Mrs Fox Heinous Revenge: Can You Love A Villainess like Me?
Chapter 209: The Pictures

Chapter 209: The Pictures

Taken aback, AiLin stared at LiAi in surprise. The little girl before her had two small buns perched atop her head, her smile wide and gleaming as she clung to AiLin as if she had just spotted Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

Her little arms squeezed AiLin’s waist, her warmth seeping through the fabric of her coat. AiLin hesitated, uncertain of how to react. Did the child just mistake her for—?

Behind LiAi, a woman appeared, breathless and ragged as if she had been chasing after someone.

"I see! So you found your mom, little girl."

AiLin blinked. Mom?

Before she could correct the woman, the stranger placed a scarf in her hands, small, pink, and patterned with teddy bears, obviously belonging to the little girl.

"You see, I found your daughter alone and lost near the doughnut shop," the woman explained, adjusting her coat hastily. "I tried asking around, but luckily, you weren’t far from it. Be careful, alright? I have a daughter too, so I know how easily they get distracted and wander off without you noticing."

AiLin barely had time to process the words before the woman was already packing up to leave, speaking in a rush.

"I have to go now, don’t thank me! As mothers, we have to encourage each other! Please be careful next time."

"Ah, wait—thank you!" AiLin called after her, but the woman was already gone, hurrying toward the exit where she was reunited with her husband.

And just like that, AiLin was left standing there, alone with the lost and poor LiAi.

She rubbed her forehead, exhaling. What just happened?

Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the little girl, whose wide eyes shone with innocent delight.

"Hi... we meet again." AiLin gave a small, amused smile, but LiAi, as if suddenly shy, turned her face away with a soft giggle.

"Do you know where your uncle is?" AiLin asked gently.

"Uncle MuChen left!"

AiLin’s brow furrowed. Left? That didn’t sound right.

"Left?" she repeated, crouching slightly to meet the child’s gaze. "How could he leave, dear?"

LiAi’s small brows knitted together in concentration, as if searching for the right words. Finally, she answered in simple terms, her voice soft yet unwavering.

"Today, Uncle has work. He left, and this auntie came to pick me up. She was talking to two men... and then she let go of my hand. Then suddenly... poof! She disappeared!"

AiLin’s expression darkened. Poof? That... didn’t sound like a simple case of distraction.

She glanced around, scanning the busy space. The nanny had left? Just like that? And over what talking to two men? AiLin felt a prick of unease settle in her chest. Something about this situation didn’t sit right with her. She should warn Xiao MuChen about the nanny who is so careless in taking care of LiAi as this could be dangerous to LiAi’s safety.

"Let’s tell the lost counter that you’re missing, okay?" AiLin said, crouching down before effortlessly scooping LiAi into her arms.

The little girl squealed in surprise before her small legs began kicking back and forth excitedly.

Laughter bubbled from her lips as her tiny hands wrapped around AiLin’s neck, her nose pressing against AiLin’s shoulder.

"You smell good, Mama!"

AiLin stilled.

She had expected LiAi to mistake her for her mother again, but hearing the word Mama come so naturally from the child’s lips sent an unfamiliar warmth through her chest.

Her heart clenched. It had been a long time since she’d heard that word directed at her. Too long.

She let out a soft chuckle, rubbing LiAi’s back in a soothing motion.

"LiAi, next time, be careful, okay? The world is dangerous, you don’t want to be alone without an adult." Her voice was gentle, but firm. "Your mother, father, and uncle will be very sad if they couldn’t find you."

LiAi pouted, her round cheeks puffing out like a little dumpling.

"Hmmm... But Mother and Father... I’ve never seen them."

AiLin felt her chest tighten.

"But now I see you, Mama!" LiAi declared, her voice so bright, so trusting, that AiLin had to take a slow breath.

She knew.

Xiao MuChen had told her before, LiAi’s parents had passed away when she was too young to remember them. But hearing it now, from the child herself, struck AiLin in a way she hadn’t expected.

The emptiness in LiAi’s voice was almost hidden beneath her happy tone, but AiLin could hear it. Feel it.

This little girl was still a child, still innocent, still hopeful. But she wasn’t unaware. She understood the loneliness she carried, and yet she buried it.

AiLin tightened her hold on the child ever so slightly.

"Mama, you look so pretty... hehe," LiAi said suddenly, her voice filled with pure admiration. "You’re even prettier than the pictures!"

AiLin blinked.

"Pictures?"

LiAi nodded eagerly.

