After Getting Pregnant, I Fought for a Divorce from My Alpha - Chapter 19
“The promotional plan for An Xiangdi’s new song—I’ve just finished reviewing the entire thing. My revision suggestions are noted in detail. The publicity team, please review it carefully and send the updated version to my inbox within two hours.” Yao Honglang, as the new person in charge, was hitting the ground running—addressing the most urgent matter first.
“Understood.” The people from the publicity department left the production room holding a thick stack of documents. No one dared question the “two hours” deadline. They were mentally prepared to pull an all-nighter if necessary.
“Teachers, please play the final version of the song so An Xiangdi can hear how it turned out,” Yao Honglang turned to the music producers.
The teachers immediately played the track. The final version wasn’t too different from the demo but had undergone extensive noise reduction—it now sounded crisp and clean.
“Any parts you want to change?” Yao Honglang asked An Xiangdi after the playback.
“No.” An Xiangdi shook his head. He was very satisfied with the result.
“Then let’s proceed. Thank you, everyone.” Yao Honglang checked the time. “An Xiangdi, come with me.”
“…Alright.” An Xiangdi was used to leading others. It was the first time someone like Yao Honglang had directed him like this.
Following him into a meeting room, An Xiangdi picked the closest chair and sat down. A stack of documents was placed in front of him.
“A script?” An Xiangdi raised an eyebrow. It was the script for Faded Seasons.
“Yes. It’s been slightly revised. Scrap the old version.”
“What do you mean? I’m not doing this project.” Now that his manager had changed, An Xiangdi no longer had to pretend to be interested. Besides, if the materials he’d sent to the film association were correct, Qiu Cheng would soon be blacklisted as a director.
“Lead actor Ying Chong. Lead actress An Xiao. Second female lead Wang Qiao. You’ll be the fourth male lead alongside Wei Yi. Still not interested?” Yao Honglang rattled off the cast list in a formal tone.
An Xiangdi was stunned. Ying Chong and An Xiao were top-tier award-winning actors. Even Wang Qiao was a rising star poised to win major awards. Having him as fourth lead in such a stellar cast was definitely elevating his status.
“They changed the cast?”
“Yes. The new director is Wang Xiu, and he’s bringing his own production team.” Yao Honglang asked, “What’s wrong? Still don’t want to act?”
“Of course I do!” How could he pass up such a golden opportunity?
“Good.” Yao Honglang looked satisfied. “Go through the script carefully. Your lines aren’t many—it all depends on how you deliver.”
“Got it.” An Xiangdi felt a rush of excitement. His hands trembled slightly as he clutched the script.
Yao Honglang stood up straight. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“About what you sent the film association… well done. But you’d better keep your mouth shut.”
An Xiangdi didn’t know how Yao Honglang had found out, but he understood the message clearly. If word got out, it would definitely reflect poorly on him.
“Understood.”
“You too, Xiao Gu.” Yao Honglang gave Xiao Gu a stern look.
Xiao Gu nodded frantically. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a big secret just by tagging along with An Xiangdi.
“That’s all for today. Faded Seasons starts shooting on June 1st. Aside from a few interviews and a gala after the song release, the rest of your time is free to rest,” Yao Honglang said, packing up his things and leaving first.
Xiao Gu finally relaxed. “Teacher An, should I drive you home?”
“Mm.” Sitting in the car, An Xiangdi glanced at the time and was just about to call Shen Xiao when the latter’s call came through.
“Hello?”
“Finished for the day?” A blonde, blue-eyed makeup artist was applying makeup on Shen Xiao’s face. He set his phone aside to talk to An Xiangdi.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“Getting styled. I have a photo shoot coming up.”
“Bring a copy back for me.” An Xiangdi suddenly felt curious about how the shoot would turn out.
“I’ll ask the director and send you the raw photos.”
An Xiangdi smiled faintly, just about to reply when a wave of nausea hit. He quickly set the phone aside and leaned over, dry heaving.
He barely heard what Shen Xiao said next, only catching a few words at the end. By the time the nausea passed, he had already forgotten it all.
“I’m hanging up. You get back to work,” An Xiangdi said after taking a deep breath.
“Alright.” Shen Xiao was also being rushed to leave.
After the call ended, An Xiangdi lay back on the seat, resting his hand unconsciously on his stomach.
It was still flat. No one would guess a new life was growing inside.
Fear, anxiety… but even more anticipation.
…
Sunday morning, An Xiangdi’s new song was released as scheduled. Under Yao Honglang’s instructions, he carefully crafted a Weibo post to promote it.
The first person to repost it was Shen Xiao.
