A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The begonias in the garden had bloomed beautifully.

At the mini party were Old Master, Li Lei and Xia Ling, and no one else. Maybe Old Master was really planning to accept Xia Ling, given that he did not invite Su Tang or even Li Rui.

Xia Ling was a little cautious at first, afraid that Old Master was actually setting a trap for her. But as the meeting proceeded, she realized that although he didn’t seem to like her yet, he was trying his best to suppress it. He was putting in the effort to be civil and courteous.

Hence, Xia Ling reciprocated with sincerity and was polite to him as well.

She wasn’t expecting them to be on good terms after one meeting, all she hoped for was that Old Master wouldn’t disapprove of their relationship.

Li Lei was happy as well, or rather, he was the happiest of the three — his most beloved woman was being accepted by his most respected grandfather, what a blessing this was!

The little party ended on a good note.

Before they parted, Old Master even told Li Lei to send Xia Ling home.

Li Lei more than willingly agreed. While driving, he said, “I told you Grandpa would surely accept you, Xiao Ling. You’re so brilliant, everybody likes you.”

Xia Ling revealed a smile as well. “Nonsense. Old Master obviously doesn’t like me, he just has no choice but to try accepting me on your account.” She believed her guess was right, but she didn’t mind that fact. It was Li Lei whom she loved. As for everyone else… it would be good enough if they didn’t stand in the way.

After that, Li Lei took a few more opportunities to bring Old Master and Xia Ling together.

Old Master’s attitude towards Xia Ling improved over time. Although it was still passive, he no longer showed any despise towards her. In fact, when he received specialty local products from acquaintances, he would even get Li Lei to give Xia Ling some.

Xia Ling’s days got even better and her mood improved as well.

Little Shaohui was happy for her too. “Mom, Mom! Dad’s grandfather likes you now, this is awesome!”

Xia Ling pinched his nose cheekily. “Twenty-five more days to go before we can announce your identity. When the time comes, you’ll be able to address him as your great-grandfather.”

She looked forward to the day they could have a proper reunion.

Little Shaohui smiled and nodded his head.

He really wished to see this great-grandfather of his. He had heard that this man was very impressive; back then, he had led his men in fights and battles in order to expand the Li family business to more than double its original scale.

He had gone forward with his head up.

As for Shaohui’s “identity mystery,” the public was slowly getting to learn of it.

Under Xia Ling’s and Li Lei’s arrangement, the lady who came to demand Shaohui — Ma Yufang — underwent a DNA test. Of course, the test results were prepared long before and showed that her DNA had no relation to Shaohui’s.

Once the news came out, many expressed sentiments such as “I saw this coming”, and began speculating that Ma Yufang was trying to make a name for herself by doing this. Yet, Ma Yufang cried out, “I’m not trying to kick a fuss, nor use underhanded means. Little Shaohui is my child!”

The public mocked her, was she still trying to deny the facts?

Who knew, Ma Yufang spilled the beans. “I was a surrogate mother for a wealthy family. The middleman said that the lady was unsuitable to have a child, and hence, the couple inserted a test-tube baby into my womb. I gave birth to Little Shaohui after nine long months, there’s no lie about this! I have the hospital’s proof!”

There was another uproar now with this new information.

So, Little Shaohui’s background was so complicated?

However—

“She hasn’t shown any evidence, on what grounds should we believe Ma Yufang?” Many fans shared their sentiments online. If it was really a surrogate case, who could verify it?

“Exactly. Poor Xiao Ling, she’s being dragged into such complicated matters.”

There were many opinions and perspectives going around.

In this chaos, Xia Ling was actually very calm. “In this case, we should just ask Shaohui himself.”

She took Shaohui to see Ma Yufang.

The following day, the news reported that the child had cried as he went for Ma Yufang’s embrace, calling her “Mom.” The little one personally told the reporters that Ma Yufang was indeed the lady who raised him and that he recognized her.

It seemed like there was another turn of events now. Had the child finally found his own mother?

“Madam Ma, you said you were a surrogate mother, so who’s the child’s father? Why hasn’t he been around all these years?” A reporter tried to get to the bottom of things.

Ma Yufang wiped her tears as she replied, “This child has led a tough life. Not long after he was born, I lost contact with the middleman. I tried looking for the child’s biological parents but to no avail. Seeing that the child was still so young, I decided to raise him myself instead.”

Xia Ling attended the interview with her. On hearing that, her eyes went red as well.

“Miss Ye,” Ma Yufang raised her head. “Thank you for raising Little Shaohui for the past year. With you by his side, he has lived a much better life. I see that he’s even put on some weight. Right now, I have no requests, except that I hope you’ll find his biological parents for him. You’re much richer than I am, it’ll be easier for you to find them.”

With that, she went on her knees and kowtowed to Xia Ling.

Xia Ling hurriedly helped her up, and assured her with her hand placed over hers. “I’ll definitely try my best to find his biological parents. I’ve no idea why, but I feel very much for this child. The thought of him not being able to acknowledge his parents brings me heartache.”

Both women were teary-eyed and shared similar sentiments.

They walked out of the interview room.

Li Lei came to pick her up in a car. Ruffling her hair, he said, “Your acting was pretty good.”

They had planned this show a long time ago, just so that they could introduce Shaohui’s background and identity in a reasonable manner. As of now, the plan seemed to be going well — the whole nation was touched by this story and nobody had any doubts.

Xia Ling forced a smile. “For some reason, I really did feel bad when I said those words.”

Li Lei kissed her gently. “That’s because you love our son too much. Even though you know that it was scripted, your heart still ached.” This was his Xiao Ling; whenever it involved the people she loved, she was soft-hearted beyond measure.

Xia Ling leaned on his shoulder and felt more at ease than before.

Thankfully, that was only a story.

Thankfully, she did not really have to go the extra mile to look for the child’s father.

The following day…

Someone had arrived at the villa.

Pei Ziheng was in an ash grey shirt, his silhouette against the sunset as he glowed with charm. In his arms was a huge gift box.

Xia Ling looked at him through the gate. “What are you here for?”

“To thank you.” he smiled easily. “I’ve seen the news.”