After Getting Pregnant, I Fought for a Divorce from My Alpha - Chapter 14
An Xiangdi returned to the backstage area. As soon as his hand touched the doorknob and turned it, a strong force grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.
The newcomer kissed him deeply, wrapping an arm tightly around his waist as if to meld him into his very bones.
“Why are you so late?” Shen Xiao finally pulled back from the kiss, nuzzling An Xiangdi’s cheek with the tip of his nose.
Panting, An Xiangdi inhaled the brandy-scented pheromones, feeling his gland swell and his legs weaken. He braced both hands on Shen Xiao’s shoulders for support. “Why are you here?”
“Came to pick you up.” Shen Xiao turned on the light in the dressing room.
Knock knock—two knocks came from the door against An Xiangdi’s back, making them both freeze.
“Teacher An, are you alright? A colleague said you were pulled into the room and got a little worried.” It was a staff member from the production team.
Inside the dressing room, neither of them made a sound.
Xiao Gu came jogging down the corridor. “Sorry, it’s nothing. Thank you for your concern.”
“Oh, as long as it’s okay,” the staff member replied. Seeing the door still tightly shut, they muttered, “Then why not open it,” and walked away.
An Xiangdi picked up his things, which Xiao Gu had packed earlier. “I’m staying at the production team’s hotel, just across the street.”
Shen Xiao followed him. “Not staying with me?”
“No, I have to record again the day after tomorrow, I—” An Xiangdi had more to say, but stopped when he saw Shen Xiao silently canceling and rebooking a hotel on his phone.
Xiao Gu waited at the door for them to come out, then quietly informed An Xiangdi, “Teacher An, the director asked me to let you know there’ll be a special performance segment during the May 3rd recording. You’ll need to pay special attention.”
“Hm?”
“He didn’t say anything specific,” Xiao Gu scratched his head, looking puzzled as well.
“Got it.” An Xiangdi had a good guess—since this was a music show, a special segment likely meant live songwriting or rearrangement.
The hotel arranged by the production team was just across the road. An Xiangdi had assumed Shen Xiao was hiding in the dressing room to avoid being seen. But once they stepped outside, Shen Xiao made no effort to hide at all—he even helped carry An Xiangdi’s stuff while standing in full view.
When they exited the building and came face-to-face with fans waiting to catch a glimpse of An Xiangdi, Shen Xiao openly carried his things.
“Eh? Shen Xiao’s here too?”
“Came to visit the set?”
“No way, haven’t they been showing up together a little too often lately?”
“I used to consider myself An An’s girlfriend fan, but now… sigh…”
“I’m a wife fan!”
“He’s glaring at you!”
The fans quickly fell silent. The one who claimed to be a “wife fan” received quite the caring look from Shen Xiao.
“You’ve got a lot of girlfriend and wife fans too, huh?” An Xiangdi gave Shen Xiao a sideways glance and waved at the fans still waiting in the middle of the night.
This time, Shen Xiao stayed quiet.
The next day, An Xiangdi had no schedule. He lounged around in bed at the hotel, sleeping in until Shen Xiao dragged him up to eat.
“We’ve got dinner plans tonight at that bistro on the corner.”
An Xiangdi paused with the fork in his hand. “Alright.”
He wanted to ask more, but figured he’d find out what sort of “demon or monster” they were meeting once dinner started.
That evening, both men dressed neatly and headed out, walking through a deserted alley to the agreed-upon restaurant.
Inside, aside from the staff, the place was completely empty. Though the business seemed poor, An Xiangdi remembered this place being packed just last night.
“Mr. Shen?” the restaurant manager greeted them with a smile.
“Mm.” Shen Xiao nodded.
“This way, please.” The manager led them upstairs.
An Xiangdi observed a bit and quickly realized the place wasn’t empty due to poor business—it had been reserved.
They were led to a private room on the second floor. The manager pushed open the door. “Mr. Cheng, Mr. Shen and Mr. An have arrived.”
Shen Xiao took An Xiangdi’s hand and led him inside.
“Shen-ge, long time no see.” Mr. Cheng stood up to fist-bump Shen Xiao, then peeked at An Xiangdi. “Should I be calling you ‘sister-in-law’?”
An Xiangdi eyed “Mr. Cheng”—he had wild red hair, a row of earrings, and looked like a relic from the early 2000s visual scene.
“Hi, I’m An Xiangdi.” He extended his hand politely.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Cheng Youyi.” Just as Cheng Youyi was about to shake his hand, Shen Xiao pulled An Xiangdi’s hand back.
Cheng raised an eyebrow and let out a little bit of dominant Alpha pheromone. “So petty?”
“Just letting you meet each other today.” Shen Xiao sat with An Xiangdi across from Cheng.
Cheng looked at his now-empty palm and laughed, brushing his red hair behind his ear. “Shen-ge, you’re such a stingy old man.”
