Chapter 421: Don’t Make Trouble for Boss
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Chu Chen merely allowed her to rant at him and did not say anything else. His expression remained calm, and the words seemed to roll off him.
This only made Xia Ling angrier.
The interior of the car was silent as the assistant and make-up artist sat quietly, afraid to make a sound.
Xia Ling glared at Chu Chen and said through gritted teeth, “Good… very good. Where is Pei Ziheng now?” She suddenly felt like looking for him, to ask him directly why there were so many messy rumors being passed around. Was Imperial Entertainment’s PR team slacking off? Sleeping with someone? Those people had no right to judge her relationship with Li Lei.
Chu Chen said, “Boss is having an important meeting in the office and will be back late.”
Xia Ling instructed the driver. “Go to the office.”
Chu Chen said, “Miss Ye, I advise you not to interrupt his meeting right now.”
Xia Ling retorted furiously. “Do I need your permission to see him?!”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Chu Chen said calmly but firmly. “Every meeting these days concerns Imperial Entertainment’s life and death. Miss Ye, if you have a bit of conscience, please understand the difficulty that you have put Boss in. Don’t go make more trouble for him right now.” ( B oxnovel.c om )
“Conscience?” She laughed out loud at his ludicrous statement. “Who is the one without the conscience?!” Who was the one that broke her and Li Lei up!
Chu Chen lowered his eyes and did not respond.
“Go to the office!” Xia Ling shouted at the driver.
The driver glanced at Chu Chen through the rear-view mirror uncomfortably. “Boss Chu…”
“Send Miss Ye home.” Chu Chen said.
The driver had received instructions from Pei Ziheng to follow Boss Chu’s instructions in the event that they diverged with that of Miss Ye’s. Hearing Boss Chu’s command, the driver turned his steering wheel and headed towards the bungalow.
Xia Ling almost jumped out of her seat in anger. “Chu Chen, you’re being too much! Are you afraid that your master will be distracted by me and cause Imperial Entertainment to fall? Are you afraid that you will be a lost dog without him?!”
Chu Chen remained silent, looking down at the floor without saying a word like he was an old monk in meditation.
The interior of the car fell into silence once again. The assistant and make-up artist fidgeted uncomfortably at the awkward atmosphere in the car, and then both found an excuse to get off one after another.
Only Chu Chen and Xia Ling were left in the huge van with the driver.
The driver was also loyal to Pei Ziheng, and as such, Chu Chen spoke without reservation. “Miss Ye, do you know how difficult it has been for Boss these few years?”
Xia Ling was taken aback before retorting coldly, “And do you think he’s the only one that had it tough?”
( B oxnovel.c om ) “There are many things that Boss will keep to himself and would never let me tell you.” He ignored her insulting tone and continued speaking. “He’s always like that. Not wanting the one he loves to worry.”
The one he loves…
Her heart clenched and somewhere deep within her heart started to hurt.
A split second later she jeered. “Love? He’s just infatuated with an illusion.” Until now, she could not understand what it was exactly that Pei Ziheng loved. Perhaps it was the amazing Xia Ling in her past life, and hence, he had hardened his heart to torture her in this life, only changing his attitude when he realized that she was Xia Ling reincarnated.
Chu Chen gave her a look. “You’re extremely similar to Xia Ling.” He spoke to her in an informal tone, unlike his usual formal one. “You’re both exceedingly childish and unreasonable.”
Xia Ling was stunned before answering back. “You’re the childish one… your whole family is childish and unreasonable!” She angrily said. “How dare you scold me like that… aren’t you afraid that I will tell on you to your master?!”
He replied lightly. “What else do you know other than telling on people?”
Xia Ling was speechless as she suddenly realized that he was right. She did not know anything else and was at a loss if problems became any bigger. She suddenly felt useless. She had no power to change anything even if bad things continued to happen. Her expression darkened.
“Don’t give Boss any more trouble.” Chu Chen said.
Xia Ling was silent.
In the car, Chu Chen’s expression was cold and hateful as he sat in the dim shadow of the night in his dark grey suit. He responsibly sent her to the doorstep of the bungalow before taking his leave.
Xia Ling could not sleep that night.
At around 1 am, Pei Ziheng dragged his tired body back to the house.
Xia Ling sat on the living room’s sofa and watched him, realizing that he seemed more tired than usual. Besides the frown between his eyes, he also had dark eye circles. She suddenly felt upset, and the pain in the depths of her heart spread. However, she did not forget the cruel and hateful things that he did to her, so she pushed the upset feelings back down.
