When the Villain Falls Madly in Love with Me - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Curtain Falls

After Jiang Congyue completely fell into darkness, Jiang Le leaned against her, gazing at Jiang Congyue’s gradually sleeping face, her fingertips gently brushing her slightly furrowed brow.

The sedative began to take effect, and Jiang Congyue’s breathing became steady and deep. Those eyes, which always hid a thousand secrets, were now peacefully closed.

Jiang Le lightly kissed Jiang Congyue’s forehead, then got up and retrieved the spare phone she had given Jiang Congyue. Predictably, there was nothing on the phone.

How could such a meticulous person leave the slightest trace for her to detect?

She sighed, tossed the phone aside, took a final look at Jiang Congyue on the bed, and silently left.

She drove to a secluded neighborhood, expertly pulling up to an apartment building.

She paused to think for a moment after getting out of the car, ultimately abandoning the lesson Jiang Congyue had once taught her—to bring a gift when visiting someone’s home. After all, she was already inside the neighborhood, with no shops nearby, so it couldn’t be helped.

She went upstairs empty-handed and pressed the doorbell.

It took a while for someone to open the door.

Jiang Le smiled. “Long time no see, Butler Lin.”

Lin Qingyu was momentarily taken aback seeing Jiang Le outside the door, but she quickly recovered, offering a faint smile. “She wouldn’t smile like that. You look too unnatural.”

“Ah,” Jiang Le dropped the forced smile and found herself genuinely amused. “I tried very hard.”

“That’s more like it now.” Lin Qingyu stepped aside, inviting her in.

Jiang Le walked in. The room wasn’t large but was decorated to be extremely cozy, giving an immediate feeling of home. There was a row of flowers on the balcony, now swaying pleasantly in the sun and wind.

A cup of steaming herbal tea was gently placed in front of her. Lin Qingyu also sat down, sipping her tea casually.

Jiang Le didn’t beat around the bush with Lin Qingyu and went straight to the point. “Tell me the contact method between Jiang Congyue and Su Wen.”

Lin Qingyu raised an eyebrow. “One is right beside you, and the other is locked up. Why would you need a contact method?”

Jiang Le pressed her hand to her forehead, realizing her ambiguous phrasing and that Lin Qingyu was deliberately teasing her. “How do they communicate?”

“You’ve actually seen it already,” Lin Qingyu said calmly, blowing on the hot herbal tea.

“What do you mean?”

Seen it? Jiang Le was confused.

“The letter sent to the company’s front desk was from Su Wen.”

Jiang Le’s hand gripping the cup paused. That letter, which she had forgotten and casually tossed aside, and the day Jiang Congyue suddenly asked her to buy groceries, only for her to go downstairs anyway.

She had guessed that Jiang Congyue would use Lin Qingyu to facilitate some things, but she hadn’t expected her to accomplish so much without her realizing it.

Jiang Le forced a laugh. It must have been difficult for her legs.

“The letter? Jiang Congyue is cautious. She wouldn’t destroy the letter or carry it with her. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the intermediary.”

Lin Qingyu didn’t deny it, tucking a strand of graying hair behind her ear. “However, she said that if I gave you the letter, she would prematurely end this game.”

Jiang Le’s heart contracted sharply. Prematurely starting? No, it had already begun.

She slammed her hand on the table, her eyes bloodshot, losing all composure as she shouted at Lin Qingyu, “Give me the letter!”

Jiang Le virtually sped back to the villa, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest. She rushed into the room where she had locked Jiang Congyue. Sure enough, the bed was empty, leaving only the cold iron chain and a faint, lingering scent of Jiang Congyue’s perfume—clean and cool—in the air.

She was one step behind after all. Jiang Congyue had planned today all along, calculating that she would go find Lin Qingyu and factoring in the time difference.

Her phone vibrated with a short text message, accompanied by a picture with a crudely scribbled message:

【East City, Old Port District, Abandoned Warehouse No. 1. Lele, please hurry. —Su Wen】

Jiang Le’s gaze sharpened. Without hesitation, she grabbed her car keys and rushed out the door again. She tried calling Jiang Congyue’s phone while driving. As expected, it was turned off. She forced herself to calm down and analyze the situation.

