When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Escape Plan

“Le Le… Le Le…”

The sound was like being submerged underwater, blurry and carrying a suffocating stickiness.

Who was calling her?

“Le Le, Le Le, Le Le…” The sounds were urgent, like a demon chasing a soul in hell.

Le Le frowned. A crushing weight seemed to press down on her, making it hard to breathe.

“Ah!” Just as she was about to suffocate, she bolted upright, gasping for air.

Looking clearly, she saw it was the plump girl next to her who was lying on top of her while sleeping. Le Le expressionlessly and silently kicked her away.

The little plump girl rolled back to her own bed space.

“Annoying.” A clear, slightly hoarse voice came out of Le Le’s throat.

She froze. As if scalded by her own voice, she instinctively covered her mouth. In the darkness, her eyes were wide with shock.

“An-noy-ing… Annoying…” she repeated cautiously, one word at a time. The sound was small but distinctly hit her eardrums. It was like air leaking from a dilapidated bellows, but it was undeniably her.

She could talk?

Le Le smacked her face with her small hand. It hurt, so it was real!

Her eyesight wasn’t great at night. After putting on the ugly clothes donated to her, she fumbled her way down from the bed.

She stood by the bed for a long time. The welfare institution was dead silent, but Le Le’s heart was thumping violently, like a stone tossed into boiling water. A thought that had occupied her mind for countless days and nights suddenly surged up.

She had to run!

Jiang Le packed methodically. She slung her water bottle over her shoulder in case she needed a drink. Then she put on her slightly tattered backpack—not purchased by the institution, but a donation from the previous year. Finally, she stuffed the backpack with a pile of miscellaneous items: all the toys she had received over the years, which belonged only to her.

She didn’t touch anything provided by the welfare institution.

Prepared, she started her escape plan.

She opened the old iron door with extreme care, but the door, which had long been in disrepair, still let out a “creak, creak” sound.

Her hair stood on end. She quickly looked left and right, confirmed no one had noticed, and tip-toed toward the stairs.

The old woman had deliberately placed her in the innermost room on the third floor to ensure she was in a room with few children. Therefore, it would take her considerable effort to reach the staircase.

The entire journey was heart-stoppingly tense. Luckily, none of the other children were night owls like her.

Thankfully, she made it down the stairs without major incident and reached the main gate. She didn’t have a key and couldn’t open the door, but she didn’t need to use the main entrance.

Le Le, who was making a slight clinking noise from her belongings, squatted on the ground. She extended her small hand and gently stroked the warm ear of the dog. Little Yellow whimpered comfortably in his sleep.

Little Yellow was her favorite dog in the welfare institution, but she couldn’t take him with her. It would only lead to both of them suffering.

“Goodbye, Little Yellow.” Although Le Le regretted it, her face remained largely expressionless.

She first squeezed her backpack through the dog door, then crouched down, wiggling her bottom, and with a series of grunts, she laboriously pulled herself out through the hole.

“Hoo—”

The dusty-faced child leaned against the wall, relieved. After all that effort, she could finally catch her breath.

Half of her plan had succeeded. She couldn’t rest any longer; they would wake up soon.

Le Le took a deep breath, puffed out her cheeks, put on her backpack, and began to run for dear life.

The child had been frail and sickly since birth. Her stamina was poor, and after only a few steps, she was breathing heavily, panting like an ox.

The welfare institution was built in a remote suburb, sparsely populated and poorly lit. But Le Le was used to it and wasn’t too afraid.

Thanks to a child’s inherent energy, Le Le, despite her frailty, managed to scamper a considerable distance.

When she couldn’t run anymore, the child squatted in a corner to rest, opening her backpack to pull out a small packet of biscuits—the ones the old woman had secretly slipped to her.

The old woman’s hands and feet were becoming increasingly clumsy, and the director wanted to replace her. With the skinny woman instigating trouble, the director was even more displeased with the old woman.

In response, the old woman had to watch the skinny woman’s every move, afraid to offend her. Thus, she could only secretly slip Le Le a biscuit or two when the skinny woman withheld her meals.