Pei Ziheng saw her sitting in the living room and was surprised. “Xiao Ling, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
He thought of the time in their past life when they were still deeply in love. She would always sit on the sofa waiting for him to return in the middle of the night. However, in this life, she did not have such a habit, and he would not be so naive as to think that she had a sudden change of heart.
Xia Ling did not say anything.
Pei Ziheng asked in a gentle voice, “Are you hungry? Why didn’t you ask Nanny Zhou to make you supper?”
She quietly watched as he instructed Nanny Zhou to prepare supper. In actual fact, supper was already prepared in the kitchen. Given that he had been so busy recently, Nanny Zhou thoughtfully double-boiled nutritious soup for him every night. The soups were all made to Pei Ziheng’s tastes. Since Xia Ling tended to sleep early, Nanny Zhou did not prepare her share.
She heard him tell Nanny Zhou. “Make a bowl of sliced chicken noodles for Xiao Ling. Make sure the chicken is sliced thinly, and put more sliced green onions in.” He remembered everything that she liked to eat, down to the most minute of details.
It wasn’t long later that Nanny Zhou brought the noodles to her.
Xia Ling did not feel like eating, but Pei Ziheng said, “Eat some with me.”
Seeing his fatigued pallor, she could not bring herself to reject him and followed him to the dining table. Nanny Zhou’s cooking was good, and they quietly enjoyed the supper that she prepared. Xia Ling was full after a while, but she saw Pei Ziheng reach out and refill his bowl.
“Didn’t you eat dinner?” She could not resist asking.
“I ate something light with the directors in the middle of the meeting.” He added as an afterthought. “Actually, I’m not particularly hungry. It’s just that I haven’t had sliced chicken noodles and sea cucumber soup in a while. It tastes good.”
Was he trying to explain himself?
Unknowingly, Chu Chen’s words jumped into her mind: Boss is always like that. He never wants the one he loves to worry.
She was conflicted in her heart.
She lifted her head to look at him. “I don’t deserve this.”
“What don’t you deserve?” He perfectly understood that she was talking about the war with Skyart Entertainment, but he merely skirted over the subject. “You don’t have to worry about business matters. I will ensure that you and the baby will have a peaceful environment.”
“You…” She hesitated before continuing. “Can you stop fighting with Skyart Entertainment?”
He glanced at her. “Can’t you see who’s the one picking the fight?” The situation now was akin to two skilled martial arts fighters in an intense duel locked in close combat. It was a situation where whoever stepped back first would die.
He said, “Do you feel that Imperial Entertainment will continue to operate if I give up now?”
She did not know how to respond to his question. Wasn’t he unbeatable? Wasn’t Imperial Entertainment unshakable?
Pei Ziheng gave a gentle laugh. “I’m glad you have so much confidence in me.” However, his expression did not look happy at all. Instead, there was a deep sorrow in his eyes.
Chapter 422: Running into Wei Shaoyin
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Her heart clenched again seeing his sorrowful expression.
“What if I tell you that I’m losing this war?” He asked softly.
Xia Ling gave a start, and knocked over the glass cup on the table, spilling half its contents. “You… will lose?”
His eyes narrowed and contemplated her for a moment. “No.”
Unknowingly, she heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, Pei Ziheng was unbeatable, how could he lose? However, she became nervous. “Then… he?” She did not dare to say Li Lei’s name out loud in front of Pei Ziheng.
Pei Ziheng’s eyes narrowed even further, and he was like a tiger whose mood was unpredictable as he sinisterly contemplated his prey. She shrank back into her chair under his gaze as goosebumps formed on her skin.
Yet, he did not do anything else as he got up and walked towards the bedroom.
Xia Ling felt uneasy. She did not know what would happen to Li Lei, and her fingers subconsciously wrung the edges of her shirt. After a long while, she heard a low voice ring out. “I will not kill him… if that is what you want.”
She lifted her head and realized that Pei Ziheng had returned and was watching her from beside the stairs.
The lights were dim, and his tall stature was half-hidden in the shadows. He looked a little out of the world and blurry. Xia Ling was uncertain if he really could beat Li Lei or not.
In the following days, he was even busier than before.
There were many days that they did not see each other at all. Occasionally, Xia Ling would suddenly jerk awake in the middle of the night and find him sitting by the bedhead, watching her with a gentle expression on his face, his fingers tenderly touching her face or smoothing her hair, like she was his greatest treasure.
Xia Ling was worried about him but was at conflict with herself. If Pei Ziheng were good, then Li Lei wouldn’t be. She did not want anything bad to happen to Li Lei either.
She missed Li Lei.
Now, she was by Pei Ziheng’s side and could see how his busy schedule ate at him.
