Mrs Fox Heinous Revenge: Can You Love A Villainess like Me?
Chapter 175: Stepped On Something

Chapter 175: Stepped On Something

The air turned tense upon her question but AiLin didn’t falter. With her eyes firm, she looked at Cousin Ling who seemed surprised but then her gaze calmed down while she stared down at AiLin and she noticed how the frail looking woman had seized her figure and then showed a sarcastic smile upon her lips. She crossed her arms and shrugged, "What may you be talking about, Miss AiLin? Do you doubt me as a person who would go so far as to push myself to the pond just to hurt someone I have just met?"

"I wonder," AiLin said, "It seems so coincidental and I don’t believe in coincidences."

"What was coincidental?" Cousin Ling asked. She didn’t seemed nervous even as she was called out by her which means either she believed that her action was never wrong or that her action was deserved.

AiLin didn’t notice that there would be someone as troublesome as Cousin Ling and she could tell the woman was hiding secrets that would be hard to find out but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t fish a few information out of the woman now.

"The accident," she replied, finding the woman’s face that seemed to twitch a little. "You waited for me to leave the dining room didn’t you? Because you were also the one who had told me where the bathroom was before the dinner started. You made sure I was alone and made certain that I was there to witness you drown. If they see me trying to save you while you accuse me in a half conscious self, they will immediately suspect me as the one who had hurt you."

Cousin Ling chuckled, "I’m not a psychopath, Miss AiLin. Well let’s say that I had really planned all of this to happen, don’t you think it’s too far fetched? I mean, I have spent more than half a decade in this house, I know a lot about this place including the location of the CCTV cameras. I wouldn’t have attempted to accuse you while wagering my life knowing well that the camera will also prove that you’re innocent. It’s a useless act don’t you think?"

"I was thinking about that too earlier," hummed AiLin as she turned her body to face Cousin Ling and her shoulders shook as she let out a chuckle, "Then I realized you don’t have to show that I’m guilty because that wasn’t your plan in this accident. Your plan is to make sure that everyone is suspicious of me— an outsider who had caused an accident before out of jealousy— that would also allow you to reign free and cause more accident and then blame it on me."

Cousin Ling’s face dropped and although AiLin didn’t turn to see her face, she could feel it as she heard the woman behind her shuddering her breaths. She stared at Ailin with eyes wide, "You’re quite the imaginative person, Miss AiLin. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t do such a thing. As you have seen, I cannot swim. I would never try to put my own life in danger just to make the others hate you."

AiLin finally turned with her hands crossed on her back, "Mhm right. You might be correct, maybe I have a wild imagination and maybe I am wrong. But I just have to come here to tell you this because I would hate a misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding? The misunderstanding where you’re accusing me of this petty accident?"

"No," AiLin’s smile disappeared as she slowly reached out her hand and placed it on Cousin Ling’s shoulders. Her thumb and index finger curled near the cousin’s neck as she silently stared at the woman’s eyes with her gaze that darkened as pitch black as the abyss. The coldness of her gaze showed that in the bottom of her eyes were nothing but emptiness which was enough to make anyone shudder including Cousin Ling who had grown up in a warm family.

"W- What do you think you’re doing?!" Cousin Ling yelled as she felt AiLin’s sharp index nail had settled on the beating vein inside her neck. "I- If you hurt me—"

"—Listen," AiLin’s deadpanned tone shut the woman’s mouth with just a single order. "I don’t care how many people you would bring into this accident if they’re an outsider but I would despise it if you bring Zi Chen or his parents or his grandparents and siblings into this stupid charades of yours just because you don’t like my presence in this house. I tried to think of a reason why you would hate me but I realized nothing would matter. It’s because you don’t care what kind of woman Zi Chen would bring home, as long as it’s a woman, you’ll hate it."

AiLin saw how Cousin Ling’s body froze entirely as if she had seen eye to eye with Medusa but AiLin could see there was no repent in the woman’s eyes, meaning her fear was useless.

