14
Shen Dai poured all his energies into preparing his speech. His diet, sleep, and energy levels had been poor these past few days. He tired easily and never felt like eating. At first, he suspected that it might be exhaustion from overwork, but after three days was when he started to worry, as these were symptoms that every adult Omega was all too familiar with - the symptoms that occurred before the start of one’s heat.
The heat of most omegas followed a relatively constant pattern, occurring once every three to four months. Though not always precise, they would more or less happen around the same time. The body would also start to self-regulate in advance, for example, exhibiting symptoms such as a loss of appetite to empty the reproductive cavity in preparation for conception or insomnia and psychological anxiety due to fluctuations in pheromones.
His heat occurred only once or twice a year, and always when the climate was warm. In fact, most Omegas rarely went into heat during periods of extreme cold, barring external factors, such as the influence of Alpha pheromones. This was very much an evolutionary trait shared with animals - offspring born in winter were less likely to survive.
Except winter had just started, and it wasn’t that cold yet, so it there was still the chance of going into heat during this time.
This possibility freaked Shen Dai out. Although he sometimes experienced similar symptoms when stressed at work, not daring to risk things, he went to the pharmacy to buy medication to suppress and delay his heat. This types of drugs acted directly on the gland and were difficult to metabolise. As they could have harmful effects on the body, they were therefore only used during emergencies.
Once taken, those symptoms would be significantly reduced, only for the heat to return with a vengeance a few days later. Shen Dai had asked for leave in advance, deciding to go home once the presentation was over.
It was only the night before the presentation that it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t prepared what to wear. Thankfully, Uncle Heng had previously had a few suits tailored for him. Holding a garment bag with a three-piece suit, he waited at the entrance for his taxi.
Today the wind was strong, causing his eyes became dry and irritated.
As he was rubbing his eyes, a car slowly pulled up in front of him. He opened them to see that it was Qu Moyu's.
The driver, Old Wu, got out of the car and opened the back door for him, “Mr Shen. We’re headed to the office as well. The young master would like to give you a lift.”
"Oh, thanks," said Shen Dai to the driver, before settling into the car and carefully hanging up his suit. "Thank you, President Qu, I should have remembered to bring my suit earlier.”
Not a problem.” Qu Moyu was at that moment looking over the brief, “Your group's breakthrough in solvent extraction this year shows high separation efficiency for light rare earths. However, it seems there's little progress with heavy rare earths.”
"That's correct. The main challenge lies in the difficulty in controlling heavy rare earths during the stages of fractional precipitation and crystallisation. It's a key area we're planning to focus on in the future."
“The stakeholders are bound to have questions about this. But when it comes to the subject of this technology’s commercial application, questions about returns, you can always sidestep them. At the same time, they are extremely interested in the mine in South Africa acquired by the company this year.”
“Great, I already have that section prepared. After the professor left for South Africa he started sending back a lot of valuable data.”
“Professor Liu seems quite confident in leaving the lab under your charge. It's clear you’re the one he values the most.”
“I can’t claim that that all," answered Shen Dai candidly. “At present the mine in Gansu is the principal source of revenue for the company’s Rare Earth division, and all of my senior colleagues are at the research institute there. They are all more accomplished than I am, but since the Professor is willing to mentor me, I’ll do my best not to disappoint him.”
Qu Moyu gave Shen Dai a look that was not without some admiration. “To be able to do this much is quite a feat. But I must remind you of a few things. The first is that Qu Chengchen will be at the meeting representing my uncle, the second, that a majority of attendees today will be Alphas, you’d do best not to reveal your gender to them.”
Shen Dai sighed to himself: “I understand.”
What Qu Moyu just said was extremely pragmatic. To be a typical Omega, with a mild temperament and low physical stamina, who was prone to getting pregnant, and who went into heat four times a year for a period of seven days, was to find oneself at the bottom of the labour market.
