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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Qu Moyu’s blood was sprayed among the rain. After mingling with the rain in the air, the blood fell to the earth, splashed in the muddy water, and dispersed immediately. Shen Dai thought of the red petals in the garden that had been knocked down by the wind and rain. The petals that used to stand proudly on the branches turned into a part of the mud that their true colours couldn’t even be distinguished anymore. Isn’t that the case with people? Peaks and valleys? They rise and fall. Even the most superior race is not separated from flesh and blood.
Shen Dai looked at Qu Moyu looking as stiff as a statue. When he saw Qu Moyu collapse in front of him, something in his spiritual world also collapsed. He has seen many faces of Qu Moyu, whether it is the good side, the bad side, or the side that is hard to define, he is undoubtedly powerful. He has never seen Qu Moyu fall. He couldn’t believe what he just saw.
At that moment, the sound of wind, rain, and shouting disappeared quietly. Shen Dai just looked at Qu Moyu. He clearly heard Qu Moyu calling him. He was calling him “Ah Dai”. The sentence “Ah Dai” passed through the suffocation of time and space. It passed from the bottom of Qu Moyu’s heart to the bottom of his own heart.
Shen Dai’s consciousness has not awakened from the huge shock. His legs have instinctively run towards Qu Moyu.
Qu Moyu’s tall body was half sunk in the mud. The severe pain made him twitch non-stop. The gland fluid and blood mixed on the back of his neck and kept on spilling to the ground. His vision of Shen Dai blurred beyond recognition.
Shen Dai kneeled down beside Qu Moyu with his limp knees. His trembling hands wanted to cover his wound and stop the blood from flowing out, but his hands were only covered in dazzling red. Nothing could stop the blood from flowing out.
The gland is one of the most fragile, sensitive and important organs in the human body. Its damage can severely disrupt the balance of the hormonal system and cause unimaginable pain. This is common sense that everyone knows about. It is what Shen Dai heard of when the doctor discouraged him several times when he decided to wash off the ‘mark’. He knew well how painful the gland injury was.
He felt the pain when he resented Qu Moyu the most. When he was torn apart again and again by the gap between the happiness in his dreams and the desperation of reality. When he was tired, restless, anxious and hopeless, the pain was like a stone on his shoulders. He had thought darkly how it would have been nice if the person who made him so miserable could also taste the same pain one day. But he never thought of it to happen this way. And he was not happy with it. When Qu Moyu was hurt like that, Shen Dai felt like his heart was also stabbed. Every drop of red blood and every look of weakness on Qu Moyu’s face made him feel the pain similar to that of gouging out his heart.
“In the end,… I…” Shen Dai gasped. Fear was like an invisible hand, strangling his throat. But he used his soul to let out a scream that went straight to the sky, “Ah—!!!”
***
Shen Dai was in a daze as he sat on the bench for a long time. Even when Qu Shen pointed at him and yelled loudly, he was indifferent. He watched Qu Shen’s facial muscles shake, his mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t hear a word of what he was saying.
His memory was only of that moment ago when he picked up the blood-stained knife on the ground, pointed to Qu Chengchen and asked them to send Qu Moyu to the hospital. The next moment when his consciousness ‘woke up’, he was already on this bench. He looked blankly at Qu Shen. He also looked at the closed door of the operating room beyond that, thinking that Qu Moyu was lying inside at this moment, not knowing how his fate would be determined. His own heart was like being cut by a knife.
Qu Shen said fiercely: “If something happens to my son, you will never see your own son again in your life!”
Shen Dai stood up against the wall. He then took a step forward and stood fearlessly in front of Qu Shen. He said to the man who had used pheromones to suppress him: “If something happens to your son, you are the one to blame.”
“You!”
Shen Dai walked to Liang Rui who was standing against the wall. She turned her back to them, her shoulders kept shaking as she cried.
Shen Dai asked softly, “How long has the operation been?”
“It had almost been two hours.” Liang Rui’s eyes were red and swollen.
“What did the doctor say?”
“The incision is a little off. But the injury is not shallow. He didn’t get medical attention as quickly as he should. Although it is not life-threatening, the possibility of saving the gland… is not high.” The more Liang Rui said, the more trembling she became.
Shen Dai slowly supported the wall with his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath: “His pheromone is very tenacious. It will not disappear easily.”
Liang Rui shook her head and choked: “He has never suffered such a serious injury. He… I’m afraid that he will become an ordinary person. Like a beta. I’m afraid he can’t stand it.”
Shen Dai couldn’t imagine Qu Moyu as a Beta. How can such a proud son of heaven endure his fall into the mortal world like that? But fate will not discriminate to take away one thing simply because you attach great importance to it. He looked at the door of the operating room again. He wanted to see it open, but he was also afraid to see it open.
