After Getting Pregnant, I’m Divorcing My Alpha - Chapter 28

“Does your hand hurt?” Shen Xiao felt a pang of heartache seeing An Xiangdi curled up like a quail, clutching his jacket.

“No! I don’t want to go to the hospital.” As the car approached the exit, An Xiangdi grabbed Shen Xiao’s arm. “The reporters are all outside. If this causes another trending topic, the crew.”

Liu Qing, hearing An Xiangdi’s words, gradually slowed down, waiting for Shen Xiao to change his mind.

Shen Xiao pressed his lips tightly together. After a long pause, he lightly tapped the driver’s seat. “Turn back.”

Liu Qing immediately turned the steering wheel. The reporters staking outside were baffled by the car going back and forth.

Meanwhile, Wang Xingxiu was throwing a fit on set, having already berated the props team until they were thoroughly humiliated.

The head of the props team looked wronged. “We really did check everything. There’s absolutely no problem. Director Wang, why don’t we check the surveillance footage?”

“You, go check the surveillance.”

“Okay.” The staff member designated by Wang Xingxiu hurried off to the surveillance room.

Ying Chong had an ice pack pressed to his chin, while An Xiao used a hot towel on his temples. The atmosphere on set was unbearably tense.

No one expected Shen Xiao and An Xiangdi to return. Shen Xiao called the private doctor he had hired earlier to come to the set while asking Yao Honglang to give An Xiangdi preliminary first aid for his wound.

By the time Shen Xiao finished his call, the bleeding on the back of An Xiangdi’s hand had stopped. Shortly after, the sweet scent of pheromones around him also vanished.

“Director Wang! We’ve retrieved the surveillance footage. Do you want to take a look?” The staff member sent to check the surveillance came running back.

Just as An Xiangdi was about to stand up, Shen Xiao pressed him down. “Stay seated. I’ll go check.”

“I want to see too.” It was just a hand injury he didn’t want to sit around as if it were a big deal.

Uncharacteristically, Shen Xiao didn’t agree and released a bit of his pheromones. “Be good.”

An Xiangdi’s legs went weak, and he stayed seated in the chair.

Liu Qing brought over some washed waxberries. “Teacher An, please sit for a while. Teacher Shen is just worried about you. What if you disturb the baby.”

“Disturb the baby? I’m not some imperial consort.” Though An Xiangdi’s words were sharp, he didn’t stand up again.

As a marked Omega, he instinctively couldn’t resist commands enforced by an Alpha’s pheromonal dominance.

After Shen Xiao followed Wang Xingxiu to the surveillance room, Wei Yi cautiously moved closer to An Xiangdi.

“Your hand it’s definitely going to swell tomorrow.”

An Xiangdi waved his hand dismissively. Though the bleeding had stopped, the area around the wound was already red and swollen. It would likely bruise by tomorrow.

“Hey, I have to say, Shen Xiao is really scary when he’s angry. And why is Director Wang so afraid of him?” Wei Yi thought for a moment. “I’m an Alpha too, so why isn’t he afraid of me?”

Hearing Wei Yi’s words, An Xiangdi froze. Lately, he had vaguely sensed some changes from Royal Pictures being acquired by Yisheng Entertainment to Shen Xiao terminating his contract and starting his own studio, and even Yao Honglang being inexplicably assigned to manage him.

It all seemed connected somehow, but when he thought deeper, some things felt too unbelievable.

“Probably just pheromonal dominance,” An Xiangdi said aloud, though he made a mental note to look into it more carefully later.

“Di Zi, I just caught a whiff of your pheromones.” Wei Yi grinned triumphantly. “Sweet, like sugar water. You really are an Omega.”

“What did you say?” An Xiangdi seemed jolted awake by the remark.

“Didn’t you say I couldn’t smell your pheromones? Well, I did!” Wei Yi wore a proud expression. As an Alpha, being able to detect an Omega’s pheromones was a validation of his own capabilities.

“No, I meant the scent you mentioned.”

“Huh? Sugar water. Haven’t you had it before? When I was a kid and refused to take medicine, my mom would mix white sugar with water for me.” Wei Yi scratched his nose. “Why are you asking me about your own pheromone scent? Unless I got it wrong?”

The pause in Wei Yi’s latter sentence made An Xiangdi’s heart tighten, thinking Wei Yi had noticed something off. But hearing the follow-up, he realized he had overestimated Wei Yi’s intelligence.

“Whether you got it wrong or not, why don’t you take another sniff to find out?” Earlier, Shen Xiao’s pheromone suppression had left An Xiangdi momentarily dazed. With Wei Yi’s comical antics to distract him, he perked up again.

Wei Yi sniffed the air but detected nothing. “Wait, can you control your pheromones at will? Why is there no scent now?”

“Your skills just aren’t refined enough,” An Xiangdi lied.

“Impossible!” This time, Wei Yi wasn’t falling for it.

“I used a suppressant spray.” An Xiangdi had no intention of revealing his pheromone deficiency and aimed to engrave the “fact” that he “used suppressant spray” into everyone’s minds. Starting with the most talkative Wei Yi, he estimated the entire crew would know this “fact” by evening.

“Suppressant spray has that function?”

For Alphas, suppressant spray was an unfamiliar term, as it was typically used by Omegas who wished to conceal their pheromones.

