Apex Predator - Chap 30
For the very first time after returning that evening, Shen Dai took the initiative to pull Qu Moyu into his bedroom. He tore off the pheromone blocking patch on his gland, letting the soothing epiphyllum pheromones flow freely, at the same time inhaling as much as he could of Qu Moyu’s ebony wood scent.
Qu Moyu was quite pleased to see Shen Dai take the lead. Removing his suit jacket, he carried Shen Dai up and then threw him onto the bed.
Both of their pheromones intermingled in the air, gradually becoming indistinguishable. Crisp and chilly notes of wood, a sweet floral freshness, blended together to produce the most intoxicating fragrance. Desire surged, causing every nerve to tingle with excitement. That night was one of lingering passion, without respite and without end…
Every day after work, Shen Dai went to visit his grandmother at the hospital, which was not far from the office and had easy access to transportation.
The surgery had been arranged by Qu Moyu to be performed by a top doctor from the public hospital, in a private hospital for its superior facilities and better quality of care. Every detail had been meticulously taken into consideration – How could Shen Dai not feel touched?
His grandmother had already regained consciousness by the second day, but as visitors were still not allowed, Shen Dai was only able to observe her for a while through the glass window.
On the third day, the doctor finally informed him that his grandmother could be transferred to the general ward. After requesting for the afternoon off, he headed to the hospital, taking along with him some daily necessities and nutritional supplements that he had prepared in advance.
His grandmother had been assigned her own private room. Although the hospital provided their own caregivers, they were not exclusively dedicated to her care. Nevertheless, the caregiver that Shen Dai had hired was already waiting at the hospital.
Eagerly he pushed open the door of the hospital room, only to find not only his grandmother who had already woken up, but also Shen Qin keeping watch by her bedside.
When the two people in the ward saw him, the looks on their faces became somewhat stiff. Shen Dai was also frozen. He didn’t speak. His eyes turned dark and his expression soured.
Shen Qin lowered his head and spoke in a hesitant, soft voice: “I’ve been watching over your grandmother this whole time, I just didn’t dare let you know.”
His grandmother looked troubled, clearly not knowing the right thing to do either.
Despite his resentment towards his father, Shen Dai did not respond by lashing out at him or driving him away. He didn’t want his grandmother who had just gone through surgery to experience any excessive emotional fluctuation. Instead, he approached her, placed his hands on her frail shoulders and asked, “Grandmother, how are you feeling?”
His grandmother smiled brightly. “I feel much better now. The wound doesn’t hurt as much anymore. Actually, back when I was in the ICU, every time you came to see me I knew you were there. I must have been keeping you from your work.”
“What could you possibly be keeping me from?” Shen Dai said in a comforting voice, “The operation was very successful, and the tumour has basically been removed. As long as you follow up properly with the subsequent treatments, you will fully recover.”
Of course, to “fully recover” would be a dream come true, but the unexpectedly successful outcome of this surgery had given them great confidence and the courage to hope again.
Shen Qin excused himself tactfully, “I’ll go and buy something.”
After he left, Shen Dai and his grandmother looked at each other in silence, both at a loss about what to say next.
After a long while, Shen Dai sighed and said, “Actually, he called me earlier, but I didn’t want to see him. So he waited at my workplace and followed me to the hospital.”
“Since he was young, he has always been like this. As long as he wants to do something, he goes ahead and does it. Never mind what other people think.”
“But…how do you feel about it?”
His grandmother lowered her head sadly. She remained silent for a very long time.
Shen Dai squeezed her hand.
In his childhood memories, his grandmother’s hands had always appeared beautiful. Her fingertips were slender and delicate, with soft and fair skin. These hands were adept at painting and drawing, at providing solace, at playing the qin, and all manner of elegant and romantic pursuits – a testament to both her intellect and compassion. But they had become bony and wizened, with prominent dark purple veins and skin that had lost its elasticity, feeling like damp paper to the touch.
She could have chosen to be a carefree young lady, and yet she chose to become a mother.
