After Getting Pregnant, I Fought for a Divorce from My Alpha - Chapter 21
Seeing the bustle around the film set, Xiao Gu was completely spaced out.
“Hey! Hey! Xiao Gu!” A crew member from the set coordination team had been calling him for a while, but he didn’t react at all.
“Huh… ah? What is it?” Xiao Gu snapped back to reality and touched his face, as if checking to make sure he hadn’t messed something up.
“Where’s Mr. An? Go call him, it’s almost time to shoot.” The crew member gave him a puzzled look. “Five minutes.”
“Oh, oh, okay. I’ll go right away.” Realizing the time, Xiao Gu forced himself to focus.
He knocked lightly on the dressing room door. Inside, An Xiangdi was already fully made up and listening to music.
“Mr. An, there are five minutes until your scene,” Xiao Gu said, not even sure why he was so nervous.
An Xiangdi gave a casual “Oh,” and took out his earphones.
As the music trickled out, Xiao Gu realized he was listening to a song sung by Shen Xiao—probably a special recording.
An Xiangdi tossed the phone to Xiao Gu. Just as he was about to head to the door, he turned and stared at him. “Xiao Gu.”
“Y-Yes?” Xiao Gu was startled and straightened up, face serious.
“Why are you so nervous?” An Xiangdi noticed that ever since Xiao Gu had found out about the pregnancy yesterday, he’d been acting jittery.
“I—I just feel a bit overwhelmed…” Xiao Gu pulled a bitter face. He knew too much now—no longer just the innocent assistant Xiao Gu.
An Xiangdi gave him a meaningful look, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a tone full of life wisdom, “It’s time you grew up.”
Xiao Gu: I really don’t want to.
An Xiangdi’s scene today was relatively simple: sitting in a room reading, then chatting with his “Second Sister, He Wan,” about household matters.
However, “Second Sister, He Wan” was played by the Best Actress An Xiao, and this would be An Xiangdi’s first time acting opposite such a high-caliber actor—his nerves were understandably high.
Director Wang Xingxiu was a strict person—firm on the overall vision of the script and meticulous about details. Even a seasoned actress like An Xiao had been harshly criticized by him when she was a rookie.
An Xiangdi clenched his fists, cold sweat forming in his palms from the tension.
Wang Xingxiu adjusted the equipment and waved him over. “An Xiangdi, come here.”
“Yes,” An Xiangdi responded quickly and walked over.
Wang looked him up and down, evaluating him without a single word of praise, only a well-intentioned warning: “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because Mr. Kan Song complimented you. Just one piece of advice—don’t NG too many times.” (NG = no good takes)
Because of his good looks and fashion sense, An Xiangdi was often praised, whether in films or magazines. Wang Xingxiu’s lack of interest in his appearance gave him a bit of a reality check.
“Understood.” Gritting his teeth, An Xiangdi accepted the challenge.
“Get ready. We’ll start soon,” Wang said, turning away.
As An Xiangdi walked toward the set, he passed by An Xiao, who called him.
“An Xiangdi, don’t be nervous.” Most people described An Xiao as the quintessential Omega—gentle voice, beautiful features, kind personality.
Though he wasn’t close to her, her encouragement was a comfort, and he nodded politely. “Thank you, senior.”
An Xiao smiled warmly. Having been through Wang Xingxiu’s strict training herself, she didn’t want his harshness to crush An Xiangdi’s confidence.
“Scene Thirteen of The Faded Season, take one—Action!”
Recently, the eldest and second siblings of the He family had been at each other’s throats over company shares. Their shouting matches filled the house daily.
As the youngest sibling, He Sheng hated seeing the family in turmoil. He’d locked himself in his room for days, doing nothing but flipping through Dao De Jing over and over.
After quietly reading for a while, the door suddenly slammed open. Second sister He Wan burst in like a storm. “He Sheng! Come and give me some justice!”
An Xiangdi, playing He Sheng, froze beside the bed—his mind went completely blank, and he forgot all his lines.
“Cut! Cut! Cut! An Xiangdi, don’t just stand there spacing out!” Wang Xingxiu frowned, clearly displeased with his out-of-it performance.
Snapping out of it, An Xiangdi, deeply embarrassed by his awkward first mistake on set, apologized and got ready for the second take.
He hadn’t expected that the usually gentle An Xiao would transform into a whole different person once she started acting—her presence stunned him into silence.
An Xiao was used to this reaction and gently reassured him not to worry and to stay calm.
Taking a deep breath, An Xiangdi focused fully on the scene. After all, he was acting with a true professional—and she didn’t earn all those awards for nothing.
On the second take, under Wang Xingxiu’s direction, things went much more smoothly. But just as they were nearing the end of the scene, a wave of nausea hit him. To avoid being caught on camera with a weird expression, he quickly turned his head.
Wang’s face darkened, clearly irritated. “An Xiangdi, step out. We’ll shoot the next scene first.”
After the nausea passed, An Xiangdi’s hand clenched tightly at his side. The pride in his eyes dimmed slightly.
When Shen Xiao finished his work and arrived on set, he found An Xiangdi sitting in a corner, hugging a thermos, while Xiao Gu stood silently nearby.
