Apex Predator - Chap 26

Shen Dai buttoned up his shirt and put on his tie, then changed specially into a brand-new lab coat. He tugged at the ends of his hair. They had grown out slightly, as he hadn’t found the time to get a haircut. Dabbing it with water, he tried to push his fringe back as far as he could. The person in the mirror looked poised and sharp, and he was quite satisfied with his appearance.

They kept on waiting until it was almost time to leave work, only then did Qu Moyu arrive at the laboratory, accompanied by several executives.

“Good afternoon to President Qu and all our esteemed leaders,” said Shen Dai courteously, I’m pleased to welcome you all today for the inspection.”

One of the senior executives gestured towards Shen and said with a smile, “You must be Engineer Shen? The one who gave the presentation the other day, right? It really left an impression on me, you were very well spoken.”

“Thank you very much.”

“What impressed me the most is that you’re an Omega. I never thought there were Omegas doing this kind of research, it’s truly commendable.

I still recall that our young President Qu here went out of his way to defend you.” Another older board member chimed in, “President Qu, it’s no wonder you would treasure such a promising young researcher.”

Shen Dai returned a reserved smile, at the same time stealing a glance at Qu Moyu.

With a slight smile on his face, Qu Moyu nodded in agreement, but as he looked at Shen Dai, it would seem that he was looking at a stranger.

Chen Zimei spoke up, “Senior leaders, May I please invite you to the conference room to look over the most recent project data and materials.”

The group took their seats in the conference room. Shen Dai put up the slides that had been prepared in advance, elaborating on each one as he went along.

Qu Moyu had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning back against his chair. Though he appeared to be looking at the projection wall, what he was actually focusing on was Shen Dai.

The pure white lab coat draped over Shen Dai’s body made his face appear even more fair and handsome. Its loose and shapeless form, however, added the mysterious effect of being wrapped, giving one the desire to eliminate all space between skin and fabric, to measure with one’s hands the slenderness of his back and the narrowness of his waist.

He could not help but imagine what Shen Dai would look like if he were wearing nothing except that lab coat. His hand would then be able to slip under that superfluous piece of clothing and directly touch that warm and soft skin. That would certainly be very arousing.

Just then, two of the interns entered the room to serve tea and water.

Zhou Lan approached Qu Moyu’s side first, taking care not to interrupt his boss’ train of thought. He bowed down and silently placed a freshly brewed tea in front of him, seemingly trying to minimise his own presence.

In that instant, Qu Moyu snapped out of his daydream.

His keen sense of smell had caught a familiar whiff of alpha pheromones; that was the scent which had previously been on Shen Dai’s body.

He turned around to see a tall and handsome young Alpha. Based on his physique, hairstyle, and pheromones, he was able to confirm that this was the same individual who had gotten close to Shen Dai while viewing the exhibit together and left pheromones on his body .

This sudden turn from Qu Moyu gave Zhou Lan a fright. As their eyes met, Zhou Lan sensed from this top alpha’s gaze an iciness – even a vague feeling of hostility – that made his heart tremble.

Zhou Lan apologised at once in a low voice, although he himself had no idea what he had done wrong.

Qu Moyu turned back without saying a word. He had suddenly decided to come for an inspection to verify if the supposed “colleague” that Shen Dai claimed he went to the exhibition with was really a colleague. But now, he wasn’t sure if he should be elated that Shen Dai had not lied to him, or annoyed that Shen Dai had spent such a long time in another alpha’s company, to the extent that he had been contaminated with the latter’s pheromones.

Zhou Lan continued serving tea to the senior executives one by one. When he had walked around the table and was standing in front of Shen Dai, he unexpectedly pulled out a black thermos flask from the large pocket of his lab coat. That was Shen Dai’s black thermos flask. Placing it down, he flashed Shen Dai a smile. Shen Dai nodded back at him.

Qu Moyu narrowed his eyes. Now he knew for sure that this Alpha had ulterior motives towards Shen Dai, and had even deliberately released pheromones towards him. How could someone as smart as Shen Dai not have noticed? And if he did, why did he not try to conceal it? To make matters worse, he still dared to bring the scent of another Alpha back to his home?!

Face sullen, he picked up his mobile phone, instructing his assistant to send him the data of all personnel at the Research Institute.

