A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“This was done by Skyart Entertainment?” Xia Ling felt a queasiness build up in her.

“Yup.” Sister Mai Na smiled brightly. “Xia Yu only tried to destroy Zhang Suxin’s reputation to clear her name, singling you out as someone that was helping a shameless woman without getting the story straight first. She would not dare to bring her sister into the picture. It was Boss that asked me to add some flavor to the story, and to add the details about Diva Xia Ling being insulted as well.”

“How does Boss know the details of what was said?” asked Xia Ling. However, she figured out the answer immediately as the words left her mouth. When she was kidnapped by Pei Ziheng, Pei Ziheng had told her, and she had, in turn, told Li Lei when she was feeling really down.

She did not think that Li Lei would remember it and take it to heart.

“What about you doesn’t Boss take to heart?” Sister Mai Na gave Xia Ling a meaningful look. Was this little lady really dumb or just acting dumb? How could she not be able to tell that Boss liked her? It was so obvious to all of them, but she was still dazed and in the dark.

Xia Ling was trying to organize her thoughts. “So you’re saying that Boss is the one that is disseminating this information… However, Pei Ziheng doesn’t know that. Pei Ziheng will think that Skyart Entertainment would not spread such information on our own accord because its damaging to us. Zhang Suxin is on our side now, so it also cannot be her. That leaves Xia Yu…”

She lifted her head and concluded. “Pei Ziheng will suspect that Xia Yu is the one who revealed the details of the ‘insult.’”

Sister Mai Na snapped her fingers as she smiled. “Bingo. Now, take a guess, do you think Pei Ziheng will let her off this time?”

Xia Ling shook her head and gave a bitter smile. “This is why you asked me who Pei Ziheng is more partial to, Xia Ling or Xia Yu? Perhaps… they are both not important to him? In his heart…” The expression in her eyes darkened. “perhaps there’s only himself.”

“If there’s only himself, that is even better.” Sister Mai Na said happily. “Xia Yu revealed something that he had said was not to be revealed. This is a clear challenge to his authority. Xia Yu is definitely not in a good place.”

Xia Ling thought about it and knew that Sister Mai Na was right. Didn’t that man hate people going against his will the most?

This was the pet peeve that she had crossed in her previous life that resulted in her dismal predicament…

Forget it, stop thinking about it. Xia Ling shook her head to clear her mind. “Okay, let them fight it out. How about us? What are we going to do now?” After this rumor was released, the momentum had shifted toward Xia Yu again, and many were criticizing “Ye Xingling” for interfering without understanding the backstory first.

Sister Mai Na confidently said, “This is why I brought you to light the lotus lights to pay your respects to Xia Ling.”

As such, that evening, the headline news of the most popular tabloid released the pictures of “Ye Xingling” lighting lotus lamps in commemoration of the late Diva Xia Ling along a riverbank outside the city. Under the moonlight, her expression was full of sadness and grief.

Ken’s photography skills were on point, and he was able to capture the exact emotions that were required. This photo looked exactly like it was taken by coincidence, completely candid, but at the same time the lighting and angles were perfect and anyone looking at the photo would be able to feel the grieving emotions.

“What is going on? Why is Ye Xingling paying her respects to Xia Ling?” Many started to question when they saw this photo online.

“There’s something that you don’t know,” someone replied. “Ye Xingling has been Xia Ling’s fan for a long time. She had liked Xia Ling since she was a trainee and had sung many covers of Xia Ling’s songs before.”

“Are you talking about ‘Sea Demon’?” Another person that knew Ye Xingling from before continued, “I heard Ye Xingling’s version of that song and it was so good, almost as good as the original. She was just a newbie, and for her to be able to sing such a challenging song like ‘Sea Demon’ that well, she had to be a big fan of Xia Ling.”

“Where can we find her cover of ‘Sea Demon’? I want to hear it too.”

It was not long after that the video recording of Xia Ling singing “Sea Demon” in the training camp was revealed to the netizens. The video was taken by a member of the audience with his or her mobile phone. The framing was not perfect and the camera lens shook from time to time, but it made it seem even more real and like you were there listening to it live. On stage, Xia Ling was dressed completely in white, singing and dancing in the dark alone. Her song and dance were perfect complements to each other and pulled everyone into the imaginary world that she was singing about, falling deep into her emotions.

This song had Xia Ling’s flavor through and through. They were so uncannily similar.

Many that watched this video converted to become Ye Xingling’s fans.

Many more commented that there was no way that Xia Ling’s fan would insult her out of nowhere. Where did this random rumor come from? It was tough for Ye Xingling as a new singer to the industry, why were people making it so tough for her?

Hence, the rumor about “Ye Xingling” insulting the Diva Xia Ling that had just started to gain traction was quashed again.

Netizens did not believe that she had insulted Xia Ling, but at the same time, were highly interested in what was said, that “Xia Ling had slept with someone to gain fame.”

What was Xia Ling’s status? She was the glamorous Diva of the industry and passed away at the peak of her popularity. She was almost akin to a Goddess.

Why would someone like her have to sleep with someone for fame? Even if she was willing to, who would deserve her?

The passion for gossip burned on amongst the netizens, and they worked together to piece all the clues together for the full story. With their imagination, it was not long before they found the most likely suspect — Pei Ziheng, Imperial Entertainment’s Big Boss and the Pei family’s seventh generation successor.

He was the one that had adopted Xia Ling and had sheltered Xia Ling from the harshness of the entertainment industry since she debuted. Without Pei Ziheng, Xia Ling would not have such a smooth-sailing road to stardom. If Xia Ling were to choose to sleep with anyone, it had to be Pei Ziheng.

The rumors spread like wildfire. Even the big and small tabloids were fighting to publish this piece of news.

Sister Mai Na woefully said to Xia Ling, “The news still got so out of hand. When Diva Xia Ling was still alive, this news had never been revealed even though there were rumors in the industry saying that she was Pei Ziheng’s lover. Then, she had covered it up so well that no one was able to validate if the rumors were true. This time, Boss sent someone to specially investigate Pei Ziheng because of you, and found out that many things were indeed true.”

She handed a copy of a newspaper to Xia Ling. There was a large photo under the headlines.

It was a dark, rainy day and there were several black, expensive cars parked in front of a cemetery. The most eye-catching car was a limousine Rolls-Royce. The car door was partially open, and Pei Ziheng was stepping out of the car dressed in a suit. A staff member was holding an umbrella over him, whereas another was carrying a large bouquet of white roses. There was also another five or six bodyguards taking care of security.

“He went to see Xia Ling,” said Sister Mai Na. “The Pei family graveyard. That is where Xia Ling is buried.”

Xia Ling never found out where she had been buried. Now that she found out all of a sudden, she felt a pain in her heart again.

“Why is she… buried there?” she asked with difficulty.

Sister Mai Na sighed. “To be buried in the Pei family graveyard is indeed not something that can be easily achieved. We’ve investigated this and found out that since Xia Ling died, Pei Ziheng has been fighting with his family about where she would be buried. He said that Xia Ling is the girl that he had adopted, and there were legal papers on the adoption, so she was part of the Pei family and should rightfully be buried in the family graveyard. However, do you think that these traditional, wealthy families would allow any star to be buried in the family graveyard?”

Xia Ling nodded. She was well aware of the airs of the Pei family and could imagine the difficulty of the situation.

But, why did Pei Ziheng have to fight with them over this?

If he did not treat her well while she was alive, why try so hard for her after she passed on?