Chapter 61: Li Bei Er’s Defeat
She was wearing a white outfit as she gracefully rode on the smooth and beautiful Valiant Song’s red coat, stealing all attention the moment she set out. Her control of the horse was sleek and well-practiced, giving the watchers a certain infectious rhythm to it, while Valiant Song’s gallop was swift and light, her stance resembling a stream of clouds.

“Based on their posture alone, she’s already beat Li Bei Er hands down.” Du Yunfeng kept his eyes on the track.

“And she’s really fast,” another wealthy man added.

“She’s practically flying,” said another.

They were right, the way Valiant Song moved made it appear like it was flying — the four hooves barely touched the ground and each stride covered a great distance. Meanwhile, Xia Ling effortlessly controlled the rope. In the spring breeze with a landscape full of cherry blossoms, her slender figure and pretty face were as beautiful as a fairy’s.

In terms of physical appearance, she might not be the best of them all.

Yet, the radiance she emitted at this very moment made every girl present look on in envy.

“Second Young Master Li…” Du Yunfeng’s eyes were still on the track as he gave Li Lei a pat on the back, “you’ve got a good taste.”

Li Lei smiled and his line of sight followed the figure around the track. With just a short moment’s effort, Xia Ling had already ridden on Valiant Song for a round and a half, almost catching up with Li Bei Er — which meant that in the time Xia Ling covered one and a half rounds, Li Bei Er had not even managed one round! That was an incredibly big gap!

Outside the race area, all the spectators were psyched.

“Fight on! Ye Xingling! Overtake her!” A few of them cheered Xia Ling on.

“Fight on! Fight on!” The cheers were building up.

Xia Ling bent over slightly, gently petting Valiant Song’s beautiful red mane. “Little Song, I’m counting on you.”

Valiant Song shared a telepathic connection with its owner and leaped forward, catching up to within a meter of Li Bei Er.

Li Bei Er panicked. She never expected Xia Ling to catch up so quickly, incorrigible! She desperately whipped the bay horse and shouted. “Go faster, you beast! Faster! Don’t let that woman overtake us!”

The bay horse responded to the lashes and managed to pull off another half a meter from Valiant Song.

“Catch up with her!” The spectators were roaring now.

Li Bei Er got furious hearing the cheers and whipped the horse again. Yet this time, no matter how she lashed it, the bay horse could not go any faster. It was already giving its all, it simply could not keep up.

Seeing Xia Ling emerge from the side all ready to overtake her, Li Bei Er clenched her jaw and directed the bay horse to take its place. “Block them! Don’t let them get past us! If we’re not going fast, they can forget about it too!”

Li Bei Er had decided to block Xia Ling’s path.

The track was narrow, to begin with, and with Li Bei Er intentionally getting in the way, it was going to be tough for Xia Ling to get past her.

“Despicable!” A man lashed out in anger.

“Exactly!” The rest chimed in. Xia Ling’s leading of the horse was a beautiful sight, as their silhouettes merged into a charming figure, gliding rhythmically in the air. As of now, they had slowed down significantly due to Li Bei Er’s move.

While everybody was unhappy with the situation, Xia Ling was smiling.

Thinking of blocking her off? Fat hope!

“Little Song.” She lightly raised the hoop around Valiant Song. “Up!”

The majestic red horse let out a neigh, demonstrating its might as if it was welcoming a Queen. It was the most majestic horse in the Southern Mountains, no horse dared undermine its honor!

The bay horse ahead was shaken by the neigh and instinctively shifted to make way.

“Go!” The moment Xia Ling pulled the hoop, the horse made a brilliant leap and overtook the bay horse in the blink of an eye.

“Gosh!”

“That was beautiful!”

“Truly unbelievable!”

The spectators were seething with excitement, that was a truly impressive move — so swift that many did not even get a chance to really see what had happened. It seemed like Xia Ling and Valiant Song had got into place in the split second that they lost focus.

“I’ve never seen a female rider this skilled.” Du Yunfeng was still resting on Li Lei’s shoulder; he had forgotten to release him because of the excitement.

Li Lei maintained his cheerful expression, but deep down he was shocked. This little girl’s equestrian skills were divine, where did she learn that from? It seemed like she had many secrets…

He squinted his eyes slightly, a thought flashing in his mind.

