The Fallen Film Queen’s Possessive Alpha - Chapter 9

“You shouldn’t have hit him.”

These words made Zhou Qiwei’s expression darken instantly. She pushed her tableware aside, clasped her hands on the table, and smiled mockingly. “So now you remember he’s your dear, beloved old father?”

The frown on the beauty’s face carried a unique charm, but her anger was directly proportional to that charm. Song Haoyin felt she had already been quite tolerant of Zhou Qiwei but wasn’t about to endure sarcasm. She immediately retorted, “And have you forgotten you’re my generous patron?” The moment she finished speaking, Zhou Qiwei flinched as if struck by a whip, her shoulders hunching reflexively.

“Don’t talk like that!”

Though her tone remained defiant, she was clearly stung by the remark. Song Haoyin despised herself for lowering her standards yet again but was satisfied with the effect. She softened her approach, speaking gently but firmly, “I’m just worried about you. If Zuo Wangxun decides to go all out and drags you to the police station for a day trip, do you think that would be fun?”

“No one will care why you hit him they’ll just say you assaulted a Beta over fifty. That’s a scandal.”

As Song Haoyin explained, Zhou Qiwei’s displeasure quickly faded. However, the CEO wasn’t particularly concerned about her worries. “At worst, I’ll deal with the lawsuit. One more or one less legal battle doesn’t make a difference.”

“You’re really taking this lightly,” Song Haoyin took a deep breath. Her moral compass couldn’t accept such indifference. “In any case, I don’t want you to end up in a scandal because of me.”

“So you’re saying I should just stand by and watch you get hit?”

Zhou Qiwei finally seized the flaw in her argument, straightening up proudly. “I’m still an Alpha, after all. If I stood there doing nothing while you were hit, wouldn’t that be the real scandal? Hey, don’t argue if I hadn’t been there, would you have just waited quietly for him to slap you?”

“I was just too angry to think straight!”

Looking back now, Song Haoyin realized she had lost her temper, but mentioning Zuo Wangxun still dampened her mood. “I thought his affair was the worst of it, but who knew ” It was far worse.

Zhou Qiwei studied Song Haoyin as if observing some rare creature. “Tell me, you’re not one of those fundamentalist ‘blood is thicker than water’ types, are you?”

“What?”

“You know the kind who believes: ‘No matter how much my family abuses me, I’ll love them like my first love’?”

Seeing Song Haoyin shake her head in denial, Zhou Qiwei sighed in relief. Good at least they wouldn’t have a fundamental conflict on this issue. Curious, she asked, “Old Zuo I mean, your former father was he good to you? You’re angry because you had expectations of him, right?”

Had Old Zuo been good to her?

The past Song Haoyin had never considered this question, nor had anyone ever asked her. Later, when her mother fell seriously ill and passed away, her sister was hospitalized with injuries, and she found herself under attack from all sides, everything had happened too quickly for her to reflect. Besides, after Su Ye concealed the financial manager’s crimes, Song Haoyin had no one left to confide in about these private family matters.

“He was… just a normal father, I guess. Before he admitted it himself, I never imagined he would cheat.”

As Song Haoyin spoke of this, a dazed expression crossed her face. Zhou Qiwei watched her silently before moving to sit beside her. Song Haoyin gave her a faint smile. The pheromones floating in the air carried a soothing scent she knew Zhou Qiwei was encouraging her to open up.

“You probably know that my mother and him were a Beta pairing. Mom devoted herself to directing, while Dad took care of all household matters. Where Ange and I would study he’d discuss it with Mom, then take us for interviews, enrollments, and parent-teacher meetings. During holidays, he’d take us on vacations. As we grew older, he tried his best to accommodate Mom to ensure our family spent time together.”

“When Mom’s films premiered, he always brought us along. At celebratory banquets, he’d stay by her side until the very end. Everyone must have thought they were at least a loving couple, if not a match made in heaven. Who could have imagined things would turn out like this?”

The once harmonious atmosphere had shattered abruptly, leaving a broken home no wonder Song Haoyin was struggling.

Zhou Qiwei understood her feelings. If one had never experienced familial love, there’d be nothing to miss. But Song Haoyin had grown up in what appeared to be a perfectly “normal” environment. Now, facing a father who was utterly unrecognizable, she couldn’t help but constantly wonder, “Where did it all go wrong?”

Some people might even endlessly blame themselves, thinking, “Is it my fault that things turned out this way?” Otherwise, how could a once-harmonious family become fractured after their arrival?

Both women fell into silence. Zhou Qiwei curled up on the chair, hugging her knees. AOs during their sensitive periods were prone to emotional volatility, especially Alphas. She bit her wrist, trying to calm herself, but couldn’t stop her gland’s escalating pulse. Her pheromones erupted again, that damned alcoholic scent trapping her once more.

