Apex Predator - Chap 28

From the conversation over dinner, Shen Dai was able to understand a little more about their backgrounds growing up. You Baiyue and Qu Chengchen were of the same age and had been classmates before high school, so they were naturally a little closer. But the emergence of their secondary gender traits during adolescence, coupled with their studies abroad had led to the three of them becoming less close after several years apart.

Moreover, the engagement between Qu Moyu and You Baiyue had been based on a clause in their business cooperation, and was not, in fact, the childhood arrangement that Shen Dai had imagined. Based on what they were saying, Shen Dai could guess what incentive the You family – which had been on the decline for many years – had used to attract Qu Moyu: Mining rights.

As early as fifteen years ago, the state had suspended the issuance of relevant qualifications to private enterprises. Previously-issued qualifications would still have to undergo review and evaluation every three years by multiple departments, such as land and resources, planning, and environmental protection, among others. Enterprises found to be unqualified would have their qualifications revoked. Thus, the value of possessing complete and valid qualifications today was immeasurable.

But in a significant strategic error, the You Corporation had failed to capitalise on a technological advancement in the field of mineral resources, resulting in a decline in global competitiveness and a substantial drop in its market share. Despite a massive fall in its stock price and heavy debts, the company still possessed considerable assets, such as vast mineral reserves, skilled talent, cutting-edge technology, equipment and qualifications, all of which had attracted the covetous eye of other companies in the industry.

In order to protect strategic resources, the You Corporation was obliged to exclude entirely foreign-owned enterprises in any merger or acquisition transaction. With only a limited number of companies capable of swallowing such a large meal, the competition was narrowed down to one state-owned enterprise and Xingzhou.

From the point of view of policy risk, the You Corporation was more inclined towards a merger with the state-owned enterprise, but from the point of view of their own interests, Xingzhou would be able to provide them with more capital. Moreover, the qualifications possessed by the You family for certain types of minerals, just happened to be the ones that Xingzhou lacked and were seeking to develop. And so to secure this crucial merger amidst pressure from higher-ups, and to strengthen the relationship between the two companies, it was necessary to rely on marriage to obtain more legitimacy and trust.

This information had long been analysed online by many industry insiders, but what they were unaware of was that Qu Moyu’s partner had already been switched from You Baiyue to Shen Dai. Furthermore, it was only from their conversations that Shen Dai was able to confirm the true purpose of the marriage.

Though this complicated process of merger was still underway, the day the hammer fell would clearly be the day that he and Qu Moyu would get divorced.

As they were discussing matters related to the merger, You Baiyue quite naturally switched off the charm he seemed to constantly exude. He showed great concern about the progress of the entire cooperation, speaking in an organised and logical manner with a wealth of relevant knowledge and expertise. Evidently, he was not someone who only understood fashion and pleasure.

Shen Dai kept to the side, silently listening, pondering over what You Baiyue had said to him when they were in the restroom. Perhaps this person was a lot more intelligent, rational, and capable than he had made him out to be. At the very least, he certainly understood a lot more than he did about Alphas.

He gave Qu Moyu an imperceptible glance. It occurred to him then, that this person who always shone brilliantly, and was desired by countless people, might not be someone without emotions after all, rather, it was possible that he had simply not yet crossed paths with the one who could move his heart.

After dinner, You Baiyue and Qu Chengchen left together hand in hand. The two of them seemed like a pair of passionate young lovebirds, like how Qu Chengchen would peel You Baiyue’s prawns for him while the latter would feed him. But it was precisely these flawless displays of affection that gave Shen Dai an indescribable feeling of discomfort. He had the sense that it was just a facade, though he could not discern if the two of them were putting on an act for outsiders or for each other. Neither did he know how Qu Moyu felt seeing the two of them behave affectionately, after all, that was someone who used to be his fiance, a person he had liked and had wanted to marry.

To put himself in his shoes, was it possible that Qu Moyu was feeling the same pain of unreciprocated affection as he was?

After replying to a few text messages, Qu Moyu looked up and said, “Let’s go home.” He appeared to be completely indifferent.

Shen Dai had nothing to say, either.

Before getting up to leave, he took one last look at the night view outside.

In fact, he would have been here this evening, sitting right by this window across from Qu Moyu, taking in the bright lights of the city, having dinner with the person he liked. No matter how distant he felt, he would have been happy for such a momentary dream.

On the car ride home, Qu Moyu spoke up without warning, “What did You Baiyue say to you in the restroom?”

“He said that I should dress up a bit more.” Shen Dai had spent most of the evening thinking of his reply to this inevitable question. There was no way he could say: He and Qu Chengchen both want to help me handle you and get me your mark.

Qu Moyu could not help but laugh, “Dress up a bit more? Whatever for? To entice me?”

“That’s more or less what he meant,” answered Shen Dai, in a low voice.

“You don’t need to rely on clothes,” said Qu Moyu, giving him a sideways glance. “Although, you should really learn a thing or two from him about how to please your Alpha.”

Though Shen Dai knew it was nothing but a casual flirtatious remark, the words “your Alpha” caused his heart to race.

“You can be a bit dull sometimes,” said Qu Moyu, toying with the platinum band on his finger. “When I come home after a busy day, I hope that you can make me feel relaxed and happy. If I don’t bring it up, please don’t talk to me about work.”

Shen Dai lowered his head and replied softly, “Alright.”

