When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Within Reach

Jiang Le woke up to the morning light streaming into the bedroom through the sheer curtains. She stirred slightly, feeling the steady breathing of the person beside her.

This was the first time she had seen Jiang Congyue still asleep next to her, her profile appearing exceptionally soft in the morning light.

Everything from last night replayed in her mind, and Jiang Le’s ears felt warm. She quietly got up, afraid of waking the person beside her, but was held back by a hand as she tried to step out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Jiang Congyue’s voice was hoarse from the lingering effects of alcohol. Her eyes weren’t fully open, yet she had accurately grasped Jiang Le’s wrist.

Jiang Le was momentarily stunned, surprised that Jiang Congyue had woken up so quickly.

Jiang Congyue exerted a gentle pull, drawing her back into bed, her arm naturally wrapping around her waist. “Please, just lie with me a little longer.”

“You want me to skip work?” Jiang Le chuckled.

“Mhm,” Jiang Congyue nestled her face into the crook of her neck, her voice muffled. “Shouldn’t you stay with your girlfriend?”

Those three words made Jiang Le’s heart skip a beat. They had never explicitly defined their relationship before. She turned to face Jiang Congyue, looking seriously into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

Jiang Congyue finally opened her eyes, which were clear, unlike someone who had just woken up. She lightly caressed Jiang Le’s cheek. “I have never been unsure.”

These words were like a key that unlocked the last defense in Jiang Le’s heart. She nestled into Jiang Congyue’s embrace, listening to her steady heartbeat, feeling a sense of peace she had never experienced before.

For breakfast, Jiang Congyue was too lazy, so they ultimately ordered takeout. They sat at the dining table, and Jiang Congyue skillfully opened the containers, pushing the shrimp dumplings that Jiang Le liked toward her.

“What are your plans for today?” Jiang Congyue asked, pouring Jiang Le a glass of soy milk.

Jiang Le was about to answer when her phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the caller ID, her brows slightly furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Congyue noticed the change in her expression.

“Lin Yueying,” Jiang Le answered briefly, then picked up the call.

Lin Yueying’s voice on the other end was unusually serious. “Jiang Le, I need to see you. It’s about my brother’s little honey.”

Jiang Le exchanged a look with Jiang Congyue and said flatly, “Tell me now.”

“It’s not convenient to talk on the phone. Let’s meet at the usual spot in an hour.” Lin Yueying hung up after saying that.

Jiang Le looked up, asking Jiang Congyue for her opinion.

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem that needs my attention?” Jiang Congyue asked with a smile, acting as if she hadn’t heard the conversation.

Jiang Le’s expression subtly shifted. She put down her phone and continued eating breakfast. “No need. I’ll go by myself.”

Jiang Congyue smiled slightly. “Alright.”

An hour later, Jiang Le met Lin Yueying at a downtown coffee shop. Lin Yueying was wearing a sharp black suit today, and her face lacked its usual flippancy, instead carrying a degree of seriousness.

“Just tell me, what’s going on?” Jiang Le got straight to the point.

Lin Yueying took a file from her bag and pushed it toward her. “Take a look at this first.”

Jiang Le opened the file, which contained a woman’s details and photos. When she saw the photo, her pupils slightly contracted. She abruptly looked up, her expression hostile.

“You investigated me?”

The photo showed a girl in a small floral dress, smiling broadly, seemingly holding onto someone’s arm.

The person in the photo was none other than Li Xin.

And the owner of the arm she was holding was Jiang Le.

Lin Yueying gently shook her head and moved the photo aside, revealing the data underneath. “Su Wen, 25 years old. The woman my brother met three years ago.”

Her voice was calm. She pointed to the photo on the right side of the file, which was clearly the woman who had bumped into Jiang Le yesterday.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Jiang Le suppressed her anger, her fingers drumming rhythmically on the table.

“I originally wanted to investigate this woman’s background, but I accidentally found a large transfer in her bank account, so I followed the trail.” Lin Yueying flipped through the pages.

The next page showed an unfamiliar face.

She continued, “This woman is the one my brother insisted on marrying, and that huge sum of money came from her.”

“What does this have to do with me?” Jiang Le was somewhat impatient. She didn’t have time to waste on these trivial matters.

Lin Yueying raised her hand, signaling her to take it easy. “Similarly, this woman’s bank account also received a large transfer.”

Jiang Le frowned.

“And this transfer came from Li Xin,” Lin Yueying pushed the photo of Li Xin toward Jiang Le. “I then continued to investigate this girl and unexpectedly traced it back to the Sunshine Orphanage in Yuancheng, CEO Jiang, that name sounds familiar to you, doesn’t it?”

“And Li Xin, this girl, seemed to have an extraordinary relationship with CEO Jiang before her death.”

“What are you trying to say?” Jiang Le finally fixed her gaze on Lin Yueying’s gradually frenzied face.

“Su Wen seems to be deeply obsessed with you. In her delirium, she frequently mentions your name, saying things like ‘Lele, save me’,” Lin Yueying grinned and continued. “I’ve made it this clear, is CEO Jiang still going to try to distance herself from her?”

Jiang Le felt a wave of discomfort. “Li Xin, my interactions with her were not deep, let alone with any ‘Su Wen.’ Alright, I need to go.”

As she turned to leave, she heard Lin Yueying’s laughing voice. “I hope CEO Jiang isn’t lying, because she stole Lin’s commercial secrets, and it’s hard not to suspect CEO Jiang’s involvement in this matter. If that’s the case, my brother will be in big trouble for letting a wolf into the house.”

Jiang Le scoffed lightly. So, that was the real point.

