After Becoming an Alpha, I Marked My Nemesis - Chapter 25

When Zhou Qian saw Song Luoxue’s reply, she was so startled she nearly dropped her phone. She reached out to catch it, but for the first time, she missed, and the phone spun in the air. Just a split second before it hit the ground, she managed to grab it firmly.

Zhou Qian let out a sigh of relief and quickly typed: No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about me.

Song Luoxue immediately replied: You were clearly thinking about me just now, yet you’re saying this? Are you deliberately trying to make me worry?

Zhou Qian sent a sweating emoji, then typed: Luo Xue, I haven’t seen you lately. What have you been so busy with?

The woman reclining in the massage chair smiled with satisfaction as she read Zhou Qian’s message. See? You were thinking about me after all.

Zhou Qian: ……

Since Song Luoxue was convinced, Zhou Qian had no choice but to reply: Okay… I admit, I was thinking about you.

After a moment, Song Luoxue replied: If you miss me, just say so directly. No need to beat around the bush, okay?

Zhou Qian responded with a docile nodding emoji: Okay.

Song Luoxue chuckled at her reply: I’ve been busy launching my new brand lately. You’re always filming, so you probably don’t understand this kind of thing, right? Be good and wait for me. I’ll come back to be with you as soon as I’m done with this.

Zhou Qian frowned slightly at Song Luoxue’s message. Wasn’t Song Luoxue’s forte acting? Why was she suddenly busy launching a new brand? Had she always been this business-savvy?

After chatting with Song Luoxue for a while, Zhou Qian felt much better. Tomorrow was the premiere of Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree, and she needed to attend the premiere ceremony. Although it was just a TV drama, her comeback hinged on its success.

The next day, Zhou Qian wore a moon-white gauze dress, her jewelry understated yet unable to conceal her noble bearing. The drama essentially portrayed the tumultuous and extraordinary life of Feng Nanzhi. From the outset, the production team had no intention of adhering strictly to the original novel, so the male lead’s name remained Zheng Wenyuan in the script.

If Song Luoxue hadn’t had the scriptwriters revise the script overnight, the drama might have turned out completely different. After all, this project was Song Luoxue’s passion, as she had invested a considerable sum of money into it.

Ning Xiao entered the room and paused upon hearing Zhou Qian’s voice reflected in the mirror. She had always believed Zhou Qian’s most suitable image was that of a mature, sophisticated woman, but this white dress unexpectedly evoked the White Moonlight aura of Song Luoxue in her younger days. Could prolonged romantic relationships lead to shared tastes?

Zhou Qian glanced back at the sound of the door opening. Ning Xiao quickly regained her composure. “Qianqian, the premiere ceremony stage is set up. You can go on stage soon.”

Zhou Qian nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

As Zhou Qian’s manager and personal assistant, Ning Xiao was responsible for handling all aspects of Zhou Qian’s work and personal life. Although the stage setup was complete and Zhou Qian’s makeup and styling were finished, Ning Xiao still had some post-event tasks to handle. Just as she was about to rush off, Zhou Qian called out, “Wait!”

Ning Xiao quickly turned back. “Is there anything else?”

Zhou Qian frowned slightly, then stood up to face Ning Xiao directly. “From now on, don’t call me ‘Qianqian’ alone. Add a suffix. Call me…” She paused, her eyes darting around as if searching for the right word. “Call me ‘Sister Qianqian’!”

Zhou Qian had never cared about such formalities before. Besides, Ning Xiao had been calling her “Qianqian” ever since she became her manager. Why this sudden change of heart?

Ning Xiao stared blankly for a moment, her eyes widening in confusion. “Uh… I guess I can call you that, but…”

Before she could finish, Zhou Qian beamed and patted her shoulder. “Great! That’s what you’ll call me from now on. Oh, it’s time for me to go on stage.”

With that, Zhou Qian hurried out of the dressing room ahead of Ning Xiao.

“Hey! When someone’s talking to you, at least listen to the whole thing, okay?” Ning Xiao thought calling Zhou Qian “Sister Qianqian” was fine, but Zhou Qian was several years older!

Zhou Qian didn’t know why she’d acted that way. The moment Ning Xiao called her “Qianqian,” she remembered Song Luoxue asking if everyone could use that nickname.

Zhou Qian could sense how much Song Luoxue cared about the nickname. So she decided to start with Ning Xiao, then get her other friends to call her something else. No, not just any nickname—she didn’t have any truly close friends in this world, so it was better if everyone used her full name.

