A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return
chapter-70

Chapter 70: Crossing Paths with Xia Yu

The venue operator had arranged for the location to be used by Imperial Entertainment and Skyart Entertainment at their respective timeslots.

However, Imperial Entertainment did not typically have a smooth shoot and thus, tended to exceed their allocated time. This affected Skyart Entertainment’s usage of the location, turning both sides unhappy.

A staff member in the team went to understand from Imperial Entertainment the status of their filming. He had a frown on his face when he returned, and explained that there were too many NG takes. Wei Shaoyin gave a cold laugh. “A sub-par singer like Xia Yu, her lack of training is shining through. How many NGs has she had already?”

Everyone kept silent.

Even Xia Ling thought to herself. Ah Wei, don’t snigger about others. You yourself love to call out NGs on others. Sometimes it wasn’t the fault of the artiste entirely, the director and producer of the film were also very important.

However, the situation at Xia Yu’s did not seem to be as they expected.

The second time that the staff member went to understand the status, he managed to get more details. “The one causing all the NGs isn’t Xia Yu. It’s a small supporting cast.”

Everyone’s curiosity was piqued, asking who this small artiste was. Yet, the one that was in charge of getting information shook his head and said, “I don’t recognize her, she’s a new face that I’ve never seen before.” He thought carefully before adding, “But… her mouth shape is very pretty, and she looks almost the exact replica of Xia Ling.”

This incident became an after dinner topic for many and soon passed over.

Only Xia Ling felt a sense of uneasiness in her heart, not knowing exactly why. However, it was after all none of her business. As such, she forced herself to stop thinking about it and focused on filming the promotional video well.

The venue problem could not be resolved and there was some conflict between the two sides.

The leader from Skyart Entertainment was Wei Shaoyin, and while he had unparalleled power within the company and was able to make everyone listen to him, his rival this time was Chu Chen from Imperial Entertainment. Although Chu Chen could not compete with Wei Shaoyin in terms of artistic appreciation, he was much more proficient when it came to managing operational issues. He would always squeeze Wei Shaoyin until he was jumping up and down in anger.

When Ah Wei was unhappy, the entire film team would have to tolerate a higher probability of being scolded.

Xia Ling was berated by him several times and tried her best not to appear in front of him thereafter unless necessary. This day when she was resting, she spied him ready to blow up at yet another person. Taking this opportunity, she secretly slipped outside to get some air.

She took a leisurely stroll.

This was a newly-built film location, and there were not many teams filming at the same time. She did not meet anyone else after walking for a long while but heard people talking when she took a turn to a more desolated corner.

“Sister Xia Yu, I beg you to let me off. I really know my mistake and will not bother Mr. Pei anymore… It’s Mr. Pei who will not let me go… ” A girl’s voice rang out, lined with the soft sounds of sobbing.

This was followed by a familiar cold “Hmph.”

The girl whose voice was lined with sobs spoke again. “Sister Xia Yu, what I’ve said is all true. I beg you, please…”

Xia Ling guessed vaguely what had transpired, and could not help but stop in her tracks.

As expected, Xia Yu’s voice rang out. “Zhang Suxin, why are you begging me? I brought you into the film team out of goodwill, and allowed you to participate in the MV filming with the intention of giving you a good opportunity to shine in the industry.”

Her tone was soft but seemed to be like a cold, sharp dagger. “There are so many people around Brother Ziheng, how long will you last depending on your beauty? Let’s not talk about the future, just about what is happening now. He has recently taken Liu Qianrong, He Muxue and others under his wing, and that is not even counting the people that he’s constantly thinking about. Even if you are the most favored now, so what? When you become older and lose your good looks, and still do not have the skill to feed yourself, how will you survive then? I’m helping you right now, thinking about all of this on your behalf, and you think I’m out to harm you, begging me to let you go?”

With every line that she spoke, that girl gave a soft sob. Eventually, she was overwhelmed with tears.

Xia Ling clenched her fist, the sharp tips of her fingernails poking into her palm and the pain slowly spreading. She had heard that after her death Pei Ziheng had been going through female partners like water, and they were all stunning even though they were of all shapes and sizes. She avoided thinking about it, but it always seemed to appear on her radar. What’s more, one had appeared alive and kicking right in front of her eyes, thus she could not pretend that she did not care.

She did not know why she still could not let go of Pei Ziheng. Anything about him could still easily affect her mood.

That girl was still crying. “Sister Xia Yu, I… I know you are doing this for my own good.” She said through her sobs, “But, I simply can’t film the slap scene. Sister Qiu is just too vicious, I… ”

“You should go look for Sister Qiu then, I’m not the one filming across from you.” Xia Yu’s voice was gentle but was laced with pity and arrogance.

Borrowing someone else’s knife to kill someone, this was something that Xia Yu did often. Xia Yu was deft at pretending to be the weak one, acting all innocent, hiding in the background as the secret mastermind. Regardless of how despicable the job was, she somehow was able to keep herself clean. In her past life, Xia Ling had suffered a lot from this skill of hers. Now that she had reincarnated, she did not need to spend energy guessing to know that Sister Qiu had probably received instructions from Xia Yu, and she was out to get at this girl.

Xia Ling did not want to continue listening and made to leave. However, her phone rang at this moment.

She jumped, and the two speaking in the corner jumped as well. She heard Xia Yu warily ask, “Who’s there?!”

She could not hide, so Xia Ling chose to show herself. It was only now that she was able to see the entire scene clearly. Under the European-styled low wall, there was a long metal bench. Xia Yu was sitting on the bench confidently, wearing an exquisite lace skirt. In front of her, a young girl was standing with her head bowed. She was good-looking too, especially her angular lips that made people take a second glance at her.

She indeed looked a little like Xia Ling in her past life.

Xia Ling was preoccupied with looking at this young girl and was only brought back to her senses when Xia Yu spoke again.

“You are… Ye Xingling?” Xia Yu cocked her head slightly, giving her a once-over with a cute and friendly expression. She spoke with a gentle tone again, having already hidden the caution, shock, and fury that had emerged earlier. She looked like a pure angel as the soft light reflected off her face.

This was the first time that Xia Ling had spoken directly to her in this life.

Her emotions were surprisingly calm. Xia Ling thought that this was probably because she had given so much to her before, and had experienced so much pain, such that her heart was numbed and utterly disappointed. She had already banished this good little sister from her life, and she had no rein over her emotions at all.

She thought of Pei Ziheng again. If only she had the same feeling towards him.

Xia Yu continued to stare at her. “Ye Xingling, I’m asking you a question.”

Xia Ling said, “I apologize for interrupting you guys, I am just passing by. I’m busy right now, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Wait a moment.” Xia Yu did not want to let her go. “I heard that Brother Ziheng sent you a bouquet of blue orchids.”

She did not expect Xia Yu to raise this up and was taken by surprise, forgetting to hide the unusual expression that crossed her face. The young girl by Xia Yu also raised her head to look at Xia Ling, an expression of shock and disbelief on her face.

“Looks like it’s true.” Xia Yu’s voice lowered. After a while, she said again, “See, I told you.” She turned to the young girl again and smiled. “Brother Ziheng’s garden does not only have you as the solitary rose. He likes all pretty things.”

Every word hitting the nail on the head.