After Getting Pregnant, I’m Divorcing My Alpha - Chapter 17

Shen Xiao stood beside An Xiangdi, gently patting his back.

An Xiangdi leaned over the sink, vomiting all the fried noodles he had eaten for lunch. Only when his stomach was completely empty did he begin to feel better.

After rinsing his mouth, he stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror. His originally fair face now looked excessively pale, and the discomfort from vomiting had left the corners of his eyes red.

“Are you okay? Was there something wrong with the fried noodles at lunch?” Shen Xiao frowned deeply. If it really was the fried noodles, he would feel eternally guilty.

“I’m fine.” An Xiangdi took a deep breath and allowed Shen Xiao to half-support him as he returned to bed to lie down.

“Let’s go to the hospital this afternoon,” Shen Xiao insisted, still worried.

“No, it’s too much trouble. Besides, I have to go to the company tonight.” An Xiangdi waved his hand, refusing to go to the hospital no matter what.

Shen Xiao pressed his lips together and placed a hand on An Xiangdi’s forehead. After confirming he didn’t have a fever, he said, “If you feel unwell later, let me know. And I’ll go with you tonight.”

“Go where?” An Xiangdi lazily lifted his eyelids, not quite understanding at first.

“Your agency.” As he spoke, Shen Xiao lay down beside him, wrapping his arms around An Xiangdi’s waist and whispering soothing words.

Catching the scent of brandy pheromones, An Xiangdi quickly gave in. “Fine, but I’m just going to test the sound effects of a new song. It’s going to be boring.”

“It won’t be boring.”

At seven in the evening, An Xiangdi arrived at the recording studio on time. Unexpectedly, aside from Li Guan and a few music producers, Zhao Zeyun was also there.

But none of that was as shocking as Shen Xiao accompanying An Xiangdi.

“Why did you bring Shen Xiao?” Li Guan’s face turned ashen at the sight of Shen Xiao. The memory of being warned months ago over Eyes Hidden in the Corner still haunted him.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared of him?” An Xiangdi scoffed, suddenly feeling that bringing Shen Xiao along wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Scared? Who’s scared?” Li Guan lifted his chin, intending to push An Xiangdi, but a single glare from Shen Xiao made him retract his hand. “Get inside. Don’t waste time out here.”

Since they were already there, An Xiangdi decided to let Shen Xiao join him inside.

The music producers had already prepared the demo. As soon as they pressed play, the small recording studio was filled with An Xiangdi’s voice.

An Xiangdi’s voice was an ordinary baritone nothing particularly special at first listen. However, he infused his own thoughts and unique touches into every detail, demonstrating a strong command over his vocal delivery.

Moreover, most of his songs were original, blending electronic music with conventional elements. The overall effect was almost magical, leaving a lasting impression on listeners.

After the playback ended, the results were undeniably satisfying.

“No need for changes. Let’s go with this,” An Xiangdi made the final decision.

“Alright, then the release date.” The lead music producer still wanted to hear An Xiangdi’s opinion.

“No later than this weekend. Is that possible?” Shen Xiao interjected unexpectedly, catching even An Xiangdi off guard.

“This weekend?” An Xiangdi was puzzled. It was only Tuesday. Even if the song required no further edits, the promotional groundwork and distribution channels still needed time to prepare. How could they possibly manage it in just a few days?

“This weekend? Impossible! And this is An Xiangdi’s business. Even if you and he…” Li Guan tried to argue, but one look from Shen Xiao silenced him.

Standing to the side, Zhao Zeyun’s face was deathly pale. “Teacher Shen, isn’t this… a bit too hasty to release a new song so quickly?”

“I don’t think so. The two episodes of ‘Stage’ where An Xiangdi performed were aired the day before yesterday, and he mentioned the new song during the show. While a little anticipation marketing is fine when fans are eager, starving them for too long isn’t a good thing.” Shen Xiao’s gaze was profound. “Do the music teachers have a reason for not being able to deliver?”

Although Shen Xiao wasn’t a high-ranking executive at Royal Films nor an unshakeable senior in the industry, the music teachers were momentarily silenced by his imposing presence.

An Xiangdi stood to the side with his hands behind his back, thinking to himself, So an Alpha’s pheromone suppression could be used like this.

“Since there isn’t, then this.” Shen Xiao deliberately skipped over Zhao Zeyun and looked at Li Guan. “Manager Li, do you still have any issues?”

“Well, why are you making decisions for An Xiangdi without permission?” Li Guan could only grasp at this point.

“Then I’ll make the decision. The song will be released this Sunday at 10 a.m. I’ll handle the preliminary arrangements. I’ll trouble the teachers to work a bit harder, and any extra costs will be covered by me personally.” Seeing Li Guan’s discomfort, An Xiangdi immediately stepped in to support Shen Xiao.

“Alright then, if any issues arise, we can discuss them in the group chat.” After a moment’s thought, the music teachers agreed. It wasn’t that they couldn’t produce the song they could finish it today. The subsequent promotion had little to do with them anyway.

An Xiangdi personally called the department in charge of the new song’s promotion, explaining his general plan.

Though the promotion team found it odd, they quickly arranged the work under the temptation of the extra bonus An Xiangdi offered.

