01

The turns of fortune in one’s life are truly unforeseeable.

For instance, Shen Dai had never imagined that he would one day be invited into this house, after all, he had once been thrown out just like rubbish.

From his impression as a child, it had been a magnificent "palace". It was so big, and so bright. A spiral staircase descended in a flamboyant curve, without the slightest concern about wasted space. This was the first time he learned that people could in fact put staircases inside houses. 

Standing in such a house, looking up made him anxious that the crystal chandelier might come crashing down on his head, while looking down made him afraid of dirtying the floorboards, so smooth and polished that they mirrored one’s reflection. 

Back here after twenty years. The house stood, just as it did in the past, within the inner ring, an area with astounding prices that offered a quiet refuge amid the hustle and bustle. Only, the residential compound had been around for quite some time now, and the architectural style of the villa had long since become outdated.

The exterior walls of the house had been renovated, painted in a French-inspired stone finish that had become popular in recent years. Likewise, the various flowers and plants demanded meticulous upkeep to preserve their appearance. Yet the dried-up fishpond, the stone steps, and the flowerbeds all showed marks of discolouration due to the elements. At first glance, the house still appeared lavish and imposing, but by now its details no longer held up to scrutiny.

So those opinions circulating online weren’t simply empty rumours, and the dismal stock prices made it even harder to pretend: the You family might actually be on its way out.

Twice coming here, and twice unwillingly. Today, he had been somewhat "invited" into the car by a bodyguard.

As the house had made such a deep impression on him before, he was only able to have a faint recollection of the man who was his own father by blood. Still, he couldn’t have seemed as old back then as he did now.

This man had once been the heir to a business conglomerate and the subject of intense scrutiny just as he was today. An alpha possessed of A-class pheromones, he had graduated from a prestigious school, was young and handsome, and had married a wife of equal social and economic standing. Yet even after all the success he had enjoyed, he could still be coldly cast aside by the capital markets in the blink of an eye.

Failing to live up to one’s ambitions seeps into one’s essence and engraves itself into every line of the face, plain for anyone to see.

Shen Dai stood in front of You Xinghai, silently sizing the man up as the latter did the same.

You Xinghai’s face was tense. Given his own position as an Alpha and a father, Shen Dai’s placid gaze unnerved him all the more.

He had already prepared himself, expecting that Shen Dai would tear into him, recount his misfortunes, or at the very least show open hostility. Instead, the young man before him was far too relaxed.

It wasn’t long after he had been forced to make this decision that a copy of all of the child’s data appeared on his desk:

Shen Dai, 27 years old, Omega Male, Single, Masters in Material Engineering from the University of Science, employed at the Starship Corporation's Rare Earth Research Institute, Household: Omega Father and Maternal Grandmother

The timid boy from twenty years ago who was afraid of strangers had grown into a cool-headed adult. Thinking about the boy’s life and what he was about to ask for, You Xinghai couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt.

Shen Dai looked around the room, found himself a chair and sat down, before taking out his mobile phone to reply to a few texts from work.

You Xinghai furrowed his brow and then cleared his throat.

Shen Dai looked up.

“President You, what are you looking for me for?” he said, in a way that was neither self-effacing nor arrogant.

“…You’re all grown up now”

You Xinghai had also weathered difficulties before, along with the ups and downs of the business world, yet at this moment he could only resort to useless talk to ease the awkwardness.

Shen Dai partly wanted to laugh. "President You, if you didn't want something, you wouldn’t have come looking for me on your own. So just say it.”

In general, these scenarios of the scumbag father looking for the shunned bastard son after many years usually happened because there were no other successors. But that couldn’t be the You family’s case, right? If something had happened to the young master of the You family, there was no way it wouldn’t have made the news.

You Xinghai’s face showed a trace of embarrassment: “The word 'request' is not quite right. I’d like to make a deal with you.”

“Go on.”

The main reason Shen Dai had agreed to get into the car was curiosity. This was a society governed by laws, and they weren’t filming a movie after all. Had he started howling in the middle of the street, it was not like the bodyguard would have dared to do anything to him. He had come here simply to find out what You Xinghai wanted, and who knows, maybe get a bit of pleasure from revenge.

Tapping on a file in front of him, You Xinghai said, “You have a debt of seven million. That is no small amount of money”

”That’s right. Does President You wish to pay it back for me?” asked Shen Dai with a mocking smile.

"I can pay it back for you."

Shen Dai’s pupils quickly narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“My son was originally part of a important engagement. But he is now unable to go through with it. I need you to become part of the You family again, and get married in his place.”

This statement was too theatrical, too melodramatic, too absurd. Five seconds went by before Shen Dai asked, ”Are you being serious?”

“Someone in my position would not joke with you about something like this.”

”Why isn’t he able to go through with the marriage?”

A wave of gloominess washed over You Xinghai’s face. It seemed as if he was too ashamed to answer: “He was marked by someone else.”

Shen Dai fell silent. Not that he wasn’t conflicted. Getting married to a stranger sounded pretty terrible, but could it be any worse than bearing the burden of a massive debt?

Both his life and the final years of his grandmother’s life were being crushed under the weight of this debt with no hope in sight.

If paying a small price could drag them both of out of that pit, how could it not be worth a shot?

He took a deep breath, “What would I be expected to do in this marriage?”

”That would depend on your future husband. You would do whatever he requests of you.”

Shen Dai’s fine eyelashes flickered rapidly. Without much hesitation, he lifted his gaze slowly at You Xinghai and said, “I want ten million.”

You Xinghai narrowed his eyes. Though not surprised, he was clearly displeased.

