Apex Predator - Chap 29

The look on Shen Qin’s face was both bitter and pitiful, as if he had been subjected to the utmost injustice. “I knew you didn’t want to see me, so I…waited at your workplace and followed you home.”

Shen Dai was so angry he was trembling. “Was I not clear enough over the phone? What on earth are you trying to do?”

“A-Dai. Your father only wants to see his own mother. I’m not trying to do anything,” said Shen Qin, shaking his head, his eyes red with tears. “How is your grandmother? Do you know how long her surgery will last?”

“You only realised just now that you have a mother? Back then when you did all those things, did you ever stop to consider how your parents were going to support themselves in their old age?” Shen Dai had always assumed that after all those years, faced with this person, he would be able to remain cold and resolute, yet his emotions were still in an endless state of turmoil.

This person should have been the one closest and dearest to him, but in this lifetime, they had become the one he most resented and was least willing to see. Only having experienced it could one truly understand this kind of lacerating pain.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t do it on purpose. He told me we would be able to earn more money that way.” Shen Qin said tearfully, “A-Dai, I already explained myself many times before. I know you can’t forgive me. I just wanted to see your grandmother. I worry about her. I also worry about you. You are so busy with work now, you definitely won’t have time to take care of your grandmother. I thought I could…”

“There’s no need. Grandmother’s operation will be just fine. I’ll take care of her and find her a caregiver. We don’t need you in our lives anymore. You left us without a word and now you shouldn’t come back.”

“I couldn’t face you all back then, I wanted to scrape together some money before coming back,” said Shen Qin, his voice choking up. “A-dai, it’s been so many years, can you give your father a chance? Your grandmother is old and sick, she needs someone to take care of her. How could a caregiver ever be as attentive as a family member?”

“Are you even worthy of being referred to as a family member? You…”

“Your grandmother misses me,” Shen Qin said tearfully. The last time I called her, though she still holds a grudge against me, I could tell that she missed me.”

Shen Dai’s lips were trembling. He was at a loss for words. Of course. How could he not have known? In fact, by the time his grandmother had mentioned it the other day, her heart was already wavering. For all her grievances, this person was still her only son. In this period more than ever, when she was fearful that her life might be coming to an end, how could she not want to see her child again?

Had it not been for his obvious resistance and hatred, this person would have no doubt appeared much sooner.

Once again Shen Qin pleaded, his tone sorrowful, “A-Dai, could you please give your father the chance to redeem himself? Especially during this time when your grandmother will definitely need me.”

Shen Dai had no energy left to pull him away from the door of the operating room. “Just go back for now,” he said. “Wait for grandmother to come out of the hospital. If she agrees to see you, then we’ll talk.”

“No matter what, I have to see her at least once today. I’ll just wait nearby until she comes out. All I need is one glance, then I’ll go, alright?” Shen Qin added in a soft voice, “I promise I won’t disturb her. She’ll be under the effects of anaesthesia and won’t even notice that I’m there.”

Shen Dai only felt exhausted and powerless. He realised he wasn’t going to be able to shake this off. The bonds of blood were unbreakable, lasting a lifetime, and would not be dismissed with just a few words. Besides, whatever Shen Qin’s motives were for returning, he had never been someone easy to brush off. At present Shen Dai’s sole concern was his grandmother’s health, and he was in no mind to deal with him.

Upon seeing Shen Dai’s reluctant acquiescence, Shen Qin positioned himself on the other end of the corridor, maintaining a distance from his son that was neither too close nor too far. A few hesitations later, he cautiously inquired, “Is your work still going smoothly?”

Shen Dai looked downwards, ignoring him.

A long period of silence ensued. Shen Qin gave up as well.

Shortly after, Cheng Ruoze finally returned with the takeaway lunches, holding two cups of milk tea in his hands.

“Engineer Shen. Sorry, I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink, so I got both milk tea and some water. A bit of sugar will make you feel—” Cheng Ruoze caught a glimpse of Shen Qin from the corner of his eye and was stunned for a moment.

While Shen Dai’s figure and facial features resembled Shen Qin by about seventy per cent, he lacked Shen Dai’s ruggedness, possessing more of an omega’s softness and fragility. Slender, with skin that was fair, he wore a simple beige cotton-linen outfit, which gave the otherwise plain white walls of the hospital a grainy film-like texture in contrast. Although his age was evident, he was still a rare beauty to look at.

With just a glance, Cheng Ruoze was able to determine the relationship between father and son: “Ah, this must be…”

“Assistant Cheng, I’ll have the milk tea,” said Shen Dai, cutting him off.

“Oh! Right.” Cheng Ruoze placed the bag on the chair and gave Shen Dai an inquiring look. He could sense that the atmosphere between the two of them was a little tense.

Shen Dai said softly, “Don’t ask anymore. Let’s eat.”

“Okay.” Although Cheng Ruoze did not have a full understanding of Shen Dai’s background, he had picked up a few scraps of information from Qu Moyu and Lawyer Chen. Children born out of wedlock would often have some troubles within their family. As an outsider, he naturally had to keep his mouth shut.

Shen Qin, feeling awkward as well, moved to stand a little further away from them.

After almost five hours, the surgery finally concluded without any complications. Catching a glimpse of the nurse’s face as his grandmother was being pushed out, Shen Dai knew at once that the surgery had been a success. He was overwhelmed by emotion, feeling a stinging sensation in his nose as tears welled up in his eyes.

Cheng Ruoze was so overjoyed he started to applaud, congratulating Shen Dai on one hand while thanking the doctor on the other, behaving like just another member of the family.

