A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Li Lei grabbed her hand and tugged lightly, and she fell back onto him.

She struggled to get up but he had already put one hand around her waist. “Don’t move.”

His low, husky voice was gentle and attractive.

As if a spell had been cast on her, she subconsciously stopped struggling and looked at him innocently. His eyes were beautiful and deep as a lake. His nose bridge was high and his lips were thin; he was practically the most perfect sculpture on Earth…

She was enchanted by his good looks and at that moment, forgot everything about the marriage proposal.

He smiled and then kissed her. This innocent little girl was too adorable, how could he bear to leave her? He quietly said, “I’ve already prepared the gifts for asking your hand in marriage, all that’s left now is a good day for it—when Wei Lingnan came the last time, he’d given me the dates your brother had calculated and suggested. Wait, your brother didn’t tell you about it?”

Xia Ling was stunned. “No.”

Li Lei said, “I thought he’d told you.”

With that, Xia Ling realized what was going on. Both of them had already known about the date but thought the other person would have mentioned it to her. The result: she had been kept in the dark all this time, anxiously waiting.

“A bunch of jerks.” She clenched her teeth and concluded.

Li Lei smiled again. “But I’m very happy to know that you’re so concerned about it. Since you can’t wait to be a part of the Li family, I’ll let you know—Grandpa has already set off from the headquarters with the gift. He’ll reach the Xia household in about three days, so if we set off the day after tomorrow, we should be able to reach in time.”

When asking for the lady’s hand in marriage, both man and lady, as well as their parents, had to be present.

She was to wait in her home for him and his family to arrive with their gifts.

She exclaimed, “The day after tomorrow?!”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“I have a shoot on that day!” She pulled a long face. “I knew it, you’re all jerks! How could you not have told me about something so important? The day after tomorrow is Nebula’s awards ceremony and banquet! It’s live!”

Li Li was stunned too.

He had been pretty occupied with the overseas’ business recently and had not paid attention to the local entertainment news. He actually forgot something as grand and important as the annual awards ceremony. Nebula’s awards ceremony was the nation’s most influential event in the singing industry—Xiao Ling had already won the Best Female Singer title three years in a row; this would be her fourth.

She couldn’t possibly be absent for it.

“What to do, what to do…” Xia Ling murmured. “I’ve already picked out my evening gown for the ceremony. It’s beautiful, the most haute of the season! It’ll be out of date if I don’t wear it now…”

Li Lei was speechless.

So, Darling, you’re just worried about the evening dress, aren’t you?

Xia Ling was troubled. “Tell me, what do I do?”

Li Lei thought for a bit. “Well, you attend the awards ceremony every year, it should be alright to miss it just this once. Why don’t you give this year’s a miss, and stay home to wait for my proposal.”

Xia Ling wasn’t satisfied. “But I wouldn’t get to wear my evening gown for that.” Asking for her hand in marriage was an important event, but it was basically the male’s family visiting the female’s family. It would be no more than a little party, and a gown would be too much for it.

Li Lei went quiet again. So in the eyes of a woman, a man wasn’t even half as important as a piece of clothing?

Xia Ling slapped his chest. “It’s all your fault, it’s all your fault…”

Li Lei was in pain but dared not reason things out with her. Nobody reasoned things out with a woman—especially when it involved clothes—unless he was tired of living.

“If there’s no other choice, we can change the date of the proposal.” He announced painfully.

Xia Ling’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him expectantly. “We can do that?”

“Why not? Count on me to do it!” Li Lei confidently said, “This is our proposal, it’s up to us to decide.”

Xia Ling was finally satisfied with the arrangement and ruffled his hair. “I knew you’re the best.”

Li Lei smiled radiantly, but he was quietly bleeding inside. So, in Xiao Ling’s heart, I’m worth less than a piece of clothing…

What he did not know was that it wasn’t about the dress at all.

This would be Luo Luo’s first Best Song award, and she wanted to be there to support her. Luo Luo and Bai Murong’s relationship was getting better by the day, but something was weighing on her shoulders. A while back, she went to look for Xia Ling and said, “Xiao Ling, do you think I’m lousy? Murong is a Heavenly King whose popularity is incredible, but what about me? I’ve been in this industry for years and haven’t made a name for myself. A lot of them are saying I’m not good enough for him.”

Back then, Luo Luo had looked so down.

Xia Ling had gently asked her, “You and Bai Murong have been together for a while, and these comments have been going around too. Why is it getting to you now more than ever before?” Quite a number of Bai Murong’s fans had never liked Luo Luo to begin with. They found that she had little experience and lacked popularity, and definitely was not good enough for their Heavenly King.

These comments had been going on all these while, but they were never the majority’s voice. Yet, in recent times, Bai Murong’s fans had been increasingly vocal about their thoughts against Luo Luo.

Luo Luo said, “Murong has a call-and-response team with a very outstanding leader, but she’s kept a low profile for a few years now. Recently, she made an appearance again, and she’s been spreading bad word about me among his fans.”

Xia Ling asked, “What’s her name?”

Luo Luo shook her head. “I don’t know, but her online ID is Murong Feifei.”

Murong Feifei!

Xia Ling knew at once who it was—Ye Xingfei! She’d been involved in such activities since she was young and had gained a large following before she fell into a coma. Now that she had recovered, she was back in this club?

This sister of hers was really causing trouble!

Xia Ling was angry now. Brother had saved Ye Xingfei on her account, and now that she had regained consciousness, she was going against Xia Ling’s good friend? Luo Luo and Bai Murong did not have it easy, and this girl had suffered enough criticisms being with him. She should not have to deal with such coldness from his fans anymore.

“I’ll help you in the coming Nebula ceremony.” She told Luo Luo, “Once you win the Best Song award, they’ll quieten down. All the best to shut the mouths of those who’ve looked down on you.”

Luo Luo was still not good enough to win the Best Female Singer title—even if Xia Ling wasn’t up to compete, there was still Xie Linlang, Shu Wanyi, and several others. But Luo Luo could give the Best Song a shot. As long as she gained enough support at the ceremony itself, she had a good chance to gather enough votes for it.