62

Shen Dai had prepared a table full of his specialties, and he and the professor ate while they chatted. He deliberately avoided discussing the difficulties of the past year. Even if the professor brought it up, there was no use in complaining. What would be the point in making him worry? Instead, Shen Dai steered the conversation towards his thesis, taking advantage of the professor's presence to ask many questions.

When they had finished dinner, Shen Dai woke Qiuqiu up. Liu Xi made a video call to Cheng Zimei, and the three of them played with the baby together. For a time, it felt as if they had returned to the past.

After Liu Xi left, Shen Dai set Qiuqiu down on the bed to play on his own and went to clear the dishes.

Just as he was finished, the doorbell rang. Thinking that it was Liu Xi who had forgotten something, he rinsed off his hands and went to get the door.

In the instant the door opened, the two people on either side of the door found themselves unable to move.

The person he had glimpsed quickly in the news video—the heir to the Starship Corporation—had suddenly appeared in front of him. He had become a little thinner, and the sockets of his eyes were now a faint blue-grey, but although a touch of gloominess had settled in those bright and starry eyes, they were still as dazzling and refined as before. The simple corridor of this commercial housing block was incapable of turning into a backdrop he could fit seamlessly into; He simply didn’t belong here.

Looking at this man whom he had once done all manner of intimate things with, Shen Dai only felt an incomparable sense of unfamiliarity. He had pictured meeting Qu Moyu again before, but could never think of how he was going to face him, and so it was better not to see him at all.

Qu Moyu was also looking back at him. Shen Dai’s hair had grown out a little and had the messiness of not being trimmed. His skin had grown even paler, and his eyes were grey and lifeless, as if shrouded by an indissoluble layer of mist.

In the past, he had been skinny and pale, yet he radiated an air of calmness and composure from head to toe. Under the fabric of his clothes, his well-defined bone structure possessed just the right amount of strength, much like steep and upright green bamboo. But now there was sickliness written across his face, tiredness written in his eyes, as if all it would take was a gentle snap for him to shatter.

Qu Moyu was beside himself with unhappiness. The anger that had never truly been quelled over the past year started to clamour within him. He wanted so much to ask Shen Dai what he was trying to do—leaving him only to end up like this. Instead, he restrained himself. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked, without a ripple of emotion across his face.

Shen Dai felt an uncontrollable trembling in his chest. Panic, defiance, anxiety — all those negative emotions that Qu Moyu had given him had reawakened in the recesses of his mind. He thought that sooner or later, he would be able to face up to the bleakest moments of his life. But at this moment, he still wasn't ready.

He gripped the doorframe tightly, as if it were the walls of his own city. He had Xiao Die stay at the school overnight because of his meeting with the professor. With only him and Qiuqiu at home, how could he possibly let Qu Moyu come in?

Watching the changing expressions on Shen Dai's face, Qu Moyu knew he couldn't wait for an invitation. Not that he needed one, so he simply walked right in.

As Qu Moyu approached, his tall and sturdy body loomed over like a mountain bearing down on him. Shen Dai retreated backwards by several steps until the door closed shut in front of him—his city walls were collapsing before his eyes.

Qu Moyu looked around. "This apartment is part of the company's welfare housing. Was it also Professor Liu who arranged for you to live here?”

"No."

"Whose shoes and clothes are these?" he questioned, glancing over a few daily necessities which were clearly meant for a woman. From the size of the shoes he could tell that they likely didn't belong to a female alpha.

Aside from female alphas, Omegas rarely had romantic relationships with other females.

"The helper’s," Shen Dai replied without thinking. His nerves were on edge. Qiuqiu was in the bedroom, with any luck asleep by now. "President Qu, is there something you need?”

Hearing this, Qu Moyu turned around. His eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of anger flashing in them. He had spent half a year handling work that was utterly exhausting, all the while simmering with resentment that Shen Dai had dared to leave without a word. Finally, he had decided to look for him.

A month ago, he had located Shen Dai’s whereabouts. Having settled all his matters at the company properly, he made sure was clear about his decision. The purpose of this trip to Lancheng was the new project, but it was also for Shen Dai.

"Didn’t you say you wanted a transfer? You're still supposed to be on sick leave, yet you upped and left just like that? What’s so great about this place that you'd throw away a perfectly good salary and benefits in Beijing to come here?!"

Qu Moyu’s voice grew louder as he spoke. Shen Dai caught his breath, terrified of drawing Qiuqiu’s attention. He whispered, "Then, may I be transferred?“

"No.”

“I…”

In a few steps, Qu Moyu walked up to Shen Dai and had him backed against the wall. Towering over Shen Dai, he looked down at him intently. “Come back with me,” he said, articulating each word in the tone of a command which left no room for refusal.

It had been a long time since Shen Dai had experienced intimidation from an Alpha, especially from this Alpha who had once subjected him to pheromone suppression. The fear was still imprinted in his memory. His head felt so heavy he could not raise it. All he could manage was to whisper, “If I can’t be transferred, then I’ll just resign.”

Qu Moyu pressed his hand against the wall and bent down a little, engulfing Shen Dai in his shadow. "Say that again," he retorted coldly.

Shen Dai’s breathing became shaky.

Seeing Shen Dai’s timid and trembling appearance, Qu Moyu felt his heart ache. Despite his residual anger, he hadn’t intended to scare him at all. He gently stroked that head of soft hair and lowered his tone: “A-Dai, just come back with me. Let’s talk things out properly. I told you before, I can give you a good life. My promise still stands.”

