35

On the last working day before the New Year, Shen Dai collaborated with the lawyer to finalise the legal entity change of the company.

Although the lawyer mentioned that several more steps were required for the successful completion of the merger, Shen Dai still found the process overly efficient.

Since the initial agreement stated that their marriage would last no longer than five years, he had naturally assumed that the matter would require at least a few years to resolve. But now it seemed that it was likely to conclude by next year. At that point, they would have no reason to continue their marriage, and all that would be left was for Qu Moyu to call for it to end.

Shen Dai knew that worrying about it was pointless, but this matter of getting Qu Moyu to like him back was truly a “race against the clock”. He just couldn’t see how it was possible.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, he returned home to have dinner with his grandmother. He told her he had to go to South Africa on business and wouldn't be home to celebrate the New Year. This was only a half-truth; in any case, he couldn’t well let them know that he was planning to spend the New Year at the Qu residence.

While Shen Qin was washing the dishes after their meal, Shen Dai stepped into the kitchen. “I just transferred some money over to you. It’s the New Year, so make sure to buy something tasty to eat. I’ll be away on this business for at least ten days this time. Make sure to look after the house and don't forget the scheduled follow-up appointments at the hospital. If anything happens to Grandma, contact me at any time.”

“You don’t have to worry.” Shen Qin gave Shen Dai a glance before venturing softly, “You still aren’t willing to call me Dad?”

Without giving him a straight answer, Shen Dai replied, “I hope you won’t pry into my affairs. I can handle my own life. Your responsibility should be just to look after Grandma well. I will provide for your old age, but we won’t have much of a connection beyond that.”

The hands that were scrubbing the dishes came to a standstill. Shen Qin looked at Shen Dai without blinking, that gorgeous pair of almond-shaped eyes gradually turning red. "If your father had the means, he would have loved to have treated you both well and given you all the best things in the world.”

Shen Dai shook his head, unmoved. “I stopped having any expectations of you a long time ago. But I don’t hate you anymore. All I ask is that you don't cause us any more trouble.”

He was inclined to believe his father’s words; supposing Shen Qin had been wealthy, he wouldn't have been stingy with them. He recalled receiving expensive toys and clothes from Shen Qin during his childhood. But Shen Qin loved himself above everyone else, and was only generous with them after satisfying his own needs. In whatever decisions there were in life, this person would always choose himself, even if it meant hurting the ones closest to him.

In his father’s heart, he was neither the beloved child nor the apple of his eye who was loved unconditionally. The greatest value of his existence was to be used as leverage against You Xinghai, be it for affection or money. But when he was no longer of any use, he became a burden to be tossed to his grandmother and grandfather.

At this point, it made no difference to him whether he hated Shen Qin or forgave him. All that remained between them was his filial duty to provide financial support.

On the eve of the New Year, Old Wu drove Qu Moyu and him up to the mountains where the old man of the Qu family was convalescing. Over the course of the journey, Shen Dai was able to gain a rough understanding of the structure of the Qu family.

Old Man Qu had two Alpha sons, along with a Beta daughter and an Omega son. The latter two had been married off much earlier, as Betas and Omegas were ineligible to inherit the family’s business.

This year, the whole family was back for the festivities, as according to the doctors, it was very likely to be Grandfather Qu’s last Chinese New Year.

Thinking about something, Qu Moyu smiled, “Speaking of it, because I have you this year, I'll be the first among the grandchildren to offer tea to the elders.”

Shen Dai looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“My eldest paternal uncle is the firstborn son. He has always been the first to serve tea and will bring his son along with him. My parents and I can only be second in line since I am not the oldest grandchild after all. But now that I am married and have a family of my own, we’ll be the first ones to serve tea right after the second generation has finished.”

Shen Dai found all of this hard to grasp. He couldn’t imagine that prominent families in modern society could still be this feudalistic. And the fact that Qu Moyu was so unexpectedly competitive, to the point of wanting to have a contest with Qu Chengchen over the matter, was something he was truly unable to comprehend.

“Doesn’t Qu Chengchen call you his Big Brother? Aren’t you the eldest grandson?” he asked.

“Yes, but also no. We also have an older Alpha sister.”

"That's news to me." If there was in fact another Alpha in the Qu family, it was likely that she would be occupying a prominent position within the Starship Corporation today. As a long-time employee, how was it possible that he had never heard of such an individual?

“She’s dead,” stated Qu Moyu, matter-of-factly.

”Ah…”

Qu Moyu slowly turned his head towards the window, gazing out at the rapidly disappearing scenery. It was clear he had no desire to continue with this subject.

The estate where Grandfather Qu was currently residing functioned as a small-scale sanatorium, equipped with ramps, handrails, soundproofing and low-saturation lighting, all specially designed for the elderly. According to Qu Moyu, there was also a dedicated medical team on site.

“First we'll go and see my mum and dad.”

Qu Moyu found his father in the living room, who was presently reading a book. Seeing them both, Qu Shen gave a nod. “You’re back. Did you have a safe ride over?”

The road leading up the mountain had been covered with partially melted snow, making it very slippery.

“Old Wu drove very slowly,” answered Qu Moyu. “Where is my mother?”

Qu Shen took a glance out the window. “She’s outside, watching the plum blossoms. And on such a cold day….” He looked towards Shen Dai. “Why don’t you go over and give her this blanket?”

“I will do, Director Qu.”

He gathered the blanket on the sofa into his arms and headed into the garden. As expected, he found Mrs Qu using her phone to take a photo of a plum blossom branch covered in silvery frost. Every cluster and speck was a shade of brilliant red against the bitter cold.

