After Becoming a Scummy Alpha, I Refuse to Get Divorced - Chapter 23

“Alright, brothers! I am currently standing in the main lobby of the corporate headquarters of the IO Group—one of the largest conglomerates in the Interstellar Empire. Follow my camera and let’s experience the charm of a top-tier global enterprise!”

In the first-floor lobby, a vibrant young man holding a selfie stick was enthusiastically introducing everything in sight.

“Look at this, brothers! An ‘Honorary Employee’ wall with little red flowers! The corporate culture of a major firm really is something else. They don’t just use rigid chip records for grading; this setup feels so much more human!”

The streamer was a local celebrity, famous for touring and live-streaming the architecture and culture of elite schools and corporations. Since his fans had been relentlessly spamming his comments to see the daily operations of “The Nation’s Wife,” President Zhu, he had rushed over without a moment’s delay.

From the second he stepped through the doors, the stream was packed, with the viewer count skyrocketing. Flattered by the engagement, the streamer went into overdrive.

“President Zhu truly is the Number One Female Alpha CEO in the galaxy! Her company is managed with impeccable order, and its reputation is unparalleled.”

“Look over here! This is the exhibition area for IO’s products from recent years. I bet you all scrambled to pre-order these!”

“If I get the chance, I really want to see President Zhu’s handsome face while she’s working! She works 365 days a year—honestly, she’d work 366 if she could. She is the true cornerstone of the professional world!”

The streamer’s non-stop praise made it sound like Zhu Qingran was a living legend. Below, the comment section was a flood of fans shouting, “My wife is the best!”

That is, until the streamer reached the digital bulletin board for leave requests. He froze.

[Applicant: Zhu Qingran. Reason: Visiting In-laws. Duration: One week.]

Out of the entire group’s massive workforce, not a single employee had requested time off. The only person on leave was the Boss herself.

After staring at the looping screen for a long time, the streamer confirmed that Zhu Qingran was indeed the only one absent.

“Perhaps President Zhu has been working too long and missed her family, so she’s decided to head home. Our President Zhu truly is a model of work-life balance and family devotion!”

The streamer was quick-witted and spoke with a silver tongue. But before his words could even land, a cleaning lady driving an automated floor scrubber pulled up beside him.

“Hmph. President Zhu was summoned back by her father-in-law and mother-in-law,” the lady scoffed. “Everyone in the company knows the President hasn’t had a baby in three years of marriage. Word is her in-laws are experts in childcare. She isn’t just ‘heading home’—she’s going home to make a baby!”

The cleaning lady dropped the truth bomb and hummed away on her little machine, continuing her rounds. The streamer stood there, questioning his entire reality.

“Holy crap, today is another day of being moved by someone else’s love story. President Zhu really is a wife-doting maniac. The relationship between her and her pampered wife is goals. Let’s wish the President a swift arrival of a precious child—two in three years, three in five!”

In the blink of an eye, the corporate tour streamer had become a spectator of a romance. He didn’t forget to show off the various merchandise he had bought featuring the couple.

“Secretly, I always thought they were a perfect match. I’m a ‘one-true-pairing’ believer. Even if the tabloids try to claim President Zhu is a playboy with more flings than sea salt, I believe her love for her wife is unbreakable! She is her wife’s exclusive ‘Wife-Gazing Rock’!”

The streamer’s eyes were rimmed with red, seemingly moved to tears by the fact that Zhu Qingran was taking her wife home. The bullet comments were a chaotic mess.

[Damn, Little Zhu, I misjudged you! You and your wife are ‘Eternal Love’!]

Little Strawberry: Holy crap! The ‘Sea King’ rumors were fake; Ran-Yu is the real deal!

Not-So-Cute Lemon: Uh, I suspect Little Zhu is just being pressured by the family to produce an heir. But taking a week off to go to the in-laws’? That shocked my entire family!

Ah Ran is My Wife: Aaaaah! My wife went home with her wife! My heart is shattered! Is there really no hope for me?

While the comments scrolled, the streamer was actually sobbing. “Waaaah, did the couple I ship conceive today? I, I’m sorry, I’m just a bit emotional. I believe in love again.”

As the streamer cried his eyes out on camera, the person sitting in the car was wearing a look of sheer, awkward disbelief.

Having heard someone was live-streaming at the headquarters, Zhu Qingran had been monitoring it closely, fearing it was a corporate spy. Instead, she had watched the whole thing and nearly died of laughter.

“Did a monkey send this guy to save us?” Zhu Qingran laughed until she cried, but the wife beside her didn’t respond.

Du Shiyu was focused on a document or a work chat, her head down, her fingers occasionally tapping out a few words on the keyboard. Seeing her busy, Zhu Qingran lowered her volume and stopped her silly giggling.

A message from He Yimo arrived at the perfect moment.

“Sis, did you hire that drama king in the lobby? How much did you pay him?”

Even her little cousin was stunned by the streamer. Zhu Qingran quickly denied it: “Do you think I have spare cash for that? Think about how many cents are left in my balance!”

“Oh, I see. I hired him. I thought you might reimburse me!”