When he stepped into that hospital ward, he knew at once that her heart had already softened. It seemed that it was not a question of whether to forgive or not. As a mother, she would never be able to give up on her child.
She looked up with tears welling up in her eyes. “Seeing him today, I realised that he has grown old as well. The past few years must have been difficult for him. Somehow I kept thinking of him as a child.”
His eyes had turned red as well. “Grandmother, if you’re really willing to give him a chance to make amends, then let him come take care of you. He must have already…owned up to his mistakes.” Despite his deep misgivings, he knew that this was what she was yearning to hear.
His grandmother caressed his face. Her voice became choked up as she said, “You’re completely innocent in all this, yet somehow you’re always the one to suffer.”
He forced a smile. “I’ve never felt like I’ve suffered in any way. You and grandfather were always so good to me. As a child, I never had to worry about having food on the table and a roof over my head. On top of that I received a good education and found a good job. Being able to take care of you now is more than I could have asked for.
Gently cradling his head in her arms, she replied, “A-dai, because I have you, I don’t find that things are tough at all. Really.”
Shen Dai closed his eyes, quietly breathing in the odour of hydrogen peroxide on her body. Though unpleasant, it was somehow warm and comforting.
Grandmother was more easily tired these days and fell asleep after chatting for just a while. Leaving the room, Shen Dai found his father sitting in the hallway, just as he had expected,
Father and son looked at each other eye to eye, the latter looking cold and detached, the former, cautious and guilty.
Shen Dai leaned against the wall, and asked calmly, “Grandmother will definitely want her own son to take care of her. So, why don’t you come over and fulfil that role? The caregiver can assist until she’s discharged from the hospital. After that, you should be able to manage on your own, right?”
Shen Qin nodded his head hastily, “Of course.”
“Are you working now? Do you have any source of income?”
“…I have a little saved up.”
“I’ll pay you the standard rate for a housekeeper and cover any daily expenses. Just make sure to handle the money sensibly and keep a record of every expense. Of course, try to save wherever possible, but please don’t compromise on Grandmother’s food and clothing.”
He knew that Shen Qin lacked any self-sufficiency skills beyond depending on an Alpha partner for support. This man could have had a decent education and pursued a good career, but instead he had squandered his time and energy on a string of unsuccessful relationships. Pampered and spoiled by nature, with a tendency to spend money recklessly, it was hard for someone like him to accept a simple life.
“Don’t worry about it.” Shen Qin hesitated for a moment. “A-Dai, may I ask you something?”
“You can ask.”
“Your grandmother said that you took a mortgage on a house. And this hospital must be really expensive too, right?”
Shen Dai was immediately on his guard, not knowing if Grandmother had divulged to him where this money had come from. Though, he mused to himself – not without some irony – that despite him criticising his father for needing to rely on an Alpha, without Qu Moyu, he himself would be in an infinitely worse situation.
“She told me that you were awarded a bonus, but…,” said Shen Qin, his hesitation betraying his scepticism. After all, to pay off the debt, purchase a house, and be able to admit his grandmother into a private hospital all required a significant amount of money.
”But what?” Shen Dai didn’t feel like answering the question.
“Well actually, on the day of the surgery, I left the hospital very late. I wanted to wait until you left to see your grandmother again. But when I was at the entrance of the hospital, I saw you and another Alpha getting into a Rolls Royce.”
Shen Dai’s eyes narrowed. In an instant, his demeanour had turned icy cold
“A-Dai, please don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to follow you on purpose. I was just surprised. That Alpha looked very…”
“I hope that you won’t interfere with my private life,“ snapped Shen Dai, adding coldly, “From the moment you abandoned our family, there has been no mutual affection between the both of us. Just take good care of Grandmother in the future and we can live together in peace.”
Shen Qin slumped his shoulders, looking as if he had been very wronged: “I understand. Anyway, your Dad just hopes that you’ll be happy, and not end up like me.”
“I won’t,” replied Shen Dai, and turned to walk back into the hospital ward.
Even with a door separating them, Shen Dai couldn’t shake off the sensation of Shen Qin’s prying gaze still being fixed on him. He closed his eyes, but felt that a headache was starting to come on.