After concluding the presentation of the project’s supplementary materials, Shen Dai followed his usual routine and asked if anyone had any questions. Next would come the tour of the laboratory. This whole process had been repeated many times over of late.

Qu Moyu tapped the table with his fingers. Everyone in the room looked towards him, not daring to meet his gaze. With an indifferent expression, he said, “Engineer Shen, when were these supplementary materials recorded?”

“About half a year ago.”

“Half a year ago, meaning to say that when you present this to clients and management, much of the content is out of date.”

Shen Dai was stunned for a moment: “This is just a brief introduction, we explain things in greater detail during the visit to the laboratory…”

“Do you still recall your presentation?” said Qu Moyu, cutting him off sharply, his expression stern and cold. “Qu Chengchen had you backed into a corner with just a few questions, and you nearly embarrassed yourself in front of everyone.” That presentation may have been a mere formality, but there were many shareholders and investors present. It may not have impacted the budget this year, but what about next year, or the year after that? Will Qu Chengchen’s doubts become their own? Have you asked yourself all these questions? As it happens, some of the content in these materials are the exact ones Qu Chengchen pointed out as being problematic. So, why have you not amended them? “

All eyes in the room fell on Shen Dai. He felt as if he were being put on the spot, by the same person who, a few days earlier, had hugged him to sleep after they wished each other goodnight.

The atmosphere in the conference room had become a little tense.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Qu Moyu was nitpicking. These were supplementary materials meant to give a brief overview to non-experts and not worth the expense of being constantly updated.

Shen Dai gripped the laser pointer in his hand. The person seated across the long oval table had a quiet overwhelming presence. His dark three-piece suit was his armour, his emotionless gaze and words his sword. He was a figure of authority, armed to the teeth, seeming to be so unfamiliar.

How could someone be so tender and warm at one moment, yet so cold and distant the next?

Shen Dai guessed that Qu Moyu was doing this to disavow himself from their relationship, resorting to harsh and merciless treatment to bury the scandal brought about by the surveillance footage. After all, which top alpha would want to be involved in a scandal with a run-of-the-mill omega? It would be far too demeaning.

This was the only way he could explain why Qu Moyu had showed up today. It was laughable that he had been eagerly looking forward to it, hoping to show off a little to the person he loved.

How humiliating.

His self confidence withered away in an instant. Fighting back his disappointment, he forced an apologetic smile. “President Qu, you are absolutely right. Rest assured we will rectify it immediately.”

When it came time for the tour of the laboratory, Shen Dai excused himself, citing an overseas call with the Professor, and left Cheng Zimei to give out the explanations on his behalf. He then withdrew alone to his office to sort out his thoughts.

About half an hour later there was a knock on his door. Waking up from his daze, he answered, “Come in”

As soon as he saw Qu Moyu enter, he promptly got up from his seat.

Qu Moyu closed the door behind him. He took a quick look around Shen Dai’s office. The room was piled high with books, materials, and specimens, as well as rows of certificates and trophies.

Shen Dai quietly stood to one side, waiting for him to say something.

Qu Moyu walked up to him. Reaching out to lift Shen Dai’s chin he laughed carelessly: “What’s wrong, are you upset now?”

“No,” replied Shen Dai, instinctively taking a step backwards.

Qu Moyu took a step forward along with him. All of a sudden, he grabbed Shen Dai’s shoulder and pushed him up against the wall. A forceful kiss came down on Shen Dai, trapping his gasp of astonishment within his throat, rudely grinding against his lips, teasing his tongue, seizing his breath.

Shen Dai could sense Qu Moyu’s rage, yet could not guess where it was coming from.

He was being kissed to the point of breathlessness, but he was unable to forget that they were in an office, and kept trying to push Qu Moyu‘s chest away.

Qu Moyu caught Shen Dai’s wrists in his large hands and pressed them against himself. He thrust his knee in between Shen Dai’s legs, effectively immobilising him. An effusion of ebony wood pheromones gradually enveloped Shen Dai, rendering him incapable of any resistance. All it would take was for this top Alpha to want it, and he could be put into heat right then and there, on his knees begging to be fucked. Such were the pitiful genes of an Omega.

