A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return
chapter-25

Xia Ling only found that Xia Yu increasingly did not welcome her visits but instead was exceedingly close to Pei Ziheng, using her nasal, high-pitched voice to plead him to stay longer with her. The funnier thing was that Xia Ling then had just thought Xia Yu was going through an attention-seeking phase and did not take any of it to heart.

Xia Yu was getting better day by day, the yellowness of her skin fading away and the swelling in her limbs reducing. What remained was a beautiful girl who looked like an exquisite porcelain doll made by a master dollmaker. The year Xia Yu turned 15, Xia Ling decided to send her overseas to study.

She stayed up several nights to pick what she thought was the best school for Xia Yu and brought the application documents before her.

Xia Yu pushed the documents away, barely glancing down at them. Smiling at her sister, she said, “I’ve already decided to be homeschooled.”

Xia Ling voiced her objection. “Xiao Yu, you should be mingling with children your age. Going to school would be the best way to do that.” In all the years that Xia Yu received treatment, she was constantly in the hospital alone, without playmates or friends. The person she spent the most time with was Pei Ziheng, who only flew down once a month to visit her.

Xia Ling did not want her to be so lonely.

“You should make more friends, Xiao Yu. Ziheng is busy with matters in the company, he can’t spend too much time with you.” She persuaded gently.

Xia Yu face swiftly turned pale, a mist of tears entering her eyes. She pleaded. “But sis, I want to help the both of you. I want to enter the best university and learn business management so that when I graduate I can go to Imperial Entertainment and help lift some of the pressure and burden off you and Brother Ziheng. My foundations are weak, and if I go to school as you say, I won’t be able to keep up, and I definitely will not make it to a good university… Sis, let me be homeschooled, please. You and Brother Ziheng will get me the best homeschooling teachers won’t you?”

Xia Ling was unable to decline Xia Yu’s begging. She thought that perhaps this was for the better. Xia Yu had always been weak and susceptible to illnesses. Letting her stay at home would mean that her daily meals and living conditions would be well taken care of.

Eventually, Xia Yu managed to fulfill her wishes and was successfully accepted into Cambridge University.

After she had successfully graduated, she entered Imperial Entertainment in a managerial position.

Pei Ziheng was a strict superior and expected Imperial Entertainment to function with precision and efficiency. As a result, the work was intense and with long hours, the projects neverending. Xia Yu worked hard and excelled beyond what anyone expected of her. However, her body was weaker than others, after all, and within a few months, she had lost a lot of weight from the pressure.

Xia Ling persuaded her sister to stop working.

She had already made it big in the entertainment industry then, amassing a small fortune that was sufficient for Xia Yu to comfortably live her entire life without worry. Yet, Xia Yu did not want to stop and continued to press on with difficulty at Imperial Entertainment. She executed Pei Ziheng’s every command with perfection, running in and out of the Chairman’s office where he sat more often than everybody else.

Sometimes, Xia Ling would be in the Chairman’s office as well, exchanging loving endearments with Pei Ziheng and being embraced in his arms. They would be admiring the latest new expensive toy that he bought or sharing a pot of exquisite tea. Whenever she saw Xia Yu enter to report neverending pages of numbers and spreadsheets, Xia Ling would feel disinterested, stand up from within Pei Ziheng’s embrace and making to leave.

Every time this happened, Pei Ziheng would frown slightly.

Seeing this, terror would enter Xia Yu’s face, and she would softly stutter. “Sis, Brother Ziheng, I’m so sorry, I’m disturbing the both of you… Should I perhaps come back later…”

Xia Ling would smile and assure her that everything was fine, shooting a glare at Pei Ziheng, wordlessly warning him not make Xia Yu feel bad. As this happened more often, Pei Ziheng became accustomed to it. After all, Xia Yu was highly competent and the reports that she delivered were on topics at work that he was strongly interested in.

They would engage in long discussions forgetting about the time.

