After the Divorce, My Ex-Wife Suddenly Became an Alpha - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Gambling Table

The second half of the team-building day passed without further incident. On the return starship, Gu Jinxi finally let out a rare sigh of relief.

They were finally going home. Over the past two days, both she and Chi Yuejing had either been sick or exhausted, crammed into that tiny tent without getting any proper rest. Moreover, Chi Yuejing’s injuries couldn’t be delayed any longer—she needed treatment as soon as possible.

Not wanting to socialize in the dining area, Gu Jinxi headed straight to the vending machines at the corner, intending to grab a few sandwiches for lunch. The glass screen of the machine flickered, and the red “Processing” light lit up with a soft humming sound.

While she was staring at the screen in a daze, a shadow suddenly appeared reflected in the glass. Reacting instinctively, she turned around sharply, her gaze alert.

Zeng Jiyuan was still wearing a uniform marked with the insignia of the Interrogation Division. He didn’t look too good—his eyes were ringed with fatigue, giving him a rather disheveled appearance. He awkwardly opened his mouth and said softly, “Ms. Gu, I came to apologize.”

Gu Jinxi didn’t respond, which made a wave of frustration rise in him, and his tone grew a bit rushed: “Please don’t be afraid. I’m really just here to apologize, that’s all.”

“I’m not afraid,” the woman finally spoke, her tone cool. “I just think you’ve got the wrong person.”

She took a step back, folding her arms across her chest, and calmly asked, “I heard what happened last night. You lost a match to Yuejing, and then planted a listening device at our campsite… Isn’t the person you should be apologizing to Major Ye and his family?”

As he had suspected—this woman was playing dumb.

Zeng Jiyuan seethed inwardly. Although the incident had officially been labeled a “personal act of revenge,” he knew the truth. He hadn’t even left his tent that night—how could he possibly have planted such an obvious device?

The only time he’d left his tent had been to get food during dinner. If someone had taken the opportunity to sneak into his tent then, it wouldn’t have been difficult.

Suppressing his rage, he forced himself to look pitiful.

“Ms. Gu, please stop tormenting me,” he pleaded miserably. “I know I shouldn’t have offended you, but I was just following orders from my superiors… I’m just a powerless nobody. What else could I do but obey? Now they’re going to punish me. I’m begging you—please have mercy.”

But no matter how he begged, Gu Jinxi remained composed and expressionless. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about… But since you admit to wrongdoing, isn’t it only right that you accept the punishment?”

The words hit him like a blow. Zeng Jiyuan lowered his head, grinding out his next words between clenched teeth: “So you really won’t give me a break?”

Ding—

The vending machine chimed. Gu Jinxi turned to retrieve her sandwich, not looking back. Her tone was slightly exasperated: “This has nothing to do with me.”

A faint rush of wind sounded behind her. As if expecting it, she sidestepped while holding her meal tray. At the same time, a heavy slap landed on the vending machine’s glass screen, causing it to flash with random characters.

She slowly turned her head to look at the man, his eyes ablaze with hatred like he could tear her apart.

“Please step aside,” she said calmly. “I may not understand what you’re saying, but if you lay a finger on me here, I can’t guarantee what my ill-tempered partner will do.”

Zeng Jiyuan grinned darkly.

“So you’re not that brave after all,” he rasped. “Turns out you’re just hiding behind the Chi family’s influence, using her name to throw your weight around. How about we make a bet—let’s see how long you can hide under her protection…”

Gu Jinxi looked at him quietly. The ceiling lights reflected in her eyes, shimmering like flowing water. After a moment, she suddenly smiled faintly.

“You want to sit at the same poker table as me?” Her crimson lips curved into a slow, deliberate smirk. “Do you even qualify?”

“…”

Chi Yuejing suspected her wife still hadn’t quite forgiven her, judging by the fact that her sandwich wrapper was ripped.

Sensing the grumpy gaze from the other side of the couch, Gu Jinxi looked up mid-bite. “What’s wrong?”

Before eating, she had been busy checking emails, and with her attention split, a bit of egg mayo had smeared on her lip, giving her an unintentionally innocent look. Chi Yuejing wanted to laugh, and raised a hand to point at the corner of her own mouth.

Gu Jinxi didn’t understand the gesture and kept munching as she mumbled, “There’s nothing good at the dining area either. Just make do with this.”

Her soft cheeks were tinged with a blush like peach blossoms. Chi Yuejing was momentarily dazed, then leaned in and gently wiped the sauce from Gu Jinxi’s lips.

