CH 68

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)

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​​After a year, when Shen Dai returned to the institute, he really did some psychological construction.

He was originally the student that Professor Liu Xi focused on training the most. But he took a year off due to an ‘illness’ and his career was hit hard. When he came back again, he was resigning. If he met his former colleagues, he really didn’t know how to deal with the surprised eyes and curious inquiries of his acquaintances.

As a former senior brother in the laboratory, he should have invited everyone to a meal. But after thinking about it, he rather kept a low profile.

All the documents had been prepared by him and Cheng Zimei accompanied him to the personnel department to go through some procedures. In principle, Liu Xi has the highest authority to appoint and remove personnel. As long as Liu Xi approves it, he will officially resign. The serious sick leave of the company was approved by the company. He had to cancel the leave to complete all the procedures. He submitted the application from the company intranet and the process will take a few days.

Under Cheng Zimei’s ‘cover’, Shen Dai didn’t see a single acquaintance except for his colleagues in the personnel department. But when he was leaving, he accidentally bumped into Zhou Lan who had just returned from working outside.

Shen Dai was wearing a peaked cap with a low brim, but Zhou Lan still recognized him at a glance: “Senior Brother Shen?”

Shen Dai was stunned, then smiled lightly and said, “Zhou Lan, it’s been a while.”

“Are you cured? Are you coming back to work?” Zhou Lan quickly looked at Shen Dai. Although he heard a lot of rumours that Shen Dai’s sick leave was related to Qu Moyu, he saw that Shen Dai was a lot haggard than before. The appearance of him recovering from a serious illness made Zhou Lan feel uncomfortable.

“I’m coming back to resign.”

Cheng Zimei let out a sigh.

Zhou Lan’s eyes darkened and he didn’t know what to say for a while.

Shen Dai looked at Zhou Lan with a calm gaze: “You are now an official researcher. Congratulations. Study hard in the future and work hard with the teacher and your senior sister Cheng.”

Zhou Lan nodded: “Hmm, I will. Senior Brother Shen, I-I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Actually, I should invite you instead but I still have something to do today. I’m sorry but thank you.”

“…Can we meet again in the future?” Zhou Lan whispered.

“Of course. I’m just changing jobs, not changing careers. We can always meet in various meetings in the industry.” Shen Dai said with a smile, “I’ll tell you when my new job is settled.”

Zhou Lan reluctantly smiled. There was something else he wanted to say, but he swallowed it in the end.

Walking out of the door of the research institute, Shen Dai took a deep breath. He turned around and looked at the place where he had worked for seven years. He had struggled here for many years, but he never thought that one day he would have to reluctantly leave. The frustration and unwillingness are indescribable. His heart was also full of anxiety about the future. But this was the path he had chosen and he had to go forward.

Cheng Zimei was also very uncomfortable. She whispered, “Ah Dai, do you really have to leave?”

Shen Dai nodded: “Zimei, I felt most sorry for the teacher. You take good care of him for me. Ensure that he drinks less strong tea and smokes less.”

Cheng Zimei’s eyes turned red: “Don’t worry.” She blinked her eyes hard and forced a smile, “It’s alright, you have to look forward. I believe you can have a beautiful career anywhere.”

Shen Dai also smiled: “I also believe in myself. We are just not in the same company anymore but we can still shine on each other on the academic road.”

“Yeah!” Cheng Zimei took Shen Dai’s arm, “Let’s go. Take me to see my eldest nephew.”

When Shen Dai went to the company to resign, his grandmother helped to take care of Qiuqiu for the whole morning. Shen Dai was very worried. Firstly, he was worried that Qiuqiu and his grandmother would not know each other well and Qiuqiu would make trouble. Secondly, he was worried that in her old age, she would not be able to keep up with the physical strength to take care of a child. He kept sending WeChat to ask about the situation. He didn’t expect that until he returned to the hotel, Qiuqiu was so well-behaved that he rarely bothered his grandmother.

Cheng Zimei was also very excited when she saw Qiuqiu. She hugged and kissed the child several times, coaxing him in an exaggerated tone: “Oh, why is Qiuqiu so fragrant and also smelly? Whose alpha baby is so beautiful? Let auntie kiss.”

After accepting Cheng Zimei’s hard-packed red envelopes and a bunch of baby products, Shen Dai felt embarrassed: “You buy so many things. How can I bring them on the plane? If you get a salary increase, you will spend money indiscriminately, right?”

“Sister doesn’t need to raise a baby, so money will be spent randomly.” Cheng Zimei said with a smile, “Qiuqiu is really good-looking. He will definitely be super handsome in the future. Auntie will wait for you for at most 18 years.”

“This kind of clothes will become small after wearing it a few times.” Shen Dai picked it up and gestured it around Qiuqiu. It was really cute.

“It’s alright. Remember to take a picture when he wears it.” Cheng Zimei thought of something and became lost again, “Are you really going to Lancheng? Have you figured it out? Is it not good to stay in your hometown instead?”

Grandma also looked at Shen Dai with helpless eyes, but she didn’t dare to persuade him. If it wasn’t as a last resort, who would want to leave their hometown? She was afraid that her retention would make Shen Dai feel embarrassed.

