The Fallen Film Queen’s Possessive Alpha - Chapter 59

Zhou Qiwei suddenly developed hormone dysregulation syndrome while in custody.

This news, amplified by various interest groups, sparked public outcry. Organizations like the Hormone Research Association and the Bar Association openly questioned the police: “Why did this happen?”, “Why was the surveillance footage from the incident missing?”, “Was there dereliction of duty or abuse of power by the police?”, and “Is this related to previous hormone abuse cases?”

[If even someone like Zhou Qiwei can face oppression from authority, how can ordinary people protect themselves?]

[Public power must be restrained we cannot tolerate its abuse!]

Amid this public sentiment, protests with placards emerged outside the parliament building. The number of participants gradually grew, escalating from peaceful demonstrations to setting fire to parliamentary symbols.

Under mounting pressure, on the fourth day after the incident, parliament announced it would form a committee of senior lawmakers and professionals to hold hearings regarding the hormone abuse case.

The hormone abuse and smuggling case initiated by the young master of the Zuo family had fermented for a year without resolution. Instead, the public became aware of how deep this murky water ran.

Song Haoyin, now caught in the eye of this high-profile case, couldn’t escape the media storm. However, together with Zhou Qiwei, they became the perfect victims in the court of public opinion:

[Poor Ms. Song just when she discovered her girlfriend wasn’t so bad and was starting a new life, this happens.]

[She’s holding onto a Ferris wheel of happiness. Don’t waste your sympathy on someone with a 3-billion fortune when you earn 3k a month.]

[Is that how humans talk? Even if you’re worth billions, does that mean people should wish you dead? Tsk tsk, must be tough being rich.]

[I know I shouldn’t say this… but that photo of her wiping tears under the hospital streetlight was breathtaking. I’m guilty.]

[Me first that photo of Song Haoyin appears to be makeup-free. Her face is truly remarkable, and the storytelling through the lens is no exaggeration.]

[The lone pre-dawn light, the beauty in green, the overwhelming sense of fragility. Song’s fans are blessed, but Zhou Qiwei is even more fortunate she’s eating well.]

[My doctor friend in hormone therapy says Dr. Zhou might not pull through this time.]

[But they’ve only been together for a year (even without the sugar daddy rumors). The way Ms. Song broke down in public she’s clearly head over heels.]

[Drop the sugar daddy talk already. If Zhou Qiwei were a sugar mommy, she’d be the charitable kind!]

[Your girl and Zhou Qiwei are the real deal. Zhou’s been in a coma for nearly two months, but when Jiuzhou Enterprises and Rubik’s held meetings last week, Song Haoyin attended as Zhou’s equity proxy. Adults know what that means.]

[Damn, for real? If that’s true, once Dr. Zhou recovers, are we looking at wedding bells?]

[Pretty much. What a shame they make such a perfect match. And with Liu Shiyu already awake, Zhou’s completely innocent in that mess, just collateral damage.]

[Yeah, who’d have thought this couple would end up as the only real victims in all this.]

[Wow, I genuinely didn’t expect this. At first, I thought the pheromone abuse was just about some Alpha playboys living decadent lives. Who knew there’d be such serious underlying circumstances? Can you believe it I was doing experiments in the lab when I turned around to find my advisor already in handcuffs!]

[That’s nothing. Our law school’s former dean came back to give a lecture. I was in the audience listening to him drone on about “the dignity of the law” when the investigation team just walked in and took him away. The official announcement came out just two days ago turns out he was using his professional expertise and industry status to cover up pheromone abuse, smuggling, and human trafficking.]

[This is being called the biggest case in twenty years. But let’s not digress anyone studying pheromones here who can tell us if there’s still hope for Zhou Qiwei’s condition?]

[You’d need to ask the leading authority on that.]

[Who’s that?]

[Who do you think? But seriously, no one knows if Dr. Zhou can still wake up, even though the Rubik’s Research Institute and the university research center have formed a treatment team.]

[So no good news yet… Damn, my sister Song really got the short end of the stick.]

Song Haoyin had returned to the film set to resume shooting. Most of the big action scenes were already done, leaving only the dialogue scenes and some pick-up shots.

Everyone who saw her treaded carefully, avoiding any mention of the word “Zhou” for fear of reopening her wounds. After all, based on what they’d gathered from the media and so-called expert discussions on social networks, the conclusion seemed inevitable:

Zhou Qiwei was beyond saving, just lingering in the hospital.

Song Haoyin responded to these well-meaning gestures with quiet indifference, appearing neither particularly heartbroken nor concerned. To others, this naturally sparked private speculation.

That day, they were filming Song Haoyin’s final scene, where her character, after exhausting all options and finally infiltrating the crime scene, discovers that hell on earth is no worse than this. Faced with the bodies of children and the glaring evidence of evil, the protagonist’s expression shifts between fury and despair. No one had imagined that the kidnapped and murdered children would be found right next to the slums.

The shadowy organization hadn’t even bothered to hide them, knowing full well no one cared about these children’s lives. And even if someone did care, they’d be powerless to change anything.

The look of despair quickly faded, replaced by the blazing fire of anger. Through Song Haoyin’s performance, everyone behind the camera could tell that a cathartic reckoning was about to unfold.

