After Becoming an Alpha, I Marked My Nemesis - Chapter 9

Zhou Qian snapped out of her daze at the sound of Song Luoxue’s voice. “N-nothing,” she stammered.

Song Luoxue retrieved an ashtray from the lower shelf of the table, then pulled a lighter from her skirt pocket and expertly lit a cigarette.

Though it was a perfectly ordinary gesture, it puzzled Zhou Qian. The novel had never mentioned Song Luoxue’s smoking habit. Her character was portrayed as a cold, aloof beauty with no vices beyond being somewhat love-obsessed.

Wait, is smoking even considered a vice?

Noticing Zhou Qian’s gaze, Song Luoxue smiled. “Want one too?”

Zhou Qian shook her head. “No, I don’t smoke anymore.”

Song Luoxue picked up on the key detail. “Oh? So you used to smoke?”

Zhou Qian froze slightly at the question. She had smoked in her previous world, but the novel never mentioned the original Zhou Qian smoking. What if this world’s Zhou Qian didn’t smoke? Would she be exposing herself?

“Um, I used to smoke, but I’ve quit.”

Hearing this, Song Luoxue stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray containing a crystal ball. “Your willpower must be quite strong. Quitting smoking is notoriously difficult.”

Zhou Qian chuckled dryly in agreement. “Yeah.”

“So, would you like to try again?” Song Luoxue took a slender cigarette from the pack and offered it to Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian swallowed hard at the sight of the cigarette. During a turbulent period in her life, when her family faced hardship, she had gone through a rebellious phase, often smoking to relieve stress. Even after the crisis passed, the habit lingered. As Song Luoxue had said, quitting smoking was incredibly difficult; it had taken Zhou Qian over half a year of agonizing effort to break free.

Zhou Qian shook her head. “No… no, thank you.”

Seeing her reaction, Song Luoxue covered her mouth and chuckled. “You’re afraid you’ll find it too hard to quit again if you start?”

Zhou Qian nodded. “I quit because I knew it was bad for my health. Besides, by the time I decided to quit, I didn’t need it to relieve stress anymore.”

Song Luoxue looked at her and said, “You seem very disciplined. I’m not like that at all. Quitting smoking would make me unhappy, so I refuse to do it. What’s ten years less, as long as I live comfortably and happily?”

Zhou Qian quickly replied, “No, that’s not what I meant at all! And Luo Xue, you’ll definitely live to be a hundred!”

It’s just smoking, she thought. It’s not that serious. Besides, a big star like her only smokes the best cigarettes.

Song Luoxue seemed even more amused by this. “How do you know I’ll live to be a hundred? Can you predict the future?”

Zhou Qian suddenly found herself speechless. She had only meant to wish Song Luoxue well, but the actress was taking her words so literally. Besides, whether she herself lived long or not was uncertain, but Song Luoxue had to live to be a hundred—that’s how it was written in the novel!

Seeing Zhou Qian’s bewildered expression, Song Luoxue chuckled. She hadn’t expected this seemingly dim-witted supporting character from the novel to have such an endearing side.

“Alright, alright, I was just teasing you earlier.”

Zhou Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Luoxue then asked, “It’s almost noon. What do you want to eat?”

Zhou Qian shook her head. “I’m not hungry yet. Luo Xue, I wanted to thank you again for the flowers you sent. There weren’t many people on set that day, so you really didn’t need to go to such expense.”

Song Luoxue frowned slightly. “Didn’t you already thank me for the flowers?”

Zhou Qian continued, “That’s different. You sent me 999 roses under the guise of a fan. I know all about it. In my heart, anything you give me is the best!”

Song Luoxue’s expression darkened immediately. She said sarcastically, “999 roses? How romantic.”

Even she’s praising herself for being romantic, Zhou Qian thought, noticing the sarcastic tone in Song Luoxue’s voice.

Song Luoxue then confessed directly, “The flowers on the bridge that day were from me, but the 999 roses weren’t. It seems you really do have a devoted fan.”

Zhou Qian paused slightly at her words, narrowing her eyes. “You didn’t send them?”

Song Luoxue chuckled. “If I had sent them, I wouldn’t have needed to be so roundabout. The worst thing you can do when giving a gift is not sign it. That way, any misunderstandings can’t be cleared up.”

Zhou Qian’s mind raced. The card with the roses that day read, “Your secret admirer.” Could it be someone from the original Zhou Qian’s past?

