After Becoming an Alpha, I Marked My Nemesis - Chapter 45

Still brooding over her worries, Song Luoxue noticed Ning Xiao standing by the door. “Why aren’t you coming in?”

Ning Xiao approached at her words. Song Luoxue stood up. “How is the production handling this?”

Hearing Song Luoxue’s stern tone, Ning Xiao replied, “The production said they’ll cover medical expenses if the hospital diagnoses it as a work-related injury.”

Song Luoxue nearly laughed in anger. “Zhou Qian collapsed on set! How dare they twist the narrative and demand a ‘work-related injury’ diagnosis? What kind of audacity is that?”

Seeing Song Luoxue’s fury, Ning Xiao quickly interjected, “Yes, yes, yes! Great Actress Song, please calm down. This is a hospital, after all. Can we discuss this after Sister Qianqian wakes up?”

Mindful of Zhou Qian’s lingering fever, Song Luoxue held her tongue for now, though her anger over the incident on set remained.

Song Luoxue stayed by Zhou Qian’s side all night. By dawn the next morning, Zhou Qian’s fever had finally broken, and Song Luoxue’s heart, which had been hanging in the balance, finally settled.

Zhou Qian had felt a throbbing headache all night. When she woke up this morning, a dull ache still lingered, much like the first time she regained consciousness in the hospital after transmigrating here. As she prepared to sit up, she suddenly noticed a pair of hands clasping her right hand.

Zhou Qian opened her eyes and glanced down at her hand. She saw Song Luoxue sleeping beside her, and she instinctively tried to withdraw her hand in surprise.

Has she been watching over me this whole time?

Sensing Zhou Qian’s attempt to pull away, Song Luoxue stirred and woke up. Her face lit up with relief when she saw Zhou Qian was awake. “You’re finally awake! You nearly scared me to death, you know?”

Zhou Qian looked bewildered. “What happened to me?”

Song Luoxue sighed. “Your back flared up due to an allergic reaction. The doctor said you can’t get it wet until it heals and you need to apply this ointment twice a day, morning and night.”

Hearing the words “allergic reaction,” Zhou Qian immediately understood what had likely caused it. It must be related to the filming environment she’d been working in recently.

To achieve a realistic effect, the production crew of Dreaming of a Murder deliberately made the apartment where Zhou Qian was filming dirty and messy. Zhou Qian remembered that the red rash on her back had appeared shortly after she lay on the bed there.

“Oh…” Zhou Qian replied, feeling a little guilty.

Hearing her nonchalant sigh, Song Luoxue glared at her, visibly annoyed. “How can you act like it’s nothing? Do you know how worried I was when you got sick? Next time you go anywhere, you must tell me. If you feel unwell, have Ning Xiao tell me too.”

Zhou Qian paused, taken aback by Song Luoxue’s concern. “But… you never tell me anything about what you’re doing.”

Zhou Qian’s complaint struck a nerve with Song Luoxue, who lowered her head in silence.

She’s right… Song Luoxue thought. I demand transparency from Zhou Qian, yet I keep her in the dark about everything. Of course she feels resentful. No… anyone would feel resentful in her position.

Zhou Qian froze for a long moment, then forced a smile and looked up. “In the end, it was you who saved me again, Luo Xue. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t told me. Just pretend I was joking earlier…”

Before she could finish, Song Luoxue interrupted her. “Actually, I’ve been working on creating my own brands recently. One is a high-end luxury brand named ‘Qianxue,’ using both our names. The other is called ‘Shengxia,’ which is a brand I’ve always wanted to create.”

When Zhou Qian heard the latter part of Song Luoxue’s statement, her eyes widened in surprise. “What did you say? ‘Shengxia’? As in ‘grand’ (盛) and ‘summer’ (夏)?”

Seeing Zhou Qian’s astonished expression, Song Luoxue chuckled. “Exactly! The ‘Shengxia’ you’re thinking of. It’s a brand I’ve always wanted to create. I’m collaborating with a designer whose wedding dresses are both unique and beautiful. My first store in Paris exceeded my sales expectations.”

As Song Luoxue continued to speak animatedly, Zhou Qian fell into deep thought.

Shengxia… She remembered that the Shengxia brand had also been founded by Song Luoxue in her original world. She had been deeply troubled by Shengxia’s fierce competition with her own brand, Frost Blossom. She doubted she would ever forget the Shengxia brand.

In this world, Song Luoxue claimed she had long wanted to create the Shengxia brand. If that were true, the similarities in their thinking were astonishing.

Identical names, identical appearances, and now even identical ideas… Could they possibly be from the same world, but with different memories and experiences?

