A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Jimmy would not give up and held up a tip for the waiter. “Tell us a little.”

The waiter did not make a move to accept it, but rather, kept his courteous smile on. “Our Emerald Vegetables are especially fresh today. They were delivered by air just this morning and are not on the menu yet. I’ll get the kitchen to prepare a serving each for you.”

In this way, he did not embarrass the guest before him nor compromise the other guest’s privacy.

Jimmy simply laughed it off. “Who would’ve thought that your Ye Xingling was so mysterious,” he said half-jokingly to Lin Yunan.

Lin Yunan drank his alcohol unreservedly. “All female celebrities should maintain some mysteriousness for themselves.” He was curious about who Xia Ling had gone to meet as well, but had to defend her in front of others.

Rong Ping could not accept the lack of attention that he was getting. This girl was only an up-and-coming star, how dare she take off for another table in the middle of a meal with the Movie King? “I have something on later today,” Rong Ping said. “Mr. Lin, I’m afraid I have to take my leave first. Please excuse me.” He was free for the rest of the day and had planned to go for a round of drinks with them after the meal, but she was being too rude for him to consider staying.

Although they had already planned to start stirring up some gossips about their relationship, whoever steered the relationship was of importance to Rong Ping. He was the male, and also the one of higher status. There was no reason to tolerate a little female celebrity’s lack of respect towards him.

Lin Yunan read between the lines but did not feel the least bit apologetic. “You’re busy? Please take your leave as you wish, I’ll just stay to wait for Xiao Ling.” Lin Yunan was of considerable status himself and did not see a need to bow down to Rong Ping, even if Xia Ling was at fault.

The dinner, which had started off well and peaceful, had come to an end all of a sudden and was now full of tension.

Rong Ping, with a somber expression, was walked out by the waiter with Jimmy.

Jimmy had worked with him for years and knew right away that this King was angry. “She’s young and insensible, just teach her a lesson during your filming together, there’s no need to get angry over it. Brother Rong, it’s still early now, let’s go get some drinks.”

“What drinks.” Rong Ping snapped. “We’ve barely gone over the script for the upcoming show, we don’t have time for drinks.” He was a busy man who worked diligently to excel in the entertainment industry and had rescheduled a few of the items on his list in order to find time to have this meal with her.

Jimmy just smiled. He did not want to provoke him further.

It was only when they got to the car in the basement carpark did Rong Ping realize that she had ridden in his car to get to the restaurant, so how was she going to find her way back? But the thought did not last longer than a flash. Why did he have to bother about a girl like that?

Meanwhile, Jimmy gloated. “Lin Yunan had some drinks and can’t drive, looks like Ye Xingling is going to have to find a car and a driver to get her home. If her attitude persists, she can forget about having us drive her around in the future, hah!”

Rong Ping did not respond to him as he simply got out of the car frustrated.

The car let out a soft beep as it unlocked.

“Ah.” At the same time, someone let out a gasp from inside the garage.

Rong Ping looked towards the source of the sound and saw a black Rolls Royce parked a short distance away from his car. The car did not look new but was kept in excellent condition. Before the Rolls Royce stood a girl in a long sleeveless dress shivering a little in the autumn breeze.

“Who’s that?!” Jimmy was alert and instinctively took a step before Rong Ping to protect him.

It was not rare for mega-stars like this Movie King to have fans stalk and ambush them, especially die-hard female fans who often appeared around them unexpectedly. Hence, Jimmy had been conditioned to protect Rong Ping and was always ready to keep the girls away if they threw themselves at him.

However, no one would have expected the girl to stay where she was and make no attempt to get close to Rong Ping. A few seconds later, she finally made out who she was facing. “You are… Rong Ping? The Movie King — Rong Ping?” She asked a little apprehensively.

Was this a new strategy of fans? Did they change their aggressive ways of pouncing onto their idols, and instead went for the confused look?

“No autographs, no pictures!” Jimmy was vigilant against her.

Surprisingly, the girl seemed to relax after hearing that and then started laughing aloud. “So it’s you indeed, Elder Rong.” She changed her way of addressing him and walked a few steps forward. Keeping her eyes on Jimmy’s expression, she stopped at what was considered a safe distance from them. “I’m Li Binghu, a final year student from City S Film Academy. Elder Rong, I’ve watched many of your films and admire your fine acting. You’re my idol.”

Rong Ping had had his fair share of bumping into people like that as well. They were not true fans but attempted to sound like they knew him well.

He gave her a formal but gentle smile. “It’s not safe for a girl to be out here in a basement car park so late in the night. You should go home.” His public image was always one of a warm and caring big brother. Even when he was annoyed, he still had to maintain and uphold that image.

He was all ready to step back into his car after saying that.

“I heard the both of you mention… Ye Xingling?” Li Bingyu daringly asked.

Rong Ping’s hand froze on the door handle and turned around.

Jimmy tensed up a little. Had she heard what they said? “How much did you hear?” His tone was almost aggressive now since one of the roles of being a manager was to be the bad guy on behalf of the artiste. Jimmy decided that if Li Bingyu had something she was not supposed to, he would give her enough incentives to keep quiet about it.

“Not much,” Li Bingyu said casually. “Just the last sentence. But I’m surprised, Elder Rong. Is Ye Xingling your girlfriend?”

“Why?” Rong Ping’s voice was still gentle and quiet.

“Actually,” Li Bingyu looked at him straight in the eye. “I just saw Ye Xingling in the restaurant. She was with another man, and they seemed pretty intimate.”

“Oh?” Rong Ping’s expression did not change a bit, but he was slightly angered on the inside.

Jimmy asked on his behalf, “Who’s he?”

“He…” Li Bingyu rubbed her elbow in the cold and showed a pitiful expression. “is Director Pei from Imperial Entertainment. We were on a date, then all of a sudden Ye Xingling appeared. I don’t know if she had lost her way or if it was deliberate, but she looked so jealous. And then Director Pei chased me out…”

She was distorting the whole story.