Chapter 2

FUCK HIM. Who cares if he dies or goes to jail?

Sheng Shao You downed the last of the liquor in his glass, cursing loudly under his breath.

Bad fathers, he breathed. Who cares when they die? Or get arrested for fraud, or even thrown into a lion’s den? Wouldn’t that be punishment enough for being bad fathers? Just another thing to add to the long list of things some people deserved. No big deal.

Yet here he was, drinking himself to oblivion because his father, the chairman of Sheng Fang Biotech—the largest biotechnology company in Jianghu once upon a time—had been taken behind bars earlier today for his involvement in a shady business that resulted in the company’s total bankruptcy and left it indebted to many in the tech field.

For three months now, day after day, Shao You could only watch their empire crumble. Once the crippling financial state of the company came to light, the stocks plummeted and many investors pulled out. And Sheng Fang did the most damage by hiding the situation until it was beyond repair. To the 24-year-old Shao You, it felt like the deepest cut to his fragile heart, watching everything his dead omega mother had bled and built together with Sheng Fang fall apart. He had been raised his whole life to take over. Life was so unfair.

Three months later, all they were left with were a few cars and their old mansion. A possession he felt would disappear too, sooner or later.

Shao You flicked away the tear threatening to fall from his tired eyes and poured himself another drink, to the brim.

Life was too unfair to him. 

He didn’t fear the poverty he was headed toward, of course not. Just the humiliation that came with it. From living as one of the most respected business families in Jianghu to nothing.  Shao You hadn’t received any affection or care from Sheng Fang since birth, but that damn old man could have at least left him with an inheritance and a name. How hard was that?

Apparently too hard, since he was now fading away behind bars. Sheng Fang Biotech would be completely taken over tomorrow by the anonymous conglomerate in Country P that had bought it from him.

Woohoo! Super bad father strikes yet again, and it was on his birthday… again.

Again.

Just like that day twelve years ago.

Twelve Years Earlier…

“Shao You, stop that, will you?” Sheng Fang said to the teenager causing a ruckus in front of him. 
Even as he said it, the old alpha remained composed, sitting behind his desk.

Sheng Shao You paused, looked him dead in the eyes, and resumed hitting his head against the wall. 
“Shao You!” Sheng Fang shouted into the void. “I said stop!” 
“No!” came the deep voice of a teenager in mid-level puberty.

Was he being bad? Yes. Did he care? No. 
Why did he have to care about people who didn’t care about him? About a father who didn’t care about him? Someone who always put work and money before his children. Sheng Shao You wasn’t Sheng Fang’s only child, but damn, sometimes it felt like the man had no children at all. Just work, work, work, and work!

Today was his birthday. He was turning 12, and like every one since his third, it was going to be spent alone. But Sheng Fang had promised him an outing together this time. Grabbing suits at the mall, sharing a large pizza, and ride after ride at the park—young Shao You had dreamed up the perfect father-and-son date since then.

And yet, once again, here he was before the same man, listening to heart-shattering words about going on a business trip instead. He would make it up to him, Sheng Fang promised. Unacceptable. What was the point of constant promises if he couldn’t keep them? He hadn’t asked to be promised to!

Since birth, Shao You remembered only one birthday with his father around, and that was when his mother was alive. That was too many years ago, and he’d grown used to celebrating his special days alone, with friends from school, or curled up in his room crying over his misery.

Still, he should have known it would be the same this time too. Sheng Fang would never be the father he yearned for. It was always that way.

As he stood in the doorway glaring back at his father, he subconsciously released dominant pheromones that enveloped everyone in the room.

Sheng Fang immediately covered his nose with his palm and pointed a finger at his red-eyed son. 
“That’s enough, Shao You. Put away your pheromones!” he warned. 

The angry teenager doubled down. Maybe this was it. Maybe if he got angry enough, Sheng Fang would change. As his only legitimate son, Shao You had always tried to please his father. Even when he hated him for his mother’s death. Even when he hated him for cheating on his mother. Even when he was a bad father. 

But that didn’t seem enough for the money-obsessed leader of Sheng Fang Biotech, the leading biotechnology company in all of Jianghu. Sheng Fang only knew how to push him to be the absolute top of the chain and nothing else aside from preparing him to take over the company in the near future.

Sheng Shao You hated the man he was forced to call father. He hated being his son even more.

“Shao You, I’ll say it only once more,” Sheng Fang said, almost unfazed by the dominant pheromones released by his S-class alpha son as an A-class alpha himself.

At the cold yet calm tone of his alpha father, consciousness snapped back into Shao You, and he slowly withdrew the strong scent of pheromones. Despite his many flaws, the old man had never gotten physical with him, but Shao You was afraid of him nonetheless. He composed himself, but the scowl on his face didn’t go away.

“I’m sorry, Father,” he apologized half-heartedly. Still, he didn’t regret his little tantrum earlier.

The old study that once belonged to his omega mother slowly returned to its original floral scent, the one he thought had belonged to her. But that was too long ago to be significant. 

Sheng Fang picked up the steaming cup of tea on his desk, blew on it, and took a sip. He hummed and nodded, almost to himself in satisfaction, before setting it down again.

“I’ll see you after the trip, Shao You,” Sheng Fang said dismissively, turning his attention to the documents on his desk.

Shao You sighed in defeat. “Have a safe trip, Father,” he nodded.

Before walking out, Sheng Shao You cursed the old man in his heart and wished he had never been born. 

Sheng Fang hadn’t even apologized once for breaking his promise to him. So why did he have to care about the old liar’s well-being? He could die for all he cared, or get lost in a wild forest somewhere with wolves. Who cared?

That was the problem.

He did care.

Sheng Shao You cared.

Because Sheng Fang, no matter how irresponsible, was still his beloved father in the end.

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Thank you for reading.
Next Update: 20th May
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