“That said, you’re a lot more interesting and intelligent than most omegas out there. I don’t mean that in the sense that your personality is interesting, it’s more that…” Here Qu Moyu stopped, as if it were hard to put into words exactly what it was that made Shen Dai interesting.

What was “interesting” about this person, only he had truly experienced, only he had truly enjoyed, only he had truly possessed.

From Qu Moyu’s perspective, these words were a compliment, but for Shen Dai, they were no doubt a subtle insult. After a whole day of ordeals, his heart was so numb the pain did not even register. Compared to what Qu Moyu had done in his office that afternoon, these two sentences were nothing.

He asked calmly, “Why don’t you go after him?” Pausing for a moment, he continued, “After all, he satisfies all of your requirements”

Qu Moyu gave Shen Dai a surprised glance. If the expression on Shen Dai’s face had not been so indifferent, he would have considered that this question contained a bit of a provocation. “Back then, everyone believed he was genuinely marked by Qu Chengchen. This is something neither I nor my family are able to accept,” he replied.

“But you now know that it was only a temporary mark. And they haven’t gotten married either.”

“What would be the point of that? I already got what I wanted.”

“The co-operation is just one side of things, didn’t you…” Shen Dai quietly tried to regain his composure. “Didn’t you like and want to marry him?”

Qu Moyu laughed. “Finding another suitable S-class omega to marry is not all that difficult.”

Seeing Qu Moyu’s purposeful and determined manner, he could only feel a chill run down his spine. In the eyes of people like him, it appeared that marriage was nothing more than a carefully calculated business.

He had finally understood what Qu Moyu’s liking for You Baiyue was: an acknowledgement of his societal and reproductive value, a form of flattery towards a business partner, and a persistent thorn in the side of Qu Chengchen. The one thing it was not, was ‘liking’ in its conventional sense – that bashful and wonderful emotion imbued with a sense of ritual that stirred the hearts of ordinary people.

How ridiculous that he was still worrying if Qu Moyu was suffering from unrequited love – that was something only mortal beings like him concerned themselves with, while on the other hand, Top alphas…”

The sound of You Baiyue words kept echoing in his ears, “Top alphas have no feelings.”

The day of his grandmother’s operation had finally arrived. Shen Dai was restless and anxious, but he still needed to appear optimistic. He tried to comfort his grandmother, showing her various videos of pandas to help her get into a more relaxed frame of mind. Cheng Ruoze was also there to help him handle various procedures. In this moment, he felt a renewed sense of gratitude towards Qu Moyu. It was during periods of illness that elderly family members needed the greatest amount of support. Had it not been for Cheng Ruoze’s assistance, he would no doubt have struggled a lot more on his own.

Seeing his grandmother go into the operating room, Shen Dai finally collapsed onto a bench. He took a deep breath and started praying to the various gods and deities, asking them to have mercy and to let the operation go smoothly.

Cheng Ruoze came and sat down next to him. “Engineer Shen, you don’t need to worry so much,” he consoled. “The doctors are very confident that the surgery will be successful. Your grandmother is sure to be safe and sound.”

“Thanks, Assistant Cheng, for helping us this whole time,“ replied Shen Dai sincerely.

“It’s my job. It’s just something I should do.”

Be that as it may, it was not very seemly for a graduate from a well-known university to be carrying out such menial tasks. Cheng Ruoze was nevertheless diligent and meticulous in his work, which made Shen Dai feel rather guilty. “Whatever it is, I’m still extremely thankful to you. Once my grandmother’s condition stabilises, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Cheng Ruoze smiled and said, ”Well, then I won’t be shy about accepting your offer.”

Looking at Shen Dai’s pale face and eyes filled with worry, he lamented to himself: Why did this person just have to be his boss’ contract wife?

Shen Dai glanced at his watch. “You still haven’t had lunch yet? It’s almost noon.”

You haven’t eaten either, right? I know you must be staying here to keep watch, so I’ll go buy two takeaway lunches and come back to eat with you.”

“Alright. Thank you. Once again I have to trouble you.”

Cheng Ruoze laughed: “Don’t mention it.”

After Cheng Ruoze left, Shen Dai closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He hadn’t slept well the night before. His nerves that had been stretched tight could now relax.

Just as he was about to doze off, a small yet clearly hesitant voice called out from not so far away: “A-Dai.”

This sound was for him like a sudden jolt of thunder. His eyes sprang open unexpectedly. From his still-hazy field of vision, he saw the vague outline of someone fair-skinned and willowy. He felt a tingling numbness in his scalp. Instinctively he stood up.

The image of the person standing before his eyes became clearer. And the clearer it became, the more repulsive it seemed. Although this person was handsome, the years had not left traces of ageing on his face; instead, it had acquired a gentle and graceful air that had settled in over time. His good looks and elegance gave people a favourable impression of him at first glance – but only if they could not see into his true nature.

Shen Dai felt as if his hands and feet had turned to ice. He clenched his fists slowly, and looked at this person who was at once familiar yet distant: His omega father, Shen Qin.

Coldly, he asked, “How did you find this place?”

1. From the point of view of policy risk | Policy risk (政策风险) refers to the possibility of financial loss arising from changes in government policies or regulations that affect the profitability of an investment or business.

2. …relevant [mining and prospecting] qualifications (…相关资质): the qualifications required by individuals or entities for prospecting (探矿) and mining(采矿) activities in China. These qualifications are regulated by the Chinese government and are typically obtained through a licensing process