“The doctor said that Moyu had frozen glandular fluid in the hospital before. It was to make a pheromone essential oil for Qiuqiu.” Liang Rui sniffed, “That can be of great use. Maybe it can save him.”
Shen Dai remembered that Qu Moyu deliberately put ebony pheromones on Qiuqiu’s daily necessities in order to relax Qiuqiu’s vigilance on him. Step by step, he was really accepted by Qiuqiu. He didn’t expect Qiuqiu to help his father unintentionally in the end.
In fact, he did not fail to see the efforts Qu Moyu made to correct the past. He just couldn’t forgive him. He just resisted believing in him. He just couldn’t pull himself out of the closed shell. It was because he was afraid of the painful experience in the past repeating itself. But he couldn’t pretend to be invisible. His heart struggled with the long-suppressed fear and throbbing pain over and over. That was until he saw Qu Moyu lying in a pool of his blood. He realised that no matter how much hatred he had in his heart, he didn’t want Qu Moyu to be hurt like this.
Shen Dai rubbed his swollen eyes and asked softly, “Where’s Qiuqiu?”
“The nanny took him home.”
“Where’s Qu Chengchen?”
Qu Shen came over and said coldly, “He’s been detained. The police want to question you. You listen carefully. After seeing them, you must say that you were in a mess and that your memory is messed up. Your recollection is messed up and there is no way to record a statement for the time being.”
“My memory and recollection are not messed up, I know what happened from beginning to the end.”
“We have to think of the best solution to this matter first.” Qu Shen ordered, “What you will say is up to me to decide.”
Shen Dai stared at Qu Shen in disbelief: “Your son is lying inside now being injured by him.You don’t want to send the perpetrator to prison? What solution do you want to think of? A plan to deal with the media or a plan to stabilise the stock price?!”
“This is the matter of our Qu family!” Qu Shen said sternly, “You, an outsider, have caused so much trouble before entering the door. The only thing you can do now is to shut up.”
Liang Rui turned around. She then said loudly: “What do you mean? Qu Chengchen hurt Moyu’s glands. This is no longer about the struggle for power. He wanted to kill Moyu! What kind of family matters is this? This is a criminal case!”
Qu Shen’s face was extremely ugly: “What do you guys know? Don’t I want to punish him? There are too many involved in this matter. It can’t be solved simply by sending him to prison. The boss will do everything he can to protect his son. This time, we have to be more cautious.”
Shen Dai took a deep breath. He may never be able to understand the inextricable interests involved in these wealthy families and he does not want his son to become one of the puppets involved. But it looked like they had already been involved. There is no way out. After seeing the madness of Qu Chengchen, he believed all the evaluations of S-class alphas. It was a path destined to be extreme and dangerous. But for the inherent dignity and honour, they would go on and fight at all costs.
Are S-class alphas the king of genes? Or are they the slave of instinct?
But all that is not important now. He really has no heart to help the police. He is only praying for the safety of Qu Moyu.
***
Shen Dai responded to the police’s questioning with a negative attitude. It was already dawn and Qu Moyu’s five-hour operation was over.
Seeing that the lights in the operating room went out and the closed door was opened, Shen Dai felt his legs go weak. He looked at the doctor who came out, as if he was not waiting for Qu Moyu’s injury statement, but for the result of his life and death trial.
The tired doctor said with a slightly relaxed expression: “The operation went well. His gland function is temporarily preserved.”
Qu Shen and Liang Rui immediately had tears in their eyes.
Shen Dai’s back was against the wall. His heart shook violently a few times and his eyes were suddenly sore as they quickly became blurred with tears.
“But I can’t assure you that his glands will recover to the previous condition. Subsequent recovery is as important as the surgery itself.”
“Will his pheromones be affected?” Qu Shen asked anxiously, “He is an S-class alpha.”
The doctor smiled wryly: “If the glands can’t recover, where will the pheromones come from?”
Shen Dai whispered: “Thank you, doctor. What will be done next?”
“He will be observed in the ICU for 24 hours. After that, we will inform you how the family members need to cooperate with the recovery and how the patient needs to cooperate with the treatment.” The doctor comforted, “S-class alpha’s glands are very strong so we still have confidence.”
Shen Dai nodded: “Thank you.” His voice suddenly trembled. He covered his eyes and tears kept flowing from between his fingers.
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Next update: 2022.09.20
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*Translator’s note: There’s this kind of scene in almost all of Shui Qian Cheng’s novels, right? Where the ML is on the hospital bed and the MC is by his side? Teehee. Cheer up, guys. QMY will be okay. It’s a HE story after all. -K