There was no suspense in the remaining of the race, Xia Ling effortlessly completed three rounds with a half-round lead — no, if the head start she gave Li Bei Er was considered, it was a full one and a half round lead! What did that mean? She went at twice the speed of Li Bei Er!

The crowd roared once again as they made their way to the finish line in a massive group, the way a crowd would embrace the arrival of a hero.

Xia Ling got off the horse with ease, receiving the mineral water provided by the service staff.

“Nice work, Xiao Ling.” Li Lei did not withhold his compliments.

She smiled and petted Valiant Song who was by her side. “It’s Valiant Song’s nice work.”

The poised red horse lowered its head and affectionately snuggled up against its owner. This horse was extremely temperamental and no one was able to get within three feet of it. However, it was extremely loyal and tender to the people it accepted.

Du Yunfeng, Second Young Master Zhou and a few others began to encircle them, showering them with praises.

A few quick-witted girls realized that the wealthy men and masters around were flocking towards Xia Ling, and hence joined in. Some were praising her sky-high and suggested getting to know her over tea someday, while others were asking her for equestrian guidance.

Everybody was so absorbed with Xia Ling that they had not even noticed Li Bei Er finishing the race.

Li Bei Er was grinding her teeth in resentment as she hurled the whip to the ground. Right then she realized that Xia Ling stealing the limelight was not all bad, in fact, it was a good opportunity for her to sneak away without having to pay her debt.

“Hold it right there.” It was a clear, sharp voice.

It was Xia Ling. While everybody had not taken notice of Li Bei Er, she was watching the whole time. Xia Ling did not have many merits, but one of them was bearing grudges — anybody who had offended her could forget about getting away with it.

“Where is Miss Li headed for?” Xia Ling’s lips curled in ridicule.

Everybody darted their eyes to Li Bei Er, finally noticing her existence.

“Li Bei Er, you’ve lost, surely you’re not thinking of escaping?” Someone remarked.

“Why- Why would I!” Hatred rose inside Li Bei Er. Since there was no way out, the only thing left was to deny her move.

“Glad to know that you’re not.” Xia Ling walked out of the crowd and stopped before her, showing Li Bei Er her fair and delicate palm. “Hand it over.”

“Hand what over?” Li Bei Er feigned ignorance.

“The necklace.” Xia Ling smiled. “Trying to go back on your word?”

Chapter 62: Being Rewarded by a Woman
Li Bei Er was evidently distressed as she held her pendant tightly in her fist in an attempt to protect it. “Don’t go too far!”

The necklace cost a bomb, and she had only managed to borrow it from a “godsister” in the industry after she pestered her for it. That godsister only had this one valuable accessory, thus if Li Bei Er lost it, she would definitely be in hot soup.

The thought of it brought out Li Bei Er’s tears.

Xia Ling had kept her smile on. “So you’re saying you don’t intend to walk your talk.”

As she spoke, she subtly shot a glance towards Second Young Master Zhou.

Second Young Master Zhou was unnerved by her expression — Li Bei Er was the woman he brought along and she had embarrassed him utterly. The thought of it angered him. “Li Bei Er,” His tone ice-cold. “you bet, you pay. Don’t end up leaving yourself with no chance to even pay up for your stakes!”

Li Bei Er felt a chill run down her spine, only now just figuring out what was really going on.

She would rather offend her Godsister than Second Young Master Zhou — he had more than a hundred ways to send her to her death.

Li Bei Er vehemently removed her necklace and handed it to Xia Ling. “Take it!”

Xia Ling received it. On her fair and slender fingers, the pendant glinted in the sun so splendidly that she could not take her eyes off it. Li Bei Er felt more than a pinch, as she could not bear to watch how Xia Ling acted with it.

Xia Ling mindlessly toyed with the necklace as she instructed Li Bei Er, “You can roll off now.”

What, she still had to roll! Li Bei Er was hoping Xia Ling would’ve forgotten that part of the deal. Unfortunately, it was crystal clear in her memory. Li Bei Er glared at Xia Ling. “Don’t push it! Ye Xingling, you’re in the entertainment industry too. If you make things so ugly, it’ll be impossible to be on good terms in the future!”

“Good terms? I don’t think there’s a need.” Xia Ling did not give much care, she was just a third-tier celebrity, what right had she to put herself in the same league as Xia Ling herself? In her eyes, this Li Bei Er was simply a speck of dust.