This sequence relied entirely on her eyes. As Qu Yuanzhi watched from behind the camera seeing Song Haoyin wrap the small body in her coat, witnessing the transformation in her gaze she suddenly felt a chill. As the director, Qu Yuanzhi knew Song Haoyin wasn’t just acting; she was channeling something deeper.

Song Haoyin’s approach to acting had never been strictly method or pure experience, but in this moment, Qu Yuanzhi was certain she was drawing from her own emotions. Behind the flames of anger, tears simmered.

Last month, before filming resumed, Qu Yuanzhi had made a special trip to the hospital to visit Zhou Qiwei.

Her old friend lay in the intensive care unit, surrounded by monitoring equipment that looked almost futuristic. Qu Yuanzhi had never imagined Zhou Qiwei would end up like this. In her memory, Zhou Qiwei should always remain that short-tempered yet fiercely loyal friend, how could this have happened?

This pang of sorrow transformed into a silent lament when she saw Song Haoyin. In Qu Yuanzhi’s eyes, Song Haoyin showed no signs of self-pity. She sat by the hospital bed, reading to Zhou Qiwei, gently wiping her lips, as if Zhou Qiwei were merely asleep.

Even without mentioning Jiuzhou, Zhou Qiwei’s wealth could easily afford an entire platoon of nurses. Yet Song Haoyin insisted on sleeping at the hospital every night.

Qu Yuanzhi had tried persuading her the room had surveillance, security guards outside she could rest assured.

But Song Haoyin simply said she felt at peace staying here.

While Qu Yuanzhi knew little about Zhou Qiwei’s complicated family matters, Song Haoyin understood them all too well. She truly couldn’t bear leaving Zhou Qiwei alone in the hospital with nurses. She even had nightmares about Zhou Qiwei being mistreated.

Or perhaps if Qiwei suddenly woke up one day, she should see someone familiar, not strangers.

Beyond this, Song Haoyin insisted on providing pheromones to Zhou Qiwei three times weekly to stabilize her fluctuating levels. The test results from Ange had long confirmed it: what was injected into Zhou Qiwei contained hallucinogens mixed with pheromones.

According to Ji Xubai’s information, those people had originally wanted to extract details about Zhou Zhao from Qiwei while implanting hypnotic suggestions to frame her for tampering with the hotel’s filtration system.

They never anticipated how little Qiwei actually knew about Zhou Zhao’s work she couldn’t provide answers. Even more unexpectedly, Qiwei suffered from pheromone dysregulation. While normal people would only experience mild side effects from the injection, it caused severe consequences for her.

Everyone involved the mastermind, the executors, the interrogators had all been arrested.

Madam Zhou and President Du had visited their youngest daughter. Compared to New Year’s, Madam Zhou visibly aged, the white at her temples now unmistakable. President Du Ning remained unchanged in appearance but wore a despondent expression, standing silently beside Zhou Qing as they gazed at their daughter in the hospital bed.

So far, the couple had visited only a handful of times, yet Song Haoyin felt no resentment. She suddenly realized what Zhou Qiwei needed and what the Zhou family could provide were fundamentally mismatched. Besides, after Zhou Qiwei fell into a coma, the Zhou family had exerted considerable effort regarding the hearings.

They were simply prioritizing striking against enemies took precedence over visiting their daughter; supporting Zhou Zhao’s rising political star mattered more than the comatose Qiwei who could only wait passively.

From the family’s perspective, it made perfect sense. But when the subject became Zhou Qiwei, Song Haoyin’s heart ached with bitterness.

“Sis?”

Her sister was spacing out again. Song Ange walked over helplessly, waving a hand before her eyes: “Earth to Haoyin. Why are you back so early today? Finished all your scenes?”

Ever since her senior fell into a deep coma, her sister had practically turned the hospital into a hotel. Song Ange’s attempts to persuade her were futile, so she simply let her sister have her way. Moreover, when the test results came out that day and she delivered them, she saw her sister sitting by the hospital bed in tears.

Truth be told, Ange was also afraid. According to the current test results, her senior should have regained consciousness, free from the mental confusion caused by hormonal imbalance. Yet she remained comatose, leaving the medical team at a loss. If anything were to happen to her senior, it wouldn’t just be a loss to the field of hormonal research what would her sister do?

“She’ll get better.” The words felt hollow, but Song Ange had nothing else to say. She could only stand silently by her sister’s side, watching the masseur work on Zhou Qiwei’s limbs.

The massages were to prevent muscle atrophy and bedsores. After several discussions with the doctors, Song Haoyin had opted for this primitive method of supplementary treatment, wary of potential adverse drug reactions. Haoyin gently curled her fingers around Zhou Qiwei’s hands that had once held her firmly now lay limp and boneless in her palm.

Ange was worried about her sister, but she still had to return to the lab to continue her experiments. Haoyin insisted that her sister focus on her own work, assuring her that she could handle things alone here.

After dinner, once rounds were over and the nursing staff had left, Haoyin locked the door to the ward and turned off the surveillance cameras.

Standing by the bed, she sighed, then leaned down and whispered into Zhou Qiwei’s ear, “Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up.”

Slowly, the figure on the bed opened her eyes. Though still somewhat unsteady, she managed a faint smile and mouthed the words: I’m awake.

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