“Eat before working, or your stomach will hurt,” she said while grabbing a wet wipe to clean her hands, casually reminding her.

Gu Jinxi’s face flushed red as she hastily agreed. Still a little unused to this overly intimate atmosphere, she quickly changed the subject: “There’s something I want to discuss. I was thinking we could use your fall into the water as an excuse to invite a doctor to our home?”

Previously, in order to secure protective custody from the Interrogation Division, Chi Yuejing hadn’t revealed her injuries. Now that an opportunity had conveniently presented itself, it was the perfect chance to arrange treatment without raising suspicion.

“But we’ll still need to be careful in choosing the right doctor…” She was still thinking when Chi Yuejing cut her off.

“That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about,” she said with a smile. “If my timing is right, someone should be arriving on Capital Star any day now.”

As predicted, two days later, a starship bearing the emblem of the Distant Star Fleet docked at Capital Star’s spaceport. After completing handover procedures, a small group traveled to a certain villa in the inner city.

Chi Yuejing answered the door. Although she had been expecting someone, she froze momentarily upon seeing the group of seven or eight Alpha officers standing outside.

She remembered only asking Dr. Lan Nuo to come.

She wasn’t the only one surprised. The officers were also caught off guard—mainly by their commander’s current appearance.

In their minds, Colonel Chi was always the no-nonsense, strictly disciplined superior who wore her uniform buttoned to the top with not a wrinkle out of place. But now, standing in front of them was a woman dressed in a relaxed French blouse tucked casually into her pants, her long hair draping over her shoulder in loose waves.

A moment later, Chi Yuejing coldly raised an eyebrow. “Who told you to come?”

That familiar stern tone snapped them back to reality. A young man with glasses stepped forward and replied, “Reporting, ma’am! We heard you asked the doctor to bring monitoring equipment. This setup has just been upgraded, so we brought some technicians to help with the installation.”

He spoke righteously, carefully omitting the fact that there had been intense competition within their unit to be assigned to “visit Colonel Chi and her Alpha wife.”

Chi Yuejing was about to tell them to get lost when Gu Jinxi, having heard the commotion, glanced over and casually said, “Why not come in and sit?”

Upon hearing that voice, the officers noticed the slight softness that flickered across Chi Yuejing’s face. She pursed her lips, clearly reluctant, but opened the door wider and barked, “Only one cup of tea, tops.”

The subordinates smartly nodded, cheerfully hauling in bags of equipment as they bustled into the villa.

As soon as they entered the living room, they saw a graceful woman standing by the window.

She had an elegant figure—swan-like neck, slim waist, long legs clad in tailored suit pants, and a sleeveless dark green knit top that hugged her curves in all the right places. The blend of feminine and neutral styles complemented her perfectly.

She turned and smiled warmly, greeting them politely. “Good morning, I’m Gu Jinxi. I’ve prepared some black tea—will that be alright?”

They hadn’t expected such a stunning beauty, and for a moment, the officers were bashful, awkwardly mumbling their thanks.

Chi Yuejing walked into the room, frowning slightly at the scene. She instinctively moved to Gu Jinxi’s side and said, a bit stiffly, “Just a greeting is enough. Don’t bother her.”

Do you realize your protectiveness is practically spilling over?
The officers inwardly groaned but didn’t dare voice a word. Eventually, the glasses-wearing one picked up the toolbox. “We’ll start installing the monitors now.”

Meanwhile, in a room on the west side of the hallway, Dr. Lan Nuo was examining Chi Yuejing’s injuries. The cold-faced doctor tended the wound while grumbling non-stop, “Not resting during your heat is bad enough, but soaking your wound in seawater? Please tell me this isn’t some bizarre way to win Ms. Gu’s affection.”

Chi Yuejing ignored her sarcasm. “Did you bring the suppressants I asked for?”

Lan Nuo looked even more exasperated. “Colonel, do you even hear yourself? You’ve been chasing your wife for over half a month, and now you’re relying on suppressants to get through your heat?”

She looked at her like a student who just failed a test. Just as she opened the medkit, the door was knocked on with a steady rhythm. Gu Jinxi appeared, her face tinged with concern.

“Um… I wanted to ask, how serious are her injuries?”

Lan Nuo snapped the kit shut, lifted her head, and ignoring the warning look from the other person in the room, solemnly declared:

“Very serious.”