The Fallen Film Queen’s Possessive Alpha - Chapter 17

“The press conference for The Fuse begins now.”

With the host’s opening remarks, the room full of journalists erupted like they’d been injected with adrenaline, shouting frantically, “Miss Song! Miss Song, are you aware that Zhou Qiwei of Rubik’s Industries has gone to the Fured Naturist Camp?”

The Fured Naturist Camp, its core concept was “liberating the true self,” in every sense of the word, along with every conceivable form of performance art. While many celebrities participated, to most people, such a place was nothing short of scandalous, depraved, and morally bankrupt an outright orgy where every participant was a shameless degenerate.

The day before the camp officially opened this year, Zhou Qiwei was photographed near the outskirts of Fured. Instantly, the media in Luo City went into a frenzy, adding another notorious entry to the record of Zhou Qiwei, the infamous Alpha scumbag. Some outlets even openly criticized her, questioning whether the CEO of Rubik’s had lost her mind from too much debauchery, leading to her reckless statements that had caused stock market turbulence.

Rubik’s Industries remained silent.

As for why the question was directed at Song Haoyin, when The Fuse announced its participating companies, Rubik’s Industries was prominently listed. Journalists, digging into recent rampant rumors, also discovered that Zhou Qiwei had become a shareholder in Song Haoyin’s studio.

No one had ever heard of any connection between Song Haoyin or the late director Song Yu and Zhou Qiwei. Combined with Song Haoyin’s sudden reconciliation with Top Profit Group, seasoned entertainment reporters could only speculate: Had the urban legend come true? Had Zhou Qiwei become Song Haoyin’s lover?

Or was it that the award-winning actress had become the plaything of Rubik’s master?

“Today is the press conference for The Fuse. The questions from our media friends should focus on the film itself, not unrelated matters. Thank you.” Sitting at the center of the panel, Song Haoyin deflected with practiced diplomacy, her composed demeanor making it seem as though she were addressing something of grave importance.

Truthfully, Song Haoyin was just as baffled. Before the conference, Du Xin had come to her with only one warning: Zhou Qiwei had gone abroad to Fured, and reporters might bring it up.

“Qiwei doesn’t want to drag you into this,” Du Xin had said apologetically, advising, “Just say you don’t know. It doesn’t matter if they don’t believe you.”

Of course, Song Haoyin knew what the naturist camp was. She inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, suppressing the simmering anger in her chest. What on earth was Zhou Qiwei thinking?

After several controlled breaths, she still couldn’t hold back and bluntly asked Du Xin, “Is she going there to ”

“No.”

Du Xin cut her off firmly, removing her glasses to rub her temples wearily. “I don’t know why she went there either, but what you’re worried about won’t happen.” For someone with pheromone dysregulation syndrome, entering a place saturated with high concentrations of pheromones was like running a marathon along the edge of hell.

Absolute suicide.

Song Haoyin didn’t press further not because she trusted Du Xin, but because she shouldn’t care. This wasn’t her concern. Her full attention should be on the upcoming press conference. She only remarked coolly, “Being an older sister to this extent must be exhausting. You really have your hands full.”

“You’ve misunderstood.” Du Xin looked slightly embarrassed, fiddling with the temple tip of her glasses as she explained to Song Haoyin: “Although Qiwei and I are related, in terms of seniority, I’m actually her aunt.”

One week after the press conference came the premiere of “Fuse.” Song Haoyin spent the entire week preparing for the premiere event. She discussed promotional strategies with Xu Su, how to manage negative reviews, and invited film critics to attend and provide commentary.

Though the production company wasn’t just her studio, since the film had nearly been shelved due to Song Haoyin’s involvement, she now had to take responsibility and make appropriate gestures.

The greatest benefit of such intensive work was that it helped her forget everything unrelated to work. The invitations had already been sent Du Xin said she would attend. Xiang Zi would also return, and even Yan Zhuo, another shareholder of the studio, would come back to Luocheng to support Song Haoyin.

As for Zhou Qiwei, whatever! She could come or not!