As soon as the words “I won’t” left his lips, the image of Qu Moyu’s face inexplicably emerged before his eyes. Despite the resolute tone of his voice, his heart was still wavering.
Back then when You Xinghai was pursuing him, didn’t his father also believe that You Xinghai was the Alpha he was fated to be with? That the two of them would spend the rest of their lifetimes by each other’s side?
But when someone in love starts to have expectations, how could they ever believe that things could end painfully?
The next day, a Friday, Cheng Zimei accompanied him to visit his grandmother after work, bringing with her some medicinal tonics.
On the ride over to the hospital, Shen Dai and her discussed the subject of his father’s return. On hearing about it, she became incensed as well. Back in those days when he was going through difficulties and hardships, she was, after all, the one who knew and understood his situation the most.
Amidst a massive family upheaval at home, he was interning, writing his thesis, and competing for a place in the Talent programme at Xingzhou. This kind of setback would have caused most people to lose heart, but Shen Dai persevered, achieving his goals all while working odd jobs on the side.
After a lot of difficulty, Shen Dai finally got back up on his own two feet. What reason could there be for Shen Qin’s return this time around, except for wanting his son to take care of him as he couldn’t get by on his own?
Cheng Zimei sneered, “If he were truly remorseful, he would have just disappeared into thin air instead of coming back and becoming another burden to you.”
“I always knew that he would come back some day when he had nobody else to support him,” sighed Shen Dai. “But there’s nothing I can do. Whichever way you put it, I still have a legal obligation to take care of him.”
“A-Dai, your situation is really too miserable.” She looked at him, her heart aching. “Just go and find a capable Alpha to marry already. That way there would at least be someone who could help you, it’ll definitely be a lot easier than struggling on your own.”
“You say it like it’s so easy.”
“What I’m saying is realistic! For us regular folks, isn’t marriage all about splitting expenses and supporting each other? If you happen to find someone rich, they could solve a lot of your worries.”
Cheng Zimei blinked her eyes innocently. “Like Zhou Lan, for one. I’ve already asked around. Turns out that his parents already bought him a house. Also he’s planning to settle down here in the capital. His background is really not bad at all. Plus, he’s young, smart, and has a really bright future!”
“It can’t work out between us,” Shen Dai replied seriously. “Really, it’s impossible.”
She sighed, and then, in rather cryptic way, she asked, “Then, what about the Crown Prince?”
Shen Dai felt a tremor in his heart, but his reply betrayed no emotion, ‘That’s also impossible.’
“Aiya! I really feel like smacking you. What do you mean ‘It’s impossible’? Aren’t you supposed to be a scientific researcher? Our goal is to make the impossible possible. What’s the point of doing research if you don’t have that kind of drive?!”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s only a trivial matter!” said Cheng Zimei, waving her fist at him. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Besides, I think the Crown Prince treats you differently. You guys keep running into each other. It must be fate! With such a great opportunity, why don’t you give it a shot? After all, what harm is there in trying?”
“I could get fired,” replied Shen Dai, dryly.
Cheng Zimei couldn’t help but burst out laughing, so hard she doubled over. “The Crown Prince is such a badass. I remember there was an Omega after him. A business connection with a good family background. Someone really beautiful. They just went ahead and tried their luck. But you know, this kind of spoiled heiress clearly has no experience chasing after Alphas. When it comes to top Alphas like the Crown Prince, how can one just brazenly pursue them like a clueless person?
“You sound as if you really know what you’re talking about,” teased Shen Dai.
“This big sister started dating at the age of fourteen, what’s so hard about manipulating men?” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Shen Dai was struck by a sudden realisation. He shifted his eyes, and then, in a completely nonchalant tone, he asked, “So, in your opinion, how does someone go about winning over a top Alpha like the Crown Prince?”
1. bringing with her some medicinal tonics | 补品 : Health supplements or tonics, commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to nourish and strengthen the body, made from a variety of natural ingredients, such as herbs, roots, and animal products.