“Do you want to roll on your own or should I get somebody to assist you?” She asked in kindness.

Li Bei Er was alternating between a pale green and a ghastly white.

Meanwhile, Xia Ling even laid out her options for her, counting them off her fingers, “If you roll on your own, you can control the speed and power of the execution and probably protect your face. If someone assists you, there’s no telling how hard they’ll push…”

“I’ll do it myself…” Li Bei Er finally said.

In front of everybody who was gloating and enjoying her humiliation, she crouched down and rolled over round after round along the field. She had a hard time rolling, thus in a few moments she was covered in bits of grass from head to toe, her hair was completely disheveled, and fragments of pebbles and twigs had left scratches on her skin. She was a sorry mess.

Among the watchers, a few girls were stifling their laughs.

Li Bei Er’s high and mighty attitude had made her unpopular among many girls, thus making it a pleasure to witness her in such a sorry state now. On the surface, however, they appeared sympathetic as they coquettishly commented. “She’s so pitiful…”

“Yeah, her face has been badly scratched. I wonder if it’ll leave scars…”

“I say, one has to be self-aware. She must’ve been out of her mind to provoke someone like Young Master Li.”

“Who knew she was so silly and miserable…”

The group of girls chattering was exchanging sympathetic comments, but even then their excitement could not be masked. Xia Ling was in a good mood as well… for somebody who always made sure to get back at others, being able to take revenge in person was a great feeling.

“For you.” Seeing that Li Bei Er had left her line of sight, she delightedly announced it to Li Lei.

Li Lei looked at the necklace that had appeared in his hand, baffled. “For me?”

“Yup.” Xia Ling made it sound like it was the expected thing to do. “You were the one who suggested the stakes. Now that I’ve won it, of course, it goes to you. Take it as an interest payment.” Having said her piece, she turned around and walked off, leaving Li Lei stunned staring at the necklace in his hand.

Du Yunfeng guffawed. “Second Young Master Li, Second Young Master Li… Ha ha ha, it’s always been you rewarding the ladies, when did the tables turn? So, how does it feel? Aren’t you going to thank the heavens? Ha ha ha…”

Li Lei looked glum as he kept the necklace and strode off.

Some of them tugged at Du Yunfeng and asked in concern. “Do you think Second Young Master Li is angry?”

“How could he be,” Du Yunfeng was laughing while wiping some tears. “Oh god, this is too funny… Ha ha ha… Old Liu, don’t you worry, didn’t you see how she completely ruled over him, how could he really be angry with her? Maybe he’s angry with himself!” Of everyone present, Du Yunfeng was the closest to Li Lei, they were the real deal as buddies. Hence, hearing his words, everybody was much more at ease — thankfully Li Lei was not angry, otherwise, everybody would have to bear the cost.

Indeed, Li Lei was angry with himself.

It was he who brought her to the club and failed to defend her, subjecting her to the provocation of others and having to stand up for her. She even refused to accept the gift, and went one step further to use it as an interest payment to draw a line between the two of them!

Li Lei felt that in all the years he had humored and coaxed girls, he had never failed this way.

This was an insult, an utter insult to him.

No, he had to find a way out of it!

While Li Lei made a vow with his fist clenched, Xia Ling, on the other hand, was having a jolly time leading Valiant Song along as she strolled by the field. She had walked far out, where the cherry blossoms were lush and blooming abundantly.

How long had it been since she admired the scenery?

Xia Ling wondered as she walked.

It seemed like ever since she found out about Pei Ziheng and Wang Jingwan’s engagement in her previous life, her entire world had crumbled and was blanketed in complete darkness. Even in her current life, she had been living in the sadness of the past while having to deal with daily affairs as well as Pei Ziheng’s harassment. If it wasn’t for this trip to the Southern mountains for horse riding and appreciation of cherry blossoms, she had no idea when she would finally be able to smile from the bottom of her heart.

She reached out and stroked Valiant Song’s gorgeous fur, with Valiant Song snuggling against her affectionately.

Coming here, as well as reuniting with Valiant Song, it was all thanks to one person.

Li Lei.

Maybe, getting along with Li Lei was not as bad as she had thought after all.

Just as she was that thought, she heard somebody calling out behind her. “Xiao Ling.”