While Song Haoyin was preoccupied with her work, she remained completely unaware of the upheavals in Luocheng’s and indeed the global bio-pheromone industry over the past week.

After extensive consultations, relevant biotech companies had to admit that Zhou Qiwei’s claims held merit: there had indeed been no breakthroughs in the development of personal pheromone sensors regarding detection and capture. Media outlets that had previously mocked Zhou Qiwei for “losing her mind” now reversed their stance, declaring that she was “after all, still an authority in the bio-pheromone field, and her professional opinion should be heeded.”

The pheromone research industry’s upstream and downstream sectors stabilized after brief turbulence. Rumor had it that many had taken advantage of the market fluctuations to buy stocks at rock-bottom prices financial news far removed from the general public’s concerns.

Cube Industries, meanwhile, maintained its silence.

Friday, 7 PM the premiere of “Fuse” began.

The film told a simple story: A burglar breaks into a villa and discovers tens of millions in cash and gold hidden inside. The seasoned thief realizes he’s stumbled into something dangerous and tries to flee, only to be caught and killed by the villa’s owner. A young man the thief had taken in and raised then chooses to cooperate with the police as an undercover agent to seek revenge.

The thief’s death serves as the fuse that ignites the city’s long-simmering fury toward its criminal underworld, culminating in the young man’s successful vengeance.

“What do you think?” whispered a girl in a white-and-green baseball jacket and black cap from the theater’s back row to her companion. The woman beside her was even more incognito, wearing a hoodie, the hood pulled up, and black-framed glasses looking no different from an ordinary college student.

“A standard commercial film performances held up, pacing was decent,” the bespectacled woman adjusted her glasses and chuckled softly. “Barring surprises, it should at least break even at the box office.”

The girl in the baseball cap was none other than Song Ange, while the speaker in black-framed glasses was Zhou Qiwei herself.

Song Ange eyed Zhou Qiwei skeptically her senior didn’t seem the type to understand box office projections. Faced with Ange’s doubtful gaze, Zhou Qiwei laughed awkwardly and pulled out her phone under the seat, displaying social media reviews of the film, she was merely an unfeeling repeater of others’ opinions.

Just as expected, Song Ange leaned back in her seat with a sigh. As they spoke, the movie ended, and the audience in front stood up to applaud. The two of them quietly slipped out of the screening hall.

Song Haoyin had initially forbidden her younger sister from coming, believing Ange needed quiet rest, and the noisy theater was clearly unsuitable for a patient. But Song Ange felt she was already eighty percent recovered healthy enough to attend the premiere of a film her sister had worked on. She didn’t want to miss such an important moment in her sister’s life.

With her sister unwilling to bend the rules, Ange had no choice but to stay in the hospital, sulking as she read research papers. As the golden sun dipped westward, casting a blood-red glow, Ange was convinced she’d miss the movie. Then, out of nowhere, her dear senior appeared like a savior, bringing her clothes and asking if she wanted to attend her sister’s premiere.

What a godsend her senior was!

After the movie, Ange checked the reviews and audience reactions on social media everything looked positive. She wanted to congratulate her sister, but as soon as she mentioned it, Zhou Qiwei excused herself, saying she had other matters to attend to.

Was she trying to make a quick escape?

The recent tabloid rumors had been wild. Though Ange didn’t believe Zhou Qiwei had attended some debauched gathering at Fuleide, her reasoning was simple: even if some in academia partied hard, someone like Qiwei wouldn’t suddenly start now.

Still, as much as she adored her senior, her sister came first. Ange figured if there was any tension between the two, meddling might only make things worse.

“Alright then, I’ll go by myself. See you later, Senior.”

As the credits rolled and the applause filled the theater, Song Haoyin finally relaxed everything had gone smoothly.

Xiang Zi and Yan Zhuo, who had been abroad for a while and didn’t want to steal the spotlight, stood behind Haoyin, letting her take center stage for interviews. Surprisingly, the reporters today were unusually restrained. Haoyin had braced herself for invasive questions about her private life, Top Group, or that person but none came.

