The Beta Wife Claimed by Competing Alphas - Chapter 50

The door of the Cayenne opened.

Seeing that familiar, thin figure, Lu Chong practically lunged forward, pressing him into his embrace as if he wanted to crush him.

Lu Chong’s grip was incredibly strong, as if he were using every ounce of strength in his body, holding him tightly for fear that he might suddenly vanish. His chin rested on Mu Yan’s shoulder, his breathing rapid, and his tone almost choked with emotion: “Did he force you? Have you suffered a lot?”

Mu Yan was covered in a mix of various pheromones, the strongest of which was an Alpha scent of oud and sandalwood.

Without even thinking, Lu Chong knew exactly who that scent belonged to.

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter as long as Mu Yan came back with him. It was just pheromones; after holding Mu Yan for a night, the man would be covered in his scent again.

“It’s okay now, Yanyan. We’re going home.”

The night was deep, and the distant streetlights reflected the blurred silhouettes of the two men on the car window.

Shang Qiyue sat in the back seat and let out a scoff.

The driver turned back somewhat tentatively to look at him: “Sir, Mr. Mu… he should probably…”

“I know,” Shang Qiyue replied calmly.

Outside the car, Lu Chong, in his desperation at finally finding Mu Yan, was too late to notice that the person in his arms was excessively quiet.

By the time he finally realized something was wrong, several moments had passed.

Mu Yan stood there, giving no reaction from start to finish, aside from a slight stumble when he was first embraced.

Detecting the oddity, Lu Chong immediately let go of him.

“Yanyan,” Lu Chong’s voice was tight. “Are you still angry with me? I’m sorry, I…”

“He didn’t force me.” Mu Yan turned his head slightly away, his tone flat.

“What did you say?”

Lu Chong’s fingers curled slightly. He wanted to grasp Mu Yan’s hand, but Mu Yan wouldn’t even give him a direct look. He even took a step back, widening the distance between them.

“Is it because of the money then? How much do you owe him? I’ll give it to you right now, okay? You blocked my number, so I could only ask my sister to go to the hospital. Later, I asked Jiang Yizhuo to inquire with your brother. I’m sorry, I should have asked more questions back then.”

“Why is it your sister one moment and Senior Jiang the next?” Mu Yan found it ironic. “What about you? Are you that unwilling to meet my family?”

Lu Chong had never seen Mu Yan like this.

The Mu Yan before him was thinner than he remembered. His eyes were rimmed with red and his face was pale, yet his expression was as calm and still as a stagnant pool.

In the past, Mu Yan had never—never even raised his voice when speaking to him.

But he was the one in the wrong; he had spoken so harshly to Mu Yan so many times. It was good that Mu Yan was at least willing to scold him now.

It was good that he was willing to scold him.

Lu Chong stood there almost paralyzed, losing even the chance to defend himself.

In the past, no matter what he had done, he would have had a thousand excuses to argue with Mu Yan until he was forgiven. But now, even though he had been kept in confinement by his family, he couldn’t find a single word to say.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Shang Qiyue’s handsome but somewhat punchable smiling face.

The moment Lu Chong saw him, his expression darkened.

Shang Qiyue rested his chin on his hand, watching them unhurriedly with a hint of interest in his eyes: “Young Master Lu, didn’t you say that wrong? It’s not ‘give,’ it’s ‘return’.”

At the sight of Shang Qiyue, a surge of nameless fire began to flare up in Lu Chong’s heart.

The oud and sandalwood pheromones spilled out of the car window, colliding with Lu Chong’s own pheromones. Lu Chong stared at him coldly, wishing he could burn a hole through him with his gaze.

The SUV sat high; Shang Qiyue looked down at him with a condescending glance.

“Yanyan said he lent you one hundred thousand yuan before.”

Lu Chong’s face changed, and his lips turned slightly pale.

“Yes.” He reached into his pocket with some urgency, using trembling fingertips to pull out a black bank card and hand it to Mu Yan.

“He… he’s right. Take it; it’s the money I owe you. The password is your birthday. The company will start making a profit soon, and your share of the dividends will be deposited afterward.”

But Mu Yan did not immediately take it.

“Is it one hundred thousand?” Mu Yan lowered his eyelashes and asked softly. “I only want the one hundred thousand I lent you originally.”

“Yanyan,” Lu Chong’s hand paused. He was stunned, his fingertips tightening on the black card, his throat so tight he could barely speak. “No, it’s not… How could I only return one hundred thousand? You gave me one million back then—the one hundred thousand you saved, plus the shoes and clothes you sold… and that bracelet.”

As if remembering something, Lu Chong hurried back to the car and brought out a bracelet.

Mu Yan was very familiar with that bracelet; it was a glassy jadeite piece, clear and beautiful.

