A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The old grandma tried to advise her against it but knew that it was almost impossible to change her mind.

Xia Ling continued to bicker with that shrew every once in a while. She was quick-witted and always found a way to leave her fuming mad.

Unable to thumb Xia Ling down, Cuiyu found trouble with the old grandma instead. On one day, the old grandma was carrying a bag of cat food home after feeding them outside when she bumped into Cuiyu. Cuiyu deliberately knocked into the old grandma with force, causing her to fall, and the cat food to spill all over.

“Watch where you’re going!” Cuiyu yelled with arms akimbo. “You’ve dirtied this place with your cat food! If I find bugs around here in the next few days, I’ll definitely come looking for you! How inconsiderate!”

The old grandma knew that she was simply venting her unhappiness of Xia Ling, and decided to just let it go by apologizing. “I’m sorry, Cuiyu. I was too careless, I’ll clean this up soon.”

Seeing that she was giving in, Cuiyu became even bolder and began spouting ugly words at the old grandma. Her loud and clear voice got several others to gather out of curiosity. Someone advised her. “Cuiyu, forget it. Granny Zhao has a tough life alone, just let her off.”

“Oh, is it?” Cuiyu got angry at that person as well. “This damned old lady is living beside me, not you! You don’t know how dirty her cats are, she’s dirtying every other house on the first floor! Otherwise, where else would the bugs and roaches in my house have come from?!”

She was a renowned shrew in the area and was known to be utterly unreasonable. The neighbors soon gave up trying to offer any advice. But with no one stopping her, she felt all the better going on with her yelling.

The old grandma did not retaliate. She simply apologized profusely. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The commotion got to Xia Ling and she walked out to have a look. Upon seeing the scene, rage surged inside her. So many people were standing around a frail old lady as she was being yelled at by the shrew Cuiyu, and yet no one went forward to help. The old grandmother was sitting on the floor, evidently distressed.

Xia Ling didn’t think any further before charging through the crowd and getting to the old grandma. Her heart ached as she helped the old grandma up. “Granny, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?” She began looking up and down the old grandma, wondering if there were injuries.

The old grandma struggled to get up. Afraid she’d get worried, she simply said, “I’m fine, Xiao Ling, just help me back into the house.”

Fine? She was barely walking straight.

Xia Ling was furious and upset. She turned around and shouted at Cuiyu, “Are you blind? Don’t you know how to respect elders? I can’t believe you’re being so righteous after knocking into someone, you really are a shrew!”

“Who are you calling a shrew!” Cuiyu yelled. She was slightly terrified by how fierce Xia Ling looked, but upon remembering that she was just a poor foreigner, she regained her confidence. “She was the one who knocked onto me! Don’t you spin tales! You’re already in the wrong for rearing cats and being a hindrance to the rest of us!”

Xia Ling snapped back with pointed words. “Don’t come blaming us for the bugs in your house! We don’t even have them in our own! Just how dirty is your place? You’re an adult, but you’re dirtier than a cat!”

“Hahaha.” The neighbors standing around couldn’t help but laugh. Where was this girl from? She sure had a way with people! Cuiyu certainly needed to be taught a lesson for all the havoc she caused all the time.

Hearing the laughter, Cuiyu flushed with anger. “Slut, who are you calling names now!”

“Your whole family are sluts! Dirty bugs!” Xia Ling wouldn’t back down.

“You slut, I’ll fight it out with you!” Cuiyu was so mad, she charged at Xia Ling.

Xia Ling was holding onto the old grandma, but seeing that she was coming straight at her, she instinctively shielded the old grandma with her body. Cuiyu scratched her on her face and neck, leaving clear traces of blood. She’d almost knocked her sunglasses off too.

Xia Ling broke out in cold sweat. If she was identified by them, she wouldn’t even be able to live here any longer! But after that moment of panic was intense fury—she let go of the old grandma and gave Cuiyu a tight slap on the face. It was a swift and forceful one, sending Cuiyu spinning for a half-round as her cheek swelled.

“That’s for hitting me!” Xia Ling pointed a finger at her face. “I can punch you to death!”

Cuiyu was in shock. She didn’t expect that a petite little girl would be so strong. She looked at her in disbelief for a split second before snapping back to her senses. “I’ll fight it out with you!”

She went for Xia Ling again. “I, Liu Cuiyu, have never been hit by anyone in my life!”

But Xia Ling wasn’t afraid of her. Seeing how unprepared and clumsy she looked, it didn’t take many moves for Xia Ling to knock her to the ground. “I forgot to tell you, I have a black belt in taekwondo.” Xia Ling eyed Liu Cuiyu condescendingly and coldly as she lay on the ground. “If you pull such underhand means again, I’ll hit you each time I see you.”

With that, Xia Ling helped the old grandma back into the house, leaving Liu Cuiyu fuming with hatred.

The old grandma sat on the couch, slightly shaken. “Xiao Ling, let Granny take a look at the wound on your face. You’re so beautiful, it’ll be bad if it leaves a scar.”

Xia Ling removed her sunglasses and looked at herself in the mirror. She then squatted before the old grandma with a smile. “It’s alright, Granny. It’s nothing serious, I’ll be fine with some ointment.” Her face was indeed worth a lot. If it left a permanent scar, the shrewd Liu Cuiyu wouldn’t be able to compensate even with all her assets. Liu Cuiyu should count herself lucky this time.

The old grandma sighed. “Couldn’t you have let her have her way? We’re going to be neighbors for a long time, it won’t be good if our relationships are strained.”

Xia Ling smiled. “She isn’t even worried about straining relationships, so why should we be? Granny, you’ve been too nice for too long, that’s why she’s picking on you.” She then added, “Are you hurt anywhere, though? I’ll take you to the hospital tomorrow for a checkup.”

The old grandma said, “There’s no need. Anyway, I feel much better knowing that you’ve got good self-defense skills. Xiao Ling, what were you saying about the… black belt? Does that mean you’re very good?”

“Oh, the taekwondo black belt.” Xia Ling smiled and explained to the old grandma, “That’s right, it means that we can protect ourselves, and Liu Cuiyu isn’t a match for us.” Ever since she became Pei Ziheng’s woman, she’d had to learn some self-defense tactics, mainly for precautionary measures in the event of an abduction or the like. In fact, she wasn’t all that good. She was only a red belt holder, not a black belt one yet, but that was good enough to scare that shrew.