Soon after, several foreign models—people An Xiangdi had only heard of but never met—reposted it too. He figured they were Shen Xiao’s work contacts.
@AnXiangdiV: This is my letter to you. [Music: “Cycle”]
@ShenXiaoV: I’ll be back tomorrow [heart emoji] //@AnXiangdiV: …
@XiaoDiGirls: ??? He never said you could come back!
@MilkTeaShu: This is what we call “forced association”!
@ShenXiaoSupportSquadV: Ahhhhh he posted!!!
@ShenXiaoFanclubV: Wishing An Xiangdi’s new song great success! “Congrats”, “Congrats”, “Congrats”
…
The comment section was chaotic. Bored at home, An Xiangdi scrolled through a few of them when another message from Shen Xiao popped up.
Shen Xiao: I’ll be back tomorrow.
An Xiangdi: You postponed work again?
Shen Xiao: No, I’m done with everything.
To prove it, Shen Xiao even sent his completed schedule.
Shen Xiao: The new song is great.
An Xiangdi: I wrote it.
Pride surged through him. It was his original piece, after all.
Halfway across the world, Shen Xiao chuckled. After replying, he resumed his negotiations with Hua Jiang.
“Sister Hua, I’m setting up my own studio. The preliminary work is already done. As for the contract with the agency, I can either continue or terminate it by paying the penalty.” Shen Xiao didn’t resent Hua Jiang for helping him all these years. But her bias against An Xiangdi was seriously affecting his motivation.
“This is because of An Xiangdi?” Hua Jiang frowned, displeased. She’d always known Shen Xiao was independent, hard to control—but when it came to An Xiangdi, he became outright defiant.
“You know it is.” Shen Xiao was still being polite.
“Of course I do. I knew it the moment you told me you were going to marry him.” Hua Jiang flipped her hair, clearly annoyed. “If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have stagnated in the same place for so many years.”
“It’s not too late to move forward now,” Shen Xiao stood up. “Please inform the company.”
Hua Jiang looked at his resolute back and realized there was no changing his mind anymore. The time had come.
…
An Xiangdi was in a light sleep when he smelled the familiar brandy-like scent of Shen Xiao’s pheromones. He thought it was a hallucination.
Only when he felt warmth beside him in the dark did he slowly wake up.
“You’re back…” He wasn’t sure what time it was. He had gone to bed early but still felt sleepy.
Shen Xiao pulled the covers over him and held him close. “Mm.”
“What time is it?”
“Three a.m.” Shen Xiao hadn’t adjusted to the time zone yet and wasn’t tired.
An Xiangdi only gave a small “oh” and quickly fell asleep again.
When nausea woke him up again, Shen Xiao had just dozed off. An Xiangdi quietly ran to the bathroom, only returning after washing up and the discomfort had passed.
He didn’t want to fall back asleep in case he had to throw up again, so he lay on the bed, gazing at Shen Xiao’s face. That’s when he noticed the dark circles under Shen Xiao’s eyes.
Reaching out to touch them, An Xiangdi felt both heartache and amusement.
He remembered how, back in high school, he’d been pursued by a bully from a nearby private school. Shen Xiao had beaten the guy up but ended up with a bruised eye himself that lasted for over a month.
At the time, the entire school’s Omegas looked at An Xiangdi with a mix of anger and helpless envy.
“What are you doing?” Shen Xiao opened his eyes, having woken up at some point. He grabbed An Xiangdi’s wandering hand.
“…Why are you awake?” An Xiangdi’s smile vanished as he got caught red-handed and tried to pull his hand back.
Shen Xiao wouldn’t let go. He pulled An Xiangdi’s hand under the covers. “If you want to touch something, why not go lower?”
An Xiangdi’s eyes widened. His whole face flushed bright red. “How can you be so shameless?”
“Let me kiss you.” Shen Xiao didn’t wait for permission and leaned in.
Surrounded by the brandy scent of Shen Xiao’s pheromones, the glands on the back of An Xiangdi’s neck began to swell.
He had intended to push Shen Xiao away, but under the influence of those pheromones, he lost control. He was just about to give in and let Shen Xiao have a morning round when Dr. Qiao’s words—“you must be careful”—suddenly flashed through his mind.
Summoning an unknown strength, An Xiangdi pushed Shen Xiao away.
Shen Xiao’s usually composed expression turned into surprise. Before he could process being rejected, he saw An Xiangdi half-crouched on the bed.
Instinctively reaching out to help, Shen Xiao’s hand was brushed aside.
Then, with a hand clutching his chest, An Xiangdi leaned over and vomited right onto the white sheets.
Shen Xiao’s face turned pitch-black.
What was this supposed to be?
Rejected and vomited on?