However, there was no one by Li Lei’s side. He was in this war alone and must be feeling very lonely.
She wanted to hear about the situation in Skyart Entertainment, but she was constantly under Chu Chen’s watchful eye and had no chance to speak to anyone there. He would accompany her even when she went to see Feng Kun. Xia Ling spent a lot of time scouring the entertainment and finance news, trying to glean even a small bit of news about the situation in Skyart. Yet, there were many technical terms that she was unfamiliar with. As such, she bought a dictionary to check up on them.
She realized that their war was very intense, and it had already spread to many of their other businesses. The real estate businesses, financial investments, manufacturing industries, etc. They were embroiled in an unending war in every facet that they could.
Chu Chen was right. This was a war that meant life and death for both sides.
Some financial analysts said that Li Lei had lost it and that Skyart Entertainment’s years of foundation had no bite against Imperial Entertainment’s hundreds of years of experience. Yet, other experts remarked that even though Imperial Entertainment had deep roots, their internal power struggle was complicated, and Pei Ziheng had to balance these internal forces as well. In contrast, Li Lei had built Skyart Entertainment himself, and there was an overarching company culture that held up the company, and he also had support from the Li family from abroad. There was no way to tell how the war would pan out.
No one knew who would win.
At the end of every article, they would discuss the genesis of the war in the first place. Someone had done their public relations well, and the reports now said that the war between Skyart Entertainment and Imperial Entertainment was inevitable. Xia Ling switching companies was just the trigger. The public relations was done well, and the negative impact on Xia Ling was brought to a minimum. Even though there were still many speculating on the relationships involved, they were not as ugly as the rumors she heard before.
Because of these, she continued to be the most searched topic in the entertainment circle, and schedule requests multiplied exponentially. Chu Chen was kept extremely busy tending to her schedule, as well as helping Pei Ziheng with business matters. He was very responsible and made sure to give her his utmost attention, saying that this was a good time for her to be pushed into the position of unwavering stardom.
Xia Ling did not want to gain fame from the difficulty that Pei Ziheng and Li Lei were facing. What was more, she had to think of the child she was carrying.
However, Chu Chen said that the timing was right, and she had to ride the waves of her luck in the circle.
She followed the schedule that he arranged for her to the T. Unexpectedly, she bumped into Wei Shaoyin.
She had not seen Ah Wei in what felt like a lifetime. She saw him arguing with a representative from the broadcast station, or rather, he was the one that was shouting, and the representative was merely giving him an uneasy smile and listening reverently.
She walked closer and could hear what he was saying loud and clear.
“I don’t care what program you have after this. In ten minutes, I want you to empty out the studio. It’s your lousy director that made a mess of the show. If we don’t film it again, you can be sure that you will never see me again!”
Wei Shaoyin’s voice was clear and domineering, speaking with no room for negotiation. Xia Ling was aware that he was producing a music critic program recently, and the audience loved how sharp and harsh he was. The show was breaking records in terms of viewership, and he was now someone that the broadcast station could not afford to offend.
The representative wiped the sweat that was forming on his forehead. Lifting his head, he saw Xia Ling standing behind Wei Shaoyin.
“Miss Ye!” He shouted out as if seeing a lifesaver. “Can you please help me persuade Mr. Wei here? He wants to use your recording studio at the last minute.”
Xia Ling was taken aback, and Wei Shaoyin turned to look at her, the shock on his face equalling hers.
There were a few seconds of silence before she opened her mouth. “Which recording studio do you want?”
Wei Shaoyin turned to the representative and said coldly, “Why didn’t you tell me that the person recording next is Ye Xingling?”
The representative looked wronged and said, “I hadn’t finished my sentence. You interrupted me when I said Imperial Entertainment…”
Wei Shaoyin kept quiet.
Xia Ling was speechless.
Chu Chen looked on with crossed arms and asked Wei Shaoyin, “Do you still want to use it?”
Wei Shaoyin glanced coldly at Chu Chen before barking out at the representative. “Tomorrow at this time. And I want a change of director. We’re filming it again.”
The representative heaved a sigh of relief and thanked him profusely for his understanding.
Chu Chen gave a knowing smile. Xia Ling felt uncomfortable seeing his expression, and turned away, lifting her head to speak to Wei Shaoyin. “If you need it urgently, I can let you have the studio.”
Wei Shaoyin said, “Don’t you know, Li Lei said that Skyart Entertainment is not going to fight for any schedules that involve you.”
Xia Ling remembered the intense war between the two companies. From Wei Shaoyin’s words, she understood that fighting over schedules was a common occurrence. However, her impression of the war stopped at the news in the papers and the frown that Pei Ziheng had on his face all the time. Otherwise, it did not seem to have an impact on her life at all.
