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)

???

The door was knocked twice and the doctor pushed open the door of the ward as he walked in: “It’s almost the end of visiting time. The patient has just woken up and he needs a good rest.”

Shen Dai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He could no longer face Qu Moyu. The magnanimous and affectionate look in his eyes made him feel at a loss.

At this time, Liang Rui walked in with Qiuqiu in her arms. She bargained with the doctor: “Wait. Give us a few more minutes. He wants to see his child.”

The doctor nodded in agreement.

“The nanny just brought Qiuqiu over.” Liang Rui walked to the bed and sighed heavily when she saw Qu Moyu.

Qu Moyu reassured his mother: “Mom, I’m fine.”

Qiuqiu stretched out his small hand to try and grab Qu Moyu in the air, making an “Eee” sound.

“My baby.” Qu Moyu also stretched out his hand and let Qiuqiu hold his index finger. A faint smile appeared on his pale face.

Qiuqiu kicked his legs excitedly.

Liang Rui smiled with tears in her eyes: “You smell like iodine all over your body. Your glands are not functioning well. I’m afraid he won’t recognize you.”

“He can.” Qu Moyu said, “He wants me to hold him.”

Shen Dai patted Qiuqiu’s buttocks: “You’ve already slept enough. Don’t be a nuisance, darling.”

Qiuqiu clenched Qu Moyu’s fingers strongly and didn’t let go. An uncooperative snort came out of his throat.

“It’s okay. You put him on me.” Qu Moyu glanced at the doctor who was going to stop him, “Just for a while. I won’t let him touch the wound.”

Shen Dai looked at him hesitantly.

“It’s really okay.” Qu Moyu’s fingers shook with Qiuqiu’s little hand, “Even if I can’t release the pheromone now, he knows who I am. He wants his Dad to hug him.”

Qu Moyu looked into Qiuqiu’s eyes gently with a look of someone who is too indulgent. The invisible bond between father and son made Shen Dai’s heart soften. He and Liang Rui looked at each other. They supported Qiuqiu together and carefully let the child lay on Qu Moyu’s chest.

Shen Dai stroked Qiuqiu’s back and said softly, “You must not move too much.”

Qiuqiu seemed to understand Shen Dai. His face was close to Qu Moyu’s heart, his eyes were blinking, the corners of his mouth turned upward from time to time, and his short limbs were placed in their respective places. He was as well-behaved as a puppy taking a nap. Of course, the disinfectant water and medicine on Qu Moyu’s body smelled bad and the injured glands could not release the fragrance of ebony wood, but Qiuqiu’s expression seemed very peaceful. It was as if he belonged there in the first place. What he needs is not pheromone, but he needs the person holding him.

Qu Moyu’s big hand covered Qiuqiu’s back and patted it lightly. In normal times, this weight is naturally no big deal for him. But at this time, he did feel that Qiuqiu was pressing him to become a little short of breath. Nonetheless, he really enjoyed the sense of security and belonging that this small weight brought to him. There was a voice in the bottom of his heart that said; this is his child. This is the child his omega gave him. It is the life he and Shen Dai jointly created. And it is their deepest and heaviest connection in this world.

He experienced indescribable happiness.

This warm scene made the whole ward quiet. Shen Dai’s nose was slightly sour and his heart was full of mixed feelings.

***

After watching Qu Moyu, Shen Dai originally wanted to take Qiuqiu to visit his grandmother and then go home. But his grandmother has not woken up since morning.

The doctor invited Shen Dai into the office and Shen Dai already had a bad feeling in his heart.

“Mr. Shen, the situation of your elderly is getting worse and worse. Have you contacted the experimental team of targeted drugs that Mr. Qu suggested to you?”

“I haven’t contacted them yet. But I have seen the treatment plan provided for my grandmother.” Shen Dai said solemnly, “She still has to go through some surgery, right?”

The doctor nodded: “We also held an online meeting to discuss about it. First of all, through some clinical data, the drug is definitely effective. But surely, it has not been tested on such an old patient. And secondly, drugs alone cannot prevent the expansion of the lesions and it is only possible to achieve the best results with surgery.”

“However, surgery..” Shen Dai took a deep breath, “I’m afraid my grandma won’t be able to go through such a thing again. It’s too painful for her.”

“Any treatment is accompanied by risks. And there is a high possibility of failure. You also need to understand that.”

Shen Dai was paralyzed as he leaned on the back of the chair. His eyes were gloomy. There was no brightness in his eyes: “I have checked some medical research papers and seen a lot of cases. In fact, you can speak more bluntly with me. After a long period of psychological preparation, I can accept anything. To be honest, there is no difference between cure and incursion now, right?”

The doctor pushed his glasses up a bit: “I can’t say that. Each family member’s understanding of the patient’s state is not the same. The expectation of the disease is also..”

“Doctor.” Shen Dai interrupted him, looking down at the floor. He said in a hoarse voice, “I know you can’t say a lot. But I know very well that the surgery might fail. The possibility is very high. Even if it is successful and if the medicine will work, she will suffer countless pain. In the end, she’s just hanging onto her life and living in pain. That’s not ‘living’.”

The doctor was silent.

“I had thought about the meaning of illness and death when I was very young. Although there is no real answer now, I know the limitations of modern medicine.” Shen Dai raised his head. His eyes became calm, “My grandmother was always a delicate and decent woman. The coffee needs to be brewed fresh and there are fresh flowers at home every day. As long as she goes out, her clothes must not be wrinkled. She will shed tears when she cuts her hand with a kitchen knife. She is afraid of embarrassment and pain. She would not want to live without dignity.”

