A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“I still remember that song, ‘The Nameless Traveller’ till today —

I am a nameless traveler

Going to that place where the fires are burning

Following the stars

The ice-covered sea cannot stop me

The mountainous terrains cannot stop me

The storms and floods cannot stop me

The end of the world cannot stop me… ”

Sister Mai Na sang in a low voice and then laughed. “It’s such a nice song, probably the nicest song I have heard in my life. Her voice got louder and higher as the song progressed… as if she did not bat an eyelid at any of her problems, and the world was under her feet.”

“I bought Xia Ling’s album and, every time I wanted to give up, I would take it out to listen to this song. It would give me the strength and courage to keep fighting on. Xiao Ling, you have no idea but, her voice was what helped me through some of the most difficult times in my life.”

“In this life, I will be the manager for many but I will only be the fan of one, and that is her.”

Sister Mai Na was quiet for a while before she said, “I did not expect that she would leave the world so soon. She gave me the courage to face the world and the people in it, but the person that couldn’t withstand it all first was… her.”

Sister Mai Na’s sad tone was contagious and Xia Ling also felt her mood becoming sad. She did not know that this intelligent and powerful businesswoman in front of her had a weaker side to her, to the point that she seemed so helpless and like a child that had lost her way.

Xia Ling did not interrupt Sister Mai Na as she understood that at this moment any form of consolation was useless.

Sister Mai Na silently stared into the tens of thousands of lotus lights in the distance, lost in her thoughts and emotions. It was completely quiet for a while. The summer night’s breeze blew over and it was slightly chilly. They kept standing there for a long time until Sister Mai Na’s phone started to ring.

Sister Mai Na picked it up. “Hello, Ken… Mmhmm, I’m further upstream about 150 meters from the willow forest… Okay, please hurry.”

When she hung up, her voice returned to its usual clear and curt tone. “Xiao Ling, Ken is coming over in a while to take some photos of you and make it seem like it has been taken candidly. Come to light these last two lotus lights.”

It was only now that Xia Ling noticed that there were two more lotus lights remaining in the little blue basket by the river. Clearly, Sister Mai Na had kept them especially for her.

In the entertainment circle, most of the “candid” shots that were taken had actually been posed for. Xia Ling was not surprised at hearing Sister Mai Na say that Ken was going to make it seem candid, what surprised her was that Sister Mai Na had not brought her out to the temple to pray but instead had planned something else as well.

Sister Mai Na seemed to see through her and mildly sighed. “While I’m a big fan of the Diva Xia Ling, I’m still Skyart Entertainment’s manager and not a pure fan… Even though what I’m about to do might hurt her, it still has to be done. However…” She was quiet for a while before continuing, “Someone like her might actually want this to be out in the open.”

Xia Ling felt more shocked as she heard this. What was she going to do that was going to hurt her, that being Xia Ling in her previous life?

She found out very soon after.

The very next day after Ken had helped take her photos, a crazy rumor started spreading online: Xia Yu was not as evil as everyone had thought. That day she had gotten someone to slap Zhang Suxin while filming for another reason. It was because the shameless bitch, Zhang Suxin, had schemed to get close to Pei Ziheng and wanted to use him to become famous in the industry!

After this news came out, the reaction from the netizens was overwhelming.

So it was because Zhang Suxin was too shameless and did not listen to Xia Yu’s numerous words of advice, such that Xia Yu had no choice but to be harsh with her.

And Ye Xingling had stepped forward in the name of righteousness for Zhang Suxin, but she did not know this backstory. The rumor online claimed that after Ye Xingling had interfered, Xia Yu had attempted to explain the situation to Ye Xingling. However, Ye Xingling felt that if she did not do anything after stepping forward it was a loss of face for her, and hence, slapped Xia Yu in her fluster.

She not only slapped Xia Yu but also insinuated that it was Xia Ling that was shameless. As a result, the conflict escalated out of control.