However, it appeared that not only Imperial Entertainment was protecting her, but Li Lei was also giving in to her in all ways possible as well.
Sadness entered her heart, and she lowered her head.
Wei Shaoyin walked up to her and said, “Xiao Ling, I want to speak to you privately.”
Xia Ling did not have time to reply before Chu Chen came between them. “Miss Ye is very busy. I’m sorry, she has no time to chat with you.”
Chu Chen had many roles, and one of them was to follow and watch Xia Ling at all times. Xia Ling was furious and glared at him, almost breaking out in curses. However, Chu Chen was unfazed as he refused to let Wei Shaoyin and her speak privately.
Chapter 423: The Chase
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wei Shaoyin grabbed Xia Ling’s wrist and walked quickly towards the door in an irate manner.
With his long legs and wide strides, she had to jog to keep up with him and could not resist but complain. “Go slower! I don’t feel well!” She was now carrying a child and could not engage in intense activity.
Wei Shaoyin was taken aback and slowed down, but chided her. “What a wimp! You deserve being monitored so closely.”
Xia Ling was panting as she tried to catch her breath, one hand protectively covering her abdomen, and did not reply to him. Behind her, she could hear steps catching up to them. It was likely to be Chu Chen chasing after them.
Ah Wei gripped her wrist again and hurried her. “Quick, my car is just at the door.”
Xia Ling was dragged along and almost tripped over the steps outside the main door. Thankfully, Wei Shaoyin’s quick reflexes saw him steady her in time, though they ended up in a suggestive position with him pressing her onto the wall.
Xia Ling pushed him with her cement dust covered hand and said angrily through gritted teeth, “You’re really heavy!”
His pristine white shirt was immediately stained with her fingerprints, making him bristle. “My shirt!”
“If you don’t let go of me, I’ll kick you into the bushes to make it worse!”
“You’re grabbing onto my elbow! How am I going to let go of you?!”
They argued as they struggled to stand up straight, and in their disheveled position, they suddenly heard the sound of a shutter clicking, followed by a gleeful shout. “Ye Xingling! Wei Shaoyin!”
Wei Shaoyin’s reaction was quick and immediately swiveled to cover Xia Ling’s face. Xia Ling was first grateful before turning angry. “Are you an idiot?! That guy called out my name! What good is it blocking my face now?! Covering me like that makes our relationship seem even more suggestive!”
His expression darkened, but before he could retort, he was pushed away from her by a powerful force. “Aren’t you going to leave already?!”
It was Chu Chen in a furious tone.
Xia Ling turned and realized that he had chased them down, and not too far behind him were several excited reporters in full gear.
Wei Shaoyin was shocked by the entourage and hurriedly assisted Chu Chen to carry Xia Ling to the Ferrari by the door.
“Hurry!”
Chu Chen decisively shut the door.
Wei Shaoyin started the car in one swift motion, and they shot out of the driveway like an arrow.
Xia Ling was about to heave a sigh of relief, but Chu Chen turned to Wei Shaoyin and commanded. “Go faster! The paparazzi are following close on our tail!”
Xia Ling turned her head to look behind, realizing that there was indeed a car following close behind them. It looked like a modified Ford, and it was driving at breakneck speed, gaining on them quickly. She could not resist but jeer at Wei Shaoyin. “What use is this Ferarri? Can’t it go faster than a mere Ford?!”
Wei Shaoyin huffed in frustration, before stepping on the accelerator.
Xia Ling was taken by surprise at the sudden gain in speed, as her face hit the seat in front of her. “Slow down! I told you I don’t feel well! Did you learn driving from your primary school language teacher?!” She scolded.
Wei Shaoyin clenched his teeth and said with a cold expression, “Ye Xingling, shut up, or I’ll throw you out of the car.”
She immediately shut her mouth.
He increased his speed until the legal limit of the road they were on, but the person behind the wheel in the Ford clearly had better driving skills and was chasing them down fast. It was hard to create a wider distance between them, let alone shake them off.
“Go up the expressway! Up the expressway!” She could not resist but anxiously shout.
Wei Shaoyin grumbled. “So noisy!”
Xia Ling ignored him and continued, “Go up the expressway and drive towards the outskirts of the city. Make full use of your Ferrari’s functionalities! This is a sports car! A sports car!”
Wei Shaoyin furiously shouted back. “I know that you idiot!” Yet, he turned his steering wheel obediently in the direction of the expressway.
