A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Old Man Bao looked at Li Lei seriously. ”Second Young Master Li, it is said that you’re a man of your word. I, Wang Jingzhou, will believe you this once. Happy partnership.”

”Happy partnership.” Li Lei held out his hand and gave Old Man Bao a light high five.

His instincts told him that he was extremely close to learning the truth about what was bothering Xiao Ling all this while. Was it really related to Xia Ling’s death? Whatever it was, he would give his all to protect her so that she would not be hurt again.

Li Lei composed himself and returned to S City. In front of Xia Ling, he would only show his happy side, as if all these anxieties and worries did not exist.

Xia Ling was very busy, running all over for her schedules and recording new songs.

Yet, Li Lei was determined that she should work hard and play hard as well. Regardless of how busy she was, there were breaks scheduled into her daily routine that was non-negotiable. He would not let her go to her next schedule if she did not get enough rest.

Xia Ling worked till midnight for a full week, and in the weekend, Li Lei dragged her out to relax.

He drove her to the seaside.

They watched the sunrise in each other’s arms and took a stroll along the beach before returning home. ”Home” was an exquisite, white beach bungalow. Many properties along the coast were owned by Li Lei. Xia Ling examined the beach bungalow with curiosity — it had a Mediterranean-style architecture with huge, full-length windows. Pushing open the side door from the bedroom led out into a white-striped balcony, and there was the smell of the sea in the air.

She finally had some peace and quiet and was able to relax. For most of the day, Xia Ling would be sleeping or lazing around, as if she was repaying all the sleep debt from her rigorous schedule and nightmares that kept her awake. She hugged onto the blankets, and Li Lei would embrace her from behind, ignoring her half-asleep protests. He would sneak a kiss from time to time and hum a random tune as he rocked her to sleep.

They did not talk about Pei Ziheng.

As if all the danger and pain did not exist.

Li Lei said, ”Xiao Ling, I really want to hide you away and live like this forever.”

In her half-asleep reverie, she mumbled something in protest.

He gave a light laugh and pinched her nose slightly. ”Sleep. It would be best if you turn into a pig from all the sleep, then Ah Wei and the rest won’t recognize you. Only I will recognize you.”

Xia Ling gave a ”hmph” in protest again as her brain processed what Li Lei was saying in slow motion. Pig… Ah Wei… Wait, Ah Wei?! She opened her eyes with a start and stared at Li Lei. ”Did Ah Wei look for me these few days?”

Li Lei continued to pinch her nose lightly. ”No.” And with another pinch, he said, ”Who cares about him anyway?”

Xia Ling stared at him, her eyes full of suspicion.

That couldn’t be right… She remembered that a few days ago, Ah Wei had called her while she was in her apartment to go to the recording studio as he had something to tell her. Why was it that now that she had been pulled out here by Li Lei, that call seemed to have never happened? This was not scientific of Ah Wei, who was a workaholic, obsessive, petty, and a stickler about punctuality all rolled into one.

Li Lei blinked at her innocently.

Her nose felt itchy from his pinches, and she sneezed while sitting up. ”Let me go give Ah Wei a call.”

He pushed her back into bed. ”If there were anything urgent, he would call you himself.”

”No, I need to ask him what he needed to tell me before I can relax.” She pulled Li Lei’s hand away from her shoulder and put on a random pair of slippers before heading out to the living room to look for her mobile.

Li Lei reluctantly followed behind her.

Her mobile was switched off, and she stared at it mildly confused. ”I never switch off my phone. Is the battery dead?”

She pressed the power button and the screen lit up. Her battery was full.

Li Lei coughed sheepishly and turned away.

From the other end of the line, Ah Wei’s shouting could be heard. ”Ye Xingling, why are you only switching on your phone now?! Do you know how many days I have been looking for you?! What kind of artiste are you? Do you even care about your work?! Why do you keep coming with problems every two or three days and mess up my schedule? Do you think you are some big shot?! So what if you have some talent, who says you can develop all these bad habits?! Huh?! You had better…”