Chapter 9  : Revenge of the Male Lead

The male lead of a sweet, doting romance novel had to be a powerful and influential CEO. Tang Moling was someone like that. His personality was unpredictable, suspicious, and vengeful.

He had been saved by Mu Xue after suffering an injury due to an accident. At first, he had been suspicious of her but later, he had been touched by Mu Xue’s pure kindness.

After recovering, he’d started to dote on Mu Xue and Mu Xue alone. He treated her uniquely and pampered her his whole life. Other than treating her sweetly, he also sought revenge on those who had wronged him.

As one of those who had wronged him in the novel, Mu Jingzhe was under immense pressure.

That wasn’t the end of it. The moment Old Madam Mu saw her, she scolded her. “You come back to your parents’ house every day. Those who don’t know might think that you’re not married yet. When you came back, you even stole Mu Xue’s dress.”

They were both her granddaughters, but Old Madam Mu only doted on Mu Xue. Reality had proven that her judgment was right. Mu Xue was the most promising girl in the village. After graduating from high school, she was now the only female teacher in the village.

She had never liked Mu Jingzhe to begin with. When the original Mu Jingzhe had stolen Shao Qihai, she had detested her even more. In her opinion, even if Mu Xue didn’t want the guy, the original Mu Jingzhe wasn’t qualified to snatch him.

Mu Jingzhe said that she would definitely return the dress, but Old Madam Mu continued to criticize her non-stop. It would be useless for Li Zhaodi, her father, Mu Teng, and her younger brother, Mu Han, to speak up for her.

After Old Madam Mu scolded her by using all sorts of awful insults and the table was set, Mu Xue stopped her. “Grandma, forget it. Let’s eat first. If Jingzhe likes it, just let her have it.”

Mu Xue looked at Mu Jingzhe gently. “But Jingzhe, don’t take it without telling me next time. You have to at least let me know.”

Tang Moling snickered. “Mu Xue, you should cut off the hands of anyone who steals from others. Otherwise, they will never learn and will go on to steal again.”

Mu Xue quickly pulled Tang Moling back. “It’s just an old dress.”

Old Lady Mu scoffed. “Hasn’t she taken enough from a young age?”

Li Zhaodi couldn’t take it anymore and was about to lose her temper, but Mu Jingzhe held her back.

This had all been done by the original owner of the body. There was no point in trying to defend herself. In the end, after Li Zhaodi kicked up a fuss, she only ended up getting scolded and banned from eating.

“I won’t do it again.” She looked at Mu Xue and said, “I will return the dress and everything else.”

She had just finished speaking when she heard Tang Moling scoff.

His voice sounded exactly the same as the mocking laughter she had heard before entering the Mu Residence.

Mu Jingzhe was certain that this was the person who had mocked her when it had been said that she was a virgin.

What terrible luck.

She was there to get some free chicken soup, but instead of chicken soup, she’d ended up getting chicken feathers all over her body.

Mu Jingzhe couldn’t stay any longer and quickly bade them farewell.

Old Madam Mu’s sarcastic voice came from behind her, criticizing her for only knowing how to eat and not even knowing how to wash the dishes.

Mu Jingzhe pretended not to hear and left.

What had she eaten? She hadn’t even had a mouthful of soup.

Indeed, returning to the Mu Family was not the right decision. If she did, a tragedy would befall the Mu Family sooner or later.

There was no doubt that the victim would be Old Madam Mu. As for the murderer… it would naturally be her.

Mu Han chased after her and gave her the piece of chicken breast he had gotten.

“Sister, you eat it.”

He had only been given this portion. However, upon seeing that his sister hadn’t even gotten to drink the soup, he had hidden it in his sleeve for her.

Mu Han was 17 years old this year. He was tall but skinny, like a bamboo pole.

“When I kill a chicken in the future, you can come and eat it. I guarantee that you’ll have enough.”

“Okay.” Mu Han smiled and didn’t take it seriously.

Meanwhile, in the Mu Residence…

Mu Xue looked at Mu Han’s back as he chased after her, a complicated look flashing across her eyes.

Mu Jingzhe was a bad older sister, yet Mu Han still treated her so well and ignored Mu Xue.

Tang Moling kept looking at Mu Xue and whispered when he saw her expression.

“I’m going out for a while.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll avenge you.”

Tang Moling left after speaking. Mu Xue couldn’t hold him back in time and could only chase after him.

“Tang Moling, don’t take revenge so easily.”

Tang Moling shook his head. “Alright, I’m just going to relieve myself. You should hurry back.”