As Zhou Qian walked down the corridor leading to the premiere stage, she saw it was lined with flowers. She turned two corners, and each corridor was filled with similar floral arrangements, each bearing different congratulatory messages. Leaning closer, Zhou Qian realized—these were from Pianpian again, and there were even more than usual today, probably because it was the premiere.

This fan, Pianpian, had sent her so many flowers and gifts, yet she’d never even met her. It was such a pity. After all, a fan who had supported her this long was truly rare.

As Zhou Qian stepped onto the stage, she saw that all the other main actors were already in place, including Zheng Wenyuan, the nominal male lead. The stage positions were arranged according to the importance of their characters in the drama, with Zhou Qian firmly occupying the center spot. Zheng Wenyuan stood separated from her by another actress, which made her feel quite comfortable. After all, she genuinely wanted to avoid excessive contact with him.

Once all the main actors were in position, the host began warming up the audience: “Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the premiere of our TV drama Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree, adapted from the novel of the same name. Let’s start by having Miss Zhou Qian introduce herself and her role.”

Zhou Qian was feeling rather tense. This was, after all, the premiere where she hoped to turn her career around. To ease her nerves, she had been imagining the sea of faces in the audience as a field of cabbages and radishes. When the host called her name, she didn’t even react at first.

Her lack of response left the host in an awkward silence. He raised his voice slightly and repeated, “Miss Zhou Qian, please introduce your character in the TV drama Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree!”

Zhou Qian only snapped out of her daze when she heard her name called. She quickly masked her embarrassment and took the microphone. “Um… Hello everyone, I’m Zhou Qian, and I play Feng Nanzhi in Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree.”

After delivering her line, Zhou Qian let out a sigh of relief. The other cast members followed suit, introducing their respective characters. Once the introductions were complete, the host turned to Zhou Qian again. “Miss Zhou Qian, could you tell us a bit about the character you portray in the TV drama?”

Though she had memorized her lines beforehand, the overwhelming pressure of the event had completely wiped them from her mind. Beads of cold sweat trickled down Zhou Qian’s forehead. Her only way to avoid further embarrassment was to take the microphone and improvise.

Smiling warmly at the audience, Zhou Qian said, “I believe Feng Nanzhi is a character who embodies both strength and tenderness. She tries to use her strong side, which is also her weakness. Having read some novels myself, I feel there’s a fundamental similarity between her essence and my own.”

Zhou Qian continued to describe Feng Nanzhi’s traits at length. Her fluency stemmed not from rote memorization, but from genuine insight into the character’s core.

It was clear that teaching her the official response had been too difficult. When Zhou Qian was in business, she had always preferred straightforward people. If she encountered someone who beat around the bush, she would assume the deal would be difficult to close and might even abandon it altogether.

No matter how you looked at it, sincerity was always the ultimate weapon!

The rest of the ceremony followed a standard format: introducing each character’s traits, playing games, and a Q&A session.

The Q&A segment was simple. Each guest received three soft-tipped darts, which they would throw blindfolded into the audience. The audience members who caught the darts would then ask the guests questions. This segment livened up the atmosphere considerably.

Since the order of dart throws wasn’t based on who held the center position, Zhou Qian was assigned to go fifth. Having spoken so much earlier, her head felt a bit overheated. When it was her turn to throw the darts, she remained rooted to the spot, lost in thought.

The host called her name twice, just as he had earlier.

Zhou Qian snapped out of her daze, quickly blindfolded herself, and randomly tossed the three darts in completely different directions.

She figured any audience questions would likely be about the TV drama. Having already prepared her responses, she felt no panic whatsoever.

Just as Zhou Qian thought she was in the clear, the first person to pick up a dart stood up, grabbed the microphone, and asked loudly, “Miss Zhou, I’d like to know why Song Luoxue isn’t here for the premiere. Are you two having a cold war?”

Zhou Qian: “……”

Ah, this… Isn’t this the premiere of Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree? Why are you bringing up Song Luoxue?

The audience member’s question was unexpectedly tricky. Zhou Qian froze, microphone in hand, before snapping back to reality. She stammered, “Um… she’s been busy with other commitments lately, which is why she couldn’t make it.”

The audience collectively let out a drawn-out “Ooh—” as if they’d just heard some juicy gossip.

Even though Song Luoxue had retired from the entertainment industry just a few months ago, her absence hadn’t diminished the public’s fascination with her. After all, she remained the undisputed “Nation’s White Moonlight.”

After answering the first question, a second audience member raised their hand. “Miss Zhou, since you know such private details about Best Actress Song, it confirms that your relationship is real. When did you two fall in love?”

Zhou Qian: “……”

Seriously, please don’t put me on the spot like this.