She turned around. Speaking of the devil, the person who was riding over was none other than Li Lei.

With one hand holding onto the rope loosely, he rode on the back of a black Hanoverian, his handsome features embracing the warmth of the sun and the scent of the flowers, a scene too attractive to turn away from. He rode a few steps forward and got off, walking towards Xia Ling, “I looked for you for a long time, why are you strolling here alone?”

“What are you looking for me for?” She tilted her head slightly.

“Stretch your hand out.” He smiled.

“What for?” She was confused.

“Just do it.”

Hence she obeyed and held her hand out.

In the golden rays of the sun, his warm hand held hers, and then she felt a cold, heavy matter on her wrist.

She looked down and saw a beautiful bangle.

Chapter 63: Peach Blossoms of the Southern Mountains
The bangle was fashioned out of platinum, with intricate carvings of four-leaf clovers. Every detail was perfectly, flawlessly created, and the design was one that every girl would like — unique in its magnificence and classy in its simplicity.

Xia Ling took a glance at it and looked up. “What’s this about?”

Li Lei replied, “It’s for you. You won the race and everyone has something for you, so do I.” His tone revealed traces of coquettishness, like a child grabbing for candy.

Xia Ling did not know if she should be laughing, “I don’t need it.”

“You have to take it.” Big Boss Li was even more childlike now.

Xia Ling was about to wring the bangle out of her wrist but was stopped by Li Lei. “No removing it, even I have accepted the necklace from you.”

Xia Ling choked on her words.

Big Boss Li smiled brightly. “You just made your debut. In the future, there’ll be many instances where you need accessories and such. The company has a limited budget for you budding talents, you can’t be wearing the same few pieces all the time. Keep this bangle with you, it can go well for many different occasions and settings.”

Xia Ling rested her hand, acknowledging that he was right. Besides, their talent and substance wasn’t the next thing those female celebrities competed over appearances and dressing? Though she was not like other female celebrities who sought after such material possessions, there was no need to be too pretentious and insist on declining it.

On that thought, she smiled at Li Lei. “Thank you, Boss.”

“‘Boss’ sounds so distant, can’t you change the way you address me?” Big Boss Li was pushing his limits.

Xia Ling gestured to remove the bangle again.

“No, no.” Big Boss Li gave in. “‘Boss’ it is. Keep it, please keep it.”

A smile flashed across Xia Ling’s mind, feeling the cool metallic accessory on her wrist warm up a little.

In the warm glow of the evening, peach blossoms dotted the landscape of a golden sunset. Xia Ling and Li Lei strolled side by side along flora and fauna with Valiant Song and Thunder following behind. From a distance, the scene looked straight out of a beautiful painting.

Du Yunfeng stood on the upper deck at the club and looked into binoculars. “Second Young Master Li has really fallen into the pit, when did this beast begin doing things like accompanying girls on a walk? … Look, just look at him! He’s moving towards her, he’s touched her shoulder! Oh, she moved away! … He’s moving closer again… she moved away…!”

A group of them watched Du Yunfeng in silence.

They didn’t even need to see it know that Second Young Master Li had fallen into the pit since Li Lei had hurriedly gotten someone to deliver the bangle just a while ago. Though the bangle was just made of platinum, it was carved by a top-notch artisan — ordinary as it looked, it was, in fact, more valuable than all of their gifts combined.

Furthermore, Second Young Master Li got it delivered on a helicopter…

A few of them had thought of taking advantage of the helicopter to deliver their gifts for Xia Ling as well, but besides rejecting their request, Second Young Master Li had threatened them: Whoever dared give Xia Ling their gift before he did would have to bear the consequences!

Petty, he was truly petty.

A few of the men had some unspoken criticisms: if this goes on, won’t he be a slave to his wife?

No, no…

Everyone came to an epiphany, this girl was merely a small celebrity who had just made her debut, and she did not seem like she came from a wealthy family. How could she be Second Young Master Li’s official wife?

He was indeed just having some fun.

In that case, everyone came to an understanding. Maybe Second Young Master Li just wanted to try a different game?

The group of them were having a whale of a time over afternoon tea.

In the path of flora and fauna, Xia Ling was tired from the strolling. She reluctantly bade farewell to Valiant Song and returned with Li Lei.

“I can come with you to see it often if you want,” said Li Lei.

