Blame the Villain – Chapter 103

Villainous Stand-in (1)

When Song Xuyi opened her eyes again, she was greeted by the bright glare of a white incandescent lamp above her head.

She still remembered the sight she had witnessed the moment she traveled through time and space.

Originally, Song Xuyi was supposed to be asleep while traversing the small worlds. However, the turbulence at that moment was too severe, and in a half-dream, half-awake state, she opened her eyes: she saw endless bright lights from the horizon, like falling meteors scattering all around her. She was like a lone boat in a flood, seemingly on the verge of being submerged by the luminous glow at any moment…

After that, Song Xuyi lost consciousness completely.

Song Xuyi wasn’t sure if what she saw was an illusion, but recalling the scene gave rise to some doubts in her heart: What kind of existence were these small worlds? And where had the main god, as mentioned by the system, gone?

At this moment, Song Xuyi naturally couldn’t get any answers.

……

Feeling inexplicably tired and empty, Song Xuyi lay on the bed, reflecting on her experiences in several worlds. Even though her memories of each world were somewhat incomplete and vague, as if covered by a layer of gauze, and even though recalling them brought a faint sense of loss, as if she had forgotten something very important, she was certain that after going through so many worlds, her inner self was gradually growing stronger.

Not long after, the system’s voice echoed in Song Xuyi’s mind: “Xuyi, we were attacked again and still can’t contact the main god—”

Song Xuyi responded with a simple ‘Hmm,’ her mood hardly fluctuating. After several such incidents, both the system and Song Xuyi had adapted remarkably well to the main god’s disappearance.

“But I had already anticipated this situation,” the system’s voice carried a hint of smugness after mentioning the main god’s disappearance. “Before we set off, I had already scouted the nearest small world—”

Immediately, the system transmitted the plot summary of this small world to Song Xuyi.

The story’s setting was in modern times, and compared to previous missions, the storyline of this small world was exceptionally simple.

Xiang City, located by the sea, had rapidly become the wealthiest city in the country in recent years through investment and business attraction, teeming with tycoons. Among them, two particularly prominent and newly risen wealthy families stood out: the Song family and the Li family.

The world knew that these two powerful families harbored deep-seated grudges, almost to the point of never interacting. Tracing back, the enmity started from the grandfather’s generation, but the specifics of their animosity were unclear to anyone.

However, the longstanding feud came to an abrupt halt ten years ago: the Li family encountered a catastrophe.

The Li family had made their fortune in real estate, but the media exposed that during their rise, they had mistreated construction workers, leading to site accidents. Their reputation plummeted. Shortly after, the Li family’s only son and his family were involved in a car accident, resulting in their deaths, leaving behind a ten-year-old daughter, Li Yuqing.

The elder of the Li family, upon hearing the tragic news, fell gravely ill and passed away half a month later. The Li family’s board of directors was not united; they resorted to various means to seize power after the elder’s death, leading the once-mighty Li Group to declare bankruptcy in no time.

Unexpectedly, during this process, the Song family did not kick them while they were down. The retired patriarch of the Song family even financially supported the last remaining bloodline of the Li family, Li Yuqing.

This might sound like a story where two families reconcile their grudges, but with her omniscient perspective, Song Xuyi naturally knew that the truth was far more complicated.

Old Master Song’s actions were all for the male lead, Song Shi.

Unlike Old Master Li, Old Master Song wasn’t a one-woman man. After amassing his wealth, he had several wives, resulting in many children and grandchildren. Among them, the one who pleased him the most was his exceptionally talented grandson, Song Shi. Song Shi was outstanding in every way, showing extraordinary business acumen from a young age. However, he was also a hopeless romantic, falling in love with Li Yuyun, Li Yuqing’s elder sister, despite Old Master Song’s objections.

When Li Yuyun died in the car accident, Song Shi was devastated, and his mental health deteriorated to the point that he had to be admitted to a sanatorium. It was only then that Old Master Song realized the depth of Song Shi’s feelings. To prevent his prized grandson from being ruined, Old Master Song funded Li Yuqing’s upbringing. He brought Li Yuqing to Song Shi and told him that if he wished, he could see Li Yuqing as a replacement for Li Yuyun.

Perhaps it was due to the slight resemblance between Li Yuqing and Li Yuyun, or maybe it was because Song Shi finally found the will to live, wanting to take good care of his beloved’s younger sister. Song Shi slowly pulled himself together and began managing the family business.

