Apex Predator - Chap 20

Qu Chengchen broke out into a laugh: “You really are quite interesting.”

“Don’t bother yourself with someone as lowly as me already, President Qu. Go look for your rival, the one in the same weight class as you.”

“Trying to get a rise out of me?”, said Qu Chengchen, appearing intrigued. “You act so docile in front of my big brother, but it turns out you do have claws.”

“He’s my boss.”

“Stop pretending, do you really think nobody can see that you like him?”

Shen Dai shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat and looked at Qu Chengchen coldly, “Oh, and how did you find that one out? Did I mention it during my presentation?”

“Did you really think you could just hide it?” Crossing his arms, Qu Chengchen continued with a wicked smile on his face, “That incident in the laboratory three years ago when an Omega suddenly went into heat – that was you wasn’t it?”

“…”

“He may have suppressed the matter, but I still managed to look it up. And you went into heat in front of him again three years later. Isn’t it all too coincidental?” Raising an eyebrow, he added, “So, did you get what you wanted this time?”

Shen Dai’s hands were clenched into fists in his pockets. If he didn’t take into account consequences or his odds of winning, he would really have liked to hit Qu Chengchen.

“You’re implying that I did it deliberately?”

“I’d wager someone capable enough to enter the Research Institute would be intelligent enough not to do stupid things with no regard for consequences, but these two back-to-back coincidences …”, Qu Chengchen sneered, “‘Is it ‘fate’?”

Shen Dai silently cursed Qu Chengchen’s shamelessness. If not for him deliberately making things difficult during his presentation, how else would he have had such an adverse reaction? He lowered his voice, “Does President Qu have any other questions? How about some questions relevant to my field of expertise? I’m still up for answering.”

Qu Chengchen smiled, “Back then he gave you a temporary mark in order to pacify you. But what you truly want is an actual permanent mark, right?”

Shen Dai narrowed his eyes, trying his best to hold back his anger.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, which Omega doesn’t want an S-class Alpha’s mark? What a pity though. He’ll never give it to you.”

Shen Dai tried to smile, but couldn’t do it.

There was no disputing it. Every Omega wanted the mark of their beloved, but not always for practical reasons such as inheritance and assets. Because there were still many Omegas who really wanted a mark, if only for the love and promise of commitment that came with it.

Only no top-tier Alpha was going to buy that. In their worldview, a mark had nothing to do with feelings. It was nothing but an official stamp on one’s reproductive monopoly and the division of assets. And that one Omega that could make them voluntarily enter into a contract, would without a doubt have brought an irresistible offer to the table.

“I can help you.”

There was something in the way that Qu Chengchen was looking at him.

“I can help you get Qu Moyu’s mark.”

Having some pride in his manners, Shen Dai resisted cursing at him. He sneered, “I’ve already told you, go find that rival of yours in the same weight class as you. No need to lower yourself just to mock me.”

“The both of us haven’t reached the point of a head-to-head confrontation yet. But all warfare is based on deception, right? Who asked him to be born eight months earlier than me?” Qu Chengchen curled his lip, musing, “A mere eight months, and his arrival was the glory of my ancestors, but when it came to me, it was the beginning of the cycle of misfortune”

“The affairs of your family really have nothing to do with me. But aren’t you afraid that I’ll go running back to Qu Moyu with everything that you’ve said?”

“Well, are you going to?” asked Qu Chengchen, with the same cold smile as before. “Just ask yourself. Weren’t you just a little tempted by what I said? Granted, you don’t have the nerve, but then you wouldn’t have the nerve to repeat what I’ve just said to Qu Moyu, either. And even if you did, what would a naturally distrustful person like him think of someone like you?”

Shen Dai glared at him. Not wanting to stay a moment longer he turned and left.

While seemingly dishonest, Qu Chengchen’s strategy was completely expedient. Whether he was using You Baiyue or Shen Dai, it was all for the purpose of beating Qu Moyu. As he said, owing to blood ties and limitations within the family and the public, a head-to-head confrontation was impossible. They could only pull dirty tricks – with Shen Dai being struck in the middle.

Although Qu Moyu said to tell him about any moves taken by Qu Chengchen, Shen Dai had indeed no way of talking about this. Marking was too much of a sensitive topic; he did not dare at all bring it up to Qu Moyu. One mention of the word, and it would appear as if he were lusting over something that didn’t belong to him. After all, he had already been admonished once by Qu Moyu.

At any rate, he knew clearly that Qu Chengchen would not leave the matter just like that. He needed to proceed with caution, to protect himself in the eye of this storm.

That Friday afternoon, Shen Dai received a phone call. It was Qu Moyu’s assistant, Cheng Ruoze, calling regarding the matter of settling his grandmother’s medical treatment. During the call, Shen Dai made a particular request, asking him to pretend to be just a friend that was helping, to prevent his grandmother from finding out too many details.

On Saturday morning, Cheng Ruoze brought the driver over to escort them to the hospital.

Knowing about the change in hospital and doctor, his grandmother appeared to be somewhat apprehensive. Shen Dai tried to comfort her, but she kept worrying throughout the journey. She had been preoccupied since the night before, no matter what Shen Dai told her.

While Cheng Ruoze went off to handle the paperwork, Shen Dai sat waiting with his grandmother in the rest area. Seeing her spirits were still low, he looked for a clip of a baby panda to show her, hoping to cheer her up.

His grandmother forced a smile.