Her cousin’s bluntness left Zhu Qingran speechless. She didn’t want to reply; she wasn’t about to waste money on that.

“Alright, alright. I just told my fans to flood the comments and have him visit your company. Who knew he’d get so caught up in the feelings? Your ship is sailing high!”

He Yimo’s casual message instantly restored Zhu Qingran’s confidence.

“Of course! My bond with your sister-in-law is deep. We’re the definition of a power couple—ordinary people can’t compete with us.” Zhu Qingran had been drowning in anxiety about meeting the in-laws, but these few words relaxed her.

Actually, ever since she saw the address, Zhu Qingran had been on edge. To visit the coast, she’d had to arrange her leave in advance and rehearse her behavior constantly. Her wife was a “hidden dragon”—her family lived in the Coastal Administrative District, an area reserved for high-ranking military and government officials.

After nearly three years of marriage, this was the first time Zhu Qingran realized she had married an aristocratic lady.

While the worlds of politics and business always intersected, it was usually just for show. What if her father-in-law thought she didn’t earn enough or her status was too low, and tried to marry her wife off to some titled noble family on the spot? Would she have to kneel and cry, begging her not to go? Or would her wife firmly hold her hand?

The scenario was so melodramatic—it was worse than the soap operas her cousin starred in.

“Sis, I wasn’t going to tell you, but since we’re so close, I’ll just be direct.”

When the next message arrived, Zhu Qingran was already lost in a tragic “star-crossed lovers” fantasy. She replied with a single word: “Speak.”

He Yimo called immediately, repeatedly warning Zhu Qingran to make sure her headphones weren’t leaking sound.

“Word is, Sister-in-law has a childhood sweetheart back home—a prestigious Alpha. The two are very close. This person is an expert in the arts, chess, riding, archery, and tea ceremonies. They’re also a high-earner and the sole heir to their family. The number of zeros in their bank account is on par with yours. Apparently, Sister-in-law even made a childhood promise to marry them.”

He Yimo stopped abruptly, a meaningful silence hanging over the line.

At that moment, the melodramatic plot Zhu Qingran had been trying to dismiss became set in stone. She interlaced her fingers and brought them to her lips, bracing herself.

“I understand. Thanks for the hard work.”

After those seven words, her cousin quickly hung up.

The car fell into a heavy, absolute silence. The only sound was the faint breathing of the occupants. This silence persisted until the car entered the villa district of the Coastal Area.

When the driver lowered the partition to announce their arrival, Zhu Qingran slowly lowered her hands and turned her head to look at Du Shiyu.

“Shiyu, I’ve been wanting to ask you, are you happy being married to me?”

For a couple married for three years, the question was a bit sentimental, yet it felt necessary. Zhu Qingran had always focused on her own happiness, often overlooking her wife’s feelings. The question wasn’t a whim; it was the result of long reflection.

The driver, sensing the mood, raised the partition again to give them privacy.

Du Shiyu had been messaging others and hadn’t even noticed when Zhu Qingran turned off the live stream. She had indeed neglected her for over half an hour, leading to this sudden question.

“Why the sudden question?” She reached out and gently smoothed a stray lock of hair by Zhu Qingran’s temple, her attitude still soft and tender.

“It’s nothing. I just got curious. These past few years with you have made me very happy, so I wanted to know, are you?” Zhu Qingran truly was happy.

And so, she said it.

She wanted to share her joy with Du Shiyu—to tell her that as long as she was there, every day was a sunny day.

“Time really flies. It’s been three years. I’ve been a teacher for over three years now, too,” Du Shiyu remarked, merely lamenting how quickly the years had passed.

Zhu Qingran thought her wife surely had more to say. She wasn’t in a hurry to get out of the car; she wanted to hear the rest. Even if Du Shiyu didn’t say she was “happy”—even if she just said “it’s alright”—Zhu Qingran would work as hard as she possibly could to turn that into “it’s great” or “it’s fantastic.”

But as she waited, Du Shiyu remained silent.

Zhu Qingran felt the fire in her chest was about to burst out, but then, a knock sounded on the car window.

Standing there was a woman with long, wavy hair, looking incredibly elegant. She wore gold-rimmed glasses and offered a faint smile toward the car. Although the tinted windows only allowed those inside to see out, Zhu Qingran felt as if the woman could see right through the glass—straight to the wife sitting beside her.

The woman had a powerful aura; the kind that appeared harmless on the surface but possessed the strength to command any room.

Suddenly, He Yimo’s warning flashed through Zhu Qingran’s mind. Is this her wife’s childhood sweetheart?

Meeting in-laws you’ve never seen before is nerve-wracking enough. But the sudden appearance of a perfectly matched childhood friend who grew up with your wife is enough to ruin anyone’s mood. Already weighed down by her messy thoughts, Zhu Qingran’s spirits sank even lower.

She reached out and hit the emergency release for the partition, raising it back up.

“Open the door. Let’s not keep my in-laws waiting,” Zhu Qingran told the driver, bracing herself.

As the door opened, she moved to step out first to open the door for her wife, but the person outside beat her to it.

“You little brat, you finally remembered the way home! I thought you’d been kidnapped and were never coming back!”