<h4>Chapter 1111: Like an Old Friend</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios


    Xia Ling held herself at a lower position than ever before. “Miss Wang, Ziheng and I truly love each other, could you please note between us? Don’t get married to him, I’m begging you.”


    Wang Jingwan raised her threaded brows. “No wonder Ziheng says you’re naive. Truly love each other? I think you must’ve gotten it wrong. If he truly loved you, would he have married me? Miss Xia, all men are attracted by beauty. He was only momentarily appealed by your appearance, that’s all. I’m his wife and I haven’t even made a scene, who are you to do that?”


    Xia Ling shook her head. “No, he really does love me.”


    Wang Jingwanughed and looked at her condescendingly. “All of us are aware of what you’re trying to do—you just want to marry into a rich family, isn’t that it? Let me tell you, Ziheng can never marry you. What right do you have to be his wife?”


    Xia Ling refused to ept it. “No, no! Miss Wang, please, I’m asking you not toe between Ziheng and me.” She’d been pampered and shielded by Pei Ziheng for so long that this was the first time she was begging someone in years. Her dignity was stepped all over, seemingly unworthy.


    But for him, she was more than willing.


    Wang Jingwan looked at her. “Miss Xia, are you in the right mind? You’re just a lover he has outside, and you think what you share is true love? If you’re wise enough, I may still consider saving you a spot when I marry into the Pei family. But if you aren’t, then just keep in mind that I’ll be thedy in-charge of Imperial Entertainment.” Her lips curled into a sly smile.


    They were both women, why would Wang Jingwan be willing to share her man?


    From the first day she saw Pei Ziheng, Wang Jingwan had fallen hard for him. Hence, even though his request to “embrace” Xia Ling was an overboard one, she’d swallowed it anyway. She wanted to marry him and take all the time she needed to slowly remove this woman from his heart and his life. Someday, she would be his only woman, his legal wife.


    She envied Xia Ling for being able to be showered in Pei Ziheng’s love.


    The enmity she felt towards Xia Ling was deeper than the other way around.


    But Xia Ling did not know all these. Wang Jingwan had been taught how to thumb her love rivals down since she was a child—such education waspulsory for a rich girl like her. At this point, she was all calm and elegant as she faced the naive girl before her.


    Xia Ling ran out crying.


    All of her arrogance and wilfulness hadpletely vanished in the face of love.


    That rtionship meant too much to her, so much so that every setback it faced hurt her immensely. In front of Wang Jingwan, all she could feel was that her heart was being wrenched, hurled to the ground, and stepped all over. It felt unbearable.


    While running out of the room with her head hung low, she knocked into someone by ident. The other party’s body was sturdy as a rock and the impact caused her to fall backward. She sprained her ankle in the midst of it and ended up sobbing aloud as she sat on the floor.


    The man squatted down before her.


    “Here.” He handed her a clean piece of tissue. “That’s a lot of crying for a fall like this. Does it hurt a lot?”


    His voice sounded very pleasant.


    She received the tissue and cried even louder now.


    “You must be Xia Ling,” the man said. “I’ve seen you on television before. Everyone says your singing is amazing and that you’re the best female singer around. So, would you considering over and joining Skyart?”


    Skyart? This name sounded familiar.


    Xia Ling looked up with her blurry eyes. He was so handsome, in a way that waspletely different from Pei Ziheng—a healthy tan, nicely toned limbs and eyes that were clear as they were deep.


    “Hello, I’m Li Lei.” He smiled and reached his hand out.


    Li Lei? She couldn’t remember where she’d heard this name, if she even did before. But hiszy grin was so familiar, almost as if... almost as if they’d met before a long time ago.


    Unconsciously, Xia Ling somehow let her guard down.


    “Hello.” She sniffled.


    Li Lei took a look at her foot. “It’s a sprain. Let me get the bone back in ce for you. It’ll hurt a bit, so bear with it.”


    She nodded and felt the warmth of his palms on her swollen foot. She wasn’t sure what he did, but a momentter a sharp pain hit her and she let out a cry.


    He released his grip and smiled. “Try if you can move it now?”


    She rotated her ankle slowly and gently, and s, it felt fine!


    “Thank you,” she said.


    “What’s that for, I was the one who bumped into you,” Li Lei said. “Although your ankle is back in ce, you can’t exert force on it for the next few days. So, where are you going now? I’ll give you a lift.”


    She was about to reject him, but all the drastic changes in her life recently had left her fatigued, and it seemed like his smile was the only thing that could bring her warmth in this cold, harsh world. Before she knew what got over her, she was nodding and telling him, “I live in the fifth unit of the red brick vis. Sorry for the trouble.”


    Li Lei helped her up and into his car.


    In the quiet car, she recalled the recent events, and tears came streaming down her face again.


    Li Lei was smiling while he drove. “I only bumped into you once, is it that painful? Why are you crying again?”


    She quietly said, “Well, it is.”


    “Want toe over to Skyart?” He invited again. “You have some grievances over at Imperial? Come over to my side, I promise to treat you well.”


    She sobbed her heart out in the car.


    Li Lei looked at her and let out a silent sigh. For some reason, he’d felt that she should belong in Skyart from the very moment he saw her. He felt that they should be close...


    How close?


    It felt like... his heart ached the moment he saw her crying, and he wanted to hold her close.


    And that was exactly what he did.


    The SUV stopped at the entrance of her red-brick vi. He opened the door and helped her out of the car before giving her a long, warm hug. “As a girl, you need to learn to be kinder to yourself.” Li Lei’s voice was kind and tender. “If someday you don’t wish to stay in Imperial anymore, juste over and look for me at Skyart. Remember that.”


    She waspletely immersed in his embrace. At that moment, she wished she could stay in it for a longer time.


    “I’ll remember that.” She nodded and whispered.


    Li Lei smiled and bade her farewell before driving off.


    She gazed in the direction that he left in, and took a while to gather her thoughts and head into the vi.


    But it had only been a few steps when she saw Pei Ziheng standing at the doorway, looking at her solemnly. He was practically expressionless, but his eyes seemed so deep and threatening, in a way that she’d never seen before. In that split second, her blood froze inside her.