Title: 顶级掠食者 (Alpha Predator)

Author:水千丞 (ShuiQianCheng)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists :沈岱 (Shen Dai -MC), 瞿末予 (Qu Moyu -ML)

֍֍֍

​​Shen Dai waited anxiously for Qiuqiu to be sent back. He imagined how Qiuqiu would react to the Qu family’s father and son and how Qu Shen would think of Qiuqiu. He wondered what was going on in a place he could not see. Everything made him feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Shen Dai picked it up and saw that it was a video call from Xiao Die. He originally wanted to hang up, but he had done this action too many times. His finger reacted before his brain and it swiped right.

Not only Xiao Die, but Bai Xiangwan also appeared on the phone screen.

“Mr. Shen, good morning. Is Qiuqiu awake?” Xiao Die greeted with a smile, “We are in the laboratory and Teacher Bai said he misses Qiuqiu.”

Bai Xiangwan smiled and said, “Ah Dai, is Qiuqiu awake?”

Shen Dai smiled dryly: “He drank some milk just now. But now he has fallen asleep again.”

“Let me take a look.” Xiao Die brought her face closer to the screen. “Hey, Mr. Shen, are you back at the hotel again? This isn’t your friend’s house, right?”

Shen Dai didn’t want to lie and didn’t know how to explain the absurd things that had happened in the past two days. So he could only say lightly: “Well, I don’t live with her anymore. Qiuqiu will affect her sleep time. I’m not in the same room with Qiuqiu now. Let’s video call later.”

“Oh, okay.” Xiaodie asked again, “Mr. Shen, when are you coming back? Mr. Bai has arranged for you an independent office with good sunlight. I cleaned it out for you today. Do you want me to put in a fish tank? A former colleague gave me his fish tank.”

“I……”

Bai Xiangwan had already seen Shen Dai’s strangeness and he said, “Xiao Die, you go to work first. Ah Dai and I have something to talk about.”

“Okay, let’s make a video call later when Qiuqiu wakes up.”

The video was hung up and Bai Xiangwan’s phone call came in.

Shen Dai sighed: “Brother Bai.”

“Ah Dai, have you finished the process of resigning? And have your family affairs been dealt with?”

Shen Dai spoke with difficulty: “Brother Bai, I’m sorry. I can’t go now.”

Bai Xiangwan paused for a while and said in a relaxed tone: “What’s wrong? I’m short of manpower here. And the salary for you is not low.”

Shen Dai pressed his forehead and said in a muffled voice, “I’m in… Qu’s house now.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. Bai Xiangwan’s voice sounded restrained and he said without hesitation, “You mean… you and Qu Moyu are reconciled.”

“No.” Shen Dai didn’t want to tell anyone about his shitty things at all. But he could say nothing but the truth, “We have some… disputes over Qiuqiu’s custody.”

Bai Xiangwan’s breathing became significantly heavier and he said solemnly, “Isn’t this bullying people?” He knew best how much hardship Shen Dai had to endure to give birth to Qiuqiu. Now Qu Moyu wants to grab a ready-made child?

Shen Dai’s eyes warmed inexplicably. He adjusted his breathing again and said as calmly as possible: “Senior Brother Bai, I’m sorry. I let you down again. If I can handle my own affairs…” He suddenly didn’t have the confidence to think about ‘If’. When he was faced with Qu Moyu, what odds did he have? He trembled, “I may really not be able to go back to Lancheng. Please tell Xiao Die for me. I don’t know how to tell her.”

“Ah Dai, if it’s about money, I can help you.”

“Brother Bai, thank you for the offer. But, no need.” Shen Dai was extremely embarrassed. He wanted to say that it wasn’t the money issue. But in the final analysis, it seemed that it was indeed a money issue. If he had a lot of money, he would dare to deal with Qu Moyu in a custody lawsuit. It is a pity that bullying is the basic rule in this world. The strong make the rules and the weak obey the rules.

Across a wall, Shen Dai heard Qiuqiu’s cry. He hurried to open the door. Madam Qu was returning with the crying Qiuqiu, followed by the gloomy-faced Qu Moyu.

Shen Dai hurriedly took over Qiuqiu. He started to rock and coax him.

“Mom, you may go back.” Qu Moyu said bluntly.

Madam Qu looked at Qiuqiu reluctantly: “I’ll see him again in two days.”

After Madam Qu left, Shen Dai held Qiuqiu farther away from Qu Moyu. But the room was only so big that he could only stand by the window as far away as possible.