Xia Ling was slightly stunned. While she watched Valiant Song walk off, she quietly said, “Thank you, but it’s alright.” The horse was Pei Ziheng’s, and nothing would change that fact however close she was to Valiant Song.

In the last warm glow, before dark descended, the pain she had buried from her previous life was creeping up inside her again.

Li Lei had no idea why she was down. Though he was right next to her, at that moment he felt that she was far, far away, too distant for him reach out to her.

That was an awful feeling.

The two of them, each with their thoughts, returned to the bustle in the club and had dinner with the rest before heading for bed.

The following day, Li Lei sent Xia Ling back to Skyart Entertainment Training Camp.

As usual, he dropped her off at the garage where nobody was around.

Xia Ling said her goodbyes to Li Lei and returned to her dormitory. She pushed open the door to see a few people standing around in the room — besides her roommates, the dormitory warden and a foreign, seemingly timid girl was around as well.

“Ye Xingling, you’re back just in time.” The warden told her. “Yi Yi is a new trainee here, the dormitory is full and there are no extra beds, so there’s no choice but to allocate her here for now. Let her bunk in with the rest of you for a few days — you’ll be moving out soon anyway.”

“Huh?” Xia Ling blinked a couple of times.

“Trainees who have made their debut have to move out of the dormitory, don’t you know that?” asked the warden.

That was when Xia Ling remembered Tan Ying mentioning something of that sort when she had signed the contract. But she had been busy with the styling and the practicing of songs and hence completely forgot about it.

She apologized to the warden and readily welcomed Yi Yi.

It was uncomfortable having to share a bed with another person, but the fault was on her part. In the night, as she lay beside Yi Yi and the rhythm of her regular breathing, Xia Ling began to think. Where would be a good place to move to?

There was no way she could return to the Ye family — who knew when the money-faced Ye parents would betray her again.

Buy an apartment? She must be kidding, the property prices were ridiculously high, where was she to find the money?

Helpless, she went to Tan Ying’s office the following day.

“I’ve asked around a few peers,” she said, “and heard that trainees like me who cannot find a suitable place to move to could stay in one owned by the company.”

“This possibility does exist,” said Tan Ying slowly. “It’s not that I’m unable to let you stay in one, it’s just unfortunate that there are no more vacant apartments under Skyart Entertainment’s name now. How about this, you can rent a place outside and the company will cover the costs.”

Xia Ling had no other options, it seemed that that was the way to go.

She got Wei Wei to seek out a place for her.

Wei Wei, an assistant the company had assigned her, was a warm-hearted and cheerful girl with a pair of dimples, making her exceptionally adorable when she smiled. In a couple of days, she had managed to find a fairly good apartment and went on to hand Xia Ling the information.

After returning from the Southern Mountains, Xia Ling continued working hard on Wei Shaoyin’s “Glass Fingertips,” practicing all day and all night, with no heart to bother about miscellaneous things like looking for an apartment. She told Wei Wei to settle it as she deemed fit as long as it was approved by the company.

For different classes of celebrities, the company provided corresponding standards of accommodation. Wei Wei was familiar with the guidelines and carefully picked the most suitable apartments to seek Tan Ying’s approval. However…

“Sister Xiao Ling,” Wei Wei was the same age as Xia Ling, but had very politely addressed her as “sister.””all the apartments I picked have been rejected by Chairman Tan.”

Xia Ling was baffled. “Why?”

Wei Wei was puzzled as well, “Chairman Tan did not mention why. He just requested you to speak with him.”

Xia Ling sighed. She was unsure of what Tan Ying was up to this time as she resignedly made her way to his office.

Chapter 64: Meeting Su Tang Again
Tan Ying sat behind a wooden office desk, working on his piles of documents.

Seeing that Xia Ling had entered, he spoke without even raising his head. “All the apartments that you’ve sought out, which one of them has adequate security measures to keep you safe from Pei Ziheng?”

Xia Ling only just understood why he had disapproved of all the previous apartments. So it seemed, the apartments were not the problem, it was the man she got involved with. Over the past few days, she had been trying her best to avoid thinking about him at all as if shrinking into her shell could make her forget that he ever existed. Yet, in fact, it was so difficult to forget him…

Even while singing “Glass Fingertips,” all she pictured was him.