The discomfort An Xiangdi had initially felt from the pheromones faded. He quietly observed Cheng—you could tell beneath the eccentric appearance was someone very well-raised, quite the contrast from his outer image.
“Cheng Youyi just got back from studying abroad,” Shen Xiao gave a simple intro.
An Xiangdi didn’t get it—Shen Xiao didn’t seem like the type to hang around with guys who looked like this.
“Shen-ge and I go way back—we’ve got life-and-death history.” Cheng spoke animatedly. “Back when I was young and stupid, almost got into serious trouble abroad. If not for Shen-ge stepping in, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
“You just got drunk and hit on a taken Omega, then got beat up by a bunch of Alphas.”
“Shen-ge descended like a god, saving me from the fire!”
“I only called the cops.”
“No one else lifted a finger to help me.”
“That’s because you wouldn’t let me leave.”
Cheng trailed off. “Shen-ge, cut me some slack, will you?”
Shen Xiao said nothing more and placed the sliced steak in front of An Xiangdi. “Here, eat this.”
Amused by their banter, An Xiangdi chuckled. “Didn’t know you had this side of you.”
Shen Xiao paused his cutting. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. You’ll see it all eventually.”
“Can you two not flirt right in front of me? Save it for when I’m gone,” Cheng lamented as a perennial bachelor.
“You can call your little pets in now.”
“Pets?” An Xiangdi raised a brow. Was it what he thought?
“Shen-ge, I’ll shut up, okay? Don’t expose me!” Cheng quickly made a zipped-lips gesture.
His unwillingness to elaborate made An Xiangdi think he’d guessed right. “You’ve taken Shen Xiao there before?”
“…Huh?” Cheng didn’t immediately get what An Xiangdi meant.
“You know, those prince-princess cafes that offer… extra services?” An Xiangdi glanced at Shen Xiao’s flawless profile as he asked.
“Sister-in-law! I’m innocent! Shen-ge meant my cats and dogs!” Cheng wailed.
“He’s got two corgis, two Samoyeds, two British Shorthairs, and two Ragdolls,” Shen Xiao added.
Truly a pet lover.
Now An Xiangdi froze, then coughed awkwardly, realizing he had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
“Sister-in-law, you seem pretty well-versed in this stuff. Does Shen-ge know?” Cheng quickly took his chance to strike back.
“They film it like that in dramas,” An Xiangdi replied with a poker face.
Under Shen Xiao’s death stare, Cheng surrendered and quietly ate his food.
Near the end of the meal, An Xiangdi went to the restroom, leaving Shen Xiao and Cheng alone in the room.
“Shen-ge, about the studio—shouldn’t you tell sister-in-law first?”
“No need for now.” Shen Xiao finished the last bit of soup.
“Alright.” Cheng rubbed his chin, unable to read Shen Xiao’s mind. “Guess I’ll leave it for later then.”
“This guy—” Shen Xiao pulled out a photo from his pocket. “Find out what his connection to Royal Entertainment is.”
Cheng looked at the photo. “Oh? Pretty boy. Omega?”
Shen Xiao, used to his nonsense, didn’t reply.
Cheng, bored by the lack of response, shrugged. “I’ll look into it—give me three days.”
“Mm,” Shen Xiao finally answered flatly.
Meanwhile, in the restroom, An Xiangdi got a call from Xiao Gu.
“Hello?” He wiped the water from his hands and answered.
“Teacher An! Something bad happened!” Xiao Gu, normally composed, sounded frantic.
“What is it?” An Xiangdi’s delicate brows furrowed.
“Your fans and your agency are fighting on the hot search!” Xiao Gu’s voice rose in panic.
“What did my lovely agency do this time?” An Xiangdi didn’t doubt his fans—these things were always caused by Royal Entertainment’s antics.
He switched apps and opened Weibo. The trending page showed his fans posting bright red protest graphics with white text. Royal Entertainment’s official page had its comments and reposts completely overrun. This was a full-on internet war.
“It’s about the casting position for a new drama,” Xiao Gu whispered as he ducked into a stairwell. “Manager Li agreed on your behalf to join Director Qiu’s new show—and you’re fifth billing. The lead cast hasn’t even debuted yet!”
Even though An Xiangdi had only been in film and TV for a few years, he always held third billing or higher thanks to his acting skills.
It wasn’t that he looked down on lower billing—he’d gladly cameo for a good drama. But this was from Director Qiu, the man who once tried to sleep with him for a role.
Royal Entertainment and his “wonderful” manager were truly testing his limits again.
“Got it.” An Xiangdi’s hand clenched tight, pale skin revealing tense veins.
“Teacher An, Director Qiu has already posted about the cast on Weibo. Not sure if it’s intentional. Should we cancel?”
“No need. Since they’re so eager for me to act, I’ll act,” An Xiangdi sneered. “But if they want to make me uncomfortable, they’d better not expect to have a pleasant time either.”