A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling gave a scream and woke from the nightmare, a cold sweat breaking out over her body.

She turned on all the lights in the room with shaking hands. Curling her body in the corner of the bed, she hugged herself. She did not dare to close her eyes as Pei Ziheng’s face would emerge every time she did. He appeared suddenly like a God, swishing the whip that he would hit her with, or forcing himself into her against her will. And also that sinister, unreadable look that he had given her earlier at the hospital…

— Xiao Ling, my beautiful butterfly. Everything you have is mine.

— Li Lei, you might be able to protect her now, but you cannot protect her forever.

In her trance, that deep, hoarse voice lingered in her ears, like a demon speaking from the depths of a deep valley, not going away.

She stumbled off the bed, knocking over the glass of water on the side table. She fumbled for the vinyl player at the corner of the room and randomly put on a song. A slow melody filled the room. She did not want to have time to think and forced herself to sing along with the song, trying her best to focus entirely on the music and lyrics and away from the scene in her nightmare and memories. She tried not to remember and tried not to let her emotions run wild…

Her consciousness was a blur. The music and the terrifying images crisscrossed in her mind out of control.

The room door opened.

It was Li Lei. He had rushed over after hearing her scream and the music from the vinyl player. He found her curled into a ball in the corner.

“Ye Xingling, what’s wrong?” He bent over and lifted her pale face.

She mumbled the song’s lyrics sporadically and looked at him with both eyes void of emotion like she was looking blankly into the distance. Her eyes reflected terror and loss, similar to that of a hurt animal.

Li Lei frowned and felt a dull pain in the depths of his heart as he saw Xia Ling in this weak state.

“Ye Xingling, you really treat me like your slave.” He mumbled to himself as he carried her in his arms. She was very light and her body trembled as she curled closer to his chest reactively, trying to get warmth from his body.

Li Lei carried her to the sofa in the living room, rubbing his hand gently along her spine to calm her down.

He had just taken a bath and was wearing a silk bathrobe. The warmth of his bare skin came into contact with her cold body like he was trying to transfer all his strength and courage to her. It was a long while later before Xia Ling felt the terrifying scenes from the nightmare fade away and her consciousness return. She found herself in a suggestive position hugging close to his chest. The steady beat of his heart ringing in her ear had the amazing ability to calm her down, and she felt a peace come over her.

“Did you have a bad dream?” He asked gently.

She nodded, then shook her head, looking at him guardedly.

He saw her cautious expression and found it funny. “You had a nightmare and are trying not to feeling ashamed. Really?” Seeing that she was still very defensive and her spine had tensed up again, he shook his head and released her.

Xia Ling watched in confusion as he got up to leave. A short while later, he came back with a blanket and draped it over her body. The soft touch of the blanket on her skin was comfortable and the tension in her back started to relax. She let out a long sigh.

Li Lei left again.

The light in the kitchen lit up and there was the sound of the opening and closing of the fridge, followed by the stove being turned on.

He walked back carrying a glass of warm milk. Handing it to her, he said, “Drink this, it will make you feel better.”

She blinked in surprise at his consideration, slightly overwhelmed by his care. Giving away a few luxury items to a girl was easy, but personally warming a glass of milk on the stove was rare for a big boss like him.

However, she did not like drinking milk. She shook her head and feebly said, “I’m not drinking it.”

He raised his brows and asked, “You don’t want it?”

He had just finished his question when the leopard walked out from the shadow of the corner of the living room. His fur was majestically covered with spots that looked like roses, and his steps were lazy but elegant. Strutting like a king who was walking before his people, he came beside the sofa.

Xia Ling felt fear consume her. The leopard was so close that she felt she could hear his beastly breathing.

“Er Mao, this is not for you.” Li Lei casually rubbed the top of Er Mao’s head.

The leopard stared at the milk in his hand and gave a soft whine, sounding a little pitiful.

Li Lei stuffed the glass of milk in Xia Ling’s hands, saying, “Drink this up, I’ll go prepare one for Er Mao. If you don’t drink it…” He gave a smile, showing his white teeth. “… then feed it to Er Mao yourself.”

Xia Ling looked at the milk in her hands and then over at Er Mao. She weakly said, “I’ll drink it.”

Li Lei smiled in satisfaction. Calling Er Mao over, he left the room.

The light in the kitchen lit up again. As Xia Ling drank the milk in small sips, she heard Li Lei saying as he fed Er Mao, “There there, Er Mao. You’re already 7 years old but is still whining away. I just stole a little of your milk, that’s all…”

What, stole?

Xia Ling stared at the milk in her hands in shock.

After a while, Li Lei came back to her side alone. Seeing that she had finished the milk, he looked happy. As such, he generously consoled her, “Don’t be afraid. Er Mao won’t stay in the living room after finishing his supper. He has his own room.”

But…

Xia Ling carefully asked, “This milk. You stole it?”

Li Lei gave a start and laughed. “Well, you could say so.” He said. “I don’t drink this at all, so all the milk in the house is prepared exclusively for Er Mao.”

Xia Ling was momentarily speechless. This milk had a special taste to it, and if she was not mistaken, it was an expensive imported brand. In her past life, her sister, Xia Yu, had drunk this for a period of time when she was really ill. This milk had to be pre-ordered and had limited stock. Every year people would be fighting to make sure they get within the quota… There were so many that were fighting for this milk that they could not buy, and he was feeding it to his pet?!

“What are you thinking?” He asked her.

“… You’re rich and willful.” She said.

He laughed again, clearly amused, and could not resist teasing her. “If you follow me, you can also be rich and willful.”

Xia Ling rolled her eyes at him, visibly upset, and said, “Nobody can force me to do something that I am unwilling to do.”

“Hey beauty, don’t be so nervous.” Li Lei teased again as he continued laughing. “Since when did I say that I was going to force you? Am I such a pervert to you? I will be patient… eventually, you will agree willingly.” He had always been a patient hunter, especially in front of a prey that he liked very much, he did not mind playing games with her.

Xia Ling was suspicious of how much to believe his words. She was not the naive person she was in her past life. She knew that in front of power and status, all promises were useless.

“However,” He waved his finger at her. “I have to warn you. You’ve rejected me once, and I’ve saved your life once. You owe me twice now. I won’t do things a third time. Next time you need help in the face of trouble, I won’t be helping you unconditionally.”

She understood his hidden meaning. If she wanted help next time, she would need to give herself to him in return.

“There will not be such a day.” She responded coldly.

He laughed out loud. Staring at this weak but proud girl in front of him, he said, “Is that so? Let us wait and see.”