Labour laws enforced mandatory quotas in middle to large enterprises for hiring omegas and gave tax incentives for doing so. As a result, there were a number of Omegas hired at the Starship corporation, though few in important positions. In short, the workplace was an uphill battle for omegas, and even more so in the field of scientific research, which Shen Dai had fought tooth and nail on the strength of his academic qualifications in order to enter.
But there would be Alphas with massive egos and deep-seated prejudices who would very likely question his professional competence. He had prepared himself mentally for this.
The car stopped at a reserved lot. Qu Moyu went directly to his office via a private lift. Shen Dai had to cross half the carpark to access the employee lift, looking nervously around him the whole time for fear of being spotted.
Upon arriving at his dormitory, he got changed into his suit. He turned his neck with his back towards the mirror to have a closer look at his nape. Pheromone-blocking patches always came in skin-tone colours and were only noticeable up close. Just as well that he hadn’t had the time to get a haircut recently, so the ends of his hair covered his collar, effectively hiding the patch. Giving his reflection a nod, he picked up his laptop and materials and then left.
・・・
The meeting was due to start at nine-thirty. Since he was the third out of a total of five teams in the Research Institute presenting, he still had time to go over his slides a few times.
As soon as he entered the conference room, his junior colleagues started to tease him.
"My god, Shen-shixiong looks so handsome today!”
“First time seeing Shen-shixiong wear a suit, he looks so sophisticated. Doesn’t look like an excavation labourer at all.”
They liked to jokingly refer to themselves as excavation labourers. Because their daily work kept them in constant contact with various minerals and chemical reagents, it was quite common for them to end up filthy.
Cheng Zimei clapped exaggeratedly. “A-dai, you really do look good in a suit. Just look at that waist, those legs, tsk tsk.”
Shen Dai was embarrassed by their compliments. “Thanks everyone for giving me some face. I’m going up on stage in a bit, so please be equally enthusiastic about clapping.”
As expected, clothes really did make the man. Not only did this suit cost a fine penny, but it was also made to measure, so of course it would look good on him.
He thought about his upcoming presentation. During his segment, everyone’s eyes would be on him. Including Qu Moyu, who rarely ever looked directly at him. Perhaps Qu Moyu would be looking at him for a very long time, longer than he had in all their previous encounters put together. And if so, would Qu Moyu also think that he looked good?
“Shen-shixiong, please sit down,” offered Zhou Lan, his younger male colleague, getting up to let him have his seat in the middle.
“Thanks, but I can sit over here, I’ll have to go up in a short while,” replied Shen Dai, sitting down and immediately opening his laptop.
Zhou Lan uncapped a bottle of mineral water and placed it next to Shen Dai’s hand, “Shixiong, have something to drink. Have you had breakfast? Do you need me to buy you anything?”
“I’ve already eaten. How about the rest of you?”, asked Shen Dai offhandedly.
“We’ve already eaten. They started selling Yunnan ham mooncakes at the cafeteria. They’re pretty tasty!”
Shen Dai nodded his head, his gaze not leaving the screen. “Alright, I’ll try it some other day.”
This attentiveness from Zhou Lan had already gone on for a couple of days. Being a young man in engineering, his overtures were somewhat clumsy. But still, being able to sense his intentions gave Shen Dai a bit of a headache.
In the past, he had never entertained obvious hints from anyone; The fact that he owed too much money made it impossible for him to be in a romantic relationship. And now it was even more out of the question. A pity that this junior colleague of his was too young and could not catch his subtle rejection.
Just let Cheng Zimei handle it for him in two days’ time.
As the other teams, team leaders, and shareholders started to arrive one after the other, the massive auditorium quickly filled up.
Shen Dai spotted many of the company’s top executives, but his eyes were continuously trained on Qu Moyu.
Qu Moyu wore a black trench coat over his three-piece suit, the fabric flapping in the wind as he walked. He was chatting with some shareholders beside him the entire time, and did not once look over.