Le Le was grateful to the old woman. Although she had sold her longevity lock, it was to pay for her medical examination, so the old woman was genuinely not a bad person.

As for how she knew this, that’s a long story.

Simply put, once when Le Le was sick again, the old woman’s own son was also sick, and she was too busy to care for Le Le, yet the director forced her to stay.

In a fit of anger, the old woman pointed at Le Le and cursed: “I regret pulling you back in the dead of winter, letting you keep this worthless life. If I hadn’t pitied you, I would have taken your golden lock to enjoy myself, instead of trying to get you treatment, you thing fit for a dead man’s coffin…”

Le Le blinked, nibbling the biscuit slowly. She couldn’t eat too fast, or she would have nothing left later.

She reluctantly put the biscuit back into her backpack and continued walking toward the town.

Why this escape plan?

A young woman who frequently volunteered at the welfare institution, when talking about her police officer father, always had eyes that shone like stars: “Le Le, police officers are the greatest people in the world! They catch bad guys and protect good people. If you’re in trouble, go find the police! They will definitely help you! Just like my dad!”

Le Le nodded, half-understanding, and muttered as she walked: “I’m going to find the police. The police will help Le Le find Mommy and Daddy. Le Le… will have a home.”

She would become the happiest child in the world, just like that volunteer sister.

Le Le gripped the straps of her backpack. The more she thought about it, the more energized she became. Her pace quickened as she rushed toward the town.

As the sky faintly brightened, Le Le finally reached the edge of the town, where stalls were already lined up along the roadside.

The clamorous shouts of vendors drilled into her ears. Normally, her sensitive hearing made any noise irritating, but now she couldn’t pay attention to the sounds.

“Whose child is that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Carrying a little backpack so early, is she going to school?”

“I wish my child was that sensible.”

…

Le Le, ravenously hungry, aimlessly wandered with her backpack. This small town felt too big for her.

She was starting to tire. She squatted outside a small supermarket, swallowing her saliva as she gazed at the fragrant grilled sausages displayed outside the shop.

“Grrr—”

Le Le covered her stomach, which felt like it was plastered to her back. She lowered her eyes. It’s nothing. Once I find Mommy and Daddy, I can eat as much as I want.

“Ah!” A gasp and a child’s crying sounded nearby.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t even hold onto something. Did you hurt yourself?”

Le Le looked up and saw a woman scolding the child while brushing dust off his knee.

The little boy froze, then immediately bent down to pick up something. The woman shrieked and smacked his hand: “Ouch, what are you doing? It fell on the ground, it’s dirty. You can’t eat it, you can’t eat it.”

But the boy was persistent, wanting to pick it up. When he was refused, he burst into tears: “Mommy…”

“Fine, fine, I give up! I’ll buy you a new one, alright!” The woman pouted, then grabbed another one for the child. “Hold it properly, okay? Never mind, I’ll blow on it for you. It’s hot.”

Only then was the boy satisfied. He happily held the grilled sausage, smiling, and opened his arms: “Mommy hug.”

The woman helplessly picked him up and walked away.

Le Le didn’t watch the two of them, her eyes fixed like a hungry wolf on the sausage that had rolled onto the ground.

She copied the woman’s movements, slapping her own hand until it was red, and told herself: “Mommy said things on the ground are dirty and can’t be eaten. I have to listen to Mommy.”

Le Le was a good child. She wouldn’t throw a fit and cry like that boy. She was obedient.

After a moment, she closed her eyes to avoid looking at the sausage, suddenly stood up, and prepared to continue searching for the police.

Suddenly, her vision went black. She tried to grab something nearby to steady herself, but grasped nothing. She fell straight down.

“Hey, hey, this child…” The small convenience store owner inside had been watching her for a while. Seeing her collapse at the doorway, she quickly rushed out.

Le Le opened her eyes, seeing the woman’s anxious face opposite her. She spread her hands and pouted: “Mommy hug…”

The small store owner already had a young daughter of her own. Seeing the child’s pitiful state, she couldn’t bear it. She picked her up and patted her back. “Whose precious child are you? Why are you alone on the street so early? Are you hungry?”

