A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Xia Yu decided to go all out. She threw herself at Pei Ziheng and cried, “I love you!”

Pei Ziheng was furious and pushed her away again. This time, he used more force such that she fell over and knocked her forehead on the corner of a hardwood coffee table. Blood started to flow from the open wound, and her hair and clothes were in disarray. Ignoring her disheveled state, Xia Yu crawled over to Pei Ziheng and grabbed onto his leg in tears. He kicked her away and willed himself to walk out of the room with what remained of his rationality.

He walked straight to the bathroom in his bedroom.

Turning on the showerhead, he stepped into the cold running water fully clothed. In a few seconds, he was completely drenched. The heat emanating from within him dissipated a little but seemed to start to build again after a split second of respite. This time, it was even more overwhelming, and he struggled to contain his virility that was screaming for release. His blood seemed to be gathering at his groin, and he ached with his desire, such that he was close to losing his mind.

Xia Ling’s face was still etched in his mind, and he recalled the times when they were still lovers. Then, she would lie alluringly under him, the bare skin on her neck, chest, waist…

“Darn!” He punched the hard wall in the shower.

His desire didn’t dissipate under the cold shower but instead flared even more.

The Wei Family’s virility drug was way more potent than any other drug in the market. There was no way for him to quell the heat other than to sleep with someone.

Pei Ziheng recognized this fact very quickly.

He rushed out of the bathroom and ran downstairs.

“Mister! What’s wrong with you?!” Nanny Zhou exclaimed in shock, seeing him appear dripping wet.

Pei Ziheng instructed. “Prepare a car. I need to go to the nearest night club.”

Hearing his heavy breathing and the unnatural bulge of his groin area, Nanny Zhou understood what had happened. So it looked like Miss Xia Yu had drugged him?! “Where’s Miss Xia Yu?” Nanny Zhou couldn’t help asking. Why was Mister going so far to seek his release? Wasn’t Miss Xia Yu a willing subject that he knew better than any random girl outside? Why wasn’t Mister looking for her?

Pei Ziheng glared angrily at Nanny Zhou. Even though he was being tormented, he knew that Nanny Zhou was trying to help Xia Yu! That’s why she sent that b*tch into his study with the porridge!

“I’ll deal with you when I return.” He said through gritted teeth as he went in search of the driver himself.

His driver was also shocked to see Pei Ziheng in such a state and hurriedly started the car to send him to the nearest night club. The black Rolls-Royce sped off into the night.

Xia Yu stared at the leaving car in her disheveled state from the window of the study.

She felt like her heart was being pierced by thousands of needles. This man would rather look for a prostitute than to touch her. What was more humiliating to a woman than that?

She crumpled to the ground desolately.

After this incident, Pei Ziheng released a notice for Chu Chen to be relieved of his role as Xia Yu’s manager completely. Additionally, he announced that Xia Yu was not allowed anywhere near him in the future. Everyone could tell that she was being despised.

“What did she do to offend Boss to such an extent?” The receptionists in Imperial Entertainment started to gossip with one another, after seeing Xia Yu walk by alone. “This is the first time that I’ve seen Boss show such disdain towards a person. She can’t even appear in front of him. Wow, what did she do?”

There was no way for them to know what had happened that fateful night in the study. However, the gossipers had a good imagination and postulated other possibilities. “I think Xia Yu was just super unlucky. Isn’t Ye Xingling and Li Lei about to get married? Boss likes Ye Xingling, right? Some rumors say that Ye Xingling is the reincarnated Xia Ling. Maybe Boss is just taking out his frustration on Xia Yu since she’s Xia Ling’s sister. His love for Xia Ling has turned to hate, and Xia Yu’s the one that is getting the brunt of that hatred.”

“But… Miss Ling has disowned her as a sister in public.”

“Aiya… who cares? He just wants to take it out on somebody, right?” The receptionists discussed heatedly. “If you’re unlucky, something will get stuck in your teeth even if you’re just drinking water! I think Xia Yu is just extremely unlucky!”

They didn’t have any deep hatred for Xia Yu and were just discussing these topics happily to pass time. Imperial Entertainment was a place where your status meant everything and would determine the treatment that you got. With this huge fall from favor, Xia Yu’s manager knew that it was pointless trying to get good schedules for her, and she was relegated to lousy programs.

News about Xia Yu’s fall from grace soon spread in the industry.

What future did an artiste have if she were despised by her own Boss? The entertainment circle was a practical place, and soon Xia Yu got fewer and fewer schedules. This was a vicious cycle.

This day, she was filming a variety show in front of the broadcast station.

Xia Yu was holding on to an old, drabby clown’s hat, as she questioned the staff angrily, “Didn’t you say that I’d be wearing a dress and pretending to be a fairy? What’s this?”

“Miss Xia Yu.” The staff member gave her a condescending smile. “Fairies need to have innocent and clean images. They have to be pure and beautiful, you know? You’ve just received a criminal sentence and filmed several shows that saw a fall in their ratings. And you still want to be a fairy? Let’s be honest… if not for the fact that we’ve signed a contract with Imperial Entertainment and have to use you for the show, the director is extremely keen to sub you out. I’ve racked my brains to create this clown character for you. Don’t you think it’s perfect for your current image?” Several other staff members standing around tried to hide their laughter behind their hands.

Xia Yu was furious and turned to leave. Manager Li, who was in charge of her, ran forward to stop her. “Miss Xia Yu, we’ve signed a contract with the broadcast station! If you don’t film this show, it’s a breach of contract and you’ll have to fork out the compensation!” He didn’t mince his words and wasn’t particularly courteous to Xia Yu since she was no longer in a threatening position.

Xia Yu replied, “It’s not as if I can’t pay!” She had money. The millions that her sister left for her could last her several lifetimes. Compensation? That was spare change!

However, Manager Li said, “Other than compensation, the company will very likely put you in cold storage.” Did Xia Yu think she was a big star?! Why was she acting like a big shot?! The company didn’t care for artistes like her, and putting her in cold storage was a perfect way to keep the rest of the artistes in line!

Xia Yu was quiet. She deliberated for a while before turning around and heading back to the makeup room.

She didn’t want to be put in cold storage and become the laughingstock of the industry. Particularly, she dreaded to see Xia Ling’s gleeful expression if she heard about this news. This thought alone made her blood boil!

She picked up the clown’s hat and clenched her fists, but didn’t say anything else.

She put on clown’s makeup, coloring her face in many different colors, and waiting for staff members to call her for the filming. However, nobody came to call her even after more than an hour.