The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 47

An engagement is the formal announcement of an alliance between two families. For many involved in such a marriage, the engagement banquet is often more significant than the wedding itself. The most influential figures from City A’s political and business sectors were gathered in this banquet hall.

“Excuse me, sorry.”

There were too many people. Every time he passed a familiar face, Lu Chong was forced to stop and exchange a few words.

By the time he finally reached his destination, nearly ten minutes had passed.

The guests had already taken their seats. The corner of the banquet hall was empty, and a waiter was clearing away leftover drinks.

Lu Chong stepped forward with uncharacteristic urgency, stopping the waiter to ask anxiously: “Hello, excuse me, did you see the gentleman who was sitting here just now?”

The waiter shook his head blankly.

How could he not have seen him?

Lu Chong had seen him from all the way across the room.

His phone vibrated. Lu Chong answered: “What is it?”

“Mr. Lu, a news outlet that didn’t notify us in advance wants to join the filming today. It’s a local City A non-traditional media outlet focused on entertainment gossip.”

Lu Chong frowned. Why were they calling him about something like this?

“Give them a gift bag and a buffet voucher for the hotel next door. Send them away politely. Tell them they must obtain an invitation in advance and that you are just following hotel regulations.”

“Understood, understood. Sorry to bother you, sir. If there’s nothing else, I’ll let you get back to it.”

“The waiters at the greeting area should be resting now. Go ask them if they saw a Beta. Thin, looks very obedient. If no one saw him, send me the surveillance footage of the guest entrance. I’ll find him myself.”

the person on the other end was clearly hesitant: “Mr. Lu, this is.”

“Do it quickly. If there are any issues, I’ll take responsibility.”

The two chairs in the corner had been removed, and the once cramped space now looked empty.

Lu Chong had clearly seen Mu Yan sitting here just moments ago, holding a sparkling drink.

Why would Mu Yan be here?

Was he here to find him?

He was so timid, so introverted, so stupid, and such a pitiable person.

“Xiao Chong, why are you here by yourself? Is there something you haven’t finished yet?”

A hand patted his shoulder gently. Lu Chong turned to see the person and quickly composed himself, giving a polite smile: “Grandmother.”

“A local reporter from City A wanted to come in for a report. It’s already been handled.”

“As long as it’s handled. Next time, leave these things to the staff; you don’t need to oversee them personally. Come and sit with us,” his grandmother said with a smile, pulling him toward her table. “Zhi Zhi’s life is settled, you need to hurry up too.”

To his left sat an Omega of similar family background, and further left was Jiang Yizhuo’s sister, Jiang Yao. Across from that young master, Jiang Yao introduced the Omega beside her with a smile: “Brother Lu Chong, long time no see. This is Xia Nan, the son of my father’s comrade-in-arms. He’s a year younger than you. I believe you’ve met.”

Lu Chong immediately understood the intention behind the seating arrangement. Since it was arranged by his elders, he couldn’t walk away. He suppressed his displeasure and greeted Xia Nan: “Long time no see.”

Xia Nan was introverted. When Jiang Yao nudged him with her elbow, his ears actually turned a bit red.

“Long time no see, Mr. Lu. Have you lost weight lately?” Xia Nan asked shyly. “Is work very busy?”

“A bit busy,” Lu Chong replied dismissively.

“You really do look a lot thinner, Brother Lu Chong,” Jiang Yao chimed in chatteringly. “How did you lose it? How can I lose weight like that?”

“Yao Yao, you aren’t fat. You won’t look good if you get any thinner,” Xia Nan comforted her.

Jiang Yao slumped: “But I still don’t look good on camera like this.”

The Omega’s voice was high-pitched, giving Lu Chong a headache.

Jiang Yao was Jiang Yizhuo’s sister, pampered to no end by her two older brothers. Lu Chong usually treated her like a sister; on a normal day, he would have coaxed her with a few kind words.

But right now, his mind was entirely occupied by the person he had just seen who looked so much like Mu Yan.

Mu Yan should be that height, that thin. His eyes were often lowered, just like a deer’s.

But why was Mu Yan here? Was Mu Yan here for him?

Mu Yan was so stupid, so introverted, and so timid. Lu Chong had been locked away by his father for a whole week with no outside contact. If Mu Yan had really heard the news and snuck in to find him, how difficult must that have been?

When he decided to call Lu Zhi, Lu Chong already suspected he might have to return home this time.

He could guess what he would face upon returning. His only requirement was that Lu Zhi had to go to the hospital to pay the bills.

Lu Zhi had said that since a life was at stake, she would definitely go. Still uneasy, Lu Chong messaged Jiang Yizhuo, asking him to make another trip to the hospital.

Jiang Yizhuo didn’t know he and Mu Yan had broken up yet; he just scolded him for being crazy, asking why he hadn’t handled such an urgent matter sooner instead of pestering him now.

During the days he argued and went on a hunger strike against his father, Lu Chong had figured everything out.

To hell with social status and compatibility. If Mu Yan was a bit stupid, so be it. If he was a Beta, so be it. How much better could those Omegas be?

Since he was already fighting with his family to keep that little company opened in Mu Yan’s name, adding one more thing didn’t matter.

He wanted to apologize to Mu Yan. He wanted to coax Mu Yan back. He wanted to marry Mu Yan and give him a good life.

Otherwise, after letting the man suffer so much for him, what difference was there between him and an animal?