Not long before Song Xuyi’s arrival, Song Shi met the kind and innocent nurse, the female lead. Under her meticulous care, Song Shi’s mental state improved significantly. Not wanting to miss out on love again, he fell for her and was determined to marry her.

At this point, Old Master Song started to meddle again. Compared to the poorly educated and impoverished female lead, Old Master Song preferred Li Yuqing, who had grown up beautiful, well-educated, and good-tempered under his sponsorship.

According to the main god’s arrangement, the female lead would gradually win over the Song family with her patience and gentleness, ultimately marrying Song Shi, and the two would live happily ever after.

However, with Song Xuyi’s arrival, things would naturally take a different turn.

After the female lead and Song Shi got married, the Song family business was exposed for multiple commercial crimes and unfair competition practices. Subsequently, their substandard construction projects were revealed, leading to continuous scandals. Song Shi was overwhelmed with work, and his previously improved mental state rapidly deteriorated, eventually leading to complete madness.

Seeing that Song Shi was no longer of any use, Old Master Song ruthlessly abandoned him and supported others to take over. The Song family was too preoccupied with its own troubles to continue supporting the now worthless Song Shi. The female lead, while taking care of the insane Song Shi, had to work to make ends meet, ultimately dying in an accident during one of her jobs…

The main reason for the downfall of the Song family was the villain of this world, Li Yuqing.

Old Master Song had meticulously groomed Li Yuqing to become a refined lady, teaching her arts like bamboo flute playing and illustration. No one could have imagined that she would be the one to single-handedly bring down the once-thriving Song family…

Earlier, Song Xuyi might not have noticed anything amiss here, but now, having dabbled in the business world and achieved success in a small world, she was well aware of the various underhanded tactics in the business arena. From Li Yuqing’s vengeful actions against the Song family, it was clear that Old Master Song had played a significant role in the downfall of the Li family, which drove Li Yuqing to despise the Song family and seek revenge.

……

After reading the plot summary, Song Xuyi also absorbed the memories of her new body.

The main god still adhered to the principle that higher status makes things easier. Although she was just a minor character, Song Xuyi’s new body held a considerable status—it belonged to Old Master Song’s granddaughter and Song Shi’s cousin. However, Song Xuyi’s father was Old Master Song’s least favored son, considered a “ne’er-do-well” for his lack of interest in the family business and obsession with painting, eventually becoming a university professor. As a result, Song Xuyi’s family rarely interacted with the main Song family except during holidays and had essentially distanced themselves from the family. (LP: ne’er-do-well means an idle, worthless person.)

The original owner of this body had a cheerful and content personality, fascinated with the world of anime. With a love for manga and a talent for drawing, she pursued a degree in animation, dreaming of becoming a mangaka.

Li Yuqing also studied art, and now, Song Xuyi and Li Yuqing were in the same school and the same department.

The original owner had always wanted to meet this rumored future cousin-in-law, but due to her poor health stemming from her childhood experiences, Li Yuqing rarely attended school. By their sophomore year, the original owner had not seen her even once.

According to the plot summary, it was the original owner’s family who eventually took in the mad and homeless Song Shi.

……

As Song Xuyi finished absorbing the memories of her new body, the system’s voice resonated in her mind at just the right moment, “Xuyi, I actually arranged for you to come to this world on purpose.”

“You’re exhausted! I know you’re disciplined and exceptional, and that’s a rare and valuable trait, but you’ve been pushing yourself too hard…”

“You need to take a break, truly feel, and learn to enjoy life,” the system sincerely suggested. “This world has no strange diseases, no wars, and no conflicts… You’re just a young girl living in peaceful times, harboring dreams. The future downfall of the Song family has little to do with you. All you need to do is ensure the survival of the male and female leads to complete your mission…”

“Xuyi, as your friend, I hope you can learn to love yourself more.”

Song Xuyi hadn’t expected the system to say such things, nor did she expect that there was such thoughtful intention behind choosing this world. She stood there, momentarily stunned.

Moved by the system’s concern, Song Xuyi also felt a bit lost: Just as the system said, she didn’t really know how to enjoy life…

“Your current body is that of a mangaka,” the system, also unaccustomed to saying such sentimental things, continued. Perhaps it was because the system had been a tool spirit for thousands of years in the previous world, it felt it had gained some emotions it shouldn’t have. As a partner who had supported each other along the way, the system naturally understood Song Xuyi’s confusion and offered a suggestion, “You can depict your experiences from those small worlds through your drawings…”

Song Xuyi pressed her lips together; she wasn’t used to relaxing.