As the Ford behind followed them up the expressway, Wei Shaoyin pressed his gas to the limit, increasing the speed of the Ferrari. However, it was no use. The driver of the Ford was too good, and there was no way to shake them off.
“For a Ford to chase down a Ferrari, the driver is indeed formidable.” Chu Chen remarked impassively.
Wei Shaoyin’s face was almost black, and he turned the steering wheel sharply again. Chu Chen was thrown to the side, nearly crashing onto Xia Ling.
Xia Ling’s reactively avoided him, but lifted her head and shouted at Ah Wei. “You really have the skills of a primary school student!”
Wei Shaoyin was furious. “If you’re so good, you can take over!”
Xia Ling shouted back. “If I could, I would! If I were behind that wheel, we would have lost the paparazzi by now!”
“Then show me what you’ve got!”
“Sure, I’ll drive!” She pushed Chu Chen away with one hand and crawled to the front seat. She said to Wei Shaoyin, “Let me drive!”
Wei Shaoyin glanced at her in shock, clearly not expecting such a reaction. “Don’t joke around. You only learned how to drive after leaving Skyart, right? Driving on the expressway is not child’s play.”
“Who’s joking around with you?! Just because you can’t drive doesn’t mean I can’t.” In her past life, she was the Platinum VIP member of the sports car club. She used to own a fiery red Ferrari like this one, and she gave it the name “Wings of Fire.” Everyone said that she looked like she was flying when she was behind the wheel, and many people had issued her challenges after hearing about her speed. There was one time when someone issued a challenge for them to race near the cliffs, and while she had won, Pei Ziheng was furious with her. He rarely lost his temper with her, but that time he instructed his staff to destroy her “Wings of Fire” and forbade her from touching a sports car ever again.
Since then, she had not raced in a sports car again.
However, perhaps being spurred on by the paparazzi behind, or merely unable to take Wei Shaoyin’s lousy driving, she repeatedly said to Wei Shaoyin, “I’ll take over.”
Wei Shaoyin looked at her suspiciously. “Can you really drive?”
Xia Ling assured him several times over and rattled off Ferrari specifications and driving techniques to him. Wei Shaoyin was finally convinced and yielded the driver’s seat to her.
The moment she placed her hands on the steering wheel, nostalgia swept over Xia Ling.
She remembered the times when she would wilfully race in her Ferrari, never really scared of Pei Ziheng’s wrath. Then, he doted on her horribly, and even if she had gotten into the worst of troubles, he would never really hurt her.
However, everything was different now.
She was now more willing to be killed in a car crash than to be tortured so cruelly by him.
The steering wheel was in her hands, and her palm felt warm with adrenaline.
Wei Shaoyin was shouting something in her ear, and the Ford behind closed in on them.
Xia Ling turned the steering wheel, making the Ferrari change lanes instantly, squeezing between two large lorries. However, a small car materialized in front of them, having been blocked from their view by the lorries earlier. Wei Shaoyin shouted out in shock, and Xia Ling gave a jump, swerving the Ferrari away and narrowly missing the small car at the last minute. However, the Ferrari headed straight for the barricade in the middle of the expressway.
This time, both Wei Shaoyin and Chu Chen shouted out. Xia Ling’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as she steeled her line of vision in front of her, turning the steering wheel yet again. They swerved past the barricade, missing it by mere centimeters, before continuing down the expressway.
Cold sweat broke out over her body.
Wei Shaoyin’s shouted at her. “Are you crazy?!”
Xia Ling did not speak. There was a split second that she had wanted to just crash into the barricade and end it all — all the grudges, the promises, everything. However, Wei Shaoyin and Chu Chen were in the car with her, and their shouts had snapped her back into her senses. What was more, there was the child she was carrying — Li Lei and her child.
Chapter 424: More Fearful the Closer You Are
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xia Ling clenched her teeth and continued driving forward.
Wei Shaoyin was still furiously shouting at her. “This car is worth at least ten million dollars! Can you afford to pay for damages if you get into an accident?!”
“It’s just a car… our Boss can afford it.” Chu Chen retorted but snapped at Xia Ling as well. “But Ye Xingling, don’t kill me with you even if you have a death wish.”
She gave him a cold glance through the rear-view mirror.
Wei Shaoyin hated to see anyone bullying his friend and instantly rechannelled his fury at Chu Chen. “If you don’t want to be in the car, then get out! I can let you off right now!”
Chu Chen kept quiet as he looked out of the window at the blur of passing trees and buildings.
Hence, Wei Shaoyin turned his attention back at Xia Ling. “Do you have a death wish?! Who’s the one that said my skills were taught by a primary school language teacher! Yours must have been taught by the kindergarten auntie!”
