The Female Lead of the Abusive Novel Can Hear My Heart's Voice - Chapter 27

She deserved to die.

Xia Chi had trusted her so much, even brought her to the orphanage and she, in turn, had betrayed Xia Chi by telling Teng Jingsi, fully aware that he would hurt Xia Chi.

Xia Chi hated her now, and she didn’t even have the courage to bring a knife and atone for her sins in front of Xia Chi.

In the original novel, Xia Chi completely fell apart after that. She was never the same again and let Teng Jingsi control her from then on.

As for her, she didn’t even have the guts to face what she’d done.

The family’s private doctor had administered nutrients to Xia Mucai, and she only woke up slowly by evening.

The one accompanying her now wasn’t Xia Chi, but her adoptive mother and father, both looking concerned.

“Cai Cai, you’re awake. Feeling better?” her adoptive mother asked gently, but even that tender expression pierced Xia Mucai’s heart like a knife.

She always hurt the people who were good to her. Her eyes turned red, and tears welled up.

Her adoptive mother, sitting at her bedside, looked distressed.

“Mom…” Xia Mucai’s voice was choked and muffled with tears. “I want to move out and live alone.”

“Why would you want to do that, Cai Cai? It’s so inconvenient living on your own. If you stay here, your dad and I can take care of you.”

This wasn’t her home. She and the original Xia Mucai had taken Xia Chi’s place, kicked her out, stolen her family. She deserved to die.

Her adoptive mother looked hopeful, waiting for an explanation. Xia Mucai didn’t want to see her loved ones get hurt anymore, so she gave her reason.

“I want to go to a quiet little town for a while. Lay low. Xia Chi hates me now. It’s best we don’t see each other.”

She expected her adoptive mother to object. But surprisingly, the woman agreed without hesitation.

“That might be for the best. I don’t know what happened between you and Xiao Chi, but maybe it’s good for you to go out and see the world.”

Her mother took her hand the one that wasn’t connected to the IV and gently squeezed it.

“If you have any trouble, just call us. If you’re short on money, ask us for more.”

“Okay.”

She’d pack her things tonight and leave. Thankfully, she had arranged everything already. Her absence wouldn’t affect the company.

She had called Tang Mingming last night to remind him to run the consumer drills. That call had woken him up. And because of that, he noticed the fire in the orphanage and woke up the other children in time to escape.

In the original story, everyone had died. But now, only the old director had perished.

After leaving the room, her adoptive father held her adoptive mother’s hand and said, “You agreed to let Cai Cai live outside so easily. What if she gets used to it and doesn’t come back?”

“She won’t get used to it,” the woman replied, her eyes growing deep. “We control her financially. She’ll come crawling back in a month.”

It was like throwing Xia Mucai from heaven straight into hell.

“If we’re not strict, Cai Cai will drift away from us,” the woman said.

“We’re doing this for her own good,” the father chimed in.

The two of them smiled knowingly. Their controlling tendencies were something even they didn’t recognize. They simply didn’t want their adoptive daughter to escape their grasp.

Even the dog they used to have when it ate a bone on the street was punished. They starved it for several meals to teach it a lesson: never eat anything but dog food.

That dog, deprived of what it loved, became depressed and died shortly after.

Lying in bed, Xia Mucai wondered: what was Xia Chi doing now?

The old director had died. She was probably burying him.

And she was right. Xia Chi was, in fact, burying the old director.

The end of summer and the start of autumn came with a heavy rain that made the seasons feel distinct.

All the children from the orphanage except for Tang Tu and Tang Mingming had been taken in by different orphanages as part of social aid.

The two stayed behind to help bury the director. They’d wait until the seventh day before arranging cremation.

His death had come too suddenly. Xia Chi wasn’t prepared.

She hadn’t even found a burial site yet.

Staring at the director’s body lying on wooden boards, Xia Chi took a deep breath. Her nose burned, but she didn’t let herself cry.

The two kids beside her would only be sadder if she cried. She was their only support now.

Tang Tu held her hand, sobbing and hiccuping. “Sister Xia Chi, will the director never wake up again?”

She forced a smile and gently ruffled Tang Tu’s dusty hair. “He just went to another world.”

Thankfully, she had the 5 million yuan her birth mother gave her during the engagement banquet still in her pocket. She could give the director the best burial the best funeral services.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t lived to enjoy any of her success.

Tang Mingming suddenly said, “Sister Xia Chi, maybe call Sister Xia? She seems really worried about you. If you’re gone seven days, she’ll be anxious.”

Only then did Xia Chi realize she hadn’t told Xia Mucai she had left. She forgot to wake her up for breakfast.

Without saying thanks, she rushed to grab her phone.

She called again and again but no one answered.

She kept calling, until the phone was finally turned off.

