A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Actually, Xia Yu is quite pitiful…” Someone whispered below the stage.

“Yeah!” Someone agreed. “She already sang the whole day during the head-to-head competition and should have been tired long ago. The rules of the competition are quite unreasonable. If someone sings from the beginning to the end, the challengers at the back will have an advantage. No wonder Xia Yu’s team decided to do this.”

“Xia Yu is just a singer. If the staff insists that she do this, she can’t reject them easily.” More people agreed and sympathized with Xia Yu after hearing what she said.

Xia Ling was the only one not overcome with emotion as she stood on stage. She had not competed with her sister for more than a year and did not expect her acting skills to become better. She was no longer the girl who would flee the stage in humiliation after someone poured mineral water on her.

However, no matter what, Xia Ling would not be soft-hearted.

Looking at Xia Yu, her voice was like a broken glass bead. “The head-to-head competition is like that. The more challenges you get, the more tired you become. As a singer who is participating in the competition, you should know about this common knowledge. How could you shirk responsibility in the end with this fact in mind?” Her words were like firing shots, leaving Xia Yu no breathing space. “If the staff asked you to do things that aren’t in line with professional ethics, you can directly refuse them. Since you didn’t refuse, that means you agreed to do it. So, you should admit responsibility and not wait until the moment you are discovered and push the blame to the staff.”

Li Lei wanted to applaud Xia Ling.

Xiao Ling was still the most impressive. She was reasonable and logical. Once she stood on the stage, she was like a sovereign ruler, imposing and worshipped.

Li Lei had been her die-hard fan since long ago.

Feng Kun couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh after looking at the bright-eyed Li Lei. A man was scary when he acted like a slave to his wife as his IQ had a tendency to plummet. Even a smart person like Li Lei couldn’t see that not everyone bought Xiao Ling’s aggressive words on stage.

Sure enough, some people in the audience said, “Isn’t Ye Xingling a bit too much? Xia Yu already knows that she’s in the wrong and is crying so pitifully. Why can’t she let her go?”

Another person said, “Although what she said makes sense, she shouldn’t keep provoking her.”

On stage, after hearing the discussion about her, Xia Yu wept even more sorrowfully.

“Xiao Ling is receiving backlash.” Feng Kun looked at the unfavorable situation.

Li Lei was finally awakened by him and was furious. “How dare this group of ignorant people bully my Xiao Ling.” He waved his hand at the dark corner not far away. In the darkness, a bodyguard in plain clothes walked out and respectfully awaited his instructions.

Li Lei whispered a few words to the bodyguard.

The bodyguard nodded and walked out of the crowd. Soon, bodyguards from several directions walked in and dispersed the crowd.

On the stage, Xia Ling looked coldly at Xia Yu as she cried.

She also heard the discussion below the stage. Although some people praised her, many people thought that she should just let it go. How could she let it go now? If she really let it go, the crowd would be swayed by Xia Yu’s sympathetic act, and her big plan to expose Xia Yu would have gone to waste.

Furthermore, it was also necessary to give the crowd some perspective.

Xia Ling raised her microphone and said, “Don’t blame me for being impolite or harsh. If you went out of tune while singing or did not perform as well, I would not have degraded you. In fact, I would have comforted you. However, lip-syncing is not acceptable. Lip-synching is crossing my bottom line as a musician. To ensure a fair music environment, I have to play my part and can’t tolerate it. Otherwise, it would be blasphemous to music. How can you even say that you’re a singer, then?”

She looked petite and small and was not any more powerful than Xia Yu was. However, when she wanted to make a point, her audience was always unknowingly influenced.

This was the true nature and extraordinary influence of a queen.

“Ye Xingling is right!” Someone shouted from the crowd. “Everyone has the responsibility to protect the music scene. Denouncing lip-syncing starts from me!”

Feng Kun recognized the person who shouted as a bodyguard whom Li Lei just sent into the crowd. It turned out that he instructed people to support Xia Ling. However… “Li Lei, don’t you think this ‘help’ is stooping very low?” Feng Kun couldn’t bear to look straight at him. This was seriously the production style of the last century.

Li Lei also couldn’t bear to look straight at him. “They’re all bodyguards, rough people.”

What he meant was that shouting out slogans was the least violent thing they could do.

As if in response, people in all directions of the crowd started chanting—

“Everyone has the responsibility to protect the music scene!”

“Denouncing lip-syncing starts from me!”

“Everyone has the responsibility! It starts with me!”

The chanting gained momentum. At the start, those who replied were the bodyguards scattered in the crowd. Although these slogans were simple and rude, they were catchy, and their effect not bad. Chinese people naturally liked to join in the fun, and very quickly, more and more people started to join in and shout out the slogans together.

Xia Yu had no tears left to cry.

As the situation turned out like this, she felt powerless.

At the other side of the stage, Xia Ling had a look of slight arrogance and purity as she looked at her. “Don’t use excessive fatigue as an excuse. I’m not trying to take advantage of you or drag you down. I would never let people say that I won because my condition was better today. If you aren’t convinced, we can battle again tomorrow.”

How could Xia Yu dare to battle her?

She was already badly humiliated and only stammered. “Ye Xingling, don’t bully others too far.”

“That’s strange. I only suggested that we compete again when we are in the same state. How did this turn into me bullying you?” Xia Ling laughed. “Xia Yu, it’s ok if you don’t accept this challenge. In the future, just don’t say I won because you were in a bad state today or I was in a better state.”

Her voice spread into the distance through the microphone. It was quiet and light but had an arrogant temperament like the arrival of a goddess. Everyone unknowingly held their breath as they waited quietly for Xia Yu’s answer.

Will they battle again, or will she admit her loss?

Xia Yu was on an emotional rollercoaster. She deeply understood that no matter how many times they competed, she would lose. Losing once was better than losing twice. After hesitating for a long time, she gritted her teeth and said, “I concede defeat. This time, Ye Xingling, you won.”

Booing was heard below the stage. The audience always focused on the events that were exciting. After seeing that she admitted her loss so easily, they felt a little bored.

“Get lost! Get lost!” Someone shouted but turned into an uproar. “You lost even though you lip-synced. Get lost!”