Fingertip stroking the glass panes/ in the cool, misty —

Air/ who is singing all alone —

The unspeakable/ forbidden pain…

During the test run, Wei Shaoyin was extremely impressed by her performance, and told her that he never expected her to be able to sing lyrical poetry so sensationally — the unsettled tossing and turning, the unforgettable memories, were all brought out in the finest of details.

What he did not know was that she indeed tossed and turned night after night.

“Glass Fingertips” had probably reminded her of her troubles, thus she was now often hung up about matters of the heart and virtually trapped in her past, forgetting the actual pressing issue — Pei Ziheng had attempted to kidnap her.

Tan Ying said, “Ye Xingling, all these apartments don’t make the mark.”

She was troubled now if these apartments did not make the mark, then most of the apartments in the city would not either. What should she do then? Her worries led her to the wildest thoughts, maybe she could live in the training camp for another ten, twenty years until she had spent her youth and her looks had faded. Maybe then, Pei Ziheng would finally let her off.

These thoughts upset her even more.

Tan Ying looked at her expression, he figured it was a good time to step in. In no hurry at all, he said, “If you can’t find a way around it, I can give you a suggestion.”

A glimmer of hope flashed before her, as she looked at him like he was her savior.

Tan Ying smiled. “You went to Boss’s apartment the last time, didn’t you. He actually has a vacant apartment that he can rent out to you.” Big Boss knew that she was moving out of the dormitory, and had specially requested that she moved into the apartment beside his. Chairman Tan had used deceitful excuses, thus the plan was finally taking shape.

Xia Ling was alerted.

“Chairman Tan, why?” Though her impression of him had improved after their trip to the Southern mountains, that did not imply that she had let all her guard down against him — Li Lei had not given up on being with her yet.

“Since the company has decided to boost your image, there’s no way we will let you be at risk.” Tan Ying explained the situation calmly, although it was all just a means of convincing her on Boss’ behalf. “Boss heard that you couldn’t find a place and knows that Pei Ziheng is a difficult person to deal with, so he offered his place. Since it’s under Boss’ name, the apartment is definitely safe.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “The place is vacant anyway.”

But she still felt that Big Boss Li’s goodwill was a little dubious.

Even so, she had no better option, the only way she could be safe from Pei Ziheng was to be around somebody as wealthy and influential as Li Lei. She considered for a moment and confirmed with Tan Ying once again whether there were additional terms and conditions besides the rental. With Tan Ying’s affirmation, she finally agreed.

Tan Ying arranged for her to meet Li Lei’s private secretary for the signing of the rental agreement.

When they met, Xia Ling realized it was someone she had known all along — Su Tang. Today, Su Tang was in a white dress, her loose locks resting on her shoulders as she exuded a faint fragrance from her perfume. She looked as elegant and gracious as she always had.

She stopped before Xia Ling, stretched out her hand, and smiled. “We meet again.”

Xia Ling shook her hand lightly.

The touch was cold, just as the unreadable expression in her eyes.

She still did not like Xia Ling, though Xia Ling had no idea why. But she was Li Lei’s private secretary, not hers — her emotions and attitude were irrelevant to Xia Ling.

Carrying that thought, Xia Ling signed the agreement.

Su Tang led her to see the apartment.

As they arrived on Li Lei’s floor in the personal elevator, Su Tang reached for the keys to open the door adjacent to Li Lei’s unit.

What came into view was a large space with all the partitions having been knocked off, leaving four walls and an empty apartment. Su Tang’s poised and cold voice echoed. “This unit has always been vacant and has never been refurbished. Since you’ll be living here, you can decide on the furnishings and style you want and I’ll get somebody to have it done.”

Xia Ling did a round in the spacious room. “Since there’s no one living here, why are all the walls and partitions knocked down?”

“Out of safety concerns,” Su Tang’s voice was still cold and clear. “Young Master’s identity is unusual, and that invites ruthless individuals to attempt to assassinate him. So, his living quarters have to be neat and minimally obstructed.” How she wished this girl would be afraid after listening to this and withdraw from the agreement.

But Xia Ling just got a little shocked and simply nodded her head.

That’s it… that’s all she did?

