Chapter 184: Making Their Relationship Public

Did she like him?

Xia Ling was unsure, but as she leaned her face on his chest and snuggled closer to him, her tears and snot wet his shirt.

He did not mind at all, and instead was wondering what this little action meant. What did Xiao Ling mean by this? Was she silently admitting that she liked him? But, why wasn't she saying anything? Was she just being shy or was he reading her wrong? Li Lei did not dare to ask, afraid that her answer might shatter the beautiful dream in his mind. Nevermind, at least she did not say that she hated him. He would take it slow, and use all the time in his life to make her fall for him. "Xiao Ling..." He gently and carefully said. "... when this music festival is over, will you come home with me to meet my grandfather?"

Meet his grandfather?

Xia Ling was mildly stunned, and nervously asked, "Will your family... accept me?"

"You're not going to break up with me anymore?" Li Lei could not resist but give a laugh. "Grandfather will definitely accept you. I guarantee that he will like you very much."

She shook her head. "Li Lei, I'm not ready yet. I'm not even sure I'm ready to make our relationship public. If we don't break up, then... things are going to get messy on the news. That's going to be a big headache, and I don't want to have to deal with something else at the same time."

Li Lei was terrified that she would leave him and was happy to let her have her way. "Okay, then. You don't have to meet my grandfather. The news? Don't worry about it, I'll handle it."

She gave a soft "mmhmm" in response, but still felt uneasy. In these two lives, she had been through a lot, but this was the first time she was making her relationship public. Her other half was her company's Big Boss, which left a lot of room for imaginations to run wild.

"Xiao Ling, don't be afraid. I'm here." He gently consoled her.

She felt herself relax a little. It felt great having someone to face all these controversies together with her.

Li Lei accompanied her back to the Nebula Music Festival's filming location.

At the entrance, there was a crowd of reporters and fans that had amassed after hearing the news about their relationship. The staff and security officers had erected a long security line to keep them away.

Li Lei stepped out of the SUV first, his handsome appearance and charisma drawing screams from the crowd, and cameras were flashing non-stop, capturing him from every angle possible. He walked around the car to the other side and opened the door for Xia Ling like a gentleman, holding her hand as she stepped out of the car.

She was dressed in a full-length dress that reached to the ground. Another round of screams rang out as she stepped out of the car —

"Ye Xingling, Ye Xingling!"

"Ye Xingling, are you really dating Boss Li?!"

"Xiao Ling, you have to be happy!"

"Shameless! Scheming bitch!"

There were all sorts of words being hurled.

Xia Ling felt a little afraid, and she was feeling more nervous than the first time she had debuted ten years ago. However, Li Lei was giving her strength through his steady, strong grip that was holding onto her hand, and his calm and encouraging gaze was like he was trying to tell her that no matter what happened, he would always be by her side. Xia Ling held her head up high and turned to face the fans and cameras.

Li Lei's hand curled lightly around her waist. He gave a low laugh and said, "Don't be afraid. You're beautiful."

She could not resist but laugh as well. "Liar." How could she be beautiful? Her makeup was smudged from all the crying in the car earlier, and she did not have her makeup kit with her to fix it. She was well aware that her eyeliner had smudged off, and her dark green hair was a little messy. Even the white, lace dress she was wearing was creased from him hugging her so tightly just now.

"I look terrible." She complained in a low voice.

"If I say you're beautiful, you're beautiful." His chiseled lips curled into a smile. "Come, let's go."

This was the first time they were walking the red carpet together as a couple. Li Lei stood up tall as he proudly and carefully held her hand like he was holding onto his beloved bride at his wedding. He was tall and handsome, taller than her by about half a head, and they were a gorgeous pair standing next to each other. It wasn't long before everyone in the crowd was looking at them, even those that had no interest in their scandal.

"What's going on? Who's that man beside Ye Xingling?" Some in the audience that had not heard the news asked with curiosity.

Even though Li Lei was Skyart Entertainment's Big Boss, he was extremely low-key and did not interfere with the daily operations. There weren't many in the industry that recognized him. Immediately, other better-informed audience members explained. "Haven't you heard? That's Big Boss Li from Skyart Entertainment. The big news that was released today is that he and Ye Xingling are an item!"

"Wa... What?!" Many exclaimed in surprise. "Does that mean Ye Xingling got lucky?!"

"Yeah... " Onlookers stared with envy and jealousy at the attractive couple strutting down the red carpet. "Other female artistes that try to net a big fish always end up being thrown aside. The luckier ones might marry some rich old man, and they would be content with that. But her? Did you hear what Boss Li said today? He said that he would bring her back to see his family and that he wants to marry her. How lucky for her to have such a good relationship!"

"Wow... that's so nice... " Some looked on enviously.

"Tsk, who knows if they will last!" Others said sourly.

The informant shrugged and said, "Normal couples might break up too, let alone them. I think Ye Xingling needs to be careful — someone like Boss Li who has money, power, and looks will have tons of women waiting to pounce on him. Who knows if Ye Xingling will be the one to walk down the aisle with him? That's still a long way to go."

"Yeah... that's right."

The group lamented.

Li Lei held Xia Ling's hand the whole way as they walked across the red carpet, through the main entrance walkway into the broadcast station, and all the way until she reached her makeup room.

Many people were loitering outside her makeup room, pretending to have just walked by. Inside the makeup room, everyone from Imperial Entertainment and Skyart Entertainment turned to look at them as they entered.

Li Lei brought her all the way to her seat, before lowering his head and kissing her on the forehead. "Be good and perform well. I'll come to pick you when you're done later."

"Okay." She responded with a light smile, feeling happy all of a sudden that their relationship was out in the open.

This was the first time that someone had held her hand to cross the road... okay, no, cross the red carpet... like a boy in love. This was the first time that someone had kissed her so openly, in front of everyone, and had paraded her at an event, even promising to pick her later...

She had always been envious of such couples when she watched television dramas in the past. They were normal and heartwarming.

She recalled an MV that she had filmed in her past life. She had started crying when they had filmed a similar scene, giving all the staff members a fright.

No one knew how much she longed to do something like that.

At this moment, she realized that her career and being low-key wasn't all that important after all.

Now, the whole world was aware that he was hers, and she was his.

She watched as Li Lei left, her slender fingers wrapping around the pendant hanging on her neck, and her lips curled into a sweet smile. Wei Wei came over with some water for her to remove her makeup, and found a makeup artist to help her redo her makeup. The makeup artist said, "Xiao Ling, I saw the news this afternoon. Good for you, how could you hide something so important from me for so long? Remember to invite me when Boss Li and you get married!" Married? That was still a faraway possibility. But she was happy that she could openly accept the well-wishes from others.

Xia Ling's mood was exuberant, but suddenly heard a voice from the side —

"How shameless... seducing one person after another..."