Qu Moyu held a small rattle in his hand, swaying gently and sneaking closer. Qiuqiu’s attention was attracted by the crisp sound of the bell. He stared blankly at the colourful little toy and forgot to cry for a while.

Shen Dai shook his head at Qu Moyu, motioning him not to come closer. But Qu Moyu refused to give up and was about to approach the two of them. With the bullying of the alpha pheromone, Qiuqiu came back to his senses and looked at Qu Moyu’s face. He began to cry again.

Qu Moyu put down the rattle in disappointment, feeling very annoyed. He had just been disciplined by his father and now he is disliked by his son again. He took a few steps back, sat on the sofa and quietly watched Shen Dai coax the child. His emotions quickly calmed down and a warm feeling gradually emerged in his chest. He was very sure that the picture in front of him was what he wanted to see for the rest of his life. For this reason, he is willing to solve all the obstacles. The more he looks at Shen Dai like this, the more he wants to monopolise him. He wants to do everything he can to make the other person smile. He admits that he underestimated the power of feelings. And he also underestimated the power of Shen Dai.

It took Shen Dai more than ten minutes to put Qiuqiu to sleep. He gently put Qiuqiu into the crib and set up a good posture. Then, he straightened up and rubbed his sore arms.

Qu Moyu stood up and was about to say something when Shen Dai gave a ‘shh’ sound and motioned for him to go out.

The two walked to the living room next door. Qu Moyu pulled Shen Dai to sit on his lap, rubbed his shoulders and asked at the same time, “Why don’t you ask me what my dad was here for?”

Shen Dai neither wanted to ask nor wanted to know.

“They came to see Qiuqiu.” Qu Moyu answered by himself, “Actually, my dad still wants to see you. But he won’t have any good words to say when he sees you. So I stopped him.”

Shen Dai thought ironically; Should I thank you?

“But you have to face him sooner or later. So don’t be afraid. I’m here.” Qu Moyu took one of Shen Dai’s arms and put it on his shoulder. His deep eyes were wandering over Shen Dai’s lips.

Shen Dai felt uncomfortable by Qu Moyu’s eyes. His scalp seemed to have electricity running through it.

Qu Moyu held the back of Shen Dai’s head with one hand and took hold of his lips. He then slowly licked and kissed him. Shen Dai straightened his waist and instinctively wanted to step back, but he couldn’t.  

Qu Moyu hugged Shen Dai’s waist. Through the fabric, he caressed the thin waistline vaguely and sighed softly, “You are finally back.” No one knew what this sentence meant to him. Be it stupid or emotional, only he himself knows how tormented it was for him to suppress and miss someone day and night. And how terrible it was to not get the pheromone he desired during the susceptible period. He can use reason to contain it. But after thinking it over two to three times, he knew that his feelings would only rebound strongly in the end. He had had enough. When he saw Shen Dai and held Shen Dai in his arms, he knew that he only wanted this person and no one could stop him.

Affected by the alpha pheromone, Shen Dai’s body began to heat up. After he went through a series of ‘hardships’ such as washing off the ‘mark’, a period of pregnancy, and also giving birth, he had no sexual desire for a long time. It could be that his glands were damaged. Or maybe it was because he was just too weak and too tired. His body and mind couldn’t take time to think about this matter. But every time Qu Moyu gets close, he shudders. And the invasion of pheromones wakes him up from a long slumber. However, he was not excited. He was afraid. He put his hands on Qu Moyu’s shoulders weakly, gritted his teeth and said, “You said you will not force me.”

Qu Moyu kissed his side cheek and auricle. He then said against his ear, “I just released a little pheromone. I didn’t force you. You also want it, why don’t you dare to admit it?”

Shen Dai said softly, “I- I don’t want to.”

“Ah Dai, when will you think about it?” Qu Moyu picked up Shen Dai’s clothes, got his big hands inside and stroked the bare skin. He suddenly slapped his ass with a bewitching voice. “You think about it now.”

Shen Dai took a deep breath and grabbed Qu Moyu’s wrist: “Let go of me.”

Qu Moyu stared straight into Shen Dai’s eyes, as if he wanted to penetrate every emotion deeply. He stressed his words one by one; “I’m breaking off my engagement.”

Shen Dai was stunned.

“That’s why my father came to see me early in the morning.” Qu Moyu pulled out his hand and touched Shen Dai’s face instead, “He doesn’t agree. And the Zhou family may not agree. There are a lot of troubles to solve. But I will do what I say. I will break off the engagement with Zhou Xiaochu.” He suddenly took a deep breath nervously, “And then marry you.”

Shen Dai looked at Qu Moyu stiffly.

