A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Nanny Zhou still wanted to persuade him, but she knew it was useless, so she sighed and walked away.

Many people came and went in the big square in front of the mall, and the uniformed security guard chased Xia Ling away. “Little girl, you can’t wash things in this fountain. Where’s your family? Go to the side and wait for them.”

Xia Ling bit her lip and staggered away.

She had just touched cold water and her body was getting more and more uncomfortable. Her head was groggy and the blinding sunlight was making her dizzy. Walking in the crowd, the people around her were white-collar workers who were rushing around. Occasionally, a few children passing by with their parents while laughing happily would stop and look at her curiously.

She was all alone, her dress was stained with black marks, and she looked even more fragile after washing it in the fountain hastily. She lowered her head and walked down a quiet, empty alley. She stopped at a red brick mottled wall and couldn’t walk anymore, so she sat down and leaned against the wall to take a break. She was walking and stopping, heading in the direction of the Training Camp.

She walked from morning to noon, from noon to evening.

The blisters on her feet worn out. Blood flowed out and she was in great pain.

Xia Ling didn’t know why she was being so stubborn. With her speed, school would have ended by the time she reached the Training Camp. But she just didn’t want to give up, or more accurately, she didn’t know where to go once she gave up... She lowered her head and saw that her small mobile phone in her palm was still quiet. Pei Ziheng hadn’t given her a call at all, not one call.

Did he really... not want her anymore?

Tears of grievances gathered gradually in the eyes of Xia Ling. She sucked her nose hard and held back.

Her feet were already in great pain and were weak and sore. Suddenly, she slipped accidentally and fell to the ground.

“Ouch!” She yelped softly before getting up with much difficulty and moving to sit beside a big tree on the road. Her elbows and knees were worn out, and spots of red blood oozed out. She resisted her tears and bowed her head, licking her wounds like a tiny injured animal. She was at a loss. This fall seemed to take all her strength and she could no longer walk. She sat under the big tree for a long time and did not return to her senses.

Pei Ziheng was in his study room, his heart flighty and impatient.

Today, he had canceled all his itineraries to keep an eye on her news.

He warned himself that he couldn’t be in deep distress over her, but the financial reports and project plans that he could understand at one glance in the past became characters he couldn’t recognize. No matter how hard he tried, he could not calm his heart.

“Sir.” Nanny Zhou knocked on the door to bring him the news of Xia Ling. “Miss has fallen down in the alley at the end of Jinhua Street. Her hands and feet are wounded and bleeding and she doesn’t have the energy to walk anymore.”

Pei Ziheng threw the documents in his hands onto the table.

She hasn’t eaten anything in a day and hasn’t had a sip of water. This child is just so stubborn!

“Sir, don’t squabble with Miss anymore.” Nanny Zhou persuaded earnestly. “She’s just a child, what does she know? You’ve seen the big world and are older than her. You’re a man too, just yield to her.”

Pei Ziheng’s voice was cold. “It’s not your business.”

“Sir!” Nanny Zhou was anxious. “Miss is still sick!”

“Go out.” Pei Ziheng picked up his documents again.

Nanny Zhou reluctantly retreated for the umpteenth time and closed the door. Pei Ziheng couldn’t process the documents at all. He put them down and looked out at the setting sun outside the window.

What if she still refuses to come back even at night?

Suddenly, he felt an uneasiness in his heart. It was an empty feeling that he couldn’t explain...

“As long as she admits her mistake,” he whispered to himself.

The setting sun was becoming more and more gorgeous. The whole city was shrouded in the radiance of the evening glow. Half an hour passed and she still didn’t call. Pei Ziheng looked down at his mobile phone. This time, he said to himself, “Xiao Ling, come back.”

There was no need for her to admit her mistake anymore.

As long as she dialed the phone and called “Brother Pei”, then he would definitely pick her up immediately, bring her home and take care of her with his utmost effort.

But the phone never sounded.

Xia Ling sat under the tree for a long time, watching the sky darkening and the sunset glowing. She realized she could not continue to stay there for long. She held onto the tree trunk and got up groggily. She looked down inadvertently and was shocked by her sight—on the ground, where she had just sat, was a pool of blood she hadn’t noticed.

She... was injured?

She reached out to touch her bottom. With just one touch, she could feel her whole lower body was wet and her hand was filled with blood.

She stared at the blood on her hand and was scared. What happened to her? She was losing so much blood all of a sudden, had her fever turned worse? Did she have other diseases? She... she wouldn’t die, right?

In the sunset, the little girl was pale and stood on the spot at a loss.

Nanny Zhou pushed open the door to Pei Ziheng’s study again. “Sir! Something bad happened! Miss, she, she....” She panted heavily and reported incoherently.

Pei Ziheng stood up and grabbed ahold of Nanny Zhou. “Say it clearly! What happened to Xiao Ling?!”

Nanny Zhou was grabbed too tightly by him, but she was happy. Humph, she knew Sir wouldn’t put down his pride to care for Miss unless she scared him. She pretended to be very anxious on the surface. “I don’t know where Miss was hurt, but she has lost a lot of blood. The sky is too dark and the butler is too far away to see her injury, but he said Miss was so shocked her face turned pale.”

Before Nanny Zhou finished speaking, Pei Ziheng had already rushed out.

Nanny Zhou looked at his back and smiled slowly. She called the butler, “He conceded. Sir is rushing towards you now. You just look after Miss. Miss has never learned about women having menstruation before, which was the reason why she’s so scared. The little girl has grown up and has hit her menarche. It’s no big deal.”

Nanny Zhou put down the phone and cleaned the house in a good mood.

The setting sun sprinkled through the treetops onto Xia Ling’s body as well as the little pool of blood on the ground. Xia Ling stared at the blood and her face grew paler. In a short period of time, hundreds of thoughts ran through her mind—what should she do if she was seriously ill and couldn’t become a big star and live up to Brother Pei’s expectations? What about Xiao Yu? The cold wind blew on her body and she shivered. She was on the verge of collapse and was grief-stricken.

Pei Ziheng’s car stopped across the road. Through the window, the first thing he saw was the fragile and desperate look on the little girl’s face under the tree. He didn’t have time to close the door and rushed through the red light to her side, grabbing onto her weak arm at once. “How are you? Where are you hurt?”

The familiar voice made Xia Ling’s heart skip a beat.

She looked up and saw the young man standing in front of her, his tall figure like a God against the light. She cried out at once, “Brother Pei!” She flung herself into his embrace and buried her head in his arms.