Zhou Qian often wondered if she had entered another parallel universe, one where she would encounter people she once knew or longed to see.

No, even if she had entered a parallel universe, the person she most wanted to see wouldn’t be Song Luoxue.

After a long pause, Zhou Qian snapped out of her reverie and nodded. “Mm-hmm, I understand. If that’s really the case, then that’s wonderful. I wish your business continued success.”

Upon hearing Zhou Qian’s words, Song Luoxue smiled and shook her head. She continued to cup Zhou Qian’s hands in her own. “This is our shared venture. Don’t you want to be with me forever? To marry me?”

Zhou Qian’s eyes widened in shock. “M-marry?”

Song Luoxue could tell from her reaction that Zhou Qian had never considered such a thing. Though she had anticipated this, experiencing it firsthand still brought a pang of disappointment.

She pressed on, “Yes, I want to marry you. Don’t you want to marry me?”

Zhou Qian forced a nervous smile. “O-of course not! I just think it might be too soon. Maybe we should wait until our work settles down a bit before getting married.”

Song Luoxue knew Zhou Qian was using this as an excuse. Initially, she hadn’t intended to take their charade seriously. Even when she first transmigrated here, it was only because this Zhou Qian resembled the Zhou Qian from her original world that she had dared to kiss her.

Because she had spent years locked in a constant rivalry with Zhou Qian, Song Luoxue had suppressed her deepest desires. She truly loved Zhou Qian, the pure, innocent love of youth. But someone like Zhou Qian was like moonlight—beautiful to behold from afar, yet untouchable.

Though she loved Zhou Qian, her own insecurities had prevented her from ever forming a deeper connection. She had known Zhou Qian since their student days, when Zhou Qian was a vibrant, outgoing person who naturally drew people to her like stars orbiting the moon.

Song Luoxue had always believed she would forever remain one of those stars, guarding Zhou Qian from afar. She thought being a celestial guardian of the moon was a noble role. But she never imagined she would transmigrate into the very novel she had read, where her mortal enemy shared her name and appearance.

Song Luoxue saw this as an opportunity granted by fate.

Zhou Qian likely never suspected that the person she thought despised her actually harbored such deep affection. But Song Luoxue had never been one to openly express her feelings.

Song Luoxue could only smile. “If that’s what you think, then let’s do it that way.”

Zhou Qian finally let out a long sigh of relief.

After this illness, Song Luoxue became increasingly convinced that Zhou Qian wasn’t faking it. She seemed genuinely as dedicated as any professional actress. Even news of Zhou Qian’s illness had spread through the Dreaming of a Murder crew.

Zhou Qian’s insistence on finishing the remaining scenes despite her discomfort proved her dedication. Moreover, the scenes she filmed while ill were remarkably captivating, earning her applause from director Li Maoshan himself.

In no time, the hashtag #ZhouQianHospitalizedDueToFilmingIllness# surged to the top of trending searches.

Slippery HR Guy: Zhou Qian? The same Zhou Qian who used to be a terrible actress? When did she become so dedicated? It feels like just yesterday she was just wailing on set.

QianqianIsTheBestInTheWorld: 😭😭😭 Our Qianqian has worked so hard! You won’t find another actress in the entire Chinese entertainment industry who would film while sick like this!

Who’s blaming the victim? It’s not like we forced her to film while sick. Her hospitalization is entirely her own fault.

May single-day-off bosses all die! What’s your point? If you collapse at work, is that your own fault?

Zhou Qian is the most beautiful firework in the world! Waaah, Qianqian, please take care of yourself! Don’t push yourself so hard!

Without Li Pianpian’s organization, Zhou Qian’s fan group’s comment control efforts became scattered, allowing anti-fans to attack her with impunity. That very night, a user named “Qianxue Yisheng Tui” (Qianxue Forever) donated a staggering 3 million yuan to Zhou Qian on Weibo, instantly establishing herself as the leader of Zhou Qian’s fan base. Moreover, she created five anti-fan groups dedicated to reporting and countering the personal attacks and malicious comments from anti-fans.

The fan community operates this way: when a major fan leaves, new ones rise to take their place. “Qianxue Yisheng Tui” gained over 30,000 followers in a single night. She also posted a Weibo message: “#Zhou Qian deserves my most sincere love,” followed by a 3,000-word essay praising Zhou Qian.

Although “Qianxue Yisheng Tui” was a new account, her 3 million yuan donation alone earned her the position of group leader in Zhou Qian’s Big Fan Group. Her sole Weibo post quickly garnered over 10,000 likes and comments.