30

After returning home that evening, Shen Dai took the initiative for the very first time 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 would visit his grandmother at the hospital which was not far from the office and had easy access to transportation. Qu Moyu had arranged for the best public hospital doctor to perform the surgery in a private hospital which had better facilities and care. Every detail had been meticulously taken into consideration, and Shen Dai could not help but feel deeply moved.

His grandmother had awakened the day after the operation, but as he was still not allowed to visit her, he spent some time watching her through the hospital room 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 took along some daily necessities and nutritional supplements that he had prepared in advance and headed to the hospital,

His grandmother had been placed in a private room. Although the hospital provided nursing care, it was not exclusive, so 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 sitting by her bedside.

When the two people in the ward saw him, their expressions stiffened a little. Shen Dai froze as well. Without saying anything his gaze darkened, and his expression turned grim.

Shen Qin lowered his head and said in a hesitant, soft voice, "I've been looking after your grandmother the whole time, I just didn't dare to let you know."

His grandmother looked troubled, clearly unsure of what was the right thing to do.

Not wanting the patient who had just gone through surgery to experience too many emotional fluctuations, Shen Dai, despite his resentment towards Shen Qin, did not lash out or drive him away. Instead he walked over, placed his hand on grandmother’s frail shoulder, and asked, 'Grandma, how are you feeling now?'”

His grandmother smiled brightly. “I feel much better, and the wound doesn't hurt as much anymore. Actually, when I was in the ICU, I knew when you came to see me. I must have been keeping you from your work.”

“What could you possibly be keeping me from?” Shen Dai reassured her gently, "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 exchanged looks.

A long time passed before Shen Dai sighed and admitted, "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. If he wants to do something, he goes ahead and does it without caring what other people think.”

“But…how do you feel about it?”

His grandmother lowered her head sadly, remaining silent for a long time.

Shen Dai held his grandmother's hand.

In his childhood memories, his grandmother's hands were beautiful, with long, slender, delicate fingers and soft, fair skin. These hands could paint, cook, play the qin, and arrange flowers—all kinds of activities that embodied elegance and romance. She had been so talented and versatile, yet now, her hands were boney and emaciated, with prominent dark purple veins, and skin which had lost its elasticity, feeling like damp paper to the touch.

She could have remained a carefree young lady, yet she chose to become a mother.

When he entered the hospital ward, he could tell at once that her heart had softened. It was not so much a question of whether or not to forgive. As a mother, she would never be able to give up on her child.

She looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. "Seeing him today, I realised that he has grown old too. These past years must have been hard on him. Somehow I keep thinking that he’s still a child.”

His eyes had turned red as well. “Grandma, if you’re really willing to give him a chance to make amends, then let him take care of you. He must have already…realised his mistakes by now.” Despite his immense reluctance, he knew this was what his grandmother wanted to hear.

His grandmother caressed his face and said, choking back tears, “You've done nothing wrong, yet somehow you're always the one who suffers.”

He forced a smile. “I don’t feel 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. On top of that I received a good education and found a good job. Now, being able to take care of you 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. Truly.”

Shen Dai closed his eyes, quietly breathing in the odour of hydrogen peroxide on her body. Though it wasn’t pleasant, it was warm and comforting.

His grandmother now tired easily and fell asleep after chatting for a while. Leaving the room, Shen Dai found his father sitting in the hallway, just as expected,

Father and son made eye contact — the son cold and detached, the father cautious and guilty.

Shen Dai leaned against the wall, and asked calmly, “Grandma surely wants her own son to take care of her. Why don’t you come and take over? The caregiver can continue 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.”

“Do you have a job 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 manage the money wisely and keep a record of every expense. Of course, try to save where you can, but please do not skimp on Grandma's food and clothing.”

He knew that Shen Qin had no skills for self-sufficiency beyond relying on an Alpha. He could have obtained a decent education and pursued a good career, but instead wasted all his time and energy on one failed relationship after another. Being pampered by nature, with a tendency to spend money recklessly, it would be 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 you took out a mortgage for a house, and this hospital must be really expensive too, right?"

