After Becoming an Alpha, I Marked My Nemesis - Chapter 42

Song Luoxue had anticipated this. She looked at Li Xiulan with a cold smile and asked, “So?”

Seeing a hint of agreement in her expression, Li Xiulan quickly pressed, “So, if it’s convenient, could you give us some?”

The smile vanished from Song Luoxue’s face at these words. Noticing her reaction, Li Xiulan hastily added, “Well… you live in such a nice place. Just whatever you can spare would be enough for us. Xiao Xue, please, for the sake of us raising you, give us something?”

Hearing this, Song Luoxue felt so nauseated she wanted to vomit her breakfast. But she maintained her composure and continued, “What if it’s not convenient?”

Li Xiulan paused, then grew agitated. “Song Luoxue, you can’t do this! We raised you from childhood! You can’t be so heartless!”

Song Luoxue scoffed. “Raised me from childhood? You have the nerve to say that? You adopted me when I was ten. Only you know the years of suffering and humiliation I endured. The moment I turned eighteen and ran away, you treated me as if I were dead. Have you ever once tried to find me in all these years?”

Li Xiulan was left speechless by her sharp retort.

Song Luoxue continued, pouring out the grievances the original female lead had endured over the years: “When I ran away before, I had no power or influence, so you didn’t care if you couldn’t find me. Now that you see I’m doing well, you come crawling back, calling me an ingrate. But look at the promises you made during the Welfare War and how you treated me. Who’s the real ingrate here?”

Hearing this, Li Xiulan suddenly slammed her hand on the table. “Regardless, our family raised you for eight years! If you want to sever ties, pay up!”

Song Luoxue had long known what kind of person Li Xiulan was, so she didn’t bother haggling. She crossed her legs and asked with a smile, “How much do you want?”

Li Xiulan stretched out her hand. “One million per year. Give me eight million, and we’ll sever ties.”

Song Luoxue burst into laughter at Li Xiulan’s outrageous demand. “Hahahaha—”

When she finished laughing, she suddenly fixed Li Xiulan with a piercing glare. Li Xiulan flinched at the intensity of her gaze. Song Luoxue continued, “You may have raised me for eight years, but did you spend even eight thousand on me during that time?”

Song Luoxue’s question stumped Li Xiulan again. She continued, “From the time I was ten until I turned eighteen, all my clothes were hand-me-downs, and I ate leftovers. So tell me, what exactly do you think you’re entitled to ask me for?”

Realizing she had no legitimate argument, Li Xiulan retorted, “I don’t care! We raised you for eight years, and you owe us this money. If you don’t pay, we’ll see you in court!”

Song Luoxue chuckled, covering her mouth. “Court? Oh, I’m so scared.”

Li Xiulan completely missed the sarcasm, grinning smugly. “Good. You should be.”

Song Luoxue continued, still smiling, “Then go ahead and sue me! I remember the letter you wrote to the director of the Shengjiang Township Welfare Home, promising to support me until I turned twenty. Yet I left your house at eighteen, and you never even tried to find me. I’d love to see whether the penalty for my supposed ‘crimes’ is harsher than the punishment for your child abandonment.”

Li Xiulan, being uneducated, always threatened to take matters to court. But when she actually heard Song Luoxue’s words, she was at a loss for what to do.

Seeing she couldn’t win the argument, Li Xiulan collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly, “We raised you to eighteen, cared for you, and loved you! How could you treat us like this?”

Knowing your needs and caring for you? Didn’t she realize how contradictory that sounded?

Song Luoxue felt uncomfortable hearing those words, but she made a decision. “You want money from me, right?”

Li Xiulan stopped crying and looked up at Song Luoxue. Song Luoxue stood up and gazed down at the disheveled woman sitting on the floor. “If you want money, I can give it to you. But you’ll have to wait a few days. I need to make arrangements with the bank for such a large sum. My assistant will contact you with the details in a few days. Leave your contact information and you can go.”

Li Xiulan’s expression shifted as quickly as the weather. Seeing Song Luoxue’s agreement, her face lit up with a wide smile. “Alright, alright! I’ll leave my phone number.”

After leaving her contact information, Li Xiulan left.

As Li Xiulan departed, Zhou Qian entered the living room. The moment she stepped inside, Song Luoxue, in a fit of rage, swept all the expensive teacups and teapots off the coffee table, sending them crashing to the floor.

