The Female Lead of the Abusive Novel Can Hear My Heart's Voice - Chapter 5

The food was served, spread out on the table, but the four people chewed the delicacies without savoring them.

In less than ten minutes, Xia Mucai put down her bowl and chopsticks. “I’m done eating.”

With eyes fixed on the table, Xia Chi also put down her bowl and chopsticks. “I’m done eating too.”

Xia Mucai knew Xia Chi hadn’t eaten much and had barely touched her food. A little thought was enough to realize the other girl was afraid of being scolded by their parents if she didn’t get up when Xia Mucai did, which was why she followed suit.

It was somewhat heartbreaking. She had returned to her own home, yet she was cautious and prudent in her actions, as if living under someone else’s roof.

“Xia Chi, want to go out for a walk with me?” She blinked, signaling for the other girl to agree.

The woman clearly froze, her large, grape-like eyes staring roundly. Xia Mucai mouthed, ‘Let’s go out and get a snack.’

Soon, the woman nodded in agreement.

Hearing a quiet “Okay,” Xia Mucai took Xia Chi’s hand and said to the foster parents, who were still eating, “I’m taking Xia Chi out for a walk.”

The foster parents, a kind mother and strict father, naturally agreed. They looked at Xia Mucai with gentle eyes.

The foster mother instructed, “Cai Cai, don’t lead your sister astray. Just walk nearby and come back soon.”

“I know.” With that, only a lingering shadow remained.

Click. The large double door of the villa gently closed. Xia Mucai turned around. The evening glow shone on her, coating her entire body like a layer of gold, sparkling brightly.

She noticed Xia Chi was continuously staring at her, looking at her face with eyes as pure and clear as a pristine mirror, free of any impurity. Facing such eyes made her own inner ugliness feel exposed and nowhere to hide.

Xia Mucai shook her head, shedding the chaotic thoughts, and prompted Xia Chi to snap back. “Wake up, let’s go.”

This little clueless rabbit finally startled, a look of panic emerging on her face. Her inky black pupils darted left and right, searching for a way to escape the awkwardness.

“What do you want to eat?” Xia Mucai leaned in and listed, counting on her fingers, “BBQ, spicy hot pot, fried rice…”

“I’m not hungry.” Her suggestion was immediately rejected.

But an ill timed rumbling from her stomach sounded, and the girl who claimed not to be hungry instantly blushed, her ears turning red too.

What a dishonest fellow. Xia Mucai felt a little annoyed. “Still saying you’re not hungry? It’s a long night; do you plan to starve like this? How uncomfortable for you.”

She could almost see the little rabbit’s ears slowly drooping.

Her face remained calm, but inside, she was filled with regret. [The Female Lead is sad enough as it is, and I’m being mean to her.]

Xia Mucai changed her tone, making it gentler. “Come on, I’ll take you to eat something good!”

She was truly a helpless, adorable, yet pathetic little lop-eared rabbit. She took Xia Chi’s hand a cat leading a rabbit.

A certain rabbit was almost moved to tears. Someone in this world actually cared if her stomach was empty. It was so touching.

Xia Mucai took Xia Chi out for grilled skewers and bought a cup of milk tea. Their stomachs full, they returned home.

Life continued in an orderly manner.

Discovering that Xia Chi didn’t have many decent clothes, she drove Xia Chi to the mall to buy some.

Knowing that Xia Chi truly wanted to achieve something in her career, she offered her the position of Vice President what was wrong with being a figurehead Vice President?

She was openly kind to the Female Lead whenever she could, doing everything she could to satisfy her wishes. The peaceful days without the interference of the plot wouldn’t last long, so what she was doing was a form of compensation.

Because her complete success relied on suppressing one girl’s life. Otherwise, she would die if she failed the mission.

The engagement news finally reached the Male Lead, Teng Jingsi. In the original plot, upon learning he was to be engaged to the Female Lead, Xia Chi, he immediately sought her out and delivered a series of hurtful words, saying, “See, you still found a thousand ways to get close to me,” and “You regret it,” and so on.

In short, Teng Jingsi constantly praised himself to make himself seem superior and Xia Chi appear humble. He acted as if Xia Chi was a gold-digging, manipulative girl who coveted his wealth, and he was the pure and simple one being targeted.

[Bah!] Just thinking of that bastard Teng Jingsi, Xia Mucai’s face nearly flashed with a rainbow of colors. Did that person even have a human brain? His pea-sized cerebellum was filled with nothing but dross.

If not for the plot restriction, she’d definitely shove the Male Lead’s head in water to let him look at himself.

On a bright and sunny day, near their house, Xia Mucai pretended to have a stomach ache and rushed home first. Xia Chi walked unhurriedly behind, carrying large shopping bags.

Suddenly, Teng Jingsi appeared out of nowhere and blocked Xia Chi’s path. He took off his sunglasses and said with an air of arrogance, “Xia Chi, you’ve got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. To get to me, you played the pathetic act in front of your parents. Your little game of ‘playing hard to get’ is truly laughable.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the girl said, her eyes cautious and full of wariness toward the man in front of her, treating him like a ferocious beast.

In Xia Chi’s eyes, Teng Jingsi was a ferocious beast.

The man scoffed, a mocking laugh. “Didn’t you force me to marry you? Grandpa is threatening me with company shares to marry you. Are you satisfied now?”

He was aggressive. “You’re silent, can’t you speak?”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t speak; it was that she heard the inner monologue of the person who should have run home with a stomach ache to use the restroom. Xia Chi knew Xia Mucai was nearby.

[Vocal] Xia Mucai was hiding under a tree, eavesdropping on Xia Chi and Teng Jingsi’s conversation. [Was it your Grandpa who forced you, or Xia Chi, you maniac! Don’t act like she’s so desperate for you that she had to force your hand.]