However, it was fundamentally different from An Xiangdi’s pheromone deficiency. Even with suppressant spray, an Omega in heat would still release pheromones abundantly, detectable by all Alphas. But when An Xiangdi went into heat, only Shen Xiao could usually smell it, unless his pheromone release stabilized.

An Xiangdi didn’t respond further and lowered his head to eat the waxberries.

Not long after, Shen Xiao and the others returned from the surveillance room. Judging by their expressions, they seemed to have found nothing.

“So, what’s the situation?” The ever-inquisitive Wei Yi jumped up.

“The surveillance camera was blocked.” Shen Xiao didn’t even glance at Wei Yi as he spoke to An Xiangdi.

If someone had intentionally adjusted the table’s position, this outcome was somewhat expected, and An Xiangdi wasn’t particularly surprised.

Rather than who was behind it, An Xiangdi now wanted to know the purpose behind their actions.

Did they have a grudge against An Xiao and want to harm her?

Or perhaps the intended target was someone else.

“An incident like this occurring on set is something I deeply regret. We’ve checked the surveillance and found that this was not merely an accident.” Wang Xingxiu glanced at Ying Chong, who had an ice pack on his chin, An Xiao, whose cheeks were still flushed, and the wound on An Xiangdi’s hand. “Until we can ensure the set is completely safe, filming will be suspended. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?”

No one wanted another incident it would be detrimental both personally and for the production. Thus, no one voiced any objections.

“If no one has any objections, I will contact the police later to thoroughly investigate this matter. Please rest in your hotel rooms and try not to move around unnecessarily.”

“Director Wang, would contacting the police be inappropriate?” one actor expressed concern. “If this escalates, it could affect the crew.”

“There’s no need for everyone to worry. They are my friends from the police, and I will ask them to come in plain clothes.” Wang Xingxiu’s words quickly dispelled everyone’s doubts.

Indeed, handing the matter over to the police would be the most efficient approach.

“Then everyone can.” Before Wang Xingxiu could finish, An Xiangdi’s phone rang.

All eyes in the studio turned to An Xiangdi. Using his uninjured left hand, he pulled out his phone and saw that the caller was his father.

An Xiangdi’s expression shifted slightly as he stood up. “Sorry, please continue. I need to step out to take this call.”

Once outside the studio, An Xiangdi took a deep breath, struggling internally for a long moment before finally answering the call.

“Hello, Dad.”

“An’an, is it true that you’re pregnant?”

“Yes.” An Xiangdi braced himself for the inevitable barrage of questions.

“How could you not tell your dad? This is such an important matter what if something goes wrong? Is Shen Xiao taking good care of you? Omegas rely heavily on their Alphas during pregnancy. He’s not still that busy, is he? If he really is, I’ll have to have a serious talk with him.” An Hongxian went on and on, leaving no room for An Xiangdi to interject.

An Xiangdi sighed silently, leaning against the wall as he listened to his father’s ramblings.

It took a full five minutes before An Hongxian finally paused to catch his breath.

“An’an, can you come home this weekend? Or maybe even today? It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.” An Hongxian’s voice sounded almost pitiful.

An Xiangdi had been pampered since childhood. Both his parents were Betas, and they treasured him immensely for being an Omega. Their kindness and gentleness had also taught him to be filial. It was true he hadn’t been home since the New Year.

“Dad, I’m filming with the crew right now. It might be a while before I can come back.” An Xiangdi suppressed his reluctance and explained the current situation. He couldn’t go back now if his father found out about the injury on his hand, he would surely lecture him endlessly.

“What about that Shen Xiao? Isn’t he with you? I saw on social media that he’s there with you.” An Hongxian, feeling dissatisfied, decided to shift his focus to Shen Xiao.

“He.” An Xiangdi was about to say that Shen Xiao was also busy when he caught the familiar scent of brandy pheromones.

“Let me take it.” Shen Xiao had appeared at some point without him noticing.

After a moment’s hesitation, An Xiangdi handed him the phone.

“Dad,” Shen Xiao greeted.

Whatever An Hongxian said on the other end, Shen Xiao kept responding with “Mm,” and then, seizing an opening, quickly voiced his thoughts.

“Dad, would it be alright if Di and I come back tomorrow? We’re not too busy with the crew lately.”

An Hongxian immediately agreed. “Good, good! I’ll cook tomorrow. Come back early.”

“We’ll come in the evening and have dinner at home. Let Di sleep in tomorrow morning.” As he spoke, Shen Xiao reached out and took An Xiangdi’s hand. His expression darkened when he saw the wound.

“That’s fine then, it’s settled. Just don’t call tomorrow saying you’re not coming back.” An Hongxian was genuinely worried that these entertainers might suddenly change their minds about coming home.

“I won’t, Dad. Dizi is a bit tired today, so I’ll hang up now.” After speaking, Shen Xiao hummed in agreement twice more before ending the call.

An Xiangdi protested anxiously, “Wait, if we go back tomorrow and my dad sees the wound on my hand, he’ll storm right into the film set!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” Shen Xiao leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. “We’ll lay low for a couple of days and do some fishing while we’re at it.”

“What do you mean?” An Xiangdi was taken aback. After a moment, he asked suspiciously, “Did you find a lead about what happened today? Was the target you? Or me?”

“Possibly.” Shen Xiao gave an ambiguous answer. Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely sure either, but regardless of who was behind it, they would have to pay the price.