A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Li Rui was full of reason. “He started this mess and he owes you this. There’s nothing wrong with asking him to pay for it.”

Xia Yingluo lowered her head, conflicted. She did not want to have anything to do with Wei Lingnan at all. On the Skatana Planet, cheaters were not to be forgiven, but the cheater here was Wei Lingnan, someone she had once trusted most. Each time she saw his familiar face, she was unable to stop herself from recalling past memories they’d shared. They had fought in the front lines, struggled for survival, and at times he’d stroke her face at night when he thought she’d fallen asleep...

Bits and pieces of memory, it all felt like yesterday.

“Let me think about it,” she whispered.

“I really don’t understand you girls.” Li Rui placed his hands in his pocket. “You’d better figure it out fast. You’ll have to turn to him sooner or later if you don’t have enough energy. You might as well get ready.”

“I know.” Xia Yingluo forced a smile.

It was easier said than done. The worst thing about a relationship was when one person had had a change of heart, while the other was still stuck deeply in love. Xia Yingluo thought about it for over 10 days but eventually decided against looking for Wei Lingnan. She wanted to do it on her own for a while more, and decide again if she couldn’t hold out.

The seed of the World Tree lied dormant in her body.

She transmitted any energy that she could gather to it, but no matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn’t change or grow. It was almost as if it lay dead inside her. She knew that it wasn’t able to grow because of the lack of energy.

She was skinnier than before now and her cheeks were sunken in.

Li Lei and Xia Ling looked at her with concern. “Yingluo, you can’t go on like this. You can’t let it burden you.”

Xia Yingluo forced a smile and comforted her parents. “‘Star Wars Era’ is about to start filming. Once it becomes a talking point for the public, my popularity will increase and I’ll be able to gather more energy. I’ll be fine.”

Li Lei and Xia Ling were worried for her, but this wasn’t anything that they could help with.

All they could do was to bring forward the filming for the movie “Star Wars Era” that was tailor-made to star her and to get the media hyped up over it.

At the filming set.

Xia Yingluo shot a few scenes and then took a break by the side.

She was sitting under an old tree nearby and sipping her mineral water.

There was a cooling early spring breeze.

“For you,” someone said to her out of nowhere.

She looked up and saw that it was her partner for this show, the male lead Jiang Yu. He handed her a cup of warm tea and said, “Have this instead. The mineral water is too cold, it’s not good for your body.”

Xia Yingluo smiled and received it. “Thank you.”

Jiang Yu took a seat beside her and began talking. “I really can’t tell that this is your first time filming an actual movie. You seem so natural, way better than a lot of the other female celebrities I’ve filmed with.”

Xia Yingluo smiled again. “But of course, I went to various filming sets as a child. Everyone says I have a gift for this.”

“You are well suited for acting.” Jiang Yu praised her from the bottom of his heart. In the beginning, when Skyart contacted him to act with Xia Yingluo, he was worried that as a rich girl, she would be mediocre at acting. He contemplated how to lower his standards to match her level. But he did not expect her to be such a good actress, and acting with her was simply a pleasure. Every subtle movement and emotion was expressed wonderfully, allowing him to coordinate with her easily.

Jiang Yu was a veteran actor. He had partnered with so many female leads, but finding someone so comfortable to act with like Xia Yingluo was extremely rare.

Both of them sat under the tree, sipping on tea and enjoying the rare break.

It was a sunny day, and the clouds drifted by as the wind ruffled against the leaves. A leaf fell onto her hair, and Jiang Yu said, “Don’t move.”

He reached out to remove the leaf.

However, someone grabbed his hand in mid-air.

The person was very strong. Jiang Yu thought his wrist was breaking and was in so much pain that his face was distorted. He tried hard to break free but was unsuccessful. He looked up to see the man, whose tall and lean body towered over him under the tree. His face was cold and solemn, much like a killer.

“Wei Lingnan, let him go,” Xia Yingluo said with anger in her voice.

Wei Lingnan let go of Jiang Yu’s hand, and Jiang Yu immediately pulled back. His hand was bruised and there were black spots of blood clot. If the man held on, he was sure that his bones would have broken.

This man was a monster, where did he find such strength?

Jiang Yu was scared, but he still got up and stood in front of Xia Yingluo, shielding her from Wei Lingnan. “What are you doing here? We are filming, you are not supposed to be here.”

Wei Lingnan noticed him shielding Xia Yingluo, and his face grew even colder. He stared at Jiang Yu with dagger-sharp eyes waiting to kill him.

Xia Yingluo was afraid that this would blow out of control. There was no way a normal person like Jiang Yu could go against Wei Lingnan. She stood up as well and said to Jiang Yu, “I’m fine. Jiang Yu, thanks for the tea. Help me bring the cup back.” She passed the lukewarm cup over to him and smiled at him.

Jiang Yu understood that she wanted him to leave.

He looked at her disapprovingly. “Yingluo, you don’t have to do this.”

“I’m really alright. The crew is right next to us, and the next scene will start filming soon. I’ll go there after I talk to him,” Xia Yingluo replied.

Jiang Yu looked in the direction of the crew, which was only 10 meters away. With so many people around, he figured that nothing major would happen, so he agreed. “Okay, but call me if there are any problems.”

Xia Yingluo nodded. “Sure.”

Jiang Yu looked at them with concern and slowly walked away.

Xia Yingluo looked up and stared straight into Wei Lingnan’s eyes. “Spill it. What are you here for?” Her voice was cold with a tinge of frustration. It was a stark contrast with her gentle tone towards Jiang Yu.

Wei Lingnan’s eyes remained cold. “Seems like you are having a good time.”

She mocked. “Mr. Wei, you seem to be very concerned about me? I think you are concerned about the wrong person.”

“I can’t live without you, do you know what you’re expecting? Skatana’s World Tree. Do you know how much energy it has to absorb? Just look at your pathetic sight.” Wei Lingnan mocked.

Just a few days had passed and she had already lost so much weight. Her skin was pale and she looked like she was going to fall over any moment. This made him frustrated.

Xia Yingluo knew what she was expecting, and she even considered dying together with it. But hearing him despise her “pathetic sight”, her anger boiled. “My pathetic sight? Who caused this? Wei Lingnan, you think I want to have anything to do with you? You think I can’t live without you? I think you are thinking too highly of yourself! Get lost! I don’t need your concern!”