A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling came to a sudden halt and her heart seemed to have stopped as well.

Chu Chen spoke very calmly, “I didn’t expect you could run this far, I almost missed you.”

She did not say a word as she backed off step by step.

She turned around immediately and was prepared to flee when she bumped into the sturdy bodies of two burly men. They gripped her tightly as if they were about to shatter her bones.

Chu Chen sauntered towards them.

“Ye Xingling, you’re wasting your efforts.” He smiled. “Whatever Boss wants, he will get it by hook or by crook.”

“Chu Chen, you’ll get your retribution.” Xia Ling clenched her teeth, knowing that pleading with a cold-hearted, brutal person like him was pointless.

He laughed again. “Little girl, you actually believe in that? Don’t be naive… Oh, let me give you some advice. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself instead. Some of the things you’ve been up to lately have made Boss very unhappy.”

Before she could respond, he ordered the two men. “Take her to the car.”

Xia Ling struggled with all her might and attempted to shout for help.

Somebody from behind had covered her mouth with his thick, calloused hand and with a sharp pain that radiated in the back of her neck, she lost consciousness.

She eventually came around.

She was in a classic European style bedroom, the chandeliers were dim and the heavy and sturdy door was shut. She was on an enormous bed that could comfortably fit seven to eight people. Above her, floral curtains and gold-lined tassels hung heavily while their shadows were cast on the mattress. She felt eeriness in the room.

The surrounding was silent, there was no one besides her.

Xia Ling sat up on the bed and was shocked to discover that she was in a completely different outfit from before. Her sleeved blouse and light-colored pants were nowhere to be seen, replaced by an incredibly thin, almost non-existent silk nightgown. It was an enchanting red with plenty of lace intricacies, and was extremely loose-fitting and low-cut — she had to hold her hand to her chest to protect her modesty.

Still, this was not what scared or embarrassed her the most.

Her greatest fear and embarrassment was that this garment barely covered her upper body. It ended above her mid-thigh and any small movement she made could easily reveal her delicate parts. She felt as if all the blood in her was back-flowing as past memories flashed in her mind yet again.

Fog, villa, imprisonment…

The memories came at her like a ferocious wave as she hyperventilated. She fumbled as she got off the bed and staggered towards the thick sturdy door that would lead her out.

She reached for the gold knob, but the door did not budge an inch.

Xia Ling was increasingly frightened. She appeared to have lost her mind as she slammed herself against the door, once, twice, again… She did not know how long it was before the door suddenly opened from the outside, and with her momentum, she fell into the arms of a man.

Looking up, she saw his face clear as day.

The incredibly handsome and sinister devil in her memory had come to life.

Xia Ling stared at him in shock, her mind a blank. The next moment, she felt a pang on her face as her ears buzzed and she fell onto the carpet, knocking down two chairs.

Her vision was a blur and in that moment, she thought her physical being had shattered.

Pei Ziheng sauntered ever so slowly and squatted before her.

She took great pains to view him in focus, and only after seeing his lips part and shut for a few moments did she regain her hearing.

“This slap was for Xia Ling,” he said sombrely. “Who are you to dare insult her?”

Xia Ling was confused, when had she insulted herself? Even though she had another life now, she would not have done something so mindless. But she was beginning to understand the situation, it must have been Xia Yu… There had been a lot of news going on lately and Xia Yu had been accusing her of insulting her “dear sister.”

Her voice trembled. “I did not insult…”

Before she could complete her sentence, another brutal slap had landed on the same side of her face. She whimpered in pain for an instant before she felt a numbing sting on her cheek and began to taste blood in her nose and mouth. The warm liquid peeked out the corner of her lips, flowing down her beautiful jawline.

Pei Ziheng reached out and caressed her hurt face.

His light touched was enough for her to shrink back in pain.

“You’re still denying it,” he softly spoke as he touched the blood from her lips and went on to press his finger against his own mouth.

“Ye Xingling,” he sais as he slowly savored the blood on his finger. “I could’ve given you a life of luxury, but not only did you reject me multiple times, but you’ve also even gone on to insult my woman? Ye Xingling, you will be taught a lesson. I promise.”

He bent over and stared at her with an unfamiliar expression in them.

When she was his Xia Ling in her previous life, he had never looked at her this way. Even in her final and most horrifying year of life, he had looked at her like a predator guarding his territory, with a burning desire, or even with compelling determination… but he never had this expression, as if he was looking at a lifeless animal.

Xia Ling felt herself stiffen as she attempted to create distance between them.

He held her chin. “Trying to escape?”

He violently picked her up and she felt the world spin, with no means at all to struggle. He tossed her onto the large bed in the middle of the room as beaded tassels and satin landed on her.

He went onto the bed to hold her down, with one hand holding both her hands above her head and the other sweeping away the tassels covering her, revealing her partially-clothed body. The nightgown had slipped off her shoulders, showing much of her fair skin as she trembled under his glare.

She was in hysteria, screaming. “Pei Ziheng, let go of me!”

He mocked. “You have to pay the price for insulting my Xiao Ling.”

“I really did not insult her,” Xia Ling was in utter distress as she tried to mask her choking sadness. “What did I insult her with? What exactly did I say!”

His look darkened as he held both hands to her neck. “You have the guts to ask me? Ye Xingling, I’m telling you, you are the cheap, shameless woman who sleeps around with men! You deserve to die!”

Gosh…

She was stunned, it was such a vile statement.

At that moment, she could barely feel the pain from his strangling. Only when her vessels were about to burst and her breath was almost completely cut did she subconsciously struggle. It was only then that he loosened his grip.

She coughed her lungs out, struggling to catch her breath.

It took a long while before she calmed down, but she felt pathetic. She finally knew why he had gone mad, but…

“I didn’t even know that somebody insulting Xia Ling would make you… unhappy.”