After Getting Pregnant, I’m Divorcing My Alpha - Chapter 21

As the film crew bustled around, Xiao Gu was completely lost in thought.

“Hey! Hey! Xiao Gu!” The set coordinator had been calling his name for a while, but the young man showed no reaction.

“Ah Huh? What is it?” Xiao Gu snapped back to reality, instinctively touching his face as if worried something might be amiss.

“Where’s Teacher An? Go get him filming will start soon.” The crew member gave him a strange look. “Five minutes.”

“Oh, right, right. I’ll go right away.” Xiao Gu, realizing the time, tried to pull himself together.

He knocked gently on the dressing room door. An Xiangdi, already fully made up, was listening to music.

“Teacher An, you’re on set in five minutes.” Xiao Gu didn’t understand why he was so nervous.

An Xiangdi responded with an “Mm,” pulling out his earphones.

As the music flowed out, Xiao Gu realized it was a song Shen Xiao had sung a cappella probably recorded specifically for An.

An tossed his phone to Xiao Gu and was almost at the door when he turned back, fixing his gaze on him. “Xiao Gu.”

“Huh?” Xiao Gu straightened up, startled and serious.

“Why are you so nervous?” An Xiangdi had noticed that ever since Xiao Gu found out about his pregnancy yesterday, the assistant had been on edge.

“I I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed.” Xiao Gu’s face fell. Now that he knew so many secrets, he was no longer the simple Xiao Gu he used to be.

An Xiangdi gave him a meaningful look, patted his shoulder, and said with earnest gravity, “It’s about time you grew up.”

Xiao Gu internally protested: I don’t want to.

An Xiangdi’s scene today was relatively simple sitting in a room reading a book and chatting with his on-screen “second sister, He Wan” about family matters.

However, “second sister He Wan” was played by An Xiao, an award-winning actress. This was An Xiangdi’s first time acting opposite such an esteemed performer, and the pressure weighed heavily on him.

Director Wang Xingxiu was a serious man with clear goals for the script’s direction and an eye for detail. Even An Xiao, despite her many awards, had been criticized by Wang during her early career.

An Xiangdi clenched his hands, his palms damp with nervous sweat.

Wang Xingxiu adjusted the equipment and waved An over. “An Xiangdi, come here.”

“Okay.” An Xiangdi quickly walked over.

Wang scrutinized him from head to toe, offering no praise, only a well-intentioned reminder: “I won’t go easy on you just because Teacher Kan Song praised you. My only advice is: don’t NG too many times.” An Xiangdi, with his good looks and strong sense of style, was often complimented on his appearance, whether filming or modeling. Wang’s lack of interest in his styling left the proud young man feeling somewhat deflated.

“Understood.” Gritting his teeth, An Xiangdi responded with determination.

“Get ready. We’ll start soon.” Wang averted his gaze.

As An Xiangdi walked toward the set, he passed An Xiao, who stopped him.

“An Xiangdi, don’t be nervous.” By most people’s standards, An Xiao was the epitome of an Omega gentle-voiced, beautiful, and kind-hearted.

Though not familiar with her, An Xiangdi found her encouragement soothing. He nodded politely. “Thank you, Senior.”

An Xiao smiled with great warmth. As a senior who had worked under Wang Xingxiu, she didn’t want An Xiangdi’s confidence to be shaken by Wang’s strictness.

“The Yellowed Season, Scene Thirteen, Take One Action!”

Lately, the eldest brother and second sister of the He family had been at odds over company shares, and their loud arguments echoed through the house every day.

As the youngest son, He Sheng couldn’t stand the turmoil at home. For several days in a row, he shut himself in his room, doing nothing but repeatedly flipping through a copy of the Tao Te Ching.

After a period of quiet reading, the door burst open with a bang. His second sister, He Wan, stormed in with fiery energy. “He Sheng! Come here and judge who’s right!”

An Xiangdi, who was playing the role of “He Sheng,” froze by the bed, his mind going blank as he forgot all his lines.

“Cut, cut, cut! An Xiangdi, stop spacing out!” Wang Xingxiu frowned, clearly dissatisfied with An Xiangdi’s distracted state.

Snapping back to reality, An Xiangdi felt deeply embarrassed it was the first time he had been so flustered on set. Swallowing his pride, he apologized and readied himself for a second take.

He never expected that An Xiao, who usually seemed so gentle and unflappable, would transform into a completely different person when acting, leaving him too stunned to speak.

An Xiao seemed accustomed to such situations and gently reassured An Xiangdi not to overthink it, advising him to relax and try again.

Taking a deep breath, An Xiangdi focused on the scene. After all, he was acting opposite An Xiao, and her numerous awards were no fluke.

Under Wang Xingxiu’s direction, the second take began smoothly. Everything went well until near the end of the scene, when a wave of nausea suddenly churned in An Xiangdi’s stomach. To avoid the camera capturing his strained expression, he quickly turned his head away.

Wang Xingxiu’s face darkened instantly, his displeasure evident. “An Xiangdi, step aside for now. We’ll move on to the next scene.”

Once the nausea subsided, An Xiangdi clenched his fists at his sides, the usual pride in his eyes dimming slightly.

When Shen Xiao arrived at the set after finishing his tasks, he found An Xiangdi sitting in a corner, clutching a thermos, with Xiao Gu standing silently beside him.

An Xiangdi stared blankly into the studio, where Ying Chong and An Xiao were filming an intense argument scene.

Suddenly, a hand gently cradled the back of his head, and the familiar scent of brandy pheromones filled the air. An Xiangdi looked up.

