The Fallen Film Queen’s Possessive Alpha - Chapter 7

Early in the morning, Zuo Yang had a heated argument with her father, Zuo Wangxun, who berated her for being ungrateful: “Without me, do you think you could have become the project leader? Dream on!”

Her biological father merely stood by, urging Zuo Yang to back down. “Don’t anger your dad. Listen to him would we ever harm you?”

Fuming, Zuo Yang slammed the door and left home. At work, she had to face stalled negotiations, and in the evening, she had to prepare herself for a banquet at the Kempinski Hotel. However, upon arriving at the event, she was stunned to see her half-sister her father’s legitimate daughter, Song Haoyin standing there.

“Vice President, Ms. Song Haoyin has arrived. She came with an invitation,” her assistant reported.

For a moment, Zuo Yang thought she had misheard. Then, her face darkened with fury. “How did Song Haoyin get here? Who gave her an invitation?!”

The short-haired assistant, assuming the vice president was worried about PR issues and potential media fallout, quickly clarified, “Ms. Song is here on an invitation from Magic Cube Industries’ CEO Zhou. But his invitation wasn’t issued by our side.”

“…”

Suppressing the urge to curse, Zuo Yang forced herself to focus on damage control. “Fine. Go and ask Ms. Song to leave. Tell her .tell her someone has requested her presence in the VIP lounge next door.”

“Me?” The assistant hesitated. “Vice President, I’m just an assistant. Do you really think Ms. Song will listen to me?”

“Figure it out!” Zuo Yang snapped, trembling with anger. She dismissed the assistant with a sharp tone there was no way she would face Song Haoyin herself.

Though baffled by Zuo Yang’s outburst, the assistant knew her job was to handle problems. So, with Zuo Yang’s impatient gaze burning into her back, she marched toward Song Haoyin, trying to project authority she didn’t have.

“Kempinski’s cocktails are still as terrible as ever,” Song Haoyin remarked cheerfully into her phone. “What? Oh, don’t worry. I’m actually looking forward to someone coming to pick a fight.”

On the other end of the line was veteran producer and director Xiang Zi, a woman who insisted on being called a director despite her mediocre track record. Her claim to fame was producing two films for director Song Yu Wild Cat and Half-Time Whistle one of which earned Song Haoyin a Best Actress award at a prestigious ceremony, while the other secured Song Yu her third Best Director trophy, cementing her place among cinema’s greatest directors.

Xiang Zi had deep ties with the Song mother-daughter duo. When Song Yu fell seriously ill, Xiang Zi was abroad serving as a jury member at a film festival. By the time she returned, she only made it to the funeral. Still, whenever Song Haoyin faced trouble, Xiang Zi did her best to help from overseas. This time, when her company received an invitation from the Top Benefit Group, she immediately contacted Song Haoyin.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

Xiang Zi’s voice, distorted by the phone line, sounded low and grim. “Haoyin, you need to be careful with Su Ye. Last month, I ran into her at the Warren Film Festival. There was a woman with her who looked a lot like you. When I asked for an introduction, Su Ye dodged the question. Later, I discreetly asked the festival staff, and they told me she was ‘Ms. Zuo.’ You know what that means, right? Su Ye isn’t the same loyal friend who always had your back.”

“Ms. Song?”

Song Haoyin turned around to find a young woman with short hair and a round face standing behind her, who said apologetically, “Sorry to disturb you, Miss Song. Mr. Zhou from Rubik’s Cube invites you to the VIP lounge.”

“Zhou Qiwei?” Xiang Zi’s startled voice came through the still-connected call. “How did you get involved with her? That woman is ”

“It’s nothing. We’ll talk later.”

Song Haoyin studied the woman before her, then suddenly smiled mysteriously. Leaning back leisurely in her chair, she fixed the young woman with a gaze so intense it sent chills down her spine. “Using Zhou Qiwei’s name to make me leave,who put you up to this? Given Ms. Zhou’s temper, I doubt your boss could protect you if she found out you were throwing her name around.”

“And even if whoever sent you could shield you, would they really risk offending Zhou Qiwei over an employee?”

To the public, Zhou Qiwei was both an extraordinarily successful young entrepreneur and a notorious Alpha with a terrible reputation in ABO relationships. The assistant had naturally heard all the urban legends especially when they came from Song Haoyin’s lips, especially today when Song Haoyin was holding Zhou Qiwei’s invitation. She stammered, not daring to say more, until Song Haoyin coldly declared:

“Tell whoever sent you that if they have something to say, they should say it to my face instead of playing these childish games!”

Most invited guests had already arrived, with just half an hour left before the banquet began. Zuo Yang hadn’t received good news from her assistant, but she did receive a visit from her father, Zuo Wangxun. In his youth, Zuo Wangxun had been renowned as one of Luo City’s most handsome men. Now older, he still maintained his refined and elegant demeanor.

Pity it was only skin-deep, Zuo Yang thought mockingly to herself. If she was uncomfortable, she wouldn’t let the instigator stay comfortable either.

“Dad, did you know my sister is here?” Zuo Yang asked with a forced smile, watching her father’s puzzled expression before adding pointedly, “You haven’t forgotten you have two daughters, have you?”

Zuo Wangxun’s face darkened, but before he could speak, Zuo Yang’s assistant returned with Song Haoyin’s message. Not wanting trouble, the assistant explained that Song Haoyin had immediately known Vice President Zuo had sent her and requested a face-to-face meeting.

