A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 1066: Great Fanfare

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Gradually, the political climate of the first-year freshmen stabilized.

It was no longer the struggle between the two tigers, but the sole independence of Xia Ling. There were fewer and fewer people supporting Li Bingman. Of those still supporting her, they were either still holding onto the dream of supporting the “Queen’s sister” or were unable to integrate into Xia Ling’s group as they’d offended her too badly. They gathered together every day to badmouth Xia Ling, but it only stopped there. They had no more means to threaten her. Who told Xia Ling to be so much more outstanding than Li Bingman in terms of appearance, status, and academics?

Comparisons were odious.

Xia Ling proudly called Pei Ziheng to show off her recent results. “Brother Pei, I’m very popular at the Training Camp. I’m powerful, right?”

Pei Ziheng looked out at the pale blue sky outside the window, a soft smile in the depths of his eyes. Actually, he knew everything that happened to her at the Training Camp. He also knew about how she had bribed people by giving away numerous expensive jewelry and candies. However, it didn’t matter as long as she was happy.

“What do you want to eat on the weekend?” he asked. “I’ll let Nanny Zhou cook for you.”

“I want to eat grilled salmon,” she said happily. “Xiao Hua said that this season’s salmon is delicious.”

Pei Ziheng said, “Okay.” He chatted a little more with her then hung up.

Nowadays, the two could only meet every weekend when there was a holiday from school. The time they spent together was short but precious, and they cherished it deeply. Xia Ling hummed a song lightly and took out things from the closet. She gestured in front of the floor mirror, trying to decide what to wear to see Brother Pei on the weekend.

Friday afternoon was dance class.

Xia Ling brought her favorite set of white clothing to the dressing room behind the dance classroom. She carefully put them aside and changed into her training clothes. While changing, she wondered if Brother Pei would like the white dress she chose. She had yet to wear it in front of him...

She was slightly distracted.

Her bright and clean tiny foot stepped into the dance shoes.

“Ouch!” She suddenly screamed, feeling her foot penetrated by something. It was so painful.

“What happened?” Several students who had been practicing came over and asked with concern. “Xiao Ling, are you alright?”

Xia Ling frowned and endured the pain while taking her feet out of the shoes. She looked down and saw blood flowing profusely. On top was a rusty iron nail penetrated into it.

“This!” Everyone was so scared their expressions changed. “Who is so wicked to put nails into the shoes?”

“Call the teacher quickly and send Xiao Ling to the hospital!” A calm student said. “There’s lots of rust on the nails. It would be troublesome if her foot becomes infected and she gets tetanus!”

Everyone felt that was reasonable. They helped Xia Ling outside and went to find the teacher.

In the midst of confusion, Xia Ling looked up with a pale face and saw Li Bingman standing not far away near a few rows of wardrobes. She was looking over with a hint of a smile on her lips. The two met eyes and Li Bingman’s smile deepened calmly.

... It was her!

Perhaps it was her intuition as a woman, but Xia Ling was able to recognize the culprit at one glance.

She was sent to the hospital. They cleaned and bandaged her foot and she was in pain for a long time.

Pei Ziheng rushed to see her. He held her hand in worry and asked, “How could you be so careless?”

She complained weakly to him, feeling wronged. “That Li Bingman is too vicious! She even put nails in my shoes! I don’t care, I want to slap her back! It’s so painful, boohoo.”

Pei Ziheng comforted her and hugged her head into his arms.

The originally happy weekend had become unpleasant due to her foot injury. Pei Ziheng raised the same old topic. “Do you want to attend day school?”

Xia Ling pouted. “She put nails in my dance shoes, not a snake in my blanket. It doesn’t have anything to do with attending day school.”

“If she puts a snake in your blanket, would you be willing to attend day school?”

“Humph, no way. I’ll catch ten snakes and put them back!”

Pei Ziheng silently imaged the scene of having ten snakes in his blanket and quickly stopped this topic.

On Monday, Xia Ling returned to the Training Camp.

There was a crowd of people surrounding a notice at the entrance of the school. It said: First-yeat freshman Li Bingman misbehaved and has been ordered to drop out.

Drop out!

Xia Ling was shocked. She dragged a classmate next to her. “Li Bingman was really dropped out of school?” God, was it because she put nails in her shoes on Friday?

The classmate also looked like she had seen a ghost. “No way, school just started and Li Bingman is dropping out? She’s Li Bingyu’s sister!”

“I heard that the first-year’s Chief is particularly arrogant and despotic,” a senior student who didn’t know Xia Ling said. “She keeps finding trouble with Li Bingman. Could it be she framed Li Bingman and made her drop out?”

Xia Ling said, “... I am the first-year Chief who’s particularly arrogant and despotic.”

The senior student: “!!”

Within three feet on her side, the people all ran away from her—what a joke, what kind of fuel-efficient lamp could easily make students like Li Bingman drop out of school? They didn’t want to touch the stroke of bad luck!

Xia Ling felt wronged. “She was the one who injured my foot first.”

Unfortunately, her voice was too soft and many people could not hear.

She carried the daily necessities she had brought from home and pushed past the people to her dormitory room. Along the way, many trainees paid attention to her. “Look, this is the new Chief. I don’t know what origin she has, she has even messed with Li Bingman.”

“We’ll have to stay away from her in the future.”

“Exactly, exactly...”

“That’s not for certain. I heard that it was Li Bingman who first provoked her. She brought about her own destruction.”

“Also, it might not be because of her origins. I heard Li Bingman put nails in her shoes in the first place, how could the school tolerate such a bloody business?”

“Nonsense, last year’s third-grader Zhou Fang also hit Liu Anan till she bled. There was only a warning given, so how could the school be so strict on Li Bingman? There must be some inside story.”

“Perhaps Li Bingman was expelled for other reasons?”

...

Different opinions were discussed.

Xia Ling returned to her room and put down her things. In a short period of time, several people came to look for her and asked directly or indirectly about Li Bingman’s expulsion. Xia Ling was too lazy to reply. She didn’t know more than them, but it was probably Brother Pei’s decision to help her vent her anger. However, she had yet to ask Brother Pei.

She simply hung a small wooden signboard telling people not to disturb her. She locked herself in her room and called Pei Ziheng.

“Did you do it?” she asked Pei Ziheng.

Pei Ziheng knew immediately what she was asking. “This is my surprise for you. Do you like it?”

“I...” Xia Ling’s heart swelled. She was moved and flattered. “You didn’t have to give me such great fanfare.”