The Fallen Film Queen’s Possessive Alpha - Chapter 15

Su Ye was furious, Zhou Qiwei was enjoying her anger, while Song Haoyin simply couldn’t understand, what right did she have to be so angry?

If anyone should be angry, it should be herself!

The trio moved from the hospital entrance to the garden. Song Haoyin didn’t want to worry her younger sister, nor did she want to become the subject of any “news.” At this time, the garden was nearly empty of patients and visitors, making it perfect for their discussion.

“Why did she come here?” Su Ye demanded righteously, her face flushed with anger. “Haven’t you always despised those who abuse their Alpha status? You even said Omegas must keep their distance from Alphas with ulterior motives.”

“So, if she’s keeping her distance from a certain Beta, it must be because that Beta is even more detestable than those scheming, misbehaving Alphas,” Zhou Qiwei sneered. “Am I right, Miss Su?”

“When news of your collaboration with Magic Cube gets out, do you care how people will gossip about Haoyin’s relationship with you behind her back? You don’t care about Haoyin’s reputation at all you only care about yourself!”

“Where’s the financial manager who absconded with the funds?” Zhou Qiwei remained unruffled, deliberately hitting Su Ye where it hurt.

“You you’re notorious! You’ll only drag Haoyin down in this industry, make her lose respect from her core audience!”

“Still no sign of that financial manager?” Zhou Qiwei pressed on, pushing Su Ye to the brink of losing her composure.

“Enough!” Song Haoyin finally snapped, unable to take it anymore.

“Haoyin…” Su Ye looked touched, thinking Song Haoyin had spoken up for her.

Seeing her foolish expression, Zhou Qiwei’s irritation peaked. Just as she was about to verbally pummel Su Ye again, Song Haoyin turned to her and said, “If you want to stay here, keep quiet. Otherwise, go help Ange with her studies!”

Su Ye’s expression darkened. “Do we really need her here while we talk?”

“Yes,” Song Haoyin stated flatly, crushing any illusions Su Ye might have. “I need a witness, in case anything happens and I need to clarify matters later.”

Zhou Qiwei burst out laughing, arms akimbo, looking particularly punchable. Song Haoyin watched her with an indulgent smile, while Su Ye’s face turned as colorful as a spilled paint palette.

This wasn’t right. Song Haoyin was being too familiar with this infamous Alpha. Even if, as the Zuo family claimed, they were lovers, based on Su Ye’s understanding of Song Haoyin, she wouldn’t act this way. She would politely keep her “benefactor” at arm’s length, not casually let her tutor her younger sister.

This kind of intimacy had once belonged solely to Su Ye, the privilege of entering Song Haoyin’s private world and sharing in her family life.

Song Haoyin wasn’t a child star, and her mother, Song Yu, had always been protective of her. But from a young age, she loved spending time on her mother’s film sets. Song Yu’s favoritism toward her eldest daughter was obvious to all she even arranged long leaves from school and hired tutors just so her daughter could fulfill her dream of “experiencing the entire filmmaking process from scratch.”

This gave Song Haoyin deep familiarity with film sets and production, but it also made it difficult for her to form friendships with peers. If adult relationships couldn’t withstand the test of time and distance, how much harder was it for children?

Su Ye’s mother was a professional music producer and one of Song Yu’s early collaborators, often bringing her child to the studio to play. The children from both families were around the same age and equally fond of spending time in their mothers’ workspaces, so they naturally became friends and maintained that friendship for years.

But did Song Haoyin genuinely like her and want to be her friend, or was it just because she had no other peers around and had no choice but to befriend her?

As she grew older, Su Ye pondered this question more than once. She didn’t want to lose Song Haoyin as a friend—she wanted to be her only closest confidante.

After her feelings for Song Haoyin changed, she became even more terrified that Haoyin might meet more people. When a sasaeng fan harassed Haoyin, Su Ye seized the opportunity to exaggerate the situation, eventually succeeding in becoming her personal driver, further intertwining their lives.

Yet now, Zhou Qiwei someone Haoyin had only known for a few months could evoke such intimate trust from her.

“That finance manager, I didn’t make him leave, and I didn’t help him leave either,” Su Ye said quietly. She had been foolish then, believing Zuo Wangxun’s words: Once the finance guy is gone, you can bring him back, and Haoyin will realize no one cares for her like you do.

“I know.” Song Haoyin suddenly looked exhausted as she gazed at her former best friend, now completely estranged. Her tone was calm, the kind that came after resignation. “You just stayed silent, vehemently denied that silence, and convinced yourself everything you did was right. Su Ye, after everything that’s happened, the only thing I don’t understand is,why? Just this one thing, I can’t figure out.”

“I” Su Ye almost blurted out I love you, but what was the point now? She could only remain silent, clinging to hope for the future. “I lost my head for a moment.”

Zhou Qiwei glanced between Song Haoyin and Su Ye, immediately deciphering Su Ye’s thoughts. She was all too familiar with this game. I really am a terrible person, Zhou Qiwei thought, but seeing Haoyin’s exhaustion, she decided to tear off the bandage. Loudly.

“She has feelings for you.”

Faced with Haoyin’s stunned expression, Zhou Qiwei added, “She likes you not as a friend. She won’t say it now because she still thinks she can trick you into believing she has some forgivable, unspeakable reason, she just hasn’t made one up yet. Or she’s waiting for time to pass so she can cry and confess her youthful ignorance, hoping it might still lead to something.”

Su Ye wanted to strangle Zhou Qiwei.

