A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

It was Li Lei who hurt Xia Yu.

Whatever the reason was, it was a fact that he had hurt somebody, and that could get him into trouble if he were found out.

Xia Ling supported Li Lei till the end, and would not reveal anything even to her manager.

But was Lin Yunan inexperienced in this field? He could read her mind just by looking at her expression. He chuckled. “Why do you have your guard up against me like I’m a thief? Don’t worry, he has already told me about it himself and even cautioned me that Xia Yu could get back at you anytime. He wants me to look out for you.”

Li Lei always thought of the big picture when he made his decisions. He not telling Xia Ling was in a bid to keep her safe and out of trouble, while informing Lin Yunan was to alert him of possible retaliation. But Xia Ling did not think he made a good choice. “Why does he always tell outsiders about such things? Does he not know that this could get him in trouble?”

“Am I an outsider?” Lin Yunan was offended.

“Are you not?” Xia Ling responded. He chose to be her manager because of the money, they could not even be considered friends.

Lin Yunan was further agitated. “We’re on the same side! Is it not because of you that I have to bother about this?! I couldn’t care less about it, but I could lose my job because of these miscellaneous trivial matters of your personal life!”

Xia Ling was speechless. This Uncle Lin was absurdly agitated, could he be in his mid-life crisis?

It was a pity Lin Yunan could not hear her thoughts as he continued venting his anger for a while more. Xia Ling tolerated his rants the whole way.

Back at the filming set.

She got ready for an afternoon of filming despite her worries.

The afternoon filming was set at a natural lake formation beneath a waterfall, roughly two meters deep. The lake was surrounded by decorative pebbles and stones, raising the scene’s aesthetic beauty. At times, the water from the lake would flow outwards, forming a downward stream. This lake had also been taken for an outdoor swimming pool set in nature.

Xia Ling’s low spirits were finally lifted by the breathtaking scene before her.

Xia Ling walked out in the swimsuit that the costume team had prepared for her, and at that moment, many could not take their eyes off her. She was wearing a light blue colored one-piece suit which was neither too conservative nor too exposing. The design was simple but elegant and highlighted the butterfly wing-like structure on her back. As she took a dip in the water, she looked almost like a gorgeous goddess who had descended to the mortal world.

“Xiao Ling is beautiful…” Luo Luo tugged at Bai Murong by her side.

Bai Murong looked at this innocent girl quietly. He was her “knight,” how was he supposed to respond to that? Would she get jealous if he commented the same? Bai Murong could not figure out a good response.

Luo Luo was completely awed. “Xiao Ling is really beautiful… Murong, look, the way she moves in the water… She’s like a mermaid. I’m so envious…”

“Envious of what?” Bai Murong turned to look at Luo Luo.

Luo Luo was still facing Xia Ling’s direction. “I wish I could look this elegant someday, and look like a mermaid as well.”

Bai Murong told her, “You already look like one now.”

“Ah?” Luo Luo looked up at him.

Bai Murong could not help but pinch her cheeks, which still had some baby fat on them. “I said, you’re like a mermaid princess too, just a chubby one.” She was in a pink two-piece suit, and the pleats on her skirt made her appear a little fleshier than usual.

Bai Murong liked it, and went on to say, “Little Chubby Fish.”

Luo Luo was stunned for a moment but made a pose to hit him when she registered what he had said. “Bai Murong, you’re so mean! How could you mock me like this! You’re the worst!”

“Hahaha.” Bai Murong laughed as he evaded her fists.

As the two of them continued teasing each other, Xia Ling had already tried out a few different filming angles to get the best lighting. If not for the time constraints, the director would have wanted to take more shots of her.

Meanwhile, Xia Yu had also just got changed into her swimsuit. It could be because of the scarring from the needles that Xia Yu chose to wear a very conservative outfit. It was plain white in color and covered her front fully.

“Female stars who go for the innocent image are simply different.” One of the cameramen shook his head at the side. “She won’t loosen up even a little bit.” He shot her from a few different angles and eventually gave up. “This swimsuit doesn’t bring out her figure at all — no chest, no curves, nothing! This is even worse than shooting Luo Luo, the Little Chubby Fish.” He could hear the teasing and laughing going on between Luo Luo and Bai Murong. “And she doesn’t even have her knight here as well.”

The director beside him spoke up. “Isn’t it simple? Just get a few more shots of Ye Xingling and Luo Luo then. Ye Xingling really is photogenic, no matter what outfit she’s in. Oh right, try to place more focus on Zheng Chenhao, we’re depending on his muscles for the viewership.” Zheng Chenhao had a wonderful, well-trained physique that would make many girls blush. He wore boxer-length swimming trunks and left his upper body bare as he went to stand beside Xia Ling. This was easy, all they needed was for these two to sacrifice a little of their modesty in order to make the whole half-hour show worth watching.

“You’re right, it’ll be easy if we focus on them.” The cameraman had no objections and went to adjust the filming equipment.

On their side, the air that Zheng Chenhao exuded made Xia Ling uncomfortable — not in the way that she would blush, she was just not used to being this close to a man she wasn’t close to. And his figure could not be compared to Li Lei’s anyway. Although Li Lei’s muscles were not as obvious and as defined, they were toned over time through experiences with the triads and actually looked threatening. As for Zheng Chenhao, his muscles did look good on camera, but they were not useful at all…

Xia Ling kept her criticisms of Heavenly King Zheng to herself and quietly swam to the shore.

Heavenly King Zheng did not notice her leaving and continued showing his muscles off in front of the camera.

Realizing that the cameras were pointing towards Zheng Chenhao, Xia Ling, Luo Luo, the others, and Xia Yu got bored. If it wasn’t for all the scars the needles left on her, wouldn’t she be wearing pretty swimsuits as well? Wretched Ye Xingling, watch how I get back at you!

She swam in the water casually, as if she were just getting familiar with the place.

When she reached the edge of the pool, she traced downwards and looked for the mechanism beneath the water, very well…

She smiled in satisfaction and swam back up.

Right as she reached the shore, someone called out to her. “Miss Xia Yu, Miss Xia Yu is here!” One of the crew members looked at her, almost with a congratulatory expression. “Director Pei is here to watch you at work. I’ll take you to him…”

Director Pei? Brother Ziheng was here?

Xia Yu’s eyes sparkled with joy. Back when her sister was still alive, Brother Ziheng often went to watch her at work, and she always wished he would do the same for her. Today, he finally came.

She gave her sweetest smile and walked up to him.