After the Divorce, My Wife Is Impossible to Coax - Chapter 24 

Chapter 24 

“Captain, Captain! Guess what I saw yesterday!”

Early in the morning, Wen Yuncheng ran to An Zhaoyu’s side, his face beaming with excitement for gossip.

“Spit it out,” An Zhaoyu said, preoccupied with her phone. Her screen showed a video of An Zhou rolling around on the floor.

There were many toys scattered about. An Zhou knew how to reach out and grab them, and she would turn her head toward any sound. She was three and a half months old now, with chubby, rosy cheeks—incredibly cute.

Lu Shen had mentioned that babies grow fastest between birth and one year, nearly doubling in height. An Zhaoyu wanted to record this stage of Xiao Zhou’s life, but photos and videos didn’t feel like enough. So, she had commissioned a custom plush doll made in the baby’s likeness. Now, the doll sat next to the baby, looking like they were cast from the same mold.

Dr. Lu really puts her heart into the baby.

“I saw that punished dispatcher and ‘Heipi’ [the tanned Alpha] tangled up together outside the center! Just as I thought—there’s definitely something going on!”

“They were arguing on the road at first, then Heipi said something to coax her back into a good mood, and they left in a car together.”

“Oh,” An Zhaoyu replied, not particularly shocked. She usually didn’t like to assume the worst of people, which was why she hadn’t asked the dispatcher if she was hooked up with one of the Alphas in the squad that day.

Because for her—as a fellow Omega—that would have been a bitter irony.

“It’s madness,” Wen Yuncheng sighed. “Heipi isn’t even a good guy. I see him at bars hitting on Omegas all the time. Was it really worth losing her job just to make things difficult for you for the sake of an Alpha like him?”

“Besides, Heipi looks down on Omegas in his bones! He treats his Alpha brothers and sisters with way more sincerity and respect than he does those Omegas. Sometimes I really don’t get it… if Alphas like other Alphas so much, why do they bother looking for Omegas?”

“Sigh, damn reproduction!” He answered his own question.

An Zhaoyu didn’t respond, unsure of what to say.

“By the way, we’re celebrating the second anniversary of Squadron 2 tonight. You’re coming, right?” Wen Yuncheng almost forgot the main point.

It was the official two-year anniversary of the founding of the Flight Squadron 2. The team had already booked a table at a restaurant, but they hadn’t notified An Zhaoyu yet. Wen Yuncheng had been egged on by the others to come ask her.

“Sure,” An Zhaoyu didn’t refuse. She realized she hadn’t really been out to have fun since her maternity leave started. She had pushed aside all social activities, almost adopting the same lifestyle rhythm as Lu Shen.

“Dr. Lu and little Xiao Zhou can come too~” Wen Yuncheng invited warmly.

“I’ll ask,” An Zhaoyu sent a message to Lu Shen.

Lu Shen replied quickly, saying she had things to do and couldn’t make it, and told An Zhaoyu to have a good time.

It was a rejection, as expected.

Lu Shen didn’t like crowded places. An Zhaoyu knew this well. She showed Lu Shen’s reply to Wen Yuncheng so he would stop chirping about it.

“Ah, Dr. Lu can’t make it? That’s such a shame.”

Wen Yuncheng’s tone held a hint of disappointment. For some reason, An Zhaoyu’s feelings resonated with his. She thought of the time Lu Shen had gotten drunk at the class reunion and felt a bit nostalgic.

Perhaps it was because of the baby; Lu Shen’s life was very disciplined. Every night, she would set aside a specific block of time to play with the baby for a long while.

Despite being busy, Lu Shen never missed anything involving the baby—whether it was a check-up at the community hospital or early education classes. She would go even if she had to take leave.

An Zhaoyu had once worried about being trapped by the trivialities of daily life, but Lu Shen had shouldered the vast majority of it for her. An Zhaoyu understood this clearly, but she didn’t feel as “light” as she had imagined she would.

Even though Lu Shen had given her her freedom.

“Is the Captain disappointed that Dr. Lu isn’t going?”

“What are you talking about?”

An Zhaoyu thought there was something wrong with his head. Would she be unhappy just because Lu Shen was good to their baby? It was pure nonsense.

Lu Shen did have work today. Professor Fu Xinglan had asked her to stay for an experiment. They had extracted a substance from plants that resembled Beta pheromones and wanted to test it on a model Omega mouse. Naturally, Lu Shen agreed; the experiment was vital.

However, she hadn’t forgotten that today was An Zhaoyu’s second anniversary as Captain.

An Zhaoyu had been controlling her sugar intake for a long time and had been craving high-calorie food. She had basically returned to her pre-pregnancy physical state, and Lu Shen assessed that she could return to a normal diet.

Since she couldn’t attend, Lu Shen ordered a cake and asked Wen Yuncheng to bring it.

The team had booked a meal at a modest little restaurant in the commercial street next to the medical center. Since no one was particularly wealthy, An Zhaoyu didn’t say anything; she split the bill (AA) with them and drank chilled canned beer.

The twenty-some people were split across two tables. Heipi and the Alphas who had provoked An Zhaoyu earlier didn’t show up. Wen Yuncheng guessed they probably felt they didn’t belong.

They were right.

Of all the people there, there were only two or three Alphas. Jiang Chizheng was one of them. An Zhaoyu wasn’t originally at his table, but he swapped seats with another teammate to sit just one chair away from her. He couldn’t get the seat directly next to her because the Beta sitting there refused to move—finally getting to sit next to the Captain! On the other side was Wen Yuncheng, who naturally ignored him.

While An Zhaoyu went to the restroom, Wen Yuncheng ran outside and brought in Lu Shen’s cake.

It was a huge cake, brought in on a small trolley. The design on top was identical to the badge on An Zhaoyu’s chest, just a magnified version, with a smaller one in the top left corner.

