A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

She glared at him and ignored his nonsense.

Li Lei rummaged through a pile of props for a long time before taking another set of leather clothes. “This is for you.”

This set of leather clothes was different from the one he was wearing. Although it was also a combination of black metal, ropes, buckles and leather, its design was very elegant and conservative. Places that could be covered were securely covered, and it only exposed some of her calf and her back.

It was not even as revealing as the dresses that she wore on the red carpet.

She took it. “This…”

“It’s enough for one person to expose himself. As I said, you will be very safe,” said Li Lei. Their goal was to get the Supreme Black Card membership. If they were too conservative, the club would suspect that they were not perverted enough. However, if one person wore revealing clothes and the other was a little more conservative, it would be considered a coordinated set and would, thus, be acceptable.

Li Lei chuckled. “I only dressed like this for you.”

Xia Ling glared at him again. However, looking at the leather clothes that protected her very well, she felt a current of warmth in her heart. This man always thought about her even in times when she did not think about herself. Perhaps after these years and experiencing so much pain, this was why she was still unwilling to forget him.

She touched the buttons on her shirt. Just as she was about to change, suddenly, she remembered something and glared at Li Lei even more fiercely. “Turn around. You aren’t allowed to turn back!”

“Ok.” Li Lei knew that she was shy and turned around.

Only then did Xia Ling slowly change her clothes. However, looking at the leather’s matte texture, she started to tremble again and was short of breath. Thus, she couldn’t put it on easily.

This was not a problem about how revealing the outfit was.

This leather outfit was a symbol of her return to her nightmares.

Just by touching the cold buckle with her fingertips, she didn’t dare to imagine how she would look like when she wore it. The horrific memories of her past came back again, and any glimpse of light was just an illusion.

Old Master Li was really cruel. He kidnapped Shaohui and placed him somewhere she would never want to be in so that she would fail at the preparatory stage.

Her hands trembled, and finally, she couldn’t help but throw the leather outfit far away.

Crash.

Li Lei spun around. “Xiao Ling?”

“Don’t look at me!” She covered her face and crouched helplessly in a corner like a powerless creature.

Li Lei’s expression darkened. He walked over and knelt in front of her.

He knew what she was afraid of and was clear of what she experienced in her past life. He knew that putting on this outfit required a lot of courage from her. He reached out and wrapped her in his arms. Using his warmest voice, he said, “Xiao Ling, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

He tired his best to comfort her.

She struggled and cried, “Let me go!” She didn’t want him to see her in this state. At that time, she was dripping in blood and there was no way of escape.

She didn’t want him to know.

However, he did not let go of her hand. Instead, he tightened his grip and was as firm as a mountain.

“It’s ok, it’s ok…” He said over and over again. “I’m here. I’m here for you.”

Perhaps his arms were too warm or maybe his voice was too gentler. She finally stopped shaking and raised her tearful face in his arms. “I don’t want to do this…” she said. “I don’t want to do this…”

He swept her long hair aside and said, “We’ll think of something else then.”

However, she stopped talking. Another way? No, there was no time. Every second that Shaohui was on that ship was dangerous, and no one knew what would happen. Their time was very tight, and they could not mess it up. Biting her lip, she pushed him away and went to pick the leather outfit again. “I must wear this.”

Her voice was frail and weak.

Li Lei frowned. He didn’t want her to force herself. However, he knew that this was the best solution. He said, “I’ll help you.” He was worried that if no one helped her, she would not be able to stand straight.

Xia Ling hesitated, knowing that her condition was pretty bad. Finally, she nodded.

Li Lei took the leather outfit and, with her guidance, slowly unfolded it and wrapped the pieces around her thin body slowly. She closed her eyes and remembered that many years ago, when she was imprisoned by Pei Ziheng, that man treated her like a doll and always used to help her put on clothes that she did not like…

The darkness was back again.

Her body began to tremble again. She exhausted her strength trying to restrain herself from pushing Li Lei’s hand away.

Crack.

It was a very soft sound.

Li Lei only felt that his hands were wet. When he looked at them, he realized that there was blood on them.

He turned around. “Xiao Ling?!” Under the silver moonlight, her face was still white, but there was a patch of redness on the corner of her lip. She had bitten herself.

She looked horrible as she stared at him blankly. Even her voice was empty. “I’m fine. You… move faster.” She didn’t know how long she could endure before collapsing.

Li Lei felt like his heart was being sliced. He once vowed to not let her suffer any harm. Unexpectedly, in the end, she still had to return to her endless nightmare. He sped up, finished dressing her up and held her in his arms.

“Ok.” He said softly, “You’re safe.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, her body became soft and she fell in his arms.

Li Lei held her. He lightly lifted her chin and used his fingertips to wipe off the blood on her lips. Unknowingly, he lowered his head and kissed her gently.

Her body trembled a little. She instinctively tried to push him away, but somehow, she seemed to have lost all of her strength and couldn’t even lift a finger. She closed her eyes and let him carefully lick the blood on her lips. It was as if she was dependent on him to heal.

Her tears gushed out.

After some time, he finally cleaned the blood on her lips.

“Don’t hurt yourself again.” His voice was very low. “My heart will hurt.”

Her reasoning slowly returned with the sound of his voice. Although she was still in a daze, she forced herself to stand up and by supporting herself using the wall. Looking at him, she said, “I’m fine. Let’s go to the next step.”

Time waits for no man.

Their Shaohui could not wait.

“The next step?” Li Lei looked at her. “How should we do it?”

Xia Ling finally remembered that the man in front of her did not understand this dark game. She slowly walked away from him, picked up a whip, and put it in his hand.