A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“Do you remember Li Er?” Feng Kun did not respond to her question but instead started another topic.

“Li Er?” Xia Ling frowned and thought for a while, before looking at him with a confused expression.

Feng Kun shook his head and sighed. Laughing, he said, “You… you were always lost in your own world and rarely remembered the names of the people around you. Let me give you a hint… Eight years ago at the Nebula Music Festival’s annual celebratory dinner.”

Xia Ling seemed to recall something after hearing this.

“Oh, her!” An outstandingly pretty face entered her mind. Even though there were beauties galore in the entertainment circle, her angelic face was something that left a lasting impression. That year, critics said that Li Er was the only person that could rival Xia Ling in terms of looks.

And there were those that said even more.

They said that Li Er was picking on her and was bent on following her to every event that she went to, wearing all the clothes she did and doing everything she did!

Remembering these details made Xia Ling unhappy. “She was such a copycat?! Imitating me everywhere she went! She deserved it when I splashed red wine on her that night!” She was referring to the incident at the Nebula Music Festival dinner. All the most prominent artistes were gathered at the annual dinner, and Xia Ling was mingling in the crowd, dressed in a tailor-made European haute couture gown, her hair all done up, and the expensive jewelry was sparkling on her. Many looked over at her with envy in their eyes. She was the undisputed queen wherever she went.

Until Li Er appeared and destroyed her shiny dream.

Li Er was younger than her by two years and had the sweetest smile. Even though Li Er did not have the arrogance and air of a queen like Xia Ling, nor did she have the aggressive and ostentatious flamboyance in her beauty, she was more gentle and sweet, and there was a small dimple in her cheek when she smiled. It was the first time that she was attending the ceremony, and she immediately attracted many eyeballs.

Yet, Li Er’s beauty was only a small reason why everyone was looking at her.

The bigger reason was that this newbie singer was wearing an haute couture gown that was identical to Xia Ling’s at that glamorous event of the year! The silvery white dress had a train that had tints of icy blue, and the diamond studs in the dress shimmered under the lights. She looked like a mermaid that had just emerged from the depths of the ocean. Even her accessories were identical to Xia Ling’s!

Being dressed identically was highly embarrassing for any female star.

Particularly to Xia Ling then, who had just become a Diva, that was full of arrogance and had her head in the air. How could she be wearing the exact same outfit as a new singer that just debuted, who was not all that popular? It was an insult, a huge insult!

Xia Ling saw red at that moment, and her first reaction was: how dare she?!

Before then, Li Er had challenged her several times, imitating her photo poses, going to the same restaurants she did… Many fans were comparing the two of them, and what made Xia Ling most upset was that some said that Li Er was younger and more popular than she was!

All that pent up anger hit its peak at the dinner ceremony, at that moment when she saw Li Er dressed in an identical outfit!

Xia Ling grabbed a glass of red wine from a waiter walking by, walked up to Li Er as elegantly as she could, and splashed the entire glass of red wine onto Li Er’s face without hesitation. As she saw a shocked expression come across Li Er’s face and how disheveled she looked with the red wine splashed and her makeup in a mess, Xia Ling felt thrilled.

“Such an arrogant bully.” Someone said in a low voice.

“Li Er is such a poor thing.”

“Xia Ling is getting more and more arrogant, and from bad to worse.”

“Isn’t it all because she has Boss Pei backing her?”

The murmurings became louder, but Xia Ling could not care less and stared Li Er down as she was still reeling from shock. “If there is a next time, I will make sure you are forced to leave the entertainment circle.”

She was like a sword that was fresh out of its hilt then — cold, vicious, invincible.

All her arrogance stemmed from Pei Ziheng spoiling her. Regardless of what she wanted to do, even bullying a new star without thinking about the consequences at such a big event like the Nebula Music Festival Annual Dinner, no one dared to get involved. They would simply gossip about it from the side and feel sorry for Li Er. That was harmless, wasn’t it?

While she had vented her anger then, now that she recalled the incident, Xia Ling was still seething with anger. “Was the team at Imperial Entertainment pigs?! I was right to fire them all from the fashion consultant to the execution manager! How could an haute couture gown clash with someone else? Did they not bring their brains out that night?!”

She said this statement as if she was always acting smartly then.

Feng Kun shook his head and smiled.

“In so many years that you were a Diva, Li Er was the only person that threatened your position.” Feng Kun said.

“Threatened? Hmph, she?” Xia Ling gave a cold laugh. She admitted that she was really upset with Li Er, and splashing red wine on her then seemed to demean her position since Li Er and she was not on the same level at all. She was a Diva, a queen, an A-lister, whereas she was just a small, newly-debuted star. She had just made a name for herself and was not even familiar with the Nebula Music Festival yet!

Feng Kun shook his head. “That was because she died too early. Xiao Ling, believe me, if Li Er was still alive, all she needed was three years… no.. two years, and she would really rattle your position.”

“With what?” Xia Ling was unconvinced. “Was she as talented as I was in singing? Was she as pretty as I was? Other than entering the industry two years later than me, and daring to challenge me so openly such that everyone felt that it was a novelty, what did she have that left an impression?”

“Do you know why she dared to challenge you?” Feng Kun asked.

“She was dumb and ignorant.” Xia Ling huffed. With her status in the industry then, no one dared go against her, especially female stars, no matter how experienced they were in the industry.

Feng Kun smiled gently at her. “You couldn’t tell? That was what was different about her compared to all the others… she dared to offend you. No one else dared. Did you think you were the only person with a backer? You had Pei Ziheng, and you think she didn’t have anyone backing her?”

Xia Ling had never thought of this question properly before.

She had merely thought that Li Er was a crazy young artiste that was trying something extraordinary.

Feng Kun dissected the situation to her. “This circle is a dynamic one, and artistes tend to have few short, best years, especially for female stars. Whether or not one can hold on to the opportunities in those years would typically determine their success. That person backing Li Er directed her on a short-cut. What else would be more effective in gaining attention than to challenge you openly?”

“That day when you splashed her with red wine… it was actually a huge success for her.”

“I didn’t…” Xia Ling did not agree with his assessment.

Feng Kun wagged his finger at her and continued, “I remember that you read the report about the incident the next day. Even though Imperial Entertainment had Chu Chen doing a lot of PR for you, and the negative impact on you was brought to the minimum, the clash in your outfits and your action of splashing red wine on her still was reported. After that night, her online search popularity surged several times over, gaining her a lot of eyeballs.”

“All this was because she had an outstanding manager behind her.”