“Why don’t you go see your daughter, Dad?” Zuo Yang swiftly shifted responsibility onto her father. Seeing his displeasure, she added with a smile, “If you don’t, how awkward will it be when you run into each other at the banquet? Besides, I heard Miss Song Haoyin is here with an invitation from Rubik’s Cube’s Ms. Zhou. Shouldn’t you be concerned about that?”

At the mention of Rubik’s Cube, Zuo Wangxun’s displeasure turned to anxiety. After asking the assistant where Song Haoyin was, he hurried off.

Zuo Yang scoffed. Of course, he would go.

After all, just last night, her uncle Zuo Wangshao had suggested she “get acquainted” with that Ms. Zhou, saying things like “young people should understand each other,” and “Rubik’s Cube’s Ms. Zhou is probably from a Zhou family branch it’s a good match.”

How laughable.

As Song Haoyin was being summoned to the smoking room by a visibly tense Zuo Wangxun, Zhou Qiwei was about to arrive at the Kempinski Hotel for a banquet she had originally planned to skip.

When Zhou Mu gave her the invitation, she had particularly praised the project manager Zuo Yang, saying this young woman from the Zuo family’s branch was quite impressive. Reading between the lines, Zhou Qiwei immediately understood her second sister’s intention another attempt at matchmaking. This wasn’t the first time.

So she sent Song Haoyin over, serving both as a prelude to her comeback and an opportunity to announce the collaboration between Rubik’s Cube and Song Haoyin, while also letting that left family member scare themselves. If Zhou Mu didn’t know Zuo Yang was an illegitimate daughter, she could use this to pressure her; if Zhou Mu did know, well, that would make things even more interesting.

However, man proposes but God disposes. After being marked by Song Haoyin, Zhou Qiwei used probe extraction to remove the marked pheromone tissue from herself for biological analysis.

On the afternoon of the banquet, Zhou Qiwei received the analysis results showing a 90% fusion rate between the two pheromones, with excellent neutralizing effects that alleviated the marked person’s pheromone disorder. This confirmed Zhou Qiwei’s suspicion her body not collapsing and her mental state improving after that night at Caesar Hotel was indeed directly related to Song Haoyin.

A 90% fusion rate. Considering that pheromone fusion increases proportionally with matching time, Song Haoyin could very well cure Zhou Qiwei’s pheromone disorder.

I might not have to die?

Zhou Qiwei kept rereading the analysis report until the paper crumpled in her hands, yet she still couldn’t bear to let go. Seven years had passed since she discovered her pheromone disorder during military service, and throughout those years, she never gave up hope. Now, she’d finally found Song Haoyin.

In her euphoria, Zhou Qiwei didn’t forget about confidentiality. Reluctantly, she carefully fed the analysis report into the shredder, watching as the machine turned this document known only to herself into powder. Just as she was about to open a bottle of wine to celebrate, she suddenly remembered the evening banquet. What if Song Haoyin encountered another situation like at Caesar Hotel?

The world was unpredictable. It wasn’t impossible that some fool might try something against Song Haoyin at the banquet, regardless of consequences Feeling uneasy, Zhou Qiwei decided she should go check on things.

Capins Hotel Smoking Room

The conversation between father and daughter wasn’t going well. The looks they exchanged across the chairs were filled with hatred, as if decades of paternal affection had completely vanished.

The once relatively gentle father called Song Haoyin into the smoking room and immediately adopted a domineering tone: “The Zuo family plans to arrange a marriage with her. Whatever relationship you have with her, end it now!”

Song Haoyin gritted her teeth and sneered, “What does the Zuo family’s marriage arrangement have to do with me? Am I surnamed Zuo?”

This seemed to hit Zuo Wangxun’s sore spot. He jumped up in anger, pointing at Song Haoyin’s nose: “Even if you don’t carry the Zuo name, you’re still my daughter! If you’re so capable, go find another man for your mother!”

The conversation finally descended into its worst possible direction. Song Haoyin’s eyes reddened with anger she hadn’t been prepared for this situation. It was as if she’d never truly known this man before her. When she’d first learned of her father’s infidelity, she’d tried comforting her mother, suggesting it might have just been a momentary lapse in judgment, urging her not to let it affect her health.

Only today did she realize her mother’s haggard appearance might have come from glimpsing the filthiest aspects of Zuo Wangxun’s character, or perhaps foreseeing the situation her daughter might face.

“Just because you’re trash doesn’t mean everyone else is like you.”

Song Haoyin nearly ground her teeth to dust, swallowing back the surge of bitterness as she spat each word at Zuo Wangxun: “But let me tell you this I’d rather be an illegitimate child than the daughter of someone like you! How dare you claim the right to marry my mother? How dare you call yourself Director Song Yu’s husband?! You’re nothing but a spineless coward who only gained respect by clinging to my mother’s coattails!”

“You!”

Zuo Wangxun’s face flushed crimson as he kicked aside his chair in a frenzy, raising his hand to strike Song Haoyin. She instinctively retreated half a step before squeezing her eyes shut and bracing for impact at worst, she’d endure a slap. After this blow, she’d consider their nearly thirty years of father-daughter affection as mere delusion, and she’d owe him nothing!

Crack!

Before the slap could land, someone shielded Song Haoyin. The scent of cognac filled her nostrils she knew exactly who had arrived.

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