After Being Marked by the Popular Female Lead O (GL) - Chapter 10

Three days later, the role of Ju Zhan was confirmed. Unsurprisingly, it went to Xie Qingshu. Although others in the company felt some jealousy, Xie Qingshu had a good reputation, and several friends actually sent their congratulations.

Since receiving the Movie Queen award, Xie Qingshu hadn’t taken on a new role. The official explanation was poor health, but in reality, no one believed it; they all knew she was doing it for an Alpha.

This time counted as her official return.

Song Mei personally negotiated the contract, and the terms offered were excellent for her stature, with no room for complaint.

After the signing was complete, Song Mei walked toward the elevator and unexpectedly saw Zhou Que descending from the upper floor. She was slightly surprised. This area was the agency department, where artists rarely visited, and the upper floor was accessible only to management.

Song Mei found it strange and couldn’t help but overthink.

Zhou Que’s expression remained unchanged, completely unaffected. Her smile was gentle and obedient. “Hello, Sister Song. Did you come to pick up Sister’s contract?”

With that statement, Song Mei’s thoughts were momentarily scattered, and she just nodded in confusion.

Then the elevator descended. Zhou Que stepped into a car and politely waved goodbye before leaving.

Song Mei held the contract, vaguely feeling that she had forgotten something but couldn’t recall what it was.

The two were heading in completely different directions. Song Mei was rushing to deliver the contract and naturally didn’t notice a car following Zhou Que shortly after she left, flashing a light, like a camera that had forgotten to turn off.

An hour later, a newly released trending topic caught everyone’s attention: #Zhou Que seen leaving company with rosy cheeks, suspected of being marked#

The photo was prominently displayed, making it hard to ignore.

Song Mei frowned and glanced at the photo, suspecting her memory was faulty. She clearly remembered Zhou Que looking differently when she walked out, and her composure was definitely not broken.

But this…

It couldn’t be something I did, could it?

Song Mei was becoming increasingly confused. The comments section was a battleground, with various fan groups joining the fray, racking up thousands of replies in minutes. Of course, few of them were genuinely defending Zhou Que.

Logically, the company should be running PR operations, and the celebrity should apologize and clarify to minimize the damage. Yet, neither side made a move. If Song Mei hadn’t seen the trending topic hanging there, she would have thought nothing had happened.

The company wasn’t so broke that it couldn’t afford PR fees, unless it chose not to. Even so, Zhou Que, the subject herself, was doing the same.

Song Mei sighed.

[I knew it. Here’s another one. By my count, this is the eighth time she’s trended this month, and it’s not even the end of the month.]

[What’s wrong with our baby being beautiful and Alphas liking her?!]

[Are we Omegas not allowed to address our own physiological needs? These unscrupulous media outlets will say anything. An Omega marking someone isn’t done like this.]

Song Mei wasn’t interested initially, but one comment popped up in front of her.

[How many Alphas can escape Zhou Que? Even as an O, I want her to mark me. If Zhou Que acts with someone, will it turn into a real relationship?]

Although this was illogical, Song Mei had only heard little about it, but she was nonetheless unsettled.

Zhou Que’s appearance was rare even in the entertainment circle. It was clear these fans had a love-hate relationship with her. What if… what if it was true, as they said…

What if Xie Qingshu developed feelings for Zhou Que during filming?

“What is it?” Xie Qingshu’s gaze moved away from the contract, and she asked casually.

Meeting that pair of cold eyes, Song Mei subconsciously felt that this was absolutely impossible. She shook her head, ignoring the trending topic below that one, which was equally hot and seemed to be from a fan.

“Nothing important. By the way, the script has been revised, remember to read it. We’re shooting the makeup photos in a couple of days.”

Xie Qingshu hummed, appearing not to have taken it in. Song Mei knew that this kind of thing never needed her worry, so she left assured.

In fact, Xie Qingshu had also seen the trending topic. Others might be speculating whether Zhou Que had been marked again. In the past, she might have believed it for a second, but she just frowned, without much reaction. Knowing certain things made her see it more clearly. The trending topic appeared inexplicably, as if someone was maliciously pushing it from behind.

The phone lying next to her flashed intermittently. It hadn’t stopped for days. Because Zhou Que followed her small account, fans and people cursing her arrived in an endless stream.

