After Becoming a Scummy Alpha, I Refuse to Get Divorced - Chapter 29

The dinner was eventually served and eaten.

Regardless of the expressions on the rest of the Du family’s faces, as long as her “Little Darling Wife” said it was delicious, Zhu Qingran was perfectly content.

“Wife, try this. These pork slivers are fried perfectly, and the sauce is just the right balance of salty and sweet. Have some more.”

“Wife, there was only one potato left, so I made you Candied Potatoes (Basī Mǎlíngshǔ). Quick, have a taste while it’s hot.”

“Wife, look at this tofu! It only tastes right when the edges are seared golden and crispy. Eat up!”

Had it not been for Zhu Qingran’s play-by-play coaching and encouragement, the Du family truly wouldn’t have known how to approach the spread before them. However, some things turned out to be surprisingly addictive. For instance,

the Sauteed Large Intestine, the Sugar-coated Tomatoes, and that bizarre “Candied Spicy Latiao”.

Though the mother-in-law, Lin Zhi, ate with elegant, lady-like poise, the Candied Latiao had clearly won her heart. Unfortunately, despite several rounds of meaningful coughing and subtle praise, her “other half” seemed completely oblivious to her hints.

Consequently, as soon as dinner ended, Lin Zhi let out a huff and motioned for her husband, Du Jingtan, to handle the dishes.

“Du Jingtan, Little Zhu spent all day running around buying groceries and cooking for you. Me asking you to wash a few dishes isn’t exactly a monumental task, is it?” Lin Zhi gritted her teeth, fixing a sharp gaze on her husband.

If Du Jingtan dared to utter a single “no,” she would ensure she experienced a night she’d never forget.

“Oh, Mother-in-law, there’s no need for that! Father-in-law just finished eating; you two should go for a stroll and relax. Leave the dishes to me!” Zhu Qingran chimed in tactfully, stepping forward to take over the chores.

But before she could take a step, the youngest sister, Du Ziyu, grabbed her arm.

“Ahem. Third Brother-in-law, in the Du household, there are things you can do and things you cannot do. For example, right now, you cannot interfere. Take it from your little sister—as a fellow Alpha, would I steer you wrong? If I’m lying to you, may I be cursed with chronic fatigue!” Du Ziyu warned with dead seriousness.

Zhu Qingran turned her head to confirm with her wife. Seeing both Du Shiyu and the elder sisters shaking their heads, Zhu Qingran sheepishly withdrew her hand.

However, she still leaned in close to her father-in-law and whispered: “Father-in-law, don’t you worry! For our company’s new project in the second half of the year, I’ve decided to open a Latiao processing plant. I’ll personally oversee the quality control to ensure every piece is healthy, pollution-free, and well, let’s just say it’ll have ‘health benefits.’ What do you think?”

At Zhu Qingran’s whispered promise, Du Jingtan’s face lit up like a spring morning.

“Good! Excellent! It’s just dishes—I used to do this all the time! Little Zhu is a fine son-in-law, I like her! I really like her!”

In high spirits, Du Jingtan tied on her apron and marched into the kitchen. As soon as she left, the eyes of the entire family shifted toward Zhu Qingran. She simply brushed it off with a light smile, leaving the details to their imagination.

On her first day at her wife’s family home, Zhu Qingran had survived an early morning commute, a midday card game, and an afternoon conquering the wet market and the dinner table. Finally, night had fallen. But as she looked at the room assignments, her heart sank.

“Wait, are the big sisters and the little sister not going home?”

“Nope,” Du Shiyu replied. “Only Chensi is leaving. She has a lecture tomorrow, so she specifically told the sisters to make sure we take good care of you.”

The eldest sister, Du Linshuang, turned toward Zhu Qingran while applying a face mask. Her words made Zhu Qingran’s heart turn cold.

Her father-in-law and mother-in-law were acting like newlyweds after dinner, disappearing to flirtatiously discuss the “Latiao Project.” Meanwhile, the three sisters had seemingly begun a “containment strategy” on her and Shiyu’s room.

