Chapter 75 – Endure and Adapt
Novel 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))
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Coincidentally, Shen Qin went on a trip for a few days. So Shen Dai brought Qiu Qiu back home. His grandmother watched over the child while he spent the entire day packing seven large boxes. Most of the contents were books, materials, diaries, awards, and many drawings and crafts he had made with his grandfather.
These old items held countless memories. He could have left them behind. But the house was too small. Shen Qin, to make room for her own things, had carelessly piled many items that were important to him on the balcony and might eventually throw them away. This was his house, and the grandfather he commemorated with these items was also Shen Qin’s father. Sometimes he envied people like Shen Qin, who seemed to live happily with their selfishness and low sense of morality, never feeling much guilt towards others.
By the time he finished packing, it was already dark. He arranged for the logistics company to pick up the boxes the next morning. His grandmother had the housekeeper buy lots of Shen Dai’s favourite foods and personally cooked a full table of dishes. He hadn’t tasted his grandmother’s cooking in a long time and didn’t know how many more chances he would have in the future, making him feel like crying.
That night, he and Qiu Qiu slept in the house. His room had long been taken over by Shen Qin, filled with the scent of neroli. As omegas age, their pheromone scent fades, and they often use similar fragrances to decorate themselves and their living spaces. This is not just a way to combat ageing but also necessary for regulating their mood and health.
However, he had disliked this scent since childhood. To be more accurate, he had once deeply relied on neroli pheromones, just as Qiu Qiu relied on his. But after numerous attempts to get close to his father, only to be met with indifference and coldness, and realising that his father didn’t like him, he gradually stopped liking neroli. Now, because of his aversion to Shen Qin, he even found it repulsive.
As if in sync with his thoughts, Qiu Qiu seemed not to like it either, fussing and refusing to sleep. Shen Dai carried him to the well-ventilated living room, walked around with him for an hour, and only then did he fall asleep. After a busy day, Shen Dai was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately.
The next morning, Shen Dai got up early and made small wontons for his grandmother. She also got up early. But instead of eating, she first went to feed Qiu Qiu, often laughing at his every little move. This kind of atmosphere was something Shen Dai hadn’t experienced in a long time, making him feel reluctant to leave.
After breakfast, an unfamiliar phone number called. Shen Dai thought it was the logistics company. But when he answered, he heard a somewhat familiar voice.
“Mr. Shen, hello. Do you remember me? I am Attorney Chen Wei.”
Shen Dai felt a sinking feeling, immediately sensing something was wrong. He was silent for a few seconds. “I remember. What can I do for you?”
“Could we meet in person? There are some matters that need to be discussed.”
“I’m not free.”
“Mr. Shen, this matter concerns your child, Shen Yue. It is very important. I hope you…-“
“-What does Qu Moyu want now?” Shen Dai said through gritted teeth.
“Where are you now? Can I come to you?” Attorney Chen remained calm in the face of Shen Dai’s anger. “Please trust me, this meeting is very important for you and your child. If you insist on not meeting me, you will still need to see Mr. Qu eventually. I believe it would be better if we talk first.”
Shen Dai felt a tumult in his chest, unable to calm down. He didn’t know what he was about to face. Qu Moyu’s various actions seemed like a vast net closing in on him, and he didn’t know where to hide.
Half an hour later, Shen Dai met with Attorney Chen at a small café near his home.
From Attorney Chen’s obviously fuller figure, it was clear that he had had a busy and fulfilling year. Handling legal matters for the company was his main job. But running personal errands for the boss likely indicated that he was on track to become the head of the legal department in the future.
Attorney Chen still wore a polite smile, and he even intentionally glanced behind Shen Dai, as if to ask, ‘Where is the child?’
Shen Dai had no intention of explaining and, after sitting down, said expressionlessly, “Attorney Chen, please speak.”
Holding his briefcase, Attorney Chen, unusually, didn’t immediately pull out a stack of papers. Instead, he nodded gently and respectfully at Shen Dai. “Mr. Shen, though I am an outsider, I have witnessed the relationship between you and Mr. Qu. The arrival of this child…-“
“-Attorney Chen,” Shen Dai cut him off coldly, “just get to the point.”
Unfazed, Attorney Chen began his routine—pulling out documents. Placing his hands on the table, he gave a genuinely sincere smile. “Mr. Shen, Mr. Qu has already conducted a paternity test with Shen Yue, proving that Shen Yue is his biological son.”
Shen Dai’s face changed drastically. “What do you mean? When did I agree to a paternity test? What is he trying to do?!”
When Qiu Qiu was hospitalised, he indeed underwent several tests, which included blood tests. However, as Qiu Qiu’s guardian, without Shen Dai’s consent, any unauthorised paternity test would be legally invalid.