Shen Dai thought of his old self, how he used to always get lost in Qu Moyu’s false tenderness. Now, it only made his skin crawl. He didn’t dare provoke Qu Moyu’s fury, and for a while, he couldn’t think of how to avert the crisis in front of him. To make matters worse, a baby's cry suddenly rang out from the other room.

Qu Moyu turned his head in astonishment. Shen Dai gave his thigh a hard pinch to force himself to calm down. The best way to conquer fear was to face it.

Taking a glance at Shen Dai, Qu Moyu then turned and walked toward the bedroom. He opened the door that was slightly ajar and looked over to the crib beside the bed. There sat a beautiful little alpha, his clear eyes open wide, curiously looking back at him. At the same time, he detected the familiar scent of pheromones in the bedroom; except that besides Shen Dai's subtle epiphyllum scent, there was also the scent of an Alpha.

This was unmistakably Shen Dai's bedroom, and yet there were actually the pheromones of another Alpha present— even the child on the bed was drenched in it! Qu Moyu felt like he was on the verge of exploding. He glared at Shen Dai; instantly his eyes had turned bloodshot and his expression as fierce as a tiger's, frightening Shen Dai so much that his legs went weak.

A wave of insane jealousy instantly obliterated his sense of reason. The emotions he had suppressed for the past year erupted. A throbbing dull pain emanated from his chest, making him feel like a wild beast that had been attacked. He had always used counterattack as a form of defence. Seizing Shen Dai by the collar, he slammed him against the wardrobe door with a thunderous ‘crash’. Qiuqiu began to wail loudly.

"Moved on to someone else so quickly? And even popped out a baby?" Qu Moyu bared his fangs, wishing he could pierce Shen Dai's neck and let the person who dared cause him pain and humiliation taste the price of betraying him.

Although Shen Dai was struggling to breathe under the pressure of Qu Moyu’s pheromones, his concern for Qiuqiu far outweighed his concern for himself. He clung onto Qu Moyu’s ironlike arm, trembling and pleading, “Don’t do this, the baby can’t handle it.”

The thought of how much pressure the pheromones of a top alpha could exert on an infant was unbearable for him to imagine.

Qu Moyu ignored him, and instead grabbed his neck and tore off the thin pheromone-blocking patch. Though he couldn’t detect the scent of a mark on Shen Dai, he needed to be sure. The gland still bore his teeth marks and the incisions from when the mark had been removed which had already turned into ugly white scars.

Shen Dai felt as if someone had opened a long-forgotten wound there and then. Though the physical pain had faded long ago, the torment on his soul had been unceasing. Memories of all the pain and humiliation came rushing back. “Let go of me!” he snarled.

In response to Shen Dai’s struggling, Qu Moyu wedged his leg between his powerful thighs, and leaned in close to take a deep sniff of his gland. Having finally confirmed that his Omega had not yet been marked by someone else, he opened his mouth, grinding his itching canine teeth together, wanting to bite down ferociously. Someone else had tried to dip their fingers into something that was his; he had to seize it back!

After several attempts to break free, Shen Dai had exhausted his strength. Qu Moyu's interrogations and Qiuqiu's sharp cries were making his head buzz. He was genuinely concerned about Qiuqiu. The child had lacked the presence of an alpha father throughout the gestation period and his developmental phase, resulting in a lack of security and made him easily prone to stress.

"President Qu, please,” he wept and pleaded.

His face ashen with rage, Qu Moyu glanced over at Qiuqiu who wouldn’t stop crying, then yanked Shen Dai out of the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Shen Dai mustered up his strength again and struggled to free himself from Qu Moyu's grip, wanting to go comfort Qiuqiu. However, Qu Moyu flung him onto the sofa, his gaze so vicious it was scary.

Shen Dai gritted his teeth and glared at Qu Moyu, his eyes bursting with inconcealable hatred.

That gaze struck every nerve in Qu Moyu's body. He was stunned, as if unable to believe that a day would come when Shen Dai would look at him like this. Doing his utmost to keep his volatile emotions in check, he took a seat next to Shen Dai. With his head bowed, he murmured quietly to himself for a moment, waiting for his sense of reason to gradually return as he began to ponder.

In the bedroom, Qiuqiu was still crying incessantly. Although the sound was muffled considerably by the door, it still tugged at the hearts of the two grown-ups.

Shen Dai was desperate to go check on his child, but he didn't dare move.

A long time went by before Qu Moyu finally raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, the veins on his forehead bulging as if he had reached the limit of his endurance: "I've smelled that pheromone scent before. It's Bai Xiangwan's, isn't it?"

Shen Dai looked at him warily.

“Is the child his?” asked Qu Moyu, unable to keep his voice from quivering lightly. “Or mine?” He never imagined that he would one day find himself asking this question with a faint glimmer of hope. He had never wanted this child, nor should he have wanted it. A year before, Shen Dai had terminated the pregnancy, and the doctor had stated in no uncertain terms that without the mark, the child would not survive. However, given the timing, maybe, just maybe…

"It's not yours." Shen Dai answered, firmly and without hesitation.

Qiuqiu was his child alone.

Qu Moyu's heart was hurting so much, as if a piece of it had been gouged out. He cast a sidelong glance at Shen Dai, the expression in his eyes worthy of being called malevolent: "You and Bai Xiangwan were both Liu Xi's students. You’ve known each other since university, maybe something happened between you two back then, which is why you requested to be transferred to Lancheng. All that time we were together, you were already thinking of running to him."

“President Qu, I have done everything you asked of me. What more do you want?" replied Shen Dai in a low voice.

Qu Moyu slowly tightened his interlocked fingers. A cruel smile formed on his face. “What do I want? What do you think? Do you actually think I want an Omega that someone else has fooled around with?”