A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Pei Ziheng said, “No one can bully you.”

He promised her the best, and that was what he would deliver—no less.

Hearing his magnetic and assuring voice over the phone, Xia Ling’s eyes swept across the candy on the table that he had given her. Ever since she had been adopted by him, she had felt pampered and loved every single moment. This feeling made her feel safer and more secure by the day, and she was no longer worried about getting abandoned, ever.

She couldn’t help but smile.

She hung up and took a nice shower before going to the music room for singing practice.

It was fall and the temperature was falling. She put on a pastel-colored dress and did her hair nicely before walking towards the classroom building from her dorm. On her way, many of the people around turned to take a second look at her. Some were impressed by her beauty while others were discussing her involvement in Li Bingman’s expulsion.

She put all of those aside, unwilling to pay attention to them.

At the school building, someone stopped her. She looked up and saw that it was Li Bingman.

“A good dog doesn’t get in the way.” Xia Ling couldn’t care less to be nice to Li Bingman. She said it a bit too loud and a few people nearby turned around.

Li Bingman tried her best to suppress her anger. “Xia Ling, I have something to say to you.”

“What is it?” Xia Ling asked impatiently. She had a class to go to!

Li Bingman felt disturbed by the looks they were getting from the people around them. She quietly said, “I’ll treat you to some coffee. I know of a cafe nearby that’s pretty good, shall we talk there instead?”

Xia Ling was still annoyed. “I don’t drink coffee. Tell me anything you wish to say right here.”

Li Bingman felt even more awkward now. There were so many other students around, how could she say this here? Nonetheless, she had no choice but to maintain her composure and be nice. “You don’t drink coffee? I can treat you to a meal. What do you like to eat? I can order it now.”

She wouldn’t believe that Xia Ling didn’t eat as well.

As much as Xia Ling liked eating, she knew she wouldn’t enjoy food with her. “Enough. I won’t be able to swallow anything with you around. Li Bingman, don’t you feel great about yourself? Taking all my things away from me, and even putting a nail in my dance shoes? You deserved to be expelled, don’t come to me pretending to be nice and asking for a favor now!” She had guessed what Li Bingman was here for. Given how they were each other’s nemesis, the only reason Li Bingman would be nice to her was to change things about her expulsion.

As she guessed, Li Bingman said reluctantly, “I was wrong.”

“It’s good that you know.” Xia Ling looked at her. “Now go home and reflect on yourself, don’t get in my way!” She got past Li Bingman as she walked towards the classroom building.

“Xia Ling!” Li Bingman grabbed her arm in a moment of panic.

“Let go!” Xia Ling shook her off but did not expect that Li Bingman would lose her balance and fall down the stairs. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long flight, just about five to six steps from the bottom to the top. She wasn’t badly injured, but there was a little abrasion on her forehead and she looked utterly pathetic.

Xia Ling was in shock, but seeing that she was alright, she yelled, “Why the tugging? If I got injured, I’d still need you to pay for my medical bills!” She was really fuming now, why was Li Bingman like this?!

Those who saw what had just happened were wiping cold sweat off their foreheads—this first-year Best Student was so fierce. Well, Li Bingman was in the wrong first, but she was already lying on the floor, and she still yelled at her. How much hatred for Li Bingman must she be holding inside her…

On the other side, Li Bingman pathetically crawled to her feet.

“Xia Ling, I…” She hesitated for a while, but seeing that Xia Ling was about to leave, she set her mind to it. Ignoring all the other eyes on her, she raised her voice. “Look!”

Xia Ling was already entering the building, but she turned around upon hearing her.

Li Bingman had taken off her own shoes, revealing her bandaged feet. There were bloodstains on the bandage and it looked rather horrifying.

“What’s going on?” The crowd began discussing. “What happened to Li Bingman’s feet?”

Xia Ling frowned as well. “What’s the point of showing me this?”

“Xia Ling, it was my fault in the past. I didn’t respect you.” Li Bingman could not care to save her face anymore. She apologized to Xia Ling. “I shouldn’t have found trouble with you or hurt you. In order to show you my sincerity, I pricked my own feet. Please forgive me, I’ll do anything! Please!”

Xia Ling was in disbelief. “You pricked yourself?”

“Yes,” Li Bingman said. “I’m asking for forgiveness.”

Xia Ling shivered in the fall breeze. At that moment, she thought that the scariest thing wasn’t that someone could use a nail to prick another person, it was that someone could do this to themselves.

“You can always go to another training camp other than Imperial. Is it worth it to do this just for my forgiveness?” Xia Ling asked. “Moreover, it was the management’s choice to expel you, I might not be able to change things.”

But Li Bingman said, “I know who you are. Xia Ling, no, Miss Xia, my sister has already told me who you are. I was too silly to think of pitting myself against you.”

After getting the notice of expulsion from the school, Li Bingman stormed to the office to demand an explanation. However, the management had chased her away like she was a virus.

Enraged, Li Bingman told her sister all about it when she went home.

She said to Li Bingyu, “Who does Xia Ling think she is anyway, trying to get onto my nerves. Sister, go to the school management and get them to expel Xia Ling instead and reinstate my placing! Otherwise, how am I supposed to keep my image? They offending me is akin to offending you! Principal Sha is getting more and more disrespectful towards you!”

But Li Bingyu was shocked. “What’s that girl’s name?”

“Xia Ling—Xia as in the word for summer, Ling as in meandering. Honestly, no one in this country has ever heard of a powerful family by the surname Xia, how dare she come at me?” Li Bingman heard that Xia Ling was decked only in top-quality goods and that the gifts she got for others were either Hermes goods or handmade Swiss candies. She was sure that Xia Ling was just trying to show off to get into others’ good books.

“Nonsense!” Li Bingyu was horrified. She yelled furiously, “You went to offend Xia Ling, of all people?! Do you know who she is, she’s Director Pei Ziheng’s adopted child!”

“W-What?” Li Bingman was stunned.

Li Bingyu took a deep breath to compose herself. “They were being kind to just expel you! You’d better apologize to her as soon as possible. She’s one who keeps score of her enemies. If you get into her bad books, you’re doomed!” Given the situation now, even Li Bingyu herself could be dragged into it.