When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Longevity Lock

In a haze of unconsciousness, the smell of disinfectant pierced her nostrils before her awareness did, a cold and penetrating scent cutting through the daze.

Then, the fingers of the person on the bed twitched slightly, and a sharp pain in her temple instantly drove away the remaining sluggishness.

Jiang Le’s eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if glued shut. She strained with all her might to peel open a narrow slit, and in her blurry vision, there was only a pale white ceiling.

A dull, heavy pain radiated from her right wrist. She tried to move her fingers, and a cold touch immediately met them—an IV tube. Transparent fluid was slowly dropping, one drip at a time, along the slender tube.

She laboriously turned her eyes, her gaze falling on the cardiac monitor standing silently beside the bed. A green waveform line rose and fell regularly and steadily with her faint breathing.

Consciousness returned. She was in a hospital.

Her throat felt like it was splitting open. She opened her mouth but only emitted a weak puff of air.

At this moment, a blurred and hoarse female voice came from beside her, thick with a nasal tone and unconcealed surprise: “You… you’re awake?”

Jiang Le turned her head with difficulty, her vision taking a long time to focus. What came into view were Li Yan’s eyes, swollen like peaches, with traces of un-dried tears still on her face.

To be honest, it was a bit ugly, a bit funny.

Jiang Le weakly suppressed a laugh, feeling bad for her friend.

The sky outside the window was grayish, neither clearly dawn nor dusk, with only a few faint rays of light squeezing through the curtain gaps.

An irritating itch came from the needle site on the back of her hand. Jiang Le instinctively tried to raise her hand to scratch, but as soon as her fingertips moved, Li Yan immediately pressed it down.

“Don’t move!” Li Yan’s voice was tight with lingering fear. “The needle was just put in; don’t touch it!”

This shout brought all the memories flooding back: the deafening cheers, the meteor streaking across the night sky, Li Yan’s back rushing toward Chen Ting… and then endless darkness.

Jiang Le’s pale lips moved slightly, pulling into an extremely weak and apologetic arc: “I’m sorry, I… messed it up…”

Before she finished speaking, Li Yan’s already tear-filled eyes instantly burst. Large tears rolled down. She tightly grasped Jiang Le’s un-needled hand, her voice choked and broken: “What are you talking about! You really… your safety is the most important thing…”

She couldn’t continue, just shaking her head vigorously. If Jiang Congyue hadn’t worried about something happening to them on the mountain and arrived in time with her terrible intuition and means, the consequences… she didn’t dare to imagine.

While the two were talking in low voices, the ward door was gently pushed open. Xiao Kexin and the other students filed in, each carrying fruit, flowers, or nutritional supplements.

“Oh my! My little ancestor, you’re finally awake!” Xiao Kexin dramatically patted his chest, letting out a long sigh of relief, his face showing unconcealed relief.

“How do you feel?”

“You scared us to death!”

“Thank goodness you’re okay…” A flurry of concerned voices instantly filled the small ward.

Jiang Le tried to tug at the corners of her mouth, offering a small, reassuring smile. Her gaze searched the crowd. She turned to Li Yan, her voice carrying a hint of inquiry that was hard to detect: “She… didn’t come?”

Li Yan was blowing her nose with a tissue. Her tear-soaked, foggy brain took a moment to realize who the “she” was.

“She came! She did! She said she needed to get something very important and would be right back… Lele, you were unconscious for almost a week! Auntie Jiang stayed by your bed every day; you really scared us to death…” Li Yan spoke incoherently.

“One… week?” Jiang Le couldn’t show much expression, but her eyes were full of huge confusion and disbelief. It was just heatstroke, wasn’t it? How could she be unconscious for a week?

“Yes!” The girl who was peeling an apple nearby interjected, her tone laced with distress and fear. “Why didn’t you tell us you had a brain tumor? At least so we could be mentally prepared. But thankfully, the surgery was successful, and the doctors said it went smoothly.”

