After the Divorce, My Wife Is Impossible to Coax - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

An Zhaoyu arrived home very late. Lu Shen and the baby were already asleep. She carried the baby supplies they had bought together into the house but didn’t know where to put them.

Forget it, I’ll let Lu Shen handle it tomorrow.

A single light was left on in the foyer, but the bedroom was pitch black. After showering downstairs, An Zhaoyu crept into bed and successfully slipped back into her spot on the inner side.

Lu Shen, of course, wouldn’t engage in the same kind of boring testing An Zhaoyu did. Although she hadn’t been asleep earlier, she felt that the heavy tension surrounding An Zhaoyu had dissipated quite a bit, so her body relaxed, and she fell asleep shortly after.

Lying next to her, An Zhaoyu kept her eyes wide open.

She had already figured out a solution for that dispatcher situation today. She had handed out a well-deserved slap. The things people said about Lu Shen hadn’t left a mark on her heart; no one was closer to Lu Shen than she was, and having visited the Lu residence, she knew the blame lay with that old man, Lu Congwen.

But seeing Lu Shen and the baby sleeping so soundly made a restless thought sprout in her mind.

Would Lu Shen and the baby get along just as well even if I wasn’t home?

The next day at the training ground, the team members were all somewhat dejected. Even some members who had previously remained neutral were beginning to feel dissatisfied with An Zhaoyu. Everyone had been working fine, but as soon as she returned, they stopped getting missions.

While this had nothing to do with An Zhaoyu herself, they didn’t know who else to blame. They saw her go to the dispatcher yesterday, but it seemed there were no results; still no missions today.

“So it’s all my fault, is it? Fine,” An Zhaoyu said, clutching her helmet as she walked to the front of the formation. “I’m quitting as Captain. You guys can find yourselves a new punching bag.”

A few Alphas’ eyes lit up instantly. “Captain, are you serious?”

If the Captain resigned voluntarily, a pre-existing team would need an acting leader. They might be able to bypass the official Captain’s exam and take the role temporarily; after three to five years, they’d basically be tenured automatically. Passing that exam was notoriously difficult—the medical center wouldn’t likely dissolve the District 2 rescue team, and Wen Su couldn’t lead both teams forever.

This was why many Alphas chose District 2. Compared to Wen Su, An Zhaoyu was far more likely to resign.

“Captain, don’t leave! We don’t blame you,” Jiang Qizheng stood up to declare his stance. An Zhaoyu was too guarded against him; he needed to stand by her side now.

“You can’t, Captain. If you leave, no one here can lead,” Wen Yuncheng strongly disagreed. None of the District 2 members had her level of skill.

Jiang Qizheng didn’t entirely agree with that. An Zhaoyu was skilled, but she was an Omega. Alphas could do the job just as well—look at Wen Su. With hard work and extra practice, they would be fine. Why let the “hen crow at dawn”? It wasn’t like the world was out of Alphas. However, he didn’t argue with Wen Yuncheng at this moment.

Most members remained silent regarding disputes that didn’t affect their personal interests. Only a few urged An Zhaoyu to stay.

“Captain, flying isn’t a game. We save lives. Don’t abandon your responsibility just because you’re angry with them. The patients are innocent.”

If the captaincy was given to an unskilled pilot, it could cause secondary trauma to patients during transport. Even if the patient complained later, the damage would be irreversible. In a rescue team, the pilot is as vital as the doctor; both determine the patient’s prognosis.

An Zhaoyu remained unmoved. She looked at the Alphas vying for the position. “Even if I leave, there can only be one Captain. Which of you should I recommend to the higher-ups?”

“We’ll elect one ourselves,” a darker-skinned Alpha member said, sensing her attempt to sow discord and trying to placate the others. An Zhaoyu forgot his name—she’d just call him “Blackie.” He seemed to be their leader. Alphas who worshiped strength loved this setup; without a pack leader, they would scatter.

An Zhaoyu didn’t care.

“Elect one? By playing Rock-Paper-Scissors?” An Zhaoyu let out a contemptuous laugh. She unpinned the red Captain’s badge from her chest and held it up. “Why don’t you show me your strength instead?”

“Fine.”

Blackie signaled the other Alphas. As long as they got rid of An Zhaoyu first, the captaincy would definitely fall to one of them. They needed to stay united for now. The Alphas agreed; their training scores were decent. Surely they weren’t that far behind her. Omegas should go home and raise kids; why should they be equal to Alphas?

Seeing that she truly seemed ready to quit, Wen Yuncheng sprinted to the inpatient building to find Lu Shen.

“Dr. Lu! What do we do? The Captain is resigning! We can’t let her run off!”

Lu Shen was teaching Jiang Chu how to use the medical center’s system to write medical records. Seeing his frantic face, she thought for a moment and comforted him: “She won’t.”

That’s it? Dr. Lu really had a way with words.

