59
59.
A year later.
On the way back from the library, Shen Dai stopped by the supermarket to pick up some ingredients including a live grouper and a Dungeness crab weighing over two kilos.
Growing up in the north, he had no particular liking for seafood, plus this was the northwest, where the locals didn’t have a taste for it, either. These items, all flown in and carefully selected for their freshness and cost, were well-suited for entertaining guests and celebrating. And today was indeed a day of celebration: marking both Qiuqiu's first full hundred days and the completion of his thesis.
Shen Dai was struggling to open the apartment door with two huge plastic bags in his hands when a Beta girl rushed out from inside to take over: "Shen Laoshi, why did you buy so much food again by yourself? It’s heavy!”
The girl had a simple and pretty round face. Her name was Xiao Die. She was an intern at the Research Institute as well as a student of Bai Xiangwan’s.
Since Shen Dai wasn’t an employee, it wasn’t easy for him to frequently enter and leave the Research Institute. He also couldn’t come into contact with radiation-emitting equipment. Bai Xiangwan had thus assigned Xiao Die to assist him with simple experiments and data collection, allowing him to show her the ropes along the way. Over time, he found that the girl was hardworking and sensible. Not only was she diligent in her studies and work, but seeing him living alone while pregnant, she would often take the initiative to offer him help. Eventually, Shen Dai simply invited her to live with him, providing room and board along with a salary.
The apartment he was currently renting also belonged to Bai Xiangwan. It was a company-subsidised welfare apartment that had been purchased several years ago. However, Bai Xiangwan almost always stayed at the dormitory of the Research Institute and instead charged him a nominal rent.
With the help of these two people, his life had become a lot less stressful; otherwise, he would have sunk under the pressure of caring for the child alone.
Shen Dai said with a smile, "I picked out some fresh seafood. Do you know how to cook them?"
“Once I see the recipe I’ll be able to. How difficult can it be?" replied Xiao Die excitedly as she looked at the fish flopping around in the bag. "Wow, it's huge. Must have been expensive, right?"
"It’s still cheaper than eating outside."
After sorting out the ingredients, Shen Dai glanced at his watch, "I'll go check on Qiuqiu and come back to help you in a bit."
"Go ahead, Professor Bai is working overtime. There’s no way he’ll make it back by six-thirty.”
Shen Dai washed his hands and then quietly entered the room. A fair and plump baby boy lay in the crib sound asleep, part of his finger resting in his mouth, his lips glistening with saliva, opening and closing as he sucked on it, having a lovely dream about heaven knows what.
Shen Dai gazed at his little Alpha, his expression so tender it seemed to melt.
Qiuqiu was born at thirty-six weeks. Although nearly at full term, by the doctor’s assessment, the effectiveness of the substitute pheromones would decrease as the baby continued to grow.
Lacking the soothing presence of an Alpha father, both Shen Dai and the baby faced greater risks with a natural birth, prompting them to opt for an earlier caesarean delivery. Qiuqiu was small and frail at birth and needed to be monitored in the hospital for two weeks, a period in which Shen Dai was also deeply anxious. Thankfully, he eventually returned home healthy and well.
Qiuqiu was the baby’s milk name. His grandfather had named him “Dai,” after the great Mount Tai, and so his son would be his little hill.
Slowly bending down, he gently stroked the fluffy hair on Qiuqiu’s head with his fingers, then lowered his head, and with the tip of his nose, he took a gentle sniff.
Qiuqiu's pheromone scent was that of the Chinese juniper, a very distinctive aroma, somewhat medicinal, yet not bitter, with an underlying hint of freshness.
However, as the infant's gland was not fully developed, the pheromone scent was faint and could only be identified through genetic testing. Ever so often, Shen Dai would take a sniff, but it was a milky scent, rather than the indistinct medicinal scent which stood out more.
Shen Dai smiled and gently kissed Qiuqiu's cheek. He had never thought that having a child would feel like this, as if no matter how he expressed his love, it was never enough.
Although Qiuqiu's boundless energy was scary, and taking care of a child was the most exhausting thing he had done in his life, Shen Dai savoured every moment of it.
After three months of rest, his body gradually recovered. He planned to take Qiuqiu back to the capital to visit his grandmother when the child was half a year old, and then to see his teacher. Even if Bai Shixiong was willing to help, he wouldn't have been able to move so freely in and out of the Institute as a contract staff member without his teacher's special attention and care. Since no one here knew him or inquired about his history, he was able to navigate smoothly through the most difficult time of his life. Though he preferred not to talk about or reflect on his past, each time he looked at Qiuqiu, he felt that all his sacrifices had been worth it.
Returning to the kitchen to help Xiao Die prepare dinner, they chatted and laughed over amusing moments in Qiuqiu’s growth.
“Oh, right. Shen Laoshi, I stumbled upon a popular science article yesterday. It mentioned that children in cases like Qiuqiu’s need alpha pheromones for comfort up to the age of three, but there’s another type that would be more suitable for him than those decellularised or synthetic ones.”
"I know, the doctor mentioned it to me, only... Ah, never mind, he's doing quite well as it is," Shen Dai replied. He knew exactly what Xiao Die was getting at: After a child was born, they still needed pheromones from both parents during development, otherwise the child would be easily fearful and suffer from poor growth.
However, their needs were not as demanding as when they were in the reproductive cavity. In the absence of the parents' pheromones, the pheromones of someone who was frequently around them and provided them with a sense of security could also be effective.
Currently, the only Alpha who had frequent contact with Qiuqiu was Bai Xiangwan. But Shen Dai felt that this request was inappropriate. Bai Shixiong had already helped him too much, and by nature, he had always tried to avoid bothering others as much as possible. How could he have the face to ask someone to extract a tube of glandular fluid for nothing?
