A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The butler told him what happened in the morning.

Pei Ziheng went upstairs and saw that her bedroom door was ajar. Carefully, he pushed it open. There were pretty clothes, jewelry, and sweets thrown everywhere. Amongst all the spectacle, she was sitting on the floor back facing him. Humming happily, she spread out a skirt.

Her back view was so beautiful, he could not wait to hold her in his arms. However, his gaze darkened as he saw the pink shirt that was outlining her attractive curves.

Xia Ling stood up elegantly, humming away. She sized up the skirt before the mirror and saw Pei Ziheng in the reflection. “Brother Pei!” A wide smile blossomed across her face. She turned around and went up to him. “You are back. Look at all these new dresses! Aren’t they beautiful?”

He snatched the skirt and threw it away.

“Brother Pei?” She looked at him, puzzled. She realized that there was something wrong with his expression.

“Who told you to accept these gifts?” He questioned in a deep tone.

She was shocked. She had never seen him so angry before and was at a loss of words. “I…” He did not explicitly allow her to accept the gifts, but he never said she could not accept them either. Didn’t he say that she could do everything she wanted to? She thought that by accepting these gifts and building a good relationship with her classmates, Pei Ziheng would have been happy.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Pei Ziheng ordered. “Strip them off now.”

“What?” She was stunned again and could not react.

Frowning, he pulled her shirt impatiently. The shirt tore and exposed her white undershirt.

“No!” Terrified and stunned, she covered her chest with her hands reflectively.

Her 12-year-old body had not fully undergone puberty yet. Beneath the translucent undershirt was her undeveloped breasts. The shape of it caused his throat to turn blue.

Covering herself, she ran out.

Her hurried footsteps disappeared down the corridor. Pei Ziheng stood rooted to the ground and did not pursue her.

He looked down at the hand that he used to tear her shirt. There was still warmth left on it. It was a strange kind of warmth, the kind that made one breathe irregularly. He did not know what got into him. When he saw her wearing clothes gifted by others, he felt furious and instinctively tore apart the unsightly clothes.

But he had forgotten that she was just a girl.

He only reacted and realized what he had done when he heard that shocked and terrified “No” from her. His actions were too violent. He… how could he have treated her like this?

Pei Ziheng closed his eyes and slowly adjusted his breathing. He shut out the images that he should not have seen. After which, he turned around and traced her steps.

After searching a couple of rooms, he finally found her in the small tea room at the end of the corridor.

She cowered in the corner, her arms crossed before her chest. Her pale fingers tightly holding onto her shoulders. Seeing him, she cowered further into her corner.

Pei Ziheng stood at the door and did not walk in.

A few steps between them, they stared at each other.

Xia Ling’s expression was not pleasant. She could not hide the fear in her eyes. His actions scarred her. Even though she was still young and did not understand the things between men and women, she still instinctively felt scared and uncomfortable. At the same time, she felt guilty. Pei Ziheng was so nice to her, how could she be afraid of him? She mustered up the courage to not cower further from him, but she dared not move towards him either.

Finally, Pei Ziheng broke the silence. “Sorry.”

Sorry? She was shocked again. However, after a few seconds, her body started to relax. For some reason, his hoarse voice had a soothing effect on people.

Carefully, Xia Ling tried to smile at him.

Her smile was a bit forced, but to him, it was the prettiest thing in the world.

She did not know, but Pei Ziheng had never apologized to anymore. This was the first time in his life. He was even more nervous than she was, afraid that she would reject his apology.

Luckily, she did not.

Pei Ziheng took a step forward. She became anxious and cowered further.

He stopped in his tracks. As gently as he could, he said, “I have no ill intentions.”

She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

Pei Ziheng paused for a moment and continued, “I didn’t do it intentionally, I just didn’t like seeing you in clothes gifted by other people.” He rarely explained himself to other people, and so, these words came slowly. “I adopted you, thus I should be responsible for your food, lodging, clothes and everything you need. I was overcome with anger and couldn’t think straight just now.”

He did not know whether she understood his words and looked at her anxiously.

She stared at him with a puzzled look. Slowly, she seemed to understand his actions. She probed carefully. “So, Brother Pei, you were only angry that I was wearing clothes gifted by other people?”

“That’s right,” he answered.

Her heart settled as she understood his intentions. Her anxiety from the prior violation started to clear, guilt replacing it. “Sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t like it,” she said. If she had known it from the start, she would not have worn those clothes no matter how pretty they were.

Pei Ziheng’s tense expressions started to relax. “I won’t blame you as this is the first time. Do not do this again.”

“I won’t,” she said. She then took the tablecloth from the tea table beside her and covered her torn shirt. She slowly moved towards him and looked up. “Brother Pei, from now on, I’ll only wear clothes from you.”

“That’s my girl.” Happiness filled his eyes as he held her hand and left the tea room together.

That day, he ordered his men to throw away all the stuff in her room. After hearing from his butler that they could not find a suitable fashion consultant for her, he called his own fashion consultant to attend to her temporarily.

His fashion consultant specialized in men’s fashion and was not adept in women’s fashion. However, he did not dare to reject the offer. He had no choice but to take it up and agonize over how to dress this little princess.