Xia Ling changed the topic of conversation. “What’s happened to the Ford behind us?”
Wei Shaoyin turned around and looked at the road for a while. “It’s still there, but we’re further away from them now.”
“How many crazies are there willing to squeeze past them lorries so dangerously?!” Chu Chen sneered.
Xia Ling did not say anything but executed a perfect drift at the next turn of the expressway. Chu Chen was thrown from one end of the back seat to the other, and his face turned white. He wanted to say something nasty, but she had already changed gears and was picking up speed. He had just leaned forward in the back seat only to be thrown backward again.
“Slow down, slow down, slow down!” Before Chu Chen had time to say anything, Wei Shaoyin was already rambling on. “You’re past the speed limit, I tell you! Past the speed limit!”
Xia Ling glanced down at the speedometer. She was only going at 150 km/h. What was Wei Shaoyin so nervous about? “Did you buy this sports car just to admire it?” She sniggered at him, feeling that his Ferrari was going to waste.
“The speed limit of the expressway is 120! 120, I tell you! Ahhh… go slower! Slower!” Wei Shaoyin shrieked.
She turned the steering wheel and shot down the side road. She was familiar with this city and knew that there was a deserted race track in the outskirts of the city; she used to come here often to race with the other members of the club in the past.
“Slower, slow, slow! 180, are you crazy?! 200?! 220?! 240??!”
Then, his voice became smaller and smaller. Xia Ling was unsure if he were shocked into silence, or had merely given up on shouting at her. With the peace and quiet, Xia Ling drove without distraction. She was just over 200 km/h — the speed she was comfortable with — and was driving steadily. If not for the fact that she was afraid that Wei Shaoyin would really lose his mind, she wanted to test the limits of this Ferrari. It was such a waste for such an excellent car to be under his care.
She quickly lost the Ford.
In her past life, she was the unbeatable legend of the Race Club. She could easily lose a much better car, let alone the Ford which was many levels below a Ferrari.
She stopped the Ferrari by the roadside in the outskirts as the evening sun was starting to set, coloring the sky red.
Chu Chen pulled open the car door and stumbled to the ditch to throw up. Wei Shaoyin was fine, although his face was white like paper. He merely sat trembling in the car, trying to calm down.
“You’re nuts, you’re nuts, you’re nuts…” He repeated as he pointed at her weakly.
Xia Ling glanced over at him before locking the Ferrari’s doors and closing the windows.
“What are you doing?” Wei Shaoyin was taken aback.
Xia Ling placed her elbows on the steering wheel and rubbed her temples. The sound of Chu Chen anxiously hitting the windows could be heard from outside.
Wei Shaoyin asked, “Are you wary of him?” He then continued gleefully, “Leave him here. We can drive back to the city now.”
She shook her head.
Wei Shaoyin became angry. “Don’t you know what’s good for you?! He’s clearly been placed by your side by Pei Ziheng to monitor your every action. Just looking at his face makes me feel sick. The earlier you get rid of him, the earlier you can be free.”
“How do I get rid of him?” She gave a bitter smile and replied weakly. “Kill him? Burn him? Abandon his body in the outskirts of the city? If I died, everything would still run as per normal. If Chu Chen were to die, Pei…” She stopped herself mid-sentence. She did not know the business well, but she knew that Chu Chen was an important person in Imperial Entertainment. There was word saying that if Chu Chen had the family name Pei, he would undoubtedly be the next in line to head the family after Pei Ziheng.
In comparison, what was she?
A puppet, a substitute, a pretty doll.
“You feel like you’re making trouble for Pei Ziheng?” Wei Shaoyin asked more calmly. “That was something that I was waiting to ask you about. Xiao Ling, what’s up with you and Pei Ziheng? I thought you were forced to go to Imperial Entertainment against your will. But why didn’t you leave with Li Lei when he went to find you?”
There were too many complications, and Xia Ling did not know where to start. She merely kept quiet.
Wei Shaoyin said, “I feel upset for Li Lei.”
Xia Ling felt tears spring into her eyes, and she breathed in a deep breath.
Wei Shaoyin observed her expression and asked, “Xiao Ling, who exactly do you like?”
“Li Lei and I cannot be together.”
“Why?” Wei Shaoyin angrily asked. “What did Pei Ziheng do to make you like that? Why can’t you and Li Lei be together?! What problem have you met with? Tell us, we can help you find a solution. It’s better than you acting all weird right now. Ye Xingling, have you seen how you look recently? You’ve lost weight, your pallor is terrible. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?! When you were with Li Lei, you never looked so terrible!”
