A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

In the night breeze, she looked so petite and yet so certain.

Pei Ziheng knew he could not dissuade her from going, and instead said, “I’ll send you there.” He got the chauffeur to drive the Rolls-Royce over and personally accompanied her to the airport in City S.

It was quiet in the car.

She sat in the back seat all curled up, like a small, injured animal.

Pei Ziheng said tenderly, “Catch some sleep, I’ll wake you up when we’re there.”

She shook her head. There was no way she could fall asleep now, with so much running through her head.

The ride was smooth and they arrived at a petrol kiosk after about five hours. Pei Ziheng alighted and bought a warm bento set for her. “Have something warm, we still have a long way to go.”

She looked up. Without receiving the meal, she asked Pei Ziheng, “How long more is this ride going to take?”

“Given the road conditions, it’ll be another five to six hours.” Pei Ziheng said, “You should sleep for a bit after eating. The journey is long, and the chauffeur can’t be driving the whole way. I’ll shift to the front seat, you can have the backseat to lie down.”

She nodded her head but still curled up in a daze.

Seeing that she was not moving, Pei Ziheng found a blanket to cover her and opened the bento set for her. He picked some food with the disposable chopsticks and held it up to her. “Open your mouth.”

She turned away, “I don’t feel like eating.”

Pei Ziheng did not give up. “You haven’t eaten in a long time, you can’t go on like this. Do you want Li Lei to see you looking so haggard when you meet him at the airport later?” He did not want to mention that man, but that was the only way to get her to obey.

He was worried that she would fall ill if she didn’t take care of herself.

Only after he said that did Xia Ling eat the food he offered her. The meal from the petrol kiosk was horrid — even though Pei Ziheng had already topped up some money to get them to prepare a fresh hot meal on the spot, it still tasted far worse compared to the food Li Lei prepared for her. She chewed the food mechanically as she recalled the good times they shared together, and that made the food even harder to swallow.

Pei Ziheng saw that she was eating and gently said, “That’s my girl.”

He picked up another spoonful of food for her.

Xia Ling asked, “When are we going to continue the ride?” The car had stopped at the kiosk for more than ten minutes, and every minute more was too much. She wanted to reach the airport and be by Li Lei’s side as soon as possible.

Pei Ziheng said, “Once I’m done feeding you, I’ll start driving.”

Xia Ling received the bento from his hands and said, “I’ll eat on my own, you can drive now.”

He looked at her for a few moments before saying, “Alright.” He did not want to argue with her over this. Anyway, Li Lei was going to be out of his life and hers in no time, he might as well be a little more magnanimous now so that she’d be more appreciative of and dependent on him.

He adjusted the blanket on her and then shifted to the driver’s seat.

He tried the car out.

The chauffeur politely said, “Boss, this car is rather big. You have to take note of the rearview mirror.” He knew very well that his boss had not personally driven a car in years, and was making an exception for Miss Ye.

Pei Ziheng started the car and went onto the main road.

Seeing how focused he was at the wheel, it suddenly hit Xia Ling how nice this man had been to her. Whether he was trying to woo her again or not, his care for her was beyond measure. She was actually troubling him to drive her across two cities to get to the airport.

“Pei Ziheng,” she said. “Thank you.”

In the driver’s seat, Pei Ziheng’s hands were still and steady on the steering wheel, but there was a slight tug at the tip of his lips. “There’s no need for such civility between us. Xiao Ling, I just want you to be happy.”

Xia Ling looked down. Was she really happy?

The journey was long and dull, but she was unable to sleep. Curled up in the back seat, she kept her eyes on her cellphone, waiting for it to ring, or at least light up with a message from Li Lei.

But it never came.

When her cellphone finally rang, it was Sister Mai Na calling to ask where she was.

She told Sister Mai Na, “I’m alright, Sister Mai Na, don’t worry. Once I’ve settled this, I’ll go to Skyart and look for you. I’m sorry for messing up the concert. Let me know how the company intends to salvage it, I’ll do my best to cooperate.”

Sister Mai Na snapped back. “Who cares about the concert?! I’m only concerned about you!”

Xia Ling felt a warmth in her heart. “I’m fine, really. I’ll be able to see Li Lei very soon, and he’ll explain everything to me… Oh right, Sister Mai Na, please don’t call me in the next few hours. I’m trying to keep my phone signal clear, maybe Li Lei would want to call me.”

Sister Mai Na was silent for a while before saying, “Xiao Ling, no matter what happens, I’ll always be on your side. If you face any problems, look for me!” After Xia Ling’s look darkened upon picking up Old Master’s call, and her fainting incident during the concert, Sister Mai Na decided to look into it. Tan Ying told her that Boss and Su Tang were together now and that Su Tang was carrying Boss’ child.

Sister Mai Na knew how big a blow this would be to Xia Ling.

She guessed that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding. Given Boss’ character, how could he have a child with Su Tang out of nowhere? It was a good thing that Xiao Ling and Boss were going to meet face to face to talk about this.

For some unknown reason, however, Sister Mai Na felt a strange nagging discomfort.

She dared not let Xia Ling know about this, and could only remind Xia Ling to look for her if she had any problem.

Xia Ling responded in agreement and hung up.

Her cellphone never rang after that.

Not a single phone call from Li Lei.

She comforted herself — Brother had mentioned that the signal over in South Africa was bad, and only a telephone receiver could be reached. Li Lei was probably rushing over and could not find time to stop at a receiver to give her a call.

Anyway, they would be meeting soon.

In the midst of all her worrying and apprehension, the Rolls-Royce arrived at the airport.

It was bustling in the airport. Many of them were here to receive passengers.

Pei Ziheng reserved a high tea lounge near the arrival hall and took Xia Ling there to rest while waiting. She was a celebrity — if they did not find somewhere quieter and separate from the main area, she’d be surrounded by the public in no time.

Xia Ling had no idea which flight Li Lei was on and how long more it would take.

Pei Ziheng said, “He said he was returning only last night. Even if he left for the airport the moment he hung up, he wouldn’t be here so quickly. Xiao Ling, don’t be too anxious.”

But, how could she not be?

She looked at the arrival gate with her eyes wide open. One wave of people had come and gone, followed by the second, and all the subsequent waves… But Li Lei did not appear.

It had been a whole day, from dawn till dusk.

The passengers of the last flight had left and the arrival hall was now almost empty.

Xia Ling looked extremely pale. It had been a full day without sleep, and full of anxiety and disappointment. At this point, she could barely stand properly.

Pei Ziheng quietly said, “Let’s go back.”