Shen Xiao asked softly, “Why are you sitting here?”

If he remembered correctly, An Xiangdi had several scenes with An Xiao scheduled for today.

“It’s not my turn yet,” An Xiangdi lied, too proud to admit the truth.

Xiao Gu pressed her lips together and gazed into the distance, pretending not to hear the lie.

Shen Xiao’s eyes darkened. After a moment, he walked over to an assistant, exchanged a few words, and then led An Xiangdi away from the set.

“What are you doing? It’ll be my turn soon,” An Xiangdi snapped, his mood sour and his tone sharp. One lie had already led to another.

“The first time I worked with Ying Chong, Wang Xingxiu tore into me,” Shen Xiao said, still holding An Xiangdi’s hand firmly.

Realizing his lie had been exposed, An Xiangdi fell silent.

“When acting with people like them, don’t overthink it. Just lose yourself in the character,” Shen Xiao patiently shared his experience.

“I…” An Xiangdi originally wanted to say he was close to nailing the second take, but because of the little one in his belly, he couldn’t keep his expression under control. Yet, saying it out loud felt like blaming the little one, so he held back.

“Be yourself, but also be Hesheng.” Shen Xiao glanced at the clear blue sky. “There’s a reward after filming.”

An Xiangdi raised a hand to his abdomen, then after a moment, responded with a soft “Mm.” “Wait here for me, don’t leave.”

“Alright.” Shen Xiao had planned to buy some waxberries, but now it seemed he’d have to arrange for a delivery.

Returning to the set, An Xiangdi noticed Wang Xiuxiu glancing at him from afar, as if checking whether he was ready.

Remembering Shen Xiao’s words, An Xiangdi met his gaze with confidence.

Sure enough, after Ying Chong and An Xiao finished their scene, Wang Xiuxiu called out clearly for An Xiangdi to take the stage.

An Xiao smiled warmly. “Ready?”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work, senior.” Though usually proud, An Xiangdi knew how to show proper respect to those he admired.

“No need to be so polite. Let’s give it a try maybe this time it’ll be the one.” With that, An Xiao stepped out of the camera’s frame.

Wang Xiuxiu gave the signal, and filming began.

This time, the annoying morning sickness didn’t intrude at the wrong moment. An Xiangdi, no longer nervous, performed smoothly.

“That was much better. Let’s move on to the next scene.” Wang Xiuxiu looked satisfied, his expression noticeably softer.

The crew wrapped up at 7 p.m. An Xiangdi wasn’t particularly hungry. Since eating too much made him nauseous, he’d been sticking to small, frequent meals lately. Xiao Gu’s backpack was stocked with plenty of healthy, portable snacks, and An Xiangdi nibbled whenever he felt peckish.

Shen Xiao helped An Xiangdi into the van and handed him a large box of freshly washed, glistening waxberries.

“Where did these come from?” An Xiangdi’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“I had them delivered.” Shen Xiao fed him the berries one by one.

Leaning back in his seat, An Xiangdi, who had always favored grapes, found that since his pregnancy, not only was he eating an apple a day, but even waxberries which he’d never touched before had become a favorite.

Tap, tap. The car window was knocked twice.

Startled, An Xiangdi rolled down the window to find An Xiao standing outside.

“Want to join us for dinner?”

“Probably not, I…” An Xiangdi wanted to refuse; he’d been avoiding dinner tables lately.

“Director Wang’s treat.” An Xiao leaned closer, whispering near his ear. “He said he was too harsh today and wants to make it up to everyone.”

An Xiangdi was surprised. He never would have imagined the stern Wang Xiuxiu voluntarily treating everyone to a meal.

Just as An Xiangdi hesitated, Wei Yi who had no scenes that day but had caught wind of the free meal dashed over from the hotel and leaned against the car window. “Dizi, come on, let’s go grab a drink!”

Shen Xiao’s grip on the berry basket tightened, his expression stiffening.

Wei Yi, completely oblivious, kept urging An Xiangdi in a hushed voice, “Don’t say no! It’s a perfect chance I won’t rest easy if we don’t take Director Wang for all he’s worth.”

Wei Yi wasn’t a trained actor, and his skills were just passable. Since filming started, he’d borne the brunt of Wang Xiuxiu’s criticisms.

An Xiao, overhearing, let out a light laugh. “Wei Yi, An Xiangdi, don’t keep Director Wang waiting.”

Seeing her leave, Wei Yi grew anxious about being left behind. “So, are we going or not? It’s been ages since I had a drink!”

An Xiangdi did want to go after all, it was the crew’s first dinner gathering but his current physical condition simply wouldn’t allow it.

“Let’s go. I’ll go with you,” Shen Xiao said, packing the bayberries into a small bag before pulling An Xiangdi out of the car.

An Xiangdi found it unbelievable. He studied Shen Xiao’s expression carefully, feeling as though he couldn’t quite figure him out.

Wei Yi, on the other hand, was overjoyed. Just as he was cheering, his phone vibrated in his hand it was a call from his agent.

“Wei Yi, the production team of ‘Survival’ wants you as a regular for the second season. I’ve already accepted on your behalf,” the agent said, treating “Survival” like a golden opportunity and sounding absolutely thrilled.

“Huh?” Wei Yi’s excitement about eating and drinking was instantly doused, leaving him cold to the core. “I’m not going!”

“Protest denied,” the agent said decisively before hanging up.

Seeing Wei Yi’s ashen face, An Xiangdi tugged on Shen Xiao’s sleeve and whispered, “Did you set him up again?”

Shen Xiao’s tone was icy, as if laced with shards of frost: “It’s his good fortune.”