He glared at her after his rant.
She turned her head away and said in a low voice, “It’s impossible.” She was upset, and her voice was hoarse.
As such, Wei Shaoyin just kept quiet.
After a while, he said, “For you, Li Lei has bet his entire family fortune on this war.”
“Ah Wei, tell him to stop. Even if he wins, even if Pei Ziheng is bankrupted, I can’t go back.”
Wei Shaoyin gave a cold laugh and bitterly replied, “And what makes you think he will listen?”
Yes, she knew Li Lei well. While he looked like someone easy to influence, in actual fact, he was the most stubborn sort. Once he had made a decision, no one would be able to change his mind. Yet, she persisted. “The Pei family has hundreds of years of foundation. He can’t win.”
“Why? Because Pei Ziheng has never lost before?”
She lifted her head to look at Wei Shaoyin. “You think Li Lei can win?”
“He’s all in.” Wei Shaoyin said. “What’s more, Li Lei has never lost before as well.”
Xia Ling did not know what to do.
Wei Shaoyin opened his mouth. “Perhaps, you can persuade him yourself.”
He handed her his mobile.
Xia Ling took the mobile from him and hesitated. She grew more fearful the closer she got to him.
Seeing her hesitation, Wei Shaoyin grabbed the mobile from her and dialed Li Lei’s number. The ringback tone rang out, and not long after, the line connected.
“Hello, Ah Wei?” Li Lei’s voice rang out on the other end of the line.
Xia Ling listened to his voice in a daze, not daring to open her mouth, fearing that her voice would break this peace.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Li Lei paused before his tone changed to one that was unusually stern. “If you don’t have anything to say, I’m hanging up now. Don’t forget the meeting in the office later at night. There are many obstacles in the market right now, and I need to hear your opinion.”
He rarely used such a tone when speaking. She could tell that, just like Pei Ziheng, he was not having a good time.
The pain in her heart started to spread. She finally could not hold it in any longer and blurted out. “Stop fighting with Imperial Entertainment.”
Li Lei was quiet for a moment before asking, “Xiao… Ling?”
“Yes, it’s me.” Xia Ling responded in a soft voice, not knowing what else to say.
Wei Shaoyin quietly got off the car and closed the door behind him.
Chapter 425: The Fan Meeting
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The silence in from the other end was deafening.
After a long time, Li Lei said, “You’re with Ah Wei right now? Are you alright?”
She responded in affirmation before repeating, “Stop fighting with Imperial Entertainment.” She did not dare ask how he was doing or show any sliver of concern, for fear of giving him any hope. She had to make him give up on her.
If they could not be together, it was better for her to shorten the pain.
His voice was gentle like a well-woven web, making you fall deeply into it. “I’m not fighting with him for nothing. I need to destroy Imperial Entertainment once and for all so that you can come back to my side. I need to make it such that Imperial Entertainment can never make a comeback.”
“I told you. I’m willing to stay here.”
“Liar.”
Xia Ling shut her eyes and hardened her heart. “Li Lei, don’t paint your own picture of happiness. You’re the one imagining all my unhappiness over here. Here with Ziheng… I’m very good. If you really like me, then don’t make me worry for him every day. Do you know? He now goes out very early and returns very late at night. My heart hurts for him…”
( Box novel.c om ) Actually, her heart was hurting for him, the man on the other end of the line.
However, she could not reveal that to him ever in this lifetime.
“I don’t believe you.” Li Lei stubbornly insisted. “Xiao Ling, our relationship was so good. You wouldn’t just fall for another man like that, would you? Tell me the truth, there’s no way I’ll believe any word you say right now. You owe me an explanation.”
Xia Ling tried to persuade him. However, he refused to hear anything she said.
“Xiao Ling, open the car door.” He said suddenly.
Xia Ling was stunned and reactively lifted her head to look out of the car.
The huge setting of the evening sun created a golden backdrop on the horizon, and a man was standing against the light in front of the car, a mobile in his hand. He had lost weight and was more disheveled than before, his khaki-grey shirt billowing in the wind, looking lonely by himself.
Her heart clenched and started to throb with pain.
Her hand instinctively went to her abdomen. Child, that’s your father…
“Open the door.” He spoke into the phone and steeled his gaze on the windscreen. Wei Shaoyin, that pretentious Virgo, had covered the entire windscreen with a dark protective screen. You could not see anything from outside the vehicle.
However, Xia Ling could see Li Lei extremely clearly from within.
He had probably identified her location via the mobile’s GPS tracker and had rushed over at first instance, just to catch a glimpse of her. Xia Ling greedily took in his appearance, not blinking for fear of losing even a second. Yet, she had no courage to open the door, fearing that she would lose control once she did. She was afraid that she could not harden her heart to say all the hurtful things to his face.
