A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Shaohui looked at the little girl and her mother.

He still looked innocent and lost as he received the flowers. With a sweet smile, he quietly said, “Thank you, I like it very much.”

It was a red flower, swaying in the breeze.

The little girl and her mum still looked anxious — her father was just an ordinary vice-principal, and they surely could not afford to offend somebody of Xia Ling’s status. Everybody knew that Xia Ling’s life journey had been a difficult one. Even if Shaohui didn’t understand much about what their child had said, they couldn’t be sure that Xia Ling would not be angry.

The guests and reporters were curious as to what was going to happen next.

After some dead silence, Shaohui looked down at the flower and took a few strides to Xia Ling. He held it up to her. “Sister, this flower is for you.” His voice was still sweet and gentle. “I don’t have parents, but I have Sister to take care of me. Sister’s the best person in the world.”

His statement quelled all the awkwardness at the scene.

Everybody heaved a sigh of relief, while some of them quietly praised Shaohui for his intelligent response. When the girl mentioned earlier that he did not have a father, she was implying that he had Xia Ling as his “mother,” and that his “mother” did not have a partner, making it sound slightly offensive. But with Shaohui addressing her as his “Sister,” he had easily changed the underlying meaning: Sister is still young, there’s no rush getting a partner!

Even a few experts in the commercial world admired Shaohui.

Li Lei narrowed his eyes for a while before breaking into a smile. It seemed like the child Xiao Ling was raising wasn’t as foolish as he looked, he was a likeable and adorable boy.

Yet….

Little Shaohui, your “Sister” was about to have a “Brother” for herself soon.

Li Lei’s eyes landed on Xia Ling. She was in a pastel colored lace dress and looked extremely beautiful in this natural light. She bent over and received the flower from Shaohui. “And Shaohui is the most adorable child in the world.”

The child smiled happily upon hearing that.

With the resolution of the crisis, the reporters resumed their snapping of photos once again. Xia Ling held the red flower in her hand as she entertained the guests, and the atmosphere lightened up quickly.

The reporters shared the same sentiment —

Considering this was the first time he attended a social party, Little Shaohui had performed extremely well. They couldn’t tell whether he was actually smart, or if he was simply kind by nature, but regardless of the reason, his behavior made him a very loveable and adorable child. He really did the “Heir of a Billionaire” title some justice.

They could already see a star rising amongst the second generation of the high society.

On the other side, Xia Ling had made her rounds and greeted every guest at least once. Her worth now was astonishing, as was her popularity, and she was no longer just the little celebrity that she used to be. Even if there were rumors going around that she “depended on the alimony fee from her divorce with Pei Ziheng” to attain her wealth today, nobody could respect her any less.

Xia Ling had been good with social events since her previous life, and it did not take much effort for her to host one. Today, Shaohui was the main focus of the event, not her, so she didn’t take a long time to greet each of them, except…

She looked up slightly and glanced at a man.

He looked gloomy.

The man stood under a tree with a cocktail in his hand, looking slightly tipsy. His eyes chased her with an expression one could barely read.

Xia Ling’s heart ached.

She looked away, forcing herself not to make eye contact with him, and walked off in another direction.

Li Lei chased up quickly. “Xiao Ling.”

A few guests in the vicinity turned around and looked at them. Some of the reporters pointed their cameras at them to capture that scene.

Xia Ling did not want to embarrass him in front of so many people, but her tone was still unfriendly. “Li Lei? I’m confused, what are you doing here? If I remember correctly, you’re not in the invitation list.”

He seemed to have seen this coming. Instead of getting angry, he nicely said, “I missed you.”

“So, you brought Su Tang’s son along to see me?” Her tone was curt.

“You said it yourself, it’s Su Tang’s son,” Li Lei’s voice softened, but he went on anyway. “Xiao Ling, you know this child’s situation, I can’t possibly leave the mother and son to their devices. But there really is nothing between Su Tang and me. I love only you.”

“I’m sorry, this is not the kind of love I want.” Much as she wanted to be with him, this was her bottom line — no two-timing.

“You’re very much like Pei Ziheng now, do you know that?” She looked into the distance, a little emotional. “Back then, when he got engaged with Wang Jingwan, he’d also said that it was nothing more than taking responsibility for her and that he loved only me… Ha, Li Lei, if this was the love I wanted, need I have waited till now?”

She suddenly turned around and looked straight at him, enunciating each word that stabbed into his heart. “If I could accept it, I’d have lived happily ever after with Pei Ziheng back then. There wouldn’t have been everything that came after, and do you think you would’ve had your turn?

“Li Lei, stop with your wishful thinking!”

Her last sentence was ruthless. With that, she turned around and walked off.

He reached out to grab her hand. “Xiao Ling!”

“Let go!” She glared at him.

Some of the guests were already discussing about them.

Before Li Lei even had the chance to say any more, they heard a child wailing. Everybody — including Xia Ling and Li Lei — turned in that direction.

They saw a few children gathered on the lawn, with a six-year-old boy sobbing. Laying in front of him was a pile of toys that had been disassembled and damaged.

As there would be kids around that day, Xia Ling had specially prepared toys for the event. She had also stated in the invitation that the children could bring their own toys along for exchange or to play with others. Many of them did bring their favorite toys along, and it seemed like quite a number of them were lying in the pile.

The adults had no idea what had happened and began walking towards them.

The child’s parents were in the property industry. They hurriedly walked towards him and asked anxiously, “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”