A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“Ah?” The younger reporter was perplexed.

“Unless the situation calls for it, when have you ever seen Pei Ziheng being stoic? Here at the magazine, our seniors have his childhood photos saved, and even though he doesn’t look as easygoing as Li Lei, he still looks relatively warm and friendly. From a young age, he’s been very good with people.”

People who had enough power, simply never needed to show it through their expressions.

His existence in itself was impressive.

On the other hand, the Li child, compared to Pei Ziheng in childhood, was simply different.

The younger reporter didn’t understand it completely but nodded his head anyway.

Back there, Li Lei had already brought Li Rui through security, walking through the grass and making their way around the venue. There was a laidback grin on his face, and he sent greetings to the people he knew, engaging several in idle conversation.

But he periodically looked up to scan the crowd, as if looking for someone.

Looking for Ye Xingling, perhaps?

The function was going to begin in several minutes, but there was no trace of Ye Xingling and Shaohui. At the venue, only her staff members were milling through the crowd and sending their regards to the guests. Xu Fosheng’s interest merely thickened as she quietly observed Li Lei’s behavior. He was really… interested in Ye Xingling.

But even so, why would he bring Li Rui into this?

“Do you men even think?” Xu Fosheng directed the question at the younger reporter, but her eyes were fixated on Li Rui’s stoic.

“What?” He was confused.

Xu Fosheng sighed. “Say you are invited somewhere by the girl of your dreams, why would you bring a kid that you had with another woman there? Are you not concerned about the emotional distance that you have to bridge?”

The younger reporter looked into the direction that his senior was looking in before it dawned on him.

He was stunned. “It can’t be! Boss has a poorer EQ than I do? Even I know that you can’t get a girl like this. It’ll be a miracle if she doesn’t hate him by the end of this.”

Perhaps, not all men were dumb.

But why would Li Lei bring Li Rui along?

“He can’t come in without him,” said the younger reporter as he looked at the doors. “This entire thing is for Ye Xingling’s kid. With the exception of the media, all the attendees have to bring their children along to participate. This time, it’s for the children between 3 to 6.”

Xu Fosheng nodded. Then shook her head. “That still makes no sense.”

“Why?” the younger reporter was perplexed.

“Think about it, if you are Ye Xingling, would you invite a rival’s child to an event specifically intended to be a social night for your son?”

“That… that is a good point.”

Reporter Xu was in deep thought, contemplating something for a moment. “Bring me Li Lei’s invitation.” She suddenly grinned.

“For what?” The younger reporter sulked. This was going to be difficult. The invites were kept by security, and even though each card had been clearly labeled, obtaining one would not be easy.

“I believe that Li Lei’s invite isn’t real.” Xu Fosheng was fully smirking now. “Because Ye Xingling would definitely not have sent Li Rui an invitation. And if my conjecture proves to be right, then this will get very interesting. With Boss’ status, why would he have put together his resources to be falsely invited, just for the sake of attending this thing?”

Maybe the answer would reveal so much more…

Maybe, something sensational!

Xu Fosheng was raring to go now, clearly excited by this revelation. The younger reporter by her side had been infected by her energy as well. Not to the same extent, he hadn’t projected that far into the future yet, but the news in itself had been pretty earthshaking.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Xu Fosheng merely lingered in her spot, sipping her cocktail, inconspicuously keeping her eyes on Li Lei and his son.

The boy looked well brought-up, with good etiquette, regrettably a bit anti-social. Whoever tried to play with him was haughtily ignored, disregarded like dust.

That expression resembled his mother, Su Tang a little more.

Hm, why wasn’t Su Tang here? Xu Fosheng scrutinized the child a little more. Ah, more credibility to back her theory that Li Lei was here in the hopes of getting the woman he adored.

It was time.

Xia Ling was in an elegant gown, grasping her son’s hand, slowly approaching the crowd.

She was petite, her hair thrown back effortlessly, and the boy donned a clean shirt, his short legs bumbling as he tried to walk. It was endearing how his head had been bowed the entire time, but the baby fat on his cheeks still apparent and clearly in view.

What a beautiful mother-son pair.

They were back facing the mid-afternoon sun. Just like a pair of perfect angels.

They were an attention grabber for sure. The guests halted their chatter, and the kids cut their chaos in favor of watching the new entrance.

Xia Ling was still smiling as she sauntered into the crowd.

“I’m so thankful for every one of you for taking time out to grace this event with your presence.”

The cameras were going off, fighting for shots of her child’s hand in hers.

Xu Fosheng was inspecting her son throughout this — the story was that he had been abandoned as a child before Ye Xingling took him in. Well, then that would mean that he must’ve come from a less than favorable background. And yet, here he was, calm before all the cameras, even smiling from time to time, his dimples showing. It was adorable.

He was even calmer than a lot of kids who had been born into the limelight.

Xia Ling bent down to introduce her son. “This is Shaohui, my son. He’s super cute, and I hope he gets along well with everyone here.”

A few people greeted Shaohui.

The child was blinking, as if taking some time to react, but he was still softly smiling, the absolute picture of cuteness.

“Are you Shaohui!” A small girl emerged from the crowd. “My mommy says that you don’t have a daddy. That’s sad. Here, have a flower. I hope you find your daddy soon.”

A hush fell over the venue.

There were staff members roaring in disapproval. Whose rubbish child said that?! Miss Ye’s previous relationships had all headed for heartbreak, and everyone had been suspecting that adoption had been her means of announcing her giving up on marriage. And yet, here they all were, watching old wounds reopen again.

The mother in question looked aghast, deadly pale, taking her daughter to the task. “What are you saying!”