But recalling the feeling of emptiness upon waking up in this world and thinking of the original owner’s wishes, Song Xuyi finally nodded.

Let’s consider it a way to experience life!

Song Xuyi reminded herself.

The original owner had been drawing since childhood, with excellent technical skills. However, creating good manga requires more than just drawing skills; it also demands strong storytelling abilities. The original owner had led a smooth life with little adversity, which left her lacking in empathy and narrative skills. She had been attempting to serialize her work on various manga platforms for six months but had garnered only a handful of fans.

Song Xuyi reviewed the original owner’s drafts. While the drawings were flawless, they were undeniably dull. The process of the protagonist having breakfast stretched across seven or eight panels. Even though Song Xuyi hadn’t had much time to read novels or mangas before, from a reader’s perspective, the original owner’s stories were indeed hard to engage with.

If she wanted to be a mangaka, she had to learn how to draw. Song Xuyi initially thought she would need to start from scratch due to her lack of a drawing foundation. However, the moment she picked up a pen, her body instinctively began to draw. Despite not having studied human anatomy or color theory, her drawings were still remarkably harmonious…

The process was simpler than Song Xuyi had imagined. (LP: I want this talent…)

But she didn’t dare to slack off. Over the next few days, she used her summer vacation to catch up on some drawing knowledge, read books on writing and plot design, and went through several classic mangas.

Song Xuyi felt she had gained a lot, but the system observing all this was about to go crazy!

“Xuyi, you came to this world to enjoy life!” The system, watching Song Xuyi busily working, almost gasped for breath. “You should go out to eat delicious food, have fun. The weather has cooled down, it’s a perfect time to go out. How can you stay cooped up at home and waste this wonderful time?”

Song Xuyi blinked.

She actually found the mangas quite interesting. No wonder the original owner was so absorbed in them. After reading them, Song Xuyi also felt an urge to create her own manga. But the system had a point: creation requires inspiration. Song Xuyi had decided to base her manga on her past experiences in the smaller worlds, but creating is not the same as writing a memoir. She felt her life while completing tasks in the small worlds had been somewhat monotonous, as if something was missing. However, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what that was.

Maybe a little outing would spark some inspiration…

With that thought, Song Xuyi took the system’s advice. She grabbed her sun umbrella, changed into a floral dress, and stepped out of the house.

Song Xuyi was currently living in the staff housing allocated to her father by the university. Her parents lived elsewhere, so this place was right next to the campus. As soon as she exited the building, she found herself in the university town.

She observed the people idling by the roadside, bought herself a milk tea, put on her headphones, and began a leisurely stroll along the campus lake.

Even though it was summer break, the university town was far from deserted. Many students, preparing for their postgraduate exams, either stayed on campus or rented nearby apartments. It was evening, and most students were having dinner at the canteen or small eateries, so the lakeside was relatively quiet.

The setting sun cast an orange-yellow hue over the world, the fiery sunset painting the sky with various shapes. A gentle breeze caressed the shimmering lake, and a faint fragrance of flowers lingered in the air. Walking by the lakeside, Song Xuyi couldn’t help but relax.

This was a feeling Song Xuyi had never experienced before—comfort and ease, as if she were a lazy cat basking in the afternoon sun. She couldn’t resist taking out her phone to capture the moment.

Just then, the system in her mind seemed to shout something in alarm. Song Xuyi couldn’t make out the words and was about to listen more closely when she accidentally kicked a stone and lost her balance, falling backward.

In the next instant, she found herself falling into a strangely familiar embrace.

The one who caught her was a girl.

Song Xuyi instinctively looked up and was immediately captivated by the flawless, stunning face illuminated by the sunset. The moment she noticed the red mole at the corner of the girl’s eye, her heart began to race uncontrollably, each beat faster than the last, as if it were about to burst out of her chest!

In that instant, Song Xuyi suddenly understood what had been missing from her story—

—It was love!

That endlessly entwining, romantic, and utterly wondrous emotion that has driven countless poets and writers to sleepless nights!

The author has something to say:

Hehehe~~~~

For the next three days, I should be able to update daily~

LP: Re-translated on June 24, 2024