After Becoming a Scummy Alpha, I Refuse to Get Divorced - Chapter 4

The CEO arched a brow—this was bad.

Assistant Liang Jing immediately shot a look at the assistant beside her.

The whole company went on high alert.

Wherever Zhu Qingran might pass, employees stood ready at attention.

Some even put on protective gear.

And any decorative object that could possibly be used as a weapon was hastily cleared away.

IO Group’s headquarters plunged into an unprecedented state of emergency; every department was mobilized.

Over in External Relations, someone had already contacted a certain little cousin, confirmed she was in position, and only then did Liang Jing allow herself a breath of relief.

But today, the CEO didn’t follow her usual routine of going into the office to gossip on the phone first.

Instead, she lifted her long legs, sat herself right on the eighteenth-floor corridor windowsill—and that was where her phone call began.

“Hello.”

The very moment Zhu Qingran uttered her first syllable, Liang Jing and the assistant started counting down, ready to witness a certain little cousin bolt from her office any second in utter panic.

Three seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

Instead, Zhu Qingran’s tone softened, sweetened—and she cooed, “Wifey.”

At that moment, Liang Jing nearly snapped her glasses frame in half.

The untouchable IO CEO Zhu Qingran—after barely escaping the social-snake den known as last night’s gala—had voluntarily called her wife?

Jaw slightly dropped, Liang Jing quickly sent the assistant a message:

“What exactly did the CEO just call her?”

“Whatever you heard—that’s what she said.”

The assistant was clearly terrified, replying with stiff uncertainty:

“I heard her call her ‘wif’”

“ey!”

Liang Jing and her assistant Zhou Ranran stared at each other, both wearing the expression of someone trapped in a midday nightmare.

But the real nightmare was the phone call that followed—brief, yet feeling as long as an entire century.

“Wife. I just came home on time to sleep with my wifey, but they accused me of sneaking home for a secret fling. I’m so sad, my heart hurts so much. Only wifey’s kisses and cuddles can make me feel better.”

Zhu Qingran, using a voice she had never used before, whined into the phone.

Everyone present nearly blinded themselves on the spot just to avoid the scene.

Even the atheist Liang Jing formed a shaky cross with her fingers, silently praying for this moment to end.

Fortunately, the call didn’t last long.

“I’m in a meeting right now, could you maybe” Little Wife Du Shiyu lowered her voice as much as she could.

She had absolutely no idea what kind of stunt this CEO—who had demanded a divorce just yesterday—was pulling now.

Was this what Zhu Qingran always bragged about?

Those so-called ‘Alpha dominance games’?

Her tricks were endless, and Du Shiyu genuinely couldn’t keep up—nor did she dare try.

She’d thought that sleeping together the night before the divorce was the final goodbye—yet this person refused to “sleep,” and even stopped mentioning divorce altogether.

That morning, when Zhu Qingran opened the curtains and greeted her with a sweet “Good morning, wifey,” the heart Du Shiyu had long since buried sank and then, unwillingly, floated upward again.

She was tired.

She didn’t want to play along anymore.

Let Zhu Qingran make her fuss—Du Shiyu could walk away any time as long as the CEO opened her mouth.

The world was wide, and life was long.

“Then wifey, work hard, okay? You’re amazing.

“If you don’t want to work, I’ll pick you up right now—IO’s Madam Zhu only needs to be beautiful, that’s enough.

“But the confident wifey who stands on the podium is even more beautiful. I respect your choice. See you tonight.”

Zhu Qingran didn’t push, didn’t cling—she simply spoke gently, soothingly.

Just when Du Shiyu’s patience was about to give out and she was seconds away from hanging up, she heard it.

“Mwah.”

A kiss.

Soft and unmistakable—lips meeting the receiver.

Zhu Qingran ended the call in extremely good spirits.

After kissing her little wife goodbye in front of everyone, she headed to work.

The moment she walked away, Liang Jing nearly twisted her ankle—and would have fallen if assistant Zhou hadn’t caught her.

Two people who considered themselves veterans of the workplace now found their steps completely out of sync as they trailed behind their CEO like stunned ducklings.

“President Zhu and Madam Zhu truly have such a loving relationship.” Liang Jing complimented carefully.

The praise was immediately answered.

“If I’m not good to my wife, who else would I be good to?”

Zhu Qingran turned back with a faint, pleasant smile.

She didn’t say more, but it was enough to make the hearts of everyone behind her thump in fear.

Zhu Qingran was famously cold and unsmiling at work.

If something could make her temperament shift this dramatically, it could only be something extremely good—or extremely bad.

And none of them wanted it to be the latter.

“President Zhu and her wife are truly a perfect match. We’re all envious.” Liang Jing added, her smile bright and utterly convincing.

And her earlier probing tone, now seemed like a complete illusion.

Seeing her still tense, Zhu Qingran patted her shoulder in a rare gesture of appreciation.

“I remember you’re single, aren’t you? If you like, I can introduce some excellent Alphas to you. You’ll soon experience what harmony feels like.”