Bang! Crash! Shatter! The porcelain shattered into countless pieces.

Seeing Song Luoxue’s fury, Zhou Qian hesitated to approach. She had overheard Song Luoxue’s conversation with her adoptive mother at the door.

Li Xiulan was truly shameless. Zhou Qian never imagined Song Luoxue would agree to give her eight million yuan. As Song Luoxue had just said, Li Xiulan’s family hadn’t spent even eight thousand yuan on her from childhood to adulthood, yet now they were demanding eight million yuan—what audacity!

After sitting on the sofa to calm down for a while, Song Luoxue noticed Zhou Qian standing nearby. “Why are you just standing there? Come over here.”

Zhou Qian snapped out of her daze at the sound of her voice. She slowly walked over to Song Luoxue and sat down beside her. After a moment of silence, she reached out and gently stroked Song Luoxue’s back. “No one wants to deal with something like this. I know you’re angry, and I won’t tell you not to be. Anger is your right. Your adoptive mother treated you so badly—I know they were never kind to you. It’s only natural that you’re furious.”

Hearing these words, Song Luoxue’s anger began to subside. She turned to look at Zhou Qian’s face.

Yes, this face. Just seeing Zhou Qian always calmed her down, because Zhou Qian had been her first love.

Song Luoxue continued, “I’m angry because of Li Xiulan and her son, but before that, I have another question. I’ve never told anyone about my biological family. How did you find out?”

Zhou Qian froze, stunned by Song Luoxue’s words.

That’s right, she thought. In this world, Song Luoxue has never spoken about her original family to anyone. I only know about it from the novel. The Song Luoxue in this world has no idea I’m a transmigrator.

Trying to hide her panic, Zhou Qian stammered, “Ah? That… I… I read it in a magazine. You’ve given so many interviews before, and I wanted to learn more about you, so I read all your old interviews.”

Song Luoxue’s confusion deepened. “But I don’t remember ever mentioning my original family in any magazine interviews.”

Zhou Qian had never actually read any magazines about Song Luoxue, but now she had no choice but to keep improvising. “Really? But I’m sure I read it somewhere. How else would I know? You agree, right?”

Song Luoxue paused, her gaze turning suspicious. She sensed Zhou Qian was hiding something, and the guilt was written all over Zhou Qian’s face.

Song Luoxue stared at Zhou Qian’s face for a moment, then smiled and said, “Really? Then I must have forgotten about it from a previous interview.”

Zhou Qian breathed a sigh of relief. Her voice was slightly strained as she replied, “Yes, you’ve done so many interviews. It’s understandable that you’d forget some details.”

Song Luoxue smiled again and asked, “Then tell me, which magazine did you read that I mentioned this? Can you tell me?”

Zhou Qian panicked slightly. “Um… I’ve been so busy lately, I can’t remember which magazine it was.”

“Really?”

Zhou Qian forced another smile. “Yes, that’s right.”

Song Luoxue remained skeptical. To change the subject, Zhou Qian asked, “Why did you agree to that woman’s demands? Eight million… that’s outrageous!”

Song Luoxue paused, then smiled. “Do you really think I’d give in so easily?”

Zhou Qian looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”

Song Luoxue idly played with the broken porcelain shards on the table. “People are so easily driven by their own greed and desires, unable to escape. Since they’re greedy, I’ll let them have their fill.”

Zhou Qian frowned as she saw Song Luoxue touch the shards. She gently took her hand. “Don’t touch such dangerous things. If you cut yourself, we’ll have to get it bandaged.”

Song Luoxue’s head snapped up. “Are you worried about me?”

Zhou Qian paused, startled by the question. Regaining her composure, she withdrew her hand. “Of course… of course I am. You need to take care of yourself, no matter where you are. Only then can I feel at ease.”

Song Luoxue’s brow furrowed slightly at her words.

Truly, no matter how many times I see it, Zhou Qian doesn’t seem to be faking it.

A few days later, Zhou Qian joined the cast of Dreaming of a Murder, while Song Luoxue remained busy dealing with Li Xiulan’s blackmail attempts.

When she went to meet Li Xiulan again, Song Luoxue made sure to bring her assistant, Mo Zhen, along with several burly bodyguards. Knowing Li Xiulan was an uncultured, vulgar woman, she booked a private room and ordered a lavish meal at a five-star hotel near Li Xiulan’s home to host her.

This time, Li Xiulan brought her son, Zhao Fugui, with her.