When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Evil Version of Jiang Le

Nanshan, Yihe Sanatorium.

The scenery was pleasant, quiet and comfortable, with complete facilities, making it a good place for rehabilitation, treatment, and retirement. However, beneath this beautiful exterior, the most filthy secrets were always buried.

The grey-white building at the innermost part of Qu Shen’s courtyard always emitted an unspeakable sense of oppression. Care staff hurried about, avoiding eye contact, never lingering for a second in the hallway, as if some man-eating monster was locked behind that thick iron door.

The iron door made a dull scraping sound as it was pushed open. A figure in black slowly walked in, the hem of her trench coat sweeping the floor soundlessly.

Her pale face appeared exceptionally cold in the dim light. Her dark eyes were bottomless, like two dry wells, hiding countless rotten secrets.

Two pairs of sharp, malicious eyes glared at her. The woman ignored them, a shallow smile hanging on her face. She walked at a leisurely and pleased pace and sat down in a chair, resting her head on her hand, facing the two hospital beds.

The two people on the beds were tightly bound in bizarre postures with restraints, their mouths sealed with tape, only able to make muffled whimpering sounds. Their eyes were wide open, bloodshot, filled with fear and hatred, staring intently at the person across from them.

The violent struggle caused the beds to creak.

The woman closed her eyes. The sound of their painful struggles and twisting seemed like a comfortable lullaby to her ears.

This was the ninth year since Jiang Congyue’s death. Whenever she couldn’t sleep, she would come here and listen to them squirming, futilely attempting to escape.

Her pale fingertips lightly tapped her temple, once, and then again, forming a bizarre rhythm with the shaking of the beds.

She could indeed hear heart whispers, but every time she came here, the cursing from the two women’s mouths never stopped, leaving no room for them to curse her in their hearts.

The people in the sickbeds were none other than the orphanage director, Sun Meixin, and the thin woman, Zhao Li.

After learning of Jiang Le’s success, they intentionally and unintentionally tried to cling to her, but were also afraid that Jiang Le would come back for revenge, so they dismissed the idea.

Later, upon hearing some horrifying rumors about Jiang Le, they only hoped she would be merciful and not hold a grudge against them.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Le not only proactively found them but also claimed that they had, after all, nurtured her and she wanted to repay them.

Initially, the two of them naturally didn’t dare to believe it. A wolf giving a New Year’s greeting to a chicken was definitely a scheme.

The first one to waver was the thin woman, Zhao Li.

Jiang Le took her to the best hospital in the city, spending a fortune, giving Zhao Li access to all kinds of the most advanced and expensive equipment.

Zhao Li was flattered and couldn’t believe she was enjoying such treatment. She wept bitterly, “Lele, Aunt Zhao is so sorry for how she treated you before.”

Jiang Le, watching her leg gradually recover, smiled and patted her hand. “That’s all in the past. People have to look forward, right? Now that my life has gotten better, I certainly can’t forget you.”

Zhao Li flexed her injured leg, which she hadn’t been able to move for years. She nearly knelt down and kowtowed, vowing to turn over a new leaf and repent.

After she was able to walk and jump again, Zhao Li went back and boasted to the director, Sun Meixin, about her leg, and then described the wonderful treatment she had received for several months. The more she talked, the happier she became, unable to contain her joy.

Sun Meixin’s heart stirred. She thought that she hadn’t done as badly as Zhao Li back then. She had even occasionally advised Zhao Li. Besides, if she hadn’t agreed to let Jiang Le into the welfare home, how could Jiang Le have such a good life now?

Wasn’t it all thanks to her?

The more she thought about it, the more she believed it.

The next day, before dawn, she sought out Jiang Le. A servant led her through the door, and she took a tour of the entire residence. It was the first time she had seen such a luxurious estate, and her eyes nearly popped out with jealousy.

If she didn’t extort a huge sum, she would be doing herself a disservice!

Jiang Le finally came down after a long while. When she saw Sun Meixin, she warmly called out “Director, Director.”

The two exchanged pleasantries for a long time. Sun Meixin mostly talked about Jiang Le’s childhood, attempting to exploit her young age and poor memory by borrowing stories from the big auntie and misattributing them.

