Mrs Fox Heinous Revenge: Can You Love A Villainess like Me?
Chapter 223: Frightening Bad Grandma!

Chapter 223: Frightening Bad Grandma!

The old woman had her gray hair tied into a neat bun. Not even a single hair strand could escape the tight tie and like the stiffness of her hairstyle, her straightened body and her hateful glare was as consistent as ever.

Upon meeting eyes with Elder Hua, Ailin didn’t know why but she knew she had to protect LiAi from looking into the woman’s eyes and guarded her face immediately with her palm, pushing the young girl into her chest.

Then she bowed her neck slightly, wanting to make a quick escape when Elder Hua started the conversation first, "I already knew how easily a girl like you would ruin their own lives."

AiLin blinked and she sighed. She instead looked down on LiAi and whispered lovingly, "LiAi, would you do me a favor and cover your ears? Don’t look at this grandma at all, it’s a small game and if you win, I’ll give you a present!"

LiAi’s wide eyes sparkled with curiosity, but she obediently nodded, pressing her tiny hands over her ears. She nuzzled deeper into Ailin’s embrace, her soft breath warm against Ailin’s chest. Satisfied, Ailin lifted her gaze to meet Elder Hua’s piercing stare, her spine straightening despite the tension crawling up her neck.

"I do think that I don’t quite understand your words," she answered the elder woman, she tried to lessen her provocative words, making her tone polite despite the hidden sarcasm behind her eyes.

"That child, isn’t it yours and that stupid man you came with?" Elder Hua demanded, her eyes trying to look at LiAi’s face but fortunately LiAi who had a competitive spirit pressed her face away from Elder Hua, as if not wanting to meet the devil for the prize she was promised. "I heard it crying for you as mama."

"It?" Did she just call a young girl as "it" as if she’s nothing more than an object?

"It could have been better if you have given birth to a son."

Ailin’s fingers curled tightly around LiAi’s small frame, her jaw clenching at Elder Hua’s words. She had expected cruelty, but there was something particularly venomous about the way the old woman spoke, like LiAi was not a person, but rather a mistake. This must have been something that Elder Hua always say to any of her daughters who had given to a girl.

She forced a slow breath through her nose, willing herself to stay composed. The last thing she needed was to let Elder Hua see that she had struck a nerve and cause her to be kicked out of the party which she couldn’t let to happen yet.

What put her more at ill ease was the look that Elder Hua gave while eyeing LiAi. It was as if somewhere she was desperate to get rid of the young girl.

"LiAi is not an ’it,’" Ailin said, her voice soft but sharp, "She is a child. A daughter. Does it ever hit you that gender isn’t the most important thing when you have a child? As long as my child is healthy, safe, and far from danger, what ever gender they have, they are my child."

Elder Hua scoffed, her bony fingers tightening around the head of her arm. "Sentimental foolishness," she said coldly. "A son would bring honor. A daughter—" her lips curled, "is only a burden."

Ailin’s nails dug into her palms, but she kept her smile steady. "How fortunate, then, that your opinion has no weight in my life. Living as you must be so pathetic but I wonder, grandmother-" she uttered for Elder Hua to cringe upon hearing her words. "What is your greatest fear? I wonder if it to have all the sons in your bloodline to perish or... Or is it to have a daughter who refuses to bow?"

Ailin could see it, the flicker of something behind the old woman’s hardened glare. Fear. Not fear of death, nor of misfortune, but of losing control. She must have seen her as a bigger problem than everyone else, precisely because she knew that she isn’t someone that could easily be controlled, someone who Elder Hua could enact her authority with violence, threats, or fear.

Elder Hua had spent her life enforcing tradition, wielding power over those who dared to defy it. And yet here stood AiLin, unbent, and rebellious, holding the young girl close as if daring fate itself to try and tear them apart.

"You do remind me so much of her. Stupid and foolish," Elder Hua remarked, "You speak as if love alone can shield you from the consequences of your defiance. How foolish it is for anyone to follow you words, and to put their faith in it."

