After the Divorce, My Ex-Wife Suddenly Became an Alpha - Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Trap
A young lady came walking down the corridor staircase. Petite and delicate, she had curly chestnut hair braided into a princess-style braid. She wore a white lace dress of intricate design, carried a matching parasol, and approached the group with light steps.
“Xiao Rou?” Her sudden appearance clearly surprised Gu Jin Xiao. “What are you doing here?”
Ge Ling Rou smiled sweetly. “Surprised?” She switched the parasol to her left hand and, a bit shyly, extended her other hand—gloved in white lace—toward Gu Jin Xiao. “It’s been a while, Senior Gu.”
Gu Jin Xiao returned the handshake with a smile. “It is a surprise. I remember you stayed on to teach at Chaoyun Star after graduation. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Ge Ling Rou gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and was about to speak when another voice interrupted from the side. “Jin Xiao, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
It was Chi Yue Jing who spoke. Her lips were pressed into a polite smile, her eyes holding a subtle hint of alertness. As she spoke, she casually took a step sideways, so that her shoulder brushed against Gu Jin Xiao’s as if unintentionally.
Gu Jin Xiao had originally planned to make introductions anyway. After a few seconds’ thought, she looked at Ge Ling Rou first. “This is Miss Ge Ling Rou, my junior and good friend from Chaoyun Academy. Xiao Rou, this is Lieutenant Colonel Chi Yue Jing—perhaps you’ve seen each other before?”
Chi Yue Jing kept the smile on her lips and her stance perfectly still. “Nice to meet you, Miss Ge Ling. I’m Jin Xiao’s wife. You can just call me Chi Yue Jing.”
Faced with her, Ge Ling Rou’s reaction was textbook Omega. She lowered her gaze, placed her gloved hands demurely in front of her, and said softly, “That might be a bit too forward—I think I’ll follow Senior’s example and call you Lieutenant Colonel Chi.”
After saying this, she turned to Gu Jin Xiao with concern. “Senior, I happened to overhear some of your conversation earlier. Were you looking for my brother?”
The captain standing nearby quickly cut in, “Miss Ge Ling, the general does indeed have an emergency meeting this afternoon, so we’ve had to reschedule this lady’s appointment.”
He discreetly changed “canceled” to “rescheduled,” but Ge Ling Rou had already heard their earlier dispute. She simply smiled gently and didn’t call out his little wordplay.
“I actually have lunch plans with my brother today,” she said warmly. “No matter how busy he is, he still has to eat. If you don’t mind, Senior, why not join us? That wouldn’t be considered breaking protocol, would it?”
With the general’s younger sister extending a personal invitation, the situation was easily resolved. Still, Gu Jin Xiao hesitated. “Wouldn’t I be intruding on your time together?”
“Senior, you’re hardly an outsider,” Ge Ling Rou said happily. “You took such good care of us juniors back at the academy. I’d be thrilled to finally do something for you.”
She spoke sincerely, oblivious to the increasingly heavy look on the face of someone standing to the side.
Chi Yue Jing silently watched her wife’s smile, letting out an internal sigh.
Why was it that Jin Xiao accepted the kindness of others so easily… but never smiled like that when it was directed at her?
She wished Jin Xiao would depend on her a little more.
After finalizing lunch details, Ge Ling Rou asked the captain to inform her brother, then graciously led the way to the dining area with Gu Jin Xiao and Chi Yue Jing.
The captain, meanwhile, was understandably nervous. Though Ge Ling Rou was known for her gentle nature, everyone knew how dearly the general doted on his sister. If she mentioned this encounter, even in passing, he could kiss any promotion this year goodbye.
Worse, it might plant a seed of distrust in the general’s mind.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. The Military Affairs Department was one of the Federation’s highest institutions. Naturally, the officers here carried an air of superiority. Why did he have to be the unlucky one today?
Lost in gloomy thoughts, he was making his way toward the staff cafeteria when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Yang Pei, what’s gotten into you?”
The voice came from another young officer. His face was decent-looking, though something about it always seemed vaguely sinister. Catching up to Yang Pei, he added with a smirk, “I’ve been calling you for ages.”
Yang Pei turned sluggishly and recognized the familiar face, which gave him some energy. “Don’t ask. I ran into some unlucky Alpha woman and got dragged into her mess. What about you—why are you here?”
