CH 36

​​One after another, all the members of the Qu family have arrived. Some of them have been seen by Shen Dai before, but most of them are new faces. The four children of Grandpa Qu have each branched and scattered, and now they are the same for four generations. He can be called a prosperous person.

Shen Dai sat quietly beside Qu Moyu, listening to him chatting with his relatives. Qu Moyu’s parents were chatting with others on the other side, and Qu Chengchen was also there, playing games with a few relatives. There were two little children, laughing and running around in the living room, screaming from time to time. At this moment, this empty and quiet manor finally has some liveliness and vitality of a home.

Suddenly, an alpha girl comes over. She looks like she’s twelve or thirteen years old and she looks very beautiful. She greets the elders one by one politely and respectfully, looking like a little adult: “Cousin, Happy New Year. Cousin’s wife, Happy New Year.”

“Renren has grown taller again.” Qu Moyu touched the girl’s head and gave Shen Dai a wink.

Shen Dai’s lined pocket contained several red envelopes, all of which were prepared for the children here, and he handed them over: “Happy New Year.”

Renren took the red envelope generously, looked at Shen Dai and said, “They said you graduated from the University of Science and Technology and are still working in the research institute. Did you graduate with a master degree? Or do you have a PhD?”

“I’m currently studying for my PhD.”

Renren nodded and quickly looked at Shen Dai for a round: “In the Youth Cup competition held by HKUST last summer, I won the national first prize in the mathematics group. I might be recommended to HKUST in the future. Of course, I also have other choices, what is your opinion? How is the campus life of HKUST?”

Shen Dai was stunned by this girl’s maturity, neatness, and confidence. Is this what an alpha cultivated by a wealthy family looks like? The standard is much higher than her peers. She was not shy at all, and was good at showing herself. Even if the elders gave him a red envelope, she would hide back awkwardly, and it was even more impossible to have such a smooth conversation and dominate the topic. He suddenly thought the story of Qu Moyu’s elder alpha cousin. Of how high-spirited an alpha who was born in such a family would be, and how strong would the frustration of losing in the competition should be.

Shen Dai smiled and said, “I think it’s very good. I don’t know if it meets your requirements though.”

“I don’t know for now. I still fancy HKUST, but I’m still young and my plans for the future are not fully formed yet.” Renren also smiled at Shen Dai, “Give me your WeChat. I can ask you if I have any questions in the future.”

After Renren left, several relatives praised her. Shen Dai leaned over to Qu Moyu and whispered, “Did you do this when you were young?”

Qu Moyu chuckled: “Isn’t it cute?”

“Cute.” It is just that she matures more than her actual age.

“I’m smarter than her though.” Qu Moyu grabbed Shen Dai’s hand under the table and squeezed it lightly.

Shen Dai immediately twisted Qu Moyu’s finger, the two of them had done all kinds of intimate things, but holding hands in front of others like this made his heart especially feel sweet. He hoped that the ambiguity and sweetness could last longer.

Later, Grandpa Qu appeared. He was sitting in a wheelchair, his face was sallow and thin, his temples were white, his eyes were cloudy, and the backs of his two withered hands were covered with pinholes. He looked like he was in a bad condition.

Shen Dai remembered the photo of him in his prime that he had seen on the company’s exhibition wall. Grandpa Qu’s entrepreneurial deeds, many thrilling nodes and ups and downs, all of which were talked about by people in the industry. This person in front of him is said to be a legendary figure, one of the veterans who promoted the vigorous development of the domestic rare earth industry, and has a contribution worthy of being recorded in history. It is a pity that sickness could easily destroy such a powerful entrepreneur.

His sons and grandsons stood on either side in unison to greet him for the New Year.

Grandpa Qu nodded: “You are all here. It’s nice to have such a big family.”

“Dad, you look more energetic today.” Qu Shen said with a smile.

The nurse behind him said, “Master ate half a bowl of rice and several mouthfuls of vegetables today. He slept in the afternoon, saving enough energy to celebrate the New Year.”

The crowd clapped happily.

Grandpa Qu smiled: “Look at you adults, nothing has changed. The children have grown up after three days of not seeing each other. Good, very good.”

The nurse pushed him to the main seat of the table, and the others took their seats one by one and began to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner.

During the banquet, Grandpa Qu said a lot of things in a slow manner. He only mentioned a few things about the company. Most of them were instructions to his family. But some are his spoken regrets.

After the meal, the descendants took turns to greet the old man for the New Year. Qu Chengchen’s father was the eldest, and he brought his wife to offer tea for Grandpa Qu first. After they finished the toast, it was Qu Moyu’s turn.

Shen Dai approached the old man with Qu Moyu. He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. As early as the day of Xingzhou’s internship, he wanted to see the true face of this legendary entrepreneur, but at that time,Grandpa Qu had already retired. This day, he had become the granddaughter-in-law of the Qu family, even though it was only temporary. The development history of Grandpa Qu and Xingzhou came to mind one by one. For the first time, he truly felt the huge energy of the Qu family, and he could clearly see the gap between him and Qu Moyu.