If she guessed correctly, regardless of the truth, Lin Yueying would eventually make it look like the truth.

A provocation.

“How about this, CEO Jiang, you and I join forces to completely bring down my brother. With our current relationship, the cooperation between Jiang and Lin will only improve in the future.” Lin Yueying tempted Jiang Le with the prospect of profit.

Tsk, why were both the brother and sister talking to her about their “relationship”? She didn’t think she had a very deep connection with either of them.

Jiang Le sneered softly, waving her hand. “I’m sorry, that won’t be necessary.”

As Jiang Le walked out of the coffee shop, the afternoon sun stung her eyes slightly.

Lin Yueying’s words were like fine needles, pricking at the memories she had tried to seal away.

Li Xin.

That name, which hadn’t been mentioned in a long time, and the Sunshine Orphanage in Yuancheng…

She got into the car but didn’t start the engine immediately. Her fingers unconsciously drummed on the steering wheel, her gaze fixed on a distant, arbitrary point through the windshield.

Su Wen, Li Xin…

After a moment of silence, she unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and quietly walked toward a pharmacy.

When she pushed open the door at home, Jiang Le smelled a familiar aroma. Jiang Congyue, wearing an apron, peeked out from the kitchen, a spatula in her hand.

“You’re back? I tried making your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs following a tutorial,” she said with a smile.

Jiang Le stood in the entryway. Although they were only a few steps apart, within easy reach, it felt as if an unbridgeable chasm lay between them.

“Li Xin is a Strategist, and she is now Su Wen…” This should have been a question, but the answer had formed before it left her lips, turning it into a simple, flat statement.

So, everything started with Li Xin.

“So, Li Yan, were you looking for a substitute for me?” Jiang Le lowered her head in disappointment, her back slightly hunched, unwilling to meet her eyes.

Jiang Congyue, however, crossed the distance in a few quick steps, cupped her face, and gently patted it twice. “If you let Yan-yan hear that, she’ll definitely be upset with you.”

Jiang Le twisted her lips and smiled faintly.

Knowing she couldn’t be deceived, Jiang Congyue hugged her and replied with a low, firm affirmation. “Yes.”

“The reason you keep preventing me from seeing Li Xin is because of the scar on your lower back, isn’t it?” Jiang Le looked up, staring intently at her, as if trying to extract the answer to every question from her eyes.

“Oh, goodness,” Jiang Congyue tried to exert force but only managed to gently smooth her hair. “Why is my darling so clever? Nothing can be hidden from you.”

“But this scar is gone,” Jiang Le murmured, rubbing her lower back while nestled in her neck.

The usually composed Jiang Congyue’s breath hitched, and her body froze. She tried to step back, but Jiang Le held her in a death grip.

“Jiang Congyue, you’ve kept too many secrets from me. No matter how clever I am, I can’t guess everything, and I won’t be able to guess everything.”

“I can grant you the right to keep things from me, but the price of that cannot be you getting hurt.”

Jiang Le looked up, her eyes filled with deep shadows. She abruptly grabbed Jiang Congyue’s hand and, before she could react, led her upstairs.

Jiang Congyue panicked inwardly, knowing better than anyone what was about to happen. She could only follow Jiang Le’s pull, trying to lighten the atmosphere with a laugh. “Lele, don’t rush. Let’s talk this out nicely.”

But the person radiating a deep sense of pressure ignored her overtures, silently pulling her deeper into the house.

Finally, she pushed open the innermost door in the hallway. The room was identical to the master bedroom, except for one addition.

It was an iron chain secured to the foot of the bed.

Jiang Le pushed Jiang Congyue onto the bed with a dark expression, her hand swiftly clamping the chain around her ankle.

Jiang Congyue still had the nerve to joke. “Hehe, black is a bit ugly. I actually prefer blue.”

Then, she was completely flipped over onto the bed.

Jiang Le nonchalantly pulled two pills from her pocket.

“My darling likes to play with this kind of kink, too.” Jiang Congyue looked at the white pills in her hand, smiling as she reached out to hook her fingers.

But Jiang Le caught both her hands, forced the pills into her mouth, and, fearing Jiang Congyue wouldn’t swallow them, pinched her face and kissed her.

This kiss was unusually passionate and intense, carrying a hint of anger. Jiang Le relentlessly tried to push the pills further in, while Jiang Congyue stubbornly resisted.

A bitter taste spread through their mouths, making both of them grimace. However, the most bitter thing at the moment was not the medicine.

In the end, Jiang Congyue swallowed the pills.

When they parted, they looked at each other in silence.

Jiang Congyue gave a wry smile. “I only overslept for a little while today, and you caught my weakness.”

“No, it’s because you never refuse my requests,” Jiang Le sighed, resting her forehead against hers. “Letting me go to see Lin Yueying alone means you were secretly planning to deal with Li Xin by yourself again.”

“Didn’t you say that playing shouldn’t just be about pleasing one person, but about making both of us happy? By the same logic, love shouldn’t be carried by one person alone.”

“Jiang Congyue, I don’t want you to be so exhausted either. You don’t know how to take care of yourself. Let me do it, okay? I know how to love you.”

“Sleep,” Jiang Le whispered, covering Jiang Congyue’s eyes.

Her past pain stemmed from viewing Jiang Congyue as too perfect, causing her to constantly worry about loss. But Jiang Congyue was only a few years older than her.

She had crowned her as a goddess with her selfless love, forgetting that she was merely flesh and blood.

Jiang Congyue understood before her that she was not the distant moon in the sky, but the happiness that was within reach.

They both needed to be happy.