Su Tang was disappointed, did this girl not know what “assassinate” meant! Looking at her petite stature, any assassin could kill her by barely lifting a finger! That was not the main point, the point was, all of Young Master’s apartments and offices around the world were handled the same way with all partitions knocked down to create space, but none of them was meant for putting anybody up. How could this seemingly ordinary girl become an unprecedented exception?

Su Tang felt her chest tighten on that thought.

Xia Ling was completely unaware of Su Tang’s emotions. Given that Li Lei had a triad background, Xia Ling found nothing unusual with him having a few enemies who wanted him dead. As for her personal safety? If Big Boss Li dared live there, there was nothing she had to fear.

She went another round before telling Su Tang. “The bedroom, kitchen, and washroom need not be too big. In this space where it faces the sun…” she gestured, “turn it into a dance studio, the bigger the better. And besides, it will be a sound-test studio, one that can accommodate much equipment… Yup, that’s all.”

Su Tang jotted down her requests. “No other requests? Say, the color scheme, style or types of furniture.”

Xia Ling shook her head.

Refurbishing was not something new to Xia Ling. When she lived with Pei Ziheng, she spent a whole year designing in excitement, discussing every detail with the interior designer for fear of any flaw or imperfection.

As of now, what point was there in having a beautiful house when all her family was gone?

Su Tang did not probe further. She locked the door behind them and left.

Now that her accommodations were settled, the load was lifted off her shoulders as she directed her undivided attention to the recording of “Glass Fingertips.” Wei Shaoyin’s standards were terrifyingly high, even she was being nitpicked. During her break, many of the employees praised her, mentioning that few have managed to get the recording done so smoothly and swiftly.

Xia Ling had no words. This was considered a smooth process? Now she finally knew why Wei Shaoyin never had a fixed partner all these years. Who could take that fussy temper of his?

Chapter 65: The Surveillance Camera
The recording of the song was completed and the MV filming had also concluded.

Xia Ling had managed to finish these two parts with difficulty, and it was now Wei Shaoyin’s turn to do some polishing up from the backend. He kindly gave her a few days off for a break.

She received a message from Su Tang telling her that the renovation work for her apartment was done and she could now move in.

As such, she packed her luggage and a few boxes of her stuff to officially move into her new apartment. The girls in the same dorm room as her had offered to help her out, but she was wary of letting them find out that she was staying just next door from Big Boss Li, thus rejected their offer. Thankfully, Li Lei had asked Su Tang to send some movers to pick her up and the move was completed smoothly.

Xia Ling pushed open the door of her apartment when she arrived.

The sight in front of her eyes left her momentarily stunned. The entrance area was lined with white tiles, and a small, man-made waterfall mountain stood at the end of the small walkway spotted with green moss, forming a screen of sorts from the living room. Turning around the corner, the living room was forest-themed, with a soft, beige coloured sofa with several feather-filled cushions flung carelessly on it. On the exquisitely designed coffee table, there was a celadon tea set with a cracked ice pattern.

The floor was a criss-cross of wood and rock, with a meander of transparent glass. Under the glass was a small, narrow stream with multi-coloured stones and many vibrant, swimming fish. Following this little glass stream would bring her to the balcony. There were many tall plants on the balcony, swaying in the wind and vying for her attention. The sunlight shined in through the cracks in the leaves, making the place feel great and peaceful.

Under the shade of the plants, there was a bamboo deck chair. At this moment, someone was lying lazily on the deck chair, with a similarly lazy leopard that was staring at the swimming fish under the glass stream.

It was Li Lei and Er Mao.

Xia Ling had always been scared of Er Mao and stopped where she was upon seeing him. She called out to Li Lei, “Boss.”

She did not ask why he had appeared here. He was her landlord and also her Big Boss. Even if he had trespassed on her living quarters, nobody would bother to question if this was appropriate.

The few workers that had helped her move in had also quietly took their leave.

Li Lei smiled amicably at her, his deep green eyes forming a line under the sun. His proportionate and muscular body was lying gracefully and comfortably on the deck chair, looking lazy and harmless like the big cat that was crouching at his feet. However, she had seen Er Mao kill someone before, thus naturally she also considered his owner to be a dangerous being.

“The lemon tea is delicious today. Do you want a glass?” He asked in a happy tone.

“No thanks.” She remained in the same spot, noticing that Er Mao had lifted his head.