“Ah Dai, I originally thought that there was no need for marriage between us. A secular marriage is different from mine. The object of my marriage is a partner and it has something to do with partnerships. But you are the person I like. Since you can’t accept it if you don’t have a status, then I’ll give you what you want. This time it’s not a contract marriage. I really want to marry you. And I want you and Qiuqiu to stay by my side all the time.”

Shen Dai slowly pushed Qu Moyu away and stood up.

Qu Moyu looked at the person in front of him without knowing why. He expected that Shen Dai would be very surprised and perhaps even more moved. But the expression on Shen Dai’s face at this time made him unable to predict his reactions.

Shen Dai lowered his head and combed his emotions quickly. He calmed himself down and then raised his head to meet Qu Moyu’s inquiring gaze: “Mr. Qu, I will not marry you.”

Qu Moyu thought that he had heard it wrong.

“You’re right. What you’re looking for is a partner. I don’t have the strength to cooperate with you as a partner.”

Qu Moyu’s eyes narrowed: “Are you aware of what you are talking about?”

“I’m aware.” Shen Dai asked back, “But are you aware?”

“You……”

“It was maybe due to the previous ‘mark’ between ys, you were too uncomfortable during the susceptible period and thought you needed me. I suggest you receive treatment instead of treating this need as you having feelings for me. Have you forgotten? You have no feelings.” Shen Dai said blankly, “Listen to what your intention was. It seems that the person you ‘like’ is more important than your marriage partner? We are both adults. It’s not easy for anyone to be fooled into marrying you. You will get everything before and after in your life through your common descendants. First you wanted me as your mistress since having an illegitimate child can only bring you down. You think that I like you and you know that I have no background. But you later found out that I disagreed. So you threatened me with custody and lured me in with marriage. Do you think I should be grateful? If I really want to marry you, the prenuptial agreement to be signed should not be thinner than the previous one. If I can’t give birth to an S-class alpha, you will have to find someone else to give birth to one for you. Mr. Qu is worthy of being a businessman.”

This stern accusation made Qu Moyu’s face turn blue and white. His eyes were cold and his heart was so painful that he couldn’t breathe. The promise he made to Shen Dai was degraded by Shen Dai into a mere calculation.

Without waiting for him to speak, Shen Dai continued: “I said this not to negotiate terms with you. Not to raise prices. Not to play hard-to-get. Not to coerce you or to raise a bet. I’ve told you from the beginning to the end, I don’t want a single cent of your money.”

He clenched his fists. His eyes were fierce. He really wanted to push Shen Dai to the ground, do everything he wanted to do, tie this person to his side, conquer, control, possess… Obviously just a little pheromone can help him do it. Let this omega who has repeatedly rejected him become a slut kneeling at his feet. It was something he can do without extra effort. Why make himself so embarrassed like this?!

He just… He just couldn’t bear it. He was just afraid that Shen Dai would look at him with fear and resentment again.

He said ruthlessly: “Shen Dai, what do you want? Just say it. If you dare to say it, I will definitely give it.” Do you want marriage? Property? Commitment? … My ‘Mark’?

Shen Dai looked at Qu Moyu with a look of disappointment in the end and only felt pity for him: “You will never understand.” You regard yourself as the truth in this small world. You never care about the feelings and dignity of the weak. You wantonly plunder and trample over likes and dislikes. You carefully calculate the rate of return on your efforts. You put interests first in everything. And you think that money and power can be exchanged for everything. People like you will never understand.

Qu Moyu stood up and stepped closer towards Shen Dai: “What do you want to say? What do you want from me? I like you. I really like you!”

Shen Dai looked directly into Qu Moyu’s eyes: “You once said that this feeling is not important.”

‘Like’ was such a cheap feeling. What can an S-class alpha exchange it for?

Qu Moyu trembled all over and looked at Shen Dai blankly. That’s right, he said that himself. He said that the feeling of ‘liking’ someone was not important. It was just one of thousands of emotions. Any omega who wants to use emotions to control him was extremely stupid. But, but…

But he likes Shen Dai. But he actually likes Shen Dai so much.

He would actually break his own principles and the beliefs that he had all his life. He wanted to marry an ordinary omega just to get the feeling of ‘like’ that he had once sneered at.

Is he crazy? Or is the world crazy?

֍֍֍

Next update: 2022.08.01

֍֍֍

*Translator’s note: Aaaahhhhh I really want to punch QMY in the face! I’m really sorry, you guys. I’m taking a week break this time. I have a lot of deadlines to meet this month for work. I’ll be back soon! -K