If what You Xinghai said was true, there was no doubt his price would be accepted. To pay a price as high as the You family's one and only beloved Omega son, this so-called important engagement must surely have involved the fate of the corporation and the family’s prosperity or decline. Therefore, if You Boyue had been marked by someone else, it would be an embarrassment for both the You family and the other side of the alliance.

While the mark itself could be erased, modern medicine had no way of removing the bite scars left on the gland. Which respectable family could accept such a humiliation? The marriage would have to be called off.

Shen Dai recalled You Boyue’s exquisitely handsome face from all over social media. It was clear that he was someone who was quite intelligent. How could he have made such a misstep?

One of the most ridiculous mistakes a young Omega could make was to allow themselves to be marked before getting married. Then again, to look at it from a different perspective, what if You Boyue had done this to deliberately avoid the marriage? Perhaps the other party was old, or hideous, or deformed? What if they were weird or had violent tendencies? All these risks weren’t exactly out of the realm of possibility.

He had been called in to save the show at the last minute, so even if the share price of the family business had halved in value, surely they could still spare him the ten million.

Sure enough, You Xinghai simply replied, “Fine.”

Shen Dai immediately regretted not asking for more. He had still lacked the nerve and savvy. Although deep down he was incredulous about the whole matter, he still hoped that it was true. His most urgent desire now was to pay off the debt.

He stood up. “Then it’s settled then, I’ll leave the arrangements to you. I need to get back to work, so I’ll be leaving now.”

You Xinghai looked at him with astonishment. “You don’t have any other questions?”

“None, as long as you’re really going to pay me.”

“...Aren’t you curious about who your future Alpha husband will be?”

Shen Dai glanced down at his phone. In such a short span of time, a fresh pile of messages had already come in. “It doesn’t matter,” he replied, without even looking back.

He was young yet weighed down by such a massive debt. The future looked uncertain, and he had long since given up any fantasies or expectations of love and marriage in this lifetime. 

Which was why, even if the other party were so unbearable that You Boyue had to take extreme measures to avoid the marriage, as long as he could regain his childhood home and support his grandmother, it was just a matter of selling himself, which was something he could accept.

“Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter.”

・・・

After leaving the You residence, he headed straight for the Research Institute. Even though the hours for research work were quite flexible and they didn’t need to clock in, it wasn’t very good to skip work in the early morning without any explanation.

He had joined the Starship Corporation through a talent programme immediately after graduating from university. As his advisor had been the head of one of the projects at the Rare Earth Research Institute, this laboratory was where he had completed most of his postgraduate coursework.

In fact, his salary was already considered high in relation to his peers. Still, when you compared it to seven million, clearing the debt felt like a hopeless and distant goal. He had pondered seriously the ways he could turn his life around. The first was if money could simply fall from the sky, and the second was if he could obtain a patent.

As someone whose gender was at a disadvantage in the workplace and the field of scientific research, and who didn't exactly possess a brilliant intellect, he had struggled for twenty years trying to accomplish the latter, never imagining that the former would become his reality.

From a young age, he had always believed that “Studying hard can change one’s destiny”. Well, this really was too ironic.

“Shixiong.”

“Good morning, Shixiong”

“Morning.”

Upon entering the institute, he was greeted by his juniors one after the other.

“What morning? You just did a bit of tidying and then you’ll go straight to lunch.”

A teasing voice came from behind him, “Shen Dai, you aren’t usually late.”

It was Cheng Zimei, his classmate at university and a Beta female.  Not only had they been friends for many years, but they were also comrades who shared the same academic ideals.

”I had something to settle at the last minute. Has the professor arrived yet?” Shen Dai changed into his lab coat and poured himself a glass of water.

“Not yet. There's a new batch of materials that just came in from the Wansheng mine. Would you like to have a look?”

Shen Dai looked at his watch. “How about in the afternoon? Let’s get lunch first.”

The Rare Earth Research Institute had its own canteen, but today they decided to walk out a bit further to the main one in the company headquarters building. Both places procured their supplies jointly, and the food was all excellent, but naturally there was a larger variety of dishes at the main canteen, so they often alternated where they ate.

Having bought their lunches, the two of them started to chat while eating.

At that moment, there was a bit of a commotion coming from the entrance of the canteen. Shen Dai turned his head to see a group of people in suits and leather shoes file in at a hurried pace. Lunchtime was normally a fairly relaxed hour for the corporate slaves, so it seemed less like they were here to eat and more that they were conducting an inspection.

This canteen was massive. At his distance, it was difficult to get a clear view of faces. But he could still make out the distinct outline of a tall and handsome silhouette. 

“I wonder why the Crown Prince decided to come down to eat at the canteen today?” asked Cheng Zimei, holding her chopsticks in her mouth while craning her neck to look over in that direction.

His eyes silently followed the tall man at the center of the crowd, straining to define a few fully visible yet indistinct faces from the crowd, until the man crossed the canteen and disappeared into a private room.

At such a distance, he was unable to catch a whiff of his pheromones, but he could still feel his body becoming a little restless.

Cheng Zimei ended up answering her own question. “Maybe he’s just busy and invited his clients to a business lunch.

Shen Dai had a rather keen sense of observation, and he couldn't help but notice that the ones that paid particular interest to the group of people who just walked in were mostly Omegas. It couldn’t be helped. Omegas had a biological instinct to gravitate toward the strongest; He himself was no exception. An S-class Alpha walking past, creating a slight breeze and leaving behind a faint trace of pheromones in the air, could really make his thoughts run wild.

Moreover, as heir apparent to the Starship corporation, Qu Moyu was an Alpha who radiated splendour from head to toe.