After Becoming an Alpha, I Marked My Nemesis - Chapter 7

The next morning, when Song Luoxue woke Zhou Qian, she deliberately pulled her up and then let her fall back down, instantly jolting Zhou Qian awake. “Lazy cat, time to get up,” she said.

Seriously, anyone would wake up immediately if you did that! Zhou Qian rubbed her sleepy eyes and saw Song Luoxue kneeling before her, wearing a brown silk nightgown.

The nightgown seemed a bit too large, with one strap slipping off her shoulder. Song Luoxue leaned closer to Zhou Qian. “I’m in a rare good mood today. Don’t you want to show me some appreciation?”

Zhou Qian had just woken up and wasn’t really in the mood for anything. But if she didn’t show Song Luoxue some affection, the woman might start suspecting her of having an affair again.

Zhou Qian’s gaze slowly drifted to Song Luoxue’s right cheek. Suddenly, she leaned forward and gently pecked the woman’s fair, rosy cheek.

Song Luoxue froze, stunned by the warm touch of those lips. She had only meant to tease Zhou Qian, never expecting her to actually respond.

After kissing Song Luoxue’s cheek, Zhou Qian smiled. “Darling, can I go brush my teeth and wash my face now?”

Hearing this, Song Luoxue snapped out of her daze. “Ah, go ahead.”

Zhou Qian got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and left the room. Though Zhou Qian was awake, Song Luoxue clearly had a habit of lingering in bed. After washing up, Zhou Qian asked if Song Luoxue wanted breakfast, but she replied that she would eat later.

Pressed for time, Zhou Qian quickly ate breakfast, put on her mask and hat, and hurried out. She had two consecutive days of filming at this location, so she would be staying at the hotel again tonight.

Zhou Qian couldn’t explain why, but when she lay in bed at night, she would catch a scent like milky camellias. The sweet, almost hypnotic fragrance made her sleep especially soundly when she shared a bed with that person.

Wait a minute, Song Luoxue is an Omega, right? Could her pheromones be that camellia scent?

Even though Zhou Qian was wearing a mask and hat with her hair pulled up, Ning Xiao recognized her instantly. In the hotel’s underground parking garage, Ning Xiao waved at Zhou Qian. “Qianqian, I’m over here!”

Ning Xiao had been waiting here so early, it seemed she had woken up even earlier than Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian walked over and sat in the back seat. “I’m sorry, I seem to be running a bit late. I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?”

Ning Xiao chuckled. “Not at all, Qianqian. This is my job, after all.”

In the past, Zhou Qian might have woken up even later, sometimes arriving half an hour after the agreed-upon time. Ning Xiao had grown accustomed to this. But this time, she was genuinely surprised. Zhou Qian had arrived on time and even apologized.

Ning Xiao couldn’t help but wonder if Zhou Qian had hit her head too hard when the lamp fell. Still, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, Zhou Qian’s head injury seemed to be leading her in a positive direction.

Ning Xiao drove Zhou Qian to the makeup room on set. As instructed, she had bought Zhou Qian an iced Americano. Zhou Qian drank the sugar-free, black iced coffee without even flinching. In the past, she would have frowned at the slightest hint of bitterness in her vanilla latte.

To put it bluntly, Zhou Qian used to drink coffee solely for its flavor, disliking its bitterness. She would always add excessive amounts of sugar and creamer, treating it like milk tea—completely lacking restraint. Having initially gained fame through her youthful beauty, she knew that such undisciplined habits would inevitably ruin her figure. Eventually, she wouldn’t even be able to rely on her looks to attract fans. That’s why, during periods when she had no acting roles, her agency would dedicate an entire week to intensive fitness training.

But Zhou Qian had never taken these efforts seriously.

Maintaining a good figure should be a basic requirement for female celebrities, but the original owner of this body had neglected this aspect. No wonder she faded into obscurity. Zhou Qian sipped her iced Americano, reflecting on this.

Born into a middle-class family, Zhou Qian had witnessed her family’s company teeter on the brink of bankruptcy when she was ten. Their house and car were mortgaged, and her life plummeted from paradise to hell. Though they eventually recovered somewhat, avoiding homelessness, half of Zhou Qian’s success in that world stemmed from her relentless hard work. This ingrained discipline carried over into her daily life.

As the makeup artist styled her hair, someone knocked and entered the room. Zhou Qian glanced sideways at the newcomer, noticing the “Assistant Director” badge hanging around her neck.

The assistant director approached Zhou Qian, clutching a blue work folder. “Teacher Zhou,” she said, “we revised the script last night as requested. The director asked me to bring it over for your review.”

Hearing the title “Teacher Zhou,” Zhou Qian nearly choked on the coffee she had just sipped. What merit do I have to deserve such an honorific?

She forced an awkward smile at her reflection in the mirror. “Just call me Miss Zhou.”

