64

Shen Dai was seated not far from Qu Moyu, looking quietly at this person he had once loved, who had once appeared in his eyes as if surrounded by a halo of light, illuminating and warming him even during his darkest moments. Sometimes he couldn’t figure out why the person who had saved him would have pushed him off a cliff with their own hands.

Not that it mattered anymore. This time, he had managed to climb back up on his own and would never again need a helping hand.

“What explanations do you want?” asked Shen Dai calmly.

Qu Moyu was a little taken aback. He had been bursting with things to say, yet for a brief moment, he had no idea where to start.

After his anger had quelled, he began to realise that several things didn't make sense. From there, he did a quick check of the child's birth records: Born at thirty-six weeks premature; the child had to be his.

The sheer joy of that split second far overshadowed the hidden danger of an illegitimate child. Only, the house filled with Bai Xiangwan’s pheromones was real. That the child was his didn’t necessarily mean that Shen Dai hadn’t betrayed him. His sense of reason also forced him to be wary of Shen Dai's motives for doing all of this.

The secret he had most wanted to keep having now been exposed, Shen Dai instead decided to hell with it; The child had already been born, what could Qu Moyu do to him anyway?

Qu Moyu narrowed his eyes: “You broke the contract.”

“I am Shen Yue’s guardian. I won’t consent to a paternity test. Even if you force one, it will have no legal standing,” replied Shen Dai, his gaze lifeless yet firm. “My child has nothing to do with you.”

“Just what are you playing at?” asked Qu Moyu coldly. “I don’t know how you managed to keep this child, but to go through such great lengths, tell me, what is it that you want?”

“I don’t want anything. There’s nothing that I need.”

“I’ve seen this trick many times before: relaxing one’s grip to catch someone off guard,” Qu Moyu said with a disdainful smile, “One who forsakes minor gains is surely aiming for a bigger prize. You had better think it through—an illegitimate child can only bring you so much. Now that I’m willing to compensate you, you should quit before you overplay your hand.”

Shen Dai smiled as well, not in the least surprised by Qu Moyu’s remarks. When he put his life on the line to smash the many halos surrounding Qu Moyu, what he saw was a machine run on power, devoid of all human emotion. In the world of this top Alpha, all aspects of human existence were driven by profit, as if Qu Moyu could understand no other motives other than personal interest.

How could someone be that pathetic?

“I don’t want anything,“ replied Shen Dai, looking at Qu Moyu coolly. “This child will never have anything to do with you or take a penny from you. You have your own legal department and can hire the best lawyers. You should know better that he poses no threat to your future legitimate children. What else do you have to worry about?”

The pupils of Qu Moyu's eyes constricted as he stared intently at Shen Dai's features, searching for any emotion that would help him make an analysis. But he couldn't discern anything at all; Shen Dai's words were so firm they left no room for turning back.

He wasn’t buying it. This omega had given birth to his child, how could he want nothing? He waited for Shen Dai to demand from him a long string of numbers. He would acquiesce, treating it as compensation for removing the mark and giving birth, then he would bring the child back with him and care for them for the rest of their lives. Even if Shen Dai had found another alpha and allowed his son to be contaminated with that person’s pheromones, he still wanted to snatch them back.

Shen Dai glanced at the time: "President Qu, it's getting late, you.…”

"Shen Dai," said Qu Moyu sternly. "Stop putting on an act."

Shen Dai shook his head, “What more do you need to put your mind at ease? I can sign a non-disclosure agreement. If I breach it, cause you any losses in your reputation or assets, I’ll compensate you—feel free to write any amount.“

Qu Moyu stared at him, dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe it, or rather, he couldn’t accept it. Shen Dai truly did not want anything from him and had no demands to make of him.

For an omega to take such a risk to give birth to his child, he must have been after either money or status; otherwise, what else could he want?

Could it be because of Bai Xiangwan?

Overcome by jealousy, Qu Moyu’s blood began to simmer. He gritted his teeth in anger. “Is it because of Bai Xiangwan?” he demanded, “Do you want to stay here just for him? How could he possibly want you—a divorced omega with a removed mark? Or does he just like playing daddy to someone else’s son?’”

Shen Dai’s lips were quivering. Without the strength to stand up to Qu Moyu’s relentless insults, he could only resort to indifference as his last defence. In a low voice, he hissed, ‘This has nothing to do with you. Get out.’”

"The child sleeping in that room is my son. You are my omega. How can you say it has nothing to do with me?"

"I’m not your omega!" Shen Dai snarled, "Qiuqiu is my son alone. We will never have anything to do with you for the rest of our lives!"

Qu Moyu's expression shifted repeatedly, clouded with gloominess. A tightness in his chest caused him to feel extremely uncomfortable.

Shen Dai stood up. His voice trembling, he said, “You’re right. Bai Xiangwan wouldn't be interested in a divorced omega with a removed mark. Our relationship isn't like that. You don’t need to deliberately make things hard for him. And now, you should leave.”

“The entire house reeks of his pheromones—your bedroom, even my son! Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”

“You can believe what you want. Get out.”