…

East City, Old Port District.

Jiang Congyue kicked at a sharp pebble at her feet. As the familiar scene gradually appeared before her, she momentarily wavered, but quickly regained her composure.

She continued walking toward Abandoned Warehouse No. 1.

She thought to herself that Lin Zhen was truly useless. She had given him a chance, but he didn’t seize it, leaving behind this deadly piece of land.

She sighed, looking at the distant rolling waves and the slightly darkening sky.

Whistling softly, she slowly pushed open the dilapidated iron door and walked in. Just as she had expected, a damp, foul odor immediately assailed her as she stepped inside.

In the dim, silent warehouse, only the sound of dripping water could be heard.

In the center, a person was sitting on a rotten chair salvaged from somewhere, head bowed, their feet constantly tapping back and forth, their small white dress swaying with the movement. Just from the back, one could tell how anxious this person was.

Jiang Congyue slowly dragged her feet closer.

Hearing the sound, the person abruptly looked up, their eyes dark underneath and their face pale, yet their gaze was terrifyingly bright.

Su Wen was a mixture of fear and delight upon seeing her. The conflict of these two emotions twisted her face. She no longer knew what expression to wear when facing her.

“The item?” Jiang Congyue’s voice was calm, even carrying a hint of the cold, aloof tone Jiang Le usually employed.

“Yes, that’s right, just like that…” Su Wen looked at her with fanatical eyes, tightly clutching a silver-white USB drive, holding it with such force that it seemed as if she was trying to embed it into her palm. “It’s here, Lele. I knew you would come to see me. You still worry about me, don’t you? After all, we were such good friends, right, right…”

Her eyes widened, and she excitedly stepped forward, pressing the USB drive into Jiang Congyue’s hand. “Lin Yueying tried to bribe me again, but I won’t fall for it a second time! I’m giving it to you, I’m giving it to you! You help me, Lele. Only you can help me. Don’t you want money? Use this to take down the Lin family, and you’ll have more money than you can spend in a lifetime!”

“Lele,” Su Wen panicked when Jiang Congyue didn’t react, quickly forcing a smile. “Lele, you remember the orphanage, right? I was the only one who was nice to you. We were good friends, right? Do you remember?”

Jiang Congyue silently let her grip her hand in her frenzy. When Su Wen stopped, she casually withdrew her hand. “I apologize, but we were not that close.”

“Ah!” Su Wen let out a sharp shriek. “Impossible, that’s impossible! I’m the only one whose favorability reached 10%! I must be the most special!”

She cried out, painfully hugging her head, then knelt down, grasping Jiang Congyue’s hand, tears streaming down her face. “Lele, are you angry with me? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I genuinely wanted to be good to you. Before leaving, I even had my parents take you out of the orphanage, you know. I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, my name is…”

Jiang Congyue watched her rambling wildly. Just as Su Wen was about to reveal her real name, Jiang Congyue stopped her, smiling faintly. “Shh, a name that doesn’t matter. I don’t care to hear it.”

“Don’t beg me. No one will remember my name. Please, please remember my name, alright? I can’t leave. I’ll be trapped here.” Su Wen pleaded, tugging at her clothes.

“When you toy with people’s hearts, why don’t you consider if the NPCs you’re strategizing against will be trapped? Lin Zhen, wasn’t his love for you real? Why did you get 100% of his genuine affection, only to discard him and leave so hastily?”

Hearing the name Lin Zhen, Su Wen strangely calmed down, though her tears flowed even more fiercely. “But he’s just a paper person, just an NPC. I can’t…”

“Incorrigible.” Jiang Congyue was getting tired.

Just then, the screech of several car brakes echoed outside the warehouse.

Lin Yueying got out of the car, took off her sunglasses, and smirked, whistling at the displeased Lin Zhen on the other side. “See, little brother? I told you not to involve others in your little lover’s game. Look how distressed our CEO Jiang is?”

