After Getting Pregnant, I’m Divorcing My Alpha - Chapter 22

Wang Xingxiu was generous, booking the dinner at a renowned local cuisine restaurant in Zongming City, where a single bottle of premium baijiu could cost several thousand yuan.

The restaurant owner had reserved the largest private room for them well in advance. With Ying Chong and An Xiao in attendance, he even contemplated creating a banner to hang there later as a marketing gimmick.

“An Xiangdi, what would you like to drink?” Sharing the same surname, An Xiao felt a natural closeness to An Xiangdi and often looked out for him.

“Plain water.”

“Milk.”

An Xiangdi and Shen Xiao answered simultaneously, drawing bewildered stares from everyone at the table.

Whether it was milk or plain water, both choices seemed out of place at an adult gathering like this.

An Xiangdi gently nudged Shen Xiao under the table with his leg and repeated to the group, “No need to order for me. I’ll have plain water.”

In the past, Wei Yi would have mocked An Xiangdi for not drinking alcohol, but now he was too preoccupied, frantically texting his manager in a last-ditch effort to salvage his situation.

Shen Xiao belatedly realized that An Xiangdi might feel nauseous after drinking milk. “His stomach hasn’t been well lately, so he can’t drink. I can take his place.”

The awkward atmosphere lifted with Shen Xiao’s words, and An Xiao chimed in cheerfully, “Since Shen Xiao said so, Director Wang, let’s have An Xiangdi make it up to us next time.”

“Next time, I’ll treat everyone to drinks,” An Xiangdi added, though no one knew when this “next time” would actually come.

Wang Qiao quickly raised her hand. “I can’t drink either. I’d like milk.”

An Xiao followed suit. “I want coconut juice.”

“Me too, milk,” Ying Chong unexpectedly raised his hand, surprising everyone.

Wang Xingxiu had been displeased that the drinking party was being derailed, but seeing even Ying Chong join in, he could only laugh helplessly. “Are you all turning this into a health-conscious gathering?”

“If you’re willing, Director Wang,” An Xiao teased with a playful wink.

“How could I refuse when you all insist?” Wang Xingxiu sighed in resignation. “Xiao Wei, what will you have?”

Wei Yi, his mind wholly consumed with thoughts of “permanent cast member on ‘Survival’,” hadn’t been paying attention to the drink discussion and blurted out, “Baijiu.”

“So, in the end, it’s just Xiao Wei and me drinking together.” During filming, Wang Xingxiu often scolded Wei Yi relentlessly, but at the dinner table, Wei Yi had unexpectedly become his favorite drinking companion.

Wei Yi finally noticed something amiss. “You none of you are drinking?”

“Health-conscious gathering,” Ying Chong remarked, resting his chin on his hand. Nearing forty, he maintained his appearance impeccably, exuding the charm of a mature Alpha.

Wang Xingxiu couldn’t be bothered to argue and called the waiter to order dishes, adding four bottles of baijiu to the list.

“One bottle for each of us four.” The bottles of baijiu, each costing over eight thousand yuan, were brought to the table. With two loud thuds, Wang Xingxiu placed one in front of Shen Xiao and another in front of Wei Yi, then a third thud for Assistant Director Yang Chu.

Wei Yi glanced at the baijiu in front of him, then at the steaming plain water in An Xiangdi’s cup, and finally at the milk in the award-winning actor’s glass across the table. He lowered his voice and asked An Xiangdi, “Are you really not drinking?”

“This is alcohol, hot,” An Xiangdi joked, amused by Wei Yi’s bewildered expression.

“I’m not blind,” Wei Yi retorted with an eye roll.

“Come on, let the four of us drinkers clink glasses first.” Wang Xingxiu had already poured himself a full cup of baijiu and personally raised it to toast the others.

Shen Xiao was relatively at ease, as he wasn’t an actor in this drama and thus less constrained. Wei Yi, on the other hand, had been scolded quite a bit on set and was now trembling slightly.