“But I feel that the substitute pheromones aren't really calming Qiuqiu anymore. His energy levels are way too frightening. Sometimes I feel the reason he can’t fall asleep isn’t because he hasn’t played enough, but that he doesn’t feel a sense of security.” Xiao Die sighed. “I looked after my two little Alpha brothers back home, but none of them were this energetic. Qiuqiu's pheromone level must be quite high, right?”
"I don't know, I never got it tested.”
Shen Dai thought to himself. Could it be that the substitute pheromones really weren't effective anymore? The doctor had indeed warned him that after the child was born, they would no longer perceive the world through the mother's body but would develop their own sensory system. At this time, they would grow fond of the scent of whoever was close to them. Clearly, Qiuqiu no longer liked the dull substitute pheromones and now preferred Bai Xiangwan’s instead.
"You’ve never tested it?"said Xiao Die, surprised. "Why not?"
It was common practice to test the pheromone levels of newborns right after birth. C-class usually indicated a deficiency, while B-class was the most common. Attaining A-class was already great news worth announcing to family and friends, let alone giving birth to an S-class child by some extraordinary stroke of luck.
Shen Dai replied with a slight smile, "I'm against using pheromone levels to categorise newborns into grades. The person one becomes in the future, what achievements they will attain are deeply connected to their family background, education, personality, and personal efforts.We shouldn’t draw conclusions based solely on a single, subjective piece of data. Therefore, I won't have his pheromones tested, and I don’t care about them either. As long as he’s healthy, that’s all that matters.”
Xiao Die looked at Shen Dai, her face filled with admiration. "Shen Laoshi, what you’ve said is really commendable, it's no wonder you've managed to achieve so much on your own."
"Anyone willing to work hard can carve out their own niche in the world. My teacher, Professor Liu Xi, who was also your teacher Bai Xiangwan's teacher, is a beta, yet he became a world-class expert in Rare Earth elements.”
Xiao Die nodded vigorously. "Professor Liu is our idol. I’ll work hard too!"
The two prepared a delicious and hearty dinner, and just before seven o'clock, the doorbell rang.
Shen Dai got up to open the door, laughing, "Why do you have to ring the doorbell at your own home? Wow, today you're only thirty minutes late."
Standing at the door was a tall and handsome Alpha male. His features were exceptional—a high nose, broad forehead, and pale complexion, with an aura of capability and composure. However, his hair was untouched by any styling, his lab coat splattered with unidentifiable stains, and his shirt wrinkled. He was simply the quintessential image of an engineering geek, passionately devoted to scientific research and indifferent to his appearance.
This was Bai Xiangwan, a fellow student of the Professor’s. At the age of thirty-two, he became the youngest doctoral supervisor at Lancheng University. He was in charge of the Starship corporation’s Research Institute in the Gansu mining area and was the student that Liuxi was most proud of.
“Twenty minutes. I spent ten minutes buying this,” corrected Bai Xiangwan, revealing a cake in his hand.
"Let me handle that, Bai Laoshi." Xiao Die attentively took the cake from him.
Bai Xiangwan nodded at Xiao Die. "A-Dai, where is Qiuqiu?" he asked, and began looking around for the little noisemaker.
"He's sleeping," replied Shen Dai, pointing to the other room, "He's rarely this quiet. Let's eat first."
“Bai Laoshi, we both whipped up a whole bunch of delicious dishes together,” declared Xiao Die proudly. “The crab that Shen Laoshi picked out was massive—a live crab! It costs over three hundred for one!”
"Then I really must try it."Bai Xiangwan glanced at Shen Dai with a smile, his gaze gentle yet intense. "Today is a day worth celebrating."
The three of them sat down. Shen Dai poured three glasses of red wine. He raised his glass, took a deep breath, and then suddenly felt deeply moved. "I'm especially happy today. Although my thesis still needs some revisions and checks, it's essentially complete. Also, today marks Qiuqiu's hundredth day. I want to properly thank you both. Bai Shixiong, Xiao Die, without your help, I can't imagine what a difficult and sorry state I would have found myself in.” Once he had finished, he felt a sting in his nose and his eyes turning slightly red. "Really, thank you both.”
He thought about all that he had been through in the past year, all the hardships that were hard to put into words. He had endured night after night of pain, exhaustion, self-doubt, and even now he couldn't completely escape the shadow that Qu Moyu had cast over him.
But at least he was getting better every day. At least when he thought of Qiuqiu, his heart filled up with strength. Thanks to the support of Bai Shixiong and Xiao Die, he was able to persevere. He considered himself lucky to have met such good people at the lowest point of his life.
Xiao Die giggled sheepishly, "Shen Laoshi, I learn so much just from being around you, on top of getting food and a place to stay. Plus I really like Qiuqiu. Please don’t be so polite."
Bai Xiangwan also smiled, "Don't mention it, it's nothing."
Looking at the two of them gratefully, Shen Dai said, “This glass is for you both." He raised his glass, downed it, and the other two followed suit.
"Let's eat!" Xiao Die clapped her hands happily. "It’s Qiuqiu’s hundredth day! May he be happy and healthy, sleep more and cry less, and quickly grow up to be a handsome guy!”
A smile of happiness spread across Shen Dai's face.
1. His grandfather had named him “Dai,” after the great Mount Tai, and so his son would be his little hill: Shen Dai (沈岱) is named after 岱宗 (Dài zōng), another name for Mt Tai (泰山), and therefore his son’s nickname is Qiuqiu (丘丘), his little hill (小山丘). Not long after, you will discover that his son’s formal name is 沈岳
2. Qiuqiu's pheromone scent was that of Chinese juniper: 龙柏, Chinese Juniper “Kaizuka”, Read more about the species here