After Getting Pregnant, I’m Divorcing My Alpha - Chapter 11

An Xiangdi curled up in Shen Xiao’s embrace, hugging his knees. Even though the scenery before him spun wildly from drunkenness, he could still recognize Shen Xiao’s face, as if it were carved into his heart.

“Shen Xiao.”

“We’re almost there,” Shen Xiao’s voice was low and hoarse.

An Xiangdi stared at him for a long while, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. After a moment, he leaned close to Shen Xiao’s ear and whispered in an almost inaudible voice, “Shen Xiao, I think I’m in heat.”

“Mm, I know.” Omegas went into heat every three months. Shen Xiao remembered clearly that An Xiangdi’s last heat had been during the New Year.

“Today… I drank a bit too much, and it’s hitting me hard.” An Xiangdi took advantage of the car stopping at a red light to shift into a more comfortable position, leaning his full weight against Shen Xiao.

With their sensitive areas pressed together, Shen Xiao felt a bit restless, his hand loosely encircling An Xiangdi’s waist.

“Do I look good?” An Xiangdi felt his entire body burning up. Even though it was the most pleasant season weather-wise, he felt unbearably hot.

“Mm.” Shen Xiao nodded lightly, his expression restrained.

An Xiangdi teased him, “Then why aren’t you looking at me?”

Shen Xiao pressed his lips together tightly, his chiseled face unmoved, though his heart was already in turmoil. “Aren’t you drunk?”

“Mm, I’m drunk, and dizzy.” An Xiangdi laughed carefreely.

Shen Xiao didn’t respond, only glanced at him briefly before quickly averting his gaze.

An Xiangdi’s clothes were wide open, his fair, delicate skin exposed to the air. Every move he made was torture for Shen Xiao.

The faint, sweet scent inside the car was subtle, yet it carried an alluring charm. Shen Xiao feared that if he looked any longer, he’d have to kick his assistant out of the car.

Seeing Shen Xiao remain unmoved, An Xiangdi seemed to pout, breaking free from his embrace and curling up in the empty seat beside him.

The car fell into silence. Shen Xiao’s assistant didn’t dare say a word, driving as fast as he could in hopes of getting the two back to the hotel quickly.

An Xiangdi tilted his head against the leather seatback. Outside, the dim yellow streetlights looked like bizarre, pale-yellow glowing orbs in his eyes. As he stared, his thoughts drifted far away.

He had never told Shen Xiao about the issue with his pheromones. The other man had no idea that the only scent in his world was brandy. But since Shen Xiao had never asked, did that mean he could actually smell An Xiangdi’s pheromones?

“Shen Xiao.” Thinking of this, An Xiangdi couldn’t hold back the question.

“We’re almost there.” Shen Xiao thought he was urging him again and repeated himself before pressing his assistant, “Liu Qing, faster.”

“Okay.” Liu Qing, a Beta, had no idea what the two in the back seat were so anxious about, but he pushed the car to its limits.

Soon after, the car executed a sharp turn and came to a stop in the underground parking lot. Liu Qing, having fulfilled his duty, considerately closed the door for them.

“Do my pheromones smell good?” An Xiangdi had held back for so long, finally asking the question, his hands clenched tightly in nervousness. He was gambling, betting that Shen Xiao could smell them.

Shen Xiao nodded without hesitation. “They smell good light and sweet. You can barely notice unless you pay close attention. But do you know.”

“Know what?” An Xiangdi didn’t notice that Shen Xiao had described the scent of his pheromones in detail, as if explaining.

“Every time you drink, your pheromones smell even better.” As Shen Xiao spoke, he pulled An Xiangdi onto his lap.

An Xiangdi’s eyes sparkled, brimming with the joy of being affirmed. “Really?”

“Mm.” Shen Xiao’s lips curved into a smile. “You’re drunk, yet you still have so much to say?”

“Is that not allowed?” An Xiangdi’s face flushed crimson as he reached out, grabbing Shen Xiao’s collar and pulling him closer.

This time, before An Xiangdi could take the initiative, Shen Xiao leaned in first and kissed him.

Shen Xiao casually grabbed one of his own jackets from nearby, wrapping it around An Xiangdi to mask the faint, sweet scent. He then hurriedly took the empty elevator up to their room.

The moment the door closed, the aroma of brandy, like a floodgate opening, swiftly filled the entire room, making the already intoxicated An Xiangdi even dizzier. He leaned against Shen Xiao, panting softly.

Shen Xiao had initially intended to carry him to the bathroom for a wash, but An Xiangdi gave him no chance, rubbing and touching him as he pleased.

All An Xiangdi remembered was that, at the critical moment, he snatched the freshly opened box from Shen Xiao’s hand, kicked him lightly, and said, “Just do it directly.”

The consequence of their indulgence was that, while the rest of the Eyes in the Corner crew gradually left the day after the wrap-up party, with the latest staying an extra two days, only Shen Xiao and An Xiangdi remained, using work as an excuse to stay for a full seven days.

As the hazy heat of his estrus period faded, An Xiangdi slowly woke on the eighth morning to find Shen Xiao sitting on the sofa, working on his laptop.

Curled up in the blankets with only his peach-blossom eyes visible, An Xiangdi stared intently at Shen Xiao.

As if sensing his gaze, Shen Xiao walked over, brushed aside the stray hairs on his forehead, and said, “We’ve completed the permanent mark.”

“Mm.” At the thought, An Xiangdi felt so embarrassed he wished he could burrow into a hole in the ground.

Throughout all their years together, they had always relied on temporary marks to manage his estrus, never taking the step toward a permanent mark.

