The Female Lead of the Abusive Novel Can Hear My Heart's Voice - Chapter 10

“Sister Xiaxia, come and play often” Tang Tu said, waving her hand. The handkerchief she held made it look even more comical.

Children’s emotions come and go quickly. Seeing Xia Mu Cai and Xia Chi get into the car and drive away, she started shedding tears one by one, sobbing with snot and tears, “Sister Xiaxia and Sister Xia Chi left…”

As soon as the car was out of sight, she wiped away her tears. Hearing her good friend call her to play hide-and-seek, she looked nothing like the teary-eyed child from a moment ago.

Xia Mu Cai, who was in the car, was still very worried. She turned her head and sat up straight, asking Xia Chi, “Will Tang Tu be okay? Shouldn’t we stay with her a little longer?”

“She’ll be fine. She’s probably having fun playing with her friends right now.”

Xia Mu Cai: “What?”

“Tang Tu’s emotions come and go quickly. All children are like that,” Xia Chi explained.

Well, her heart was broken by a child.

She quickly patted herself down, hiding the reluctance she had let slip.

“Tang Tu, the deceiver of my emotions,” Xia Mu Cai muttered under her breath.

Looking at everything from the rearview mirror, Mo Qi sighed, “The Vice President hasn’t been this cute in a long time.”

Fine, fine, she was being played by a child. Xia Mu Cai put her hands on her hips, sulking.

Compared to Tang Tu, she really didn’t know who was the child whose emotions came and went quickly.

Xia Chi, sitting beside her, even laughed at her.

[What are you laughing at? What’s so funny!] Angry.jpg

The Porsche drove from the villa district to the country road, and then from the country road to the asphalt road. By the time they arrived, the day had ended and the sky was dark.

Xia Mu Cai and Xia Chi arrived home in the dim evening light. Lights were on in the villa, which meant someone was waiting for them.

No one would wait for them to return except for Father Xia and Mother Xia, or more accurately, waiting for Xia Mu Cai to return.

The driver, Mo Qi, said, “Vice President, Miss Xia, I’m heading home.”

Xia Mu Cai: “Okay, drive safely.”

Xia Chi followed behind Xia Mu Cai and smiled and nodded.

Watching Mo Qi drive away, Xia Mu Cai pushed open the villa door. Her adoptive parents, who had been waiting, stood up from the living room sofa.

The smiling-tiger adoptive mother rushed over, feigning concern, “Oh, my darling, why are you coming back so late?”

She then helped Xia Mu Cai take off the bag from her shoulder, “You must be so tired, my darling.”

However, she completely ignored Xia Chi, who was right next to Xia Mu Cai, offering no greetings or polite inquiries, as if this biological daughter were Xia Mu Cai.

Parental favoritism is inevitable. No matter how the plot changed, their hearts were still focused on Xia Mu Cai. Why was this?

The smiling-tiger adoptive mother knew that after giving birth to Xia Chi, she didn’t truly feel like a mother until she lost the child. Only then did she finally realize this responsibility. It just so happened that Xia Mu Cai appeared before her, and she believed Xia Mu Cai was her biological daughter, regardless of blood relation. It was because Xia Mu Cai appeared at the time she realized her mistake, giving her the illusion of making amends.

Father Xia was the same. Xia Mu Cai’s arrival gave them the illusion of having rectified their past mistakes.

“Cai Cai, darling, why did you stop cooperating with the Teng family? Our two families have had a relationship for over ten years,” Mother Xia asked warmly, holding Xia Mu Cai’s bag.

Xia Chi, who was being neglected, offered a weak smile, used to the situation.

Mother Xia continued, “Cai Cai, are you unhappy because your sister is getting engaged to the Teng family boy? We were momentarily furious back then, which is why we designated your fiancé to her.”

The rich lady’s voice was not soft. In the spacious living room, everything could be heard clearly. Mother Xia’s words made Xia Chi sound like a manipulative person who stole her sister’s fiancé.

Suddenly, her adopted daughter looked at her with a strange, prickly gaze, making her wonder, “Did I offend this ancestor again?”

Xia Mu Cai finally understood that in the original novel, the strained relationship between the original host and the heroine was partly the fault of these crazy, eccentric parents.

[Duh, who would fight over a scumbag man?]

[If it weren’t for the mission, who wouldn’t want to stick close to the beautiful heroine? It makes me feel so guilty now.]

Xia Mu Cai spoke what was fair, enduring everyone’s gaze, “Mom, don’t always say that. I didn’t sign the contract because the Teng family couldn’t offer a good proposal. Other companies’ proposals were several times better than theirs.”

She took a deep breath and continued, “Whether Xia Chi wants to get engaged to Teng Jingsi is another matter. Why aren’t you concerned about how much she’s suffered at the Teng family’s house?”

After she spoke, Xia Mu Cai watched them shift their gaze to Xia Chi. It was as if they had been blind earlier, only now noticing the scratches on Xia Chi’s neck.

If they had any conscience, they would be racked with guilt right now.

At least Xia Mu Cai felt ashamed and morally condemned when she saw the scratches.

Father Xia and Mother Xia exchanged glances. They weren’t completely heartless. Father Xia signaled Mother Xia with his eyes, as household matters were always handled by Mother Xia.

Seeing this, the hand that had been linked with Xia Mu Cai’s let go and instead moved to affectionately comfort her neglected biological daughter.

“Xiao Chi, what happened to the injury on your neck?”

Instinctively, Xia Chi covered it with her hand, not wanting to trouble anyone, and almost gave her usual obedient response, “It’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

However, Xia Mu Cai’s inner thoughts made her stop.

