A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Wang Tao accompanied her in silence.

The dinner party was luxurious, and there were many ladies and gentlemen walking by, decked out in their best outfits, displaying the extent of the wealth and authority of the upper tier of society. Occasionally, some would catch a glance at the two of them sitting in the corner, but their gaze wouldn’t linger on them at all, as if they were as inconspicuous as the dust on the ground.

The night grew late.

The guests started to leave the party one after the other.

Yet, Li Lei still did not return.

Xia Ling called him twice on his mobile, but he did not answer her calls.

Wang Tao offered her his hand and said, “Come, let’s go, I’ll send you home.” He felt for this girl. She was being treated so shabbily just because her family background was less illustrious than all of them, wasn’t she? How could these rich people treat her like this just because they were blessed enough to be born into the “right” family? He was indignant for her and for himself. So what if they were not born with a silver spoon in their mouth, they still deserved to be loved and respected.

He continued, “I drive a Bugatti Veyron. You won’t lose face sitting in my car.” Even though he was an illegitimate son, the first wife of his father still made sure that, materially, he was given everything he wanted and more, so as to show how magnanimous she was.

Hearing his offer, Xia Ling collected her downcast emotions and smiled at him, “Looks like Young Master Wang is living the high life.” Even Li Lei was only driving his modified SUV, which was probably not as expensive as Wang Tao’s Bugatti.

Wang Tao laughed. “The old lady gave it to me. Why shouldn’t I drive it? Since they earn so much, I’ll be in charge of helping them spend it.” He had been acting the part of a useless, wealthy Young Master to the T. After all, he had two outstanding elder brothers, a younger brother and a few pure-blood, untarnished sisters. Who would deign to give him a small piece of the family business?

He didn’t even have stocks in the company, and there was no way that he would be able to dabble in the family business at all.

The first wife, who was in charge of household finances, would send him a large sum as his allowance on a regular basis, as well as give him luxury cars, branded watches, and yachts to top it off. These were enough for him to live as luxuriously as he liked, without having to do a day of proper work. To people outside the family, it appeared that the first wife was being extremely good to him, and he was the one that was not bucking up and relying on the family to support him.

His suffering and pain was not something that people could sympathize with.

Xia Ling was not aware of these but could hear the irony in his tone. She smiled and commented, “It sounds like you’re not satisfied.”

“You’re a Little Diva now, decked out in haute couture gowns and expensive diamonds. I heard that you are staying in a bungalow as well?” Wang Tao slurred, even though he hadn’t had much to drink. “Miss Ye, are you satisfied?”

Xia Ling was mildly taken aback and looked up at Young Master Wang with renewed interest.

Quite the philosopher.

“Okay, let me have a ride in your Bugatti Veyron.” She placed her empty crystal glass to the side and got up.

Most of the people had left the dinner party already, and the cleaners were starting to clear the place.

It was a little lonely under the starry night sky.

Xia Ling followed Wang Tao through the back door to the parking lot. As most people had left, the parking lot looked desolate with only a few luxurious cars under the rows or European-styled street lamps. Her gaze swept over the remaining cars, subconsciously seeking out the familiar modified SUV.

She spotted it after a while.

The powerful-looking SUV was parked under the shadows of the streetlamps, with only half of its body visible and the other shrouded in darkness. Under the lights, it looked like the back of a beast.

Xia Ling narrowed her eyes.

Wang Tao spotted the car as well after following her gaze. “Is that Li Lei’s?”

“Mmhmm.” She replied in a low voice, her eyes lighting up a little. “He must be really busy and so is not answering my calls. He’s still here, let me go find him. Sorry, Young Master Wang. I’ll try out your Bugatti another time.”

Wang Tao lifted his eyebrows. “Will there be a next time? And you spoke too soon…” He pointed towards the SUV in the distance. “See, they are coming over.”

Xia Ling looked towards the direction he was pointing at and saw two people walking slowly towards the SUV from a small side road. The handsome man was in an expensive-looking tailored suit, and the lady was carefully lifting the front of her silvery-white gown, chatting happily with the man.

It was Li Lei and Nangong Qingya.

Xia Ling felt a sharp pain shoot through her heart like it was being pricked by the thin thorns of a flower.

She saw them stop next to the SUV and Li Lei opening the passenger seat door for Nangong Qingya. After she got into the car, he circled around the front to the driver’s seat and got on too. The SUV started up and drove away.

“Now it looks like you have no choice but to take my Bugatti Veyron.” Wang Tao said.

“Thank you… I’d rather go back on my own.” She was in a bad mood and did not want to socialize with anyone. She stumbled forward mindlessly and felt her ankle twist suddenly.

“Aye!” Wang Tao anxiously cried out. “Be careful!”

Unfortunately, he was a tad too late.

Xia Ling missed a step and fell forward down the stairs. Her fair-skinned arm scraped on the graveled path, and she felt a smarting pain from the abrasion. Her ankle hurt even more, the sharp pain shooting to her heart.

Wang Tao squatted down to check her ankle.

She wanted to shift her foot away from him, but just a small movement made her suck in a breath of cold air in pain.

“Don’t move.” Wang Tao commanded. “It looks like you’ve sprained it.” He reached out to prod the injured ankle tenderly. She sucked in another deep breath.

“Yup, you’ve sprained it.” Wang Tao concluded. “What’s so good about Li Lei? He promised to send you home but couldn’t keep his promise, causing you to sprain your ankle in your grief. I say you should forget him as soon as possible!”

He reached out and held her ankle in his hands.

“What are you doing?” She asked while writhing in pain.

“Helping you to correct the alignment of your bone.” Wang Tao replied. “I play tennis and climb mountains often with my friends, so I’m really familiar with these little tricks when it comes to such injuries. Don’t be afraid, it’ll just be a little painful. Bear with it for a bit.” As he explained, he suddenly twisted her ankle forcefully, making her shout out in pain.

“You… you call this a little painful?” She glared at him with tears in her eyes.

“Right, sorry, I meant really painful.” Wang Tao smiled while helping her up. “It looks like you won’t be able to get home by yourself today. Just let me send you back. Don’t worry, I won’t ask to be invited into your house or do anything disrespectful to you.”

She knew that he was trying to make her smile, but she had no mood to do so.

“Sorry for troubling you.” She said in a quiet tone. “Young Master Wang, I have no intention of dating anyone else. If you are having any of such intentions… please don’t waste your time on me.”

Wang Tao earnestly replied, “I did initially want to court you. However, after seeing what happened to you today, I just feel that you suffered great unfairness. Take it as I’m being righteous.” No one was more familiar about how it felt like to be discriminated against because of family background and birth circumstances. He really wanted to help her seeing her current predicament.

He thought for a bit before giving a smile. “Why don’t we become friends? If you’re feeling really guilty for troubling me today, just give me a VIP ticket for your next concert.”