After leaving the recording studio, An Xiangdi hadn’t walked far before feeling nauseous again. A faint suspicion stirred in his heart. Suppressing the discomfort, he said to Shen Xiao, “I’m going to the restroom.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you by the elevator.” Shen Xiao nodded but headed toward the stairwell next to the elevator.

Li Guan and Zhao Zeyun had taken the stairs. Shen Xiao moved silently, and after descending just a few steps, he overheard the two arguing in a dark corner.

“This was your terrible idea!” Zhao Zeyun gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Little master, I had no idea Shen Xiao would show up!” Li Guan was full of grievances, but with An Xiangdi’s release date changed, unless they could halt the promotion team, the song was bound to be released.

“No, I’m going to the promotion department tomorrow.” Zhao Zeyun clenched his jaw, unwilling to let An Xiangdi’s new song be released smoothly.

“And then what?” Shen Xiao stood with his arms crossed on the higher steps, his gaze piercing through the darkness to fix on the two in the corner. “Delay his release, then put out your own song and accuse An Xiangdi of plagiarism?”

Zhao Zeyun’s face turned ashen, while Li Guan shrieked, “Shen Xiao! That’s slander!”

“Slander?” Shen Xiao opened his phone and played a recording. “Does this sound familiar? Out of a 16-bar song, eight consecutive bars are strikingly similar to An Xiangdi’s, and you even used his humming track from the chorus as backing vocals. I’m starting to doubt whether your Berklee College of Music diploma is even real.”

Zhao Zeyun was left speechless, especially when Shen Xiao delivered that final remark.

“Zhao Zeyun, son of Royal Film’s general manager, if your skills aren’t up to par, stop coveting others’ achievements. You’re not worthy.”

“And Li Guan.” Shen Xiao let out a cold laugh, as if having already decided his fate. “Either leave on your own, or… wait to be blacklisted in the industry soon.”

Shen Xiao’s pheromones surged, suffocating the two men in the dark corner. Especially Zhao Zeyun, who was forced to his knees, tears welling in his eyes, his expression full of terror.

Putting away his phone, Shen Xiao walked out of the hallway.

An Xiangdi was leaning against the wall, playing a piano mini-game.

Shen Xiao ruffled his hair. “Let’s go.”

An Xiangdi glanced at him, then at the pitch-dark hallway, curled his lips into a slight smile, and followed Shen Xiao into the elevator.

After leaving the Royal Film building, as soon as Shen Xiao drove onto the road, An Xiangdi said, “How about a drive along the river?”

“Sure.”

The clear river surface shimmered with ripples, and the colorful lights along the bank cast an unreal, hazy beauty over the water. The weather in May was neither too hot nor too cold perfect for a drive.

After driving aimlessly along the river for a while, Shen Xiao heard An Xiangdi murmur, “You still helped me.”

“Coincidence.”

“On purpose.” An Xiangdi called out his lie.

Shen Xiao chuckled softly. “Do you remember Zhao Zeyun?”

An Xiangdi was surprised. “So he really was my bad romance?”

Shen Xiao nearly choked on his jealousy at those words. After a long pause, he said, “Four years ago, when you went abroad for that international music competition, he was there too, in your group. Only the two of you from our country made it to the final round, and you eliminated him.”

“He holds a grudge?” An Xiangdi thought for a moment, then corrected himself. “He’s jealous of me.”

“Right, jealous of you.” Shen Xiao agreed with the latter. “He’s the only son of Royal Film’s general manager. After losing to you, he’s been sabotaging you openly and behind the scenes. Li Guan was one of his arrangements.”

“Because he has connections, the company didn’t interfere, but they left me some leeway to make my own decisions, afraid I might terminate my contract and leave?”

“Something like that.” Shen Xiao turned the car toward home.

“Then I really will terminate my contract and leave.” An Xiangdi thought of the video about Qiu Cheng at home it was time to send it to the Film Association. “But… how do you know all this?”

Shen Xiao pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.

An Xiangdi raised an eyebrow. “Did you have someone investigate me?”

“No, I investigated Zhao Zeyun. Didn’t you say he was your bad romance?” Shen Xiao hid the other half of the reason.

An Xiangdi blinked, propping his chin on one hand, and teased him as the wind blew against his face. “Jealousy incarnate.”

The next morning, An Xiangdi was woken by a wave of nausea so intense it felt like his insides were churning. From the sounds in the kitchen, Shen Xiao was making breakfast. On any other day, he would have gone straight there on an empty stomach, but today he had no appetite at all.

Rushing to the bathroom, he leaned over the sink, retching for a long time but bringing nothing up.

After washing up, a faint, unrealistic suspicion began to form in An Xiangdi’s mind. Nervously, he sent a message to Dr. Qiao.

An Xiangdi: Dr. Qiao, I don’t know if you’re available lately.
An Xiangdi: I wanted to ask you mentioned before that my pheromones were abnormal and that my reproductive system might not be functional. Is that still the case?
An Xiangdi: Lately, I haven’t been feeling well.

An Xiangdi: Over a month ago my Alpha gave me a permanent mark.

I thought Dr. Qiao wouldn’t reply so early, but unexpectedly, a message came through the next second, and it seemed urgent.

Dr. Qiao: Did he knot?!

Dr. Qiao: Morning sickness?!

Dr. Qiao: Come to the hospital for a check-up right away, come today!