Deeply into her act, she even used a handkerchief to dramatically dab her eyes. “At that time, I could barely afford food myself, but seeing you children starving, I really… I really couldn’t bear it…”

Jiang Le supported Sun Meixin’s arm, patting her somewhat hunched back. This woman no longer had the sturdy, fiery demeanor of the past. It seemed that small things could completely crush her spirit.

“I understand, Director. You were doing it all for us, sacrificing yourself and never complaining,” Jiang Le also smiled and cooperated with her performance.

At this point, Sun Meixin’s cloudy but shrewd eyes darted left and right under the cover of her handkerchief. Then she continued to cry loudly: “But look at poor me now… I…”

Jiang Le followed up, asking, “Director, what is it? Did something terrible happen?”

Sun Meixin draped herself over Jiang Le’s arm, sobbing until she couldn’t straighten up. “My husband was laid off a few years ago and hasn’t been able to find a job. The savings we accumulated over the years are running out. I worry so much every day that I can’t eat or sleep. I really have no choice…”

“Oh, I thought it was something major. It’s just a small matter. Let your husband come and work for me. The most important thing is for you to take good care of your health,” Jiang Le said, patting her hand with a feigned look of concern.

With this assurance, Sun Meixin couldn’t hide her joy. Her eyes red, she covered her mouth and thanked her repeatedly.

After the person left, someone immediately presented the relevant information on Sun Meixin’s husband.

This person was none other than the young girl who sold water chestnuts outside the airport back then.

The second time Jiang Le encountered her, she saw her buying fruit wholesale at the market, specifically water chestnuts. Despite her young age, she was a skilled haggler, buying seven or eight crates for 1.8 yuan per jin—far from the ten yuan per jin people were talking about.

There was a group of children following her expectantly. They each received a crate and immediately scattered to sell them everywhere.

This made Jiang Le laugh out of exasperation. This little girl had a head for business at such a young age. Later, she found out that the girl was also from an orphanage and was leading her little gang to use opportunistic methods to earn some pocket money.

Jiang Le, seeing how sharp she was and that she was a malleable talent, took her home to be her personal assistant.

Snapping back to the present, Jiang Le glanced at the assistant approvingly. She was observant and sensible. She took the file and began to read it.

Sun Meixin’s husband, Guo Liang, had indeed dropped out of work and was staying home, but he hadn’t been laid off; he had been fired for stealing valuable items from the company.

Both husband and wife were thorough gamblers. Embezzling public funds for gambling was a common occurrence for them, and now it was indeed difficult to sustain their lives solely on Sun Meixin’s small salary.

Fortunately, they had no children, otherwise, they would have had to suffer even more hardships following them.

“Boss Jiang, are you really going to let him into the company?” Lin Yuan pouted.

Jiang Le closed the folder with a snap, curling her lips. “How can there be such a thing as a free lunch? Should greedy people not be punished?”

She slapped the folder onto Lin Yuan, turned her back, and walked away, humming an off-key tune.

Less than a month later, Guo Liang couldn’t hold back. Jiang Le did pay the security team leader a high salary, but he heard other security guards talking privately about stock trading, which could multiply his salary several times over!

His heart stirred. He immediately sought advice from a few of his security guard buddies, and sure enough, the results were immediate. Staring at the extra money in his new bank account, his eyes instantly turned green.

“Brothers, let’s take you to see other good places,” the security guards laughed, slinging their arms over Guo Liang’s shoulder and leading him away.

The small-time gambling in the countryside was no longer enough to satisfy him. He was dragged by his good security guard buddies to a massive underground casino, where he earned hundreds of thousands in a single night!

Moreover, this casino offered advances. He could gamble first without taking out any money, and if he won, he only had to pay a 1% advance fee.

So, he brought Sun Meixin along. Soon, the money would flow into his pockets, wouldn’t it?

When Zhao Li saw their lives getting richer and richer—they even bought two houses—she couldn’t sit still. She immediately latched on and asked what was going on.

Initially, the two were reluctant to tell her this profitable method, until Zhao Li said she would give them a 70/30 split once she started earning, which finally loosened their tongues.

The three of them used their stock earnings to gamble and then used their gambling winnings to trade stocks. After several rounds, the balance in their accounts had reached an enormous figure they had never dreamed of seeing in their lifetimes.