Mu Xue blushed and ran back.

Tang Moling turned around and sneered.

He had heard a lot about what Mu Jingzhe had done to Mu Xue recently. He had met many shameless and evil women like her, so he had to teach her a lesson to avenge Mu Xue.

The night was like day to Tang Moling. He quickly caught up to Mu Jingzhe and took out a slingshot.

Without hesitation, he aimed at Mu Jingzhe’s wrist and shot.

Who told you to steal from Mu Xue?

A virgin who wants to marry someone from the city? You should learn how to conduct yourself as a person first.

Tang Moling’s aim was very accurate.

Mu Jingzhe moved her hand just in time, coincidentally dodging the attack. However, the slingshot struck the back of her hand, and the flashlight fell to the ground.

“Who is it?” She picked up the flashlight and shed light over, but she only saw a tree. Before she could spot the culprit, another rock flew toward her.

This time, it struck Mu Jingzhe’s chest.

“Psst…” She was wearing her homemade bra, and it hurt so much she couldn’t help but bend down and rub her chest.

Tang Moling, who was about to continue aiming, felt his hands tremble. This woman!

Hitting her in the wrong position was indeed his bad, but how could she… rub her chest?

Due to a split second of distraction, the stone that was thrown missed again.

It landed right on Mu Jingzhe’s… hip.

Mu Jingzhe was stunned.

Where had this shameless person come from? What a hooligan.

Mu Jingzhe gritted her teeth and turned off the flashlight. She picked up a stone and a piece of firewood from the side of the road and flung them over.

A short scream was heard.

“I’ll teach you a lesson for being a hooligan!”

Mu Jingzhe chased after him, determined to castrate him, but couldn’t find him.

She searched for a while with the torchlight but didn’t find the culprit and went back unwillingly.

Only after she walked some distance away did some sounds come from the trees.

Tang Moling stood on a tree and watched as Mu Jingzhe left. He felt a chill underneath and unconsciously pulled his legs together. When he saw his swollen arm, his expression turned ugly and strange.

His arm had almost snapped.

The spots where the few scattered rocks had hit him also hurt.

What was wrong with Mu Jingzhe?

After a while, Tang Moling returned to the Mu Residence, feeling some discomfort.

The atmosphere in the Mu Residence was very strange. The main reason was the pair of chopsticks on the dining table where Mu Jingzhe had been sitting originally.

The chopsticks had sunk deeply into the dining table, revealing only a small portion of them.

He saw Old Madam Mu’s pale face and heard Li Zhaodi say it definitely hadn’t been Mu Jingzhe.

Tang Moling: “…”

What was going on?

******

The next day, Shao Qiyang didn’t come back, as he was busy. After Shao Dong and the other three went to school, Mu Jingzhe carried Shao Zhong to the county city for treatment.

They set off early, but it was almost noon by the time they arrived at the county city.

After the examination, it was discovered that it wasn’t a problem with his body that had caused Shao Zhong’s inability to speak.

“There’s nothing wrong with his vocal cords. Logically speaking, he should be able to speak. Maybe it has just taken him longer to learn to speak. You should talk to him more in the future and encourage him to speak.”

Mu Jingzhe was both surprised and delighted.

“Did you hear that? Little Zhong, you can talk. You have to try to talk more in the future. I’ll try my best to talk to you too.”

As per the doctor’s instructions, Mu Jingzhe didn’t forget to speak with Shao Zhong more often even while they were busy in the county city.

The town wasn’t big, so Mu Jingzhe spent two hours walking around.

Before going out, she had brought with her the leftover hair ornaments that hadn’t been sold. As it was impossible to sell them separately, she sold them to a shop in the county city that sold shoes, hair accessories, and other small items, claiming they had been brought from a big city.

The boss placed the hair ornaments on his shelves without many expectations, but before long, he sold a pair. Thus, he ordered another batch from Mu Jingzhe.

After promising the boss that she would deliver the goods in five days, Mu Jingzhe bought another batch of supplies without stopping to rest.

When she got home, the sky was about to turn dark.

The person who welcomed Mu Jingzhe home was a furious Zhao Lan, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot and whose eyes were red.

“Mu Jingzhe, did you steal my money?”

As soon as she saw Mu Jingzhe, Zhao Lan rushed up to her, wishing she could swallow her whole.

“Mom, what are you talking about? Didn’t you say that you didn’t have any money? If you didn’t have any money, how could it have been stolen?”

Although she had a surprised and innocent look on her face, Mu Jingzhe sneered in her heart. That’s right, she was the one who had taken the money.