Apex Predator - Chap 42

The forum post from the other day sparked a war of public opinion in financial circles, bringing the share price of Xingzhou up and down along with it, causing those with chips on the table to feel a roller coaster-like thrill.

Shen Dai had intended to follow the debate closely, but as it touched upon a wide and diverse range of specialised expertise, he didn’t quite grasp it all of it. Added to being busy with work these past few days, he decided simply not to bother.

A few days later, Lawyer Chen accompanied him to complete all the necessary formalities and procedures. He had no choice but to work overtime to make up for the time he had lost during the day. But with all these tedious and complex matters now settled, he felt a great deal more at ease.

In the meantime, the process of acquiring Chuanghai had been full of twists and turns. Taking into account external public opinion and internal company dynamics, along with the occasional bits of information from Qu Moyu himself, Shen Dai realised that regrettably, it was going to be impossible to push the process through within a short span of time.

He was in two minds. Of course on one hand, he hoped that Qu Moyu would get what he desired. On the other hand, the success of the acquisition would also signify that their marital relationship would come to an end.

Immediate concerns and long-term considerations – he had them both. Fortunately, he had already become accustomed to life under pressure, starting from a young age when he had to shoulder a huge debt and the responsibility of supporting his family.

Just take things one day at a time.

He was at work at the Research Institute the day he received a call he was extremely unwilling to answer.

There was no name, only a string of numbers. Blame it on his exceptional memory; He hadn’t wanted to add this number to his list of contacts, but at a glance, he knew that it was from You Xinghai.

Returning to his own office, he then pressed the answer button.

You Xinghai, on the other end of the line, sounded clearly furious. He got straight to the point: “Come now to my office and take your father away!”

Shen Dai was stunned for two seconds. Feeling like his head was about to explode, he asked, “He went over to your company?”

“What do you think? Get over here right now! I’m in the middle of speaking with someone. What the hell did he come here for?” You Xinghai took a deep breath, and then said through clenched teeth, “Wasn’t the money I gave you enough to support him through his old age?”

Harsh as these words were, Shen Dai was relieved to only be hearing them over the phone and not standing face to face with You Xinghai at this moment. Otherwise, the person he hated the most would have seen his face turn red with shame. Clenching his fist tightly, he replied, “I’ll be there right away.”

He hurriedly rushed to the headquarters of Chuanghai Group and was led directly to You Xinghai’s office by his secretary. While in the lift, Shen Dai could sense the secretary’s unfriendly gaze on him. He himself maintained a tense expression and didn’t appear very well either.

As soon as he entered the office, he found Shen Qin seated on the sofa, with red circles around his eyes. You Xinghai was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows. In terms of distance, he was at the furthest point in the office from Shen Qin.

With Shen Dai at the door, the three of them formed an equilateral triangle – which was actually rather comical and ironic.

The secretary quietly closed the door

In Shen Dai’s entire life, there were only two instances when he found himself in the same space as both his fathers. The first — when Shen Qin had asked You Xinghai for money, and the second — was once again Shen Qin asking You Xinghai for money.

The first time, he was only a seven-year-old child, entirely at the mercy of others; thankfully he was now all grown up.

He glared at Shen Qin and said in a low voice, “Come on, let’s go home. You won’t find what you’re looking for here.”

Tears welled up in Shen Qin’s eyes as he sobbed, “Is that called a home? I have to live out the rest of my life sleeping on the living room sofa, without even a room of my own.”

“You coming here won’t solve anything either.”

Shen Qin turned to You Xinghai. “You Xinghai, I’ve given you an outstanding son. Not only is he highly educated and good-looking, he’s even in a romantic relationship with the heir of Xingzhou. Shouldn’t you thank me by…”

“Enough!” Shen Dai said sternly, “Don’t you find this shameful? Must you make things difficult for both me and you?”