It was the one Lu Chong had given him when he confessed his feelings, which Mu Yan had later sold to support Lu Chong’s startup.

Mu Yan still remembered that when the jeweler took the bracelet off to sell it, for some reason, it had failed several times, as if the bracelet had developed a bond with him.

“You like this bracelet; I redeemed it,” Lu Chong said in a low voice.

He had only been out of confinement for a week. The jeweler had long since sold the bracelet, and he had spent a long time inquiring everywhere before finding the current owner.

Anyone who played with jadeite couldn’t be short on money. That lady believed strongly in the idea of jade nurturing its wearer and refused to sell it to Lu Chong.

In the end, he asked a designer friend to carve a new pendant based on the lady’s zodiac and birth details and bought another glassy jadeite bracelet of a similar price to finally trade for this one.

He had been smug when he got the bracelet back, thinking that when he found Mu Yan, he would definitely claim credit for it.

But now that Mu Yan was actually standing in front of him, he found himself at a loss for words.

Now, he only wanted to see him accept it; he only wanted to see him happy.

Mu Yan’s gaze fell on the bracelet, staring at it for a long time.

He didn’t like jade bracelets.

Whether in university or after starting work, he had to type code every day, and wearing a bracelet wasn’t convenient at all.

He had only valued and cherished that bracelet because of Lu Chong.

But now, he didn’t want to like Lu Chong anymore.

“The bracelet is too expensive, Lu Chong.” Mu Yan’s voice was light. “It can’t be smashed like the last one; I can’t afford to pay for it. Keep it and give it to the Young Master or Lady you’ll marry in the future.”

“I don’t know whether to feel wronged or grateful that a person like you was willing to spend three years playing with me. But I can’t afford to play anymore; you should go find someone else.”

Go find someone else.

Mu Yan spoke each word clearly, his tone calm and without anger, sounding no different from any time he had said “Go rest early” or “The studio still has summer quilts; come back here to sleep.”

Lu Chong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

“I’m not… Listen to my explanation, I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just…”

Lu Chong couldn’t go on.

What lie ever starts out wanting to become a lie?

He hadn’t intended to deceive Mu Yan, but no one had held a knife to his throat and forced him to tell Mu Yan that his family was bankrupt.

Because of that initial lie, he had spun countless more to cover it up. If he had thought even once while crafting those lies that he shouldn’t treat Mu Yan that way, things would not have reached this irrevocable state.

“I… it’s my fault.” Lu Chong apologized clumsily. “Yanyan, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m a bastard; I’m a piece of trash.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Mu Yan said softly. “I didn’t want you to apologize; we are already over.”

Lu Chong was someone who cared deeply about his pride. In the past, hearing an apology from his mouth was almost impossible. After every argument, if he showed even a trace of wanting to reconcile, Mu Yan would keenly pick up on it and invite him to eat, walk, or sleep together.

The apology he had sought in vain before was no longer needed.

Mu Yan wasn’t a cruel person; seeing a once-proud man groveling before him gave him a slight sense of satisfaction, but he didn’t need it.

He no longer wanted to like Lu Chong, so any guilt or inability to let go on Lu Chong’s part was a burden to him.

He would wait for his contract with Shang Qiyue to end and then return to his own life—buy his own house, slowly pay off the mortgage, spend more time with his mother, and if there was a suitable person, he would of course go on blind dates.

Therefore, he truly hoped Lu Chong would quickly find a matching Omega so they could go their separate ways.

“If you find it troublesome,” Mu Yan looked at him quietly, “I can take this card. Give me an account number, and I’ll transfer the excess money back.”

Lu Chong’s face turned white bit by bit, his fingertips tightened, and his heart felt as if an invisible hand were crushing it, making even breathing difficult.

He had expected Mu Yan to be angry, to ignore him, to scold him, to hit him, or to throw his things on the ground and tell him to get lost. He could have accepted all of those.

“I’m not… even if you’re angry and don’t want to see me right now,” Lu Chong said with difficulty, “please don’t give these back to me, okay? The bracelet was yours to begin with; if you don’t like it, you can sell it for money. As for the money in the card, just treat it as interest. Didn’t you always want to buy a house?”

“Lu Chong.” Mu Yan’s voice was very soft, but every word was deadly clear. “I don’t want your money.”

His tone was calm without any ripple, yet it was more cruel than any accusation or judgment.

Lu Chong’s fingertips trembled slightly, and his hand holding the card slowly dropped. His knuckles were white, as if he were using all his strength just to keep from completely breaking down.

“It’s not my money; it was yours to begin with. The money from selling the things I gave you—that was yours.”

“I don’t want your things either.”

It felt as if a knife had been driven into his heart, the pain making Lu Chong almost unable to stand.

His lips trembled as he tried to say something more, but Mu Yan had already looked away, not giving him another glance.

“I don’t want you anymore either.”

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