Rebirth of the entertainment industry and the return of the queen

Chapter 171 The Flightless Butterfly
Suppressing the discomfort, Xia Ling sang the third line: "Like the irises on the side of the road / Lost in time / Can't tell / That gentle you / Is it real or a dream..."

Tears fell without warning.A fragmented illusion flashed in front of my eyes. I don’t know when and where in the summer, large clumps of irises on the side of the road bloomed wantonly in the smoky wind. There was a young tall man against the light, smiling and reaching out to the girl in front of him. Come—Xiao Ling, come home with me.

Xiao Ling, come home with me...

The voice was low and blurred, like a curse, making her choke up.

More images flooded into my mind, the luxurious villas in the deep mountains, the man holding the girl's hand and announcing to many clansmen: "This is Xia Ling, my adopted child, I hope you treat her well."

In the quiet study room, the man held the girl on his lap and taught him how to practice calligraphy.

In the garden full of roses, the man half-knelt down to pick the thorns on the sole of the child's feet, with slightly lowered eyes, gentle and focused...

Tears blurred her vision, and Xia Ling recalled many past events, and her singing voice gradually changed: "...you give me the crystal sky/perfect dream..."

In the singing, she seemed to go back to the past, and became that little girl again, with a beautiful figure and a stunning face.She danced, twirled, and sang with a heavenly voice in the practice room, year after year.

Pei Ziheng came to see her. It was snowing outside the french windows. He took a soft wool coat from his entourage and put it on her thin shoulders. He said: "It's cold, keep warm when you sweat."

She wrapped her hands around his neck, raised her head and kissed him intimately.

There was a faint scent of tea on his body, as well as the mixed smell of sandalwood, paper and ink in the study.Putting his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer and plundered her until she was about to suffocate.

"Xiaoling," he whispered hoarsely, "my butterfly..."

Such an unforgettable voice.

Xia Ling felt pain in her heart and felt dizzy. Standing on the smoky stage, the hand holding the microphone was trembling, and her singing voice was also trembling: "...becoming a butterfly/a butterfly that belongs to you..."

In a trance, the stage turned into another star-studded open-air square with 10 people. She was wearing a pure white silk dress, light gold wings, her chin raised high, and she sang arrogantly.

There were deafening cheers from all directions—Xia Ling!Xia Ling!Xia Ling!
Deep in her heart, something shattered, and she stared blankly at the void, where... is it?who is she?Is it past life or present life?Tears couldn't stop flowing, Xia Ling's gait was flimsy, she couldn't stand anymore, she staggered to the edge of the stage, and held on to the microphone stand fixed there.

"For you... for you to shine..." She was crying, her voice was intermittent, and those lyrics seemed to be engraved in the depths of her soul, "for you...just for you..."

"...until that moment / the sky falls apart / you tear up the illusion / push me into the cruel abyss..."

A newspaper appeared in front of my eyes, with a shocking headline - Pei Ziheng, the head of the Pei family, was engaged to Wang Jingwan, the daughter of the yacht tycoon Wang's family.Xia Ling couldn't believe it, and rushed to find him like crazy. He held a very important board meeting at the Emperor's headquarters. There were a lot of bigwigs in the room, and the atmosphere was solemn.

She threw the newspaper in front of his face.

"Nonsense." I don't know which old man said in a low voice.

Xia Ling turned a deaf ear to it, and aggressively asked Pei Ziheng to give an explanation. He was silent for a moment, the furrow between his brows was like a knife carving: "Xiao Ling, this matter has nothing to do with you."

She trembled with anger and made a scene.The meeting of the board of directors failed that day. Pei Ziheng dragged her home, threw her into the bedroom, and possessed her domineeringly, but said nothing about the engagement.

No matter how hard she asked, he always said "it has nothing to do with you".

She asked a lot of people to comment, but none of them dared to get involved in the turmoil between her and Pei Ziheng, and they only hewed and hawed.Only Feng Kun and Chu Chen persuaded her: "Xiaoling, what the boss means is that regardless of whether he is engaged or not, it is a political marriage and will not affect your relationship."

Does not affect feelings?joke!

She scolded them a lot, then quarreled with Pei Ziheng even more, and even negotiated with Wang Jingwan... Until Wang Jingwan died in an accident, Pei Ziheng couldn't bear it anymore and imprisoned her.

"You raised your finger slightly / kept your face / broke my wings..."

In the cold villa, he pressed her on the bed, ignored her fear and struggle, and humiliated her wantonly...

"Crystal Sky/Shattered Dreams..."

He locked her in a dark and narrow confinement room without any light or sound. She wanted to shout but couldn't open her mouth, wanted to struggle but couldn't even move a single finger... The long silence was like the past. For trillions of years, she didn't know whether she was dead or alive. She heard her weak heartbeat, the sound of blood flowing, saw huge monsters and spider webs, the scythe of death, and countless hallucinations...

Then the door opened, and the man entered with light, like a god.

"Xiaoling," he swung his whip and pulled it down, the intense pain and pleasure made her tremble.He leaned over to touch her face, his tone was cold and gentle, "All your joy and pain are given by me, and everything you have belongs to me."

Xia Ling cried out and sang with difficulty: "The butterfly in the cage..."

"A butterfly that can't fly..." The body slid down a little bit, half kneeling on the stage.She felt a burning pain in her ankle, and there was a wound there—the golden chain worn by Pei Ziheng himself, the bloody wound worn out over the long years.

"A butterfly that can't fly..." She tried her best to control herself so as not to burst into tears, "The spreading spider web...

"Blooded Wings/Ash's Wish...

"A flightless butterfly / Imprisoned in a spider's web...

"Can't escape the cage...

"wait……

"die……"

The last line fell.

She knelt on the stage, her body was numb, and she couldn't stop crying intermittently.For such a short moment, my mind was blank, as if the wind kept passing by when I fell that day.No, it's not right...it's not blank, but there are many memories roaring, rolling, clamoring, lightning and flint, overwhelming mountains and seas.

All, all tenderness and pain.

When we first met, he held her hand and took her home in the orphanage where irises were in full bloom that summer; when they were together at the age of 13, he said that he would treat her well for the rest of his life; at the International Music Awards, he sat At the guest table, listen to her sing the song "Perfect Dream" composed for him...

And on the fateful day, at the entrance of the house, he knocked her down with a slap, and asked her angrily why she wanted to murder Wang Jingwan.Cage, despair, madness, collapse...

Xia Ling didn't dare to think about the nightmare of the last year, but only remembered that she jumped off the stage and was reborn.

Bid farewell to Xia Ling's life and become Ye Xingling.

(End of this chapter)