Xia Chi scanned the two person wide plane tree near the house. It was indeed a prime spot for eavesdropping.

She wasn’t as forceful as Xia Mucai, speaking softly.

However, hearing someone stand up for her in their heart was already incredibly satisfying.

All she could do was deny it; she wouldn’t admit to something she didn’t do.

“I didn’t force you to marry me.”

That one sentence made the man’s heart sink, and the structure he had built on his high horse instantly collapsed. His pride was violently trampled and ground into the dirt. If this woman hadn’t forced him to marry her, didn’t that prove he wasn’t that attractive?

Xia Chi didn’t know what the man was thinking. She was about to politely walk around him but was stopped.

“Are you trying to play ‘push and pull’ with me?” As soon as the words left his mouth, her wrist was tightly gripped, making it hurt. The shopping bags in her hand scattered to the floor with a crash. The scent of men’s cologne hit her. She tried to pull away but couldn’t.

She could only say in a pained whisper, “Let go of me.”

Her two hands desperately clawed at the man’s hand clamped on her wrist, like a weak woman being robbed in the street. Her strength was not enough to budge a tall, muscular man with abs.

Teng Jingsi’s deep voice echoed in Xia Chi’s ear. “Your manipulation disgusts me. Even if I marry you, I will never love you!”

“Let go! Nobody wants to marry you.”

These words were like a needle piercing deep into Teng Jingsi’s heart. His eyes darkened, and his pinky finger continuously tapped his thigh.

Was his arrogant pride just trampled upon like this?

This was absolutely unacceptable!!!

The person under the tree held her breath, because the next moment was the scene of the Male Lead’s first kiss with the Female Lead in the book.

Teng Jingsi, enraged, kissed Xia Chi with the sole purpose of humiliating her and regaining his pride.

Xia Mucai remembered the line, “Are you satisfied now?”

The book described Teng Jingsi’s heart accelerating and stirring with emotion the moment he kissed her.

But what about Xia Chi? Did she like it?

Xia Mucai didn’t know Xia Chi’s internal feelings; the book hadn’t described them, nor could she hear Xia Chi’s inner voice.

She couldn’t convince herself, “The Female Lead also likes the Male Lead, so the upcoming kiss is not a problem at all.”

Because Xia Chi was struggling so fiercely, how could it be love?

Xia Mucai’s ten slender, pale fingers dug into the tree bark. Her eyes were wide open. She wanted to see from Xia Chi’s expression whether she liked it too.

If she didn’t, wouldn’t standing by and watching be a form of harm? Her mission was to exploit the life of a fragile girl.

In a split second, the girl’s pleading eyes met hers. The little rabbit’s eyes were glistening, seemingly filled with helplessness and pitifulness, making it impossible not to feel heartbroken.

Xia Mucai ripped a piece of bark from the plane tree. She couldn’t stand it anymore; she couldn’t just sit idly by!

Just before Teng Jingsi could pin Xia Chi against the wall, a hand landed on his shoulder. Xia Mucai didn’t have much physical strength, but she used a clever technique, easily pulling Teng Jingsi away.

Her lowered gaze was incredibly deep and dark. A zero degree vortex formed around her; anyone approaching would feel an intense chill. It was so cold that one would shiver uncontrollably despite the midsummer heat truly terrifying.

A whisper, like the low voice of an ancient god, echoed in his ears, “Can’t you see she doesn’t want it?”

Xia Mucai was that ancient god.

Without exerting much effort, the man whose shoulder she held trembled twice, his legs shaking like a sieve.

This was the sheer pressure exerted by a mere half-god on a mortal, though it consumed the half-god’s vital energy.

Not long after, Xia Mucai’s chest churned, and a sweet, metallic taste filled her mouth. A mouthful of blood welled up in her throat. She didn’t spit it out, but it slowly trailed from the corner of her lips.

Having been injured in the past, she had suffered amnesia and couldn’t recall many things, but she knew this was her final mission. Completion meant achieving godhood, and her injuries would no longer threaten her life.

It was just that she hadn’t expected the mission to involve harming a sufficiently pitiful girl, adding insult to injury in the girl’s already precarious life.

To other half-gods, this mission was worth it. Exchanging a mortal’s life for godhood was an excellent bargain.

Xia Mucai was too soft-hearted. A mortal’s life was also a life, even the life of an ant.

Xia Mucai was rapidly losing strength, her breaths shallow. Her head spun, and her vision was dotted with flashes of light. In her last moment before collapsing, she challenged Teng Jingsi.

“If you don’t want to marry her, why don’t you confront the grandfather who’s forcing you? Are you scared?”

The man being questioned dared not breathe or turn his head.

“You’re just a coward who bullies the weak and blames others for your own fault.”

Having said these words, Xia Mucai could no longer hold on. Her eyelids felt like they were weighted with a thousand pounds, too heavy to keep open.

The blazing sun felt icy cold on her skin. One or two drops of bright red blood fell to the ground.

She looked too fragile, like a patient with a terminal illness who had just left the hospital pale lips, a bloodless face, like a porcelain doll that would shatter upon touch.

As her consciousness finally slipped into chaos, she heard an extremely soft and gentle voice. “I’m sorry, I made you get hurt.”

She could tell the other person was deeply remorseful, wanting to take all the blame.

[Xia Chi, you did nothing wrong.] This was what Xia Mucai had always wanted to tell Xia Chi, but the words were destined to remain unspoken.

However, Xia Chi, who was holding her, had widened eyes in shock, her lips slightly trembling. She wanted to say something but held back.

Xia Chi could hear Xia Mucai’s inner thoughts, something Xia Mucai never knew.