Zhu Qingran had held back all day. She hadn’t held her wife’s hand, kissed her cheek, or even embraced her waist. She had served everyone until they were full, while she was still “starving” for some intimacy.

It was bad enough that the rooms of the two older sisters sandwiched hers and Du Shiyu’s, but right across the hall lived the youngest, Du Ziyu. Since being conquered by a single stick of Candied Chili, Du Ziyu now saw her “Third

Brother-in-law” as a hero and was perpetually ready to “compete” or hang out with her.

“Sisters! And Brother-in-law Zhu! On such a beautiful night, shouldn’t we do something appropriate for the hour?” Du Ziyu leaned against the doorframe, looking at the group with a suggestive glint in her eyes.

Zhu Qingran nearly jumped for joy. Yes! Please! She desperately wanted to do something “appropriate” for the hour! Had the sisters finally realized her inner needs and decided to help her out? If so, this was magnificent! Pure kindness!

But, the reality was.

The moment Du Ziyu unfolded the mahjong table, Zhu Qingran felt like reciting a tragic poem about her wasted youth.

The rain that day was as heavy as the day Little Zhu almost got divorced.

You were as beautiful that day as the sight of Little Zhu wanting to drop dead right now.

“Sisters, Brother-in-law, don’t let this fine hour go to waste! Let’s play mahjong!”

The more excited Du Ziyu became, the more Zhu Qingran’s face ached from forced smiling. Could she refuse? But would refusing the little sister be seen as disrespecting the in-laws?

“Your brother-in-law has used up his brain cell quota for the day. We’re sitting this one out.”

Du Shiyu stepped in like a lioness protecting her cub, shielding Zhu Qingran behind her and flatly rejecting the proposal.

Du Ziyu’s eyes dimmed for a split second before snapping back to a bright glow. “Don’t panic! If we can’t do mahjong, we’ll roll dice! Brother-in-law, believe me, a child’s genes aren’t just about brains; they’re about luck too. As the saying goes: ‘If Daddy’s luck is high, the baby’s gonna fly. If Mommy’s looking sweet, the baby’s gonna be elite!'”

Heaven knows where Du Ziyu learned these jingles, but they worked on Zhu Qingran. After a brief look of confirmation with her wife, Zhu Qingran began to rattle the dice cup.

Perhaps all the luck from her previous life had been saved up while she was working overtime and dealing with toxic relatives, because her luck right now was explosive.

“Aha! One, two, three—Small! Little Zhu wins again! Little Zhu, make a wish!” The eldest sister, Du Linshuang, laughed heartily, handing the floor to Zhu Qingran.

“I already wished for the little sister to get a school scholarship; this time, let’s go for a National Scholarship!”

The next round:

“Six, six, six—Big! Little Zhu wins! Keep the wishes coming!” The second sister, Du Linwu, cheered, peeling off her face mask.

Zhu Qingran thought for a moment. Under Du Ziyu’s apprehensive gaze, she flicked her finger playfully. “Well, the money is already sorted. I hope our little sister finds someone she likes during university and finally ends her single streak!”

“That’s a good one! A great one!” The older sisters cheered. An Alpha in the family finally making progress? She might even beat her two older sisters to the punch!

Du Ziyu’s face turned bright red as she snatched the dice away. “No more! If we play two more rounds, Brother-in-law will have named my future children! Your luck is too good; any more would be overkill. You and Third Sister should go to sleep early—try to pass some of that luck onto the ‘future generation’ tonight!”

Blushing, Du Ziyu grabbed the dice cup and scrambled away. Once she was gone, the two older sisters also claimed they were sleepy and retreated to their rooms.

With everyone gone, Zhu Qingran moved to close the door, then swept her wife into her arms for a 180-degree spin, pinning her against the door. The air between them was thick with affection, and they were just inches away from a kiss.

Suddenly, an unharmonious voice drifted through the wall from next door.