“Dr. Lu is so kind,” Wen Yuncheng couldn’t help but sigh. “The Captain is so lucky!”

The other teammates agreed, feeling a bit envious.

Only Jiang Chizheng’s face darkened. The shop where Lu Shen ordered this cake was the same one he had used when he previously tried to give An Zhaoyu a cake.

Even though Lu Shen didn’t know he had sent An Zhaoyu a cake—a cake she hadn’t even accepted, which Jiang Chizheng eventually took back for his younger relatives to eat—he felt bitter.

Is it possible An Zhaoyu just doesn’t like cake? Jiang Chizheng thought. Maybe Lu Shen doesn’t understand An Zhaoyu at all.

What’s so “good” about it? It’s just a formality. What else can Lu Shen give her besides this? An Omega with a Beta can never be truly happy. Only an Alpha can give an Omega happiness.

When An Zhaoyu returned and saw the massive cake, she was indeed surprised.

“Captain, Happy Second Anniversary!” Wen Yuncheng pushed the cake in front of her, and everyone clapped.

Squadron 2’s success as one of the center’s top flight teams had a lot to do with her.

“Why so formal?” Seeing the cake, An Zhaoyu’s first reaction was that she liked it. Mostly, she liked the pattern—those “blockheads” had actually customized it with her badge; they were quite thoughtful.

Secondly, she really did want some dessert. This was her favorite: ice cream cake.

“Captain, do you like eating cake?” Jiang Chizheng stood up and asked her with a smile.

Don’t tell me he sent this too? An Zhaoyu became wary. He failed with the cream cake last time, so he changed the style? And got one this big?

“It’s average.”

If he was the one who sent it, An Zhaoyu had no intention of eating it. She sat back in her seat and scooped a bowl of rice, preparing to eat.

Ah? Average? Wen Yuncheng’s smile froze. This was a gift from Dr. Lu—how was he supposed to report back to her?

“Since it’s been sent, let’s all share it,” An Zhaoyu didn’t look at the cake again. She waved her hand for Wen Yuncheng to cut it and distribute it to the team. “We’ll split the cost later.”

Split the cost? With whom? Wen Yuncheng felt a disaster brewing. He had intended to tell An Zhaoyu that Dr. Lu ordered this for her, but now he didn’t dare open his mouth.

Because the Captain looked like she didn’t like the cake at all.

She really doesn’t like cake, Jiang Chizheng felt balanced again. An Zhaoyu wasn’t targeting him; she just disliked all cakes equally.

Wen Yuncheng cut the cake and gave a piece to An Zhaoyu—specifically the piece with the small badge in the corner. Surely Dr. Lu meant for her to have that bit?

But An Zhaoyu didn’t touch the cake. It sat there, tiny beads of condensation forming on its surface.

“Captain, this cake is delicious!”

“The ice cream melts in your mouth! It’s vanilla flavored.”

“It really is good, and it’s chilled too.”

Hearing them talk made An Zhaoyu a bit hungry. She even considered buying one of the same flavor on her way back later to satisfy her craving. Hadn’t Lu Shen said she could eat it now?

“Captain, just eat it. Didn’t you say we’re splitting the cost? The money’s already paid, are you really not going to eat it?” Wen Yuncheng didn’t want her to waste that piece. How sad would Dr. Lu be if she knew?

“You have a point.” Avoiding it so pointedly might make it seem like she cared too much about Jiang Chizheng.

An Zhaoyu finally touched the cake.

The taste was incredible.

“You look like you actually enjoy it quite a bit,” Wen Yuncheng said, confused.

“I like this flavor,” An Zhaoyu replied. She had truly disliked the cream cake Jiang Chizheng sent last time.

But she had realized something: she didn’t need to take someone like Jiang Chizheng seriously, nor should she associate him with food. A cake is a cake; he is him.

It didn’t matter. She would pay her share.

“That’s good then,” Wen Yuncheng breathed a sigh of relief and decided to reveal the truth. “Dr. Lu specifically bought this for you.”

“What did you say?”

The last bit of cake melted on the tip of An Zhaoyu’s tongue. The sweet, cool sensation seemed to level up on her taste buds and spread through her entire being.

“I said, this big cake was specially custom-ordered for you by Dr. Lu!” Wen Yuncheng shouted in her ear.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” An Zhaoyu kicked his stool, annoyed that she had misunderstood for so long.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t like it,” Wen Yuncheng said, feeling a bit wronged. “It sat there for so long and you wouldn’t take a single bite.”

“How was I supposed to know she sent it?” An Zhaoyu’s annoyance turned into a flustered anger—though it wasn’t very obvious. It was more like she was trying to hide an emotion she didn’t want to admit.

The moment she heard Lu Shen’s name, her heart suddenly started beating very fast.

This feeling had happened before.

Every time Lu Shen bent down to pick up the paper airplane An Zhaoyu had folded, flattened it out, and placed it inside the desk.

And when Lu Shen sat on the back of her motorcycle, reaching out to wrap her arms around An Zhaoyu’s waist.

“Oh, the way you’re talking…” Wen Yuncheng’s gossip instinct flared up. “Does that mean if you knew Dr. Lu sent it, you’d eat any cake she gave you?”

“Watch what you say,” An Zhaoyu said in a chilly tone.

Wen Yuncheng made a face. Don’t think he hadn’t seen the Captain’s subtly upward-curving lips just now; she was clearly happy. Why was she acting all tough now?

The only person in the room who was unhappy was Jiang Chizheng.

He only thought that this time, he simply hadn’t chosen a cake as well as Lu Shen had.

“Captain, are we still splitting the cost for this cake?” Wen Yuncheng asked mockingly.

“Split your head.”

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