Qu Chengchen had arrived as well, dressed equally impeccably. He was carrying a grey briefcase and was in the middle of a call as he walked in. He appeared extremely serious and respectable, a stark contrast to his frivolous demeanour from the last time they met.
“Gosh, it’s so rare that the Crown Prince and the Qinwang appear at the same time.” Cheng Zimei was taken over by her gossipy side again. She nudged Shen Dai with her elbow and said, “We should really get to know some colleagues from the Chemical Industry department. That way we can get all the gossip about the Qinwang, He's so much more interesting than our Crown Prince.”
(Qinwang | 亲王 : Prince of the First Rank, Title of nobility originating from the late Southern dynasties granted to the emperor’s uncles, brothers, and sons. In the Ming dynasty, all imperial sons except the crown prince were accorded as Qinwang, receiving seals, stipends, guards, and princely households, with their status set one rank below the emperor.)
“Don’t bother me, I need to go over my script again,” replied Shen Dai, without looking up from his laptop.
“Can you stop being so tense? The professor already said that this conference won’t have much impact on our budget. Just say whatever and it’ll be fine.”
“How can you even suggest saying ‘whatever’?”
“You’re so -oh wow!“ Cheng Zimei excitedly grabbed Shen Dai’s arm, squeezing it so hard it hurt.
There was a bit of a commotion inside the auditorium. Everyone present had turned their attention towards the entrance. A stunning Alpha had just strolled in, prompting many of the already-seated executives to stand up and greet him.
It’s Yan Mingxiu!”
(Yan Mingxiu | 晏明修 : Main love interest in the novel Professional Body Double (职业替身), another title in the 188 series )
“How is it that he’s here?” gushed one of his younger female colleagues.
“Ah, it’s because of Longke Heavy Industries, our company’s strategic partner. He must own some shares in the company.”
Shen Dai couldn’t help but feel curious as well, stretching his neck to catch a glimpse of Yan Mingxiu’s elegant demeanour. Yan Mingxiu was the successor to Longke Heavy Industries, which in itself was not unusual. What was unusual was that in his early twenties, he had suddenly ran off to join the entertainment industry. Though his acting skills were mediocre, thanks to his stunning looks and superior S-class alpha genetics he enjoyed a brief period of fame, only to suddenly disappear from the public eye two or three years later. Clearly it had been a spell of youthful recklessness: A young son of a rich family playing around in the flashy world of fame and fortune, but ultimately still having to return to take over the family business.
Yan Mingxiu was a quintessential first class Alpha with first class looks, and the shock of seeing the person in real life far surpassed that of seeing him on the silver screen.
“The concentration of alphas here is too high.”, remarked Cheng Zimei, shrugging her shoulders. “Thank goodness I can’t smell it. Seeing cute guys is good enough for me. A-Dai, you aren’t feeling uncomfortable, right?
As the group that made up the largest population group and contributed the most to society, Betas were indeed the most stable and convenient gender. Although they too could not withstand the pheromone suppression of Alphas, their inability to smell pheromones meant they were less likely to be affected in everyday situations.
Take now, for example: with three S-class Alphas and several other Alphas in the room, pheromones were flying in every direction, making it extremely stifling for an Omega.
Shen Dai was of course uncomfortable as well. He felt the air around him becoming thin. His chest was tight and his breathing short, even his eyes were starting to sting. But it wasn't to the point of causing any real harm, just very unpleasant. The plight of being an Omega was truly sad. No wonder they faced difficulties in employment.
He nodded and said, “I’m going out for a bit, when it’s almost my turn please let me know.”
The first group had started their presentation a short time ago. He excused himself to the bathroom and quietly slipped out with his notebook. In the rest area, he breathed in the fresh air and continued to look at his slides.
It was only when Cheng Zimei gave him a call that he returned to the auditorium. When he was ready, he stepped up onto the podium.