Lin Zhen ignored his gloating sister, snorted, and quickly walked into the warehouse. “Su Wen! Be good. Give me the USB drive!”

The now-calm Su Wen flinched at the shout, snapping out of her daze. Seeing the Lin siblings, she immediately lost her composure.

She violently turned to Jiang Congyue, her eyes almost bleeding tears, and lunged at her madly. “You lied to me! You’re working with them! You lied to me, you’re not Lele!”

Suddenly, she pulled a folding knife from her pocket and stabbed at Jiang Congyue.

“Su Wen!”

“Jiang Congyue!”

Several cries of alarm overlapped!

In a flash, Jiang Congyue instinctively dodged and grabbed Su Wen’s hand. At the same time, she saw Jiang Le rushing in through the doorway.

Distracted for a moment, Su Wen seized the opportunity and struck Jiang Congyue’s abdomen with her other elbow. Jiang Congyue grunted in pain, seeing stars, and involuntarily wanted to curl up.

Then, Su Wen grabbed her neck, fiercely dragging her and staggering toward the broken wall on the other side of the warehouse.

And outside the wall was the turbulent sea.

“Cough, cough…” Struck so hard by the lunatic and being dragged by the neck, Jiang Congyue was deprived of oxygen, and her vision began to blur.

“Lele, let’s die together!” Su Wen laughed maniacally.

Lin Zhen stretched out his hand, begging her. “Su Wen, calm down! Come back, please…”

“Jiang Congyue!” Jiang Le’s eyes were tearing up. She rushed forward with all her might.

Su Wen was pushed backward, but a flash of extreme hatred crossed her eyes before she fell. With her last ounce of strength, she fiercely plunged the knife backward.

Jiang Le’s attention was completely focused on pulling Jiang Congyue back. She had no time to dodge.

“Pfft—” The muffled, clear sound of a blade slicing through flesh.

“Lele!”

A sharp pain instantly exploded from Jiang Le’s lower back, spreading throughout her body. She groaned, her face turning instantly pale, but her hand still gripped Jiang Congyue’s clothes tightly, refusing to let go.

Using her last bit of strength, she completely pulled Jiang Congyue back into her arms. Both of them fell heavily onto the concrete floor at the edge of the warehouse.

“Su Wen! No!” Lin Zhen shouted in horror, rushing forward to try and grab her.

Su Wen, falling backward, let out a desperate shriek, then settled into a look of calm and relief. She closed her eyes and plummeted into the dark, cold sea below, instantly swallowed by the waves.

“Jiang Le…” Jiang Congyue’s voice was terribly shaky. She frantically held the person in her arms, her palm immediately touching something warm and sticky.

Bright red blood was seeping from Jiang Le’s lower back, staining her hand and the ground.

Jiang Le curled up in pain, cold sweat beading on her forehead, but her hand still clung tightly to Jiang Congyue’s clothes. She managed to focus her gaze on Jiang Congyue’s face with difficulty. After confirming she was safe, she weakly forced a smile. “This time… do you admit you miscalculated?”

Jiang Congyue’s tears instantly broke free. She desperately pressed down on Jiang Le’s bleeding wound, screaming hoarsely at the stunned Lin Yueying, “Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance now!”

The sky darkened rapidly, and the sea wind raged, heavily filling their sleeves, carrying the scent of salt and blood.

Despite the powerful wind, it couldn’t penetrate the space between the two tightly embracing lovers.

Jiang Congyue sobbed, whispering close to her ear, “No, no,” everything was a certainty of fate. Her tears rained down on Jiang Le’s face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I couldn’t change it… I couldn’t change it.”

“I don’t have god-like foresight, and I don’t know much more than you do. You’re not the only one guessing; I’m guessing too. I’m sorry, I still failed…”

Jiang Le listened to her broken apologies, too weak even to utter words of comfort. Then, she slowly lost consciousness.

The sound of police sirens grew from distant to near. In the chaos, no one noticed the coveted USB drive rolling onto the ground, stained with specks of dust and blood.

This entire farce ended abruptly as a police officer stepped over the silver-gray USB drive.