A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Chapter 558: Striking Up a Conversation

Li Lei paused in his footsteps. “Old Master did not allow you to let Miss Ye in?”

The guard said, “Old Master only allows famous and noble guests to enter and said that if anyone disobeys the rules, we should chase him away.” What he meant was that if Li Lei forcefully brought someone in, it may lead to a power conflict.

Du Yunfeng gloated over their misfortune. “Li Lei, give it up. How can your Old Master allow Ye Xingling to enter?” He should have thought of the reason Old Master held this party. If Old Master respected Ye Xingling, would this party even be held?

However, Li Lei said, “Famous or noble guests? That means that as long as Xiao Ling is from a noble family, there’s no problem anymore, right?”

The guard was startled before finally answering, “Not a problem.” In his heart, he thought, How is that possible? The news already said that Ye Xingling’s parents are ordinary working-class commoners.

Li Lei smiled.

He turned to look at Du Yunfeng, and Du Yunfeng was alarmed by his expression. “What are you doing?”

“From today onwards, Xiao Ling is your godsister.”

“My… my godsister?” Du Yunfeng was about to go crazy. “This woman? Is she worthy…” He wanted to say something offensive, but after looking at Li Lei’s expression, he shut up. He knew that his friend really liked this woman. The last time he caused trouble for Ye Xingling on the cruise party, Li Lei had a fight with him.

Du Yunfeng felt injustice. Due to this irrelevant woman, he was punched by Pei Ziheng and his good friend. He looked at Xia Ling with deep resentment and slowly said, “If you aren’t willing to be my godsister, I definitely won’t insist.” He didn’t dare to reject Li Lei. If he gave Li Lei any more trouble regarding his relationship with this woman, their friendship might be over.

Now, he could only hope that this woman rejected him.

Xia Ling also disliked Du Yunfeng, but it was not time to throw a tantrum now. If she rejected Li Lei’s arrangement, not only would she be driven out of the banquet, she would embarrass Li Lei.

Thus, she softly called, “Brother.”

Du Yunfeng wanted to cry and was very uneasy.

However, Li Lei was very happy. He smiled at the guard. “Great. Now, this is Miss Du. You can let her in, right?”

The guard was speechless.

Gu Lin jumped out. “Brother Lei, you’re cheating!”

Li Lei said, “This is something regarding the Du Family, Miss Gu. It’s not your place to interfere.” When it came to Xiao Ling, he was serious. He would not let anyone who wanted to go against Xiao Ling off so easily.

Gu Lin was panic-stricken after being called “Miss Gu.” In the past, Brother Lei used to call her “Linlin,” but now he sounded so distant. Today’s banquet was different, and she was afraid of making Li Lei angry and giving another woman a chance to take advantage of her, so she held back her tears and stopped talking.

Xia Ling smiled. She linked arms with Li Lei and walked inside.

Many high society members watched them enter, and the registration process was restored.

After leaving the crowd, Xia Ling’s elegant and proud look vanished. She asked Li Lei, “What’s going on? What sort of banquet is this? Why was a fake invitation sent to me?”

Li Lei also did not know who sabotaged her. He thought about the possible sabotagers in his mind but said, “Are you tired? I will take you to the rest area to sit down and bring you some fruit snacks. This banquet… is a long story. I will explain it to you.” Li Lei felt a little guilty regarding this banquet. He thought that he should feed Xiao Ling a few things that she liked first so that maybe her mood would be better after being full and would accept his explanation better.

Xia Ling was unaware of his thoughts. She sat down on a sofa in the rest area and nodded. “You can go. I want to eat hazelnut cake and strawberry ice cream.”

“Greedy.” Li Lei smiled tenderly and turned around to get her snacks.

The wind in the summer night was a bit chilly. Ripples formed in the water near the window. She sat lazily and looked at the clear water surface. Although she was absent-minded, due to her habits of a celebrity for two lifetimes, her posture looked extremely beautiful all the time. Even her sitting position could not be compared to the other guests nearby.

“Look, that girl over that is so beautiful.” Not far away, a man pulled his companion.

“Isn’t that Ye Xingling?” His companion said. “How did a female celebrity enter? Could it be that the banquet invited a singer, and she’s taking a break now?”

“Ye Xingling?” The man said, “Second Young Master Li’s rumored lover?”

His companion glanced at him. “Why? Are you interested in her?”

The man laughed. “Let’s not talk about that. Just her sitting position looks ten times better than the other females over there. No wonder Second Young Master Li likes her. However, since she is his woman, I can’t touch her.”

His companion said, “If you really want to, you can try to pick her up. I think Second Young Master Li is just playing with her. Otherwise, why would this banquet be held today?”

The man thought about it and said, “That’s true.”

His companion said, “What’s wrong with talking to her? That has always been consensual. Besides, Second Young Master Li will be surrounded by so many women tonight. Why would he care about her? As for you, it’s rare for a banquet like this to be held. Why would you rather waste your time with this female celebrity than strike up a conversation with a high society woman of your fancy?”

The man said, “I’m not interested in those high society women.” He dusted his suit and walked towards Xia Ling.

Xia Ling stared at the water with a bored look and felt sad after thinking about what happened when she was stopped at the door. Not long ago, she was still very intimate with Li Lei, and they lived together peacefully. However, now, participating in this large banquet, she felt no connection with him at all.

When did their distance start to widen?

There were footsteps behind her.

Xia Ling thought that Li Lei had come back with the food. Thus, she brightened up and said, “Thank you for the hazelnut cake.” When she turned around, she realized that there was a young and handsome well-dressed stranger looking at her with a smile.

“Hello.” The man greeted her. “I’m sorry that I didn’t bring over any hazelnut cake. I can ask a waiter to bring it over for you.”

Xia Ling blinked. “You are…”

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Wang Tao, the third young master of the Wang restaurant chain.” The man was very polite. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

However, Xia Ling was not happy at all to know him. She knew immediately that this man was obviously trying to pick her up. She said, “I’m sorry, but I’m waiting for someone.”

“Are you waiting for Li Lei?” Wang Tao smiled politely. “He will be very busy tonight and won’t have the time to accompany you.”