A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling asked after the details on when the meal was to be expected and promised. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

The courtroom staff smiled, thanked her, and complimented her on her graciousness before taking his leave.

Li Lei hugged her gently from behind. “Xiao Ling, are you really going to do it?”

Xia Ling said in a low voice, “We were sisters, after all.” That girl didn’t ask for any delicacies, but only wanted to have such a simple dish with her impending death. This moved Xia Ling a little. She told Li Lei, “Then, the orphanage would prepare meals very everyone, but it usually wasn’t sufficient to go around. Making it taste nice wasn’t even in consideration. Xiao Yu was frail and had fevers often. Whenever she had a fever, she would become very picky with her food and couldn’t stomach anything. I melted some sweets in water to pour over the rice so that she would at least eat some of it.” In fact, while the sweet water rice wasn’t particularly delicious, it was already a luxury for the two girls.

Li Lei didn’t realize that the meal was something so simple. “Since you’re going to make something for her, shouldn’t you make her something better?”

Xia Ling said, “I think she’s reminiscing about the taste of her childhood.” As she spoke, she smiled, “I thought that she was completely heartless already.”

“People tend to be kinder when they are facing death.” Li Lei stated matter-of-factly. “No matter how nostalgic she is, it doesn’t change the fact that she killed so many people.”

Xia Ling replied, “Perhaps.”

Seeing that Xia Ling was feeling down, Li Lei offered to help her prepare the sweet water rice.

Hence, Xia Ling dragged him over to the orphanage and asked the old head of the orphanage, “What’s the brand of the sweets that you used to give out twenty years ago when Xia Yu was living here?”

The old head of the orphanage called the stocking manager over.

“We don’t have any more of those.” The stocking manager said while rubbing his hands together nervously. “Then, we had no money in the orphanage, and could only afford the cheapest sweets. Those were unbranded sweets manufactured by third-rate factories. Now, because of you… Oh, I mean you in your past life, the Diva Xia Ling… the Pei Family, and other generous donors, we have healthy financials. Oh right, Mr. Li and yourself donate to us as well. The conditions in the orphanage are much better now, and the sweets have all been switched to that produced by first-rate factories.”

Xia Ling was happy to hear about the improvements in the orphanage but quickly felt disappointed as well. “Can you tell me where I can buy those sweets?” She wanted to recreate the sweet water rice exactly like how it was in their childhood. Hence, she needed those sweets.

The stocking manager frowned. “Those sweets were bought from a random sundries shop. The boss of that shop died a few years ago, and his wife moved away with their son. I have no idea where they moved to.”

Xia Ling thanked him and the Head of the orphanage, bidding them goodbye.

She used Li Lei’s connections to find out where the wife of the boss moved to, and then found out through the wife where the sweets had been bought from. Unfortunately, the small factory had been closed down after a police inspection.

With great trouble and Li Lei’s help, she managed to locate the sweet makers in the factory and asked them to recreate the sweets as they did in the past. These sweet makers were all getting old and didn’t understand why she would want to do such a thing. One of them told her, “Miss Ling, we shouldn’t be telling you this, but the sweets that we made weren’t anything good at all. It was full of artificial fragrances and sweeteners, as well as preservatives. A lot of the ingredients are harmful to the human body. Someone as precious as you shouldn’t be eating sweets like these.”

Xia Ling thought to herself: I’ve had so many of these sweets when I was young.

Li Lei commented, “Where we are from, everyone is immune to all these poisons whether rich or poor. What’s there to be afraid of? Yesterday I was just eating dried meats in the street in front of our house that’s notorious for using day-aged oil to cook with.”

Xia Ling was speechless.

As were the sweet makers.

Since they were being so adamant, the sweet makers didn’t advise otherwise anymore and started to make the sweets.

Xia Ling was responsible for trying the sweets, whereas Li Lei made sure to watch that she didn’t eat too many of them. Even though he had said that **** people were immune to poison, he still didn’t want for his wife to be eating too many of these inferior sweets. He was nervous, afraid that there would be an adverse reaction.

Xia Ling threw the sweets into her mouth without much thought, scolding him as she did so. “What are you so worried about? They are just a few sweets! Oh… I like this… I loved this taste when I was a kid.” She threw another sweet into her mouth.

LI Lei snatched the sweets away from her. “Are you making these for Xia Yu or for yourself? You’ve never said that you liked sweets that much?” What’s wrong with this girl? Why was she forgoing all of the nice, nutritious, prettily packaged sweets in the world and coming here to eat these third-rate sweets?

Xia Ling lowered her gaze, her eyelashes flitting like the wings of a butterfly. “I don’t know why, but I think this taste is just the most delicious ever. Perhaps it’s because I had to take care of Xiao Yu then, and would keep almost all the sweets for her.” She was also a child then, and while she was the sensible one and needed to care for her sister, she loved eating the sweets too. However, she couldn’t eat them and had to leave them all for her sister, as that was one of the few things that would make her sister’s miserable and sickly childhood a little happier.

“I wanted to eat them for so long…” She looked at Li Lei pitifully.

Even though Li Lei didn’t know what transpired between the two sisters, he guessed what had happened. He pulled Xia Ling into his arms and kissed her. “Next time, I’ll make you anything you want to eat.”

“Really?”

“Pinky promise.”

Xia Ling laughed and stretched out her hand to hook his pinky in hers.

They looked into each other’s eyes lovingly.

The sweets were finally done, and Xia Ling took the trouble again to seek out the rice that was used in the orphanage when they were living there. She made a huge bowl of sweet water rice and brought it to the women’s prison together with some of the delicious delicacies that Li Lei whipped up.

Li Lei asked, “Do you want me to follow you in?”

Xia Ling shook her head. “No, this is between me and her. You don’t have to worry… the prison is really safe.”

Li Lei was still worried and insisted on sending her to the doorstep, but waited outside.

It was the first time that Xia Ling was in a place like this. She looked around her at the grey walls and narrow, steel bars. She was a little lost, but thankfully the prison warden came forward and asked politely, “Do you have anything in particular that you are looking to do here? Oh! You’re Miss Ye Xingling, right? You’re really her?”

The female prison warden suddenly exclaimed.

Xia Ling was extremely recognizable given her popularity. “Yes, I am her. I’m here to send Xia Yu her meal.”

“Oh right, Xia Yu! The death sentence is being carried out tomorrow!” The female prison warden was highly excited given that it was her first time seeing a big star. “Miss Ling, I’m your fan. Can you give me your autograph?” Under the warden uniform, this young twenty-year-old girl was no different from other fans.