When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: First Dream

Back at home, Jiang Le took a cold shower, trying to quell the heat in her body and the vexation in her heart. She walked out of the bathroom, towel-drying her wet hair, and saw Jiang Congyue standing in front of her closet, deep in thought.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Le asked, not understanding.

Jiang Congyue sighed faintly, with a childlike regret: “Alas, if I had known, I should have twisted your arm to make you wear those fluffy little animal pajamas when you were small.”

As she spoke, she seemed to visualize a certain scene and couldn’t help but laugh first.

Jiang Le’s face instantly flushed crimson. Jiang Congyue had gone to great lengths for this “pajama project,” and when persuasion failed, she resorted to unconventional means, including but not limited to secretly hiding Jiang Le’s old pajamas.

During that time, every time Jiang Le entered the bathroom, she had to nervously double-check that her pajamas were safe.

She suppressed the urge to throw the towel and hit the person, holding her breath, and picked up the hairdryer, preparing to dry her hair herself.

“Come here, my precious, sit down.” Jiang Congyue quickly called out to her, smoothly intercepting the hairdryer. “I’ll dry it for you.”

Jiang Le was helpless and could only sit on the rug as instructed, allowing Jiang Congyue to fuss over her. It was strange. Jiang Le, who was usually resistant to being touched by others, had a secret fondness for having her hair touched.

As Jiang Congyue’s fingers, carrying warm air, weaved through her hair and gently massaged her scalp, a fine current ran down her spine. She was almost trembling with pleasure.

Jiang Congyue seemed to perceive her feelings and deliberately scratched gently behind her most sensitive ear and the nape of her neck, with a hint of provocation.

“Hiss…” Jiang Le shivered abruptly, grabbing the mischievous hand, tilting her head back, her tone laced with slight annoyance: “Can you blow it properly!”

“Oh, quite the temper, are we? You’re picky even when I’m serving you by drying your hair.” Jiang Congyue grinned, and gently pressed down on her head. “Head down!”

Jiang Le’s hair was always neither too long nor too short. Perhaps she was accustomed to the crispness of her orphanage days; once it grew past her shoulders, she couldn’t help but cut it. Too long was hard to manage, too short couldn’t be tied up. The length that barely brushed her shoulders was what she liked best.

Thus, Jiang Congyue didn’t have to blow for long before the moisture was gone.

“Which one are you wearing tonight?” Jiang Congyue put down the hairdryer, her gaze scanning the closet.

It was just a dinner with a few people. Jiang Le casually picked a simple black and white spliced dress. Although Jiang Congyue had never explicitly stated the value of these clothes, when her fingertips touched the delicate fabric and exquisite tailoring, Jiang Le had a good idea that they were not ordinary items.

When the two were tidied up and went downstairs, Li Yan was already waiting impatiently in the living room. She was stuffing her mouth with the fruit Auntie He had offered, mumbling indistinctly: “You guys are too slow!”

Jiang Congyue smiled and tapped her forehead: “Yes, if we were any slower, a certain little glutton would probably have finished the whole fruit platter.”

Li Yan giggled and patted her stomach, looking smug: “No, no, I’m saving room for the big feast!”

Watching the intimate and natural interaction before her, that strange feeling surfaced in Jiang Le’s heart again. Jiang Congyue always seemed to know what she was about to say before she did.

In the summer evening, the magnificent sunset painted the sky in a brilliant tapestry of purple and red.

Li Yan was immediately drawn to the sight when she got out of the car and frantically took out her phone to snap photos. After taking the pictures, she admiringly checked them, tutting over her own photography skills.

However, in a moment when the others weren’t paying attention, her gaze froze on the photos on the screen for a moment, revealing a subtle hint of distraction.

“Yan Yan! What are you daydreaming about!” Li Yan’s mother called out loudly.

Li Yan snapped back, answered, quickly put away her phone, and ran over.

Jiang Le took in Li Yan’s momentary distraction, her gaze casually sweeping across a certain corner in the distance. She raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, then calmly looked away.

The group noisily entered the reserved private room. Dining with two recently freed students naturally meant no need for elegance. They ordered all the hearty dishes favored by their age group.

Don’t let Li Yan’s more boisterous nature fool you; she was actually a few months older than Jiang Le.