Zeng Jiyuan raised his hands with a helpless gesture. “Why else? You don’t come into this hallowed place unless you’re getting an award—or getting punished. I’m here to submit an incident report. Taking the fall for my superiors.”
When you’re already down, finding someone even worse off suddenly doesn’t feel so bad. Hearing this, Yang Pei looked at him again and unexpectedly laughed.
“Sigh, guess we’re both in the same boat,” he said. “Don’t be fooled by this so-called elite institution. Small fries like us are just here to take heat and get blamed. Have you eaten yet?”
Normally, he wouldn’t feel like talking much with someone like Zeng Jiyuan. Although they were from similar family backgrounds, the Zengs were infamous for their ruthless, cutthroat tactics. But maybe it was his sour mood today—he just wanted someone to vent to.
Zeng Jiyuan, reading the situation perfectly, smiled. “You haven’t eaten either? Well, since fate brought us together today, skip the cafeteria. Lunch is on me—what do you say we grab a drink, too?”
He was already steering Yang Pei in another direction, his eyes glinting with a familiar slyness.
Because he knew exactly why Yang Pei was upset.
Of course he did.
“….”
After working hours, the Gu Corporation Twin Towers were still brightly lit, the place bustling with activity. An assistant holding a thick file hurried past, dropped a pile of finalized data onto a desk, and dashed off to the next meeting room. In front of a large screen, several route analysts kept their eyes on their terminals, whispering back and forth.
The hum of the coffee machine, the mechanical whirring of printers, chatter, and the rhythmic clacking of keyboards all blended into a symphony of urgency.
Three days ago, thanks to Ge Ling Rou’s introduction, Gu Jin Xiao had a brief lunch meeting with General Ge Ling of the Military Affairs Department. That department managed all starship resources for the Federation’s logistics force—and that was exactly what Gu Jin Xiao needed.
In peacetime, the Federation allowed civilians to apply for use of large starships. But the requirements were notoriously strict, the paperwork immense, and the cost exorbitant. If it weren’t for how critical the Wusi Project was, Gu Jin Xiao wouldn’t have even considered going through the military.
The general hadn’t refused her request. But he said she’d need to submit a full transport proposal before he could help with the rest.
So for the past few days, the entire Cross Star project team had been working around the clock, pouring every ounce of energy into that proposal. The data calculations for interstellar routes were massive, and when you added the army’s endless documentation requirements, the workload only multiplied.
To make matters worse, they were in a rush: the general would be leaving on Monday morning for a trip to the Honglu star system. The proposal had to be submitted before then.
Staring at the light screen, Gu Jin Xiao asked, “How much longer?”
Gu Xingchen, who had been by her side the whole time, flipped through the progress chart and quickly replied, “At most two hours.”
Two hours. That meant they’d miss tonight’s 7:00 p.m. online submission.
“It’s the first time we’re using military-grade ships, and their specs are different from what we’ve modeled before. The analysts need to run another full verification…” Gu Xingchen explained softly, worried her boss would be dissatisfied.
But Gu Jin Xiao shook her head. “It’s fine. You all keep working—I’ll handle the rest.”
She casually pulled up a travel agency’s site and began checking flights to the Honglu system. As long as the proposal was ready, she’d find a way to deliver it in person.
Two hours later, the complete route transport plan was finally confirmed. Along with hundreds of credential reports and documentation sheets, everything was compiled and loaded into Gu Jin Xiao’s personal terminal.
And right on cue, Chi Yue Jing returned to the office.
She glanced at the water cup on the desk—sure enough, it was empty. She picked it up and filled it with warm water, then handed it to Gu Jin Xiao. “Didn’t I tell you to drink more water? Otherwise your lips dry out and start hurting…”
She always remembered these little details so well. Gu Jin Xiao took the cup and realized how thirsty she actually was. She obediently took a few sips before asking, “Where did you go this afternoon?”
Usually, this woman sat with her through work, so her absence felt unusually noticeable.
Chi Yue Jing smiled. “You looked so worried about the proposal not making it—I went to see if I could help.”
So that’s what it was?
“You’ve already done so much for me,” Gu Jin Xiao said, an odd wave of emotion rising in her chest. She’d always been used to solving problems on her own. She hadn’t realized someone else had been quietly watching out for her this whole time. Looking up at her, she added, “I don’t even know how to thank you.”
Chi Yue Jing met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with sincerity, as though this person in front of her was the only thing that mattered.
After a long pause, she said softly, “I don’t need your thanks—I just want to see you smile.”