Le Le rested on the owner’s shoulder, enjoying the warm embrace. She clenched her small fist, remaining silent.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you talking?” The owner pushed open the store door, carried her inside, and handed her a lollipop from near the door. “Have a candy.”

With the lollipop in her hand, Le Le’s eyes lit up. She immediately hugged the owner’s neck tightly and joyfully exclaimed: “Mommy, Mommy! You are my Mommy!”

The old woman always slipped her biscuits secretly, afraid of the director finding out. But this Mommy gave her candy openly!

Only a Mommy would be this nice to her; the old woman wasn’t this nice.

The owner was melted by her soft, sweet calls. She cheerfully shrugged her shoulders, swaying twice. Goodness, whose child is this cute?

She intended to tease the child but was interrupted by a cry.

“Waaah…”

She quickly set Le Le down and rushed to the back room, picking up her daughter who had been awakened. “Oh… oh… don’t cry, don’t cry, baby…” As she rocked her, she pulled a chair over for the child who had followed her in.

Le Le obediently took off her backpack and held it in her lap. She climbed onto the chair, her two thin legs dangling in the air, and tilted her head, watching the woman soothe the baby.

The woman held her daughter in one arm, struggling to mix formula with the other.

“Mommy, I’ll help you,” Le Le, being observant, jumped down and held the bottle steady, waiting for the woman to scoop the formula.

The woman smiled gently and stroked the child’s head again. “Such a good girl.”

After mixing the formula, the woman sat down to feed the baby.

Le Le squatted beside her, looking at the nursing infant one moment, then at the woman carefully feeding her the next. She asked curiously: “Where is Daddy? Why is it just you?”

The nursing woman paused, smiled unnaturally, and said: “Uh, Daddy went to work.”

Le Le nodded. Just as she saw the woman looked tired and was about to offer help, an extremely clear and desperate voice unexpectedly pierced her mind.

【That dead man didn’t come back all night. Where did he go to gamble this time? Gamble, gamble, gamble. He doesn’t care about the child, and he’s lost all the money. How are we supposed to live like this!】

Startled by the extremely hateful voice, she fell onto her bottom. “Mommy, what did you say…”

The woman snapped back to reality, frowning and saying wearily: “Little girl, I’m not your mother. Your parents must be worried if you ran away alone. Can we call them to come and pick you up?”

“Call… pick me up…” The color drained completely from Le Le’s face. Pick her up? To be picked up back to where?

Like a startled rabbit, she sprang up from the ground, not even bothering to pick up the fallen lollipop. She grabbed her backpack from the floor and bolted out of the small supermarket without looking back.

“Hey! Why are you running!” The woman quickly stood up.

She didn’t want this Mommy anymore either.

She scrambled desperately, running haphazardly, afraid that one moment of slowness would mean being caught and sent back to the welfare institution. Her vision was blurry. She couldn’t see the road ahead and fiercely wiped away a streak of tears.

While wiping her tears, she ran into a solid, tall wall and immediately fell onto her backside, stars swimming in her vision.

“Woah? Where did this little cannonball come from?” A voice tinged with surprise and amusement sounded above her head.

Le Le looked up dizzily, the tears making her vision even blurrier. She saw a figure in a deep blue uniform and a large-brimmed hat squatting down.

He picked the child up with one hand, heard the child’s stomach rumble, and smiled with a bit of humor as he spoke to the steamed bun shop owner: “Boss, two more meat buns and a cup of soy milk, please.”

“Coming right up!”

“Little friend, why are you running around alone on the street? It’s dangerous. Shall Uncle take you home?” The burly police officer struggled to soften his voice to coax the child.

Le Le had tears hanging on her eyelashes. She spoke muffledly: “I don’t want to go back. I want to find the police, I want to find the police…”

The police officer was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh. It was the first time he’d heard a child crying to find the police. “I am the police.”

But he looked closely at the child’s dusty, tear-streaked face and became suspicious, wondering if the child had encountered a trafficker. He quickly grabbed the breakfast and hurried toward the police station with the child.

Le Le lay stunned on his shoulder.

She had found the police.