“Grandmother, don’t be scared ok? We’ve got a better hospital and better doctor now. Your surgery is pretty much guaranteed to be a success. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“I’m not scared. I’m just looking forward to it being over and done with.” said his grandmother, stroking his hand. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Then why do you seem so tense?” Shen Dai teased, “Aren’t you a little old to be afraid of seeing the doctor?”

She sighed and looked at Shen Dai. She was about to speak but faltered, her eyes bordering on tears.

“What on earth is going on?” asked Shen Dai, feeling her apprehension as well

“Your father called me yesterday.” It was as if she couldn’t keep it to herself any longer and had to relieve herself of that burden.

His expression immediately darkened. He wanted to sneer, “So he’s not dead yet?”, but didn’t have the heart. “He’s been missing for a few years already.”

“True, but I always had a feeling that he would come back sooner or later.”

Shen Dai clenched his teeth together and scoffed, “Whatever for? He couldn’t cut it on his own? Is there anything left in the house for him to steal?”

His grandmother’s eyes reddened: “He didn’t say where he was or what he was planning to do. Only that…that he missed his mother.”

Seven years ago, he was preparing his final dissertation while interning at the Research Institute and gunning for a place in the Talent Programme. A shot at a lucrative position at the Institute of Rare Earths at the Xingzhou corporation was something coveted by all Rare Earth researchers.

He was twenty years old then, with excellent grades and a promising future, loving grandparents in a warm and beautiful home, filled with bright expectations for the future.

But all of this was ruined in one fell swoop by his own father.

That selfish son of a bitch had cheated his family of all their possessions, using it as collateral for his boyfriend. Not only did they lose everything overnight but also had to take on a huge debt. Heartbroken, his maternal grandfather shortly became ill and passed away less than half a year later. His grandmother, who had always led an affluent lifestyle was then forced to move to a rented flat. From that point on, all expenses were paid for by him: Rent, day-to-day expenses, medical bills. The pressure was so immense he could scarcely breathe.

If not for his Professor’s help back then, he wasn’t sure how he would have pulled through.

During the worst years, he hadn’t wanted to think of the past. Alongside him were fellow students and colleagues from impoverished areas who were striving for a better life just like he was. He never thought that his situation was pitiful, that work was too tiring, that stress was too much, that he was too poor – all this he could bear. It wasn’t difficult to accept that he was never going to find love and build a home either. No, his deepest pain came from his father’s betrayal, as well as seeing the suffering of the person he loved the most and being powerless to change it.

Later on when his salary increased and he was still able to get money from project grants, life got better. And then Qu Moyu dramatically fell from the sky, pulling him out from the bottom of the swamp.

He thought that things had changed for the better. So why was it that the cause of their misery had once again appeared?

His grandmother held on to his hand and said in a small voice, “A-Dai, don’t be mad. I know you don’t want to see him. I’m not going to let him come back. To me, he…he might as well be dead.”

Shen Dai took a hold of his grandmother’s hand. Thin and bony fingers. Dry and wizened skin. These were not just a pair of aged hands but also the hands which had comforted him to sleep on innumerable nights; Hands which had cooked piping hot meals for him; Hands that gave but expected nothing in return. He could sense quite clearly the wound in her heart that really never went away being torn even wider.

He felt himself choke up, his heart could not stop aching. He very much wanted to say something comforting, but couldn’t find the words.

Shen Dai always knew that his Omega father would return someday. That man, always so pampered and spoiled since he was a kid, was so wilful and self-centred. Always following his whims no matter what, without a care at all how it would affect other people.

His mind was made up. They had to move as soon as possible. He would switch his grandmother’s mobile number. Best if that bastard wouldn’t be able to find them for the rest of their lives. To have nothing to do with each other would be the best outcome for both father and son.

By the time they got home, both of them were exhausted. His grandmother went to bed early after finishing dinner. Shen Dai, however, lay on his bed tossing and turning. The most recent events were making him anxious and fidgety, yet there was no indication at all that these problems were going to start getting fixed. Whether it was the illness or his own feelings, they were far out of his control, there was nothing he could do but take a step, observe and think, before deciding on the next step.

Shen Dai stared at his mobile phone. Once again he could not stop himself from checking the conversation between him and Qu Moyu.

He gazed at that icon of the ash-grey tree bark.

I miss him. I wonder what he’s up to.

If he were at the Qu residence right now, would they be making love……?

All of a sudden he wanted so much to have a reply from him, even a word, anything but this cold and impersonal verification message. Clicking into the text bar, he hesitated for a while, writing, rewriting, he mulled over it for the longest time, unable to think of what could be appropriate.

What could he write that would sound natural and uncalculated, but could also have the highest chance of response from Qu Moyu?

Ah, right. Tell him thanks. Stop being silly. Nothing rude at all about expressing his gratitude. That was what he should be doing in the first place.

He sent off a short paragraph: My grandmother’s treatment plan has been settled. The operation date is set for the third week of next month. Director Bai is very confident about it. Thank you very much for your help.

Once the message had been sent, he clutched the phone close to his chest and waited. He kept stopping whatever he was doing to open WeChat every few minutes to check. A heart full of expectation, but coming up empty every time.

Exactly an hour and seventeen minutes later, for the first time ever, Qu Moyu’s icon lit up with that little red number.

Two simple words: You’re welcome.

He stared at that conversation for a very long time. After some hesitation, he replied with one word, “Goodnight.”

That ‘Goodnight’ was like a message in a bottle sinking into the depths of the vast ocean; There was no reply the rest of the evening.

1. “Trying to get a rise out of me?” | Phrase here was “激我？”, which might be short for 不要刺激我. Wild guess.