Ah! The Villains I Forced to Turn Evil Can Read My Mind

Xia Xuechun was locked in a windowless room, trembling with fear.

Long Yunxiao was hung on the wall, already beaten black and blue, gasping weakly with his mouth half-open: "Please let us go... I can give you money... Just name your price."

Pei Yuan sat on the sofa, busy with work on his laptop, not even bothering to look up. "Do we look like we need money?"

"I know you don’t, but who ever thinks they have enough?" Long Yunxiao weakly negotiated. "I just want you to spare us. Xuechun and I have already realized our mistakes. We won’t cause you any more trouble."

His gaze swept over everyone before settling on Qiao Chuchu. "Please forgive us. We truly regret what we did."

The others in the room turned to Qiao Chuchu.

Weisheng Yucan chuckled. "Chuchu, don’t believe this nonsense. It’s just a desperate plea for survival. The Long family’s petty cash isn’t worth taking, but if you want money, I’ll give it to you. The Weisheng family has more than enough."

Shi Yu, lounging lazily in his wheelchair, calmly added, "The Shi family isn’t lacking in funds either."

"As if the Pei family is strapped for cash," Pei Youchuan scoffed, taking a bite of an apple. "Chuchu, don’t waste your breath on them. If given the chance, they’ll come back for revenge. We can’t let them go!"

Pei Mu and Pei Ci nodded vigorously in agreement.

Qiao Chuchu remained silent, her eyes fixed on Xia Xuechun’s half-unzipped crossbody bag.

A necklace had slipped out.

She pulled it out—a grotesque glass pendant filled with what looked like red dye soaking some object inside.

It resembled one of those liquid motion trinkets.

Xia Xuechun paled at the sight, her body stiffening, her breathing turning ragged.

Qiao Chuchu frowned. "What is this? A necklace?"

Lin Qing stepped closer. "Not a necklace. More like a wish-granting charm. Some famous witches sell these—you put a photo inside and pray for your crush to fall for you."

She shuddered, unnerved. "Of course, some people use them for curses too. Either way, it’s just superstitious nonsense."

Qiao Chuchu tilted the pendant, revealing the photo submerged in the red liquid.

It was her university ID photo.

Her smiling face, eerily preserved, seemed to float in what looked like blood.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Wow, my photo is soaking in red liquid. How charming."

The others recoiled in shock.

What the—?!

Qiao Chuchu turned to Xia Xuechun, feigning delight. "Did you go out of your way to curse me?"

Xia Xuechun panted in fear, unable to speak.

Lin Qing stormed over, yanking Xia Xuechun’s hair and slapping her hard. "Did you really think this curse would work?!"

Xia Xuechun clutched her stinging cheek. "That hurt! I wasn’t actually trying to curse her! It’s just for peace of mind!"

Lin Qing kicked her. "Then me beating you is also for peace of mind. Got a problem with that?!"

Long Yunxiao groaned from the wall. "D-don’t hit her... don’t hit her!"

Lin Qing kicked him between the legs. "Who asked you, trash?!"

Long Yunxiao howled in pain. "Ah—!"

Lin Qing delivered a few more merciless kicks. "Consider this karma for you two lovebirds!"

She turned back to Xia Xuechun. "You’re something else. When physical attacks didn’t work, you switched to magic?"

Xia Xuechun pouted, silent and resentful.

Lin Qing’s patience snapped. "Answer me!"

She yanked Xia Xuechun’s ear like an impatient old man. "Huh?! Huh?! Huh?!"

Xia Xuechun winced, wrenching free. "It’s just a placebo! It doesn’t actually work! Everyone knows superstitions are fake—are you all really this gullible?!"

Tears welled in her eyes. "If this thing worked, would Qiao Chuchu even be standing here unharmed? I cursed her to die horribly! Yet she’s perfectly fine! Why are you all overreacting?!"

Lin Qing slapped her again. "You wished for her to die horribly? Looks like you’re the one who’s gonna meet a bad end!"

Xia ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‍Xuechun collapsed, humiliated, and tearfully glared at Qiao Chuchu. "Are you really going to let your people treat me like this? Last time, when Long Jun harassed me, you even helped me!"

Qiao Chuchu said nothing, tossing the cursed pendant at Xia Xuechun’s face. "Don’t bring up last time—it just makes me angrier! Did you hire someone to crash into my car?!"

The document listed several suspicious points she needed to confront Xia Xuechun about.

She had to get answers, even if she couldn’t remember everything!

Xia Xuechun panicked, denying it. "No! Why would I do that? It wouldn’t benefit me at all!"

Pei Youchuan sneered. "Stop lying. We saw right through it. Pei Fengnong even bought off the two drivers behind you to save Chuchu!"

Qiao Chuchu gaped at Pei Youchuan. "What?"

[I don’t remember this, but I feel shocked.]

[Like... this is completely unexpected.]

Pei Fengnong smacked Pei Youchuan. "What are you saying?!"

Pei Youchuan covered his mouth. "Oops, I spilled the beans!"

Qiao Chuchu: "..."

Pei Fengnong awkwardly explained, "Chuchu, it’s not that I didn’t trust you. The situation was urgent, and I was afraid you’d get hurt, so I paid off those two."

He forced a smile. "They were conspiring against you. I just made sure you got the victory you deserved..."

His voice trailed off as he nervously watched her.

Was she angry?

She never liked it when they acted behind her back.

Qiao Chuchu’s emotions churned.

[I had no idea Fourth Brother helped me in secret... and never even mentioned it.]

Pei Fengnong was stunned.

She wasn’t mad at him?!

Qiao Chuchu carefully considered the situation.

[Right now, Xia Xuechun and Long Yunxiao are here. I don’t want them overhearing too much about my family. Let’s deal with them first.]

She gave Pei Fengnong a grateful look. "We’ll talk about this later."

Pei Fengnong’s eyes lit up with hope as he nodded eagerly.

Xia Xuechun scoffed. "So it wasn’t luck that saved you that day—it was your people."

Qiao Chuchu raised an eyebrow. "Is that a confession?"

Xia Xuechun lifted her chin defiantly. "Fine, I admit it. But what about you? After the race, didn’t you send people to beat us? Almost killed my Yunxiao!"

Qiao Chuchu was baffled. "When did I do that?"

Xia Xuechun stiffened. "Don’t play dumb! You had us attacked!"

Weisheng Wenzhan spoke up. "That was me."