“You mean..”

“I originally already planned to reject the experiment. Even though they had good intentions.” Shen Dai felt unspeakably uncomfortable as he continued to speak.

***

When he returned to the ward, his grandmother was still sleeping. She was so thin that only a pair of bones could be seen on her. The quilt that covered her body showed only a slight ups and downs of her breathing. If one didn’t get close, one couldn’t even tell if she was still breathing.

Shen Qin stood up. He had just cried. His eyes were red as he whispered: “How was the discussion with the doctor?”

The two walked to the window. Shen Dai asked, “How long has she been asleep?”

“It’s almost been the whole day. She can’t even wake up. It seems that she almost doesn’t recognize people.” Shen Qin said. His eyes were filled with tears again, “She hardly eats anything. She can only rely on nutrient solution. Haven’t Mr. Qu connected us to a particularly powerful person? When will the tumor experimental team start working on her?”

Shen Dai shook his head. His upper and lower teeth were locked in a trembling fight. He said softly, “Don’t bother her anymore.”

Shen Qin understood what he meant. His tears fell uncontrollably immediately. He nodded while crying: “Alright. Let’s be less guilty.”

Shen Dai leaned against the window edge and watched quietly. The old woman on the hospital bed in front of his eyes used to wear a beautiful plain cheongsam and play the piano in the flowery yard.

“If mom leaves, you also already have an alpha that treats you well. You have your own child too. I won’t have to worry about anything anymore.” Shen Qin said softly.

Perhaps sadness has the same frequency of contagion. At this moment, facing the grandmother who is about to pass away, the family string in Shen Dai’s heart is greatly touched. Whether he hates Shen Qin or not, it seems that at this time, they are still family. The hatred of the past is not so important anymore. He knew that Shen Qin was worried about what he would do after his grandmother died. So he said lightly: “I will take care of you in your old age.”

Shen Qin smiled: “Old age.. I can’t imagine what it means to grow old. It looks like both my youth and middle age are in constant mess. I guess my old age will be worse.”

Facing this sudden self-examination, Shen Dai didn’t know what to say for a while.

Shen Qin didn’t seem to need any answer. He wiped away his tears: “Fortunately, you’re not like me.”

***

The next day, when Shen Dai took Qiuqiu to see Qu Moyu, he told him of his decision about his grandmother’s follow-up treatment.

Qu Moyu nodded: “Your consideration is right. At the end of life, one should preserve one’s dignity as much as possible and reduce pain.”

Shen Dai looked at Qiuqiu lying on Qu Moyu’s calf. He was trying to move with his hands and feet to climb up. Qiuqiu’s development has always been slightly earlier than that of children of the same age. He already started learning to crawl at seven months. It seems that every few days, the child will have a new change. One was setting off, while the other was heading towards the end. This fate was accompanied by a huge sense of regret. This kind of feeling made him sad. He said slowly: “Anyway, thank you for this matter.”? In the face of Qu Moyu’s kindness, Shen Dai couldn’t turn a blind eye. But he hadn’t figured out how to deal with Qu Moyu correctly. At this moment, it seemed that how he treated Qu Moyu was logical. No matter how you look at the relationship between them, he can only find a logical way to react.

“You never need to be polite with me.” Qu Moyu stared at Shen Dai, “that’s your close relative. I just want to create one more choice for you. It was so that you have as few regrets as possible. But the final decision is still up to you.”

He realized that he was not good at dealing with feelings. He didn’t have a clear love and hate. Even if he understood feelings, feelings are an extremely luxurious and precious thing. Most people will only be self-defeating when they hold feelings in their hands. Perhaps, when there is a love-hate entanglement, a clear context can be sorted out from the mess. When you see how the other party treated you, you would treat them the same. Only then can you have the ability to control your emotions.

But he can’t do it yet. His mind is in chaos. He can work on a research subject for ten years, twenty years or even his whole life, but seeing the clear affection in Qu Moyu’s eyes, he can’t help but just wants to escape.

“I’m going to the Public Security Bureau. The police want me to cooperate with the investigation. Your lawyer is waiting for me.” Shen Dai looked up at the clock on the wall, “The nanny will come in and take Qiuqiu back home.” Shen Dai said.

When he was about to stand up, Qu Moyu grabbed his hand. He was lying weakly only a second ago, but now his movements were so agile that he didn’t look like a sick person. He also sat up.

Shen Dai was stunned: “You can’t get up now.”

“It’s okay. I hurt the flesh on my neck, not the spine.” Qu Moyu put Shen Dai’s hand on the quilt, “What do you need to go to the Public Security Bureau for? Don’t worry about it. It’s parent-child time for our family of three now.”

“..”

Qu Moyu shook his legs and Qiuqiu swayed from side to side. He was like floating ‘in the water’. It was like he was holding a piece of driftwood, thinking that the adults were playing with him. He was giggling non-stop. Qu Moyu laughed too: “Didn’t you realize that Qiuqiu felt the most secure and happiest when we were both there?”

Shen Dai looked at Qiuqiu’s tender fair face. The smile bloomed on him like a flower but his shoulders slowly dropped. He found that he couldn’t bear to deprive Qiuqiu and Qu Moyu of the happiness they had when they were together.

???

Next update: 2022.09.22

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*Translator’s note: Phew. That was quite a long chapter. SQC always does this to make up for the number of words she missed in previous chapters. -K