A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“What kind of person do I take you to be?” Li Lei looked down at her, his voice lined with pain. “Xiao Ling, shouldn’t you be asking yourself, what kind of person do you take yourself as? How can you go to a lingerie shop with just anybody?”

Her face turned pale, and her lips quivered as she looked at him wordlessly. She wanted to find a crack in the ground and hide in it from the embarrassment of having the man she loved insinuate something so shameful about her. However, it was just a big misunderstanding. She could only blame herself for not looking where she was going and randomly walking into that shop out of all the shops in the mall.

Not looking where she was going was turning out to be a much bigger mistake than she expected.

Tears started to fill her eyes. She seemed to be fonder of crying ever since she got together with Li Lei. In the past, it was for other things, but recently, it seemed to be about the pain between them.

Seeing her tears, Li Lei’s heart started to throb with pain. However, this matter crossed the boundaries of his principles, and his jealousy was like a ball of fire within him. It made him struggle to maintain his rationality. He asked, “So, is it or is it not Pei Ziheng?”

“It isn’t.” She said in a tearful voice.

“Then who is it?!” He suddenly lost his patience and shouted out. “Ye Xingling, can you at least try harder if you are going to lie? Do you really take me as an idiot? The night before you were sleeping together… This afternoon both of you went shopping in a lingerie shop! Ye Xingling, if you want to go back to Pei Ziheng, then just say it! I’ll let you go!”

She looked at him incredulously.

What was he saying? Let her go? Was Li Lei sick and tired of her? Had he fallen for Nangong Qingya? Was that why Nangong Qingya had said this afternoon that the lingerie she was buying was for Li Lei? Was Li Lei looking for an excuse to break it off entirely with her?

Tears streamed down her face, and it was a while before she found her voice again. “Back at you! If you don’t want me anymore, just say it! You don’t need to accuse me of doing something I did not!”

Li Lei laughed in his anger. “I put in my all to love you, dote on you, and tolerate all your nonsense… Who would have thought that you would do something like that? And now you say that I’m accusing you?!” A man like him could have any woman that he wanted. And yet he wanted her — a woman that had had a child with another man, a woman that could not ever become pregnant again. These were fine by him because he loved Xiao Ling, but she shouldn’t crawl into someone else’s bed!

“Is Pei Ziheng really that great?” He walked towards her. “Such that you are so bewitched by him that you will throw away all reservation and principles?” He reached out and lifted her chin, and made to kiss her forcefully. He did not mean it when he said that he would let her go. All he wanted to do was to chain her up like Pei Ziheng did many years ago, and to isolate her from the world. He wanted to bar her from seeing and listening to anybody else, and for her world to be only him.

He felt like he sympathized with Pei Ziheng. People who fell in love with Xiao Ling were pitiful and would all lose their minds eventually.

His lips pressed onto hers forcefully, and he forced his tongue through the barricade of her clenched teeth. She struggled and hit him, the terror and insult of his actions making her want to flee. She did not know where she found the strength to free herself as she stumbled upstairs.

Li Lei followed closely behind.

“Don’t come over!” She ran into the bedroom and realized that there was nowhere else to go. In her fluster, she opened the window. “If you take another step forward, I’ll jump!” This bungalow was situated at a high vantage point for great views and lower humidity. The interiors were also designed with high ceilings, and this second-floor window was, in fact, as high as a typical third-floor one.

Xia Ling glanced down and felt a little giddy, but Li Lei seemed more terrifying. She moved closer to the windows subconsciously. “I’ll really jump!” She shouted through tears.

Li Lei stopped in his tracks.

Xiao Ling was childish and rash, and he was afraid that she would really jump down if pushed to the corner. Pain crept into his heart as he stared at her – this woman that would rather jump down than to kiss him — like an invisible hand had dug his heart out and was crushing it.

“Come here.” He said in a deep voice while trying to keep his emotions in check.

“I won’t!” Her voice quivered, but she stayed where she was.

The last of the setting sun disappeared in the horizon, and there was an expanse of darkness behind her, making her look all the more vulnerable and weak. She was like a small animal that had climbed onto a tree and did not know how to come down. She was terrified but still alert and guarded towards others, ready to take the plunge down and end it all.

Li Lei’s heart hurt even more, though he didn’t know why.

“If you don’t come over now,” He said slowly and clearly. “don’t think of coming over ever again.”

This was the second time since entering the house that he had mentioned breaking up with her, he thought despondently. Maybe Pei Ziheng was her true love. Maybe he should let go and let her go find Pei Ziheng instead. He was not going to sit by and just let her make a cuckold of him!

Xia Ling’s tears fell with a vengeance, but her fingers hooked even tighter on the window sill and did not move.

She did not dare go over to Li Lei as his expression was too terrifying. She could not fathom what she would have to face if she went over. In her reverie, the trauma of the time in her past life where she was imprisoned by Pei Ziheng came back. In fact, when she was assaulted by him in the caravan she had felt the same terror return. It was as if she was not in control of herself anymore, and she was just a toy and plaything to be stepped upon.

She did not want to be like that ever again.

Li Lei waited for a while. Seeing that she was not going to move, he slowly turned and started to walk away.

It seemed that the heavens only allocated a short time for them to be together, and in this short time, they were apart more than they were together. Perhaps they truly were not destined for each other. She watched as his back disappeared out of the doorway and lowered her head, crying as she stared out of the window and saw him walking out of the yard, looking forlorn and lonely.

Was this going to be goodbye forever?

She would not be able to hug him as she wished, and would not whisper sweet nothings to each other. She would not be able to eat the delicious meals that he made, and would not…

Her body crumpled towards the ground and she hugged her knees to herself as she curled into a ball on the floor. She cried for a long time.

She hated herself. Why did she have the lonesome destiny of the Phoenix and would jinx the people around her? If this was not the case, perhaps she would be allowed to reveal her brother’s identity. Would Li Lei not have blown his top then? She hated herself for not having the courage to go to Li Lei when he had asked her to. If she had gone over and tolerated his kisses and perhaps more, would the problems in their relationship disappear?

Why couldn’t she just tolerate him a little more?

She regretted not calling Li Lei back. But even if time were to go back, she would still not have the courage to go over and snuggle in his arms like before, wouldn’t she?

She was scared…

She felt wronged and scared.

Her teardrops fell onto the floor and a small puddle started to grow by her feet. She cried till her body felt fatigued. Suddenly, there was a sweetness in the air.

This was a familiar sweet scent — the sweetness of candy.