The assistant director paused, momentarily taken aback. She had heard Zhou Qian’s reputation was terrible—a product of a capital-driven talent show, lacking manners and refinement. Yet here she was, surprisingly approachable.

When the assistant director had learned in the writers’ room that Zhou Qian would play the female lead in Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree, she nearly panicked. Despite having worked as an editor for a year and a half, she couldn’t immediately accept being targeted by a massive wave of fan outrage and public condemnation. After all, this was her livelihood; after a few days of mental preparation, she had to get back to work. But the thought of having to interact with the notoriously difficult Zhou Qian still filled her with dread.

Zhou Qian frowned slightly at the assistant director’s words. When had she proposed script revisions? And since they had finished filming late last night, did that mean the writers had been working overtime until dawn?

Zhou Qian took the script from the assistant director and flipped it open. The first page was identical to the version she had seen yesterday, with no changes. But when she turned to the second page, she noticed that all the scenes Zheng Wenyuan’s character, Guangsheng, had been given had been rewritten to align more closely with the original novel. Moreover, between pages four and five, Guangsheng, as portrayed by Zheng Wenyuan, was written out of the story, just like in the original Phoenix Perches on the Wutong Tree.

Wait a minute! Zhou Qian thought. Isn’t Guangsheng supposed to be the male lead? Why is he being written out so early? Are they killing him off early so the female lead can go through hell to save him, reinforcing her image as a love-obsessed damsel willing to risk everything for romance?

Zhou Qian flipped through several more pages. The subsequent plot largely followed the original novel: the massacre of Jiangning, Feng Nanzhi’s quest for immortality to avenge her family, and so on. After skimming through the rest, Zhou Qian noticed that Guangsheng wasn’t mentioned even once in the remaining narrative.

Zhou Qian paused, as if deep in thought, before turning to the assistant director. “Excuse me,” she asked, “did Guangsheng disappear from the story after his family was massacred in Jiangning? Will he reappear later?”

The assistant director replied, “His scenes end here for now. Director Xu said that if we need to add flashbacks later, we’ll reshoot his scenes. The original script also included Guangsheng’s storyline, so our editing team is still revising it. But your role will only expand, not shrink, so we’ll need your continued hard work during this period.”

Zhou Qian froze again.

Director Xu was actually filming according to the original plot! Since Zheng Wenyuan’s character was killed off on page five of the script, all his subsequent scenes as the male lead would naturally be cut. This meant the script had undergone a massive overhaul!

Who could have possibly orchestrated such a drastic change to the script overnight?

Zhou Qian closed the script and asked the assistant director, “Excuse me, did something happen yesterday?”

The Assistant Director replied, “We received the news around 5 PM. Since you and Teacher Zheng had already filmed the opening scenes depicting your childhood friendship, the screenwriting team held an emergency meeting late last night to revise the script without disrupting the production schedule.”

Zhou Qian frowned in confusion. Just then, the makeup artist said, “Please close your eyes. I need to blend your eyeshadow.”

Zhou Qian quickly closed her eyes and said, “The screenwriting team must have worked so hard. I’ll treat you all to milk tea today. You can go back to work now.”

The Assistant Director’s face suddenly lit up with disbelief, but she quickly nodded and said, “Thank you, Zhou Lao… I mean, Miss Zhou. I’ll get back to work now.”

Zhou Qian nodded. “Alright.”

At that moment, the makeup artist said, “Done. You can open your eyes now.”

Zhou Qian and Zheng Wenyuan acted out the scenes according to the revised script. Zheng Wenyuan’s scenes were nearing completion, as his character’s exit was being filmed simultaneously with the Jiangning massacre. After filming their opening childhood scenes, he would have to wait half a month for the notice of the major massacre scene.

Zhou Qian felt particularly relaxed during today’s shoot. Knowing she wouldn’t have to see Zheng Wenyuan again after filming their scenes together, her mood lifted considerably. Feng Nanzhi, her character, was initially portrayed as a carefree young lady before the massacre that destroyed her family.

Zhou Qian felt Feng Nanzhi shared some similarities with her own personality, making it easy for her to grasp the character’s early nuances.

Because Zhou Qian was in excellent form today, her scenes were filmed quickly, with nearly every take completed in a single shot. However, Zheng Wenyuan, whose male lead scenes had been cut, was in a far less cooperative mood. He emerged from the makeup room with a sullen expression that persisted throughout his scenes with Zhou Qian.

Zheng Wenyuan’s foul mood disrupted the filming schedule, prompting Director Xu to publicly berate him in front of the entire crew. Zheng Wenyuan’s temper flared, but after his manager and two assistants whispered something to him, his anger seemed to extinguish like a flame doused with water. He reluctantly adjusted his attitude and continued filming his scenes with Zhou Qian.