Shen Qin had come over as well. Upon seeing his mother, he promptly burst into tears. Grandmother was still drowsy from the effects of the anaesthesia and murmuring incoherently. She looked at him, her gaze unfocused— though whether or not she had actually seen him was uncertain.

She was taken to the observation ward while everyone else was made to wait outside.

Regaining his composure, Shen Dai then expressed his gratitude to the doctor and nurses, carefully noting down all of the doctor’s instructions.

Shen Qin peered through the window of the hospital ward for a while, then wiped away his tears and left.

Slumped against the back of the chair, Shen Dai was completely drained. The day had felt interminably long — so long that every moment of every second seemed have worn away at his heart. He looked at Cheng Ruoze and said gratefully, “Assistant Cheng, thank you so much. You’ve already spent the entire day with me at the hospital. Please go back now and get some rest.”

“I’m fine. How about you? You should go back and get some rest too, you’re not allowed into the ICU anyway.”

“Yeah. The doctor said that they would observe her for the next three days. If there are no issues she’ll be transferred to the general ward. But I want to stay here for a little longer,” said Shen Dai, wiping his face. “You should head back first.”

“You really don’t need me to accompany you?“

“It’s fine. I’ll leave in a bit anyway. I’ve already taken so much of your time.”

Once again leaving him with a few comforting words, Cheng Ruoze then departed.

Shen Dai sat down and rested for a while, then got up and approached the door. Peering through that tiny window, he gazed at his grandmother lying in bed — there lay his only source of belonging, the only home he had.

His mobile phone vibrated twice. Picking it up to have a look, he found to his surprise that it was a message from Qu Moyu: “Xiao Cheng said that the operation went very well. Congratulations!”

Shen Dai felt his eyes become hot with tears. He wanted to reply, but whenever his fingers were jittery he would always end up mistyping. He decided that he might as well send a voice message instead: “Yes, it went really well. She just needs a few more days of observation before she can be shifted to the general ward. Moyu, Thank you.”

Time and time again Qu Moyu had helped him and rescued him. This was exactly why, despite noticing the many sides of his character that were arrogant and callous, he had fallen for him beyond any hope of a cure.

Very quickly, Qu Moyu also replied with a voice message: “Are you still at the hospital?”

“I’m still there. I can’t enter the ward, but I want to stay with her a bit longer.”

“I’m close by, I’ll come over to have a look -.”

He nervously stopped the voice message before it had even finished. As his thumb hovered above the white voice message bar, all he could hear was the sound of his heart pounding wildly. He clicked on the bar, and the deep and soothing voice of Qu Moyu came through once again.

He said that he wanted to come and have a look.

It may have been only because he was nearby, or simply that he was on the way, or even something he was doing on a whim, but to come and visit a sick family member – that was a sign of his concern, wasn’t it?

He kept listening to the clip over and over, until he had grasped the temperament and pitch of every word, causing it to loop endlessly in his mind, only then did he dare believe that he hadn’t heard incorrectly; it wasn’t just a dream he was having after a long and exhausting day.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Qu Moyu arrived.

Shen Dai looked dazedly at Qu Moyu for two seconds, then took a few steps up towards him and threw himself into his arms.

For the first time in his life, not in a state of heat but in a state of complete consciousness, he experienced a powerful longing to rely on someone else.

The flicker of astonishment in Qu Moyu’s eyes was quickly replaced by tenderness. Holding Shen Dai’s waist with one hand, and stroking his soft hair with the other, he asked, “Were you afraid? Everything’s alright now.“

“Yeah, everything’s alright now. The doctor said the surgery was a lot more successful than expected,” said Shen Dai, choking up as he spoke. “Grandmother will get better really soon.”

“That’s wonderful.” Seeing Shen Dai’s reddened eyes, Qu Moyu could not resist bending down and planting a kiss on his warm and delicate eyelids. “So don’t cry anymore, alright?”

“I’m not crying,” said Shen Dai, holding back his tears. Looking at Qu Moyu earnestly, he said, “Thank you, for helping me arrange such a good doctor and hospital.”

“Of course,” said Qu Moyu, playfully tilting Shen Dai’s chin upwards with a finger, as if teasing a puppy. “You are my person now. Whatever problems you have, I will take care of them for you.”

The pupils of Shen Dai’s eyes glimmered brightly, as if the light from Qu Moyu’s eyes were reflecting into his own, filling his eyes and his heart with nothing but him. Yet at the same time, the intense despair of longing for something unattainable came pouring into his heart once more.

Only then did Shen Dai realise why so many Omegas were falling over each other to win the attention of top Alphas. He had thought that his attraction to Qu Moyu was solely due to their encounter at the laboratory, that he was different from other Omegas who were willing to be dependent on someone else. But the truth was that he had no way at all of disobeying his instincts.

Even if he and Qu Moyu were to have no previous acquaintance before, just being this close was enough to stir up his feelings. He longed to have a strong Alpha who belonged only to him.
Perhaps it was because of today, but his heart that had been hanging in the balance kept replaying scenarios of dying and separation, forcing him to come to a sudden, profound realisation about the fragility of life. Seeing the person in front of him now caused a deeper impulse to well up from inside him; he didn’t want to have to avoid, repress, or hold himself back any longer. To pretend that he didn’t care, or pretend that he was prepared to accept that their relationship was destined to come up to nothing.

Knowing that something could not be done, should one still try?

If dedicating one’s lifetime to pursuing a scientific investigation could still end in failure, should one give up their efforts?

If he did nothing, then the only outcome would be that there would be no outcome.

But if he did something, then perhaps there would be other possibilities

He wanted Qu Moyu to be his Alpha. But to achieve this goal, he needed to take action.