This chapter has been translated by Atlas Studios. All credits belong to them.
Xia Ling took the phone from Lan Lan and looked at the screen, realizing that it was indeed Li Lei.
When Li Lei had sent the caretaker of the mountain villa to give her this phone, he had saved his number in it beforehand. Xia Ling tried to delete the number before but it could not be deleted.
Staring at the neverending flash of the incoming call, Xia Ling reluctantly dragged herself out of the warmth of her blankets, combed her hair with her hands, pulled on a random jacket, and went to the balcony to receive the call.
The night wind was chilly on the balcony.
The sky was pitch dark and a dim, red star could be seen in the night sky, looking a little forlorn. It was deserted all around and the dormitory building was shrouded in shadows with all the lights off.
She looked over at the illuminated clock on the opposite dormitory building and saw that it was 1:14 AM in the morning.
What in the world was up with the Big Boss?
She stifled a yawn as she picked up the phone and said, "Hello."
Li Lei's voice drifted over from the other end of the line. She was unable to make out what he had mumbled.
Xia Ling thought that it was a problem with the signal. She frowned, shifted her position, and said again, "Hello."
This time, she managed to make out that Li Lei was calling her name. "Ye Xingling..." His voice was low and hoarse, and his pronunciation was off, completely different from how he was usually. His voice was lacking in its usual laziness and playfulness, and had a tinge of dejectedness and... weakness.
She shuddered.
Was he drunk? This thought flashed through her mind.
On the other end, Big Boss Li was silent for a while before hesitatingly asking, "Ye Xingling, are you... still there?"
She said, "Yes, I'm here."
Li Lei went quiet for a long time, with only his breathing being heard over the line.
The wind started to pick up in the night, sending a chill through Xia Ling's body. On the black, metal railings of the balcony there was a layer of frost, and touching it by accident would send a chill down to her bones. When Xia Ling came out to the balcony, she was only wearing her pajamas and, at this moment, she felt herself shivering from the cold. Yet, in deciding whether to go back to the warmth of her blankets or to continue standing on the balcony like an idiot waiting for Li Lei to say something, she somehow decided on the latter.
She found a corner that was sheltered from the wind and curled up her body, saying, "Boss, with what do I owe this pleasure?"
He remained quiet, unnaturally quiet.
It was weird that he was calling her in the middle of the night. If it was not for the fact that he had called out her name, she would suspect that he had called the wrong number.
She patiently waited for a while, before he finally opened his mouth to talk. "I saw your performance today."
She was mildly startled. She did not see him in the small auditorium in the day. How did he...
"Tan Ying sent me a video of it." He said.
"Tan Ying is such a great worker." Xia Ling seethed as she stifled yet another yawn. She cursed Tan Ying countless times in her mind. It was all his fault for sending that video over to Li Lei. Otherwise, why would Big Boss Li think about her in the middle of the night?!
"He is indeed a good worker." Li Lei's attractively hoarse voice rang out again. "Tan Ying said... in the future, I will perhaps have to go against Imperial Entertainment... because of you." His words were still unclear and she had to try hard to be able to hear what he was saying. "This is a big issue. He asked me to assess to see if you... are worth the trouble."
In the Nan Cheng Apartment, Li Lei's leaned his lanky and proportionate body into the genuine, leather sofa, his LED TV screen in front of the sofa playing her acapella version of "Sea Demon" on a loop. He looked at her through the transparent wine glass at his side, completely drunk, but did not tell her that he was not making an assessment, just simply... thinking of her.
On the dormitory balcony in the training camp, Xia Ling thought she understood Tan Ying's hidden intention behind sending the video. She could not help but feel nervous, and cautiously asked, "Then, do you think I am worth it?"
Li Lei laughed softly.
"Boss?" Her heart was pounding in trepidation.
"Ye Xingling," He did not answer her directly, but said, "you really don't want to become my person? I can give you everything you want. Your route to stardom will be effortless. Diva, superstar? It will be at your fingertips."
She frowned. "No."
"You can name your price."
"I will not sell myself for any price." She replied coldly.
"If you don't name a price, I will go to Imperial Entertainment." He felt around with difficulty along the genuine leather sofa for the wine bottle, and lifted his hand to fill his glass, downing it all at one go. He was completely drunk and his hands were shaking, such that a large portion of the amber liquid was spilled on himself, flowing down his neck onto his chest. The position on his chest near his heart was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, blood seeping out from beneath it.
Nobody can reject the temptation of money. Today, a brother of his that had been through a lot together betrayed him for money.
A sharp pain shot through that place near his heart. Li Lei said heavily, "Don't think I am afraid to do anything to you."
Xia Ling could not understand what was wrong with Big Boss Li, but it was clear to her that he was not speaking with reason.
After receiving threats and bribes time and time again, she felt her anger boil over and she laughed coldly. "Li Lei, you think too highly of yourself. You think money and power are everything? Let me tell you, I'm not going to play along with your games. I'm going to tell you now once and for all, I will not give in to you and will not go to Imperial Entertainment! You can go sue me for breach of contract for all I care."
She was so angry that she scolded several profanities at him before hanging up.
The night wind started to howl again and the frost started to build on the black metal railings. She stared at the complicated frost pattern on the railings, feeling bitter. She thought that after so long after she had rejected him so many times, Li Lei had long given up. She never expected that he would still harbor feelings for her and would still try to approach her time and time again.
She had underestimated his patience.
Now, he had shown his cards and was using the transfer to Imperial Entertainment to threaten her. But, what difference was it to go to Imperial Entertainment and be harassed by Pei Ziheng, and stay at Skyart Entertainment and be harassed by Li Lei? At both places, she would be treated as a toy.
She did not want to become anyone's toy, even if it meant she had to breach her contract with Skyart Entertainment.
She did not intend to obey the command to transfer to Imperial Entertainment. Even if she can't pay the high fees for the breach, she would still rather be jailed and become a prisoner than to sell herself and betray her own body.
She gave a deep sigh, her white fingers holding onto the black railings. The coldness slowly seeped through her fingers and extended upwards to her heart.
She returned to her bed but could not sleep. As she tossed and turned in bed, she started to plan her future course of action and how she would protect herself from attacks in the time that she fell out with Skyart Entertainment and was sent to prison.
In front of people in power, she was so small and insignificant.
Subconsciously, in the silence of the night, she thought of that man that was like a God to her again — Pei Ziheng. He had once been so gentle to her as he straightened up her clothes and dried her wet hair. During Valentine's day, he had pulled her frozen hands to his chest as they watched fireworks together; celebrated and cut birthday cakes together, and he softly wiping away the cream on her nose...
Her heart felt a dull pain and the emptiness made her feel terrible.
Xia Ling curled up in her blankets and thought despairingly in that second. Maybe she should just follow Chu Chen back into the arms of that man that she was still pining for. Maybe she should just listen to him obediently for the rest of her life and not have to worry about any of these problems. She could just tell him outright who she was and cry her heart out in the warmth of his embrace.
Yet, a small voice in her heart kept reminding her. Xiao Ling, do not forget the terrifying things that happened in the past. All the gentleness was a lie. He was in complete control of your entire life, and he could make it heaven or hell for you with just a simple change of heart.
You can't even tell right now if he has ever loved you before.
Xia Ling curled herself into a tighter ball and bit on her finger to suppress her sobs.