She glanced at Xu Su and noticed the executive staring at her phone, beaming.

What was she so excited about?

The post screening Q&A session lasted an hour and a half. By the time Haoyin returned to the cinema’s meeting room, her legs were jelly. But she didn’t forget to ask Xu Su about the news that had her so thrilled.

Xu Su pulled out her phone with a sly grin. “Look!”

It was a video clip, reporters had stopped two people outside the theater. Haoyin’s eyes widened. She recognized both: one was Du Xin, and the other was her former university president, Du Ning.

“President Du?” Haoyin asked in surprise. They hadn’t invited him had Du Xin brought him along?

Xu Su just smiled mysteriously and gestured for her to keep watching.

“President Du, were you invited to attend the premiere?”

Amidst a flurry of camera flashes, Du Xin maintained her perfect smile while President Du Ning amiably answered reporters’ questions: “Director Song’s film The Midfield Whistle once invited the Historical Research Institute of First University as consultants, when I happened to be the director. Moreover, Miss Song Haoyin is a student of Luocheng First University, I even taught her general education courses.”

“There’s nothing strange about coming to see a student’s work today, don’t you think?”

What could the entertainment reporters say? They could only nod in agreement “President Du, you’re absolutely right” and watch as the Du pair departed.

“Why would someone like her come to our movie?” Xu Su asked excitedly. “Did Vice President Du bring her here to help you?”

“Du Xin mentioned bringing someone, but I never imagined it would be her.” Song Haoyin appeared genuinely surprised, leading Xu Su to assume Du Xin had indeed helped. She didn’t probe further, only saying they should thank Du Xin later after all, President Du Ning was no ordinary figure.

This President Du had served as the head of Luocheng First University while concurrently directing its School of History, held a term as a congressional representative, and been a two-time government special advisor her resume was intimidatingly impressive. Equally adept at high-level diplomacy and humble teaching, Xu Su greatly admired such a person.

Normally, one could only catch glimpses of this woman in serious news segments. Who knew Vice President Du had such pull? Xu Su mused that she must find an opportunity to shake President Du’s hand someday.

“Sis!”

Song Ange had nearly fallen asleep waiting when her exhausted sister finally appeared. Only at times like these did her sister shed her “movie star” persona and become flesh and blood again.

“You came after all. You should’ve gone home to rest after watching the film.” When her sister didn’t scold her, Ange nestled closer affectionately. “My senior brought me, but she had to leave early, so I waited for you here. Sis, it’s been over a week since we last saw each other.”

Song Haoyin was especially indulgent with her younger sister, now smiling as she ruffled the girl’s short hair. “We just spoke on the phone recently, you Wait, you said Zhou Qiwei brought you? Did she say anything?”

“She brought gifts for both of us. They’re at the hospital now. That’s all.” Song Haoyin’s expression darkened slightly, but she said nothing more about it to her sister. How impressive of CEO Zhou, if she’s so capable, she might as well skip the celebration party too. This thought lingered until midnight when she suddenly bolted upright in bed, what if Zhou Qiwei actually didn’t show up?

Southwest Luocheng, Zhou Family Estate

Du Ning had just returned home to find all three daughters absent one busy with work, another with romance, and the third simply never home. Only her wife Zhou Qing remained, wrapping up a video conference in the study. It wasn’t until Du Ning was in bed that Zhou Qing finally ended the meeting, slipping under the covers in her robe and curling against her. “What kind of person is this Miss Song?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Du Ning turned to embrace her wife, sighing with a smile. “Whatever she’s like makes no difference now. You know what? Qiwei attended the premiere, with that Song girl’s younger sister.”

Zhou Qing looked stunned. To her knowledge, Qiwei had returned to the country at dawn, gone straight to the office from the airport, then visited St. Karl Hospital in the afternoon all just to escort the sister to the premiere.

So that’s how it was. Indeed, what kind of person Song Haoyin might be no longer mattered at all.

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