A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“Get lost.” An authoritative and menacing voice rang out.

The onlookers watching the commotion were silenced and looked like they saw a ghost. Very quickly the crowd dispersed. Even Master Biao half-crawled, half-rolled away in panic after stealing a glance at who had knocked him to the ground.

It was only then that Xia Ling noticed a really skinny man standing before her. He was even skinnier than she was and was wearing a dirty and crumpled jacket, which was emitting a sour odor. Yet, he had a threatening presence despite his small frame, perhaps a result of the dark eye circles and yellowish pallor from being in the bar day and night. Warning bells rang out again in Xia Ling’s head.

She was confident to escape from the lumbering man earlier.

However, this skinny man was glaring at her like he was looking at his prey, and she was not confident that she could free herself.

The skinny man gave her a look and spat out. “Follow me.”

This was said with the same tone that he had when he shouted “Get lost” earlier. However, the menace and aggression were taken down a notch, though his irritation was still apparent.

Xia Ling did not move as she felt he was dangerous.

The music on the dance floor was deafening, but the man’s voice rang clearly in her ears. “Do you want everyone to come here to watch you, Ye Xingling?”

The last three words were said roughly and like an insult.

Xia Ling’s expression changed. He had recognized her! She bit her lip and had no choice but to follow him. The skinny man walked quickly, or rather, it was not that he walked exceptionally fast, but everyone that saw him would open up a path in front of him, their expressions full of respect and fear.

She followed closely behind and was able to leave the bar easily.

In the alley behind the bar.

The noisy music was muffled from the distance, and the floor in the alley was covered with water from the sewers. There were several homosexual or heterosexual couples engaging in activities that were distasteful, alongside some stray cats scavenging for food in the dumpster.

The skinny man led her to a desolate corner.

Xia Ling’s discomfort was getting stronger by the minute as she pondered if he was going to rob, rape, or kill her? Would she be able to free herself from the situation if she used the pepper spray on him now and used all the defense techniques that she knew?

Perhaps noticing her discomfort, there was some contempt in the man’s gaze as he turned to her. “You dare come here despite being so cowardly? When you left Skyart Entertainment, did you leave your brain behind as well?”

“Who are you?” She asked while trying to maintain her dignity and not show that she was afraid.

“You came looking for me despite not knowing who I am?” The man gave a cold smile, his gaze like sharp daggers as if he were going to pierce several holes into her body.

“You are… Lin Yunan?!” Xia Ling yelped in surprise as it dawned on her. This man before her was completely different from the man she had seen in pictures on the web. In the pictures on the web, he was a handsome guy, who had an air of coldness and intelligence. Now… “Are you really Lin Yunan?” She asked suspiciously. “He’s only thirty-something this year… why do you look like you’re approaching fifty?!”

The man gave a cold laugh but did not reply to her question.

“Follow this alley and get your behind far away from here.” He pointed towards the alley exit. “This isn’t a place that you should be at.”

With that, he turned around to head back into the bar.

“Hey, wait up!” Xia Ling took two steps forward towards him. “Are you really Lin Yunan? How do you know I’m here to find you? Don’t go, if you’re not Lin Yunan, I’ll go in to look for him again!”

This last sentence succeeded in stopping the man in his tracks.

He did not know why he would stop for this girl that was courting death and to reach out a helping hand when he saw her in trouble in the bar. He was no longer in the entertainment circle and should not be bothered about the matters of a small female star. However, his gaze had been riveted on her the moment she set foot into the bar.

In so many years, she was the first artiste to come to such a place to look for him.

“I’m Lin Yunan.” He looked at Xia Ling coldly. “You appeared in this place and clearly was at a loss and did not fit in. What else would you be doing other than looking for someone?” Having worked in the bar for so many years as a hitman — or to put it nicely, a security officer — he had seen his fill of people that came looking for someone. There were those that were looking to catch their husbands red-handed in an affair, there were mothers who came to bring their sons home, and there were those that came seeking for breakup compensation…

There were all kinds of people, and he had trained himself to discern the different kinds of people that came through the doors.

For an artiste like Xia Ling, why else would she appear other than to look for him, the legendary manager that had retired from the entertainment scene? He could not think of any other reason that could make her come to a place like this — it couldn’t be to look for a cheating boyfriend, right?

If he had remembered correctly, her boyfriend… oh no, ex-boyfriend, was the king of the underworld in this city. He was the legend that the bosses of this bar and all the hooligans might not have even heard of before.

“How do you know I am Ye Xingling?” Xia Ling contemplated Lin Yunan closely and finally found a shadow of resemblance to the pictures she found online in his features, before believing his words. “Lin Yunan, are you my fan? Not many would be able to recognize me the way I’ve made myself up today.” She was confident about her makeup skills given that she had to lose herself from tabloid reporters all her life in the decade she was a Diva. What’s more, it was dark in the bar, and being able to recognize her was really quite amazing.

Lin Yunan was speechless.

“Are you really my fan?”

Lin Yunan became agitated again. “With your intellect… and your rashness… do you even deserve to be someone that I would become a fan for?” He was able to recognize her at first glance because he had been taking note of the happenings in the entertainment circle all these years. Her every move and her character reminded him so much of the Diva Xia Ling from so many years ago. That was the golden era that belonged to Xia Ling… and belonged to him and Li Er…

As such, he had paid more attention to her.

Xia Ling did not know all of these and was unhappy at his insult. “What’s wrong with my intellect? I’m sorry, I think I fed my intellect to the dogs by coming here to look for you! I heard you are an amazing manager, and my friend really sang your praises! However, my friend was clearly blind!”

As expected, she was here to look for him.

Lin Yunan looked at her for a long time before shaking his head. “Leave.” This was a dangerous place, she should not have risked her safety to come here.

With that, he turned around and continued to walk toward the bar’s back door.

“Why don’t you hear me out?” Xia Ling was even more furious. However, her remaining rationality forced her to stay put. “Lin Yunan, are you really going to waste your life away in this rubbish bar?”

Lin Yunan stopped in his tracks again.

Xia Ling was not used to begging people, so she said directly. “I don’t care how you recognized me, but since you bothered to save me from the ruckus earlier, it clearly shows that you are not indifferent to me. I’m looking for a new manager, and I hope that that person is you.”

Lin Yunan’s skinny frame was motionless.

Yet, Xia Ling failed to notice that his hands were clenched into a fist.

“Me?” He gave a cold laugh. “Go on, tell me. Why do you want me?”