility period, everything related to Mu Yan made him feel like he could briefly escape from the furnace.

Mu Yan’s soft hair, his body which was slightly cooler than his own temperature, and the scent of bread on him.

“Baby.”

“How can I like you this much?”

Mu Yan stayed in his arms all afternoon, listening to him say such clingy things.

He responded to every word: I like you too, very much, only you.

For a few moments, he would almost take these words as truth.

If there was no love, then purely selling his body and dignity to get through this year would be too miserable.

If only he loved Shang Qiyue.

If only Shang Qiyue loved him.

Even if it was just a tiny amount, like the affection for a stray kitten on the street.

When he liked Lu Chong, how much did Lu Chong like him back? Was Lu Chong’s feeling for him truly the feeling for an equal, a real lover?

If the one he liked was Shang Qiyue, he could at least get money, cure his mother’s illness, give his brother a respectable job, and let the people he cared about live a life they never dared to dream of before.

If only Shang Qiyue didn’t bully him as often as that time in the office. If only the times he was so mean were fewer.

If only Shang Qiyue could frequently pretend like this in front of him.

If only he could be dull enough not to notice or sense the times Shang Qiyue inadvertently revealed that he looked down on him, viewing him like a pet dog or cat.

Mu Yan suddenly felt like crying for some reason.

A sick Shang Qiyue could not possibly guess what Mu Yan was thinking.

He only felt that Mu Yan in his arms was obedient—warm when he felt cold, cool when he felt hot, and occasionally nuzzling his neck gently.

Shang Qiyue did occasionally feel a bit embarrassed. After all, he was an adult; holding another adult like this without letting go, not letting them do anything, just being held… even the best-tempered person would feel annoyed deep down, right?

But the objective physical comfort soon defeated that bit of pride he didn’t care much for anyway, allowing him to lean against Mu Yan even more guilt-free until the sun went down.

In the evening, Mu Yan ordered a few light, appetizing side dishes and an old duck stew. Even though Shang Qiyue had no appetite, Mu Yan managed to coax him into eating half a bowl of rice.

Shang Qiyue was a bit willful while sick and insisted on taking a bath after dinner for some reason. Knowing that people with a fever shouldn’t bathe, Mu Yan advised him gently and carefully wiped his entire body down instead.

“Tomorrow you…” Just as Mu Yan was about to fall asleep, Shang Qiyue began to nag like a child again.

Even being woken from the edge of sleep, Mu Yan didn’t lose his temper at all.

“I remember. I’ll come back early tomorrow. I’ll be the first to leave the office.”

“Coaxing me like a child,” Shang Qiyue grumbled. “Even if you’re the last to leave the office, I won’t be able to see it.”

Mu Yan laughed softly, leaning in to kiss him. “I’ll definitely come back early, okay?”

Mu Yan did not actually leave the office first the next day. He was, after all, just a junior employee. Even though he had worked there for over a year and had some seniority, he still didn’t dare to leave exactly on the dot.

He wasn’t the type to pretend to stay until the very end, but he was too shy to be among the first few to leave. Today, he gathered his courage and immediately packed his things to walk out as soon as three colleagues got up to leave.

Sister Zhou, who had already left, happened to run back to grab something and bumped into him. Just as Mu Yan’s heart started pounding, suspecting she would immediately ask why he was leaving so early, she simply said, “See you tomorrow, go home early and eat.”

“See you tomorrow, Sister Zhou. You should rest early too.”

The daylight in early spring wasn’t long. When Mu Yan reached home, it was still quite early, but the sky was already almost dark.

The light in the room was very dim, and the bedroom curtains were tightly drawn.

Mu Yan pushed the door open and saw Shang Qiyue curled up on the bed. He was clutching several pieces of Mu Yan’s clothes in his arms, with more pieces scattered messily by the pillow, looking like a large predator building a nest.

Hearing the door open, Shang Qiyue snapped his head up. He hesitated for a second and then hurriedly tried to hide the clothes in his arms, looking like someone caught with an unspeakable secret.

Mu Yan looked away, not sure if he should pretend not to have seen anything.

Shang Qiyue was rarely this disheveled. But even as embarrassed as he was, he didn’t think to throw Mu Yan’s clothes away.

“Fuck, who told you to come back so late?”

“I… I’m sorry,” Mu Yan immediately apologized. “I rushed back as fast as I could.”

“Sir, can we take your temperature first?”

“No. If it’s 40 degrees, will measuring it turn it into 36?”

Shang Qiyue was speaking with a heavy temper now, but compared to his usual unpredictable self, Mu Yan found him surprisingly easy to handle like this.