She repeated slowly as she tapped Cousin Ling’s neck in a slow torturing manner, "So let this be clear in your head, if you ever bring anyone innocent to danger because of your little game. I don’t care what I have to do but I will make sure that you’re as dead as cold corpse."

Having said what needed to be said, AiLin pulled away her hand and turned away to the end of the hallway. She patted her hands, dusting it together as if she had touched something that was gathering piles of dusts. It annoyed her to think that there was someone like Cousin Ling in this warm family. Even though everyone in Li Family was so nice and warm, there is still these insects who seemed to be unhappy if anyone is happier than them.

Why would Cousin Ling go so far to get rid of her? AiLin had wondered this question in the evening before she walked to Cousin Ling’s room but she realized it didn’t really matter what Cousin Ling’s reasoning was. The woman was insane and that’s enough to explain her action. After all Cousin Ling herself had planned this accident to happen long before she heard about AiLin herself or seen her. This meant that no matter who had stepped in the house, Cousin Ling would push the blame on that pitiful woman.

She sighed softly, hoping that tomorrow morning nothing bad would happen again but when the next morning arrived, AiLin was greeted with another problem that seemed to be chasing after her.

The next morning around seven o clock, AiLin had just woken up while rubbing her eyes to the breakfast. She had washed her face and brushed her teeth when the maid told her that the entire family will be gathered in the breakfast. She had came out slow because she didn’t manage to have a goodnight sleep the entire day but once she arrived in the breakfast, she saw everyone looking at her with an awkward gaze.

Not only awkward, some of them would immediately avoid her gaze entirely.

AiLin narrowed her eyes. It couldn’t be that Cousin Ling video taped their conversation last night and then showed it to everyone right?

She found where Li Zi Chen was sitting and how calm he was as he poured himself a cup of tea as if the entire family’s awkwardness was none of his business. She sat down beside him and he looked at her with a soft smile which made her confused even more.

"Say, did I do something?"

"Being too pretty?" Li ZiChen asked her in a heartbeat causing her heart to flutter.

She slapped his arm lightly and scoffed, "Please, don’t joke so early in the morning. I’m asking why everyone is looking at me so weirdly," she whispered as the elders were around her and she didn’t want to offend them.

Li ZiChen looked at his family and turned back to his teacup. He was silent but then he shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps they have learnt their mistakes from doubting you last time and is trying to apologize but too awkward to try. You know how the people in this house were born and raised with money? It makes them a bit too entitled and proudful when asked to apologize."

AiLin wondered if that was the case as the moment she looked forward to Grandpa Li, his eyes panicked and his hands fumbled as he picked up a mooncake to his mouth. She would understand the other family members being awkward but why the grandpa?!

"By the way," Li ZiChen then brought up. His voice was louder than their earlier conversation as if he wanted the entire family to hear, "How is your feet? Did you bandaged it yet?"

Ailin saw how Mrs Li stared at Zi Chen with a look of disbelief and anger. She didn’t know what had happened but slowly looked down on her feet that was wrapped with fresh bandage.

Huh? When did this happen?

Did she hurt herself yesterday night and then bandaged it in a hurry? But why would Li ZiChen know about this?

As she felt an incoming headache, ZiChen slowly offered her his teacup that smelled like Jasmine. His voice so lovely and sweet as he told her, "I was the one who bandaged it, you slept while it was wounded. Did you step on a sharp stone or something?"

"No, I didn’t. I don’t remember hurting myself," she then saw how everyone now stared at her with worries and she chuckled, brushing it aside, "Ah, don’t worry everyone. This often happens, I tend to hurt myself a little and forget about it because it’s not too painful. But it’s nothing, really. I can’t even feel the pain now."

"H- How could this be—" Mrs Li whispered and when she made eye contact with Zi Chen’s mother, the woman’s eyes ran away from her as if she was guilty.

AiLin then saw how Mrs Li and grandparents Li talking in a heated conversation, seemingly encouraging on an idea that involved her but she wasn’t sure what idea it was.