’Her?’ Was she speaking about her mother? But why does it feel... different?

"You will know soon, AiLin," said Elder Hua, her eyes trained at her and the young girl, "That if you want to protect someone dear to you, you should be particularly more fearful of what I could do and bend down to my words. I don’t like the fact that you give birth to a daughter but I suppose that could be taken care of."

"Taken care of?" Ailin frowned, a horrible glare replaced her look as she clutched to LiAi tighter. "Don’t you dare put your hand on her, Elder Hua. She’s a girl without my blood in her."

"So it’s not your daughter?" Elder Hua eyed LiAi again and seeing how AiLin tightened her grip around LiAi’s head, she smiled. "Well make sure she’s far away from my eyes. You know what happen to those who caught my gaze for the wrong reason. You don’t want that she falls into the same danger that I once put to the man you brought here tonight."

It was a subtle threat but enough to make AiLin’s jaw to clench tight. Ailin fought to keep her breathing steady, though every muscle in her body coiled like a spring ready to snap.

She saw as the older woman then turned her body around, though her movement so slow and she seemed so old that made her an easy prey to kill, there were so many guards around her to protect her. AiLin balled her fingers into a fist, hoping that she could just kill Elder Hua here before the woman would dare to put her dirty fingers on the people she care for.

Ailin exhaled slowly, only now realizing how tightly she had been holding LiAi. The little girl’s hands still covered her ears, her small face buried in Ailin’s chest.

She brushed a gentle hand over LiAi’s silky hair. "It’s over, little one. You did so well."

LiAi peeked up at her, hesitant. "Did I win?"

Ailin forced a smile, pressing a kiss to LiAi’s forehead. "Yes, my darling. You won."

But as she looked in the direction where Elder Hua had disappeared, a cold resolve settled over her heart.

If the old woman thought she could dictate LiAi’s fate, she was gravely mistaken.

"Then, then!" Small LiAi around her hand sang, "Can I be with you in this entire party, mama?"

AiLin blinked and the girl muttered shyly, "As a prize... I saw you with that tall man! That must have been daddy right?"

Ailin blinked, so it seemed that LiAi was lost because she was too focused on eyeing her and Li ZiChen.

"Sure, but let me message your uncle first," AiLin walked out off the place, while typing on her phone and once she was done, she pushed her phone back into her purse, looking around for Xiao MuChen but when she realized he was no where to be found, she made her way to Li ZiChen, thinking he would have a better idea on how to bring LiAi to her family considering that the party was getting denser and it became even harder to find one person here let alone a young girl.

"AiLin," Li ZiChen called up to her immediately upon seeing her from afar. He marched toward her and as he was about to put his hands around her waist, his fingers hung, surprised as he look at the little bundle of joy that AiLin had held around her arms, carried so tenderly.

The small girl then turned her face around, her puffy pink cheeks, her large round eyes, and her small nose all turn bright upon seeing Li ZiChen as if amazed as well as shy, "Daddy!"

Her little yelp was enough to gather everyone’s attention more than necessary. Confused, Li ZiChen could only blink as he eyed the young girl who he doesn’t know yet had called him a father.

AiLin chuckled, "See? She calls me mama and she calls you daddy," she then gently fixed her arms to tightly carry LiAi as she introduced, "So her name is LiAi. Remember?"

"The young girl who is your coworker’s niece," he answered while nodding. Gently placing his hand on the young girl’s head, Li ZiChen pretended to stroke her hair but truth is, he was trying to take a double look at LiAi’s face, to see for similarity.

Truth to be told, there wasn’t such big similarity between her and AiLin but they do look somewhat similar. This girl also somehow look like his younger brother, JingYi which caught his attention.

"Why is she here?" He then asked. "Did you take her from your coworker?"

"What? No, she’s lost I tried to find for him but-"

"Welcome everyone to tonight’s birthday party!"