“Just give up.” She said after struggling for a while. “Li Lei, don’t be so stubborn. Give up on me and let yourself be free.” She raised her hand and started the car, kicking the car into reverse.
“Xiao Ling!” He stood in front of the car, blocking her way. “Don’t go!”
She gritted her teeth and hardened her heart, stepping down onto the accelerator to pick up the pace and driving off.
Behind her, she heard Wei Shaoyin’s irritated shout. “Aye! That’s my car!”
Very soon, all that was left was the dust behind her.
Driving the Ferrari back to Pei Ziheng’s bungalow, she instructed the doorman after getting off: “Return this car to Skyart Entertainment’s Wei Shaoyin.”
She then entered the house.
Pei Ziheng was not around as usual. These days, he came back very late at night.
Xia Ling dragged her exhausted body into the shower to wash up. She then got into bed and fell asleep.
( Box novel.c om ) When she woke the next day, Pei Ziheng was sitting by the bedside. His head was lowered, contemplating her. The morning sun shone on one side of his face, and his expression was unreadable. He asked, “Why did you go look for Li Lei?”
Xia Ling sat up in bed but turned her head away from him.
He reached out and forcefully turned her body to face him, saying through gritted teeth, “I’m asking you a question.”
“I don’t want to see you fight each other.” Xia Ling replied. “Pei Ziheng, I’m tired.”
“So you went to beg him?” Pei Ziheng’s grip became tighter, and her shoulder hurt under his hand. “Xia Ling, you do not interfere with anything in business. What do you know?! I’ve told you before, I’ll win against him. Why don’t you just obediently stay in the house? What am I now? I have to depend on you to beg Li Lei to let me off?! What a joke!”
Xia Ling was aware that he hated it when she interfered with his business. However, she still felt upset when hearing him call her out on it.
“I’m a person, not your wooden puppet. I don’t need to report everything that I do to you.” She responded.
Pei Ziheng coldly said, “My patience has its limits. Don’t let me find out that you’ve done something like that again.”
She was frightened by the coldness of his tone and shuddered as she remembered the jarring memories of the past. Feeling her fear, he immediately released his grip on her shoulders.
“Rest and take care of the child.” He said in a gentler tone. “Let’s just live peacefully as a happy family… the three of us.”
She wanted to live a peaceful life as well, to create a conducive environment for her child. Since she could not do anything to avert the warring between Pei Ziheng and Li Lei, she decided to function as if she were blissfully unaware. In the days to come, she quietly went about her song recording and schedules.
Her album sales in the past were decent, and the fans were requesting for her to have a solo concert.
However, her pregnancy meant that she did not have the physical capacity to be able to withstand a full concert. As such, she decided to have a smaller-scale fan meeting as a compromise.
The fan meeting was set up with a dream-like theme, with bright lights and dry ice filling the place. She sat on a custom-made swing and sang “Missing You for a Long Time” with background music playing softly behind. Many fans were moved to tears in the sorrowful atmosphere.
The fan meeting atmosphere was great.
In the interactive segment that followed, everyone was cooperative and asked her questions surrounding her interests, daily activities, and other non-menacing questions. Until one fan stepped forward and asked…
“Xiao Ling…” She asked with an expression full of curiosity. “Can you tell us more about your love life? According to some internal sources in Imperial Entertainment, it’s said that you are always seen with Pei Ziheng. Is that true?”
She was quiet for a while, before answering with a polite smile on her face. “Yes.”
Her child was going to be born in seven months, keeping her relationship with Pei Ziheng quiet was no longer feasible. She needed to let everyone know that they were a “loving and consenting” couple, rather than suddenly break the news of her pregnancy. That would only bring about more chaos and speculation.
The crowd bustled upon hearing her answer.
“Oh my God, the rumors are true…” Someone commented, her face turning red in excitement. “Didn’t I say that Xiao Ling was pretty, elegant, and well-poised. Her singing is fantastic as well. She would definitely get together with an amazing man!”
“Exactly, exactly…” Many agreed with her. “Xiao Ling is just so compatible with Imperial Entertainment’s Big Boss.”
“We want to see a couple photo!”
“Xiao Ling, why don’t you take a few photos for us to see!”
The crowd shouted out from all directions. Those at the event were her die-hard fans and did not react to her relationship with Pei Ziheng negativity and false speculation, but instead were prepared to give her their genuine blessings.
Xia Ling looked at them and maintained her elegant smile, but she did not feel happy at all at this moment.