The two held their teacups and bowed respectfully: “Happy Chinese New Year, Grandpa.”

Grandpa Qu nodded and smiled. When he saw Qu Moyu, his expression became obviously cheerful. After all, this was the heir to the S-class alpha he most wanted.

“How have you been at the company lately?”

“Everything is fine, you can rest assured.”

“Pay attention to your body too.”

“Yes.”

Mr. Qu looked at Shen Dai again: “They told me something about you. It’s not easy for an omega to go for such a career, but now that you are married into our Qu family, you should try your best to put your family first and take good care of it until the end.”

Shen Dai whispered: “I understand.”

“Give our Qu family a few more alphas earlier.”

Shen Dai complied obediently, but felt helpless in his heart. The legendary figure suddenly lost the holy light behind him.

Grandpa Qu gestured to the nurse behind him, and he said, “This is for our little greeting, you two have a good life.” The nurse took out a red envelope and gave it to Shen Dai.

“Thank you.”

After all the juniors paid New Year’s greetings, Mr. Qu was tired and was pushed back to his room by the nurse to rest.

Some people watched TV, some played cards, and some chatted while waiting for the New Year’s bell to ring to complete the whole set of New Year’s process.

Qu Moyu was dragged by his elders to play cards, and Shen Dai took his mobile phone to the unoccupied living room and made a video call to his grandmother.

The decoration here is European-style, which can just be disguised as a foreign hotel.

His grandmother asked a lot of questions, worried about whether he would be comfortable in a foreign country, whether he was tired from flying and such. Shen Qin appeared on camera from time to time and reported to Shen Dai the menu of their New Year’s Eve. On the other hand, Shen Dai looked at Shen Qin and felt that he looked a little more pleasing to the eye at the moment.

After chatting for about half an hour, his grandmother was afraid that he would not be able to adjust to the time difference, so she hung up the phone to let him rest.

When Shen Dai was about to go out, Qu Chengchen walked in. He didn’t know whether he just entered the room or he had the intention to block himself from getting out. No matter which, Shen Dai immediately became alert.

Qu Chengchen wanted to laugh a little: “What are you nervous about? What can I do to you?”

“You have nothing nice to say every time we meet.” Shen Dai said bluntly, “What do you want to say this time?”

“You have thought wrongly of me too much.” Qu Chengchen pouted innocently, “I try to help you every time, but you keep rejecting my kindness.”

Shen Dai frowned at him.

Qu Chengchen took a few steps towards Shen Dai: “Well… you smell like big brother.”

Shen Dai wrinkled his nose subconsciously, but immediately realised that Qu Chengchen was testing him. When Qu Moyu didn’t mark him or release pheromone to him deliberately, even if they were next to each other, the smell of pheromone would still be there and it would dissipate quickly.

Qu Chengchen laughed twice: “What I want to say… Just like last time, I will help you get the big brother’s mark. That’s what you wanted the most, right?”

“…” Shen Dai said coldly, “I won’t trust you and I won’t be used by you. You might as well save some time and spend it on improving your performance.”

“Why do you have to be so repulsive? This is clearly a win-win situation.” Qu Chengchen put his arms around his chest, “Don’t you want him to be your alpha?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Do you want him to be your alpha or not?” Qu Chengchen’s sharp eyes stared into Shen Dai’s eyes.

Under the powerful gaze of an S-class alpha, Shen Dai felt a little weak in his legs. He was watched by those eyes, and even lost the courage to argue or lie. He gritted his teeth and secretly clenched his fists: “It doesn’t matter what I want. I will only fight for it the right way.”

“The right way?” Qu Chengchen couldn’t help laughing, “Under normal circumstances, my big brother would not be able to mark an omega who has no power, no background or even excellent genes. Maybe he likes you now, sleeps with you comfortably, and doesn’t mind keeping you by his side, but that’s about it. He will only give you some small favours. When the candidate for his matching wife appears, you can only stand by and watch him marry someone else. The right way? Isn’t just yourself?”

Shen Dai’s heart was trembling with anger. Qu Chengchen made things difficult for him and humiliated him time and time again. The words he said were poignant, because they were true.

“Because you have too few chips in your hand, you can only use a small, broad-minded, and the right way as a choice. As long as you get his mark, no matter what method you use, you will win more than half.” Qu Chengchen blinked his eyes, “Don’t you want to try?”

Shen Dai said coldly, “Have you ever won against him in your life? Why do you think such a big event is something you can control.”

“My big brother is usually considered indestructible. We can hardly find any weakness, but he is also a person after all. No matter how powerful an S-class alpha is, he will be vulnerable like a child during the annual susceptible period.”

Shen Dai’s body froze for a moment. For an extremely brief moment, he noticed the trembling in his heartstrings, an emotion called temptation.