It went from “The number you dialed is unavailable” to “The number you dialed has been turned off.”

Why wouldn’t Xia Mucai answer?

Was she mad?

Mad that she had snuck out in the middle of the night without waking her?

Xia Chi’s heart felt twisted. She wanted to fly to her right now and hold her, comfort her.

She… she hadn’t meant to leave without a word.

Tang Mingming tilted his head. “Did you make her angry? You didn’t say goodbye?”

Xia Chi shook her head. She already felt awful and now Xia Mucai wasn’t talking to her.

She felt torn in two.

She couldn’t abandon the director’s funeral. But she also couldn’t leave Xia Mucai alone.

What was she supposed to do?

Tang Tu, eyes full of tears, tugged at her finger. “Sister Xia Chi, go find Sister Xia. We’ll stay with Tang Mingming.”

Xia Chi looked down at the two children who were shorter than her shoulder. How could she leave them to handle a funeral while she went to comfort someone she liked?

They needed her. If she left, the neighbors might bully them.

She clenched her teeth and said firmly, “We’ll finish the director’s funeral first.”

Though they had told her to go, the two kids were visibly relieved when she said she’d stay.

But it pained Xia Chi torn between two responsibilities, unable to give either up.

Would Xia Mucai hate her forever for leaving without saying goodbye?

Things were far from what Xia Chi’s adoptive parents wanted.

Xia Chi didn’t hate Xia Mucai. She didn’t say, “I never want to see you again.”

What were they really after doing harm while claiming it was “for Xia Mucai’s own good”?

While Xia Mucai was unconscious, they had seen the incoming calls all from Xia Chi.

“She still wants to cling to our Cai Cai after all this?” said the mother, nearly smashing the phone.

The father stopped her and said, “Let her keep calling. Don’t answer. Then turn the phone off. Her heart will fall from the sky like a stone. She’ll think Cai Cai is ignoring her, maybe even annoyed with her.”

The mother was delighted. “You really know how to play mind games.”

The man held her waist tightly and whispered, “It’s not about mind games. Those two girls are just too naïve. We’re doing this for Cai Cai’s own good.”

Oddly enough, even though Xia Chi knew the fire was arson, she never once suspected Xia Mucai.

So the parents’ plan to make Xia Chi hate Xia Mucai had failed.

But then they thought maybe making Xia Mucai afraid of Xia Chi, keeping her hiding, might work just as well.

From the master bedroom downstairs came the couple’s twisted, flirtatious laughter.

“Alright, dear,” the mother said with a sugary voice. “I’ll go check on Cai Cai.”

The man loosened his grip, smiling indulgently. “Go, take a look.”

She knocked on the door.

A red sign saying “Do Not Enter” hung outside, wobbling and clattering as she knocked.

She ignored it, twisted the handle, and entered.

Xia Mucai was squatting and packing her luggage. Hearing the door open, she turned and saw her beautiful adoptive mother.

She had clearly said not to enter her room casually. Was the sign invisible? Hadn’t she said it enough times?

Frowning, she greeted her coolly: “Mom.”

The woman pretended not to notice her displeasure, walked over, squatted beside her, and asked sweetly, “Leaving tonight? What happened between you and Xia Chi?”

To Xia Mucai, the question seemed full of concern just a mother worried about her daughters.

She didn’t want to lash out. After all, this room would soon no longer be hers.

Her expression softened. She gave a simplified explanation.

“I indirectly caused harm to someone from Xia Chi’s orphanage. She hates me now. I don’t have the face to see her again. I want to leave tonight.”

She didn’t realize that when her mother heard the words “never have the face to see her again”, she was overjoyed inside.

Suppressing a grin, the woman looked concerned and scolded gently, “Cai Cai, how could you do that to your sister? Sigh… you’re such a little troublemaker.”

Xia Mucai lowered her head in guilt and said nothing.

Perfect.

Her mother stroked her head, her voice warm and loving.

“Alright, don’t think about it anymore. When Xia Chi comes back, we’ll speak well of you in front of her. You just focus on laying low for half a year or so.”

Hearing that they’d speak positively about her, Xia Mucai was overwhelmed.

She hugged her mother tightly, burying her face in her shoulder, crying muffled thanks.

“Mom, you’re so good to me…”

But behind her back, the woman smiled a chilling, twisted smile.

What a foolish daughter I have. Perfect.

Unlike the average plump, middle aged housewife, the woman had a striking figure and dressed with elegance.

If people didn’t know she was married, she’d have a swarm of young men falling for her mature charm.

Even her smile had a disturbing edge to it.

She gently patted Xia Mucai’s back again and again.

“There, there, Cai Cai. Don’t cry. We’ll be sure to ‘explain everything’ to your sister.”