A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling was clueless about the conversations going on in the crowd around them and stared at the ice-cream blissfully. “I want the strawberry flavored one! The vanilla flavored one over there looks good too! The matcha latte looks so pretty! And the one over there is chocolate toffee, right?…” Her eyes lit up. She wanted everything she saw!

She could not be blamed though, it had been a year since she ate ice-cream.

Ever since she was pregnant, Pei Ziheng kept her under a strict diet, one devoid of such junk food.

Today, it was as if a bird was released from its cage. It liked whatever it saw.

Li Lei stared at her, holding intentions to pamper her to the fullest, and told the store attendant, “Please give us a serving of every flavor.”

“Sure thing.” The blissful vibes between the couple were rubbing off on the store attendant, and he happily presented them a membership card. “You can get a discount if you accumulate 10 points.”

“1, 2, 3, 4…” Xia Ling leaned into Li Lei’s arms and counted, her white fingertips dancing within his palm. “We have 9 now, what else should we get?” Her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

“Let’s get the hazelnut one, don’t you like hazelnuts the most?” Li Lei gently replied. He had already swiped his card to make payment and smoothly received the plastic bag in which the store attendant placed the 9 ice-creams. He tore open one of the wrappers and raised it to her lips. “Say ‘ah.’”

She took a bite, found the taste really good, and took the ice-cream herself.

“Let’s get the hazelnut one, then,” She wore a huge grin on her face and told the store attendant, “Could we get one more hazel…”

As her voice rang out, suddenly, a girl from behind screeched, “Ye Xingling! That’s Ye Xingling!”

She was eventually recognized. During this period, she received too much media attention. Though she did not look exceptionally outstanding, her figure was slim and dainty, and it made it easy to recognize her.

Xia Ling froze, her hands shaking, and almost dropped the ice-cream.

“Ye Xingling, you’re Ye Xingling, right!” The girls became excited. “Can you remove your sunglasses so that we can see you? Oh gosh, it’s a celebrity…”

“Quickly, run!” Xia Ling’s face paled with fear as she pulled on Li Lei’s arm and ran out.

Li Lei was rather athletic and guarded her as they rushed out. Behind them, many girls followed closely. “It’s definitely Ye Xingling! I just searched on Baidu. That handsome guy next to her is Li Lei! Li Lei and Ye Xingling, hurry and give chase!”

In this world, the one thing crazier than being a lunatic was to chase celebrities. While running, Xia Ling kept turning back to look, her ice-cream still in her mouth. “Oh no, my hazelnut flavored ice-cream…” They were missing one ice-cream!

Li Lei laughed good-naturedly. “You’re still thinking of your hazelnut ice-cream at a time like this! Just run!”

As he said that, he pulled her to avoid the pedestrians and other obstacles in their path, weaving in and out of the crowd. It was only when they ran into a nearby park that they managed to shake off the small crowd of fans chasing after them.

Panting, Xia Ling sat on the edge of a flower bed. “That was tiring.”

She stared at her ice-cream and sobbed. “My ice-cream is almost melted.”

“You really do only care about eating.” Li Lei swiped the ice-cream away from the tip of her nose, then took out the napkins that the store attendant had given to them for her to wipe her nose clean. “You’re willing to give up your life for the sake of eating an ice-cream.”

Xia Ling smiled foolishly.

It wasn’t that she would give up her life, but that she really enjoyed the time they shared together. It was as if they were just an ordinary couple heading into a store to get desserts, walking on the streets hand-in-hand. No matter how much junk food she ate, he wouldn’t blame her for it.

This was the man she loved for her entire lifetime.

Her man.

His ten fingers, as he raised his head. The sunlight fell on his face at just the right angle, the breeze blowing along just fine.

She recalled their separation that happened a long time back, and a tune came to her mind. [Go see the person you want to see while you still loved him, while he still loves you.]

Whatever they went through, all the obstacles that stood in their way, they still ended up together in the end.

Li Lei secretly leaned his head in and took a bite where she bit into the ice-cream. The sweetness and coolness of the ice-cream entered his mouth, and simultaneously, his heart.

He smiled in contentment. He lifted his head to look towards the sun. How wonderful it would be to spend a lifetime together like this.

In the direction they were looking at, a hot-air balloon rose slowly. The words “Heavenly Voice Music Festival” were printed on it neatly and smartly.

“The music festival is about to start.” Li Lei said.

“Yes, it’s the day after tomorrow.” Xia Ling swung her little feet while eating her ice-cream. “Can you go with me?” She made her appearance at all kinds of events and always wanted the company of a loved one. In the previous lifetime, it was Pei Ziheng, but he was always busy having meetings and often rejected her requests. This lifetime, it was Li Lei, and he would sweetly tell her…

“Yes.”

They were already apart for too long a time, to the point that however much time they spent together was not enough. They couldn’t wait to see each other all the time, though it may be a long time ago, it felt eternal.

The day of the festival arrived.

Li Lei really drove her to the venue.

The first day was the opening ceremony, where Bai Murong and several high-status singers gave performances to kick-start the festival. The never-ending excitement presented on stage brought about waves and waves of increasingly loud screams from the audience.

Xia Ling put on her sunglasses covering almost half her face and wore a pair of clean, white jeans together with a black hoodie. She held Li Lei’s hand as they stood in the crowd watching the performance. This time, Li Lei had learned his lesson and chose to follow Xia Ling by wearing a simple pair of jeans and a black hoodie, using its hood to cover his handsome features.

Both of them stood together and looked like a perfectly normal couple.

“Why haven’t we seen Xia Yu?” This was Li Lei’s first time attending a music festival and didn’t know much about them.

Xia Ling grunted. “She isn’t high up enough on the ranks.” Only those who were good enough could start off the festival, and Xia Yu was still slightly lacking.

“How about you? You aren’t up there too.” Li Lei was seeking death.

Xia Ling glared daggers at him and let go of his hand unhappily.

Li Lei cheekily grabbed her hand again.

“I will be there during the closing ceremony.” Xia Ling gazed at the tall stage, whispering softly.

The opening ceremony had only the most highly acknowledged artistes appearing on stage every year. The closing ceremony had more value, for only those who performed extremely well or were well-liked by the audience had the honor of standing on stage.

It was purely due to one’s strengths.

Xia Ling was extremely confident of her own abilities.

“We shall see.” Li Lei also held a lot of confidence in his girlfriend’s abilities.

As the crowd dispersed, he held onto her hand, using his build to make a path through the crowds, and brought her to explore around the area. The entire festival grounds had about 10 differently sized stages, with each stage being of a different music style. In the center stood a magnificent ring, with two dance floors facing each other and still rather empty.

A sign at the side stated the rules of the ring and the name list of all the contestants.

Xia Ling had many thoughts in her head.

She already knew long beforehand that she would participate, but when she saw the list, she couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh. “She can’t even sing live—her energy isn’t enough, and her body can’t keep up—what more of competing in such a high-intensity event at the ring? How can she even consider it.”

“That does make it easy for you to beat her at it, doesn’t it?” Li Lei laughed.