In a cheerful mood, Zhu Qingran pushed open the office door.

The moment it opened, a burst of sweet peach-milk pheromone wafted out.

Liang Jing’s heart, which had just returned to her throat, nearly stopped right then.

She had been so shocked by the sudden improvement in the relationship between Zhu Qingran and her little wife that she completely forgot—there was still a ticking time bomb of a younger cousin locked in the office.

The door opened, and the office’s resident “sweet little sister with a femme-fatale aura” looked over from where she sat half-perched on the desk.

She wore a saccharine pink lace mini dress, but her makeup was bold, dramatic, and anything but sweet.

The moment she tilted her head toward Zhu Qingran, it was obvious she was planning to launch herself straight into her arms.

But President Zhu had just completed her great personal awakening. Her arms were now exclusively reserved for her little wife and future babies—everyone else could forget it.

So, in the split second the little cousin pounced forward, Zhu Qingran made an almost imperceptible shift of her heel and dodged.

The little cousin couldn’t brake in time and nearly sent Liang Jing flying out the office door.

Thankfully, Zhou Ranran caught her, preventing a full-on tragedy.

“Cousin, why are you being so cold to me today? I rushed over first thing this morning to comfort you after seeing the news.”

The little cousin was clearly built for a cool, domineering allure—but insisted on speaking in a pinched, sugary falsetto.

Zhu Qingran almost wanted to call up the makers of Bao Throat Lozenges and sign her as their spokesperson.

Bao Throat Lozenges — take one and you’ll never squeak again!

But now was not the time to deal with faux-cutesy voices. What she really wanted to know was where this little ancestor had come from, and more importantly—how to get rid of her.

With a mantra of tiny temptations can’t sway me, tiny temptations can’t enter my arms, Zhu Qingran sidestepped the little cousin and settled into her swivel chair.

“Ranran, I think my desk has some questionable contamination.”

Zhu Qingran arched a brow at the desk. Zhou Ranran hurried over to wipe it down.

“President Zhu, I just cleaned it. I even used disinfectant. Are you sure you want me to wipe it again?”

She held up the bottle, worried Zhu Qingran wasn’t satisfied.

“No need to wipe. Just burn it. Consider it a charitable donation of firewood to the boiler room.”

“Burn, it?”

Zhou Ranran almost thought she’d misheard.

This desk was a gift from the Imperial Head of State when Zhu Qingran topped the Empire’s Young Talents List.

And she wanted to burn it?

While Zhou Ranran hesitated, Zhu Qingran had already risen from her chair. Her gaze swept coldly across the office décor.

“Assistant Zhou, if you don’t want to carry out my instructions, I can contact the movers myself. They can help pack your luggage on their way in.”

“N-no, no, no—President Zhu, I’ll handle it right away! I’ll have someone arrange the removal immediately!” Zhou Ranran yelped as she fumbled for her phone.

But before she could dial, Zhu Qingran raised a hand to stop her—though her gaze stayed fixed on the little cousin.

“You touched the sofa? And the coffee table? And that potted plant too?”

“Of course. Didn’t Cousin always say, ‘What’s yours is mine’? I can touch anything I want.” The little cousin blinked innocently.

Liang Jing’s expression darkened to pure despair.

She was starting to wonder if the headquarters building needed to be demolished and rebuilt today.

“So—you really like all of those things?” Zhu Qingran said. Surprisingly, she didn’t explode on the spot. In fact, she sounded unusually restrained.

“Yes! All of Cousin’s things have such good taste! I even tried to buy the same models before, but they were all out of stock!”

“Since you like them so much, I’ll give them to you.” A calm businesslike smile curved Zhu Qingran’s lips. “Assistant Zhou, contact her household staff. Have everything delivered to her place. Make sure the collectibles are appraised at market value. The rest can be discounted. I want the money in by the end of the morning briefing.”

She said it with the serene poise of a seasoned merchant, took the briefing folder from Liang Jing, and strolled toward the conference room—leaving behind a shell-shocked Zhou Ranran and a stunned little cousin.

After she had walked a few paces, she paused, then glanced back thoughtfully.

“Oh, right. You said you came first thing this morning to comfort me after seeing the news? How sweet of you. If your comfort could magically give me twins on the spot, I’d thank you sincerely. But, aren’t you already thirty? You should hurry up and find someone before I start feeling guilty—people might think you’re still single because standing next to me makes you look unwanted!”

Zhu Qingran blinked mischievously, flashed a bright smile, and headed off to the meeting.

Behind her, the little cousin’s face turned black, then purple—she nearly dropped dead on the spot.

It took her a long time to recover before she exploded:

“What the hell—you people said Zhu Qingran was in a terrible mood today and we should lay low! But where did she look angry? That woman practically scammed me out of my entire savings! So, what if she has a wife now? Just because she’s some rich imperial lady doesn’t mean she can rob me of my dowry! If I can’t get married this year, it’ll be because she bankrupted me and I had to go perform under a bridge!”