The respirable air had become increasingly thin. Shen Dai’s brain was starved of oxygen, he had no choice but to rely on Qu Moyu’s breath to sustain his vital functions. He collapsed weakly in Qu Moyu’s arms, waiting for this Apex predator to stop his plundering.

Qu Moyu carried him to one end of the sofa and sat down. Caressing Shen Dai’s swollen lips with tenderness, he asked frivolously, “Have you ever fantasised about being f- in the office, ‘Engineer Shen’?”

“Stop… “ said Shen Dai, with tears in his eyes, his voice trembling. “I’m begging you.”

This was his office. This was his laboratory, This was the place where he worked and he studied, a place that had seen and carried him throughout his career, accomplishments and dreams. Here he was a capable and educated researcher deserving of people’s respect, and not a sexual plaything.

And it was at this point where he finally realised that he had been too naive all along. No matter the time and place, there had always been a distance like an unbridgeable chasm separating the both of them.

In fact the “value” that he thought was worth showing off was worth nothing in Qu Moyu’s eyes. This person was as unpredictable as the very weather, his occasional acts of kindness nothing more than a means of flirting. Yet in spite of everything, he kept letting his imagination run away with him. From the very beginning his status and position had remained unchanged – that of a convenient companion in bed.

At that moment, the sound of knocking rang out again from the door, causing Shen Dai such a fright that he trembled all over and just wanted to jump off from Qu Moyu. But Qu Moyu gripped his waist firmly and responded, “Come in.”

Qu Moyu had such a clever grasp of timing. He let go of his hand just as Zhou Lan was pushing the door to enter, sending Shen Dai stumbling awkwardly to his feet, even staggering for two steps from his landing.

As luck would have it, Zhou Lan caught sight of this entire scene with his own two eyes. But even if he hadn’t, didn’t Shen Dai’s loosened collar, his dishevelled hair, the glistening corners of his eyes and his swollen lips say it all? Not to mention that fact that Shen Dai was now covered from head to toe with Qu Moyu’s Alpha pheromones.

The tea that Zhou Lan was carrying almost fell to the floor. He stood frozen at the door, his mind a complete blank.

“Leave it here,” Qu Moyu said, gesturing with his chin towards the coffee table in front of him. He then instructed, “And close the door.”

Zhou Lan came back to his senses. He shut the door mechanically and placed the tray on the coffee table. His heart was swept up in a tide of emotions, a flood of conflicting feelings. He didn’t dare look at Shen Dai, and Shen Dai in turn did not dare look back at him.

Qu Moyu smiled at Zhou Lan. “Are you a new intern? What’s your name?”

“Yes I am, President Qu. My name is Zhou Lan.”

“Are you almost done with your internship?”

“Very soon.”

“Will you be able to continue working here?”

“…Most likely.”

Zhou Lan could somewhat guess the reason for Qu Moyu’s vague and indistinct hostility. His chest was so constricted it was quickly becoming hard to breathe. And Qu Moyu had not even needed to use pheromone suppression – their difference in status alone was a kind of suppression.

“Those able to secure internship positions at the Research Institute are already very exceptional. Barring any serious mistake, they should all be able to continue after the internship.”

Qu Moyu emphasised the word “mistake” heavily in his intonation. Taking a sip of tea, he said with a smile, “I’m sure that with Engineer Shen’s guidance, you too, will bring a lot of value to the company.”

“I’ll work hard.”

“Alright. I won’t be adding what you just saw to your confidentiality agreement. But I trust that you understand what’s going on, am I right?”

“Yes.” Zhou Lan lowered his head, not daring even to breathe.

“Good. Thank you for the tea. You may go.”

Zhou Lan hurried out, his head bowed down. As he passed Shen Dai, he gave him a complicated sidelong glance.

Shen Dai stood to the side, feeling as if someone had stripped him of all his clothes in public. Anger, humiliation, sadness – he couldn’t begin to imagine how all of these could have been given to him by the person he liked, nor how the person whom he regarded as being near perfect could turn out to be such a bastard.

His self-restraint, his cautiousness, his not overstepping his boundaries, had been all for preserving what little dignity he had in this highly imbalanced relationship. But it could all just as easily and thoughtlessly be crushed by Qu Moyu.