The moment she met Er Mao’s eyes, Xia Ling felt all the hairs on her body stand, her breathing cease and did not dare to move. Er Mao’s eyes, which looked like precious amber stones, looked her up and down for a while, not shifting away swiftly like they usually would. He looked at her intently, as if he was remembering every detail of her by heart.

This made her feel completely terrified.

“That’s enough Er Mao, let’s not scare our tenant.” After a while, Li Lei’s attractive voice floated over, “Xiao Ling, don’t be nervous. He’s just trying to remember how you look like.”

Remember how she looked like?

Xia Ling could not comprehend this. This was not the first time that Er Mao had seen her, why was he…?

Li Lei reached out his hand to rub the soft fur on the back of Er Mao’s neck as he continued, “He needs to not only remember your looks and breath, but also your body shape, voice, every action, and even the details of your every expression… In the future you’ll be our neighbour, thus he needs to differentiate you from other unwelcome guests.”

She remembered what Su Tang had told her regarding assassins and nodded, fully comprehending what he meant.

Her nervousness dissipated a little with his explanation.

Li Lei stood up from the deck chair and walked around Er Mao towards her, “Follow me, I’ll give you a tour of your new home.”

This was not her home. The place she called home had ceased to exist the moment Pei Ziheng lifted his hand to hit her and she fell to the floor. This apartment, though large and luxurious, was just a cold house to her.

However, she could only keep these thoughts deep within her heart.

She followed behind him out of the living room feeling puzzled. This apartment was newly renovated, and they had already signed the contract. Why did Big Boss Li have to take the trouble to personally come down to show her around the house? However, she found out the reason very soon after —

As he brought her around to familiarize herself to the surroundings, he explained the security system in the house. In many inconspicuous places, there were small but deadly traps. If she was not careful, there was a possibility that she would be killed.

She walked around in trepidation all the way.

Why did she feel like this place was not an apartment, but a huge booby trap?

In contrast to her cautiousness, Li Lei was obviously used to all these layers of protection, and strode along confidently as if they were taking an evening stroll. He used his deep, attractive voice to explain, “This security system blueprint was randomly selected from a set of more than ten blueprints and even the designer doesn’t know which one we decided to use in the end. All the traps are installed separately, with several different groups of installers. In other words, other than you and me, there isn’t a third person that knows all of the traps installed here. You need not worry about your safety.”

She nodded, feeling safer. With a security system this watertight, it would not be easy for Pei Ziheng to crack it unless he suddenly set his mind to battle it out with Li Lei, ignoring all reason and cost.

At least she would be safe here.

“Thank you, Boss.” She said.

This is the umpteenth time that she had thanked him since they had met. Xia Ling knew that with the meager amount that she was paying him for rent, it was likely that it was not sufficient to cover even half a square foot of this place. Nevertheless, he had generously agreed for her to stay here. Regardless of his motive, the consideration that he showed her was enough for her to feel a deep sense of gratitude.

Li Lei laughed happily.

He brought her on a tour of the bedroom, bathroom and work room, and then to see the lounge area and the kitchen.

“These two rooms are slightly different from the rest.” He said, “Other than the small contraptions installed, there are also security cameras installed here. There is 24 hours surveillance, which is connected to a private security office with guards. If anything is amiss, there will be a immediate response to deal with it.”

He showed her the cameras that were camouflaged around the rooms.

Her expression immediately darkened.

One step at a time, she walked backwards until she was beside the bedroom, where the cameras were unable to reach. With one hand holding tightly on the doorframe and her voice quivering, she said, “Boss, please… get someone to remove these cameras.”

Li Lei’s gaze darkened, and he asked, “Why?”

She avoided giving an answer, but took another step backwards, “Please… remove them, remove them all.”

Li Lei walked towards her slowly, and said, “Xiao Ling, this is a necessary precaution.”

Her voice softly quivered, “I… I don’t need it.”

By now he was right before her, looking down at her and saying, “You have to give me a reason.”

She shook her head, unable to speak.

Some scars were never to be spoken about, and were a pain that were going to stay with her for life. Regardless on when they were prodded, the hurt was excruciating.

She closed her eyes as her memories floated back to past again, as if she had returned to Pei Ziheng’s massive bungalow. In the empty bedroom, she was curled up on the ground naked, a gold chain tightly around her ankles. From all sides and all angles she could see the cold camera lenses, reflecting inorganic light rays…