A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

She was so dizzy her eyes dimmed.

She followed a child with ice cream and walked into an unfamiliar neighborhood unknowingly.

The ice cream looked so delicious. The snow-white sweet layers piled up like a pagoda of snow, dotted with crimson lovely cherries, and she thought it would be extremely delicious. She swallowed her saliva and recalled the many high-end ice cream she had eaten over the years and her stomach emitted a grumbling sound.

The child’s mother watched her alertly and quickly took the child away.

Xia Ling stood awkwardly at the same spot and was at a loss.

Where should she go, what should she eat?

Just then, she heard a call meow, and a wild cat skipped lightly in front of her and padded not far ahead. Not far away was a small open space, and a very old grandmother was bending down, pouring out a bag full of cat food and looking lovingly at the group of wild cats at her feet.

“Eat, eat.” The old grandma smiled pitifully. “You poor little guys, eat more, the weather is getting colder and it’s getting harder to find food. You have to remember to come here every day, grandma will bring you cat food every day.” The wild cats meowed and a few of them arched their bodies gently against the grandma.

The grandmother was very happy. She talked to them for a while, then turned and slowly walked away.

Xia Ling looked at the cat food on the open space and the feeling of extreme hunger came back. In the past, when she had raised a cat before, she had secretly bitten the cat food and tasted it mischievously. Back then, she had frowned and spit it out, but now, it seemed like a delicacy to her. With uncontrolled movements, she walked to the wild cat’s eating place and while nobody was noticing, she quickly grabbed a handful of the catnip and stuffed it into her mouth.

It was a little hard, a bit like a cookie.

It wasn’t tasty, but the unique aroma filled her mouth and she couldn’t wait to eat more.

She reached out to grab it, but this action angered the wild cats. The cat closest to her meowed fiercely and used its sharp claws to scratch her. She felt a pain in the back of her hand, and a long blood mark appeared on her soft and delicate skin. “Ah!” She screamed softly in pain.

The catnip on the ground was not a lot.

But she couldn’t care much. She only knew that if she were to miss this meal, she didn’t know when her next meal would be. She used two hands to grab the catnip and hurriedly pushed it into her mouth.

More wild cats were irritated and jumped up and scratched at her with their claws. Her cheeks and neck were marked with wounds, and it was so painful she wanted to cry, but she had to endure the pain and continue to grab the catnip that originally belonged to the cats. The wild cats were unrelenting and wanted to tear up this bad woman who dared to snatch their food.

Xia Ling covered her head with one arm, and a few holes were torn through her coat, making her look extremely fragile.

She was anxious to eat, and the wild cats attacked her more anxiously and densely. For a moment she had an illusion. Would she be killed by wild cats here today? What a strange way to die…

She thought bitterly.

Suddenly, an old voice sounded up. “Don’t fight, don’t fight, go away, go away!”

The wild cats on her body gradually dissipated, and the pain also subsided. Xia Ling looked up a little and saw that the old grandmother who had just fed the cat was back. She looked down pitifully at her.

“Whose child is this?” She knelt down in pity and helped Xia Ling arrange her messy hair. “Why are you fighting for food with the cats? Good child, are you starving?”

Hearing the grandma’s kind tone, her tears fell down her cheeks and she nodded.

“Where is your family?” the old grandma asked in distress.

“I… I don’t have a family,” Xia Ling said in tears.

“Sigh, what a disaster.” The grandma thought for a moment. “Girl, it’s too late today. If you don’t mind, why don’t you stay a night at my house? Take a hot bath and grandma will make you a delicious meal.”

Xia Ling did not expect such a good thing to fall upon herself. In the past few days, she had been disheartened from wandering hopelessly and suffering supercilious looks. But now, her spirit was revived and she asked with enthusiasm, “Is it really okay?”

“Why not?” The grandma smiled and led her to her house. “My partner died early, so I live alone. My children only come to see me when they are on holiday, so I am usually very lonely. I can only come here and feed the cats every day, and only they can talk to me. It’s great that you’re staying as a guest in my house.”

Xia Ling was relieved and followed the grandma.

It was a room on the first floor of the residential area. Once inside, a strange smell wafted around.

Xia Ling instinctively blocked her nose.

The old grandma smiled apologetically at her. “The house is a little messy, you’ll have to endure it. I have adopted a lot of wandering little guys, so the smell is inevitable. But you can rest assured, they’re all very good and won’t bite you.”

Xia Ling realized now that there were at least a dozen cats in the house—some were big, some were small. They were either playing catch or cuddled up in a corner of the house asleep. “So many cats,” she whispered.

The grandma said, “These cats are very pitiful. They don’t eat enough outside and climb into the exhaust pipe of the car to get warm in the winter; it’s easy to die. There are always people who abuse cats. I have brought back all the pregnant, old and sick ones, and a few beautiful and flatterings one. They have been sterilized and drove the insects away. It is also considered a home for them to have a good-hearted person to adopt them.”

“You’re so good to them,” Xia Ling said.

She had always liked small animals. At the time, she forgot her hunger and squatted down to play with a little cat with a milky coat who was just a few months old. The little cat seemed to like her very much and meowed softly, licking her hand in a friendly manner.

When the grandma saw she was good to the cats, she gave her a little more goodwill. She cooked a bowl of tomato and egg noodles and gave her a hot steaming meal. “Hurry and eat it while it’s hot, see if it suits your appetite.”

Her cooking was average. If it had been a month ago, she wouldn’t have eaten it. But now, she had endured hunger for a few days and found this bowl of tomato egg noodles to be a rare human delicacy. She ate it all quickly and felt more comfortable with food in her stomach. “Thank you.” She thanked her sincerely.

The grandma saw that she loved it and was very happy. She also said, “My family niece liked this bowl of noodles when she was a child too and always ate a big bowl. But sadly, she’s married now and doesn’t come back often. Girl, you can sleep in her room tonight. Go take a shower and change into her pajamas.”

“Okay.” Xia Ling showed a smile.

This was the first time she has smiled after learning about the engagement news of Pei Ziheng and Wang Jingwan.

For a long time, she only wanted a home. The crystal cage that Pei Ziheng had given her was broken, and it was only now that she was in the dilapidated little house of the grandma did she feel the taste of home.