[Silly heroine, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Tell the crazy parents that your injury hurts a lot.]

Xia Chi’s fingers traced the wound on her neck. The swollen scratch was rough to the touch, and feeling it brought her back to the night Teng Jingsi tried to forcibly kiss her.

She had been sleeping soundly when Teng Jingsi suddenly entered her room. Hearing the footsteps, she knew who it was but didn’t make a sound.

Teng Jingsi whispered in her ear, “Are you asleep, Xia Chi?”

Teng Jingsi was acting sneaky. She originally thought he was going to do something nefarious, but he was just sneaking into her room to steal a kiss. Yet, she felt nothing for Teng Jingsi. The moment the kiss landed, she opened her eyes and, refusing to yield, slapped Teng Jingsi.

He was not to be outdone, saying, “I stole a kiss, so what? You’re my fiancée, what’s wrong with me kissing you?”

Then he choked her neck, resulting in the injury there.

The memory ended. She looked at her biological parents, who were feigning concern. Regardless of the circumstances, seeking pity always made her feel embarrassed.

Especially with people who genuinely didn’t care about her; she still had to maintain appearances with them.

Xia Mu Cai “urged,” [Hurry up, heroine, looking at your wound makes me feel pain.]

Xia Chi gritted her teeth, breaking through her inner “sensibility,” and admitted the pain, “It hurt a lot. When Teng Jingsi choked my neck, it hurt a lot.”

At her words, Mother Xia covered her mouth in an exaggerated show of surprise.

“Xiao Chi, you suffered there.” She was secretly relieved that the scoundrel Teng Jingsi hadn’t ended up with her darling Cai Cai.

Father Xia: “How about this? You stay home until the engagement banquet. I’ll teach that Teng Jingsi a lesson another day.”

Mother Xia: “Xiao Chi, you’ll sleep with Cai Cai these few days. Don’t worry, once we teach Teng Jingsi a lesson, he won’t dare to bully you again.”

Looking at the person in the family who truly cared about her, Xia Mu Cai winked and smiled at her, as if saying, “I’ll protect you during this time.”

She really is different. So cute.

If Xia Mu Cai had heard this, she would surely point to herself and say, “Huh? How am I different from others? I’m not cute at all!”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t hear Xia Chi’s inner thoughts, only thinking, [The silly heroine is finally smartening up and not being a complete pushover anymore.]

But deep down, she was genuinely happy that Xia Chi could be separated from the male lead for a short time. He was such a scumbag how could he deserve the kind and gentle heroine?

It was like a fresh flower stuck in cow dung; the heroine deserved better.

[I really hope someone worthy can match the kind and gentle heroine.] Xia Mu Cai mused inwardly.

Who would that person be? It definitely couldn’t be her, the villainous supporting character.

Xia Chi: I really hope that person is someone like Xia Mu Cai.

She’s so interesting, so different. She’s a ray of light in life, the embodiment of all things beautiful. This was Xia Chi’s evaluation of Xia Mu Cai. In her heart, Xia Mu Cai was no longer just a younger sister, but more of a savior in her life.

When Teng Jingsi choked her neck, making it hard to breathe, she thought that she couldn’t die. If she died, Xia Mu Cai would care about her, would cry for her.

She wasn’t even sure if the old orphanage director, whom she had known for over ten years, would cry for her, but she was certain that if she died, Xia Mu Cai, whom she had only known for barely three months, would blame herself and be heartbroken.

No one had ever truly cared about her, and she had never wanted to trouble anyone.

Xia Mu Cai, Xia Mu Cai. Her name, her every smile, her figure, are all that’s in my mind.

“I think I’m acting strange…” Xia Chi muttered, clutching her chest.

Mother Xia: “Have you had dinner?”

“Yes, we ate before coming back,” Xia Mu Cai said.

She grabbed Xia Chi’s hand, eager to rush upstairs, “Xia Chi and I are tired, we’re going to sleep.”

“Okay, go and rest.” Mother Xia watched the two children flee upstairs as if escaping a flood or a savage beast. She then remembered something she forgot to tell her precious adopted daughter.

Since Cai Cai wasn’t home today, she helped tidy up her room and found an old, dusty box with a small lock on it. She guessed it was a toy her darling adopted daughter played with when she was little, fallen under the bed. Now that she was grown, she probably wouldn’t play with it anymore, so she packed it with some trash and threw it into the outside garbage can.

All she wanted to say was, “Cai Cai, Mom tidied your room today.”

Unfortunately, the person who ran upstairs was too fast. Thinking it wasn’t a big deal, she let it go.

Xia Mu Cai hadn’t even realized that her essential item had been thrown into the trash by her adoptive mother, who thought it was garbage.

Right now, she and Xia Chi were discussing how to divide the bed.

Who sleeps on the inside and who sleeps on the outside was the issue. Xia Mu Cai had already jumped onto the bed and occupied a huge amount of space, “I’m sleeping here, I’ll give you the outer spot.”

The space left for Xia Chi was only enough for one person to lie flat. If she turned over, she’d roll off the bed.

Seeing this, Xia Mu Cai felt a little guilty and moved over a little, “I’m the bigger person, I’ll make a little more room for you.”

Her huge space shrunk into a spot where she was practically squeezed into the corner. She thought, [I can’t move over any more, I’m going to be squashed like a cat pancake.]

Xia Chi smiled at her, saying nothing. From her smile, Xia Mu Cai sensed a forced cheerfulness, as if she was saying, “What do you think?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll make a little more room for you.”

Xia Chi: “Let’s sleep. I’ll turn off the light.”