She shouldn’t try to save herself. Drowning in intoxication would be better than trapping herself and others like this.

“Zhou!”

Ignoring the pheromones, Song Haoyin tried to make Zhou Qiwei release her grip. The sleeve was already soaked with blood. Hearing Song Haoyin’s voice, Zhou Qiwei suddenly grinned at her bloodstained lips, ghastly white teeth. The sight startled Song Haoyin into frozen stillness.

Zhou Qiwei collapsed onto the floor. Only then did Song Haoyin snap out of it, lifting her up and attempting a shallow mark to stabilize her.

As if timed for maximum inconvenience, Zhou Qiwei’s phone rang insistently, the caller ID tone distinct: “Priority Call! Priority Call!”

Zhou Qiwei shook her head, signaling to ignore it. She bared her unguarded gland, the intoxicating aroma of alcohol luring Song Haoyin to inject her own pheromones into Zhou Qiwei’s body.

Watching Zhou Qiwei submit to the marking under her hands, observing the faint blush spreading across pale skin, listening to suppressed gasps in this moment, tearful and vulnerable, Zhou Qiwei seemed more like an Omega. Compelled by some unseen force, Song Haoyin kissed Zhou Qiwei’s slender neck, leaving a mark for the first time somewhere other than the gland. Zhou Qiwei trembled under her lips.

With rare mischief, Song Haoyin whispered in Zhou Qiwei’s ear, “What are you afraid of?” Her lips trailed from the neck to the bite mark on the collarbone. Song Haoyin reveled in the Alpha’s futile attempts to evade, her struggles rendered powerless. Her mind was saturated with pheromones, focused solely on making the woman before her pliant and obedient.

The roles had reversed. Song Haoyin now held complete control she could dictate Zhou Qiwei’s emotions, make her ride the waves of desire.

The phone rang again. The “Priority Call” tone cut through the living room, reaching both their ears.

What a mood killer. Song Haoyin released Zhou Qiwei, half-carrying her back to the bedroom to fetch the phone. Zhou Qiwei instinctively warned, “Don’t answer my calls.”

These words snapped Song Haoyin out of the earlier intimate atmosphere. Oh, this person is my patron, a business partner with complicated relations she’s not someone special to me.

Seeing Song Haoyin’s OK gesture, Zhou Qiwei had a gut feeling she’d said something wrong. Before she could react, the phone was handed to her. The screen flashed, the ringtone like a death knell, and Zhou Qiwei answered.

Song Haoyin tactfully left the bedroom, needing to sort through her own emotions. She’d thought she could remain indifferent during intimate moments, always cool and composed. How naive she’d overestimated herself. Gradually, Song Haoyin realized that each intimate encounter, each mingling of their pheromones, had thoroughly shortened the emotional distance between her and Zhou Qiwei.

She’d even brought her home. She was planning to spend Zhou’s rut together. What was she going to do?

Should she find ways to create distance? Or ? Song Haoyin fell into thought, though she knew such questions rarely had clear answers.

In the bedroom, the incessant chatter on the phone reignited Zhou Qiwei’s earlier irritation. Unable to bear it any longer, she shouted, “I’m in rut! I’m having sex!”

The voice on the other end cut off abruptly. Not bothering to hear the response, Zhou Qiwei flung the phone onto the floor.

“What did she say?”

“She said she’s having sex.”

Zhou Zhao and Zhou Mu, the Zhou sisters, silently stared at their teacups as if the rising steam might sprout flowers. After several minutes of silence, Zhou Zhao finally asked, “What exactly did Zuo Wangshao tell you?”

“He said that whether Qiwei was dissatisfied with Zuo Yang or had issues with Zuo Wangxun, her behavior at the banquet was excessive. Their Zuo family children don’t need to seek support in social circles or cling to anyone for advancement.” Zhou Mu recounted, glancing at her elder sister. “That was the gist framed so humbly it makes us seem unreasonable if we don’t respond.”

“Implying something,” Zhou Zhao scoffed softly. “He’s clearly hinting that Qiwei acted out for that Miss Song’s sake, disregarding the Zuo family’s precious daughter.”

Zhou Zhao dismissed such scheming with contempt. As the privileged eldest Zhou daughter, doted on by their mothers and authoritative among her peers, the only person who’d ever truly vexed her was Zhou Qiwei. Zhou Mu had expected her sister to criticize their youngest sibling’s private life, already thinking of ways to mediate, but the eldest sister seemed entirely unfazed.

