A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“Brother Lei!” Gu Lin was on the verge of tears, how could he stand that darned woman?!

Xia Ling smilingly said, “Not much, we just want a triple of the end price. I believe Miss Gu will be able to afford such a small sum. Oh right, I need this money urgently, so we need this settled by today. Otherwise, I guess I’ll have no choice but pass this on to… your father, Old Master Gu. I think he’ll settle this promptly.”

“But what if Grandfather Gu doesn’t want to pay?” Li Lei was stifling his laughter now.

“Well…” Xia Ling tilted her head cutely. “Send it to the press, or the court, or maybe just Mr. Li? There’s bound to be a platform for justice to be served.”

With every location, Gu Lin’s heart leaped through her mouth.

Sending it to Old Master Gu? Old Master Gu had just warned her against messing with Xia Ling. If he discovered that she was up to something again, he would literally skin her alive. The media? The courts? Goodness, the Gu’s family reputation would go to shreds, and Mr. Gu would definitely skin her alive. That can’t happen… Especially when her greatest wish was to marry into the Li’s. Giving her father-in-law a bad first impression would be even worse than being skinned alive!

Gu Lin gave Xia Ling the evil eye, feeling as if a fire was spouting out of her gaze.

Xia Ling remained indifferent. “Miss Gu, you should make your decision quickly. I don’t have a lot of time.”

In all her years alive, Gu Lin had always been doted on, and there was no way that she could win her battle with Xia Ling. She was angry and anxious, but still, she couldn’t come out with any alternative ideas. Was she really going to give this damned woman her money?

Gu Lin bit her lip as she directed her gaze towards Li Lei, before bursting into tears. “Brother Lei, she’s bullying me!”

She had forgotten that the Li Lei that stood in front of her was, in fact, not her Brother Lei, but rather, Xia Ling’s boyfriend, who would definitely jump to defend the woman that he actually loved. Li Lei looked at her with pity. “Lin Lin, you did break the thing. It is not wrong for Xiao Ling to ask you to pay. How about you apologize to her, pay her the money, and then we can peacefully move on from here.”

Of all the people that Gu Lin could’ve been at loggerheads with, she just had to choose Xiao Ling. Besides, Gu Lin was at fault.

Gu Lin had never anticipated this. She just stood there, biting her lip and just contemplating as tears fell down her face. “Brother Lei, you have changed…”

Changed? Internally, Xia Ling laughed bitterly. Gu Lin, you think you can win others’ sympathy by merely crying? She had seen so much of this in her previous life, but now, Xia Ling’s heart had been cast to stone, and she watched on as Gu Lin continued her act.

Li Lei’s brow twitched. She was like a sister to him, after all; making her cry wasn’t particularly ideal.

He eyed Xia Ling, and his gaze met hers. She was unsmiling as if saying, “What, does your heart hurt?”

Li Lei’s heart leaped momentarily, feeling that as long as he showed any sign of weakness, the distance between him and Xia Ling that he had worked so hard to bridge before would come to naught all over again.

Instead, he held onto Xia Ling’s hands and turned to Gu Lin. “No matter what Xiao Ling wants to do, I will support her, because she is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. As for you… Lin Lin, it’s time for you to change that temper of yours. Otherwise, one day it will come back to bite you.”

Gu Lin’s sobs grew louder and then she ran away.

Xia Ling watched her figure leave wordlessly. Did she leave just like that? Gu Lin’s resolve was practically nothing compared to Xia Yu back then. However, since she had left so abruptly, what was she going to do about the payment? Xia Ling was in a dilemma. Of course, she couldn’t go around showing the surveillance videos to people, because even if she didn’t mind clashing with other people, she still had to show some consideration to Li Lei and maintain whatever peace they had left.

Li Lei sighed looking in the direction Gu Lin had left. That girl had been spoiled to death, it was just lucky that she had crossed paths Xiao Ling’s sharp tongue but soft heart. What if one day she offended someone far worse…

He began to worry.

“Miss Ye, Mr. Li.” The waiter was still waiting in the corner. “Would you still be needing the surveillance tapes? And the shattered fragments on the floor, do you need us to clean it up for you?”

Xia Ling calmed herself down. “We don’t need the surveillance tapes for now. As for the fragments…” Looking at the purple grey smithereens, Xia Ling was on the verge of tears. There was no way she could put all these pieces back together with glue and hand it over to Old Master Gu, right?

Li Lei broke her train of thought. “Choose something else first. I’ll foot the bill.”

“And why do you think you should be doing that?” Xia Ling huffed.

Li Lei smiled bitterly. “Lin Lin is practically my sister, just let me do my part as her brother.” In front of Gu Lin, he defended his girlfriend and gave barely a second look at other girls. But in private, he continued to harp on his relationship with Gu Lin, trying to neutralize the tension between the girls.

Who knew that this would take a turn for the worse.

Xia Ling’s frustration grew further. “You’re my boyfriend! Your money is my money! Does it make sense that you have to pay for yourself?” As the words slipped from her mouth, she belatedly realized how possessive she sounded. What did she mean by “your money is my money”? Had she… had she subconsciously considered Li Lei her family now…

Li Lei first reacted in bewilderment, then his face broke into a wide smile.

“Yes, yes, yes, my money is your money.” He wanted to pull her in and spin her around. He didn’t fear that she was after his money, and now she was comfortable. “My money is now under your care, you call the shots. It’s all yours.”

The employee was holding in his laughter.

Xia Ling grew more distressed. “I, I’m…” It slowly morphed into fury. “We were talking about Gu Lin! The bottom line is, I’m not letting you become her scapegoat!”

“Yes, yes, yes, if you say so.” What had been a respected, capable Boss was now replaced with an incredibly whipped boyfriend.

Xia Ling was satisfied, but it hailed a new problem. How was she going to come up with the money?

“It’s simple.” The Boss was back in high spirits, and his brain was in overdrive now. He asked the employee to get the surveillance footage and told Xia Ling, “Now we can’t send this to Mr. Gu, but remember the guy you met at the cocktail reception for The Caged Butterfly? He’s Gu Lin’s biological father. He dotes on her excessively, I’m sure he will try to keep this quiet and pay you.”

“Good idea. I like it.” Xia Ling grinned as she shot the Boss a compliment. The middle-aged man she met that day seemed like a pretty decent guy, other than the fact that he spoiled his daughter silly. To get things under control, he would probably give in.

Xia Ling gleefully sent the recordings over, and unsurprisingly, a significant sum was sent into her bank account shortly after. The money had tripled, and so did her ecstasy. Yes, her plan to get Mr. Li a present became more concrete.

This time around, she was with Li Lei again and bought the entire set. Thinking about what Gu Lin had intended previously, she also decided to pair it up with a beautiful wooden box.

Women are petty, and she was no exception. After making her purchase, she took a selfie of herself with Li Lei and posted it on Weibo.

— It’s New Years’. Accompanying my boyfriend home to give my elders a present.

It had been a short caption, but it turned popular in a matter of minutes.

Xia Ling knew that Gu Lin would definitely come across it, and the thought of getting on Gu Lin’s nerves again was fun.