A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Ah Nuo understood who she was referring to and nodded slightly. “Young Master came to look for Chairman Pei.”

She was about to barge in instinctively.

On the corridor, Imperial Entertainment’s two bodyguards held her back. “Miss Ye, you can’t go in.”

She now knew why Pei Ziheng would not let her enter. He did not want her to see Li Lei! Since the day they parted, she had been missing Li Lei so much and hoping that she would get to see him again.

Even if it were just one look at him.

Ah Nuo asked, “Miss Ye, you want to go in?”

“Of…” she was about to say “of course,” but the words were stuck in her throat. What was she going in for? To meet Li Lei? So what if she got to meet him, they could not be together anyway. Seeing him would just sadden her further.

She stood at the side of a corridor and took a small step back.

Seeing Xia Ling’s hesitance and deliberation, Xia Yu was sure that Ye Xingling was in love with someone else, and that person was in Pei Ziheng’s office! It was such a perfect opportunity for her to expose this wretched woman! She needed to let Brother Ziheng see this woman for who she really was!

Having calculated her moves, Xia Yu grabbed Xia Ling’s arm and dashed into the office while shouting: “How could you push me and not apologize? Let’s get Brother Ziheng to say who’s right!”

Xia Ling was completely unguarded when Xia Yu took her arm and ended up stumbling her way into the office. The two bodyguards were about to step up, but Ah Nuo easily stopped them from interfering. Ah Nuo was a military combatant who had been through countless fights and had an air of ruthlessness that Pei Ziheng’s bodyguards could not match up to. The bodyguards could not stop them and simply watched them barge into the office instead.

In the office were two men.

One of them was in a black tailored suit with a tie on, sitting behind a long sturdy desk with a somber look — Pei Ziheng. The other man was in an expensive but casual tight-fit that emphasized his physique. His sharp eyes were on the man opposite him, looking almost like a predator.

They must have been arguing about something for the air to be so tense in the office.

“Brother Ziheng!” Xia Yu used a coquettish tone to voice her grievances.

On hearing that sound, they stopped talking instantly and turned around.

Xia Ling was rooted to the ground and remained standing by the door. She looked at the man opposite Pei Ziheng and forgot even to breathe. Li Lei… it was so difficult to get to see him again. Had he not been resting well? He had lost weight and looked more haggard than before. There wasn’t the lazy calmness in him anymore, he was now uptight and ferocious.

He was like a big cat, only baring its teeth when the battle with other animals called for it.

Her heart ached for him.

She looked at him for a long while and could barely hear what Xia Yu was saying. Pei Ziheng walked up to her, blocking her line of vision. “What are you doing here?”

She snapped back to reality and looked at Pei Ziheng with a hurt expression.

Li Lei had risen from his seat as well and approached them. “Xiao Ling.”

“Xiao Ling isn’t a name for you to call.” Pei Ziheng’s words were cold and curt as he put his arm around Xia Ling.

Xia Ling stiffened and wanted so much to wrench his arm off, but resisted the thought. Since she could no longer be with Li Lei, she should not be giving him any glimmer of hope. She might as well have him believe that she was happy with Pei Ziheng.

“Is there anything?” Pei Ziheng’s voice was low but affectionate.

Xia Ling forced a smile. “Yup, I just wanted to ask if you want to have lunch together.”

Li Lei’s fists clenched tightly in his pockets.

Ah Nuo’s look turned awful. “Miss Ye, you…”

Xia Yu watched the show unfold and observed each of their expressions. She had known Brother Ziheng long enough to notice that he was unhappy at the moment despite his gentle tone and embrace. It was all just for show. Hmph… watch out, wretched woman, you’ll die a terrible death now that you’ve angered him.

Pei Ziheng glanced at Li Lei. “You can see for yourself that we have a very close relationship and that she’s more than willing to stay by my side. Are you still thinking of pitting yourself against Imperial with all of your assets?” That was what they were talking about before Xia Ling and the rest barged in.

Although the capital in the U.S. stocks was frozen, Li Lei did not intend to let the Pei family off. He was here to offer an ultimatum: Pei Ziheng was to let Xiao Ling go. Otherwise, Li Lei would fight Imperial till the end.

With these two giants fighting it out, it was enough to turn the commercial world upside down.

Neither Li Lei nor Pei Ziheng was the sort to let people off easy, and she had come between them at an untimely moment. Li Lei looked at her, but she looked away to avoid his gaze. His heart ached to see her this way. “You don’t have to lie to me, this is not how you look when you’re happy. Xiao Ling, wait for me to save you.”

She turned pale, and it took all her efforts to shake her head.

She wanted to tell him she was happy, but simply could not find the will to speak the words.

Pei Ziheng squeezed her hand so hard she had to bite her lip so as not to make a sound and led her out of the room.

A burning gaze followed behind her.

In another lounge, Pei Ziheng sat Xia Ling down on a couch and draped his expensive tailored suit over her. “Don’t be up and about unnecessarily. You’re pregnant now, watch your status.” The last few words sounded like a warning.

Xia Ling knew that the way she looked at Li Lei had angered him, but she did not have the energy to reason things out with him. She only asked, “Imperial and Skyart are pitting against each other now?”

Pei Ziheng looked at her. “This is not for you to care.”

She did not know how powerful these two men were, but she knew better than anyone else that Pei Ziheng was ruthless in his ways, and Li Lei was not one to admit defeat. Xia Ling did not want them to end up in collateral damage over her. After a moment of consideration, she said, “Let me persuade Li Lei.”

“You want to meet him?” Pei Ziheng gave her a threatening glare.

Her heart stopped for a moment, and she could neither nod nor shake her head.

Pei Ziheng said, “Xia Ling, you’d better be good and stay put. If I find that you’re up and about again, I will make sure you’re grounded.” Her acting was terrible; even a fool could tell that she was concerned for Li Lei. How could he possibly let them meet each other? Pei Ziheng was thinking of how to lecture Chu Chen later on; he couldn’t even do his job of watching one person!

Xia Ling was quiet for a while before saying, “I don’t want the both of you to fight.”

Pei Ziheng replied, “I’m not the one aggravating him, it’s he who is causing me trouble. Don’t you worry, Imperial will not fold. The both of you can give up.”