A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The gazes of the tens of thousands in the stadium were all trained on Xia Ling.

Xia Ling remained calm and composed under all their gazes and received the microphone from Sister Mai Na.

Keep acting, just keep acting. Xia Yu kept thinking maliciously. Ye Xingling, what do you plan on doing now? Pretend to accidentally drop the microphone such that it malfunctions? Don’t worry, I will prepare many spare microphones just for you…

A small smile crept on the edge of Xia Yu’s lips. She could already imagine the devastating impact this would have on “Ye Xingling.”

However, in the next second her smile froze over.

Onstage, that fresh-looking girl in the long, silver-blue dress softly said, “Hello.”

Even though it was just one word, but Xia Yu seemed like she had been struck by lightning. How was that possible?! This bitch was actually speaking?! Hadn’t she already been poisoned mute?!

Xia Yu’s expression was that of shock as she turned pale. “You can speak?!”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to speak?” Xia Ling’s voice was very soft and sounded a little fatigued and hoarse, but was gentle and pleasant, making others concentrate and listen closely. She gave a slight frown and said into the microphone, “I’ve always been able to speak.”

“Stop lying, you clearly have been… ” Xia Yu caught herself mid-sentence. She had almost accidentally revealed that Ye Xingling had been poisoned mute by Brother Ziheng in her fluster.

“I clearly have been what?” Unfortunately, Xia Ling had caught on and was not going to let her go easily.

Xia Yu cursed her silently in her heart. This bitch! She was clearly trying to make her admit! “Sister Mai Na had clearly said that your throat needed to be rested and you can’t talk. Why are you so easily speaking now?” Xia Yu abruptly corrected her statement.

Xia Ling did not let her get away with it. “Who said that I definitely needed to speak? If I didn’t speak wouldn’t I have been accused of lip-synching by some people with an ulterior motive?”

The audience broke out in a bustle of discussion. Yes, she was right, Xia Yu was the one that insisted on Xia Ling opening her mouth to speak in order to prove her innocence. Now that she had spoken, why was Xia Yu so shocked? Was Xia Yu sure that she was unable to speak before? If so, why was it that Xia Yu was so sure? And why was it that knowing that Xia Ling could not speak, she was so adamant on getting her to open her mouth?

Tons of questions emerged in the minds of the audience.

Xia Yu was sensitive to the commotion in the audience and knew that things were not looking up for her. She hurriedly said, “Okay, Ye Xingling, since you have proven that you can speak, I will believe that you did not lip-synch.” She tried to turn the audiences’ attention away and gave the man that had earlier accused Xia Ling, who was now standing by the side, a meaningful look.

That man understood and spoke up. “Miss Xia Yu is too innocent, thus she believes that you did not lip-synch. Ye Xingling, the audience and I will not be fooled! I heard the staff backstage loud and clear, you lip-synched! Even if you can open your mouth to speak, so what? Your vocal condition is bad, perhaps you were afraid that you would lose and had pre-recorded a song to lip-synch to!”

“Are you done?” Xia Ling responded mildly.

That man was stunned at her calm reaction and subconsciously nodded his head.

“Then, get lost.” Xia Ling continued in the same mild tone.

What? She told him to get lost?! The man on stage was shocked, and so was the audience watching from below. Ye Xingling, where was your class and grace? Was it truly the best move to tell a member of the audience to get lost on stage in such a brazen manner?

The emcee jumped forward to intervene once more. “If you don’t have a guilty conscience, why are you asking this man to get lost now?”

Xia Ling looked at her as if she was an idiot.

Sister Mai Na, who was standing by the side, looked at the emcee like she was an idiot as well. Following which, her gaze looked past the emcee to the back of the stage. There was a host of people walking in from the back of the stage, all dressed in police uniform, their expressions grave.

“This gentleman over here.” They walked in front of the man. “Someone has reported you for preventing public order and also slander. Please come back to the police station with us to assist in investigations.”

Everyone was stunned. So Sister Mai Na was not joking when she mentioned suing him earlier, she meant it through and through.

Sister Mai Na gave a smile. In actual fact, she was a little surprised to see the police appear as well. Usually, security would handle such situations during a concert. The police would not usually get involved unless there was a massive conflict, bloodshed or use of weapons. She only had to think a little bit further to guess who had invited the police here — other than the biased Big Boss, who else would do such a thing?

It looked like he was watching the live-stream.

Offstage, the audience was starting to waver. The police had arrived, so did that mean “Ye Xingling” was really falsely accused? She really did not lip-synch?

The man that had slandered Xia Ling was now in a panic, and he looked towards Xia Yu for help. “Miss Xia Yu…” This part about being taken away by the police was not written into the script that they had spoken about earlier.

Xia Yu cursed in her heart. This idiot was being an even bigger idiot than she thought. Didn’t calling her “Miss Xia Yu” now reveal that they were in cahoots? She hurriedly took several steps backward and said to the police, “Thank you for helping to maintain public order. I believe Ye Xingling is innocent; there must be some misunderstanding here. Please ask this gentleman carefully why he accused her of lip-synching.”

She spoke into the microphone when she said this and everyone in the audience could hear her clearly.

What a good, kind and innocent girl.

The crazy fans were touched again.

“Miss Xia Yu!” That man was staring at her incredulously as he shouted out. Was he being abandoned? Why were things turning out like that? He was just following orders from Imperial Entertainment. Why did he have to face the police interrogation alone?

Unfortunately, he did not have a microphone.

Even if he shouted loudly on the tall stage, there was no way that the audience would be able to hear him.

Xia Yu turned around and gave the man a warning glare from an angle that could not be seen by anyone. She was warning him to take responsibility for this incident. Otherwise, he would have to pay the price!

The man shuddered at the sinister glare she gave him and obediently shut his mouth as the police took him away.

Xia Ling looked on as if she was watching a show. “Now, who still says that I lip-synched?”

The hatred in Xia Yu’s heart was overflowing, but on the surface, she smiled sweetly. “I believed you from the very start. I knew you wouldn’t lip-synch.”

The emcee wanted to say something more, but she kept quiet after thinking about the police that had just come.

Xia Ling’s gaze slowly swept across the faces of the two people in front of her, intentionally and with a tinge of arrogance and scoff.

“Now we should proceed with the next segment, shouldn’t we?” Sister Mai Na’s mood changed for the better, and she said with a bright smile on her face.

The emcee came back to her senses but was in a daze in the next second. Next segment, what next segment? According to Imperial Entertainment’s script, the head-to-head competition between Xia Yu and Ye Xingling was only till this point. Ye Xingling should be revealed to have lip-synched and be booed offstage, and Xia Yu would not have to sing at all, winning by default.

The emcee did not rehearse for a next segment.

She stood on stage and looked at Xia Yu, before shifting her gaze to look at Xia Ling, almost in tears.

“Before we start with the next segment, I would like to interject with a short advertisement.” Xia Ling’s low and gentle voice rang out, suitably helping the emcee out of her awkward position. She was not helping the emcee out of goodwill, but rather her career ethic made her save the situation like she was putting out a fire. There was still a large audience looking on, and she indeed had an advertisement to play.

“What advertisement?” The emcee looked at her like she was her savior, and asked with interest.

Xia Ling gave a laugh. “Isn’t everyone curious about the brand that I am endorsing? I will reveal it to everyone right now.”