Brain tumor. Surgery.

Jiang Le’s pupils constricted slightly. Cured? The chasm she couldn’t cross back then was so easily bridged.

She subconsciously tightened her grip on the clean white bedsheet beneath her. Her knuckles turned white from the effort. She lowered her lashes, her voice almost inaudible: “Then… did it… cost a lot of money?”

The image of the auntie’s guilty and helpless face from her memory surfaced. The words “selling your longevity lock won’t even cover the change” still echoed in her ears.

“Money is not as important as your life!” Li Yan squeezed her hand heavily, her voice rising in exasperation. “Besides, what is this amount of money to your family! Boss Jiang didn’t even blink!”

An inexplicable warmth rushed to her eyes. Jiang Le quickly turned her head away. Her throat felt clogged with a water-soaked cotton ball, stifled and painful, making it impossible to breathe.

“Alright, she just woke up and needs peace and quiet.” Chen Ting, who had been standing quietly in the corner, spoke up at the right time, her voice clear but carrying an undeniable authority. She stepped forward and gently took Li Yan’s hand. “Let’s go now and let her get some rest.”

Li Yan then remembered the doctor’s repeated instructions and quickly nodded: “Oh! Right, right, right! Jiang Le, we’re leaving now! Get well soon! Be sure to call me if you need anything!” She squeezed Jiang Le’s hand hard again before being led away by Chen Ting and the others, looking back every few steps.

The noise receded like a tide, and the ward instantly fell into a dead silence. Jiang Le’s eyes were vacant, staring blankly at the grayish sky outside the window, as if trying to see through it.

Truly, a mountain of gratitude.

The kindness Jiang Congyue had shown her was already overwhelming. Now, it seemed, she could never repay it.

Family. If only Jiang Congyue were her blood relative. Then she could accept everything with a clear conscience, and their intimacy would be more natural than it was now.

“Creak—” The heavy iron door was pushed open again, making a slight scraping sound.

Jiang Le turned her head toward the sound. Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.

In the doorway, Jiang Congyue’s figure appeared with a rare sense of urgency. Her usually impeccable silver hair was slightly disheveled. Her breathing was a bit unsteady, and her cheeks were faintly flushed, as if she had just rushed over in a hurry.

Jiang Le looked at her face and wondered what was so important that it would make the normally composed woman rush to retrieve it.

“You’re awake,” Jiang Congyue said, smiling as she approached.

Jiang Le nodded.

After a brief, silent eye contact, Jiang Congyue sat by the bed and carefully took out something wrapped in a red velvet bag from her pocket.

She held the cloth bag out to Jiang Le with great care, her eyes filled with gentle encouragement and expectation: “Here, take it out and look.”

Jiang Le, having been awake for a while, had gathered some strength. Her hands trembling, she untied the string of the red cloth bag. She seemed to already know the answer in her heart as to what was inside.

Perhaps she was too weak, or perhaps her emotions were too agitated, but the moment she untied the knot, her hand went limp, and a heavy, golden object slipped unexpectedly from the bag opening, falling directly toward her face.

Jiang Le subconsciously closed her eyes, but the expected impact did not happen.

In the nick of time, a warm and steady hand caught it firmly.

“Jingle—” A clear, pleasant sound of a bell rang in the quiet ward.

Jiang Le suddenly opened her eyes. The ingot-shaped lock gleamed under the pale lights. The front was clearly engraved with eight ancient seal characters: “Longevity for a hundred years, peace and prosperity.”

As the lock body swung and turned, and the bell tinkled, the powerful, vigorous character “Le” on the back branded itself deeply into her vision, like a red-hot iron.

Instantly, a massive roar drowned out all other senses. A strong surge of heartache rushed from Jiang Le’s nose to her eyes. Her vision instantly blurred. “You…”

“A replacement for yours,” Jiang Congyue’s voice was as gentle as spring water. She gently placed the longevity lock in Jiang Le’s open palm. “Exactly the same.”

