A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return
chapter-1206

“Yes! Jiang Bilian really deserves it! That’s the way! Hahaha.” Jin Ling’er laughed cheerfully. “Yingluo, you’re incredible, that’s the way to go so you won’t suffer! Whoever dares to exclude you, you’ll have to snatch her limelight!”

Xia Yingluo smiled bitterly. This good friend had such a bad temper that she could be very close to her mother Xia Ling.

She ate and slept.

The next day, the training camp was calm and quiet. It was probably because Jiang Bilian and the others all had their lips sealed. They didn’t even say anything malicious about Xia Yingluo and made her life very tranquil.

She went to class as usual to practice. In the afternoon, the Dean came to find her with a strange expression. “Xia Yingluo, someone’s here to see you.”

Xia Yingluo felt a little strange. She had left home alone to practice and did not know anyone outside the training camp. She only knew Zhao Yixuan, Pei Yan and Wei Lingnan. But none of these three would come to her through the official training camp. She couldn’t help but ask, “Who is looking for me?”

The Dean’s face got even weirder. “You’ll know when you follow me.”

Xia Yingluo followed him with doubts and went out, through the beautiful and luxurious teaching buildings, to the VIP living room on the top floor of the administrative building. The thick mahogany door was pushed open, and a faint aroma could be smelled. A set of black leather sofas were placed in a spacious and quiet space. A familiar man was sitting on the sofa, wearing a well-cut dark gray suit, with a calm and solemn majesty looming between his eyebrows. It was Pei Ziheng.

Xia Yingluo was stunned.

Pei Ziheng looked at her, like a peaceful elder. “Why, are you surprised to see me?”

She blinked and nodded.

The door closed silently behind him, and the Dean retreated.

Pei Ziheng said to her, “Come and sit.”

Since he had already come, she should just be comfortable. Xia Yingluo went to sit down on the leather sofa opposite him. She slightly lifted her skirt, straightened her waist and put her legs together neatly like a very elegant lady.

Pei Ziheng noticed. “Your family has taught you very well.”

His tone was calm and unpredictable, and Xia Yingluo only smiled politely.

Pei Ziheng seemed to be gossiping with her and said, “Are you accustomed to staying in the training camp?”

Xia Yingluo said, “It’s okay.” She wondered in her heart, what was Imperial Entertainment’s Big Boss looking for her for? Could it be that he was trying to find out about her family? He… had he seen through her identity?

She was thinking about this when Pei Ziheng suddenly asked, “Is your mother okay?”

Xia Yingluo’s heart jumped a little. Sure enough, this was the main point. Now that this question had been asked, it seemed that Pei Ziheng had indeed seen through her identity, so Xia Yingluo didn’t bother hiding anymore. She said, “She’s rather good.”

Xia Yingluo only knew vaguely about his relationship with her mother Xia Ling and was not too detailed on it.

Pei Ziheng looked down at a cup of tea on the table and was silent.

He didn’t speak, and Xia Yingluo didn’t dare to move. She sat orderly and stared into space with him.

After a while, Pei Ziheng smiled a little. It was a very light smile that made her inexplicably sad. “I haven’t seen her for many years, I don’t even know if she’s fat or skinny.” His voice was warm as if he was retrieving some distant memory and was talking to himself. After a long time, he raised his eyes and asked Xia Yingluo, “Why did you take her surname and not your father’s?”

At this time, Xia Yingluo restored the nature of a little girl and pouted slightly. “My uncle said the surname Li is too horrible, and a lady should be called Xia. My dad said he had a selfish mind and wanted to abduct his daughter to the Xia family. They quarreled for several years, and then my account registration couldn’t be held back anymore, so they had to compromise—they usually call me Xia Yingluo, but in the household registration and genealogy, I’m Li Yingluo.”

In this matter, she had also been convinced by her strange parents, grandpa, and uncle.

Pei Ziheng also listened for a while, and then he said, “You have suffered.”

At last, Xia Yingluo had found someone she could complain to, so her words flowed out in a rush. “Isn’t it? Uncle Pei, let me tell you, why are these people’s thoughts on family status so heavy? My grandfather taught me all day and night that the four generations have all been boys and it wasn’t easy to have me, so I must make sure to turn towards my home and not put my elbow in some other house—he was mostly telling me not to lean to the Xia family. But my grandmother cried every time I went, holding my hand and telling me that when my mother was the Phoenix, she couldn’t stay with them and give them the joy of raising a daughter. So now that my mother has given birth to a daughter, I must accompany them more often in place of my mother…”

Xia Yingluo sighed as she said, “Everything good is stuffed to me, why doesn’t my brother get the same treatment?”

Pei Ziheng laughed. “Why are you still complaining?”

Xia Yingluo was seriously distressed. “It’s really annoying to be always surrounded by a group of people asking for warmth.”

She talked with Pei Ziheng for a while about various things. Although this man was her father’s rival, he was also a good chat partner. He patiently listened to her talk about her young girl’s thoughts and even reciprocated a few times.

She talked for a long time and was a little tired. She took a teacup and drank water.

Pei Ziheng asked her, “Your mom and your dad… are they okay?”

He asked very briefly, but she understood, and said very simply, “They’re very good. Uncle Pei, your tea here is really delicious.”

Pei Ziheng looked at her. “Why, you’re not willing to tell me more about your mother?”

Seeing that she couldn’t avoid it anymore, Xia Yingluo frowned and said, “If my father knows, he’ll hit me.”

Pei Ziheng was a little stunned, then he laughed. His smile this time was a little melancholic and bitter.

He didn’t ask again and only drank tea slowly.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little stiff, Xia Yingluo took the initiative to talk about other topics. “Uncle Pei, how did you recognize me?”

Pei Ziheng said, “I knew she had a daughter named Xia Yingluo, and I also know the rules of the Li family’s trials. I saw you that day and saw how similar you are to her and how your age would fit into it too. I had someone check on your resume. That fake resume did a good job, it was almost seamless. if I hadn’t guessed about you in my heart, I wouldn’t have found out.”

He seemed to be telling something very normal.

Xia Yingluo, however, knew how extraordinary it was to be able to see through the resume made by the Li family.

“Uncle Pei, can you promise me something?” She begged.

Pei Ziheng: “Tell me.”

Xia Yingluo said, “You know, I came out to go through my trial today. If my identity is exposed, it will be counted as a failure. Can you help me keep it secret? Don’t use your privileges to do anything for me, and just pretend you’ve never seen me.”

This was not difficult. Pei Ziheng nodded and agreed.