A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 968: Jealous

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Ling did not lie to him. “Yes, Xiao Rui. How did you know?”

Li Rui raised his head to look at her. “I saw her and great-grandfather get off the car when I was playing at the terrace.” He had intended to play with great-grandfather, for he treated him much more endearingly than Father did. But he had hesitated after seeing his mother. The experience of having been beaten near death by her was still deeply engraved in his mind. He was too afraid to face her.

Xia Ling asked, “Xiao Rui, do you miss your mother?”

The child shook his head in a hurry and said stubbornly, “She hit me, she’s a bad mother!”

Xia Ling agreed with the child. She was not so kind to cover for her enemy, so she said, “If you do not want to see her, then you won’t have to. I will make sure she doesn’t come here.”

“Thank you, Aunt Ling!” The child finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said happily, “It’s not that she misses me, she just wants to tell on you to Father. Heng, I heard it all while hiding behind the living room!”

Xia Ling was stunned. “Tell on me?”

Li Rui said, “Aunt Ling, she said that someone had taken a picture of you hugging someone called Pei something. She said that this will influence us negatively. I don’t really understand, how is this going to influence me?”

Xia Ling, however, understood her meaning. Could it be that pictures of her meeting with Pei Ziheng had been taken secretly?! She tucked the child in before switching off the lights and heading out. She lowered her head to unlock her phone. News of her and Pei Ziheng were all over the internet. The two of them hugging quietly under the sunset by the sea—so beautiful it was like a painting.

Unfortunately, the comments below were not as beautiful—

[Ye Xingling is unfaithful.]

[Ye Xingling and Pei Ziheng are adulterers.]

[Marriage change?]

Various comments were hogging the front page. Even though many fans were defending her, the “conclusive evidence” made it hard for them to argue their point.

Xia Ling looked through the comments and pressed on the “Next page” button.

However, the page flashed and a sign popped out, saying that someone had deleted the post.

She returned to the previous page and selected other news articles and blogs. But within a short time, all the pictures on the internet had been deleted cleanly. Even the comments had been deleted. What followed was the statement of Li Lei published by several major portal platforms. [I have faith in my wife. I will hold anyone who spreads this rumor with legal charges.]

The rumors died down immediately.

Xia Ling stared at the website, aware that Li Lei had used his power to remove the posts. Warmth filled her heart. He had acted as though nothing had happened when she’d walked in just now. Not a single word was said about it. But he had been doing so much for her without her knowledge. If not for Li Rui letting her in on this, she would not have even known about this crisis.

She shut her phone and headed toward the chambers.

Inside, Li Lei had just taken a bath. He was lying on the bed reading an economics magazine while donning a bathrobe. He put down the magazine to give her a lazy smile when she came in. “Wife—”

She sat down beside him and pinched his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

His speech was unclear with his face pinched. “About what?”

Xia Ling pinched him even harder. “You’ve seen those rumors, why didn’t you ask me about it?” Rather than being angry, she was sorrier. She could imagine how it must have felt to learn about someone he loved being with someone else. If she’d discovered he was with Su Tang...

She would have exploded.

However, he was acting as if nothing had happened.

She did not believe that he was not affected by it at all. He simply loved her too much and did not want negative things to affect her. Thinking of that, her heart ached and she let go of his face.

He held onto her fair, slender hand while lying on his side. He kissed her hand gently before smiling calmly. “I can guess what happened, more or less. It must be because you two are finally going separate ways. That’s why you didn’t resist when he hugged you. That was the final farewell, right?”

She was shocked. She had underestimated his insight.

She bit her lip and asked softly, “So... you’re really not jealous?”

For some weird reason, her heart felt empty.

Li Lei wrinkled his eyes at her before chuckling. While she was unprepared, he suddenly flipped her over and pinned her under him. His voice was hoarse as he said, “I’m jealous. I’m extremely jealous. So, what are you going to do to compensate me? My... little beauty...”

With a gentle flick of his fingers, the straps of her thin shirt fell.

Her face reddened and she whispered, “You!”

He laughed dangerously yet casually. “You really thought your husband was so easygoing? I would be spoiling you if I didn’t give you a little punishment. I promise you, this punishment will be something you will never forget.” There was the sound of cloth tearing and her expensive light gauze shirt was torn into shreds by him. They drifted to the floor at the bedside.

A thin fog was in her eyes. She was afraid now. He was usually never this fierce to her. He’d even torn her clothes, was he really angry? She could feel his hands moving downwards on her body, a little more forceful than normal. It was as if he was either trying to provoke her or make her feel pain deliberately. She pleaded weakly. “I’m at fault, I know I’m at fault... Li Lei, you, you, don’t...”

Her string of words was broken by his kiss.

One night...

It wasn’t a lingering memory at all. It hurt badly and she kept calling him evil while crying.

The second morning, she lied on the bed, unable to straighten her waist. She looked resentfully at Li Lei, who was wearing his clothes in a gaiety energized way. She stabbed his voodoo doll figure in her heart multiple times.

Hate, hate, hate...

Her eyes were foggy and she felt she would not be able to do anything today.

Li Lei brought her breakfast with a smile on his face. He said while feeding her, “You have to be good from now on, understand? Don’t let me see another man hugging you, or I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

She glared at him foggily. She did not even have the energy to hit him with the pillow.

After she had finished her breakfast, she turned her back and ignored him.

Li Lei called after her a few times, but she only snorted arrogantly in return. He laughed and left the room with the plates while shaking his head. The sunlight filtered into the living room. He handed the plates to a maid and looked out through the windows. He could see Shaohui and Li Rui chasing each other while holding simulation guns. These guns held harmless bullets. They were simulating a gun war.

Li Lei looked on and realized that Shaohui had improved on his marksmanship. He was not too far off as compared to adult professional shooters. On the other hand, Li Rui’s gunshots were crooked. It was obvious that he had not received any professional training. He was still happy to play with his brother’s company, however, and the two of them decorated the whole yard with colorful traces of gunshots.