After Getting Pregnant, I Fought for a Divorce from My Alpha - Chapter 8
On the way back, An Xiangdi kept thinking about what Dr. Qiao had said.
His pheromones might actually have a scent. That conclusion made him both nervous and delighted.
He lifted his arm and sniffed, but didn’t smell anything. The joy was quickly replaced by a hint of disappointment. If his scent really was like water, that sounded so plain. He had originally imagined his pheromones would be something unique and pleasant.
Putting his arm down, An Xiangdi suddenly felt a little foolish for what he just did. He cleared his throat and glanced around with a guilty conscience—fortunately, no one had seen.
At midnight, the plane cut through the night and landed on time at Hangnan Airport.
An Xiangdi wrapped himself up tightly and walked at the end of the crowd toward the exit. From a distance, he saw Shen Xiao standing at the pickup area in a white hoodie, wearing a black mask just like his.
“Let’s go.” Shen Xiao reached out, not caring about the people around them, and took An Xiangdi’s hand.
An Xiangdi’s gaze lingered on their interlocked hands. He thought of how Shen Xiao used to say his pheromones were sweet. Especially during moments of passion, Shen Xiao would hold him tight and whisper again and again, “You smell so sweet.”
Though a bit embarrassing, those words always made An Xiangdi feel truly alive.
“Shen Xiao.”
“What is it?” Shen Xiao slowed down and looked back at him.
“…Nothing. Just wanted to call your name.” An Xiangdi turned his head to the side.
Shen Xiao was silent for a moment, then softly replied, “Okay. I’m here.”
Despite their efforts to stay low-key, by the next morning, a post had already gone viral on Weibo, exposing Shen Xiao picking An Xiangdi up at the airport.
@GossipPrince V: Fan submission: Ran into Shen Xiao and An Xiangdi at the airport past midnight yesterday. Looks like Shen Xiao went to pick him up. They left together later. [Highlight.jpg] [9 images]
– SugarEveryDay: Sorry, I just got overwhelmed by sweetness. AWsl!
– PeachyOolong: Ever since Shen Xiao clarified that interview last time, I’ve been kind of obsessed with these two…
– StrategyForLove: Is this the joy of shipping a real couple?
…
An Xiangdi was woken up by Shen Xiao’s endlessly ringing phone. It was only 3 a.m., and Shen Xiao was no longer in bed.
The bathroom door creaked open as Shen Xiao came out, wiping water from his face. He saw An Xiangdi rubbing his eyes. “Did I wake you?”
“You’re going to shoot now?” An Xiangdi flipped over, eyes half-closed.
“Yeah.” Shen Xiao didn’t feel too sleepy. Back in the day, he used to work on only a couple of hours of sleep for days.
“Oh.” An Xiangdi mumbled weakly and quickly dozed off again.
Shen Xiao silenced the call, kissed An Xiangdi’s forehead, and left the room.
The call was from Hua Jiang, who went straight to the point: “You and An Xiangdi weren’t at the filming site last night. Where did you go?”
“Had some business.” Shen Xiao didn’t want to elaborate.
Hua Jiang hit a wall, then said stiffly, “I told you before to be careful. Now that there’s a collaboration going on, a lot of eyes are on you.”
“Sister Hua, I’ve been married to Di for two years now.” Shen Xiao emphasized calmly.
His tone didn’t waver, but it put Hua Jiang on edge. She ended the call in a rush.
When An Xiangdi woke again, it was already nine o’clock, and he had a scene scheduled at eleven.
When he arrived on set, everyone was on break. He was led off to get changed and made up. By the time he was ready, he saw Director Cao Xuan in a heated argument with the screenwriter, Qi Kexiu, while Shen Xiao and Liang Yao stood silently nearby.
“What’s going on?” An Xiangdi stopped a staff member to ask.
“Ah… Director Cao wants to change a scene in the script, but Teacher Qi won’t agree.” The staff member gave a sheepish smile. “They started arguing pretty badly.”
Qi Kexiu was the original author of The Eyes Hiding in the Corner and also the screenwriter this time. As the author, she naturally preferred to preserve the original plot and details. On the other hand, Cao Xuan, as the director, prioritized how the scene would come across on screen.
But neither side would back down, and the argument was turning red-hot.
After listening for a while, An Xiangdi got the gist of which scene they were fighting over.
In the drama The Eyes Hiding in the Corner, An Xiangdi played Qian Xin, and Shen Xiao played Zheng Jun. Their characters shared a mutual but unspoken love. After a case occurs, the emotional tension between them intensifies.
Around that time, Zheng Jun meets the younger sister of the fourth victim in a serial murder case—Ding Yifan, played by Liang Yao.