“I wonder if Dad and Mom ever soundproofed these walls. Besides their own master bedroom and the study, did they even consider us single people?”

The eldest sister’s grumbling served as a sharp reminder in Zhu Qingran and Du Shiyu’s ears—the walls are thin!

Haha. Apparently, having a “wall” between you doesn’t help if you can hear everything through it.

Suppressing her inner restlessness, Zhu Qingran settled for a quick peck on her wife’s lips. Then, the sound of the shower ran, and the two eventually lay in bed, behaving themselves perfectly.

Meanwhile, in other rooms:

“Old Zhang, I’m telling you, my third sister found an incredible husband! The whole family is satisfied, she’s a total 10/10!”

“Old Xia, sometimes you really have to step up your game in the dating market! My third sister’s partner is just a Top 10 Intergalactic Group CEO, that’s all. Little Zhu has no ego at all, totally down-to-earth! You’d love her if you met her!

Too bad she only has eyes for my sister!”

“Attention everyone! I’ve just dropped a Red Packet to celebrate my sister’s third wedding anniversary. Go ahead and grab some luck!”

For a good while after that, waves of excited shouting erupted from the rooms on either side.

“Red packet’s here!” “Congrats, congrats!” “Step up the game and end your single streak!”

In short, the Du family—who had spent the entire day acting indifferent, calm, and as if everything were business as usual—now looked like they wanted to announce to the entire world that their third daughter and her “husband” were more in love than ever.

Zhu Qingran, exhausted from the day’s antics, had been tapping away on her phone finishing a proposal for the Latiao factory when she heard the commotion. She couldn’t help but chuckle. As she laughed softly, she realized there was another sound of laughter right beside her.

By the dim glow of the phone screen, she saw the upward curve of her “Little Darling Wife’s” lips.

“I’ve heard the outside world has a very high opinion of the Third Miss Du’s partner,” Zhu Qingran said, holding her phone up like a microphone to her wife’s lips. “I wonder if the Third Miss herself is satisfied with this partner?”

Du Shiyu’s light, playful expression suddenly turned solemn. “If I had to say whether I’m satisfied, I’d rather say I really, really like her.”

“Oh? So you only ‘pretended’ to like me before?” Zhu Qingran’s cheeky rebuttal caught her off guard.

In truth, she had always liked her. It was just that the “liking” back then belonged to that moment, and the “liking” now belonged to this one. Back then, it was Du Shiyu’s love for her partner, Zhu Qingran; now, it was Du Shiyu’s love for a partner who was finally, fully embraced by her family.

She didn’t say it out loud. But looking at Zhu Qingran’s expression, Du Shiyu knew that she understood.

“Is CEO Zhu trying to go bald? It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping? I’ve heard that staying up late kills reproductive cells and makes the donor’s brain go fuzzy and—”

Suddenly, Du Shiyu felt a chill as Zhu Qingran’s hands found her waist. Before she could finish her improvised medical theory, she was pulled close.

“Since my wife is so worried about my genes deteriorating, we’d better put them to use right away. Kids, Mommy and Daddy love you!”

The quilt was pulled over their heads as CEO Zhu got busy with the most important “project” of her life.

Meanwhile, over at the company, the inner cabinet had received the project proposal she sent earlier. Everyone thought it was brilliant, but they were left hanging, waiting for her next set of instructions. The last message Zhu Qingran had left in the group chat was:

Empress CEO Zhu: First time visiting the in-laws. A bit exhausted. Everyone, get to bed early.

Assistant Zhou Ranran: Does that mean you’re going to bed early too, Boss?

Secretary Liang Jing: How could the Boss sleep early? There’s no need to sleep early when you’re “still alive”.

The realization seemed to hit everyone at once. A few seconds later.

Secretary Liang Jing: Everyone seen it? Okay, I’m unsending the message. I’m really doing it!

Resident Actor Momo: Don’t you dare! I’ve already got my pants off and this is all you’re giving me?