An Xiangdi was staring blankly at the studio where Ying Chong and An Xiao were filming an intense argument.
A hand gently cupped the back of his head, and the familiar brandy-scented pheromone reached his nose. An Xiangdi looked up.
Shen Xiao asked quietly, “Why are you sitting here?”
He clearly remembered that An Xiangdi had a few scenes to shoot today with An Xiao.
“…It’s not my turn yet,” An Xiangdi lied, unable to swallow his pride.
Xiao Gu pursed his lips and looked off into the distance, pretending not to hear.
Shen Xiao stared at him for a while, then went to talk to the crew assistant. No one knew what was said, but he soon returned and pulled An Xiangdi away from the studio.
“What are you doing? My scene is coming up,” An Xiangdi snapped, frustrated. One lie had already snowballed into many.
“My first time acting with Ying Chong, I got cursed out by Director Wang worse than a dog,” Shen Xiao said, gripping his hand tightly.
An Xiangdi realized the lie was exposed and fell silent.
“When working with actors like them, don’t overthink it. Just immerse yourself in the role,” Shen Xiao patiently advised.
“I…” An Xiangdi wanted to explain that he was almost done with the second take, but the baby inside had triggered another bout of nausea and ruined it. But saying that would feel like blaming the little one, so he swallowed it.
“Be yourself—and be He Sheng,” Shen Xiao said, glancing at the blue sky. “You’ll get a reward once it’s over.”
An Xiangdi touched his belly and, after a moment, nodded. “Then you wait here. Don’t leave.”
“Alright.” Shen Xiao had originally planned to go buy bayberries, but now he’d have to ask someone to deliver them.
Back on set, An Xiangdi noticed that Director Wang was watching him from afar, seemingly assessing whether he was ready.
Remembering Shen Xiao’s words, he returned a confident look.
Sure enough, once Ying Chong and An Xiao finished their scene, Wang called out for An Xiangdi to come up.
An Xiao asked with a warm smile, “Ready?”
“Yes, thank you, senior.” Though usually proud, An Xiangdi showed proper respect to those he admired.
“Good. Let’s see—maybe we’ll pass this one,” she said, stepping out of the camera frame.
Wang signaled the start of the scene, and this time, the annoying nausea didn’t return. An Xiangdi was calm and acted smoothly.
“That was good. Let’s move on,” Wang said, visibly more relaxed.
The shoot wrapped around 7 p.m. An Xiangdi wasn’t very hungry—his current routine involved frequent small meals to avoid vomiting. Xiao Gu’s backpack was stocked with healthy snacks, and An Xiangdi would eat a bit whenever he felt hungry.
In the nanny van, Shen Xiao handed him a box of freshly washed bayberries.
“Where did these come from?” An Xiangdi’s eyes lit up.
“Had someone bring them,” Shen Xiao said, feeding him one by one.
An Xiangdi reclined lazily. He used to love grapes, but ever since getting pregnant, he craved apples daily, and even bayberries—something he normally avoided—had become a favorite.
Knock knock. Someone tapped on the window.
An Xiangdi blinked and rolled it down to see An Xiao outside.
“Want to come eat with us?”
“…I don’t think so, I…” He wanted to decline. He’d been avoiding sit-down meals lately.
“Director Wang is treating,” An Xiao leaned in to whisper. “He said he was too strict today—wants to apologize.”
An Xiangdi was surprised. He never expected someone as stern as Director Wang to voluntarily treat everyone to dinner.
Just as he hesitated, Wei Yi—who had no scenes today but heard there’d be food—ran over from the hotel and leaned on the window. “Dizi! Come on, let’s drink!”
Shen Xiao’s grip on the bayberry box tightened, his expression stiffening.
Wei Yi was completely oblivious and kept whispering excitedly, “Don’t say no! This is the perfect chance! If we don’t squeeze something out of Wang today, I’ll regret it!”
Wei Yi wasn’t a professional actor—his skills were barely passable—and since the shoot started, he’d been scolded nonstop by Director Wang.
An Xiao laughed cheerfully nearby. “Wei Yi, An Xiangdi, don’t keep Director Wang waiting too long.”
When she left, Wei Yi panicked, afraid to be left behind. “Are you coming or not? I haven’t had a drink in forever!”
An Xiangdi wanted to go—this was the crew’s first official gathering—but his body wasn’t quite up for it.
“Let’s go. I’ll come with you,” Shen Xiao said, packing the bayberries into a small bag and helping An Xiangdi out of the car.
An Xiangdi looked at him in disbelief, studying his face carefully—still finding it hard to read.
Wei Yi, however, was ecstatic. Just as he cheered, his phone rang. It was his agent.
“Wei Yi, the producers of Survival want you as a permanent cast member for Season 2. I’ve already accepted on your behalf,” the agent said excitedly, treating the show like a golden opportunity.
“What?!” Wei Yi’s dreams of food and drinks were crushed instantly. “I’m not going!”
“Objection overruled,” the agent said, then hung up.
Seeing Wei Yi’s lifeless face, An Xiangdi tugged on Shen Xiao’s sleeve and whispered, “You tricked him again?”
Shen Xiao’s voice was icy cold: “It’s a blessing for him.”