A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

How could any young master possibly vote for her?

Pei Zhenyuan only thought that Pei Ziheng was being stubborn. He agreed on the spot. “Okay, it’s settled then!”

Even Xia Ling herself was not very confident. She glanced weakly at Pei Ziheng. The gamble between the two men had put her in an uncomfortable spot. Even though she didn’t understand what they were fighting for, but instinctively, she knew that she could not throw Brother Pei’s face. Since things had come to this, she had no choice but to bring out her best performance. Even if she had to break the cauldrons and sink the boats, she had to fight!

Pei Ziheng noticed her uneasiness and gently held her hand. “Afraid?”

She nodded and glanced at Pei Jingyu and the rest before shaking her head.

Pei Ziheng’s eyes held a hint of a smile and his voice was gentle as he said, “Don’t worry, just perform however you want to. My Xiao Ling will always be the best.”

She wasn’t very confident but nodded seriously.

Pei Jingyu and Pei Jingshan exchanged glances. They saw schadenfreude in each other’s eyes. They didn’t feel Xia Ling had any hope of getting the Midsummer Lady title. If she failed, perhaps Big Cousin would take his anger out on her. When she fell out of his favor and was driven out of the house, it would be such a perfect ending.

“It’s okay even if you don’t obtain the title. After all, your natural talent is weaker than ours.” Pei Jingyu smiled in fake magnanimity. “As long as you get a medium grade and not throw the Pei family’s face, then we won’t blame you.”

“I will get first place,” Xia Ling said in determination.

“Haha.” Pei Jingshan burst out in laughter.

Xia Ling glared at them unhappily. “If the competition for the title of ‘Midsummer Lady’ last year was the same level as Sister Jingyu, then this year’s title will definitely belong to me!”

“Little beggar, you don’t know how to appreciate talent!” Since Pei Jingyu had to take care of her distinguished image in front of others and could not scold people as she liked, Pei Jingshan took charge of her instead. “Sister Jingyu’s piano is high-class! She has managed to achieve this after learning from the most famous masters for many years! Unlike you, have you even touched a piano before, how dare you talk blindly?!”

Xia Ling had indeed never touched a piano before.

However, not knowing how to play the piano didn’t mean she didn’t have music sense! She looked up at Pei Ziheng, her beautiful eyes full of doubt. Did they really think that Pei Jingyu played the piano well?

There was a hint of a smile in Pei Ziheng’s eyes again. Ever since he had adopted this little girl, his mood had been better. He caressed her soft long hair and said gently, “Jingyu’s piano was indeed learned from the most famous masters, but the family doesn’t expect her to become a famous pianist. I think that the master is not as demanding towards her as he is to the professional pianists. Her piano skill is the best among the noble ladies, but from a purely artistic point of view, she is still lacking.” Actually, all Pei Ziheng ever did was business, so how could he distinguish the sound of the piano? However, he had a lot of capable people under him, and one of them was a young music producer called Feng Kun. Feng Kun had bluntly pointed out the gap between the skill of the noble ladies and the real artistes.

Xia Ling smiled.

His answer had made her realize that her judgment was correct.

However, Pei Jingyu thought that she was mocking her. Her expression darkened.

“Girls should know a little about music and that’s enough. They shouldn’t rely on this as their career. They’ll just be mocked if they are too engrossed in learning this.” Even Pei Zhenyuan could not stand it, so he defended his granddaughter calmly.

Xia Ling said softly, “To turn something ordinary to high-class is what makes people laugh.”

Pei Zhenyuan’s expression turned cold. “Who let you talk back when an elder is speaking?”

Xia Ling did not manage to retort before Pei Ziheng said, “Xiao Ling is my person. Nobody else can reprimand her.”

Pei Zhenyuan’s eyes carried his anger. He stared at his grandnephew. “I am your Great Uncle!”

Pei Ziheng remained expressionless. “Who’s the Chairman of Imperial Entertainment, who’s the patriarch of the Pei family. This is a rule passed down from generations. Great Uncle, please respect my people.”

“Good, very good…” Pei Zhenyuan was furious. “You’ve climbed all over my head!”

Xia Ling stared at the two of them uneasily. Why were these two people fighting over just a few sentences? She clung onto Pei Ziheng’s sleeves lightly and felt as though she had caused him lots of trouble.

Pei Ziheng sensed that she was feeling uneasy. He ignored Pei Zhenyuan and focused on cutting her steak for her.

In front of all the guests in the banquet, Pei Zhenyuan could not lose his temper. So he just glared at Pei Ziheng in anger and sulked silently. Pei Jingyu and Pei Jingshan looked at each other in dismay. They had not thought that Pei Ziheng would become so stubborn for a wild brat from the orphanage.

They ate their meal in silence, each having individual thoughts running in their minds.

At the banquet, the talent show of the noble ladies was still ongoing. The flowers and breeze were blowing gently, setting off the ladies’ delicate silhouette. They were all noble ladies who had lived a whole life of luxury. They were good at piano, zither, some of them could do beautiful classic dance, and some of them would paint on the spot…

Each of them showcased their best talent.

They all understood that this competition was not just about themselves, but it was also a competition of skills between the families. How much did it cost to cultivate an amazing dancer from a young age? How big of authority did you need to have to hire the best master? And the amount of leisure time the ladies had to spend on this symbolized how rich and leisurely their lives were and how they had nothing to worry about in their lives.

They were the faces of their families.

They could not throw their families’ faces away, nor could they throw their own faces.

Even Pei Jingshan was the same. Even though she had always self-deprecated herself by saying she was “completely inferior to Sister Jingyu”, but her archery skill was still extremely impressive. Archery had already evolved into a game of rich people today. Pei Jingshan showcasing this talent of hers imperceptibly revealed her extraordinary identity and proved that she was noble and composed.

As a result, when Xia Ling went on stage and said she was going to sing, disdain flashed in many of the guests’ faces.

Sing?

What a joke. In the competition for the “Midsummer Lady” in all these years, almost nobody had ever sung before—there was no other reason except that singing was too unappealing. Anyone on the roadside would be able to sing, and it couldn’t reflect the financial strength of the family in hiring famous teachers. Most importantly, they would appear like just entertainers…

“An orphan is an orphan.” A few of the guests shook their heads and whispered.

“Perhaps she is singing bel canto? Classical Opera is not something that everyone knows.” Another guest said with a look of hope, “How could Pei Ziheng’s adopted girl throw his face.”

Unexpectedly, once the guest finished talking, Xia Ling’s clear and sweet voice could be heard saying, “I’m going to sing <Lotus in the Yangtze Valley>. It is a folk song I have just rearranged, and it’s said to be very nice.”

The guests were all shocked. The guest who had expected her to sing bel canto was so shocked she forgot her dining etiquette. Her fork directly touched her plate. No, no way? She was going to sing a self-composed song? What bel canto, it was a folk song!