"Mhm! Uncle MuChen always shows me them. He says your hobby is acting and that you’ve been busy. Papa is always busy too, right? I want to see him... but if I say that, Uncle MuChen looks so sad."

AiLin felt a pang in her chest.

She listened carefully to LiAi’s words, her heart growing heavier with each innocent revelation.

The way the little girl spoke so fondly of an absent father—the way she chose to suppress her feelings so as not to burden her uncle.

She’s still just a child... but she already knows how to hide her loneliness.

AiLin’s grip on LiAi instinctively tightened.

She had also noticed something else, something that sent an odd twinge of emotion curling in her stomach.

LiAi had seen pictures of her. Xiao MuChen had shown them to her.

And this little girl... mistook her for the mother she had never known.

"Huh," LiAi suddenly sighed, tilting her head. "I don’t have your picture, Mama... I think I left it at home."

Her tiny cheeks puffed in disappointment.

AiLin swallowed.

Why did that one sentence make her chest ache so much?

"Don’t worry, now I’m here," AiLin said softly, deciding, just for now, to play the role LiAi had so easily given her. Seeing how quickly the little girl’s face lit up, how her sadness melted into that bright, childlike smile, AiLin felt an unfamiliar warmth bloom in her chest.

She carried LiAi to the lost counter, providing all the necessary details with practiced efficiency, her years of experience in handling chaotic filming schedules giving her a natural patience in stressful situations. The staff, a group of kind and attentive individuals, reassured her that they would make announcements and keep an eye out for the missing nanny.

But time trickled by. Ten minutes. Thirty. An hour. Then two.

AiLin frowned, glancing at the clock mounted on the wall. By now, someone should have come looking for LiAi. Anxiety stirred within her as she turned to check on the little girl.

LiAi, however, remained blissfully unaware of the passing time. She sat happily at a small play area, her chubby fingers peeling the edges of the colorful stickers the staff had given her. She giggled as she tried to stick one on AiLin’s sleeve, declaring, "Now, mama, you have a magic sticker too!"

AiLin forced a smile and let LiAi continue playing, though unease settled heavily in her chest.

Sensing her concern, one of the lost counter staff members approached her hesitantly. AiLin met the woman’s gaze, noticing the wary flicker in her eyes.

"There are... certain cases," the staff member murmured, lowering her voice as she took a seat beside AiLin.

AiLin tilted her head. "Cases?"

The woman hesitated, glancing toward LiAi, who remained engrossed in her stickers. She then leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper.

"There have been incidents before—thankfully rare, but heartbreaking nonetheless," she explained. "Sometimes, children are left here on purpose. Parents who can no longer care for them abandon them in places like this, hoping someone else will take responsibility."

AiLin’s breath hitched. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she turned to look at LiAi again.

"No," she said firmly. "That’s not what’s happening here. Her nanny, she must be lost or delayed. This isn’t... This isn’t one of those cases."

The staff member exhaled a slow breath, nodding. "I hope not," she admitted. "But when you first walked in, I have to be honest... I thought you were her mother."

AiLin blinked in surprise. "Do we look alike?"

"Alike?" The staff chuckled lightly. "More like copy pasted."

AiLin’s lips parted slightly. She turned her gaze toward LiAi once more, truly taking in the little girl’s features, her bright, round eyes, the curve of her small nose, the softness of her cheeks. Had she really not noticed before? There was an uncanny resemblance between them, almost as if fate itself had intertwined their paths.

She swallowed.

What was happening here?

She shook her head, schooling her own thoughts for being so hopeful which could become dangerous to LiAi.

"Anyway, we should wait a little longer," the woman then stood up, played briefly with LiAi and left.

Seeing how LiAi seemed sleepy as she already climbed to the seat beside her and curled beside her arms, AiLin picked her gently and hugged her. She didn’t think it would be good for LiAi to sleep outside but also it wouldn’t be good for her to simply bring her to the car.

She decided to message Director Gu, asking for Xiao MuChen’s phone number. Once he sent her the number, she proceeded to call Xiao MuChen who replied in less than seconds.

"Yes?"

"It’s me, AiLin," she started quickly, "I am here in shopping mall on RouHang street. The big one that’s a part of Li association."

"and?" Xiao MuChen seemed taken aback as he questioned her reasoning for the detailed information on her location.

"I’m with LiAi," she answered and heard from the phone a resounding gasp. "It’s better for you to come quickly here. It seems you need to find new nanny as soon as possible."