A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The fireworks soared to the sky.

Their vibrant colors and patterns filled the dark canvas.

Xia Ling was busy eating her hazelnut cake at first, but seeing the fireworks through the window, she hopped off the swing, grabbed Li Lei’s hand, and dashed out. “Look at that!” She hopped excitedly as her dainty finger pointed towards the sky. “It’s so beautiful! They look amazing…” The last three words ended in a sigh of admiration.

The burst of colors could be seen reflected off her pretty face.

She looked up at the fireworks as Li Lei looked down at her.

This silly little girl, didn’t she know that she looked way more beautiful than the fireworks? Her smile was attractive, her eyes clear and bright, and her eyelashes ever so soft…

Her fingers were locked in his.

Li Lei could not remember where he had read it, but if a couple held hands and interlocked it that way, they would stay together forever. He did not want to be apart from her, he wanted to spend his whole life, and the next, and the following… He wanted to spend all the time he had with her. To hell with Pei Ziheng and whatever identity crisis and mysteries there were, he did not give a care about her past. All he cared about was her smile.

Xiao Ling, did you know that every time you smile, you light up the entire world?

He leaned towards her and put his arm around her petite frame. He felt like he owned the world.

The fireworks came to an end.

Xia Ling did not have enough of it. “It was beautiful. Can we come again next year?”

“Sure.” Li Lei placed her hands into his coat pocket to warm them up. “We can come here every year, as long as you like it.”

“Yes!” She nodded her head in excitement. By now, she had taken his company for granted, as if he would be with her forever.

They walked back into the aquarium.

Xia Ling asked him, “Are we heading home?”

Li Lei said, “It’s getting dark, and we’re in the city’s outskirts. It’ll take a while to get out of here. I have a villa nearby, shall we stay there for the night?”

“Sure.” Xia Ling had no objection. Ever since she found out that he had made such a huge sacrifice for her, she had her utmost trust in him. Not to mention a night in a villa, even if he took her to a faraway place, she would willingly agree to it, for she knew that he would not hurt her.

They reached the villa in no time.

Its name was Cloud Paradise.

Xia Ling recognized this place. It was the most luxurious region in the city, and many wealthy families owned a unit here as a testament to their status. It was indeed a wonderful, even scenic, living environment. As the car drove into a narrower driveway, a row of people dressed in black uniforms greeted them.

Xia Ling remembered having a villa here in her last life, but she never got to live in it before Pei Ziheng fell out with her. Now, in this life, Pei Ziheng gave another villa unit to Xia Yu, which was in turn sold to Li Feng. After all that had happened, she never expected that she would have a chance to stay in one. It was not going to be Diva Xia Ling’s nor Xia Yu’s, it was going to be one that Li Lei owned.

She felt slightly overwhelmed by it but calmed down as she looked into the distant scenery.

It was spacious between each housing unit, making it ambiance private and personal. Li Lei finally got to his own villa unit, where two rows of servants were lined up to welcome him. When they saw both of them arrive, they bowed in sync and greeted. “Young Master, Miss Ye, welcome home.”

Xia Ling did not see it coming and was a little shocked by their greeting. As far as she knew, Li Lei was not one who was particular about such formality. Be it in his mountain villa where they first met or in the private apartment he lived in, he was pragmatic and only had the few helpers that he really needed. But over here… Xia Ling scanned the place and realized that there were quite a number of people moving about in the house like it was an imperial palace.

It didn’t seem like Li Lei’s style at all.

Seeing through what she was thinking, Li Lei said, “I’d moved over from New York to start a business from scratch in China. This villa was given to me by my Granduncle, saying it was not meant for me but for my future wife. He also said that girls are different from guys like me and should be taken care of like a princess, which is why he arranged for so many servants.”

Xia Ling felt that this granduncle was very kind indeed.

“What if your wife doesn’t like it?”

“You don’t like it?” Li Lei quickly said. “In that case, I’ll dismiss them tomorrow, how about that? Just tell me what you’d like, I’ll let my Granduncle know.”

“What kind of Grandnephew are you… Wait, no, who’s your wife?!” Xia Ling was blushing as she glared at him.

All the servants casually looked away and pretended not to see it.

The butler, on the other hand, started laughing. “Young Master, Young Missus, don’t keep standing at the door, it’s cold over there.” It only took that short exchange between them for him to address her Young Missus now.

Xia Ling was shocked. “I’m not!”

“She is.” Li Lei cheekily smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “Oh right, this is Uncle John who followed my mum into this family when she married in, who watched me grow up since I was a child. He’s practically my biological uncle.”

It was only then that Xia Ling realized that this Uncle John was a Caucasian with neatly styled blond hair and in a smart butler uniform. He looked somewhere between 50 and 60 years old, and despite his kind smile, she could tell that he was a shrewd man.

“Hello, Uncle John.” Xia Ling greeted him politely.

Uncle John smiled as he nodded his head. “Don’t be so civil, Young Missus. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“I really am not.” Xia Ling blushed again.

Li Lei held her hand and led her past the two rows of servants. They headed into the house for a seat before he told Butler John, “Uncle John, Xiao Ling is more simple and innocent by nature, like my mum. Please look out for her.”

Butler John sized Xia Ling up, this time with a more serious expression. “Don’t worry, Young Master. I’ll definitely take good care of her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt in any way.” He never made promises that he wasn’t serious about. Once he said those words, he would stand by them with his life. It had been many years since Miss Jennifer passed away. Now that Young Master had finally grown up, wasn’t his next task to take good care of Young Missus and to safeguard Young Master’s happiness?

Moreover, Young Master said this girl was just like Miss Jennifer…

It was precisely because Miss Jennifer was so innocent that she left the world so young.