A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Ling was locked in the room again.

The red mahogany bed, the gauze, the appliances, Li Feng gave only the best for her to use. However, every day’s food was horrible, mixed with mud and sewage water, and the food was degraded. Yet, that constituted the whole of her nutrition. She tried to reason with Li Feng. “If you do this and my body can’t take it, then the baby won’t be able to take it too. We won’t live till Li Lei comes to rescue us, and will die straight away!”

Li Feng smiled enchantingly. “Don’t worry, how could I bear to let you die? Dear sister-in-law, I have long prepared a doctor for you. He will keep you and your child’s vital signs on the minimum safety line. Just the thought of Xiao Lei seeing how skinny and weak you are… Hahaha, I am so excited.”

He recorded down her appearance, messy hair and bloody body.

He did not even give her cutleries, and every time he walked in, he would throw the stinky food directly on the ground, the bed, on her body, and would watch as she struggled to kneel down and grab the food with her hands little by little. Often, the food would even have some lizards and cockroaches, and she would strike out in fear, but for the child, she had no other choice but to consume the food. Her face was pale and her spirit was getting even worse.

Li Feng was, however, very pleased. He sent videos to Li Lei every day, enjoying Li Lei’s look of rage yet helplessness. “My dear brother…” he said to Li Lei in the video, “Does your heart ache? What is there to be in pain over? These little things like crickets, you have eaten them on the battlefield those years. So have I, and so have so many of our family’s brothers. If she can’t even take such a small thing, how can she be your wife?”

Li Lei had to fight hard to keep himself calm. “She’s different, don’t go overboard!”

However, this was not even live messaging, nor two-way messaging—all these videos were sent to Li Lei’s email after rounds of transferring to different IP addresses. Li Lei had assorted all means, yet was still unable to find the origin of these videos. Li family’s satellite, Xia family’s positioning system, and even several government search systems in countries they were in good relationships with… all discovered nothing.

Xia Moyan told him, “Li Lei, you are the only one that can rescue her now. Xiao Ling is my closest relative. However, the fortune teller cannot see his own future, neither can he see his closest relative’s future. Hence, I cannot possibly use my metaphysics to accurately locate her. You have to find a way to rescue her.”

Li Lei could feel the enormous burden on his shoulders.

He forced himself to stay calm. “Li Lei, don’t worry, there will be a way, there has to be a way! Each day that I don’t find her means each day that she stays alive. Li Feng will not let her die so easily…” He splashed his face with cold water, opening his bloodshot eyes that had not slept for a few days and nights and resumed a new round of searches.

Xiao Ling, hold on…

However, as time passed, he knew better than anyone else, it could not go on like this.

Given Li Feng’s personality, he was sure to lure him to save her, and then find a way to torture them. However, seeing as how he had still not given the clue for him to rescue her, it only showed that Li Feng had still not fully prepared the means of winning. Once Li Feng gave the clue, however, even if he were to find her, it would be too late!

Li Lei was beginning to get more and more anxious, and he put all of the Li family’s manpower to participate in the search.

Xia Ling’s situation was getting worse.

The baby was four months old now, and she did not know if it was just an illusion, but sometimes, she could feel the baby moving in her belly. The baby seemed uncomfortable, really hungry and upset. She would touch her belly occasionally and comfort her baby while telling herself, [Xiao Ling, the baby is still so young, how could you possibly feel her emotions? It’s all just your own illusions from being captured for so long, it must be…]

Now, she was already using “her” to address her baby.

It was all thanks to Li Feng, who had made the doctor give her daily examinations and check on the gender of the baby. “Girl?” After hearing the news, Li Feng smiled slyly. “That’s great… With Shaohui, and now a baby girl, you and Xiao Lei are considered to have both dragon and phoenix now.”

Xia Ling looked at him with a mix of fear and wariness and did not speak.

Li Feng laughed to himself, lowering his head to look at his long and sharp fingernails. “I wonder, what would it feel like if I were to use this pair of hands to dig out your daughter in front of Xiao Lei? It… must feel really good, hahahahaha…”

Xia Ling sucked in a deep breath and said with a feeble voice, “I want to see him.”

“See who? Xiao Lei?” Li Feng was still smiling. “My little rabbit, no need to be anxious. Just wait till I have prepared for the execution, then I will let Xiao Lei in to reunite with you. Be good.”

Xia Ling smiled sadly, her eyes listless and empty. “I have been feeling that my physical condition is worsening, and I might not be able to hold on to that day anymore… Li Feng, I want you to tell him personally that I am pregnant with a girl. Please just fulfill my wish once, okay?” She crumbled onto the floor slowly, as if she would fall down at any second and would never wake up.

Li Feng looked at her for a long time.

A woman in trouble, a creature that was just so annoying and weak.

However, if he did not fulfill her wish, and if she were to suffer a blow and really die in advance, then how was he to continue this game? Li Feng frowned and pondered over it for a long time, before finally taking a step back reluctantly. “You have to keep this location a secret, and I will not let you and him communicate through live chat. However, you can record down whatever you want to say in the videotape, and he will be able to see it… I’m warning you, don’t play any tricks, or I won’t mind digging your child out in advance!”

She was ecstatic and promised not to play any tricks.

Li Feng enjoyed how fragile she looked in front of the camera, it was as if he was looking at a lover he had not seen for a long time. “Li Lei, I’m still alive. The child is still alive too. Don’t worry, Li Feng has given me a check-up—it’s a girl. You have to rescue us, then we can live with both son and daughter…” She said while stroking her belly.

Li Feng did not wait for her to say any more before shutting down the recorder.

Perhaps it was the sentence “You have to come rescue us” that pleased Li Feng, for, in the following days, his attitude towards Xia Ling was much better than before—even though she was still eating leeks, but she was not receiving scoldings and beatings from him anymore.

Xia Ling took the chance to recuperate and prayed silently in her heart for her tiny action to be noticed by Li Lei.

In S City, Li Lei carefully analyzed the video she had recorded, not letting go of any details. When he was watching it for the second time, he suddenly froze the video and enlarged the image, and the hint fell on the hand that she was caressing her belly with.