The Villainess is Too Clingy - Chapter 4

“I want to… but it’ll be hard.” We still have three years to go, Tan Yin thought.

“There has to be a way. Sister, my home is in City X. Can you find a chance to get them to take us there? As long as we reach that place, we’ll have a chance.”

“Mm…”

Drowsy and half-asleep, Tan Yin had no idea what she was saying. She mumbled the response and drifted off shortly after.

“Then we can escape together. You’ll come to my house, and we can go to school and work together. My parents are wonderful people; they’ll love you too, and then…” Fang Huiling’s voice grew softer and softer. Hearing Tan Yin’s steady breathing, she fell silent, afraid to disturb her.

The next day, everything was the same. There was no sign of any change. Clearly, Tan Yin had completely forgotten their conversation from the night before, or perhaps she had never truly taken it in.

But Fang Huiling wasn’t the type to just sit and wait for fate. Seeing Tan Yin’s lack of reaction, she tried bringing it up again after dinner that evening.

Tan Yin had almost fully recovered from her illness. Receiving Fang Huiling’s subtle hints, she couldn’t help but start considering the possibility.

Her movements were severely restricted. She spent her days with the other children, and her “privileges” were pitifully few. She vaguely remembered a major illness from her childhood. Back then, there were fewer kidnapped children, and Aunt Wei had taken her to the hospital, fearing she wouldn’t survive. That was one of the few times she had ever been allowed out alone.

Would I have to get seriously ill again? Her low-grade fever had only just broken. Aunt Wei knew there was medicine left but refused to give her any, and she still had to do all her chores. Would the same trick work again? Even if it did, what would she do? Just tell them she wanted to go to City X? Wouldn’t that be too obvious?

Her mind was a tangled mess. She couldn’t give Fang Huiling any promises. “I don’t know what to do,” she said.

“Sister, what if we’re together next time and I suddenly run out to get someone to call the police?” Fang Huiling’s suggestion was shocking.

Tan Yin shook her head. “People have tried that before. It doesn’t work. They have connections. We’d only be sent back, and the consequences would be brutal… If it ever came to that, we’d be finished.”

“We just need to figure out how to make a single phone call. Just let my parents know I’m still alive,” Fang Huiling said, her gaze earnest. “Trust me, they’ll find this place. Then we’ll be saved.”

Tan Yin recalled the story the System had told her. In the original novel, Fang Huiling’s background was indeed extraordinary. The Fang family was a prominent name in City X, wealthy and powerful, and Fang Huiling was their only child. If this hadn’t happened, she would have grown up healthy and happy, gotten into a top university with excellent grades, taken over the family business, and reached the pinnacle of success. Unfortunately, a young Fang Huiling had run away from home in a fit of temper, only to be targeted by traffickers and brought here.

Speaking of which, would Fang Huiling have some kind of protagonist’s halo as the main character?

Ding!

[ Host, please inform any one of the traffickers of the Villain’s plan. Success will grant a 20% Progress Reward. Failure will result in an electric shock punishment and a 5% deduction in progress. ]

Tan Yin instinctively held her breath at the sound of the chime, her fists clenching in tension. After hearing the mission, the hair on her arms stood on end.

She couldn’t do it. Doing so would be no different from sending Fang Huiling to her death. Although she could return if Fang Huiling died, she didn’t want to think about that right now. To her, this was a living, breathing world, and even if these people were just novel characters, they still had flesh and blood.

She couldn’t leave Fang Huiling here alone.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Fang Huiling asked worriedly, leaning in to touch her forehead. “Are you still sick? Why are you suddenly sweating?”

Tan Yin froze on the spot.

The success rate was only 20%, but failure would only cost her 5%. She had earned some Progress Points earlier, so she could easily afford a single failure. But it was strange. The reward for success was so high, yet the penalty for failure was so low. It was as if the System knew she would fail and had deliberately set the cost within her means.

The System seemed to be able to adjust its rules based on the current situation.

She asked the System in her mind, What’s the deadline?

The System replied: The deadline is tonight.

“…” It was already this late! Where was she supposed to find someone to leak a secret to?

I can’t possibly complete this mission. Are you doing this on purpose?

The System remained unmoved. “Is the Host going to give up on this mission?”

“What do you think?” Tan Yin snapped, feeling like she was being played.

Ding!

“Regrettably, the mission has failed. 5% progress deducted. Current progress: 10%.”

“Sister?” A hand waved in front of her.

Tan Yin snapped back to reality. Just as she was about to say she was fine, a sudden, excruciating pain tore through her body.

Without warning, she screamed and convulsed, her body jerking violently. Electric currents surged wildly through her, and her skin felt as if it were being pierced by countless needles. The extreme pain, numbness, and itching were all compressed into a few short seconds. Then, as quickly as it had started, the pain vanished and the strange sensation dissipated.

Tan Yin collapsed to the floor, her body limp. She gasped for air, fighting for survival. Cold sweat drenched her clothes, making them cling to her skin. A long, steady ringing filled her ears before gradually fading. Slowly, she heard someone calling her name anxiously.

“Tan Yin! Tan Yin, what’s wrong?”

Tan Yin looked up sluggishly. It was Fang Huiling. Her beautiful face was now furrowed with worry.