For one, Dr. Qiao had long ago warned him that his pheromones were unstable, making the success rate of a permanent mark quite low. For another, when he first debuted, to avoid complications, he had intended to present as a Beta, but his agency insisted he debut as an Alpha and even had him sign a supplementary agreement. If he were marked, the risk of exposure would be greater.

On the night of the wrap-up party, An Xiangdi had just argued with Li Guan, and with alcohol clouding his judgment, he was inevitably affected. That evening, Shen Xiao kept murmuring in his ear about how sweet his pheromones were, and in a moment of impulsiveness, An Xiangdi had requested the permanent mark.

“I have to leave this afternoon,” Shen Xiao said. He had postponed all his commitments since the second day of An Xiangdi’s estrus. When Hua Jiang asked, he simply said it was a family matter.

“Did Hua Jiang pressure you?” An Xiangdi emerged from under the blankets.

“Mm, there’s an important interview,” Shen Xiao replied.

“I’ll stay a few more days.” An Xiangdi had checked his schedule earlier aside from a magazine cover shoot he had personally secured, he had no other commitments for the latter half of the month.

“Alright.” Shen Xiao had been about to bring up the matter with Royal Films, but the words remained unspoken.

“Go on, then.” An Xiangdi gave him a light kick.

Shen Xiao caught his foot and kissed the sole. “I’ll stay and have a meal with you before I go.”

The food was bought by Xiao Gu and Liu Qing, who, following Shen Xiao’s instructions, traveled quite a distance to get the sweet and sour fish An Xiangdi had been craving. Besides that, they bought all of An Xiangdi’s favorite dishes.

An Xiangdi’s legs were still weak, so weak he could barely stand.

Shen Xiao carried him to the sofa, handed him a pair of chopsticks, and asked, “Do you want me to feed you?”

“No, I have my own hands.” An Xiangdi already felt embarrassed enough about his weak legs.

Shen Xiao chuckled softly, “I was just worried your hands might be too weak.”

At first, An Xiangdi didn’t understand what he meant, until Shen Xiao turned slightly, revealing the red, startling scratch marks on his bare back.

“Cough.” An Xiangdi picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed with puffed cheeks to hide his embarrassment.

“Wonder which little wild cat did this,” Shen Xiao teased.

An Xiangdi glared at him. “You’re the wild cat.”

Shen Xiao hummed in agreement. “You’re the house cat, the kind I’ve marked.”

At that, An Xiangdi grew even more uncomfortable and raised a hand to touch his already faintly visible scent gland.

Around the gland were several rings of bite marks, left without any mercy, as if the person biting him had wanted to devour him whole. The strong scent of brandy pheromones still clung to him undeniable proof that he had been marked.

An Xiangdi was usually quite articulate, but when it came to Shen Xiao, he always ended up at a disadvantage. He simply focused on finishing the entire plate of sweet and sour fish.

After they cleared the table, Shen Xiao checked the time. “I should get going.”

“Mm.” An Xiangdi avoided looking at him, curling up on the bed to check his missed calls all from Li Guan, undoubtedly demanding to know why he had disappeared so suddenly.

“I’m leaving,” Shen Xiao repeated stubbornly, stepping closer when An Xiangdi’s response was indifferent.

Only then did An Xiangdi glance up. “Go on, then. Hurry up and leave.”

Shen Xiao hadn’t expected such a reply, but one look at An Xiangdi’s expression told him the other was clearly reluctant to see him go.

Of course after being permanently marked, an Omega would naturally depend on their Alpha for a while. But An Xiangdi knew how busy Shen Xiao was and would never ask him to stay.

“Let me know when you get home. I’ll come back as early as I can after I’m done.” Shen Xiao brushed a quick kiss against his lips and finally left.

An Xiangdi stared at the empty room, a sense of unease slowly spreading in his chest. The ringing of his phone felt like a death knell. He simply turned it off, tossed it aside, and burrowed back under the covers.

He slept until evening, when Xiao Gu knocked tirelessly at the door.

An Xiangdi ran a hand through his messy hair and dragged his sore, weak legs over to open it.

“A-An Laoshi, dinner.” Xiao Gu waved a full bag in his hand.

“Come in.” An Xiangdi turned and went back into the room.

Xiao Gu followed cautiously. Even though, as a Beta, he couldn’t detect pheromones, he didn’t need to guess what had happened over the past seven days.

The An Xiangdi he had worked with for nearly half a year was actually an Omega and aside from Shen Xiao, no one had known all these years. How had he managed it?

“Why are you just standing there? Come eat.” An Xiangdi had already set the table himself when he noticed Xiao Gu still frozen in place. He tapped his bowl impatiently with his chopsticks.

Xiao Gu snapped out of his daze with a soft “Ah.”

“Sit down and eat, aren’t you going to?” An Xiangdi didn’t want to be alone right now. Without his Alpha by his side, he felt insecure. Xiao Gu was a Beta, so he didn’t make An Xiangdi uncomfortable and could serve as a suitable background presence.

Completely unaware that he was being treated as a tool, Xiao Gu felt touched. An Xiangdi was being unusually kind and friendly to him today, so he quickly sat down and began eating in small bites.

Halfway through the meal, Xiao Gu thought of Li Guan and cautiously said, “Teacher An, Brother Li asked where you went. I told him you had some family matters to attend to.”

“Mm.” An Xiangdi opened his phone and saw the message from Shen Xiao, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Teacher An, are you an Ome.” Xiao Gu’s question was cut short.

An Xiangdi lifted his head: “I’m the Alpha among Omegas.”

“Ah right!” Xiao Gu grinned foolishly, playing along enthusiastically.