Jiang Le’s fingertips tapped the table like flowing water. Watching their virtual accounts slowly grow, her face showed unreserved pleasure.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late. The three of them suffered consecutive losses at the casino, and when they tried to use the money in their cards to cover the deficit, they found that they couldn’t withdraw any cash.

“What’s going on!” Zhao Li panicked, frantically slapping the machine. “There’s something wrong with your machine! I have money in my card!”

A burly thug knocked his stick and scoffed, “Money? Then show it!”

Sun Meixin, having seen a bit more of the world, was calmer than they were. She first tried to intimidate them: “We’ll write an IOU! We’ll pay it back in a few days!”

The thugs surrounding them dispersed, and a beautiful woman brought a paper and pen.

The three signed the IOU and pressed their fingerprints onto it before frantically fleeing back home.

But later, the thugs continuously banged on their door and splashed blood to demand payment. Even selling the houses they had previously bought wasn’t enough to cover the debt. The three gathered at the old house, erupting in a huge argument under the immense pressure.

Zhao Li slammed the table and swore, “It’s ruined! It’s all ruined! It’s all your fault! How are you going to pay me back!”

“Why didn’t you mention how you shamelessly begged us to let you in on the money-making scheme before? Now that you’re not making money, you blame us!” Guo Liang was already extremely agitated. Hearing them quarrel, he immediately flew into a rage and swept the bowls and chopsticks off the table onto the floor.

This posture stunned the two women, but then Sun Meixin became furious, her eyes red, and she lunged forward to scratch Guo Liang.

Before she could fight Zhao Li, the couple started fighting among themselves. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten into this mess! Why don’t you go die! You plague! Go to hell!”

Guo Liang had always been afraid of his fiery wife. His green eyes glared at Zhao Li, who was watching the show. He grabbed her by the neck and was about to slam her into the wall.

But Zhao Li wouldn’t let him catch her. She twisted around, kicked him hard, and opened the door to run.

Guo Liang, in pain, fiercely shoved Sun Meixin, who was still trying to scratch him. “Are you crazy? You’re helping an outsider instead of me? She said a 70/30 split, so the money should also be split 70/30! If she runs, who’s going to pay the debt!”

His words enlightened Sun Meixin. She let go of him and swiftly grabbed Zhao Li’s hair. “You’re not going anywhere either!”

In the pushing and shoving, Guo Liang lost his footing. Just as he was about to tumble down the stairs, he grabbed Sun Meixin, who was closest to him.

This dilapidated building’s staircase was both high and steep, and a nail that someone had dropped lay vertically on the floor.

Under a pool of striking red blood, Zhao Li, whose bones felt shattered from the fall, froze rigid with terror.

Sun Meixin, disheveled, knelt on the floor with wobbly legs, her face ashen, unconsciously muttering in a daze, “It’s over, it’s all over…”

Zhao Li used all her strength to push Guo Liang off her, tremblingly touching her leg which had only recently healed. She tried to climb up in a panic but collapsed again due to weakness in her legs. “My leg! My leg!”

“Tap—tap—tap—”

A person slowly walked into this farce, stepping on the blood-stained stairs.

The two helpless women looked over, trembling.

Jiang Le was still wearing that chilling black trench coat, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. She looked down at them with a tone of apparent pity and said slowly, “How truly pitiful.”

Looking at the two women groaning in pain on the ground and the motionless Guo Liang, Jiang Le’s eyes shone with an unusual, almost fanatical light. She slowly crouched down, appreciating their suffering up close, as if admiring a work of art.

“I’m going to send you to a place to enjoy your final years,” she said softly, her fingers gently brushing over Zhao Li’s fractured leg, causing a violent spasm. “Don’t worry, the doctors and nurses there are very professional. I personally hired them for you…”

Her voice was soft and sinister, gently echoing in the bloody air, like the hiss of a poisonous snake, making their skin crawl.

Every word was meticulously crafted like a dull knife, slowly sawing away at their remaining sanity.

“It’s you! It’s you! You little bitch! Bastard!” Sun Meixin stumbled to her feet, pointing at Jiang Le and letting out a hoarse roar.

Jiang Le’s gaze deepened. She raised an eyebrow, gave her a long, slow look, and chuckled softly, “What does that have to do with me?”

Then, she clapped her hands, tossed the glove that had just touched Zhao Li’s leg onto her like trash, and walked away, humming a tune.