A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Sunlight spilled into the house abundantly.

Pei Ziheng did not bother with the small talk and shifted the safe towards him. “This is what you asked for, but some crucial components are missing. It’s not sufficient to turn the case around.” Back then, he had gotten rid of a lot of evidence in order to protect Xiao Ling, retaining only some mementos, such as a personal diary.

Li Lei glanced at him before opening the safe.

He took the diary out and began reading:

[September 3rd, Rainy. Xiao Ling doesn’t admit that she killed her, and scolded me for being an idiotic, violent madman. I locked her in the basement and starved her. She’s been so pampered by me all these years, she even dares to lie over such a serious matter. Does she not realize that I’m the only one who can save her now? The police are investigating, I will not let her get arrested or charged by them.]

[September 14th, Sunny. A seller in the black market has given his statement, saying that a lady dressed in black had purchased drugs from him. She had used a black veil to mask her face, but her physique and voice resembled Xiao Ling’s. The seller said he smelled a fragrance on her, and after the police handed him a variety of fragrances to pick from, he confirmed the one that Xiao Ling often used.]

[September 15th, Stormy. The Wang family wants Xiao Ling to compensate them with her life, but Xiao Ling still refuses to admit it. I hit her, tore her clothes off, pinned her onto the couch and told her I wanted her, badly. She screamed and called me a perverted beast, telling me I deserve to die. She kicked me, bit me... but I didn’t let her off. I exhausted her of all her energy till she passed out. Maybe we’ve both gone mad.]

[September 26th, Cloudy. Xiao Ling admitted it. She asked me weakly, ‘Is this the outcome you wanted?’ My heart ached and I wanted to hug her, to tell her there was no need to be scared, for I will find a way with the police. But, she evaded my arms.]

[September 27th, I asked her how the crime took place. I need to know the details in order to help her, but she refused to say anything. With no other choice, she scoffed at me, ‘Believe what you would, aren’t you convinced that I’m the murderer, anyways? Aren’t you very smart?’ I wanted to hit her again, to punish her severely, to rip her skin apart and see if a heart actually lay beneath. It takes me a lot each day just to refrain from hurting her.]

Li Lei’s hand was trembling. Just what kind of torture was Xiao Ling put through all those years?

He forced himself to read on:

[October 1st, Sunny. The police came to interrogate Xiao Ling again. She was emotionally unstable and almost admitted to the murder in front of them. I was furious and hit her after the police left. This time, I hit her harder and warned her that if this happened again, I would skin her and burn her to ashes. She curled up at the foot of the bed, bleeding and shivering as she looked up at me.]

Li Lei slammed the diary shut.

He clenched his fist and glared at Pei Ziheng. “This was how you treated her?”

Pei Ziheng quietly said, “You can’t only be finding out today.”

Li Lei flipped the table and sent a punch to his face. “You love hitting people? Why hit a woman?!” He shouted and sent another punch. “Hit me if you’re capable!”

Pei Ziheng intuitively evaded the punch and returned it. “I’ve been wanting to hit you a long time ago!”

The two men began fighting. Both of them had been trained in martial arts since they were young and were physically strong. It did not take long for both to be covered in bruises. The furniture and ornaments were all over the place, some damaged, others shattered.

Eventually, Li Lei, who’d killed many on the battlefield, emerged victorious. He was a notch above Pei Ziheng and managed to keep him in control. Locking Pei Ziheng’s arms in place, Li Lei punched him a few more times until he bled from his nose. “You beast!”

Pei Ziheng lay in the debris panting, unable to get up.

His exquisite suit was torn in a few places and stained with blood. Li Lei did not look much better—his face was bruised and his t-shirt, now torn, was dotted with blood as well.

Pei Ziheng smiled. “You’re not better.”

Li Lei grabbed him by the collar. “How could you do that to Xiao Ling?!” The girl who he’d always treated like a gem and protected so well all this time was once so badly tormented without his knowledge, just the thought of this hurt him. He had heard of things going on between Pei Ziheng and Xiao Ling before and knew that Pei Ziheng had held her hostage and tortured her. But knowing it was one matter, reading about it from the perpetrator himself was another.

Pei Ziheng glared at him before wrenching Li Lei’s hand from his collar.

He could tell that Li Lei was genuinely furious and agitated; only a man who loved a woman deeply would react this way. He was envious. He had always thought, if Li Lei wasn’t outstanding enough, or didn’t love her enough, maybe Xiao Ling would return to him one day.

But now?

The chances were slim.

“This letter,” Pei Ziheng started. “is a record of how everything took place. But all the evidence that I mentioned inside—the fingerprints, the witness’ statement, the surveillance camera recording... have all been destroyed. You can try to deduce the truth from this information, but if it’s really Xia Yu who did it, it’ll be hard to charge her.”

“I’ll do it, however hard it is.” Li Lei sat on the ground beside him.

Pei Ziheng sat up|. “Tell me, why do you suspect Xia Yu?”

Li Lei looked at him. “You’re not fit to find out.” After reading the diary, there was no way Li Lei wouldn’t hold a grudge against him.

Pei Ziheng narrowed his eyes and said with a threatening voice, “Not telling me? Are you sure you don’t need my cooperation for the rest of the investigation?” If not for the sake of finding the truth, why should he help Li Lei?

Li Lei’s fingers fiddled. “I feel like punching you again.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Pei Ziheng mumbled.

Unwilling as he was, Li Lei told Pei Ziheng about his suspicions regarding Xia Yu, hoping that this would help with the investigation. After hearing him out, Pei Ziheng kept quiet for a long while.

“Now you know how absurd it was for you to accuse Xiao Ling back then.”

Pei Ziheng shook his head, still silent. It did seem like he might have wrongly accused Xiao Ling back then. All the beatings and insults that she had endured were so unnecessary...

Li Lei said, “If you still love her just a little bit, then work with me to get the truth out. If it really is Xia Yu, let her serve her sentence, only then can you serve Xiao Ling and the Wang family their justice.”

Pei Ziheng looked solemn. “We’ll set something up. With insufficient evidence, the only way is for Xia Yu to confess to the crime.”