A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Shaohui’s eyes sparkled and he nodded vehemently. “Okay!”

However, the two of them had not noticed that somebody had been following them stealthily. One of the employees went a distance away and made a call. “Miss Su, the people you’d told me to look out for — Ye Xingling and that boy — were talking about buying a shirt for Mr. Li… Yes, yes… Miss Su, you’re too kind. Don’t worry, I’ll help you until the very end!”

The man smirked as he hung up.

He was excited. This was amazing. All he needed to do was to help Miss Su spy on two people and was rewarded tens of thousands of yuan. This was way more lucrative than his current job — preparing drinks for the actors and doing the miscellaneous duties at filming sets! Although the entertainment industry paid well, this only applied to those who had fame and status. Meanwhile, the little employees like him didn’t even earn as much as a white-collar worker, despite being kept busy at others’ beck and call.

He’d be a fool not to take up this additional task for extra cash.

He had to compose himself for a long while before returning to the crew members as if nothing had happened.

The filming went smoothly.

They wrapped up in just one day, and Xia Ling was escorted back with Shaohui.

It was the beginning of fall and temperatures had dipped a little.

Xia Ling made appointments with a few renowned tailor stores — with her current status, she could enjoy the privilege of being the only customer they attended to for the day. She took Shaohui along and bought him some children’s wear, before meticulously picking out a few sets for Li Lei.

She never forgot his sizes.

Neither did she forget the style he liked — he didn’t like suits which were too formal and restricting. He preferred a more comfortable and leisurely style. Hence, she bought a knitted vest and some long pants, as well as a jacket.

She then picked out another scarf.

She knew he did not like wearing scarves. But the advertisement of the scarf swayed her a little — in the ad, the male model looked warm and tender with the scarf wrapped around his neck, soft fabric against his side profile.

She’d looked at the ad for a long while.

She thought of the scar that stretched out on Li Lei’s cheek where the scarf covered that model. She had not asked about how the scar came about, or how much he had suffered in the years they spent apart, or how many death threats he had had to face… she had been too caught up about whether to reconcile with him and would not ask anything too specific until and unless she had come to a decision, lest it seemed like she was interested in becoming a part of his life again…

But that did not mean that her heart wasn’t hurting for him.

Every time she saw that scar, she felt a stab in her heart.

How she wished she could stroke his cheek and tell him, “My heart aches for you.”

But she couldn’t.

If only this scarf could stay by him, and take her place in caressing his wound…

“Miss Ye, this scarf is our newest arrival for the season. It’s made from the best cashmere in the world It’s thin and light, but can keep the wearer warm. It’d make a very good gift.” The store manager had personally made an appearance to recommend her the products.

Xia Ling did not hesitate anymore. “Wrap it up for me.”

Shaohui was jumping by the side. “I want one too!” He wanted to wear the same design as his father, a perfect father-son apparel.

Xia Ling smiled and reached for the child-sized one. She wrapped it around Shaohui’s neck — it did look pretty nice. “We’ll take this one too.”

The store manager carefully packaged both scarves.

The shopping trip ended in a resounding success.

Having bought many new clothes, Shaohui was extremely joyful. “Sister, you’ve got to give these clothes to Uncle Li quickly. He’ll be so happy to have so many new clothes!”

Xia Ling smiled. “Sure.”

Despite having said that, she still felt conflicted. She felt a sense of regret as she looked at the clothes she had just bought — how was she going to hand them to Li Lei? How could she make the situation less awkward?

Would giving him new clothes be too much?

She couldn’t decide.

Hence, the clothes lay in a pile at home for the next few days…

Shaohui couldn’t stand the sight of it any longer and secretly gave Li Lei a call. “Uncle Li, let me tell you something. Sister bought you many new clothes… but it seems like she’s too shy to pass them to you. Quick, find a way to get them, or they’ll be out of season real soon… Hehe, don’t thank me, just help me keep this secret. If Sister knows I’d let it out to you, she’ll punish me… Yup, I want good food! Salmon! Okay, that’s a deal!”

He hung up happily.

How fortunate they were to have him around. If not for him, how would this silly pair of parents work anything out?

Little Shaohui shook his head as he waited for Li Lei to take action. The very next day, Li Lei arrived with gifts for them. He had actually brought new-season apparels and items for Xia Ling, including shawls, perfumes and even lip gloss.

Little Shaohui cheered his father on quietly.

Xia Ling was shocked. “Why’d you suddenly give me all these?”

“I saw the latest ad you shot with Shaohui.” Li Lei smiled. “I suddenly felt like this color of lip gloss would look perfect on you. Oh, the perfume as well, and the shawl… The new season has arrived anyway, just accept them.”

Xia Ling opened the packages, and they were indeed items that suited her very well.

With that, she finally said, “What a coincidence, I have something for you too.” She went to get the few outfits she had bought for him, as well as the scarf.

Li Lei felt warm and fuzzy. It’d been so many years, Xiao Ling was finally willing to give him things again… there were too many good things in this world, but nothing could beat whatever Xiao Ling personally gave him. He would rather exchange his wealth and assets for her feelings; with her, life was so much better.

“Open them up and see if they’re suitable.” She was actually a little nervous.

It had been years since she last gave him anything. At this point, she was a little anxious.

Li Lei said, “As long as it’s from you, it’s good.” He smiled. “I’m still wearing the Rolex you bought me years back.” He reached his hand out and true enough, the Rolex was on his wrist. Although it was a branded watch, a Rolex was considerably a little shabby for someone of Li Lei’s status. But he had worn it all this while — no matter how many people had gossipped about his lack of taste.

Xia Ling looked at the watch.

She remembered how he had rushed to her rescue when someone set her up in her hometown. She had casually given him a Rolex after that, but did not expect him to be wearing it till now… it had been so many years, and the once-pristine watch now had scratches that marked the passing of time, the same way their love did.

But it was still there, wasn’t it?

Some things never really left.

She hung her head low for a while, attempting to hide her expression.

Li Lei unwrapped the gifts, and the first one he saw was the scarf. It was soft and of quality material. He usually disliked wearing scarves, but this was from Xiao Ling.

He even remembered a girl saying —

If you love someone, give him a scarf. Wrap it around him, hold him close to you, and never let him leave.

“Xiao Ling, put it on for me.” He quietly told her.