“No! That’s not” Su Ye shook her head frantically, trying to step closer to Haoyin, but Zhou Qiwei blocked her with an outstretched arm.

Just one step yet it felt like an insurmountable distance. Su Ye’s composure shattered completely. She screamed hysterically in the hospital corridor, “You’re an Alpha! Why are you picking on me, a Beta? Haoyin, is it just because she’s an Alpha that you treat her differently? Because of pheromones? Didn’t you say that true love is when people can overcome pheromones?”

What did any of this have to do with ABO dynamics?

Zhou Qiwei was puzzled, but Song Haoyin felt as if thunder had struck her ears, Su Ye actually liked her. The words she spoke were from many years ago, when they were both still young. Su Ye had asked Song Haoyin whether she preferred Alphas, Omegas, or Betas.

At the time, Song Haoyin had been busy preparing for her exams at Luocheng University while also preparing to act in Wild Cat, so she had casually replied, “If I ever meet someone I like, I’d want to test whether we can resist the influence of pheromones. If we can, then that’s true love.”

It was just the thoughtless chatter of a young girl, something Song Haoyin had nearly forgotten. But Su Ye had held onto those words all this time. So that was it now Song Haoyin understood why Su Ye had remained silent. No matter what, Betas didn’t have pheromones, so the question of influence didn’t even arise. But that wasn’t the point. If Song Haoyin had been pushed to the brink, with no other choice, and the only option before her was a Beta.

Is this what my friend is like? Song Haoyin chuckled darkly. If everyone was wallowing in the mud, no one would stand out as dirty. What a brilliant idea, what a great friend indeed.

“I never expected her to do something like that. The finance manager was still in the country at the time. If Su Ye hadn’t stayed silent, I could’ve found him.”

Song Haoyin had already downed three glasses of whiskey. When she reached for the fourth, Zhou Qiwei stopped her, taking the glass away. “No more drinking.”

Her expressive eyes welled up with tears, as if she might actually cry if the glass wasn’t returned. Anyone else might have given in, but Zhou Qiwei wasn’t just anyone. She firmly took the glass away and replaced it with a glass of sparkling water.

“Wuu” Song Haoyin was truly drunk now, whimpering like a spoiled child. “Can’t I even get drunk? You’re so mean.”

Zhou Qiwei sighed helplessly. “You’re already drunk.” Song Haoyin had spent the whole night just wanting someone to talk to a healthy way to relieve stress. Zhou Qiwei cut herself a piece of cheese and deliberately ignored Song Haoyin’s request for another drink.

Drunk Song Haoyin was in a talkative mood. Cradling her sparkling water like a squirrel with an acorn, she rambled to Zhou Qiwei, “I’m not drunk. You don’t know this, but I realized a long time ago that Su Ye didn’t like me making new friends. She’d get jealous. But, you know, sometimes friendships can be possessive too. They can involve jealousy, wanting to be the most special among all friends.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Zhou Qiwei shook her head. “I don’t have many friends, but none of them are possessive like that. What you’re describing sounds more like romance.”

“It’s friendship!” The drunk cat stubbornly insisted, her bleary eyes struggling to focus on Zhou Qiwei. “Friendship is like that! That’s just how I see it, anyway.”

Amused, Zhou Qiwei added a few more ice cubes to the drunk Miss Song’s glass and asked with a smile, “Is that really how you see friendship, or did Su Ye make you believe that’s how it is? There’s a fundamental difference.”

The last shreds of Song Haoyin’s wavering rationality kicked in. She crunched on the ice, the flush on her face fading slightly. “Are you saying she twisted my definition of friendship? Hah. Then today’s outcome is just her reaping what she sowed.”

“Self-inflicted, in any case. Not worth sympathizing with.”

“I’m curious, how did you immediately guess what she was thinking? I recall today was your first meeting.” Song Haoyin brought up her lingering question. Normally, when faced with excuses like “a momentary lapse of judgment,” few would react so swiftly to recognize the other party’s tactics.

“Is this the sharpness of a top-tier scholar, or the skill of a first rate businesswoman?” Song Haoyin teased, her gaze fixed on Zhou Qiwei. There was no scrutiny or assessment in her eyes, only a warm, affectionate smile.

Zhou Qiwei didn’t answer. Song Haoyin’s expression dimmed slightly, prompting Zhou Qiwei to sigh and relent, “Just a bit of life experience.”

The words sounded oddly world-weary coming from someone a few years her junior. Song Haoyin couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t try to fool me.”

Zhou Qiwei felt as though she’d been influenced by her. Words usually buried deep in her heart now rose to the tip of her tongue. “I’m not fooling you. I… I had conflicts with my family. I was very young then. They thought a child’s anger was fleeting, that they could just ignore me until I gave in.

“But I never surrendered. A long, long time later, they came to me in tears, saying it had just been a momentary lapse, that they’d overlooked my feelings. They wanted to make amends, to still be a family.”

Song Haoyin set down her cup, her expression turning serious. Zhou Qiwei was only 26 now how young must she have been when this happened? Hesitantly, she asked, “Were you… abused?”

“I don’t know.” Meeting Song Haoyin’s shocked, sorrowful gaze, Zhou Qiwei shook her head honestly. “I wouldn’t call it abuse, Just that we weren’t fated to be close.”

Song Haoyin’s eyes softened with heartache. She stepped forward and pulled Zhou Qiwei into a tight embrace. Nestled against her warm, soft chest, Zhou Qiwei felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.

Like a child returning to a caregiver’s arms safe, trusted, a place to rest.

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