After the Divorce, My Wife Is Impossible to Coax - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Captain! Doctor Lu! Welcome back!”

A month had passed since the baby was born. An Zhaoyu and Lu Shen’s maternity leave had come to an end, and they finally returned to their posts. The staff at the Medical Center still found the marriage between the most beautiful Omega and the most beautiful Beta in the facility to be nothing short of miraculous.

“Back to work,” An Zhaoyu said. Having not touched an aircraft in three or four months, her hands were itching for the controls. After her fifth month of pregnancy, neither her parents nor her superiors had allowed her to fly; she had been relegated to flight simulators at home.

She headed straight for the training field to regain her “feel” for the cockpit and re-familiarize herself with the controls before coordinating with the acting captain.

An Zhaoyu drove today, pulling up to the training field as usual. Once they parked, Lu Shen grabbed her laptop bag and headed toward the inpatient department.

“Captain, isn’t Doctor Lu coming up with you?” Wen Yuncheng asked, feeling a bit out of sync. From the moment An Zhaoyu’s pregnancy went public until the end of her leave, Lu Shen had been—at the insistence of An Changguo and He Nanchun—practically glued to her side. Seeing them go their separate ways again felt like a regression.

“Doctor Lu never boards the aircraft unless there is an active rescue mission,” An Zhaoyu noted, watching Lu Shen walk in the opposite direction. Her finger, which had been about to select a two-person training craft, slid toward a single-seater.

During the pregnancy, she had gradually grown used to having Lu Shen around. She had almost forgotten that Lu Shen was someone who cherished her solitude. Now that the “mission” of having the baby was complete, the good doctor had naturally returned to square one.

How cold-hearted, An Zhaoyu thought.

Yet, it suited her perfectly. She was finally free again. If she had to spend one more day pregnant, she would have lost her mind. Though Lu Shen had fought for her to have as much freedom as possible, her parents had been stifling. For months, she couldn’t fly, couldn’t drive, couldn’t eat what she wanted, and couldn’t go out without an escort. It was no different from having a leash around her neck.

Her mother always said things would get better after the baby was born. Lies. The moment the baby arrived, everyone told her she was now a mother and needed to carry even more responsibility. It never ended.

Since she was a child, it was always: “It’ll be better when you grow up,” “When you differentiate,” “When you graduate,” “When you find a job…” It felt as if as long as she was alive, the world would demand she keep waiting for a “better” that never arrived.

Freedom—precious freedom. The moment the plane took off, An Zhaoyu thought: I will never live the life of a tamed Omega. I will never be tied down by anything.

Shortly after Lu Shen arrived at her office in the inpatient department, a nurse knocked on the door. “Doctor Lu, a pilot has an injured hand. The ER duty doctor is busy with another patient; they asked if you could handle the wound.”

“Alright.”

The patient who walked in was Jiang Qizheng. Lu Shen remembered him. During the months she spent accompanying An Zhaoyu, she had sensed this Alpha’s feelings for An Zhaoyu shifting from defiance to an inability to look away.

As Lu Shen treated his wound, he glared at her with a look of pure malice.

“I thought Doctor Lu was righteous inside and out. I didn’t realize you were just another opportunist who took advantage of an Omega in distress.”

Regarding the incident where An Zhaoyu was marked, no one outside the family knew that An Zhaoyu had initiated it. Jiang Qizheng naturally assumed Lu Shen had taken the initiative to mark her. After all, who wouldn’t be tempted by an SSS-rank Omega?

Lu Shen remained silent. This Alpha had clearly been biting his tongue for a long time while she was constantly with An Zhaoyu. He was slightly better than Wei Jinlin, though; Lu Shen frequently received verbal abuse and threatening texts from that particular Alpha.

“You must be quite disappointed that you’re not an Alpha,” Jiang Qizheng leaned in closer. “Knowing you can never permanently mark the Captain.”

Lu Shen instinctively backed away to maintain her distance. Suddenly, there was a knock on the office door.

“Come in,” Lu Shen called out.

The door pushed open, and a young Alpha girl in a white lab coat with a ponytail walked in. She had a somewhat shy smile. “Doctor Lu, I’m the new intern, Jiang Chu. Professor Fu sent me to find you.”

Professor Fu? Lu Shen remembered her mentor mentioning a new intern joining her team.

“Alright, wait a moment.” Lu Shen turned back to Jiang Qizheng. “The wound is dressed. You’re finished.”

It was a clear dismissal, but Jiang Qizheng acted as if he didn’t hear it. “Doctor Lu is taking on students now? I hope the ‘upper beam’ isn’t crooked, or the student might follow suit.”

He was deliberately belittling Lu Shen in front of her student. However, the intern standing behind Lu Shen didn’t look embarrassed or confused. Instead, she glared at him with a look of sharp hostility, looking like a completely different person from the shy girl who had just walked in.

Two-faced. Truly a student of Lu Shen, Jiang Qizheng thought.

“My affairs are none of your concern.”

Seeing the cold Beta doctor was completely unmoved, Jiang Qizheng didn’t press further. He noticed Lu Shen’s hands—clean and devoid of a wedding ring. They hadn’t held a formal wedding yet. He had heard An Zhaoyu’s pregnancy was difficult and she couldn’t handle the fatigue of a ceremony, so it had been postponed indefinitely.