As Song Luoxue said, it’s nearly impossible to identify the sender of an unsigned gift, especially for a public figure like Zhou Qian. Yet the person who sent the roses that day had written such a peculiar message. This suggested that the original Zhou Qian knew the sender well enough to recognize their handwriting and immediately understand who the flowers were from.

Zhou Qian turned back to Song Luoxue. “What about the script? Did you have it changed?”

Hearing Zhou Qian’s accusatory tone, Song Luoxue smiled. “Why are you asking me like that? As if I’ve committed some terrible crime?”

Zhou Qian realized she had been too hasty and quickly explained, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to know if you contacted Director Xu to change the script…”

Before she could finish, Song Luoxue smiled and said, “I did it. I didn’t change the script entirely for you. I stayed up all night reading the original novel, and I thought it was well-written. It would have been a shame to butcher it like that, so I contacted Director Xu Zhengrong and asked him to film it according to the original plot.”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian asked, “But what about Zheng Wenyuan’s company?”

Song Luoxue chuckled. “Their company only took on this butchered script to promote Zheng Wenyuan and make money. I gave them a little money, and they agreed. Besides, there will definitely be more suitable scripts for Zheng Wenyuan in the future. They don’t have to film this one.”

A little money?

According to Zheng Wenyuan, his company had paid him 3 million yuan in breach of contract fees. To persuade them to accept the script changes, Song Luoxue must have paid even more. Was that really just “a little money” to her? And that idiot Zheng Wenyuan had so easily revealed the contract fee amount to her. Let’s hope he hasn’t told anyone else. After all, that should be confidential, right?

Zhou Qian looked at Song Luoxue with an expression of deep gratitude. “I’ll never forget everything you’ve done for me, Luo Xue. Thank you!”

Song Luoxue’s expression suddenly turned enigmatic. “Why are you being so formal with me? Aren’t you used to me helping you by now?”

Zhou Qian was startled by her words, desperately trying to hide her surprise. Had Song Luoxue already seen through the original owner’s schemes? If so, why was she still being so kind to Zhou Qian?

For now, Zhou Qian could only play dumb. She continued, “Luo Xue, I’d thank even a stranger who helped me. And since we’re lovers, I’ll naturally cherish your kindness forever.”

Song Luoxue’s smile faded. She stared intently at Zhou Qian’s face, as if for a fleeting moment she had glimpsed the shadow of the person she missed in this substitute.

But it was only for a moment. No matter how similar someone looked, it was useless—they were ultimately different souls.

Zhou Qian noticed Song Luoxue staring at her and lowered her head slightly. “Luo Xue, did I say something wrong earlier that upset you?”

Song Luoxue snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Zhou Qian’s voice.

If it were that person, she would never have groveled for my approval like this. In the end, this is all just my fantasy.

Song Luoxue continued, “When I stayed at your place, you seemed to dislike the furnishings. Has your taste changed over time?”

A cold sweat broke out on Zhou Qian’s forehead. She hadn’t realized Song Luoxue remembered such trivial details. Her mind raced as she stammered, “Well… people change. What I liked six months ago, I might not like now. That’s perfectly normal, right?”

Hearing this, Song Luoxue murmured, “People change…”

Then, as if a realization had struck her, she covered her mouth and chuckled. “Yes, everyone changes. So… will your feelings for me change too?”

Zhou Qian wanted to slap herself. She had just dug her own grave!

Zhou Qian, eager to prove her loyalty to Song Luoxue, quickly replied, “No, Luo Xue, my love for you will never change. Please believe me!”

Hearing this, Song Luoxue smiled and said, “I didn’t even say anything. Why are you so quick to defend yourself?”

Zhou Qian stammered, “Ah? I… I just didn’t want you to misunderstand.”

Song Luoxue gazed at the face before her. Yes, your heart won’t change because you’ve never been sincere with the female lead in the first place.

After Zhou Qian finished speaking, Song Luoxue smiled and said, “I was just joking. If you don’t have any preferences, I’ll just order something random for lunch.”

Zhou Qian nodded vigorously. “Okay, I’ll leave it to you. I’m not picky.”

Song Luoxue smiled at her. You’re not picky about girlfriends either, are you?

But it was strange. If she really knew which lover had sent her the roses, she wouldn’t have mentioned it in front of Song Luoxue. Was she deliberately trying to make this clueless female lead jealous?

If it were the original female lead, she might have actually fallen for it. It was such a foolish yet endearing tactic.