A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return
chapter-1012

Chapter 1012: By Your Side

“Am I, am I really stupid?” Xia Ling asked softly.

Xia Yu sneered in her heart, but said outwardly, “Why would they bully you if you were smart? Sister, don’t you think it’s strange that Brother Pei would adopt you? I think those girls were right, he doesn’t understand you at all. If he was to see your true face, he will definitely throw you out!”

Xia Ling panicked. “Then what should I do?”

Xia Yu was very satisfied. She could not bear to see her sister’s triumphant appearance. The more upset her sister was, the more satisfied she was. So, she pretended to advise her. “It’s okay, don’t panic. As long as you work harder and not let Brother Pei find out the fact that you can’t do anything well, it’ll be okay. Sister, don’t blame me for being straightforward, but who else in this world would treat you sincerely? We two sisters are mutually dependent for life.”

Xia Ling nodded. “Yes, Xiao Yu. I’ll listen to you. How could I blame you?”

Xia Yu laughed again. This time, it was a gloomy satisfaction—if her sister was listening to her, didn’t that mean that she admitted that her intelligence was beneath hers? Sure enough, between them two sisters, she was the more outstanding one!

She chatted with her sister for a while more before hanging up.

Xia Ling went offline and climbed onto her bed to sleep. Unexpectedly, she tossed and turned in bed and couldn’t fall asleep—before she had had this talk with her sister, she had faintly felt that the Pei family’s girls were trying to push her out by saying those ugly words to intimidate her on purpose. However, even Xia Yu said that Pei Ziheng would abandon her…

Her heart was filled with fright and fear. She tossed and turned for the whole night.

This matter was just like a large black cloud that was pressing heavily on her heart. The second day, she was absent-minded for the whole day. She made a few wrong actions in etiquette class and was reprimanded heavily by Teacher Gao.

When she got home, Pei Ziheng was not there.

Nanny Zhou brought dinner for her. “Miss, Sir has an important meeting tonight and will not be back at night. He has instructed you to eat first and then rest early.”

“Is he not coming back?” Xia Ling was a little disappointed. She could not help but wonder if he was avoiding her because he did not like her. She knew in her heart that it was a ridiculous idea, but she still couldn’t control her thoughts.

Nanny Zhou did not detect anything wrong. She said with a smile, “Yes, he won’t be coming back. I heard that he is talking business with the Wang family. Miss, have you heard of the Wang family? If you go to the high-end beach resort, you will see the Wang family’s speedboats and cruise ships everywhere. Their business is huge.”

Xia Ling absent-mindedly took a mouthful of her food. “I’ve never heard of them.”

Nanny Zhou added more food to her bowl. “The relationship between the Wang family and the Pei family has always been very good. I heard that the Wang family is even interested in making Sir into his son-in-law. At this meeting, Old Master Wang is bringing Miss Wang along. After the meeting, there will probably be a ball. Sir is extremely good at dancing, he will definitely be able to capture Miss Wang’s heart.”

“I’m done eating.” Xia Ling pushed away her plate.

Nanny Zhou looked at her curiously. “Why did you eat so little today? Are you feeling unwell? Miss, you can’t do this, this is your growth period and you have to eat more.”

Xia Ling said softly, “I’m a little tired, I’ll go and sleep first.” Before waiting for Nanny Zhou to react, she pushed her plate away, jumped off the dining chair and went up to her room.

While walking, she could not help but think, he was dancing with Miss Wang? What did he look like when he was dancing, would he smile at Miss Wang? Just like how he smiled at her…

She felt extremely vexed and did not know what to do. Her heart felt miserable.

She forced herself to climb onto her bed, but could not fall asleep. Her insomnia tonight was even more serious than last night. Finally, she began to fall asleep in a daze, but she had a nightmare. In her dream, she did something wrong and Pei Ziheng simply got a maid to chase her out of the house cold-heartedly. She dreamt of herself pleading desperately, but he said he did not want her anymore. He didn’t care that she was wearing only a thin shirt, and just threw her out onto the unfamiliar streets to wander around barefooted…

She woke up in a shock.

Outside, the night scene was clear as water with a resplendent sky.

She surveyed her surroundings and found that she was still sleeping comfortably on the bed in his villa. She was still wearing the silk satin pajamas he had picked out for her. There was still the faint floral fragrance in her room—her favorite iris flower scent.

She held her blanket, sat up, then got out of bed barefoot.

The faint fluorescent clock pointed to midnight.

She could not settle down no matter what. The scenes in her dream nagged at her repeatedly, resounding in her heart. Softly and quietly, she walked out of her room into the dimly lit corridor. The firefly-like nightlight fell onto the wooden floor and reflected its dye. She came to the door of his bedroom and leaned in to listen. He didn’t seem to have returned.

Downstairs, the living room was very quiet. Nanny Zhou and the butler were not around.

Her gaze swept across the empty house and landed on the clothes hanger beside the sofa—on it hanged one of his coats. It was a dark grey thin western suit, the one he had worn when he had adopted her at the orphanage.

She looked up and stared at the suit for a long time.

Like the demons and Gods at work, she reached out to take the suit and hugged it tightly in her arms. The touch of the suit was soft, it was an extremely comfortable and indescribable texture. She held onto it tightly, her small face as big as a palm rubbing against it. A faint scent drifted from the suit to her nose, a smell that belonged to him.

She began to calm down inside.

Hugging the suit, she went upstairs and returned to her room. She wrapped the suit on her body and got up onto her bed again. She then drifted off to sleep as if she was wrapped in his embrace.

Pei Ziheng returned home at two o’clock in the morning.

Nanny Zhou took over the coat he took off and handed him a bowl of sobering soup.

He asked Nanny Zhou, “Where’s Xiao Ling?”

“Miss did not eat any dinner. She went to sleep very early,” Nanny Zhou said.

Pei Ziheng took a sip of the soup and went upstairs to her room to see her. He pushed open the door gently and saw his little princess sleeping soundly on the soft white bed. Her soft eyelashes were shut peacefully and her breathing through her tiny nostrils was undulating and stable.

He approached her and reached out to tuck her in, but unexpectedly found that she was wrapped in a suit—it was the one he hand hung outside in the living room.

He was a little surprised. In a flash, his gaze softened. He reached out and gently caressed her delicate, fair and petal-like tiny face. It felt so good that he was reluctant to leave.

She was woken up by his touch.

“Brother Pei?” She rubbed her eyes sleepily. Her voice could not hide her excitement.

“Why are you hugging my clothes to sleep?” he asked gently.

Her face suddenly turned red and a long time passed before she stammered. “I… I’m afraid of the dark.”

“You won’t be afraid anymore after hugging my clothes?”

She lowered her head. “It’ll feel like you’re beside me. Then I won’t be afraid of anything anymore.”