[Hello, hello! May I be so bold as to ask if you are a fan of Zhou Que?]

Xie Qingshu was about to exit to read the script, but her finger slipped, opening the private message. She paused. To be honest, she hadn’t seen any of Zhou Que’s dramas. Although her alternative account sounded very much like a fan’s, there was no content about Zhou Que inside, not even a single photo.

No wonder someone was suspicious.

Xie Qingshu pondered for a moment and replied, “Kind of.”

The opposite side replied instantly, and even through text, it looked excited.

[Thank you for your liking! Our Que Zai will work hard! We definitely won’t let you down. If possible, please continue to watch her shining future!]

Xie Qingshu showed a faint smile. She debuted early, following a path to national recognition, not the path of a temporary ‘hot flow’ star, so she hadn’t truly felt the energy brought by fans.

It feels pretty good.

The next second, the other side sent many pictures, all of Zhou Que. Those phoenix eyes were like clear autumn water, her figure graceful. One look and you knew it was her, and time seemed to stand still in that instant.

Xie Qingshu truly couldn’t say they were ugly against her conscience. She sent a “thank you,” and the other party didn’t bother her further, sending an emoji and logging off.

Xie Qingshu simply muted all messages to regain silence and focused on reading the newly released script.

The drama was called The Ruined Path (Fei Tu).

The partial script she received before was already very captivating, and now she had the complete version.

The story was told from Ju Zhan’s perspective. The number one person in the world, out of momentary softheartedness, took in Qin Yun, who was born a demonic star, as her apprentice.

Ju Zhan, who had been cold all her life, never expected to have such a gentle apprentice. Once, she accidentally burned Qin Yun, causing large blisters. After that, she remained in seclusion for cultivation, leaving her apprentice to others. Still feeling uneasy, she left a trace of her divine sense behind, which would only emerge in case of fatal danger.

But she didn’t know that Qin Yun carried the memories of her previous life and clearly remembered how she died by Ju Zhan’s sword and was subsequently sealed.

Ju Zhan taught her diligently, yet the other party looked at her with avarice in her eyes.

Later, after many trials, the news that Qin Yun was the reincarnation of a demonic star leaked out. Ju Zhan again faced the decision of whether to kill her or not. She chose to kill.

Blood dripped from her sword tip. Qin Yun fell to the ground. Ju Zhan’s fingers trembled. She had nearly succumbed to the demonic path.

Looking back, she saw Qin Yun’s crimson pupils. Everything that had just happened was merely a fabricated illusion.

The script was short, only briefly recounting the plot. When Xie Qingshu finished reading, it was already evening. She rubbed her brow. It seemed she had been out of acting for too long and couldn’t quite handle it now.

But she had a premonition: once this movie was released, Zhou Que’s fan base would definitely grow even larger, surpassing its current size.

In the following days, Xie Qingshu followed her usual routine of writing a character biography and planning expression management. She also, for the first time in a while, paid attention to the trending topics.

For some unknown reason, Zhou Que, who had been a regular guest on the trending list, was likely scared off by the abuse or was approaching the end of the month, giving the staff maintaining the hot search system a rare break. She had been unusually quiet for a period.

For a moment, fans who lacked someone to curse at felt unaccustomed to the quiet.

But soon, Xie Qingshu understood why.

The makeup photo shoot was scheduled for the morning. Xie Qingshu was driven there by her assistant and arrived early at a relatively secluded studio to minimize the chance of being photographed.

“Sister Xie’s skin is too good… If they knew I was doing Sister Xie’s makeup, they would be so envious.” The makeup artist was an Omega. When looking at Xie Qingshu, her eyes held a fiery suggestive look, and she kept leaning toward her.

This happened so many times that even Xie Qingshu glanced at her, looking confused, and tried to speak tactfully. “Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

Why is she twitching all the time?

Fortunately, the assistant held back her laughter, or the scene would have been extremely awkward.

The makeup artist gritted her teeth. Another person might have taken that as an insult, but before coming, she had heard about Xie Qingshu’s reputation for being “oblivious to romance.”

Countless Omegas had failed to seduce her, and she had boasted that she would definitely win over this Alpha. Now…

Heh, forget it.