“Shen Dai, you better not regret this.” said Qu Moyu, pausing between each word.

Shen Dai walked over and opened the door, staring at him with nothing but anger and hostility in his eyes.

His ego having been crushed to a pulp, Qu Moyu could find no reason to stay. Never before had he been treated like this, despite repeatedly lowering his standards and going as far as to make promises. How could anyone be so ungrateful? How could anyone dare to treat him like this!

He strode quickly towards the door, but as he passed Shen Dai, a thread of that long-missed floral fragrance rendered him immobile.

He had been so preoccupied the other day, confirming that Shen Dai hadn't been marked by someone else, that he hadn't been able to properly savour the pheromones which had caused him sleepless nights. Over the past year, he had repeatedly tried to suppress his thoughts, but he couldn't stop himself from missing and longing for the scent of the epiphyllum.

Whenever he thought about that rich and intoxicating fragrance, which would turn from insipid to intense during heat, memories of times spent with Shen Dai would resurface in his mind.

He thought that this sort of feeling would pass, that it was nothing more than physiological desire transformed into the impulse to seek a mate, and he would not permit himself to indulge in such primitive needs.

Only…a year had passed, but contrary to what he had thought, he just couldn’t let it go.

Qu Moyu grabbed the door and slammed it shut with a ‘bang’. Before Shen Dai could react, Qu Moyu already had him pinned against the wall. Rough kisses came down, ruthlessly stopping up his mouth, forcefully grinding and sucking.

In that instant of contact, Qu Moyu realised that he had missed this taste more than imagined. All of his urges erupted. As he rudely seized the air from Shen Dai’s mouth, he tore open those slackened pyjamas.

“Don’t….”

Shen Dai wasn’t even able to finish his cry for help before he was kissed by Qu Moyu to the point of breathlessness, his oxygen starved brain was in a daze, spinning out of control. By the time he regained consciousness he was already being pressed against the sofa.

Qu Moyu’s hand could perceive the texture of every inch of that smooth and delicate skin. Though exhilarated by the familiar sensation, his heart trembled at how much visibly thinner Shen Dai had become.

“Let me go!” Shen Dai's face flushed red and then paled, his eyes filled with fear and shame. What right did Qu Moyu have to treat him like this? What right did he have to hurt him time and again?

Qu Moyu had his legs pressed against Shen Dai’s knees, forcing the latter to spread his legs apart for him. His mind was overwhelmed by jealousy, and he could only rant incoherently, “You said you liked me, and then you turned around and threw yourself at another Alpha while carrying my child? Do you also want my son to call him 'dad' one day?”

“Qu Moyu!” Shen Dai cried out, “Asshole! Who could ever like you? I despise you.”

Qu Moyu’s eyes were bloodshot. Already, the frenzied Alpha pheromones within his body could no longer be restrained. All he wanted was to swallow the person beneath him whole. A voice in his head was screaming for him to violate, to attack, to conquer, to completely possess — only by treating his prey in this manner could he assuage his uneasiness.

He peeled off all of Shen Dai’s clothes, forcing this Omega who had caused him indescribable pain to sacrifice himself to him.

That was until he noticed the scar on Shen Dai’s belly – the scar left from the c-section. Shen Dai’s lower abdomen, once like a piece of fine, flawless white jade, and his slender waist, thin enough to encircle with one arm, had not yet fully regained its elasticity, even three months postpartum. The light pink, slightly raised scar was glaringly conspicuous.

His heart had been dealt a heavy blow, and he halted all his actions.

Curling up his naked body, Shen Dai hugged himself tightly. He was violently trembling, wishing that he could just disappear.

Seeing Shen Dai in such a state, all of a sudden Qu Moyu couldn’t recall what he had just done. Stiffly, he took off his suit jacket and carefully draped it over Shen Dai, covering his body.

At that moment, a baby’s wail broke through the invisible boundary created by the both of them, penetrating their eardrums, pulling Shen Dai out from his cocoon of self-protection and back into reality. Wrapped in Qu Moyu’s clothes, Shen Dai wobbled as he got up and hurriedly staggered into the bedroom.

Qiuqiu had started crying at some unknown point in time, his face already red through and through. Shen Dai's hands and feet were shaking as he struggled to pick up Qiuqiu, then sat down at the edge of the bed, gently soothing him.

Qu Moyu came into the room.

Shen Dai’s body appeared to be even thinner to him under his suit jacket. The back view of that incessantly trembling figure seized at his heart.

But just as he was about to speak, Qiuqiu's crying suddenly intensified, becoming all the more piercing.

Shen Dai turned his head, his eyes dark: “He’s afraid of you. Get out.”

The hatred in Shen Dai's eyes and the tear stains on his face sent a chill down Qu Moyu's spine.

In whatever difficulties he encountered in life, the thrill of facing challenges had always outweighed any anxiety. This time alone was different. He didn't dare to confront Shen Dai's accusing gaze. He was completely at a loss.

In the end, he beat a hasty retreat.