“Thank you, Director Wang, for your care and patience during this time.” Wei Yi wore a broad smile, his flattery quite obvious. He hoped that from now on, even if he were scolded, it would be a little less frequent.

“You’ll continue to receive special attention later,” Wang Xingxiu replied, unmoved.

Wei Yi inwardly groaned, “Yes, yes, of course.”

“Shen Xiao, it’s been a while since you’ve acted in one of my dramas. What a shame.” Wang Xingxiu still held Shen Xiao in high regard, especially since Shen Xiao had won the Best Actor award two years in a row and was widely considered the successor to Ying Chong.

“I’ll definitely join if there’s an opportunity in the future.” Shen Xiao raised his glass and took a small sip of the baijiu.

The premium baijiu was mellow and fragrant, not as harsh as inferior liquors, with a smooth and gentle taste. For those who appreciated fine liquor, it was truly a delight.

An Xiangdi hadn’t touched his chopsticks much, still preoccupied with the small bag of waxberries. After spacing out for a while, he noticed that half the bottle of baijiu in front of Shen Xiao was already empty.

An Xiangdi had witnessed Shen Xiao’s drinking capacity before. Unlike himself, who could get drunk after just one glass, Shen Xiao had a high tolerance. Even when heavily intoxicated, he showed no signs of it and might even appear more clear-headed than someone who hadn’t been drinking at all.

While Shen Xiao and the others had gone through three rounds of drinks, An Xiangdi had gone through three rounds of “water.”

“I’m going to the restroom,” An Xiangdi whispered to Shen Xiao before leaving his seat.

Wei Yi, feeling a bit tipsy, saw An Xiangdi leave and immediately wanted to follow to sober up. “I-I’m going to the restroom too, Shen Xiao. You keep Director Wang company for now!”

Shen Xiao’s expression darkened, but he said nothing.

The restaurant owner, considering their special status, had separated the private room floor from the rest of the building. Apart from their lively room, the others on that floor were empty.

An Xiangdi walked down the deserted hallway to the restroom. Just as he finished and stepped out, he ran into Wei Yi, whose face was flushed red.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Wei Yi, feeling the effects of the alcohol, saw An Xiangdi as a blurry figure.

An Xiangdi turned on the faucet. “Washing my hands.”

Wei Yi stared at his slender, pale hands, watching the clear water slip through his fingers, and suddenly exclaimed, “Look at you! So fair!”

An Xiangdi paused just as he was about to squeeze some hand soap. “Huh?”

“Now look at me, all tanned! And I’m about to go on a long-term shoot!” Wei Yi wore a pitiful expression, complaining to his reflection in the mirror. “Look at me, an eighteen-year-old in the prime of youth, about to be tormented by the sun and bugs. What kind of cursed luck is this?”

An Xiangdi wanted to say: You just offended my jealous Alpha.

But facing a drunkard who, despite being twenty-seven, claimed to be eighteen, An Xiangdi decided not to correct the errors in his perception.

After washing his hands, An Xiangdi moved past Wei Yi, intending to return to the private room, when the latter grabbed his arm.

“Wait for me.”

“You need company to use the restroom?” An Xiangdi looked at him with disdain.

Wei Yi bristled. “Nonsense! The lights keep flickering. If they go out, at least we’ll have each other for support.”

The restroom lights did indeed flicker intermittently, perhaps due to a faulty bulb. However, An Xiangdi preferred to believe that Wei Yi was just afraid of ghosts.

Fortunately, Wei Yi moved quickly, and An Xiangdi only had to wait less than two minutes before he emerged.

Having drunk quite a bit, Wei Yi splashed a handful of water on his face, trying to force himself to sober up.

“Shen Xiao, that guy, doesn’t get drunk at all,” Wei Yi grumbled as he wiped the water off his face, both envious and resentful of Shen Xiao’s incredible alcohol tolerance.

“If you were as tall as him, maybe you could do it too,” An Xiangdi deliberately jabbed at Wei Yi’s sore spot.

