A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 33 - The Hypocritical Ye Parents

Tan Ying asked why she had not left.

Xia Ling was a little disoriented. In her memories, there was a lot of information regarding her parents, but none of that seemed anything but foreign to her — be it the term "parents" or the two very much alive people involved.

She did not know how to face them.

"Father" called several times to hurry her.

Tan Ying said, "Go back for a visit, Ye Xingling. You've been out here alone for so long, your parents must miss you a lot. Returning for reunions during celebrations and festivals is a child's duty."

That's right... duty.

She calmly thought about it. Since she had taken over Ye Xingling's body, she should take over the responsibilities that came with it as well. Very well, visiting Ye Xingling's family on her behalf shall be her way of thanking her for loaning out that shell of a body.

The Ye family was in that city. Xia Ling followed the muscle memory that the body possessed, journeyed across half the city, and arrived at a door.

It was the stepmother who opened the door — she was cold and curt towards her. Yet, Xia Ling felt relieved by that. After all, she had no idea how to get along with her so-called parents but was more than immune to cold glares and enmity.

Father Ye felt extremely guilty and looked at her apologetically. Even so, all he said was, "Xingling, I know it's not fair to you, but be a little more tolerant of your Aunt Liu, alright? She hasn't had it easy all these years."

Xia Ling nodded her head indifferently.

But on the inside, she found it a mockery. If she remembered correctly, this Aunt Liu was actually a mistress who chased her rightful mother out of the house. It's no wonder there was a resistance to calling her "Mother".

Whatever love that people talked about wasn't real. The only reality was the fleeting nature of people.

She still did not sleep well at night, the same nightmare repeating over and over. The next day when she saw the way Father Ye and Aunt Liu interacted, she was reminded of Pei Ziheng — the way he eased her into her coat, the way he fed her... all the little things in the past surged back into her head.

The stepmother was extremely sarcastic to her, "Wow, is a celebrity not used to living in a small, commoner's house like ours or something, she's been pulling a long face since she came back. If there's so much unhappiness, just pack up and return to the training camp sooner instead of being a jinx at home!"

On the account of Father Ye, she pretended not to hear it.

A few days past before Father Ye approached her. "Xingling, you've been back for a while and haven't seen Feifei yet. Shall we go together as a family to visit her tomorrow?"

Xia Ling had no comment.

She and this sister of hers were basically strangers. In her memories, the original occupant of her body seemed to like her little sister Ye Xingfei a lot. Ye Xingfei's smile was always filled with pure happiness, seemingly able to eradicate all the troubles in the world.

But that wasn't how Xia Ling felt.

All that Xia Ling knew about kinship was in her past life, and it was spent on Xia Yu. In this life, she didn't need any more attachment, she just needed to treat this so-called sister fairly and nothing more.

She, Father Ye, and Aunt Liu headed for the hospital in a packed public bus. This family was not all that well-to-do — they were just middle-class at best — and had to meticulously budget even for the smallest of things, so the routes they chose to take were always the cheapest but also the most congested. They spent a good two to three hours on the bus, and after they alighted, Xia Ling had a giddy spell that made even walking feel strangely effortless.

With every step, she felt like she was walking on the clouds. She followed Father Ye and Aunt Liu into the hospital building and then arrived at the VIP area in the top level.

Aunt Liu suddenly grabbed Father Ye. "Dear, I'm feeling giddy and nauseous, I think it must've been the ride earlier. I feel like I might puke, follow me to the toilet, quick..."

Father Ye frantically assisted her, as he shot Xia Ling a look of helplessness. A second later he finally said, "Xingling, how about this, could you go into the ward first? It's not far from here, just walk to the end of the corridor, 2206. It's easy to spot."

She replied, "Okay."

She turned around and went to look for the ward herself.

It was easy to spot alright. At the end of the corridor was a wood textured door to the ward; it was gorgeous and exuded an air of magnificence, looking way more presentable than the one at home. She looked up to check the ward number again. 2206, this was it.

She pushed the door open and walked in.