“I apologize, I didn’t mean it that way.” Xie Qingshu realized the ambiguity in her words only after saying them. She tried to explain, but realized she was only making it worse.

The makeup artist gritted her teeth and replied, “It’s fine.”

She then settled down. Although she had offended the makeup artist openly, the artist had professional integrity and didn’t intentionally cause trouble.

The woman in the mirror had only light makeup on, which was barely noticeable if one didn’t look closely. Her skin was snow-white. Ice seemed to accumulate permanently between her brows, yet her eyes held a trace of tenderness directed at everyone. Her aura was calm and cold, making anyone who looked at her feel inferior.

A golden thread symbolizing high status was drawn perfectly on her brow, shining brilliantly.

Xie Qingshu’s expression was blank, not deliberately posed; her features were relaxed. “Am I done?”

Although the makeup was done by the makeup artist, she was thoroughly stunned. She nodded repeatedly, her previous thoughts completely forgotten.

If she’s this beautiful, what does it matter if she’s oblivious? If worse comes to worst, I can just go for it!

Marking an Alpha… The thought alone is exciting!

“Can I come in?”

Just as she was thinking, a voice sounded outside the door. The makeup artist, unable to conceal the look of astonishment in her eyes, abruptly collided with Zhou Que.

Zhou Que raised an eyebrow, her eyes showing nothing, a “kind” smile hanging on her lips.

The makeup artist involuntarily trembled twice, feeling inexplicably exposed.

To be safe, I’ll just keep thinking about it.

The two hadn’t seen each other, let alone spoken a word, since the last audition. Xie Qingshu wondered if her aversion to Zhou Que was too obvious and if the other woman had noticed.

“Mhm, let’s go.”

Xie Qingshu stood up and walked out. The costume was very elaborate, the best among all the dramas she had done. As she walked, the dark patterns on the fabric seemed to move, as if light was truly floating on them, lending her great beauty.

“Are you finished with your shoot?” Xie Qingshu noticed that the clothes the other woman was wearing were worn and old. Even so, they couldn’t conceal her beauty, like a ruby temporarily covered in dust.

Zhou Que had only glanced at Xie Qingshu at first and had been looking down ever since. She just faintly acknowledged her, and Xie Qingshu noted her voice was a little husky.

The attention to detail in the character’s costume was evident. It perfectly replicated the intended feeling: simple clothes washed until white, but you could see that the holes weren’t exposed; instead, they were neatly patched with thread of similar color.

It didn’t feel deliberate, yet it captivated the heart at first sight.

Xie Qingshu looked at Zhou Que and couldn’t help but purse her lips, her thoughts drifting. Was Zhou Que also like this when she was with the Bai family?

The Bai family and the Xie family were not in the same league. The former was unfathomably deep, and it was possible to inquire about an illegitimate daughter, but Xie Qingshu inexplicably didn’t want to.

The atmosphere was silent. The staff had been briefed beforehand, but when the two actually stood in front of them, they were thoroughly shocked. It wasn’t the ‘shaking hands and making peace’ that surprised them. They had been in this circle for too long and had seen people slapping each other one second and hugging and kissing the next; this was minor in comparison.

What surprised them was that compared to Zhou Que, the celebrity known for dominating trending topics and being covered in negative rumors, Xie Qingshu’s past was pristine and spotless. This pairing was an extreme combination, like two mismatched things hastily stitched together, yet producing a strange chemical reaction.

“Teacher Xie, Little Flower Zhou’s individual shots are done. Why don’t you start with the two-person segment?” The photographer’s eyelids twitched violently, and countless ideas popped into his head.

Xie Qingshu had no objections, but Zhou Que moved her lips, yet still didn’t speak.

The early photography went surprisingly smoothly. The sound of the shutter never stopped.

Zhou Que had several other outfits, representing her change in identity. She went to change immediately after finishing this set. During the interval, Xie Qingshu made up for her single shots.

“I feel like Zhou Que isn’t as bad as the internet makes her out to be…”

Xie Qingshu, while resting, overheard some words and subconsciously paid attention.

“I heard people saying she was a diva, and I was a bit worried when she came.”

“Not only that, Zhou Que is very talented. She came up with the idea for this costume herself. It didn’t have this effect originally.”

Xie Qingshu’s hand paused for a moment.