Xia Ling was shocked after seeing this piece of news. Was the incident not over yet?

She asked Sister Mai Na, “How long is this going to last? Is Xia Yu still not repentant from all that she’s done?”

Sister Mai Na laughed and said, “Xia Yu is not the only one that is keeping this going.”

Seeing Xia Ling’s look of confusion, Sister Mai Na explained, “It’s true that Xia Yu is trying hard to clear her name, and thus she revealed this information about Zhang Suxin trying to get close to Pei Ziheng with the silent blessing from Pei Ziheng himself. Xia Yu has a strong standing in Pei Ziheng’s heart and, sacrificing a plaything that had betrayed them to help clear Xia Yu’s name, this is something that Pei Ziheng is able to accept.”

“However, there is something that has crossed the line for Pei Ziheng.”

Xia Ling asked, “What?”

Sister Mai Na said, “Did you notice that in this piece of news, it said that you insinuated that Diva Xia Ling was the one who had used Pei Ziheng and slept with him to gain fame? This information — what you had insulted Diva Xia Ling with — was not revealed no matter how hard the netizens tried to pry it out the last time when your conflict with Xia Yu was at its peak.”

Xia Ling lowered her head to think and started to gain more clarity. “When the photos were taken that day, there was only three of us present — me, Xia Yu, and Zhang Suxin. I did not insult anyone so Zhang Suxin and I both did not know what exactly I had ‘insulted’ Xia Ling about. Only Xia Yu knows as she was the one that created all of this to frame me.”

“Saying that Xia Ling had slept with Pei Ziheng for fame, or anything else, that is all fabricated by Xia Yu.”

As Xia Ling spoke, she thought of that incident where she was kidnapped by Pei Ziheng and he had burst out in fury saying that she was the prostitute sleeping around… She felt a sharp pain in her heart but forced herself to suppress the pain that felt like a knife was cutting through her heart.

Xia Yu had already told Pei Ziheng what she “insulted” Xia Ling with then.

However, Pei Ziheng was the only one that knew what the “insult” was, whereas the media and public were not able to pry it out.

Xia Ling did not understand. Why did Pei Ziheng not make this information public? Was it to preserve the dignity of Xia Ling who had passed on? Or was it so that Imperial Entertainment would not lose face? Regardless, Pei Ziheng clearly did not want the netizens to know about this if he had not disclosed it then.

However, the rumor now revealed it all.

This would clearly be stepping on Pei Ziheng’s toes.

“Xia Yu was too careless this time. Perhaps she was pushed to the corner and was like a dog jumping over a high wall, daring to step on Pei Ziheng’s toes.” Xia Ling lamented. She then self-reproachingly said, “But who knows, perhaps Pei Ziheng is especially forgiving to her.”

Xia Yu seemed to have gotten away with bullying many of Pei Ziheng’s female bed partners.

Pei Ziheng’s level of tolerance for every person was different.

Sister Mai Na laughed again. “Take a guess. Do you think Pei Ziheng is more partial to Xia Ling or more partial to Xia Yu?

“Hmm?” Xia Ling was confused again. Why was Sister Mai Na asking about this? She did not dare guess what the answer might be.

“My guess is that he’s more partial to Xia Ling.” Sister Mai Na continued in her own stride. “Otherwise, why would Xia Yu’s face turn so white after she found out that the details of what the insult was had gotten out?”

“Huh?!” Xia Ling gave a jump. “You mean these details weren’t revealed by Xia Yu?!”

“Xia Yu isn’t as stupid as you think.” Sister Mai Na looked at her slightly amused. “She is either unable to gauge her place in Pei Ziheng’s heart, or she knows for sure that she can’t match up to her sister. Hence, she did not reveal these details at the start. Since she didn’t reveal it then, there is no reason for her to do it now. Why would she want to anger Pei Ziheng while not gaining anything?”

“The people that revealed the details of the ‘insult’ were actually us at Skyart Entertainment.”