“You find it shameful?” said Shen Qin. He pointed at You Xinghai. “The one with the guilty conscience is him. How does he not feel ashamed of himself? Also, just now he said that he already gave you money. So you used his money to buy the house. If it’s okay for you to ask him for money, then why is it not okay for me? Am I not doing this only to lighten your burden? To make sure that our family can lead a better life?”

“I…” Shen Dai wanted to argue back, but the fact that You Xinghai had given him money was true. Even though he hadn’t sought him out himself, he couldn’t well reveal the truth. “I’m already doing my best to support you. You have a roof over your head. What more do you want? From now on you can have my room, alright?”

“A roof over my head?” cried Shen Qin. “I, Shen Qin, have never in my whole lifetime known the slightest bit of luxury. And now I have to rely on the bit of pocket change you give me every few days to survive. Even when I buy an aroma diffuser you give me grief. Have you ever considered my feelings? Why can’t you be on my side?”

Shen Dai was so furious his whole body was trembling. To the side stood You Xinghai, his face pale with anger. The scent of aggressive alpha pheromones was wafting through the air of the office; a sign that his patience was about to collapse.

“Go home. Now,” ordered Shen Dai. He clenched his fists tightly and glared at him. “Or don’t ever come back again.”

Shen Qin’s shoulders shrunk back. In the twinkling of an eye, his imposing demeanour had wilted away. He understood his own son well – though calm and composed on the surface, he was incredibly stubborn and resilient underneath. When he said something, he meant it, and for the most part, he would always follow through on his words.

After some hesitation, Shen Qin stood up. He sobbed, wiping away his tears, then shot You Xinghai a fiercely resentful look: “The day A-Dai and the successor to Xingzhou get married, you’ll come to me begging…”

“Just stop already,” said Shen Dai. For a brief moment, he locked eyes with You Xinghai. His gaze was cold and full of loathing, unwilling to back down at all. Seeing it, You Xinghai couldn’t help but be a little taken aback.

On the way home, Shen Qin tried a few times to make conversation with Shen Dai, but the latter remained silent.

As they reached home and got down from the car, Shen Qin continued to sniffle and wipe away his tears, as if great injustice had been done to him. “Don’t look at your father that way,” he said. “It’s You Xinghai who owes me. He’s ruined my entire life.”

Shen Dai was quiet for a moment before speaking up, “There was a news story recently, about a person who was dating a celebrity. After the breakup, they demanded a breakup fee and ended up being sent to prison on charges of extortion and blackmail.”

Shen Qin looked at Shen Dai with surprise.

“You Xinghai already said it. If this happens again, he won’t take past feelings into account.”

Though what he had said was a complete fabrication, it worked as an effective deterrent.

The expression on Shen Qin’s face changed, and then changed again, shifting from anger, to resentment, and to fear all in a very short span of time.

“Don’t go home yet. Go find a place to sit down for a while. Don’t let Grandma see you in this mood. And don’t tell her anything about what happened.”

Internally he had countless rebukes he wanted to unleash. But in the end, he held them back. He was used to focusing on results, and what was most important now was stopping Shen Qin from doing anything foolish.

Shen Qin nodded hesitantly.

“Do not, under any circumstances, contact You Xinghai again — whether on the telephone or in person. From now on you can stay in my room. I don’t come back often, but when I do I’ll sleep on the sofa. If you find that this kind of life is not good enough, or not enjoyable enough, then imagine living inside a prison.”

Shen Qin shrunk back his shoulders, truly afraid now.

“I..I understand.”

Not wanting to look at him for a second longer, Shen Dai walked straight past him and headed upstairs, deciding to go prepare dinner for his grandmother.

By the time he got back to the Qu residence, it was already late. Though it was rare for Qu Moyu to reach home before he did, after this draining day, he no longer had the energy to go ask about how his day went.

