After the Divorce, My Wife Is Impossible to Coax - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Wow!” The crew on the yacht deck erupted in cheers. “Look, is that Lucia?”

Beneath the embers of an orange sunset lay the boundless deep blue ocean. A pod of snow-white whales flickered beneath the surface, their orderly formation and graceful silhouettes capturing everyone’s attention.

“Lucia? Is that the little beluga we rescued before?”

“That’s her! The one leading the pack is Lucia—she’s swimming toward us!”

“Hi, Lucia!” The sailors on board were buzzing with excitement. They lined up along the starboard side, waving their hands frantically and calling out to the approaching whale, “Long time no see!”

Lucia was a small beluga whale rescued by the search and rescue team in the Arctic Ocean last year. At the time, she had been stranded on the shore, dying. They helped clear the blockage in her blowhole, took turns using seawater to keep her body moist, and conducted a wild-release assessment while the doctors provided medication and nutritional supplements.

They say a whale’s brain structure is quite similar to a human’s. Hearing the calls, Lucia approached the side of the yacht, bobbing her plump, snow-white head out of the water.

“Come here, Lucia,” one crew member reached out his arm, wanting to pet her head.

Pshhh—

Lucia sprayed water at him. The jet of water hit him squarely in the face in a perfect parabola, splashing everywhere.

“Hahaha!” The other members took great pleasure in his misfortune.

The drenched crew member wiped his face, his clothes soaked and dripping in the sunlight. Unable to get angry at the innocent beluga, he simply scratched his head and remarked, “That’s actually quite refreshing.”

“Our Lucia is a cold, noble little princess,” the sailor standing next to him laughed. “Why would she easily let a mere mortal like you touch her head?”

“What are you all doing?” The commotion caught the attention of An Zhaoyu.

“Captain,” the crew members made way for her in the center as she approached. “We’re playing with Lucia!”

As a flight captain for the Search and Rescue Group of the International Rescue Center, an Omega was extremely rare. An Zhaoyu was a special case, having stood out among a crowd of Alphas during selection.

Born with a head of stunning burgundy curls, she had large, round eyes with irises as black and brilliant as obsidian. Full of spirit, the red-and-white flight uniform tailored for the rescue group looked sharp on her, yet retained the soft curves unique to an Omega.

She walked to the beam of the starboard side, helmet in one hand, stepping one leg onto the yacht’s footboard. She lowered her gaze to search for Lucia’s head peeking out from the water.

The beluga’s skin was beautiful—smooth, supple, and flawless white.

The Omega’s movements carried a gentle spontaneity and a careless languor. The crew’s gaze shifted from the white whale to her.

An Zhaoyu really wanted to reach out and touch Lucia.

The beluga seemed attracted by her gaze, tilting its head and slowly moving toward her. Was a whale actually intelligent enough to appreciate good looks?

Their eyes met.

An Zhaoyu reached out her hand.

Mm. The whale’s skin was even smoother and softer than imagined, yet firm and elastic. The texture was exquisite—better than the most precious jade An Zhaoyu had ever touched.

“Careful, Captain,” fearing Lucia might spray her, a nearby crew member picked up a wooden basin, ready to intercept.

An Omega captain should not have to endure the embarrassment of being sprayed, even if the offender was a Beluga Princess.

“It’s fine,” An Zhaoyu said indifferently. If she got sprayed by such a cute animal, she’d just pet Lucia a few more times to make up for it.

Lucia, however, did not spray her. She simply stared at her with wide eyes, looking as if she half-recognized her.

It wasn’t that the little whale had a bad memory; as the flight captain, An Zhaoyu didn’t usually participate in direct emergency aid. Her main task was to ensure accurate and safe arrival at the destination and timely return to the medical center. The hands-on rescue was the medical team’s job. During that past encounter, she and the beluga had only met briefly.

“Oh, is Dr. Lu coming over too?” a crew member noted in surprise.

During maritime missions, unless there was a medical need, Lu Shen usually preferred to stay in the cabin with her medical kit, quietly admiring the sea.

What drew her out was Lucia. This recently matured beluga was her first—and only—whale patient. At the time, Lu Shen had personally fed her medicine and stayed with her until she returned to the sea; their bond was naturally deep.

An Zhaoyu turned to look. The clean white lab coat Lu Shen wore had a natural cinched effect at the waist, and underneath she wore a blue-grey chiffon maxi dress. Her straight, jet-black hair was mostly pinned up during missions, exposing the slender, white nape of her neck. It looked particularly delicate—perhaps the reason why she attracted countless Alphas despite being a Beta.

A stray lock of hair blowing by her ear paired with her cool temperament gave her the aura of a gentle, intellectual, and mature woman, blending into the moist, slightly briny sea breeze.

However, once she got close, one could feel a sense of distant alienation, especially from those eyes—a transparent, icy blue. Her mixed-race heritage was perfectly evident; she seemed to have inherited only the best traits.

Seeing her, Lucia became active.

A crew member happened to bring out a sonar detector. Lucia’s ultrasonic clicks were converted into an ethereal sound audible to human ears, sounding like a lonely, distant, and soul-stirring cry from the deep sea.

The sea breeze was gentle. Lu Shen tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear. As she approached the starboard side, Lucia rose gracefully, revealing a portion of her shimmering body. Her floating speed matched Lu Shen’s pace perfectly.

“She closed her eyes!”

Lucia closed her adorable eyes, her mouth appearing to pucker up.

Was this… asking Dr. Lu for a kiss?

The entire search and rescue team stared in shock.

Lu Shen took a piece of white gauze from her pocket, placed it against her lips, and lightly pressed them together. Most of the lipstick’s shape and color remained on the fabric. Bracing her hands on the side of the boat, she leaned down toward Lucia.

Lucia floated further up, tilting her head to kiss her, holding the pose.

A kiss between human and whale.

For a moment, it was hard to know who to envy.

Even as Lu Shen pulled back, Lucia persistently tried to defy gravity, stretching her body out to follow her. When Lu Shen reached out her hand, the whale would chase it with her mouth, blowing elegant “smoke rings” of bubbles in the ocean to try and catch Lu Shen’s hand.

Lu Shen couldn’t help but smile. The curve of her lips was like a blooming petal, dazzling many of the crew members.

This was not what was expected.

Standing beside her, An Zhaoyu stared at her. They had been classmates for many years, but An Zhaoyu hadn’t seen such a gentle Lu Shen in a long time.

Her gaze drifted to the pocket of the white lab coat. That piece of gauze stained with lipstick was tucked inside, but as Lu Shen reached out, it began to slip.

It was about to fall out.

An Zhaoyu naturally reached out her palm to catch it. The weight of the gauze was feather-light. Looking up at Lu Shen, who was still playing with Lucia, the Omega captain’s brow twitched slightly.

The sun sank lower, and the sky darkened, merging with the horizon of the sea. The yacht was nearing the shore. Lucia and her beluga friends followed the boat all the way to the coastline.

“Go on back!” Lu Shen waved goodbye to Lucia. The sea breeze lifted her hair and the hem of her dress, revealing her sharp and exquisite profile without reservation to the person standing beside her.

Click—click—

The detector translated the whale’s sounds as if in response.

So intelligent.

It wasn’t until she returned to shore that Lu Shen realized the used piece of gauze was gone. She worried it might have fallen into the sea and caused pollution, so she went back to ask the crew on the yacht.

“Dr. Lu, no trash was left in the sea. We checked,” a crew member replied.

That was good. Perhaps it had fallen onto the deck and would be thrown away by the cleaning staff. Relieved, Lu Shen returned to her quarters in the lower deck.

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