Wen Yuncheng was speechless. How could she be so calm? Wasn’t she afraid the Captain would leave in a fit of rage? Or did Dr. Lu also want the Captain to stay home and raise the baby?

“Rest assured. If she gave up that easily, she wouldn’t have become a Flight Captain.” Seeing him lingering at the door, Lu Shen added one more sentence.

“I guess so.” Wen Yuncheng scratched his head. An Zhaoyu never slacked off.

“Could you go to the bulletin board at the office building and see if there are any staff disciplinary notices today?”

“Oh, sure!” He might as well run an errand for Dr. Lu.

Lu Shen continued teaching Jiang Chu.

“Teacher Lu, are you helping Captain An?” Jiang Chu asked, seemingly casual.

“No,” Lu Shen replied.

When An Zhaoyu did something, she went all the way. That dispatcher was clearly abusing his power. Forcing Wen Su to fly everything would eventually degrade the quality of rescue. The medical center had clear regulations on maternity leave and specific protocols for every role. An Zhaoyu wasn’t a pushover; her unhappiness yesterday was likely because the dispatcher was also an Omega.

As for the resignation, she probably had other plans. Those Alpha team members were too naive. Without passing the Captain’s exam, they couldn’t lead. Even if a Captain resigned, they couldn’t just fill the slot. Lu Shen didn’t think An Zhaoyu needed help.

“Tell us, Captain. How do you want to test us?” It might be the last time they called her that, and the Alphas felt a strange pang of sentimentality.

“Simple. I’ll test you on your routine practice,” An Zhaoyu pointed to the training helicopters. “Hovering transport. You’ve practiced this for a long time, right?”

“Sure!” This was far easier than the Captain’s exam. The Alphas breathed a sigh of relief. They thought she was going to sabotage them, but it seemed she really just wanted to quit.

“Old rules. Pairs. The first pair to arrive is eligible for this,” An Zhaoyu waved the badge.

Pairs? Then who gets the badge in the winning pair? The Alphas immediately thought of the pilot in the primary seat. The competitive gleam in their eyes was unmistakable.

“Can we fly one aircraft each? A pair has a primary and a secondary pilot,” Blackie said, sensing something was off.

“Of course, one aircraft each,” An Zhaoyu said with a look of feigned confusion. “Did you want a co-pilot? Captains don’t have co-pilots.”

“Then how is it a pair?” The Alphas’ hearts sank. They were being led by the nose. Blackie had a bad feeling.

“If you aren’t in pairs, what are you transporting?” An Zhaoyu’s lips curled up. “Do you transport mannequins during real missions?”

“Pick any partner you want. As long as someone is willing to be your model.”

“Are you joking? You want us to transport a real person? Do you think our lives are a joke!” someone yelled immediately.

“Do we transport mannequins every time we go on a mission?” several members who hadn’t spoken before supported An Zhaoyu. The request was reasonable.

District 2 had about twenty to thirty members divided into small groups. During missions, An Zhaoyu would provide auxiliary support to ensure safety. Because she was always there to back them up, the members often performed better during missions than in training. Now that Wen Su had been filling in, they felt they didn’t need An Zhaoyu anymore.

The problem was now laid bare.

“Start. I’ll give the badge to the first one to arrive.”

This was the purpose of the Captain’s exam. The difficulty was there to ensure safety; it wasn’t just a mechanical test. The final stages of the exam involved handling accidents with human lives at stake, which was why most members were eliminated during the technical stages.

The Alphas looked at each other. Blackie asked tentatively, “Who wants to go with me?”

Everyone shook their heads and waved their hands. They were colleagues; they knew exactly what each other’s skill levels were. If a mannequin hit the ground, it just kicked up dust. A real person… For the sake of a captaincy, it wasn’t worth it.

They pushed the responsibility back and forth. Finally, it became a matter of whoever was brave enough to be the “mannequin” could be the Captain—and suddenly, no one wanted to compete.

When it came to patients or animals hanging by a thread, they didn’t care about their feelings; saving a life was enough to expect gratitude. But when it was their own lives on the line, their true colors showed. They knew exactly how much they were worth.

“The opportunity only comes once. Don’t miss out, because I don’t know when I’ll take maternity leave again,” An Zhaoyu’s tone became nonchalant. She pinned the badge back onto her chest. “If you back down, you work under me faithfully from now on. Otherwise, get out.”

When Wen Yuncheng returned to the training ground, the Alphas who had been stirring up trouble were standing under the tree with their heads bowed, their arrogance gone.

“Captain! That dispatcher has been removed from his post! I asked the new dispatcher, and they said the next mission is coming to our district!”

“Great!” the team members cheered.

An Zhaoyu gave Wen Yuncheng a strange look. How did he know she wanted him to check on the dispatcher? She had only sent the formal complaint to HR this morning.

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