Ding Yifan is timid and introverted. During Zheng Jun’s investigation, she falls for his serious, responsible nature. After a second round of questioning about the case, she confesses to him.
In the original, she runs out of the house and, from a distance, shouts her confession.
Cao Xuan wanted to change it so she would hug Zheng Jun from behind and confess instead.
An Xiangdi raised a brow at Shen Xiao, then glanced at Liang Yao, who clearly had a thing for Shen Xiao. Regardless of what they really thought, commenting on this would be tricky.
But An Xiangdi didn’t want to stay silent.
“Director Cao, Teacher Qi, how about this?” An Xiangdi interrupted the heated argument.
Still breathing heavily, Cao Xuan turned to glare at him, clearly not cooled down yet. “What do you want to say?”
Qi Kexiu, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, didn’t look quite as fierce, but she was no pushover either.
“I’d like to suggest Shen Xiao and I try both versions. You two can then judge which one works better.”
An Xiangdi spoke so smoothly that no one immediately caught the oddity—this was supposed to be a scene between Shen Xiao and Liang Yao. Why was he suggesting himself?
“Fine!” Cao Xuan, still fired up, agreed at once and rushed to the equipment. “We’ll start immediately!”
Qi Kexiu, although still firm in her stance, saw no better option and stepped aside.
“Liang Yao! What are you doing just standing there? Move out of the shot so An Xiangdi and Shen Xiao can run through it!” Cao Xuan shouted.
Startled, Liang Yao bit her lip and stepped aside with reddened eyes.
Shen Xiao’s tense expression softened. An Xiangdi had always been sharp. He wasn’t easily manipulated, and watching everyone fall into his trap was amusing.
As An Xiangdi walked to his mark, he passed Shen Xiao and muttered, “I’m cleaning up your mess here!”
“Mhm, whatever my omega says is right.” Shen Xiao only ever said things like that in bed, so he was clearly in a great mood.
An Xiangdi stumbled slightly, his ears turning red as he reached his position.
After the assistant director gave the cue, they dove into the scene, starting with the shouting confession.
“Ding Yifan” stood at the window, watching Zheng Jun walk away. Her cheeks were red under the sunlight.
Suddenly, “she” dashed out of the house, chasing after him with everything “she” had. When he was just about to round a corner, “she” shouted:
“Officer Zheng! I like you!”
Zheng Jun’s steps halted. His shadow stretched long in the light. After a pause, he turned around. “I’m sorry. I already have someone I like.”
“Ding Yifan’s” expression shifted—longing, sadness, then forced acceptance. Finally, “she” smiled and said, “Thank you, Officer Zheng.”
…
The take ended, but Director Cao Xuan forgot to even stop the camera.
Qi Kexiu scoffed smugly. “I told you the original version worked better.”
“S-second version’s not filmed yet! Don’t get cocky!” Cao Xuan, though increasingly unsure, still held his ground.
Qi Kexiu sat down with a knowing smile, full of confidence in her win.
An Xiangdi didn’t care for their bickering. He rubbed his burning face.
He and Shen Xiao were both 29. Two steps away from turning 30, yet here they were, shouting confessions like teenagers. It was mortifying.
Cao Xuan, eager to compare, didn’t give them a break and immediately pushed for take two.
The setup was the same. This time, though, “Ding Yifan” ran out and threw her arms around Zheng Jun’s waist from behind.
“Officer Zheng, I like you.” This time, it was An Xiangdi who said the line while hugging Shen Xiao tighter.
“Zheng Jun,” played by Shen Xiao, kept a straight face, though inside he was struggling not to laugh. His fingers trembled slightly. Then, he grabbed “Ding Yifan’s” hands and lightly brushed her palm as he let go.
“Sorry, I already have someone I like.”
At that moment, Shen Xiao’s eyes were full of emotion—but it was all for An Xiangdi. Not for “Ding Yifan,” not even for “Qian Xin.”
“Cut, cut, cut, cut!” Director Cao Xuan yelled. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the first version worked better. It captured the girl’s timid courage and subtly echoed the unspoken love between Zheng Jun and Qian Xin.
In the end, the script remained unchanged. Qi Kexiu was pleased and stopped butting heads with Cao Xuan.
Cao Xuan called Liang Yao aside to show her the first take and gave her pointers for her performance.
An Xiangdi, job well done, grabbed a cold bottle of water from Xiao Gu and held it to his cheek.
His face hadn’t cooled since the shouting scene.
Shen Xiao walked over with a smile and popped a grape-flavored candy into his mouth, leaning in close to his ear. “Di, I like you the most.”
“…Get lost!” The heat that had just faded surged back. An Xiangdi kicked him lightly and refused to look at him again.