Wei Yi flared up at the mention of height. As an Alpha, he hadn’t even reached 180 cm. Compared to Shen Xiao, who stood at 191 cm, it was like comparing the ground to the sky.

Humiliating!

“Shut up!” Wei Yi pretended to be fierce.

Amused, An Xiangdi curled his lips into a smile and walked out of the restroom.

Wei Yi grumbled as he followed behind but stopped when they passed a tightly shut stairwell door.

“What’s” An Xiangdi turned around, noticing Wei Yi had stopped, and was about to ask when Wei Yi gestured for him to be quiet.

The stairwell door appeared closed, but there was actually a small gap. As they passed by, Wei Yi’s keen senses picked up the faint scent of an Omega. However, peering through the crack, all he could see was pitch-black darkness.

His intuition told him something was off.

Wei Yi pressed himself against the door crack and successfully overheard faint voices from inside.

“Eh? Is something going on?” The restaurant owner’s wife, carrying a plate of food upstairs, immediately noticed Wei Yi, who looked like he was up to no good.

“Ah, it’s nothing, hahaha.” Wei Yi scratched his head, feeling extremely awkward.

“That leads to the rooftop. We live in the shop, so we hang our laundry up there to dry,” the owner’s wife explained, thinking he was interested in the rooftop. “The door isn’t locked; you can go up if you want.”

“No, no, that’s fine.” Wei Yi took a few steps back.

As Wei Yi’s friend, An Xiangdi felt so embarrassed for the first time that he wished he could vanish into the ground.

“I’ll go deliver this dish. You two enjoy yourselves.” The owner’s wife assumed Wei Yi was just being shy.

Click the private room door was pushed open from the inside. Shen Xiao, his expression dark, strode out step by step until he stopped in front of An Xiangdi. “Why did it take so long to come back?”

“Wei Yi is too scared to go to the bathroom alone,” An Xiangdi smoothly threw Wei Yi under the bus.

Wei Yi, the “scaredy-cat,” felt as if needles were pricking his entire body. If looks could kill, Shen Xiao’s glare would have made him die over and over again. Any thought of “since we’re both Alphas, maybe I can put up a bit of a fight” was completely crushed in its cradle.

“Let’s go.” Shen Xiao wrapped an arm around An Xiangdi.

Wei Yi wisely followed behind without another word.

Back in the private room, Wang Xiuxiu teased them, “You all disappeared as soon as you went to the bathroom.”

An Xiangdi scanned the room and noticed that the assistant director, Yang Chu, and the film emperor, Ying Chong, were both missing.

“Director Wang, nature calls,” An Xiao said with a smile.

“You always defend them,” Wang Xiuxiu shook his head, somewhat helpless.

“Everyone, have some noodles.” An Xiao picked up the serving chopsticks and first served noodles to Wang Xiuxiu.

An Xiangdi noticed that the baijiu bottle in front of Shen Xiao was empty. “Did you drink it all?”

“Mm.” Shen Xiao didn’t explain why.

“What do you mean, ‘mm’?” An Xiangdi glared at him.

Shen Xiao didn’t respond, instead clasping An Xiangdi’s hand in his.

Warmth flowed steadily from his palm into An Xiangdi’s body. Pressing his lips together, An Xiangdi swallowed his scolding words, deciding to save them for when they got home.

As the large bowl of noodles was nearly finished, Ying Chong and assistant director Yang Chu returned one after the other. When the two passed by Wei Yi, his chopstick-holding hand paused, and he nudged An Xiangdi with his elbow.

“Just now, one of them must have been hiding in the stairwell meeting some unknown little Omega!”

“Are you a dog’s nose or something?” An Xiangdi couldn’t smell other people’s pheromones and couldn’t understand Wei Yi’s ability to identify others through them.

“Don’t even joke about it my nose is as sharp as a dog’s,” Wei Yi boasted proudly. “Especially when it comes to Omegas, I’m sensitive! It’s my natural talent as an Alpha.”

Shen Xiao glanced at him coolly. “Quite self-aware.”