Mu Yan didn’t insist.

He reached out and pulled Shang Qiyue—along with the clothes in his arms—into his embrace. He gently pressed his forehead against the man’s burning one and whispered, “Then what about this? Will this… make it better?”

Shang Qiyue’s body noticeably stiffened.

The pheromones on Mu Yan enveloped him completely, making him feel a happiness like returning from purgatory to the clouds.

He smells so good.

The flesh on his body feels so soft. It feels like if I feed him more and make him a bit chubbier, he’ll be even better to hold.

Yanyan smells so good.

The person in his arms froze for two seconds.

Only then did Shang Qiyue realize he was almost delirious from the fever, and had accidentally blurted out his thoughts.

“Maybe there was some fragrance in Assistant Luo’s car…” Mu Yan whispered an explanation for him.

“No,” Shang Qiyue retorted, throwing caution to the wind.

“It’s your pheromones.”

Now Mu Yan was truly stunned.

“I… Can you really smell pheromones on me? But I’m a Beta.”

Shang Qiyue grew displeased. “Questions, questions. What’s there to ask? What’s wrong with being a Beta? What if I can smell it? The people at the research institute asked endlessly, why are you asking too?”

“Then can I…” Mu Yan hesitantly asked the question. “Can you tell me, what do I smell like?”

“I’m just a bit curious, it’s not that I don’t believe you, Sir. When I was a kid, I wondered what my pheromones would smell like if I didn’t differentiate into a Beta. After all, pheromones are unique, like a superpower. You’re always interested in that when you’re little.”

Shang Qiyue mumbled something. Even though Mu Yan tried hard to listen, Shang Qiyue seemed to be speaking quickly and unclearly on purpose to prevent him from hearing.

“Could you… say that again?”

“Only I can smell it, so even if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else,” Shang Qiyue said fiercely.

Mu Yan blinked, not knowing why Shang Qiyue would say that.

Even if Mu Yan wanted to tell someone, who would believe that a Beta like him had pheromones? Who would care if a Beta had pheromones?

Seeing him dazed, Shang Qiyue became unhappy again. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Is that hard to do? Who else do you want to tell?”

Being held in his arms, Mu Yan’s cheek was pressed against Shang Qiyue’s burning neck. He could clearly feel the hot breath falling by his ear.

“No, I don’t want to tell anyone else.” Mu Yan was afraid he would stop talking. “I just didn’t react in time.”

Shang Qiyue held him, his palm gently patting Mu Yan’s back in a soothing manner. “Then what did you hope your pheromones would smell like?”

Mu Yan lowered his head. With the two of them lying face to face, the movement made it look like he was nuzzling into Shang Qiyue’s chest.

“Something… a bit more powerful,” Mu Yan said a bit shyly. He temporarily forgot the specific word; terms for pheromones were rarely used in his daily life.

That adjective for sounding like an Alpha… how did it go? “Powerful” didn’t seem quite right.

“A powerful pheromone… Do you mean a sense of pressure? Did you want to differentiate into an Alpha?” Shang Qiyue chuckled. “Why did you want to be an Alpha?”

Mu Yan gave a shy smile.

“Alphas… can go to the military academy. The academy provides food and housing, and there are stipends. My mother and brother would also be looked up to in the village.”

“I was just thinking,” Mu Yan quickly added. “Being a Beta is also quite good. If you like traveling, you can take physiological leave every month to go on trips.”

Shang Qiyue unusually didn’t respond immediately, as if he were thinking about something.

“Do I not smell like an Alpha?” Mu Yan smiled. “Tell me, Sir. It’s not like there’s anything to regret. I’m just purely curious.”

“It’s the smell of bread. It’s not particularly sweet, but it smells very good and fragrant. It’s not cloying at all. Like it’s fresh out of the oven, the kind brushed with butter.”

Mu Yan smiled. “Bread?”

It seemed within expectations. Compared to expensive desserts, bread was cheap and filling. It was ordinary and found everywhere. The taste might not be world-shaking, but it was hard to make it taste bad.

“Bread scent is also very powerful.” Shang Qiyue gently rubbed the top of Mu Yan’s head.

Two people whose combined ages were nearly fifty were here discussing the nonexistent pheromones of a Beta. Because the scent didn’t smell like an Alpha’s, Shang Qiyue was coaxing him like a child.

Mu Yan’s face turned red with embarrassment, but at that moment, Shang Qiyue suddenly laughed and reached out to gently pinch his earlobe.

“The Bread King.”

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