As he stepped forward, the snow crunched under his foot. But Mrs Qu remained engrossed in her photograph, her jade-white hands now visibly red from the biting cold. She was still as beautiful and refined as ever, standing out like a lone, exquisite plum blossom against the snowy landscape.

He shook out the blanket and said gently, “Mrs Qu?”

Mrs Qu turned her head towards him and gave him a smile. “See how beautifully these plum blossoms have bloomed? Some flowers are just this unconventional, being able to thrive even without a warm climate.”

“Aren’t they? Here, please put on this blanket. The snow’s thawing now, it’s too cold.” he said, draping the blanket over her shoulders.

She breathed out a puff of white air. “It is quite cold, and you aren’t properly bundled up, I think we had better go back inside.”

The two of them re-entered the house, but Mrs Qu remained standing by the immense floor-to-ceiling windows and continued to admire the plum blossoms.

“I didn't think that Moyu would bring you back. The New Year season is always the most boring time of the year.”

“Moyu told me his grandfather wanted to meet the wife of his grandson.”

“He wants to know when you can give birth to an Alpha for the Qu family.” Mrs Qu smiled. “But he still doesn’t know that your pheromone grade is only B.”

Though Shen Dai felt a little awkward, there was no way for him to leave politely.

“Despite his age, deep down he's well aware of everything. He knows exactly why Moyu married you. He's also fully aware that once he's gone, his two eldest sons will inevitably start to fight.”

There was an unmistakable hint of derision in her smile.

"He wants to maintain whatever control he can with the time he has left. It's only now that he realises that it’s not good to have internal strife. Yet back when he was raising his children up to be fighting beasts, wasn’t he so proud of his educational philosophy?”

For a while he had a hard time understanding why Mrs Qu would be sharing these things with an outsider like himself. But on second thought, perhaps it was precisely that he was an outsider, who had nothing to gain personally from the matter and didn’t dare gossip about the affairs of the Qu family. At the same time, he also happened to be involved in their story, and could understand the details of the narrative she was retelling. That was why she had chosen to confide in him.

Or perhaps it was just because this wealthy lady had no better outlet for her resentment.

That was exactly what it was: Resentment. Shen Dai could sense the resentment towards the Qu family radiating off her body. Though her voice was gentle and soft, every word of hers contained a sting.

He knew full well that he was only being used, like a pawn. Given that Qu Moyu could use him for his own purposes, it was only natural that his mother could as well. This worked out in his favour, since he wanted to gain a better understanding of the environment in which Qu Moyu had grown up. So he simply followed her lead and asked, "Why do you say that?" His question was intentionally vague and could have referred to any one of her statements, giving her ample room to elaborate.

“Because my husband and son were brought up this way,” said Mrs Qu, gazing at him quietly. “ Coming from a normal family, you won’t be able to understand. Someone like Xiao Yue is capable of becoming a daughter-in-law of the Qu family - you are not.”

Indeed, he had no way of refuting that statement, not even on a psychological level.

Her eyes were gentle, yet piercing. "I know that you and Moyu are together now. Are both of you using contraceptives?”

Shen Dai was now even more embarrassed. He nodded, pretending to be unperturbed. "We had an agreement, so we’re not going to have any children." Pausing for a moment, he added, "You can rest assured."

"That’s a good thing for you," Mrs Qu said, pulling the blanket tighter around herself, then added drily, "If you can't give birth to a top-tier Alpha, your child will be of no value to the Qu family.”

The statement was far too callous; His heart trembled sharply in response.

He was aware that it was virtually impossible for him and Qu Moyu to have a child together, considering he was just an omega with B-grade pheromones. To give birth to an A-class alpha would already be quite lucky, the odds of him giving birth to an S-class alpha were slimmer than winning the lottery. After all, the combination most likely to produce an S-class alpha was an S-class alpha with an S-class omega, the latter being Qu Moyu's requirement for his future wife.

Yet the utilitarianism and disregard for life presented within those words still made him feel sick.

“Are pheromone grades all that important?” Shen Dai could not stop himself from asking. That was only half of his question. The remaining half - what he genuinely wanted to say - he kept to himself.

What he had wanted to say, was that placing the greater weight of one’s judgement on reproductive capability completely overlooked an omega's abilities as a person, and he was not going to accept this system of classification which labelled him as lower-class.

But he knew better than to delve into this question with one of his elders. As they came from different generations, there was just no way to reconcile the disparity in their perspectives through words.

“Of course they are. Especially in the world of Alphas,” she said, with a sigh. “Did you know that Moyu actually has an older female cousin on his father's side? She also happened to be Chengchen’s sister.”

“He mentioned it. He told me that she passed.”

“She was a lovely young woman. An A-class Alpha, which was outstanding enough to begin with. It’s a pity that…” Mrs Qu lowered her gaze, making no effort to conceal her own sorrow. “Her tragedy began the day Moyu was born, and reached its peak after Chengchen’s birth.”

“…Why was that?”

“Because she had two younger brothers that she could never hope to compete with. Despite her relentless efforts, the genetic gap was simply impossible to overcome. Though she was clearly the firstborn child of the eldest branch of the family, she had been limited to taking charge of secondary businesses at the Starship corporation. For an Alpha from a privileged upbringing with a strong sense of self-worth, it was a devastating blow. No matter how fortunate and wealthy she appeared to outsiders, she could only live in a state of self-doubt and unhappiness.”

Mrs Qu touched her forehead against the icy-cold window lightly. “She died of a drug overdose, in San Francisco. At the time of her death, she was younger than Moyu.”