Qu Moyu was in the middle of having a midnight snack. Typically, he followed a fixed daily calorie intake, which meant that even if he had ease his hunger at night, he would only have a small bite. But the dishes laid out on the table here already amounted to an full-fledged meal.

Shen Dai thought to himself: This was indeed a sign that his rut was approaching.

“Working overtime again?” asked Qu Moyu. “Are you hungry? Come and have something to eat.”

“I’m fine,” replied Shen Dai, taking a seat beside him. “How can you eat so much at this hour?”

“Cause’ I’m hungry,” replied Qu Moyu, laying down his chopsticks. He studied Shen Dai for a long moment before furrowing his brows slightly.“You look so tired,” he remarked. The weariness on Shen Dai’s face and his gloomy demeanour had stirred up a sense of unease within his heart.

Shen Dai forced a smile as he nodded his head: “I’ll go wash up first.”

“Ok, go wash up.”

After he was done with his shower, he lay on the bed, feeling like his whole body had relaxed a bit. Rolling over, he wrapped himself up in the quilt and buried his face in it. As he breathed in the chilly fragrance of the ebony wood, his inner mind gradually started to quieten.

Once his anger had subsided, a piece of information that he had overlooked resurfaced within his thoughts.

How could Shen Qin have known that Qu Moyu and him were together?

It must have been the car. Maybe it was by memorising the car plate number? Or perhaps by some other means? In any case, they had already been found out.

If you asked Shen Qin, the life they were leading right now was much too ordinary – impoverished, even; A stark contrast to the luxurious extravagance he had once enjoyed. And his desire for money was now at an all-time high. Having discovered that his son had a “wealthy boyfriend”, could he potentially make even more irrational decisions?

He didn’t know how to deal with Shen Qin, this ticking time bomb that was threatening to ruin his life at any moment. This was his biological father, after all. People couldn’t choose their families or where they were born. But what could he do to distance himself from a toxic family member?

Shortly after, Qu Moyu entered the room.

He pulled back the quilt covering Shen Dai’s face. Seeing his troubled expression, he gently caressed his face and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.” Shen Dai gave him a smile. ”Can I request for more overtime compensation?”

“Why not I hand the laboratory over to you, then you can decide that for yourself?”

Shen Dai laughed, believing that Qu Moyu was only joking, but upon seeing the serious expression on his face, he found himself at a loss for words.

“Don’t you want to work on your own research topic?”

He sat up, then pondered about it for a while, before giving an earnest answer. “I do. Only, I don’t have enough capability right now. I haven’t yet achieved any results that demonstrate that I can lead a team independently.” He paused, and then, with a determined look in his eyes, he added, “But I will get there. All I need is time.”

Qu Moyu beamed with contentment. “When you do, I will be there to support you.”

“Thank you,” said Shen Dai, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. He knew that Qu Moyu was only testing him. Based on his understanding of Qu Moyu, this person was a rational – even cold-hearted – decision maker, who would never jeopardise important company interests for a personal relationship.

He knew that Qu Moyu had some sentiments towards him, or at least, relied somewhat on him. Yet, if he became entitled due to his his favour and started making excessive demands, Qu Moyu would undoubtedly become cautious and wary.

While he might not have known how to pursue a top alpha, he did understand human nature. He hoped that Qu Moyu would always find from him comfort and reassurance. That was his way of showing love, and also, he believed, the way he could get someone to love him in return.

Qu Moyu pulled Shen Dai into his arms and tenderly caressed his back. “If you’re tired, then go to sleep a bit earlier”

“Okay.”

The two had remained silent for several minutes. Just as Shen Dai was starting to drift off to sleep, Qu Moyu suddenly spoke up: “I am really about to go into rut very soon.”

Shen Dai opened his eyes.

“If you go into heat during my rut, I won’t be able to help you. But I’ve already arranged a doctor for you. He’ll give you some medications with lower side effects to help you get through your heat. Those inhibitors that you used to take before – don’t take them anymore.”

“……Okay.”