Shen Dai smiled bitterly: “Senior Brother Bai can give me a job. I also submitted a few resumes here, but the salary is definitely not as good as Xingzhou. It was mainly because the capital consumption is too high, I will hire a full-time nanny. Lancheng is two times less expensive compared to here.” He was ashamed to mention the rent. Although he has a house, now he can only let his grandmother and Shen Qin live there. He can’t live in the company dormitory with his child. Hiring a nanny and raising a child… the financial pressure is too great.

Cheng Zimei also sighed. She looked at Shen Dai and then at Qiuqiu. This child looked like Shen Dai at first, but the more she looked at him, the more he looked like Qu Moyu. He was obviously a baby who could be worth hundreds of millions when he landed. Shen Dai was living in such a difficult situation, she really felt sorry for Shen Dai. But she also knew Shen Dai’s character. It was impossible for him to do the same thing as his most hated father had done. She had a lot to say to Shen Dai, but she was afraid of touching his wound, so she could only keep it in her heart.

After lunch, his grandmother went home first. Cheng Zimei took a leave of absence and accompanied Shen Dai with his child for the whole afternoon. The content of their conversation avoided Shen Dai’s embarrassing and sad year. They chatted about the industry and the current progress of the projects Shen Dai participated in before. These are topics that make Shen Dai’s eyes shine again.

Just as he was talking about his excitement, Shen Dai’s handphone rang.

With this new number, very few people knew about it. Shen Dai thought it was a response to his resume, but when he picked his phone up to look, it was from a nameless person. But it had already firmly engraved in his memory and he could never forget it. That string of numbers. He hung up without hesitation.

Cheng Zimei didn’t care at first. Nowadays, there are many harassing calls and it is normal not to answer unfamiliar numbers.

But the phone rang again. Shen Dai not only hung up this time, but also planned to put it on the blacklist.

At this moment, a text message popped up: I’m downstairs at your hotel.

Shen Dai’s heart was suffocated and he gritted his teeth lightly.

“What’s wrong? Who is it?” Cheng Zimei grabbed Qiuqiu’s little hand and waved it over.

Shen Dai said, “Zimei, I originally wanted to invite you to dinner, but I have something to do. If you go back first, I’ll find you tomorrow or the day after.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind missing a meal. But your face is not right.” Cheng Zimei looked at his phone suspiciously, “Did you receive any bad news?”

How should Shen Dai explain that Qu Moyu is downstairs?

A text message came over: Come downstairs, or I’ll go up to find you.

Shen Dai let out a long sigh, holding his mobile phone and wondering what to do. He neither wanted to see Qu Moyu, nor did he want Cheng Zimei to know about this.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Zimei came over and glanced at the screen, “…Who is it?”

“…”

“Fuck!” Cheng Zimei made a move and she guessed it for some reason, “IDon’t tell me it’s the crown prince!” She took Qiuqiu a few steps to the window, looked downstairs and sure enough, she saw Qu Moyu’s car. She stared at Shen Dai with wide eyes.

Shen Dai stood up and said with a livid face: “Zimei, can you help me see Qiuqiu for a while? I’ll go down… I’ll be back up later.” He knew that Qu Moyu was the type or person who would do what he said he would do. It is better for him to go down than to be called at the door.

“You go.” Cheng Zimei looked at Shen Dai worriedly, “You… will you be alright?”

Shen Dai lightly shook his head.

When he reached downstairs, Shen Dai looked at the black Rolls Royce Phantom outside the gate from a distance and he shivered. But he still walked over helplessly.

Just as he approached, the door of the driver opened and Lao Wu, who was wearing a jacket and white gloves, got out of the car. He nodded respectfully to Shen Dai and opened the back seat door for him.

Familiar scenes replayed in his mind. Shen Dai remembered many scenes similar to this scene. There was such a scene where he wore a custom suit to attend Qu’s family banquet, where he was late for work and Qu Moyu asked him to take a ride, and where he sneaked off work to the parking lot to find Qu Moyu. When he was invited to get in the car, he had several changes in his mentality. But each time, without exception, his feelings for Qu Moyu gradually progressed.

However, this time, he felt that the open car door was like a bottomless black hole, with a vicious beast hiding in it that would devour him completely.

And he had nowhere to run.

He gathered all his courage to get into the car.

Qu Moyu was still wearing a suit and leather shoes. He was sitting in the leather seat with his long legs folded, but there was no document or tablet in his hands. He put his hands with his fingers interspersed on his knees and tilted his head to look at him.

Qu Moyu has lost weight, which was more obvious than the last time when he saw him in Lancheng. He clearly looked  a little haggard. The energy of the S-class alpha is different from that of ordinary people. If he hadn’t experienced excessive physical or mental work, he would not be so tired.

As soon as Shen Dai sat down, Lao Wu closed the car door and walked to the side to smoke.

Qu Moyu looked at Shen Dai who was close at hand and smelled a faint fragrance of Epiphyllum. He had survived the hellish torment during the susceptible period and he warned himself not to hastily scare away his prey.

Shen Dai didn’t look at Qu Moyu. He lowered his head and said, “Is there anything you want?”

“Where’s the child?” Qu Moyu asked in a low voice.

“In the hotel room.”

“My mother wants to see him.”

“…” Shen Dai couldn’t find a reason to refuse. Without Mrs. Qu’s help, he would not be able to give birth to Qiuqiu. This request is reasonable enough.

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Next update: 2022.07.04

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*Translator’s note: See you guys next week. Sorry sometimes I missed reading some comments but I’ll try to reply more often. Thank you for reading my translation. Love you guys! -K