Jiang Le took the longevity lock. The cold touch burned her palm like fire. She mumbled in a low voice: “How do you know they are exactly the same?”

Jiang Congyue said with absolute certainty, “They must be exactly the same.”

She’s coaxing her again.

Jiang Le clenched the longevity lock, unwilling to let her see her tears. She raised her hand to cover her face, but her trembling voice betrayed the truth, “How can I ever repay you?”

“Repay me? What nonsense, you silly girl. Isn’t this what I should do? You are my precious.” Jiang Congyue leaned in with a smile and planted an affectionate kiss on her forehead.

Jiang Le’s hand was pulled away, leaving her vulnerable, embarrassed, and with a touch of childish grievance fully exposed to Jiang Congyue. She angrily slapped Jiang Congyue’s hand away, like a small, startled cat.

“Ouch!” Jiang Congyue exaggeratedly clutched the back of her hand, but her face held an unconcealed smile. “Still so strong even when you’re sick?”

Jiang Le simply twisted her face away, grabbing the quilt with her un-needled hand and pulling it tightly over her head, refusing to face that teasing smile again.

But would Jiang Congyue let her have her way?

“Oh no, let’s not let our precious get smothered!” She deliberately raised her voice and reached out with a smile to pull the quilt away.

Having reached her limit, Jiang Le yanked the quilt off. Her exposed face was flushed red, even the tips of her ears were crimson, and she protested haltingly: “Don’t… don’t call me that!”

Leaving her alone might have worked, but reacting only fueled Jiang Congyue’s playful spirit. She shamelessly leaned closer and whispered: “Then what should I call you? People call children ‘precious.’ Didn’t Li Yan’s mother call Li Yan that?”

Jiang Le could only take a deep breath, resigning herself to her fate and saying coolly, “Whatever you want.”

Jiang Congyue, worried about pushing her too far, decided to quit while she was ahead: “Lele, are you hungry? I asked Auntie He to make some light porridge and side dishes; they’ll be delivered soon.”

The person lying flat on the bed nodded indifferently.

With the meticulous, loving care and feeding from Jiang Congyue and Li Yan, Jiang Le’s body recovered quickly, and she visibly gained weight.

Finally, the day arrived to remove the heavy gauze from her head. The doctor gently undid the bandage. Jiang Le instinctively reached up to feel the surgery site.

Her fingertips touched her scalp, feeling a distinct indentation—a small hole!

A sense of desolation instantly swept over her. Her expression froze, her eyes filled with the despair of “my perfect skull is gone.”

This expression was clearly visible to the onlookers.

“Pfft—hahaha!” Li Yan, who was watching the whole thing, was the first to burst into laughter, pounding the table.

Jiang Congyue also couldn’t help but chuckle, then quickly offered reassurance: “The surgery required it, and this chief surgeon was really meticulous. Considering you are a student and your image is important, she specifically didn’t shave your whole head, only a small area for the surgery.”

Then, Jiang Congyue brushed her hair a few times. “See, this can cover it up.”

For Jiang Le, who had always been vain, this was nothing short of a thunderbolt. She sighed dramatically, her internal ledger already tallying how many different styles of hats she would need to buy to conceal this flaw.

This little interlude was quickly overshadowed by the pressures of senior year. Although she had missed a few days of classes, for Jiang Le, the natural “learning perpetual motion machine,” it was merely a matter of burning a little more midnight oil.

She plunged into the sea of books and practice tests, practically taking on the attitude of a desperate worker, as if to make up for the time she had been unconscious tenfold.

“My gosh, Jiang Le!” Li Yan exclaimed dramatically, watching the draft paper under Jiang Le’s pen nearly sparking, “You’re already the top student in the grade! Do you still need to study so hard? Leave us some room to live!”

Jiang Le didn’t lift her head, her pen still moving rapidly across the paper. She merely raised a finger to her lips, “Shh, nominated student, be quiet.”

