When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Zhuoran

In a state of mental haze, a distant yet familiar call seemed to reach her ears, over and over. She wanted to hear it clearly, but the voice was like it was separated by a thick layer of fog, unable to become distinct…

“Lele…”

“Lele…”

Jiang Le abruptly opened her eyes. This movement startled Jiang Congyue beside her.

She patted her chest and scolded: “What are you doing? You scared me. Don’t sleep anymore; we’re home. You can sleep in your room later.”

Jiang Le was still a bit disoriented and nodded blankly. Perhaps she was truly exhausted; just as she stood up, a sudden dizzy spell hit her. Her vision went black, and she nearly stumbled forward. Fortunately, Jiang Congyue was quick and steadied her.

“You child, your health is worse than mine,” Jiang Congyue said, amused, helping the physically weak Jiang Le.

Aunt He had long heard the car. She rushed up, bringing two steaming bowls of ginger soup. Seeing Jiang Le’s pale face, she immediately exclaimed: “Oh! What happened? Quick, drink this to warm up.”

Jiang Le took the bowl and quickly drank the slightly hot ginger soup in one go. The warm liquid rapidly dispelled the chill around her. She instantly felt revived, and some color returned to her face.

Afterward, Jiang Congyue urged her upstairs to rest and sleep. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.

She woke up to find it was the next day.

She rubbed her slightly throbbing temples and got up. Although their family didn’t have many relatives to visit, ever since Jiang Congyue took her to her parents’ graves once, they decided to visit the cemetery to sweep the graves and pay their respects every year before the Spring Festival.

Jiang Congyue had a business trip in a few days, so the day was set for today.

She quickly washed up, confirmed her appearance was spotless and perfect, and nodded with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror.

Coming to the cemetery for the second time, Jiang Le’s mindset was completely different—much calmer. She quietly and meticulously brushed away the dead leaves and dust from the two elders’ tombstones, then solemnly placed a bouquet of simple white chrysanthemums.

The process was silent between the two until they started burning spirit money. Only then did Jiang Congyue speak: “Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you have anything you want to say to your parents?”

Jiang Le’s hand, throwing spirit money, paused. She looked up blankly at Jiang Congyue, saying haltingly: “Dad, Mom, I’m doing very well, you don’t need to worry…”

Jiang Congyue squatted down, also took a stack of spirit money, and tossed it into the fire bit by bit. Watching them curl and be devoured by the flames, her voice became distant and gentle: “May the two elders in heaven bless our Lele to be safe and sound, healthy and strong. No matter what happens in the future, may everything be stable and smooth, turning peril into safety, and misfortune into fortune…”

The atmosphere, which should have been somber, was livened up by the string of four-character idioms Jiang Congyue spoke.

Jiang Le stared blankly at Jiang Congyue’s stream of wishes, her lips moving, wanting to speak but holding back.

It wasn’t until Jiang Congyue gradually started wishing for her to earn a lot of money daily, making a billion a day, that Jiang Le’s brow twitched. She finally couldn’t help but interject: “Jiang Congyue, those are my parents, not the turtle in the wishing well.”

Jiang Congyue glared at her, countering as if she were the aggrieved one: “How can you talk like that? You should say nice things in front of your elders. Just say whatever comes to mind.”

Jiang Le finally understood completely. Jiang Congyue probably had no more experience with the ritual of honoring ancestors than she did—both were clueless, solemnly spouting nonsense.

The two exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh simultaneously. They carefully extinguished the last spark, packed up, and walked out of the cemetery side by side.

On the way, Jiang Le carried the small basket that had held the wine and food, asking cautiously: “Why don’t you go visit your ancestors’ graves?”

Jiang Congyue was boredly swinging the empty plastic bag. Her movement paused at the question, then she answered as if nothing was wrong: “Can’t find them. It was too long ago; their graves are probably gone.”

Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Jiang Le quickly lowered her head and kept quiet.

“Sigh, I’m at this age. It should be others visiting my grave. If I run off looking for my ancestors, they’d be worried about my old bones,” Jiang Congyue grinned, mischievously nudging the head-down Jiang Le with her elbow.

Jiang Le, who was jolted into a stumble, instantly widened her eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed and annoyed, and wanted to bump her back. But Jiang Congyue was right; she was older, and Jiang Le felt genuinely awkward starting a physical fight with her.

