What to Do If I Become the Villain’s Daughter

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and rose to investigate the source of the noise.

As he turned the corner, a rat scurried out, knocking over a piece of wood leaning against the wall.

Xu Jin had a moment of realization, and just then, Huo Xiaozheng\'s icy voice came through his earpiece: "I need a little more time to prepare the money you\'ve requested."

Xu Jin continued walking while scoffing, "Mr. Huo, with your vast wealth, you\'re telling me you need time to prepare such a paltry sum? Who do you think you\'re fooling?"

Xu Jin\'s voice, processed through a voice changer, sounded like that of a demon crawling out of hell—raspy and grating.

"If I don\'t see the money in my account within half an hour, you can prepare to collect your daughter\'s corpse!"

With this vicious threat, Xu Jin abruptly ended the call.

Meanwhile, in the basement.

Huo Guining was both startled and overjoyed. She stared wide-eyed at Huo Yueze, who stood before her with an expression of pain, his hands tightly clutching his lower body.

"Brother?! I\'m so sorry! I thought you were one of the bad guys... so I..."

Huo Guining apologized in a small voice, but her excitement was palpable.

"It\'s alright, sister."

Huo Yueze covered her mouth with his hand and listened intently for any movement outside.

Sensing that Xu Jin was moving away, Huo Yueze ignored his own pain and quickly checked Huo Guining for injuries.

"Sister, are you hurt?"

Huo Guining shook her head.

Huo Yueze breathed a sigh of relief and briefly explained the situation to her: "Sister, I\'m going to get you out of here soon. But you mustn\'t make any noise, okay?"

"There\'s a dangerous man outside."

Huo Guining nodded obediently.

Huo Yueze gently pushed open the basement door and led Huo Guining out.

Fortunately, the abandoned building wasn\'t completely finished, and there was a window to their left that was large enough for them to escape through.

The window was about five feet high, with dense forest beyond it.

Huo Yueze lifted Huo Guining onto the windowsill. He climbed out first, and when he jumped down, a searing pain shot through his groin where he had been struck earlier.

Biting his lip hard to stifle a cry, Huo Yueze reached up towards Huo Guining inside and whispered, "Ning Ning, jump down. I\'ll catch you."

Without hesitation, Huo Guining leaped into her brother\'s arms.

Huo Yueze staggered, letting out a muffled groan.

Huo Guining was startled and wanted to ask if he was okay, but remembering his earlier warning to stay quiet, she hesitated anxiously.

After a moment to catch his breath, Huo Yueze steadied himself against the wall and stood up. He patted her head reassuringly:

"I\'m fine. Let\'s go!"

Huo Yueze pointed towards the mountains behind them and whispered to Huo Guining.

Understanding immediately, Huo Guining started running towards the small path leading into the mountains.

Huo Yueze followed closely behind, keeping a vigilant eye on her.

Soon, they reached a fork in the path.

Huo Yueze heard a strange noise in the distance.

Huo Guining heard it too.

She tensed up immediately, clutching tightly at Huo Yueze\'s clothes, her voice trembling slightly, "Brother, someone\'s coming..."

Huo Yueze\'s expression turned serious. He gently patted her shoulder and whispered soothingly, "Don\'t be afraid. I\'m here with you."

Thinking quickly, he removed Huo Guining\'s shoes and tossed them onto the right-hand path.

Then, he scooped Huo Guining up into his arms, shielding her against his chest as he plunged into the thicket on the left.

Fortunately, at that moment, a blizzard suddenly swept in.

Their tracks were quickly buried under the heavy snowfall.

Huo Guining, pressed against Huo Yueze\'s chest, could hear his labored breathing and occasional stifled groans. She tried to look up at him to check if he was alright.

But Huo Yueze held her firmly in place.

Thinking she was uncomfortable being carried, he reassured her, "Be good, sister. I\'ll put you down once we\'re out of this forest."

Huo Guining wanted to say she could run on her own, but given the urgency of their situation, she trusted her brother\'s judgment.

After what seemed like an eternity, the howling wind around them finally died down.

Huo Yueze set Huo Guining down and took her hand, panting heavily, "Sister, let\'s run together now."

With that, he led her forward, continuing their escape.

"Bang!"

A gunshot shattered the silence of the night.

The two fleeing figures froze in their tracks.

Xu Jin\'s voice carried from the distance: "Run all you want, you won\'t escape this forest!"

"Why don\'t you come back quietly? Once I get the money, I\'ll naturally let you go."

It seemed he hadn\'t found them yet; the gunshot was merely meant to intimidate them.

However, Xu Jin\'s words planted a seed of doubt in Huo Yueze\'s mind. Only now did he realize that this forest was far larger than he had imagined, and continuing to run might not lead them to safety.

But if they didn\'t run...

Huo Yueze, still young and inexperienced, found himself hesitating.

Huo Guining, however, knew all too well how ruthless Xu Jin could be. She tugged at Huo Yueze\'s hand, "Brother, don\'t believe him. He said he\'d kill me after getting the money, just to hurt Dad."

The word "kill" hit Huo Yueze like a sledgehammer, instantly clearing the fog of doubt from his mind.

Without further hesitation, he grabbed Huo Guining\'s hand and began running at full speed.

As they fled, they kept their ears attuned to any sounds of pursuit.

In their haste and panic, they failed to watch their step and suddenly found themselves tumbling down a steep slope.

The forest floor was littered with dead branches and thorny bushes, but in the split second they began to fall, Huo Yueze had pulled Huo Guining into his arms, shielding her.

So when they finally landed in a small cave at the bottom of the slope, Huo Guining felt sore but otherwise unharmed.

"Brother..." Huo Guining crawled out of Huo Yueze\'s embrace. "Are you okay?"

Huo Yueze lay on his side, unresponsive.

Panic seized Huo Guining as she shook his body, "Brother! Don\'t scare me like this, please wake up!"

Fearful that the man in black might be nearby, Huo Guining dared not raise her voice too much.

Yet, Huo Yueze remained silent and still.

In the pitch-black cave, Huo Guining felt Huo Yueze\'s ice-cold hand and began to cry helplessly.

She reached out, her hand trembling, to check if he was still breathing.

To her relief, she could feel his breath.

She clasped his hand between hers, her mind racing.

If only someone could come and help them. She didn\'t even dare to call for help.

Because she feared her cries might attract the demon instead.

Using the faint light from the snow outside, Huo Guining examined her brother more closely.

Thankfully, there was no visible blood near his head.

Huo Guining felt slightly relieved. She struggled to drag Huo Yueze\'s body further into the cave to prevent them from being buried by the heavy snow.

Time ticked by slowly, and Huo Yueze showed no signs of waking.

The only consolation was that Huo Guining hadn\'t heard the man\'s voice again either.

Huo Guining rested Huo Yueze\'s head on her lap and held his hands in hers to keep him warm.

The night deepened.

Huo Guining\'s heart ached with worry, and she felt her strength waning.

Her eyelids grew impossibly heavy...

In her hazy state, she heard the sound of police sirens approaching, growing louder and louder until they filled the night air.