A “suitable time”? Or is it because there’s no emotional foundation? Jiang Qizheng had observed for a long time. An Zhaoyu had a very willful personality—she had the capital to be. If she didn’t want a wedding, it was likely because she didn’t like the person. And if she didn’t like Lu Shen, she certainly wouldn’t want to marry her properly.

Jiang Qizheng left, satisfied.

“Teacher Lu…” Once he was gone, Jiang Chu became awkward. She knew Lu Shen likely didn’t want others witnessing such a scene, but hearing Jiang Qizheng’s insults through the door had made her lose her cool.

“What is your relation to Jiang Ling?” Lu Shen asked. She looked familiar.

“She’s my cousin.” Jiang Chu felt a little spark of joy that Lu Shen recognized the family resemblance.

Lu Shen nodded. “Has your cousin returned to the country?”

“She’s downstairs,” Jiang Chu said helplessly. “She confiscated my internship badge.”

The Medical Center had strict security; outsiders needed an escort or a badge. Jiang Ling had taken the badge to gain entry.

That fast? Lu Shen looked at the empty pocket on Jiang Chu’s lab coat.

“Jiang Chu, didn’t I tell you to wait for me outside?” An Omega’s voice rang out from the doorway, accompanied by the sharp click-clack of high heels on the floor.

“Sorry, Sis!” Jiang Chu hid behind Lu Shen. She had only entered because of Jiang Qizheng’s rudeness.

“Shen-shen, long time no see!” Jiang Ling walked in, swinging her handbag, her fingers splayed to show off a new set of long, elaborate nails. She approached Lu Shen with an air of theatrical glamour.

“We meet again, Lawyer Jiang,” Lu Shen said. She wasn’t surprised by the look; Jiang Ling had bold features that suited heavy makeup. But those nails… they made Lu Shen feel a phantom sense of… pain.

Thank goodness Captain An doesn’t have that hobby.

“Alright, out you go. I have things to discuss with Doctor Lu,” Jiang Ling said, tossing the internship badge back to Jiang Chu with a flick of her wrist.

Used and discarded. Classic Jiang Ling. Jiang Chu took her badge and left, closing the door behind her.

“Give me a kiss!” With no one around, Jiang Ling’s actions became bold. She leaned in to peck Lu Shen on the cheek.

“No,” Lu Shen dodged with practiced ease.

“Fine. Now that you’re married, you won’t even kiss your best friend. Sigh.”

“Jiang Ling, be serious.”

“I came all this way just to see you, and you want me to be ‘serious’?” Jiang Ling laughed. Lu Shen was the same as ever—soft-hearted but resistant to pressure. A little teasing still made her blush. “Why? Is your Captain An ‘serious’?”

“You didn’t come just to see me,” Lu Shen ignored the comment. “Wen Su should be at the flight training field right now.”

“What does her location have to do with me?” Jiang Ling’s smile didn’t falter, but she pointed a long, flashy nail at Lu Shen’s forehead. “Don’t change the subject. You got married and didn’t even notify me. You’ve certainly grown bold, Lu Shen.”

“There was no wedding ceremony,” Lu Shen said. Seeing Jiang Ling didn’t want to discuss Wen Su, she didn’t push it.

“Is this a matter of whether there was a ceremony? If Wei Qing hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even know you married An Zhaoyu. Do you still consider me a friend?” Jiang Ling put a hand on her hip, her tone dissatisfied.

“It was… very sudden, even for me,” Lu Shen explained. Marriage hadn’t been in her life plan; it had completely disrupted her quiet, orderly existence.

“I suppose so,” Jiang Ling said, calming down as she sat in the chair opposite Lu Shen. Her tone turned less friendly. “Did you really marry An Zhaoyu just for a child?”

“Is she still doing this to ‘help’ her brother? She’d go as far as getting pregnant just to bring you into the family?” Jiang Ling’s opinion of An Zhaoyu was firmly in the negatives.

Years ago, before An Zhaoyu had even differentiated, her pursuit of Lu Shen had been public and relentless. Breakfast, lunch, sweets, and smiles—she had stuck to Lu Shen like glue. After school, she’d even spirit Lu Shen away on her motorcycle. Lu Shen was a blank slate when it came to romance; she had never been pursued by someone so “shameless.” How could she have resisted the fiery, youthful offensive of a young An Zhaoyu?

An Zhaoyu was a girl and an Omega; she was more observant than an Alpha, her romance more thoughtful and less overbearing. Lu Shen had quickly fallen.

And the result? An Zhaoyu’s claim that she was just “helping her brother chase a girlfriend” had sent Lu Shen into a world of ice. She had approached Lu Shen for her brother, yet Lu Shen had fallen for her. It had been a joke. Jiang Ling had spent nights cursing An Zhaoyu out back then. Even now, the memory made her want to start again. Lu Shen’s resistance to dating over the years was entirely due to the deep shadow An Zhaoyu had left behind.

“I don’t think so,” Lu Shen answered calmly. An Zhaoyu wasn’t the type of Omega to go this far for her brother. Her pride was too strong. After Lu Shen rejected her back then, she had never initiated contact again.

“Shen-shen, answer me seriously. Do you still like her?”

“I don’t know.”

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