After eating for a while, Li Yan couldn’t contain her excitement. She threw an arm around Jiang Le’s shoulder and called out to Jiang Congyue: “Auntie Jiang! The college entrance exam is over! Can we celebrate with some wine?”

Jiang Le stiffened, wanting to shake off this octopus.

Jiang Congyue laughed heartily, raising a hand to signal the waiter: “Sure! You’re all adults now! Your mother has to drive, so she can’t drink. I’ll join you!” She added enthusiastically, “Just bring a few bottles of low-alcohol fruit wine!”

The two hit it off immediately and excitedly prepared to raise their glasses. Jiang Le remembered Jiang Congyue’s health and was about to speak up to dissuade her, but the two pulled her up, one on each side.

The three stood in a row, looking somewhat like sworn sisters.

“Come! Lele! Yan Yan!” Jiang Congyue raised her glass, her voice filled with a rare sense of boldness. “I wish you both success in your exams and a bright future!”

Li Yan immediately acted dramatically, putting on a show of being deeply moved: “Thank you for the auspicious words, Auntie Jiang! I also wish you happiness as vast as the Eastern Sea and a life as long as the Southern Mountains!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Li Yan’s mother laughed and applauded from the side. The atmosphere was lively and harmonious.

“…”

Jiang Le closed her eyes helplessly. She knew that after spending so much time with Li Yan, Jiang Congyue’s rare moments of seriousness would eventually be led astray.

But the single-handed opposition was no match for the two who had just finished their sworn alliance. Poor Jiang Le, who had never touched alcohol, was forced to drink a few glasses of fruit wine.

She had tried to refuse, but Li Yan waved her tongue-tied hand: “Oh, come on! It’s just a few days until we’re legal adults! Don’t worry about the minor details!”

Jiang Le had a very low alcohol tolerance. After a few glasses, her vision began to spin. She sat dizzily on the side, her cheeks burning, her eyes glazed over and unfocused.

“Hehe, look at Lele!” Li Yan pointed at Jiang Le’s flushed cheeks, mercilessly mocking her.

No sooner had she spoken than, with a soft thud, she herself face-planted onto the table, completely passed out.

Jiang Congyue and Li Yan’s mother exchanged a knowing smile, shaking their heads helplessly. One person helped each, stuffing the two reeling drunks into the car.

“Oh, look who that is over there?” Jiang Congyue suddenly pointed to a figure standing not far away, feigning surprise.

Li Yan’s mother, who had just settled the limp Jiang Le, looked up, her expression instantly darkening. She was about to push Li Yan in without a word.

“Auntie!” The figure quickly ran over, their voice filled with urgency.

Li Yan’s mother frowned, her tone cold and hard: “How did you find this place? Didn’t I tell you to stop pestering Yan Yan? Don’t you understand?”

Chen Ting urgently grabbed Li Yan’s drooping wrist: “Auntie, please, just let me talk to her for a few words, just a few…”

Li Yan’s mother was about to scold her, but Jiang Congyue interrupted with a smile: “Everything must have a beginning and an end. Let her speak. You take Lele back to rest first. I’ll stay here and watch; nothing will happen.”

Li Yan’s mother hesitated, seeing the unconscious Li Yan unconsciously leaning toward Chen Ting. She finally sighed: “Thank you, Boss Jiang. I’ll be right back after dropping off Lele.”

—

Inside the car, Jiang Le felt her head was as heavy as lead, buzzing in her ears. A sound of a quarrel faintly reached her, making her irritably cover her ears.

Tired, just want to sleep.

But the small car compartment made it uncomfortable no matter how she curled up.

Half-asleep, she felt herself being helped upstairs. A familiar scent enveloped her, and her body sank into something soft—it was her own bed.

Her weary and aching limbs finally stretched out. She hummed with satisfaction and sank completely into the darkness.

She didn’t know how long she slept when a prolonged, melodious tune unexpectedly invaded her dream. Jiang Le seemed to be in a brilliantly lit ballroom, surrounded by men and women in formal attire, dancing gracefully in pairs.

Suddenly, a warm hand firmly grasped hers. Then, her hand was gently lifted, and a soft, scorching kiss was placed on it, separated by the cold, exquisite mask on the other person’s face.