“When Shen Yue was hospitalised, you signed some related documents. You might have been in a hurry at the time and didn’t look closely…”
Shen Dai slammed the table with a strong force. His body leaned forward unconsciously.
Attorney Chen immediately sat up straight, discreetly inching back. He had not expected to be intimidated by an omega’s aura one day.
“He always plays these tricks, doesn’t he?” Shen Dai’s voice was stern. “What does he want?”
Adjusting his jacket, Attorney Chen cautiously replied, “Mr. Qu wants custody of Shen Yue.”
Shen Dai felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He was frozen on the spot.
“You personally signed the consent form for the paternity test, and there’s hospital surveillance footage as evidence. If you believe you signed it involuntarily, you can sue. I have your medical records here, proving that the child was conceived during your marriage to Mr. Qu. Although custody rulings for infants typically favour the omega father, going to court would put you at a disadvantage. You lack the financial, emotional, and mental resources. You don’t even have an income right now.” Attorney Chen laid out Shen Dai’s disadvantages one by one, as if gutting a fish and pulling out all its insides.
Shen Dai trembled all over, feeling as if a great malice was suffocating him.
Seeing Shen Dai’s soul-crushed look, Attorney Chen couldn’t help but feel pity. He silently repeated, “Just take the money and solve the problem,” and sighed. “Mr. Shen, Mr. Qu isn’t here, so I won’t bother you with legal jargon. Let’s speak plainly. You are at a complete disadvantage. Besides what I just mentioned, you also signed a prenuptial agreement. By violating it and having Mr. Qu’s child, you owed substantial compensation. Moreover, you are the legal representative of a spin-off subsidiary of Chuang Hai. If Mr. Qu wanted to, with a few manoeuvres, he could saddle you with billions in debt. Why do you insist on going head-to-head with Mr. Qu and provoking him?”
Shen Dai clenched his fists so tightly that his short nails dug into his flesh, using the pain to gain a clear-headed awareness. He glared at Attorney Chen with a bloodshot, questioning look, “What did I do to provoke him? He wanted a divorce, so we divorced. He wanted me to remove the ‘mark’, so I did. He didn’t want the child, so I left everything behind and never planned to let him know. I feared him. I obeyed him. I know I couldn’t defy him. How could I possibly provoke him?”
“Ah, matters of the heart…”
“There is no ‘matter of the heart’ between us!” Shen Dai’s voice was filled with hatred. “He has no feelings, only an incredibly inflated sense of self. Whatever he wants, he must have. To him, my child and I are not even humans!”
We’re just tools to satisfy some of Qu Moyu’s needs.
Attorney Chen bowed his head, pondering for a moment before speaking softly, “Mr. Shen, perhaps you’re right. But that doesn’t change anything. From our few encounters, I can tell you are a very stubborn person. You’re clear about what you love and hate. When Mr. Qu showed weakness, if you had given him a way out, it wouldn’t have come to this. Life is full of unwilling compromises. ‘Endure and adapt’. These words carry great wisdom. Think about it carefully.”
Shen Dai’s eyes were bloodshot. The muscles on his face twitched with anger and pain.
Attorney Chen sighed and rubbed his temples, speaking gently, “You’re still young. So let me share a bit of sociological perspective with you. S-class alphas have a primal nature beneath their civilised exterior. Much of the logic that applies to regular people doesn’t work with them. They seem smart and empathetic because they need to understand their prey and hunting grounds. To them, life is a grand hunting game. And everything in the world is prey. If you stop them from doing something they want, you become their enemy. They will treat you and conquer you as they would an enemy, using any means necessary. This is their instinctive reaction from being in a constant state of combat. When they feel hurt, their first reaction is to retaliate, not to communicate, compromise, or understand like regular people do.” Attorney Chen shook his head, “Very few people can break through their emotional barriers. If they didn’t receive love growing up, it’s unlikely they ever will. Many are raised to be power-chasing machines, which is why most S-class alphas are unwilling to commit to a ‘mark’. They appear arrogant. But they’re actually afraid. Afraid that their survival jungle law will be overturned.”
Shen Dai looked at Attorney Chen, his gaze growing emptier.
“Although it’s unreasonable, unfortunately, they’re so powerful that we have no choice but to adapt to them,” Attorney Chen concluded. “All I can advise is that you make peace with it.”
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*Translator’s Note: ‘Adapt and endure’. Heh. Easier said than done, Attorney Chen. I’ve forgotten if I used ‘Lawyer’ or ‘Attorney’ before. But I’ll just use ‘Attorney’ this time. Lol. But Attorney Chen does have a point there in his long-ass speech. -K
Next update: 2022.07.13
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*Proofread by 2024.08.18* I will proofread these chapters slowly and randomly when I’m free. So please understand if there are any delays or discrepancies. TQ.
Proofread version of the rest of the novel will only be available on Novels Space.space while Mature Chapters will be released on my Blog.