For some reason, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

“Tan Yin? Can you hear me?”

Tan Yin’s lips parted. “I…”

The door swung open, and light flooded the room. Aunt Wei stood there in her pajamas, her hair disheveled and her face contorted with rage. She looked like a vengeful ghost freshly crawled from hell.

“What’s all the noise in the middle of the night?” Aunt Wei immediately zeroed in on the troublemaker.

Tan Yin snapped awake. “I’m sorry, Auntie! I… I had a nightmare…”

Aunt Wei spat out a few curses in her thick accent. She didn’t bother asking questions, just counted the heads in the room, scolded them a few times, and locked the door shut again.

That was close, Tan Yin thought. I almost forgot where I was.

As soon as Aunt Wei left, Fang Huiling grabbed Tan Yin’s hand again. Her expression was tense as she wiped the sweat from Tan Yin’s forehead.

The sharp pain of the electric shock had faded, but a faint, tingling itch still lingered on her skin. Tan Yin steadied her breathing and said to Fang Huiling, “I’m fine. I think I just had a cramp. It’s gone now.”

Fang Huiling’s face remained grim. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You should get some rest, too.” Tan Yin gently stroked her hair. “Sorry for worrying you.”

After that, Fang Huiling stopped mentioning going out.

Though she didn’t bring it up again, Tan Yin kept it in mind. After spending the night thinking it over, she asked Fang Huiling for her number, just in case she ever needed it in the future.

****

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, they had been trapped here for over a year.

During this year, they had been moved across four different cities. According to the System, their current location, City Y, was adjacent to City X. Its economy was much stronger than their initial location, and the new base was far more comfortable.

It was spring, and the weather was crisp and clear. Yet, the more pleasant the days became, the harder it was to bear. After all, they were still in a cage, and even a simple walk outside was severely restricted.

The System hadn’t assigned her a mission since the electric shock incident. Tan Yin was more than happy about this. After all, the so-called “missions” always involved sabotaging Fang Huiling, something she could never bring herself to do.

Since the System stopped bothering her, she started bothering it out of boredom. One day, she impulsively cursed at the System and discovered there were no penalties for doing so. It was like discovering a new continent. She began regularly scolding the System in her mind, listing all its faults. This new hobby made the days feel a little less tedious.

One morning, Aunt Wei woke everyone up early and specifically called for Tan Yin.

The suddenness of it left Tan Yin feeling completely unsettled. She asked the System what was happening, but it remained silent. With a growing sense of unease, she was led to Aunt Wei’s bedroom, where she saw an older woman waiting.

The woman looked to be in her fifties or sixties, around the same age as Aunt Wei. Her face was tanned dark, with two prominent red patches on her cheeks from the highland sun. She wore a simple black coat and had clearly tried to dress up, though the effort had fallen short. From the moment Tan Yin entered the room, the woman’s gaze had been fixed on her, scanning her up and down like a piece of merchandise. The look made Tan Yin’s skin crawl.

But without knowing the woman’s identity, Tan Yin couldn’t act rashly.

Aunt Wei entered the room and shut the door behind her. She turned to the woman. “Sister Liu, what do you think?”

Tan Yin’s heart hammered against her ribs. She looked at Aunt Wei with a pitiful, wronged expression. “Mama…”

“Mm, not bad. The girl is very pretty.” The woman called Sister Liu nodded in satisfaction, her smile chillingly kind.

“I’ve raised her since she was little, after all,” Aunt Wei said. “At my age, this is the best time to let her go. Name your price.”

Sister Liu flattered her as she quoted a number, but Aunt Wei didn’t even lift her eyelids, clearly dissatisfied. Sister Liu gritted her teeth and added a few more zeros. Only then did Aunt Wei’s expression soften.

Being treated like an object, Tan Yin couldn’t bear to wait for them to finish haggling. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed to the floor with a loud thud, drawing both their gazes. Before either could speak, Tan Yin shuffled forward on her knees and grabbed the hem of Aunt Wei’s pants. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, “Mama! Mama, please don’t throw me away! I want to keep taking care of you! I’ll be good, I promise! I won’t cause you any trouble! Please don’t send me away…”

Aunt Wei had been ready to shake her off and push her away, but the desperate cries of “Mama” were so pitiful that even she felt a rare pang of sympathy.

Aunt Wei was infertile and had always envied others who could have children, which was why she had resorted to such cruel schemes. Deep down, she had always wanted a child of her own.

When Sister Liu, a fellow villager, had come to buy a child, Aunt Wei had initially thought this was a perfect chance to make a big profit. But now, a new thought struck her: if Tan Yin were gone, who would take care of all those little brats?

“I’m sorry, Sister Liu,” Aunt Wei said with a forced smile. “Look at this child, she’s too attached to me. I can’t sell her anymore.” Inside, she was already mourning the gold coins that had slipped through her fingers.

Sister Liu wasn’t ready to give up and tried to keep negotiating. Aunt Wei waved her hand, sending Tan Yin out of the room. The rest of their conversation remained unheard.

That night, Tan Yin was given a chicken leg, a rare treat. The other children also received some meat. Aunt Wei continued to grumble and swear as usual, but her tone with Tan Yin was noticeably softer. It seemed the drama from earlier that day had worked.

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