“Would this beautiful lady grant me the pleasure of a dance?” A clear and pleasant voice sounded.

Jiang Le’s groggy brain couldn’t process it immediately; she only felt a strange sense of familiarity in the voice.

She stood still, not responding. The person opposite seemed unhurried, patiently holding her hand, as if simply staying like this was immense satisfaction.

“…Okay,” Jiang Le heard her own hoarse voice squeeze out a reply.

Having received permission, the other person seemed to let out a very light laugh. This laugh, to the confused Jiang Le, was misinterpreted as mockery.

Her heart flared up in annoyance, and she abruptly tried to pull her hand away. The other person refused to let go, quickly chasing after her, apologizing in a low, humble voice.

Adhering to the principle of “what is said cannot be unsaid,” Jiang Le finally stiffly slid onto the dance floor with the person.

However, having never learned ballroom dancing, her limbs were clumsy, like they had just been attached. She moved and stepped awkwardly, like a land-bound duck flapping in shallow water.

After being stepped on countless times, the other person sighed in resignation, then suddenly used their arm, wrapping it around her waist, lifting her slightly, and then signaled her to take off her shoes and step directly onto their feet.

“Come, follow my steps,” the person’s voice carried a reassuring guidance.

Jiang Le’s entire body was forced to lean on the person opposite, moving with their steps.

This overly intimate posture made her feel belatedly shy. At the same time, she was astonished to realize that the other person’s height seemed almost the same as hers. How did they possess such strength to support her?

Before she could figure it out, the scene abruptly shifted. She was lying back on the soft bed, but there was a heavy, pressing sensation on her body.

She tried hard to open her eyes to see clearly, but her heavy eyelids drooped down again.

So sleepy, just want to sleep.

But right then, a rustling sound began to come from the kitchen.

The person seemed to be stir-frying Dongpo Pork. The person first poured a layer of hot oil. The oil, like a swimming snake with astonishing clarity, slowly slid down from the top of the meat beneath her, winding its way to the sinewy muscles.

So annoying, why is someone constantly stir-frying in her head!

“Mmm…” An inexplicable heat and annoyance simultaneously rose in Jiang Le’s dream. She abruptly grabbed the mischievous hand, wanting to bite it hard to vent her anger in her stupor. Who told it to prepare the dish so loudly and disturb her sleep!

She pouted, intending to bite, but heard the person on top of her let out another low chuckle.

This laughter provoked her. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, and instinctively, she tore off the bothersome mask on the other person’s face.

“Not hungry, stop cooking. It’s too loud!”

But when she saw the face clearly.

Jiang Le’s heart was violently gripped by an invisible hand, and she missed a beat.

Beneath the mask was a face identical to her own!

Seeing the astonished Jiang Le, a meaningful arc curved on her lips. The hand that had been grabbed not only didn’t stop but instead provocatively reached for the pot handle, clanking loudly as she began to flip the pot, showing off her skills by tossing and catching the food inside.

Jiang Le’s mind buzzed. She wanted to stop it, but it was too late. That hand lit a fire capable of starting a prairie fire, easily igniting the pot she had never used…

The clanging of the pot and spoons, like lightning and thunder in her ear!

—

“Ah!”

Jiang Le suddenly woke up from a suffocating, terrifying wave of pleasure and smoky aroma, mixed with the intense fire of reducing sauce.

Her back was already soaked with cold sweat, and her heart was beating frantically in her chest. She gasped for air, raising her hand to slap her cheeks, which felt hot, seemingly from the steam of the pot, in bewildered confusion.

Due to the hangover, her throat was as dry as if on fire. She struggled to get up, stumbling toward the water cup on the table.

After gulping down half a glass of cold water, the burning sensation in her throat subsided slightly, but the absurd yet clear scenes from the dream rushed into her mind.

She bit her lower lip, hesitantly raising her own hand.

Was she that narcissistic?

She could even dream of herself stir-frying in a dream?!

She covered her face, then abruptly threw her hands away.

But thankfully, the person in the dream was herself.

A sense of relief, as if escaping a disaster, surged in Jiang Le’s heart.

If the person in the dream had been someone else, just thinking about it would make her stomach churn, wanting to vomit for miles!

…

Jiang Congyue: 21