Li Yan scratched her head and giggled, then leaned closer to ask: “Speaking of which, you clearly had the qualification for early admission. Why didn’t you take it? It’s so much easier.”

Her pen abruptly stopped.

Jiang Le looked up, her eyes calm and unperturbed, and only spoke four words: “The name isn’t big enough.”

It was self-evident which would make bigger headlines and bring more glory to the Jiang family’s reputation: a regular early admission student or a dazzling top scorer in the national exam.

The number of awards she had won over the years was countless, but they were merely embellishments for the future. The path of early admission was not challenging enough for her. The future title of “Top Scorer” was a more substantial gimmick, the most direct way for her to repay Jiang Congyue and prove her worth.

Li Yan’s family didn’t have billions of assets to inherit, so she didn’t understand this significance. All she cared about was being able to lazily touch Chen Ting and tease Jiang Le every day, which made her feel delighted.

“Chen Ting is going to study abroad,” Jiang Le suddenly said flatly, closing a practice book.

Li Yan, who was humming a tune and swaying her head, froze instantly, the smile on her face rigid.

“Ah? Oh, oh, is that so?” Her voice dropped, carrying a subtle hint of disappointment.

Seeing her expression, Jiang Le knew Chen Ting hadn’t told her the news yet. “What are you planning? A long-distance relationship will be very difficult,” she stated the fact directly.

Li Yan was silent for a few seconds, then, as if cheering herself up, she shook her head vigorously and forced a slightly strained smile: “Hey, that’s no big deal! Planes are so convenient now, and video calls are just like face-to-face! It’s just the price of a plane ticket. Can’t I afford that?” She tried to make her tone sound lighthearted.

Jiang Le nodded, saying no more. She always believed in knowing when to stop and never interfered with others’ emotional lives.

The tense days flew by with the sound of pens scratching and pages turning. For seniors, the short winter break was a precious window of respite.

They didn’t have many relatives to visit. Jiang Congyue worried that Jiang Le was studying too intensely, turning into a machine that could only solve problems, so she suggested that since everyone was free for the New Year, they should re-organize the group of six from the last camping trip and go out to relax, making up for the previous disappointment.

The night before the trip, Jiang Le was methodically folding clothes into her suitcase when the phone on her desk suddenly started vibrating crazily, as if possessed.

She stopped what she was doing, picked up the phone, and unlocked it.

The six-person WeChat group had exploded, with messages scrolling rapidly.

Wen Lin: 【@Chen Ting ??? What do you mean? Come out and explain yourself!】

Xiao Kexin: 【@Chen Ting If there’s a misunderstanding, let us all judge! Don’t keep it inside!】

(Followed by a series of anxious inquiries and emojis)

They broke up?

Jiang Le frowned, her finger quickly scrolling up the screen, trying to find statements from the two parties involved, but she only saw a chaotic mess of questions and worries. Li Yan and Chen Ting seemed to have vanished, with no response.

“Lele, are you done packing?” Jiang Congyue walked in, carrying a plate of sliced fruit, and asked with concern when she saw Jiang Le staring blankly at her phone.

Jiang Le looked up, her face showing a rare look of bewilderment and confusion, as if facing an incomprehensible problem. She answered honestly: “Chen Ting and Li Yan… broke up.”

Jiang Congyue heard this and rubbed her forehead helplessly: “Oh well, it looks like we need to quickly cancel one person’s ticket.” Her tone was slightly teasing, trying to lighten the mood.

But Jiang Le was in no state to respond to her joke. She repeatedly tapped open Li Yan’s chat window, which was empty, without any new messages.

This was too abnormal. Given Li Yan’s personality, she would usually complain to her for half a day even if a mosquito bit her. How could she not say anything about a major event like a breakup, which felt like the world was ending to her?

Her brows furrowed. Without hesitation, she directly tapped Li Yan’s number and pressed the call button.

…

Jiang Congyue: 22