A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

She felt like she was being imprisoned all over again.

Xia Ling would frequently have the same nightmare. In the nightmare, she would be in that dark, terrifying place she was in in the final period of her past life. She would be shackled to the cold, silk bed with the gold shackles. The bedroom she was in then was as quiet and empty as the ward she was in now. As such, whenever she woke from the nightmare screaming, she would take a while to realize where she was.

Today, she was again awoken from the nightmare in cold sweat.

By her bedside, that tall, handsome, God-like man was bending over to look at her more closely.

“Don’t…” She instinctively withdrew, mumbling as she did so.

Pei Ziheng was stunned, and the hand that was reaching towards her stopped in mid-air.

She stared at the wet cloth in his hand, that was still steaming visibly, and then saw a basin not too far away with the ward number printed on the side. She suddenly realized where she was.

But the words she mumbled were already out of her mouth and could not be taken back.

The expression in Pei Ziheng’s face was unreadable. “You’re awake? You’ve a mild fever, and you’re covered in sweat. Let me help you wipe it off.” As he spoke, he bent over again and wiped the cloth gently over her forehead.

Xia Ling instinctively turned her head away, as if an electric shock had struck her.

Pei Ziheng’s hand stopped moving again, and he slowly pulled his hand back, throwing the cloth aside. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.” He said in a low voice. “I’m not going to hurt you like last time anymore.”

So he knew that he was hurting her?

Xia Ling was incredulous. “What hurt? Do you mean imprisoning me? Do you mean whipping me? Or do you mean letting the dogs loose to chase me? Or, I don’t know… are you referring to poisoning me mute? Or abandoning me when I fell into the water?” She recounted every incident that came to mind, speaking too fast to keep count.

Pei Ziheng said, “I’m sorry.” He was not someone that was verse with words. He knew that his atrocious actions had hurt her deeply, and there was no way he would be able to refute that. He was only glad that regardless of all that she went through, she was still alive in front of him. Otherwise, he would live the rest of his life in pain and regret.

“I don’t want to hear you apologize.” Her voice was soft.

“How should I compensate you?” He asked.

“Ha, compensate?” She gave a cold laugh. “Pei Ziheng, what do you think you can do to repay me?! You almost destroyed me in my past life, and in this life, you were happy to watch me die! Like for instance, when I fell into the water… if it weren’t for Li Lei who risked his life to save me, I would be preparing to reincarnate for my third life!”

“I didn’t know it was you…” He half knelt by her bed, reaching out his hand to cover her cold ones. “Xiao Ling, forgive me. I didn’t know. If I knew, even if it meant that I would lose my life, I would still go in there and save you.”

“So, what is it exactly that you love?” Xia Ling sneered. “If I remove the layer that shouts that I’m ‘Xia Ling,’ I’m just an inconspicuous ant to you, aren’t I? Someone that you can poison mute as you wish… someone that you can abandon?! Pei Ziheng, I was blind in my past life to ever fall for you!”

His hand shook as he gripped her hand tighter in his.

Her every word was like a sharp knife cutting into his heart. He hated himself for not recognizing her earlier. Ye Xingling was so similar to how she was in her past life, they had the same smile, talked in the same way, had the same way of expressing their anger…

If he could, he would turn back time, to the day that she had fallen into the water. If he had chosen her over that damned watch on that day, would everything be different now?

“That was the watch that you gave me…” He tried to explain himself, his voice hoarse.

Xia Ling was taken aback. She suddenly realized that he was referring to the item that he had gone to find when he abandoned her in the water. She could not help but shake her head. “Pei Ziheng, you don’t love me. Or rather, you don’t love me in the body of ‘Ye Xingling.’ What you love are memories. Let me go, please? I… no longer love you anymore.”

She mustered up courage and uttered that final sentence.

She was ready for him to lose his temper, and her back tensed as she braced herself for his fury. However, this was something she had to say. She wanted to leave and return to Li Lei’s side.

Pei Ziheng’s grip became even tighter, and she felt like he was going to crush her hand. Her face turned white with the pain, and she groaned audibly before he realized what he was doing and released her hand.

“You love me.” He lifted his head and declared.

Xia Ling shook her head. “It’s too late, Pei Ziheng. Our love… has gone with all the pain.”

“You love me!” He raised his voice and moved closer to her. He supported his body with a hand by her side, and with the other, he gripped onto her chin. “Xiao Ling, you’re just bewitched by him for a moment. You will recall who you truly love after a while.” He lowered his head and kissed her forcefully.

She struggled under him, but her limbs were covered with casts, and she could hardly move.

She bit him and glared at him angrily. However, Pei Ziheng could not care less. He pressed onto her ferociously, his tongue invading her mouth and ravishing at her for a long time, almost suffocating her.

Finally, he released her, but his eyes continued to stare at her as if he was an animal staring at his prey.

Xia Ling instinctively raised her remaining good hand to wipe at her lips. The moment he kissed her, she verified beyond a doubt — she no longer loved him. A woman’s body was the most honest. She no longer liked his kisses, and every cell within her was crying out in disgust.

Her expression was sad but resolute as she wiped her mouth.

A storm brewed within Pei Ziheng’s eyes, and his ravenous kisses fell on her once again. This time, he was even more vicious, as he bit at her lips and tongue, such that tears sprang into her eyes from the pain.

When they finally drew apart, she was panting for air, feeling humiliated and furious, such that her body was shaking with anger. She raised her hand again to wipe her lips, but Pei Ziheng grabbed her hand forcefully. This time, he did not release her even after she yelped out in pain. “Don’t force me to claim you entirely right now.” His voice was hoarse, but the threat was real.

Xia Ling realized what he was saying and trembled with anger. “You… monster!”

“You can call me a monster, or an animal…” His voice was sinister. “If you don’t believe me, just try me.”

She did not dare move anymore.

She knew beyond a doubt that he was a devil and capable of anything. She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him anymore. Tears flowed down the sides of her face.

Pei Ziheng wrung the cloth thrown by the side again and dabbed at her tears gently.

Silence fell upon the room again.

Pei Ziheng looked at her white face, her tightly shut eyes, and her shaking body. A sharp, fleeting pain shot through his heart. He did not want to hurt her, but he could not understand why he would always make her sad and frightened.

He reached out his hand and stroked her face lightly.

Her body tensed up, and she bit her lip tightly.

Pei Ziheng wanted to tell her not to be afraid. He wanted to tell her that they could start over. However, his lips were like lead, and he could not bring himself to open them to utter these words. That was because he knew that she would definitely reject him.

Someone knocked on the door.

Pei Ziheng retracted the hand that was stroking her face, hiding the sadness in his expression, reverting to his usual poker face. “Come in.”

The door opened and Chu Chen entered holding a document in his hands.