The Female Lead of the Abusive Novel Can Hear My Heart's Voice - Chapter 9

“Sister Xiaxia, how did you get to know Sister Xiaochi?” Tang Tu, like a clingy doll, shook Xia Mucai’s arm. She was a sticky bunny, and Xiaochi was a cool bunny.

Xia Mucai had truly entered a rabbit warren.

“Hmm…” Xia Mucai tapped her chin, pretending to think. The little one was full of anticipation, looking at her with bright eyes.

“Tell Tuntu, Sister Xiaxia.”

Xia Mucai was stared at intently by the little one. What should she say?

“Well… she gave me a Maneki-neko, and then we got acquainted.”

“And then?”

There was an ‘and then’?

The child was too enthusiastic, making the cat a bit flustered.

She said flatly, “That’s it.”

Tang Tu’s disappointment was inevitable, but it vanished in an instant.

After all, she was a child; emotions came and went quickly.

“Sister Xiaxia, do you want more water?”

Tang Tu left her side, no longer clinging, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“No need, you should rest for a while too.”

The small courtyard was simply paved with cement, with an ancient, huge ginkgo tree in the center. The leaves were still green, but when autumn came, golden leaves would cover the entire courtyard, making it look like it was paved with a layer of gold.

There were very few places to sit here, only three chairs in total.

When Xia Mucai told Tang Tu to rest, Tang Tu could only sit on the flower bed built around the ginkgo tree.

She was short, and her legs dangled, unable to reach the ground.

Closer to noon, Xiaochi and Tang Mingming carried out platters one by one, filled with a feast usually reserved for Chinese New Year: green pepper fried meat, cabbage soup, and small crucian carp steamed from the river pond.

“Time to eat.” Xiaochi shouted, carrying a bowl the size of a washbasin.

Tang Tu was a little rabbit, scampering everywhere, tugging at Xiaochi’s leg, nearly causing the basin of small crucian carp to fall.

“Sister Xiaochi, what are we eating, what are we eating?”

She hugged Xiaochi’s leg and looked up, her actions setting the atmosphere for the orphanage.

Xia Mucai grabbed the little rabbit’s collar and pretended to scold her fiercely, “Don’t you dare knock over the crucian carp in Sister Xiaochi’s hands.”

Hearing it was fish, Tang Tu bounced happily like a cat. “Hooray, hooray, eating fish, Tang Tu loves eating fish the most.”

Xia Mucai wanted to say: I love eating fish too.

“Tang Tu, go and help.” Xiaochi said.

The little rabbit dashed away quickly, replying with a loud “Okay!”

In front of Xia Mucai, a child reaching only up to her thigh vanished in a flash.

She blinked her eyes, her jaw about to drop, sighing: [Children are truly full of energy.]

The old matron supported herself on her cane and got up, her legs wobbling like a butterfly’s wings. She came to Xia Mucai’s side, bowing her back and covering up all signs of poverty with a smile.

“Miss Xia, forgive the poor hospitality.”

Xia Mucai felt everything was fine. The air was fresh here, and she saw Xiaochi looking relaxed.

There was nothing bad about it.

She waved her hand, “Not at all, not at all.”

“It’s a blessing for me, Old Matron Tang, that Miss Xia is willing to support so many children in the orphanage. They are the old matron’s lifeblood.”

If she hadn’t mentioned it, Xia Mucai wouldn’t have thought of it, but now she remembered that the old matron in front of her would soon die.

Without her, the children of the orphanage would have to live a wandering life, picking up scraps.

She quickly shook her head, trying to cast out the bad thoughts.

She comforted her, “Don’t worry, I’ll look after this group of children.”

The old matron felt relieved hearing Xia Mucai’s words.

The original owner was trash, and she felt she was not much different from the original owner.

That is to say, it was a major miracle that the old matron could trust her.

“Matron, everyone, stop talking, let’s eat.” Xiaochi deliberately placed the basin in front of Xia Mucai so that she could easily pick up the food.

Xia Mucai liked eating fish, so Xiaochi often put fish on her plate. She said the small crucian carp was plentiful because they were abundant in the river pond.

Xia Mucai loved the taste and devoured them enthusiastically. When Xiaochi saw her finish, she put another one in her bowl. After eating, she had a lingering taste in her mouth, smacking her lips, which were filled with the aroma of fish.

She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor, and thought: [I can eat a hundred more!]

“Is it delicious?” Xiaochi asked, resting her face on her hand, watching Xia Mucai intently.

“Delicious!”

The way she ate fish always fascinated Xiaochi, like feeding a little kitten.

“Want to come with me to see where the fish are?” Xiaochi asked.

Xia Mucai turned her head in surprise, looking at Xiaochi. “Can I? Aren’t you afraid I’ll catch them all and take them away? That pond will be empty, and you’ll never have fish to eat again.”

Xiaochi chuckled softly, a look of indulgence unconsciously showing in her eyes. “Only Tang Tu will make a fuss for a while; the rest of us don’t really like eating fish.”

“Then…” Xia Mucai realized that the whole washbasin-sized basin of small crucian carp was prepared just for her.

Because she loved to eat it, Xiaochi had prepared it especially for her.

Knowing what was going on, Xia Mucai’s cheeks and earlobes turned red, as if about to bleed.

“Do you want to come along?” Xiaochi asked again.

“Yes, why wouldn’t I? Definitely!”

She stood up from the small stool, shyly turning around to hide her crimson cheeks and earlobes.

Her awkward posture charmed Xiaochi; as she turned her back, Xiaochi couldn’t help but smile.

