A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling calmed herself down and tried to sound more composed. “It’s up to you, Director Pei.”

She dully said, “Actually, if you want to hear from me, it’s just as well that Feifei’s IV is removed. Being a living corpse with no way of thinking for herself and no way of making decisions, it’s no better than being completely dead.”

At this point, she paused and thought about herself in her past life.

Till now, she never regretted that decision.

When Pei Ziheng’s fiancé passed on, he initially just kept Xia Ling locked in a secret villa and sent bodyguards to watch her, but that was all. She kicked a fuss about wanting to leave, wanting to break up with him, hysterically screaming and trying to escape time and time again.

Once, her escapade was almost successful.

She had been hiding in a small forest near the villa and got found by the search team he sent. The team had brought along a herd of mastiffs to encircle her and left her glued helpless against a tree, trembling in fear.

Pei Ziheng then strolled from outside the circle.

His look was overcast and incredibly intimidating. He grabbed her messy hair and dragged her by it, her knees on the ground.

“Xia Ling,” he said menacingly. “try escaping again and I’ll let you know what it means to have a life more miserable than death itself.”

He dragged her in that manner across the uneven terrain, all the way back to the villa. The fallen twigs and branches had ripped her dress, scraping her fair and tender skin, leaving them bloody and wounded. There was no end to the blood trail she left. By the time she was back in the bedroom, she was panting weakly, and there was no skin on her left unscathed.

The family doctor took an entire day to remove the sediment bits etched in her back.

And then took a few more days to cleanse, medicate and dress her wounds.

Pei Ziheng stood beside her and watched coldly the whole time.

Her body was hurting, but her heart was hurting even more. It felt like her heart had been crushed into a ball and hurled to the ground, only to be stepped on repeatedly and recklessly. Yet, she was too naive then and underestimated his cruelness. She continued the reckless tantrums, the resistance, smashing and shattering whatever she found in the room, went on a hunger strike, and engaged in self-harm.

But he was unwavering. He got people to create a full set of chains and locks, chained her arms and legs, and had everything in the room replaced with safe, non-harming items.

She cursed and swore, agitating him. “Pei Ziheng, I must’ve been blind to have agreed to be with you. I don’t love you anymore, I never did!”

He flew into a rage, beating her up and leaving her with blood at the corner of her mouth and momentarily impaired senses. When she still did not stop her rant, he tortured her brutally, until both of them were completely exhausted. She lost consciousness in his arms.

Day after day passed.

He was looking increasingly gloomy, while she repetitively claimed that she no longer loved him. The more ferocious he got, the more satisfaction she gained, even if it meant more scars and lashes on her body.

Until one day, he stared at her for a long while and caressed her face with a gentleness he had not displayed in a long time as if he was handling a treasure.

“Xiao Ling,” he said gently. “you still love me. You will always love me.” The sun rays entered his eyes and reached into a bottomless abyss, and not a single bit of light was reflected.

She was scared of the look he had now, a premonition rising in her chest.

He ripped her clothes off, tied her arms and legs up in black leather rope, and wrapped her in a windbreaker. Then, he carried her to the car and gave the chauffeur a location she had never heard of.

It was an isolated but luxurious building.

Shrouded in thick fauna, great precaution was taken with concealing this place. Pei Ziheng’s Rolls-Royce drove over and the many gates, carved in a beautiful floral pattern, opened slowly to receive him. Behind every gate was an armed guard post.

Pei Ziheng carried her inside.

A man who appeared like a doctor came forward and led Pei Ziheng to a pre-allocated room where he put her down.

“It takes about 20 days,” said the man somewhat solemnly. “Mr. Pei, the specialist team will hand you a complete report. You can then take her home.”

“I would like to witness the entire process,” said Pei Ziheng.

The man’s tone was formal and professional. “If you insist, there is a VIP suite in zone B where you can watch a live stream of what is happening. But I have to remind you, the process isn’t very pleasant to watch.”

Xia Ling did not understand the conversation and naturally felt scared.

“Pei Ziheng, what are you doing!” She shouted at him furiously. “Let go of me! I want to leave!”

Pei Ziheng did not take another look at her. He turned his back and followed the man out of the room.

In the following days, she was given a full body check by several women she did not know. They wore white coats, covered their hands in thin rubber gloves and used all sorts of equipment and apparatuses on her while recording a string of measurements.

Xia Ling felt ashamed and resentful but had no way to escape it with her arms and legs still tied up. They replaced the rope Pei Ziheng tied her with metal handcuffs. The inner surface was lined with soft fur so she wouldn’t get hurt in it, and it allowed for more thorough checks. Yet, it also made her more embarrassed.

She had no idea how she pulled through those few days. After her full body check was a never-ending interrogation. All sorts of ruthless questions were laid out, but she was not in the right state to deal with them and rejected to answer, all the while incoherently cursing at them and Pei Ziheng. The women in the white coats remained expressionless and made recordings while exchanging jargons she could not comprehend.

Finally, Pei Ziheng came for her.

That day, Xia Ling was chained onto a chair. Covered in a thin white blanket, she breathed feebly watching as he came closer. In the same way, as he did when they first arrived, he removed his windbreaker and picked her up in it carefully.

“Xiao Ling, we’re going home,” he gently said, stroking her eyes and the corner of her lips.

Xia Ling gathered all the strength she had to bite him in the palm.

The cold-looking man who led them in previously stood silently and watched what happened. He then said, “Mr. Pei, you should trust our expert’s opinion, she’s not suitable for this procedure. It’s too dangerous.”

Pei Ziheng carefully removed his hurt hand from Xia Ling’s clenched teeth and even gently helped her wipe the blood off the corner of her lips. “I just want the procedure plan and the tools, please send them over as soon as possible.”

The man kept silent for a while, revealing a trace of sympathy in the way he looked at her.

“As you wish, Mr. Pei.”

Back at Pei Ziheng’s villa, he locked her in a small enclosed space. Her limbs, neck, and torso were fixated to the ground, with not an inch of room to move. Beneath her was an incredibly soft blanket, and her mouth was stuffed with a hollow metal ball so she could not make a sound.

Absolute silence; boundless darkness.

Xia Ling panicked as she heard her heartbeat increasingly clearly. Hallucinations were forming in her mind and breathing was getting laborious — she was practically losing her mind. Just as she was on the verge of breaking down, a ray of light appeared. The door was pushed open, and Pei Ziheng’s imposing figure loomed over her as he walked in with a whip.