Xia Ling would return home first and wait alone on the sofa for Pei Ziheng, many times waking in the middle of the night in the same position.

This was until she received a call from Pei Ziheng one day, telling her that Xia Yu had fainted during a meeting in the office. She frantically rushed to the hospital, her hands, and feet cold from fright. The doctors informed her that Xia Yu had fainted from fatigue and that her old ailment had relapsed.

She canceled her attendance at an important awards ceremony scheduled for the next day, staying by Xia Yu’s side in the hospital for three days and three nights.

Ever since that incident, she refused to allow Xia Yu to continue working at Imperial Entertainment. Pei Ziheng never went against her wishes. Kissing her lightly, he said, “Ok. I can always hire a new manager for the office. As long as my dear Xiao Ling is happy.”

After being removed from her position in Imperial Entertainment, Xia Yu was depressed and unhappy. She would squeeze out a smile whenever Xia Ling asked about it, saying, “Sis, I’m fine. I was too stupid and incompetent. Sorry for having made you worry.”

But, Xia Ling caught her one day, crying in secret behind her back.

Xia Ling could not bear to see Xia Yu in such condition. She took out her entire savings from under the care of her financial consultant and handed them over to Xia Yu. She said, “Xiao Yu, this is all the money that I have earned these few years. I’m handing it over to you now to manage. You needn’t do too much, nor am I concerned about how much you make or lose. Just do whatever you want with it in your spare time — the money here is yours as much as it is mine.”

She wanted to give Xia Yu something to do to apply what she had learned, but that was not too taxing on her body. She hoped that this would make Xia Yu happy.

Xia Yu accepted the money, gratitude shining through her eyes. She resolutely said, “Sis, I will not disappoint you.”

Xia Yu chose a highly risky venture to invest in and, within a year, she had lost more than 50 percent of the money that Xia Ling had given to her. Xia Ling hadn’t said a word of reproach before she found a suicide note left by Xia Yu to her. Xia Yu had swallowed sleeping pills in an attempted suicide.

Xia Ling hugged Xia Yu tightly when they had saved her from death’s door. She consoled her, saying, “Xiao Yu, don’t scare me. Even if you had lost all the money I wouldn’t care, I just want you to be ok…”

Then, Feng Kun had been suspicious, saying to Xia Ling, “Xiao Ling, your sister has been astute and clever in all the decisions she made while being a manager at Imperial Entertainment. How did she make such a big mistake once she took over your finances?”

Xia Ling had defended Xia Yu, saying, “When Xia Yu was at Imperial Entertainment, whatever she did was still under Pei Ziheng’s supervision even if she was in a managerial position. She simply executed Pei Ziheng’s commands. Now that she had to do things by herself and make her own decisions, it’s normal to make some mistakes. She’s still so young, and it’s her first time.”

Thinking back, she had been too naive then.

Later, when she was imprisoned by Pei Ziheng, Xia Yu would visit her every now and then. It was only then that Xia Yu told her all her grievances —

“Sis, why do you think I worked so hard? What did you do to deserve everything — money, fame, status… and Brother Ziheng’s love?!”

“What did you do to deserve his undivided attention? That whatever I do is not enough to get him to take notice of me?!”

“Whatever he did for me, it was all because of you! It is unfair, completely and utterly unfair!”

Xia Ling stared incredulously at her sister as if she was looking at a stranger. She was shocked to the core of her existence.

Xia Yu had continued, coming closer to Xia Ling with a chilling smile and sinisterly said, “Sis, didn’t you care for me the most since we were kids? Why don’t you do one last thing for me…. just kill yourself. Don’t you feel disgraced and tortured being kept here against your wishes? Someone as prideful as you would not be able to sit this down right? Just kill yourself and you will be free from this. Then I will be free to take your place and win the affection of Brother Ziheng.”

Xia Yu had tenderly held Xia Ling’s face in her hands, saying, “So yes, please go and die, my dear sister.”