As luck would have it, Tang Tu came running over, wrapped her arms around Xia Mucai’s thigh, and looked up, asking loudly, “Sister Xiaxia, why is your face red? Is it too hot?”

At that moment, Xia Mucai felt desperate. Why did Tang Tu have to dash out like a rabbit?

Xia Mucai took a deep breath, covered the child’s mouth with a forced smile, and said, “Where is my face red? Go play somewhere else quickly.”

Tang Tu looked at Xia Mucai and Xiaochi, and her quick mind suddenly understood, and she said, “Oh.”

“Alright then, I won’t interrupt Sister Xiaxia and Sister Xiaochi’s date.”

She bolted away like a rabbit, showing her two front teeth as she ran.

“What date! Come back and explain yourself!” Xia Mucai said, annoyed and stomping her foot.

Unfortunately, the little rabbit ran away quickly and vanished in a flash.

She turned to look at Xiaochi, her cheeks puffed out with anger, like an angry pufferfish, covered in spikes.

“Why didn’t you explain? This will cause Tang Tu to misunderstand even more.”

Xiaochi smiled the whole time, offering the explanation, “She’s still young; she’s just playing around.”

“Huh?”

She felt like she was hitting a brick wall.

“Don’t be angry. What kind of relationship could possibly happen between the two of us, right?”

She and Xiaochi were both women, so indeed, nothing could happen between them in a conventional sense.

It seemed a bit strange, but what Xiaochi said was not wrong.

“Fine… fine.” Xiaochi was convinced, and the redness on her face had also subsided a lot, though her earlobes still retained a hint of pink.

Xiaochi noticed it and chuckled to herself inwardly.

Xia Mucai was easily persuaded, and even her angry look was incredibly cute.

“Are you coming or not? Didn’t you say you were taking me to see the fish… no, to see the lotus pond.”

Xia Mucai said, crossing her arms and looking at Xiaochi out of the corner of her eye. She failed at pretending to be aloof because she misspoke, and her cheeks turned crimson again.

After a long while, she heard Xiaochi’s reply, “Let’s go.”

In a dark, deep pool, Xia Mucai threw a stone, causing a splash that rippled across the water.

She stirred the deep pool in Xiaochi’s heart, unconsciously awakening the numb person.

Xia Mucai put down her crossed arms and jogged to catch up with Xiaochi.

Xiaochi stopped and waited for Xia Mucai to catch up.

Their hands naturally intertwined, as if it were a habit.

The slanting sun stretched their figures long, and their closely-knit shadows were intimate.

Summer was the time when lotuses bloomed in the pond, and with the beautiful scenery, their walk together was like a work of art.

Suddenly, Xiaochi said with great emotion, “Thank you for accompanying me here.”

Being in the Teng family or the Xia family was nowhere near as peaceful as the orphanage for her.

Xia Mucai was the rope that pulled her from despair, and the orphanage was her final sanctuary.

Only Xia Mucai knew that the disasters for the person in front of her were far from over.

She would experience the loss of loved ones, the destruction of her sanctuary, and everyone would be an aggressor, plunging knives into her scarred body and spirit.

“If you ever want to come here again, just tell me, and I’ll take you…”

Xia Mucai didn’t say the last word, “come.”

Her heart skipped a beat because she didn’t know if she could keep the promise she had blurted out.

If Xiaochi took it seriously and she couldn’t follow through, wouldn’t that be disappointing?

How was she different from a liar who didn’t keep her word?

Oh dear, she really spoke without thinking.

Xia Mucai wished she could slap herself twice.

“Alright, alright, the lotus pond is beautiful, and I’ve accompanied you on your walk long enough. When I get back, my parents will surely scold me for rejecting Teng Jingsi’s contract.”

Xia Mucai immediately felt sad for herself; Xiaochi had been comforted, and now she was about to cry.

Thinking of the upcoming engagement banquet, she reminded Xiaochi, “You need to seriously consider your engagement with Teng Jingsi; he is not a good person.”

Xiaochi knew, but she was very satisfied to hear Xia Mucai speak her heartfelt concerns to her.

In the original book’s plot, Xia Mucai would plan to drug and frame the female lead at the engagement banquet, and the male lead would mercilessly torment the female lead.

She had to complete the plot mission, and the step of drugging was unavoidable.

By then, her hands would be completely dirty.

Xiaochi’s expression was calm, and she said unexpectedly, “I think I have a reason to get engaged to Teng Jingsi, and it’s not because of my parents; it’s another reason.”

Xia Mucai: ???

“Don’t you know…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Xia Mucai stopped herself.

She almost pointed at Xiaochi and said, “Don’t you know that the engagement banquet is your tribulation? I’ve seen silly people, but not as silly as you.”

You know it’s a fire pit, yet you insist on jumping into it.

Xiaochi, of course, knew all this, but she had an unavoidable reason.

She didn’t want to continue needing Xia Mucai’s protection and living under other people’s scrutiny.

Her biological parents didn’t love her at all; she could only rely on herself.

She had to rely on herself to reach a position where everyone would look up to her, and then she wouldn’t need Xia Mucai’s protection or have to live under other people’s scrutiny.

As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” She had already investigated the Teng family; they were merely upstarts with short sight, and only the old patriarch had a sense of right and wrong.

Xia Mucai didn’t understand why Xiaochi was being so stubborn, perhaps it was the power of the plot.

“I warned you, do what you want.”

Xia Mucai felt inexplicably irritated and anxious.