Seeing her look like she wanted to retaliate but didn’t dare, Jiang Congyue burst into laughter. In a great mood, she wrapped her arm around Jiang Le’s arm and even gestured to compare their heights, exclaiming: “Our Lele is really getting taller and taller. Now I have to look up at you, almost half a head shorter.”

Jiang Le grumbled, “Exactly. You, this old bone…”

“Hey!” Jiang Congyue poked her waist in displeasure.

Jiang Le was naturally ticklish there. The poke made her unable to hold the basket steady, laughing uncontrollably.

If I can’t bump, can’t I tickle!

Seeing Jiang Le suddenly turn aggressive, Jiang Congyue immediately knew what she was going to do. At this point, she didn’t care about “old bones” and bolted away in a hurry.

Jiang Le was dumbfounded but laughed breathlessly, chasing after her and shouting with a smile, “Don’t run if you have the guts!”

Jiang Congyue made a face, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

The two chased each other and ran into the car. The huge commotion startled the sleepy driver in the front: “?!”

Jiang Congyue and Jiang Le lay in the car, both flushed and panting, staring at each other in an extremely childish standoff.

“…” The driver chuckled dryly: “Chairman Jiang is truly living younger and younger. It really pays to spend time with young people. I don’t have this much vitality.”

Hearing the teasing, Jiang Le flushed and turned her face away. But Jiang Congyue, with her thick skin, leaned in again, naturally wrapping her arm around Jiang Le’s head, saying with a cheerful smile: “I’ll let you win next time. Still sulking?”

Jiang Le looked at her in disbelief. She wasn’t angry about that at all. Seeing her得意 (smugly) twisting the truth, Jiang Le simply closed her eyes, giving up on a futile argument.

Jiang Congyue, however, mischievously fluttered her long eyelashes, unable to help but sigh with admiration, “Look at these long eyelashes, look at this high nose bridge, look at this beautiful little face…”

She praised her face up and down, inside and out, in a messy flurry. Even the most determined fake sleeper would have to break character. Jiang Le finally couldn’t help but let her lips curve up. She opened her eyes and looked at her reproachfully. She always enjoyed hearing people praise her looks.

The driver watched their interaction in the rear-view mirror and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The child who was so small, so reserved, and timid when she first arrived had been raised to be so lively by Chairman Jiang.

What was only a thought in his mind clearly and completely reached Jiang Le’s ears. She felt a bit embarrassed, burying her face into Jiang Congyue’s neck, her ear tips burning hot.

Jiang Congyue also noticed, but only assumed it was because Jiang Le was blushing from her compliments. The smile on her face became even brighter. She hugged Jiang Le and patted her back, humming softly.

For the rest of the winter break, Jiang Le enrolled in a driving school, clocking in on time every day to practice driving. She learned things incredibly fast. The entire winter break flew by between the steering wheel, accelerator, and brake.

This time, Jiang Congyue couldn’t spare the time to send her off, so the two had a three-hour-long phone call, which Jiang Le was forced to hang up only after boarding the plane.

–

No one knows who first suggested it, but the four girls in the dorm decided to take on a project together.

The team officially leased a small office space and registered under the name “Zhuoran”. With that, the student startup studio, small in scale, was established.

Jiang Le and Guli had some funds and specialized in budget allocation and market marketing; Mi Lin was a tech enthusiast, responsible for all technical development; and Wen Qiqi was meticulous, focusing on legal compliance and contract review.

The four worked like finely meshed gears, each fulfilling their roles, coordinating seamlessly.

Initially, they based their first product on a small game developed by Mi Lin, with Jiang Le and Guli responsible for external business cooperation and expansion.

By their junior year, the combination had already begun to establish a reputation in the industry thanks to their clear division of labor and efficient execution.

Later, as the project gained traction, the ambitious young people decided to go all out. They recruited some capable, familiar junior students and collaboratively aimed to develop a larger-scale game.

The studio’s business was thriving. The four young founders, like female eagles about to soar into the sky, devoted all their energy to this project full of potential.

Jiang Le was primarily responsible for external business cooperation and financial management. She displayed a business acumen beyond her age, an ability largely benefited from Jiang Congyue’s years of subtle tutelage, coupled with her mind-reading skill, which kept her constantly at an advantage at the negotiation table.

Only after their work reached a temporary pause could Jiang Le and Jiang Congyue video chat.

Jiang Congyue couldn’t help but tease on the other end: “I heard that young CEO Jiang’s business capabilities are very outstanding. The news even reached me. How about it, is there a chance to discuss cooperation with us?”