“Why look at me like that?” Zhou Zhao elegantly cradled her teacup, her smile tinged with bitterness. “Her private life isn’t mine to comment on. Listen to me, Mu regarding Miss Song, let it rest. However Qiwei handles it is her business. The more you ask or mention it, the less she’ll appreciate it.”

The eldest Zhou sister’s bitter expression vanished as she added, “Also, from what you’ve said about your last meeting with Qiwei, I suspect she disapproves of our collaboration with Dingyi Group. She likely has her own plans you should tread carefully.”

“I know Mom originally intended for Qiwei to acquire the television station, having Magic Cube Industries enter the media sector to divert public attention from Jiuzhou. But that doesn’t conflict with Jiuzhou acquiring Top Advantage’s distribution business.”

Zhou Mu waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, sis. Even if Qiwei has other ideas, she doesn’t have sufficient funds. We’re just waiting for Top Advantage to lower their asking price nothing will go wrong.”

“Let’s hope so.”

With each breath, Zhou Qiwei’s body grew increasingly feverish. Her muscles seemed to dissolve, her bones to melt was she being roasted on a spit? Was she burning to death?

What a useless Alpha.

Even though Alphas during their rut typically experience heightened emotional instability and stronger reactions, they can usually stabilize their pheromones through willpower, suppressants, or marking. But Zhou Qiwei’s rut was problematic all conventional measures only provided temporary relief, and the duration of that relief was utterly unpredictable.

Such an Alpha was defective. “I’m defective,” Zhou Qiwei mumbled deliriously. “Defective goods belong in the trash.”

Song Haoyin’s lovely face flushed with heat, beads of sweat forming on her smooth forehead. She had repeatedly injected Zhou Qiwei with pheromones and even attempted to let her absorb her own, all to no avail. From the moment she entered the bedroom and found Zhou Qiwei burning up like a feverish patient, to now when she had completely lost consciousness.

Clutching her phone and eyeing the medicinal tonic beside her, Song Haoyin decided to administer traditional rut medication. If there was no improvement in five minutes, she would call an ambulance. Confidentiality? Gossip? None of that mattered now Zhou Qiwei’s life took priority.

The sweetness of elderberry carried a hint of bitterness as it flowed into Zhou Qiwei’s glands, permeating her pheromones. Like cool, slightly bitter water, it enveloped her entire being. This liquid was refreshing every cell in Zhou Qiwei’s body calmed, her muscles and bones rescued from the flames. The torture by fire had ended.

As the faintly bitter liquid slid down her throat, Zhou Qiwei’s consciousness gradually cleared. Licking her lips, she realized she was actually drinking water.

Song Haoyin was feeding her the tonic.

“It tastes like you,” Zhou Qiwei murmured, taking the opportunity to nestle in the arms of the beautiful Song, enjoying a privilege she had never dared dream of.

Seeing her regain awareness, Song Haoyin finally relaxed. After feeding her another sip, she explained softly, “It’s elderberry tonic nowadays it’s used as a health supplement. Don’t move,” she scolded, swatting away Zhou Qiwei’s hand that was pushing off the blankets. “You’re drenched in sweat. Stay still don’t catch a chill.”

“Thank goodness you’re alright. I was about to call an ambulance.” Sitting by the bed, Song Haoyin observed that the other’s pheromones had normalized she must truly be out of danger.

This pheromone imbalance had come and gone swiftly. Feeling fully recovered, Zhou Qiwei leaned against the headboard, stealing glances at Song Haoyin with an inexplicable intuition their pheromone compatibility had likely increased again. She’d dragged someone into her rut, been taken home by them, and caused them trouble. Though Zhou Qiwei generally considered her moral compass sufficiently flexible, she never forgot those who helped her.

“Thank goodness you didn’t call an ambulance, otherwise tomorrow’s headlines would be things like ‘The Untold Stories Between Actress Song and Scumbag Alpha Zhou’ splashed across every newspaper.”

Song Haoyin smiled, though her expression carried apology as she handed Zhou Qiwei’s phone back: “Du Xin called earlier. It wasn’t appropriate for me to answer, so she ended up calling me instead. I’m sorry for dragging you into this – our photos attending the banquet together have been leaked.”

Photos of Song Haoyin arriving at the hotel, Zhou Qiwei arriving at the hotel, and the two leaving the Kempinski together in a car were all published in high definition across major entertainment media outlets, self-media accounts, and entertainment bloggers’ headlines – complete with undeniable visual evidence.

One particularly sensational media report carried the provocative headline: “Why Is the Award-Winning Actress Roaming the Night with a Wolf? Seen Entering and Exiting Hotel with Most Notorious Scumbag Alpha!”

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