Shen Dai immediately became guarded, unsure if his grandmother had disclosed the source of the money to Shen Qin. Though, he thought to himself, not without some irony, that despite him criticising his father for relying on an Alpha, without Qu Moyu, he would have also been in an infinitely dire situation.

“She mentioned you received a bonus, but...,” said Shen Qin, his hesitation revealing his doubt. After all, paying off the debt, buying a house, and affording private hospital care all involved a significant amount of money.

“But what?” Shen Dai was not inclined to answer.

“Actually, on the day of the surgery, I left the hospital very late. I wanted to wait until you had left to see Grandma again. But as I was at the entrance of the hospital, I saw you getting into a Rolls Royce with an Alpha."

Shen Dai's eyes narrowed, instantly turning icy cold.

"A-Dai, please don't be angry. I didn't mean to follow you. I was just really surprised. That Alpha looked very..."

"I hope you won't interfere with my privacy," Shen Dai said harshly. "From the moment you abandoned this family, there has been no affection between us. Just take good care of Grandma in the future, and we can all live together in peace.”

Shen Qin slumped his shoulders, looking as if he had been deeply wronged: "I understand. No matter what, Dad just hopes you can 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 between them, Shen Dai could still feel Shen Qin's probing gaze. He closed his eyes, but felt a headache coming on.

As soon as the words “I won’t” left his lips, the image of Qu Moyu’s face inexplicably appeared before his eyes - because, no matter how resolute his tone was, 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 destined 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 come to a painful end?

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 told her about Shen Qin's return. She was indignant about it as well, after all, in those days, she was the one who knew best about Shen Dai's misery and suffering.

Back when Shen Dai was interning, writing his thesis, competing for a spot in the graduate program, and a place in the Starship Corporation's talent programme, a major family crisis occurred. Such a setback would have caused most people to collapse, but Shen Dai gritted his teeth and persevered, achieving his goals all while working odd jobs on the side.

She remembered how he had become alarmingly thin during that time, losing over ten kilograms. He slept only four or five hours a night and had even fainted once from anaemia. Even after successfully securing a stable job, the burden of rent, daily expenses, and his grandfather’s medical bills kept him under constant financial strain, making those years harsh and difficult for him.

After a lot of difficulty, Shen Dai finally managed to get back up on his own two feet. What reason could there be for Shen Qin's return this time, except that he couldn't make it on his own and needed his son to support him?

Cheng Zimei sneered, “If he were truly remorseful, he would have just disappeared completely instead of coming back and becoming another burden to you.”

"I knew he would come back one day, when he had no one else to rely on," Shen Dai sighed. "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 with pity and couldn't help but ruffle his hair. "You should just find a capable Alpha to marry. That way, you'll have someone to help you, and it’ll definitely be a lot easier than struggling on your own.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

"I'm being practical! For ordinary people like us, isn't marriage about sharing costs and supporting each other? If you happen to find someone wealthy, it could solve many of your problems." Cheng Zimei blinked her eyes. "Like Zhou Lan, for one. I’ve already asked around. Turns out that his parents have already bought him a house and he's planning to settle down here in the capital. His prospects are not bad at all, plus he’s young, smart, and has a bright future ahead of him.”

“It can’t work out between us," Shen Dai replied seriously. "Really, it's impossible.”

She sighed, and then, then in a somewhat mysterious tone, she asked, “Then, what about the Crown Prince?”

Shen Dai felt a tremor in his heart, but he responded without showing any 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 didn’t hold back and burst into laughter, laughing so hard she doubled over. "The Crown Prince is really something. I remember there was an Omega who was after him—a well-connected person from a good family. Someone really beautiful. They just went ahead and tried their luck. But you know, these sorts of pampered princesses clearly have no experience chasing Alphas. How can you expect to win over a top Alpha like the Crown Prince by charging in so naively?"

“You talk as if you’re an expert,” Shen Dai teased her.

“This big sister started dating at the age of fourteen, what’s so hard about landing a man?” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

A thought struck Shen Dai. He shifted his gaze, and then, in a completely nonchalant tone, he asked, "So, in your opinion, how does someone go about wrangling a top Alpha like the Crown Prince?”

 

Edited 25 Jun 2024