Jiang Le put down the documents in her hand and smiled at Jiang Congyue on the screen: “Oh, big CEO Jiang, don’t make fun of us. Our little ventures are hardly worthy of your attention.”

Guli and Wen Qiqi couldn’t help but smile, suddenly feeling pumped up!

While the two were teasing each other, the office door was pushed open with a bang, and Mi Lin rushed in, her face ashen, her voice altered: “It’s bad! Our server has been hacked!”

Everyone was stunned.

Wen Qiqi was the first to react: “The data? Has user data been leaked?”

“Still checking, but the core code has definitely been stolen.” Mi Lin’s voice was shaking from panic. “The person left a message demanding five hundred thousand, or they’ll make the code public.”

Guli suddenly stood up: “Blackmail? Call the police!”

“Wait.” Jiang Le calmly restrained her. “Don’t panic yet. Mi Lin, can you trace the source?”

Mi Lin shook her head: “They’re very professional, using multiple proxies and jump servers. They’re well-hidden… I… I can’t do it…”

The office was dead silent. This project was their entire effort. If the code was leaked, it would not only mean all their hard work was in vain but also potentially face massive claims from investors.

Jiang Le subconsciously looked for help towards Jiang Congyue, who was still on the call, and the others looked in the same direction, too.

In the dead silent room, Jiang Congyue’s voice, still gentle but remarkably clear and composed, came through: “Don’t panic, children. The sky isn’t falling. Listen to me and do as I say now.”

Her voice seemed to carry a strange power of reassurance: “First, don’t pay any ransom. That will only make things worse. Second, immediately contact a cybersecurity expert. I have a friend who is an authority in this field. I’ll send you his contact information right away. Third, check the backup system and see when the last complete backup was.”

“And,” Jiang Congyue added, “don’t forget that your biggest assets are not the code, but your creativity and your team. Even if the worst happens, you can start over, can’t you?”

Jiang Congyue was always like this—able to remain calm in the eye of the storm, present solutions, provide a sense of security, and occasionally crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere.

Hearing her words, everyone simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, their hanging hearts dropping significantly. In their panic, they almost forgot they had such a powerful “cheat” of a backer.

For the next 48 hours, the four were virtually sleepless.

With the remote assistance of the expert Jiang Congyue urgently contacted, they not only successfully tracked down the hacker’s real identity and IP address.

They also unexpectedly discovered that this was not a simple ransomware attack but an underhanded scheme by a competitor company, intending to steal their core technology and even completely sabotage them.

Wen Qiqi pushed up her glasses, reviewing the collected digital evidence and legal statutes. She said faintly: “The evidence is conclusive. We can sue them immediately.”

“That will drag on for a long time. Our project can’t afford to wait,” Guli frowned.

Jiang Le pondered for a long time, and suddenly her eyes lit up: “Perhaps we can turn this crisis to our advantage.”

Three days later, a meticulously prepared press conference was held at their office building.

Jiang Le stood before the media, calmly recounting the entire process of the hacker attack and demonstrating on the spot how their game was not only rebuilt but made even more perfect from the ruins.

“This sudden experience made us deeply aware of the importance of cybersecurity for startups and the industry as a whole,” Jiang Le announced steadily to the cameras. “Therefore, we have decided to open-source some of the rebuilt, non-core code modules. Using this as an opportunity, we will establish a ‘Cybersecurity Scholarship’ for university students, hoping to contribute a small part to cultivating more defensive cybersecurity talents.”

This move earned widespread praise from the industry. The original crisis became the best publicity. Their game made a splash before its official launch, and the number of pre-registered users skyrocketed overnight.

After the press conference, everyone was relieved. Jiang Le took a call in the office.

“Well done, young CEO Jiang,” Jiang Congyue’s voice was laced with a smile.

“Mhm, it’s all thanks to the excellent teaching of Teacher Jiang,” Jiang Le also smiled, her tone becoming soft.

“Stop right there,” Jiang Congyue interrupted her. “This is your own ability. Don’t flatter me. By the way, I have a business trip to your area next week. You kids remember to treat me to a meal.”

Jiang Le had her phone on speaker, not avoiding the others.

Guli heard this, laughed heartily, and roared with overwhelming generosity: “Aunt Jiang, you helped us so much. Booking the entire restaurant is no problem!”

…

Jiang Congyue: 39