His sister was getting engaged, and the Lu family couldn’t be missing a member at the banquet. His father cared about face; he would yield.

It was only two days before the engagement banquet that Lu Chong was released from confinement.

He went to that empty rented room. It was exactly as it was when Mu Yan left; nothing had changed.

He found the landlord and paid to buy the room. The landlord stared at him in a daze, asking if he had won the lottery.

Mu Yan had mentioned many times before that he wanted to save for a down payment so they could have their own home in City A.

This apartment was poor, but Lu Chong couldn’t accept the home where he and Mu Yan had lived for over a year being rented to anyone else. He would buy Mu Yan other houses—as many as he wanted.

Once they were married.

It didn’t even have to wait until marriage, Lu Chong thought. It could be before they were married, as long as Mu Yan forgave him and reconciled with him.

His grandparents didn’t know yet, but as long as he said he had someone he wanted to marry, they wouldn’t stop him.

His grandparents were the ones who truly cared about him. They just wanted someone to take care of him; a socially matched Omega could help him in business and soothe him during his susceptibility periods.

The Omegas his grandmother introduced were all gentle, from clean backgrounds, and highly compatible with him. If it were the old him, he might have picked a good-tempered one who wouldn’t restrict him, just like Lu Zhi and Fu Jiayan.

But now, he wanted no one else. He only wanted Mu Yan.

Lu Chong looked at the Omega beside him who was pleasingly using serving chopsticks to put food on his plate and frowned slightly.

Even though they were similarly downcast, gentle eyes, when they appeared on someone else’s face, he only felt irritable.

Xia Nan looked at the food Lu Chong had moved back into his own bowl with serving chopsticks and gave Lu Chong a disappointed look.

“Mr. Lu.”

“My stomach isn’t great, I can’t eat cold seafood. Thank you for the gesture.”

With those few half-hearted words of explanation, Xia Nan gathered his courage again: “Then what does Mr. Lu like to eat? We can go together next time.”

No.

He had to go find Mu Yan.

What kind of efficiency did the hotel staff have? They still hadn’t sent the surveillance footage.

Mu Yan was here to find him; he couldn’t leave Mu Yan alone in a place with so many people.

With so many people here, what if someone had designs on him? Mu Yan was so stupid; what if he accidentally spilled a drink on a big shot’s clothes and was harassed?

A person as timid as a kitten—if he met some bullying, messy people, he would be bullied to death.

Lu Chong stood up.

“Sorry, please excuse me.”

He had to find Mu Yan.

…

“So, so that’s how it is.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Mu Yan said softly, his eyes lowered.

Shang Qiyue observed him secretly. His eyes weren’t red, nor was the tip of his nose.

When Mu Yan cried, those two places would turn red first, and then the tears would fall.

This meant he wasn’t crying.

“How did you meet? I thought you knew he had run away after a fight with his family and could go back at any time.”

“Classmates, university classmates,” Mu Yan replied.

“Thank you for telling me. I originally, he told me his family had gone bankrupt, and I believed him.”

Mu Yan gave a self-deprecating laugh: “It’s that I was too stupid. I trusted him too much then. I believed whatever he said.”

“I haven’t seen the world either. I didn’t know it wasn’t that easy for rich people to go bankrupt. Like Miss Lu and Mr. Fu, rich people are all connected. Even if something happens, they just give each other a hand and it’s resolved.”

Unlike us ordinary people, where a small change causes the whole family to collapse.

Mu Yan didn’t want to cry over Lu Chong in front of Shang Qiyue, so he looked away toward the stage.

The bride and groom on stage were exchanging rings.

The bride was truly so beautiful. Her dress was beautiful too; such a large and magnificent hem, just like Snow White’s dress. The groom was also tall and handsome, just like the Prince Charming from the stories.

People like them were a match made in heaven, the princess and prince of the story.

Lu Chong had said he would marry him, said he would treat him well for a lifetime, said he wouldn’t marry another Omega or buy a bracelet for anyone else.

How could he have believed it?

Lu Chong should marry his princess. How could he have been so stupid as to believe that a person like Lu Chong would marry a dull little mouse like him?

It wasn’t because he was stupid, it wasn’t. Mu Yan suddenly thought of something.

It was Lu Chong who was lying to him.

If he had known earlier that Lu Chong was lying, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Lu Chong was sitting not far away, and the Omega beside him was both beautiful and dignified. Lu Chong sat with them in his suit, like a group of beautiful white swans.

Lu Chong put food on the plate for the Omega beside him.

The Omega turned and smiled at him—a shy, ambiguous smile with a slight blush.

When Mu Yan was in a relationship with Lu Chong, he would also smile at him like that.

If he had known earlier that Lu Chong’s family had never gone bankrupt, he wouldn’t have believed the promises Lu Chong made to him.

He wouldn’t have truly treated Lu Chong as a partner to spend the rest of his life with, foolishly including him in every foreseeable future.

He also wouldn’t have lent that hundred thousand yuan to Lu Chong.

If he hadn’t lent that hundred thousand yuan to Lu Chong, when he discovered that card was overdue, he and his brother would have only needed to scrape together fifty thousand yuan.

If it was only fifty thousand, he might not have been in such a hurry to find Shang Qiyue. He might have been able to wait until He Fan called the next day to lend him the money.

It was all because of Lu Chong.

He hated Lu Chong to death.

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