Blame the Villain – Chapter 41

Villainous Poor Student (6)

The passing of the New Year also meant that both Song Xuyi and He Siyu aged another year.

Huashi during New Year don’t advocate for handing out hefty red envelopes; it’s just a symbolic gesture to express good fortune. However, using their absence from Song Xuyi’s previous New Year celebrations as an excuse to make it up to her, her parents, Father Song and Mother Song, stuffed an obscenely large sum of money into a red envelope for her.

Brother Song and Song Han weren’t jealous at all; in fact, they sneakily gave half of their own New Year money to Song Xuyi.

During this period, everyone kind of noticed that the once dominating and temperamental child, Song Xuyi, had shed those traits and had become adorable, intelligent, and considerate. If there was one slight flaw, it was that Song Xuyi seemed to have transformed into a little money-grubber, constantly babbling about earning her first pot of gold in business.

The Song family isn’t short on cash. Thinking that this might be some lasting trauma from Song Xuyi’s days of experiencing poverty in the village, the family felt an even deeper compassion for her. Consequently, the pocket money they gave her regularly turned out to be the most amongst the siblings.

As for Song Xuyi, who was constantly talking about starting a business to become rich, the family thought it was just a joke and didn’t take it seriously. After all, what kind of splash could a little girl who had just escaped from a mountain village and knew nothing about this era possibly make in business?

In March, Song Xuyi’s website started to take shape. However, after racking her brain, she couldn’t come up with a good name. She scribbled countless potential names on draft paper, rejected them all, and finally slumped down on He Siyu’s shoulder, feeling defeated: “Sister Siyu, I want to create a platform where with just an extra shipping fee, you can buy things from all over the country. It’s convenient, fast, time-saving, and effort-saving… Can you think of a name for me?”

Song Xuyi thought He Siyu wouldn’t come up with anything and had just asked off the cuff, but she underestimated her position in He Siyu’s heart. Seeing Song Xuyi’s deflated expression made He Siyu feel terrible. Even though she felt her level was insufficient and she currently only had a fourth-grader’s knowledge, she still mustered up a response for Song Xuyi: “I learned a verse from a poem some time ago, ‘Having friends from afar comes as no less a joy than if one’s neighbor,’ if your platform wants to involve everyone from around the world…”

He Siyu sneakily glanced at Song Xuyi: “Then how about we call it ‘NeighborNet Supermarket’? How’s that?”

……

Song Xuyi glanced at He Siyu and fell silent.

He Siyu knew she was not as culturally advanced and her grades weren’t as good as Song Xuyi’s, so she wasn’t surprised to be negated. Holding Song Xuyi’s hand, she whispered comfortingly, “I was just kidding, Xuyi. Don’t worry if you can’t think of something right now. With your talent, I’m sure you’ll come up with a perfect name later…”

Before He Siyu could finish, Song Xuyi excitedly hugged her: “Siyu, this name is wonderful; we’ll call it ‘NeighborNet Supermarket’…”

Song Xuyi indeed liked this name and she was also very fond of the considerate and caring demeanor that He Siyu was showing toward her at that moment, which gave her a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

“System, do you see this? Siyu will surely grow to be a ‘five-good girl,’ excelling in morals, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor!” Song Xuyi looked at He Siyu at that moment with immense pride.

The system regarded the red mole beneath He Siyu’s eyes with an inscrutable gaze, feeling there was something peculiar about it. However, not wanting to dampen Song Xuyi’s spirits while she was happy, it responded vaguely, “Yes… indeed.”

Song Xuyi didn’t notice the system’s vagueness and continued to shower He Siyu with praises.

As she breathed in the sweet, soft scent of peach wafting from the girl, and listened to her tender, mellow voice, He Siyu pursed her lips and glanced at Song Xuyi, her ears slowly turning red.

Being able to help Xuyi was the happiest thing in the world for her.

After the website was set up, Song Xuyi planned to start selling goods on it. Currently without a team, and the courier industry not as developed as in later times, she thought it best to start with local city deliveries.

At this time, the internet was just getting started, and new things couldn’t easily be trusted. When launching a website, one had to burn through cash. Song Xuyi decided to set the prices on her site 20% below cost, and she came up with the gimmick of offering free shipping on the first order to attract customers. Then she started handing out flyers on the streets…

Indeed, the traffic to Song Xuyi’s website has been climbing these past few days, but so have the losses, especially since some people, taking advantage of petty savings, deliberately create after-sales issues. It’s damn exasperating and nearly impossible to guard against, draining both patience and strength…

In the beginning, Song Xuyi hired two people to deliver goods and pick orders, but as the business expanded, to cut costs, she decided to roll up her sleeves and occasionally get involved in delivery and flyer distribution herself.

At times like this, Song Xuyi could only plead for He Siyu’s assistance.

She needed He Siyu to catch the tutors’ attention, while Song Xuyi snuck out the side door, hopped on a bus to deliver orders, and then returned in the afternoon.

He Siyu, of course, knew that this was no good. If their antics were ever exposed, she would likely be frowned upon by Song Xuyi’s parents. But He Siyu couldn’t refuse any of Song Xuyi’s requests, especially when Song Xuyi cooed at her in that soft voice. He Siyu felt she could rip out her own heart and hand it to Song Xuyi if asked — skipping out on house chores was nothing in comparison.

Song Xuyi herself hadn’t expected that her parents would eventually find out about the website business.

Father Song had clinched a deal with a big client and arranged to meet at a cafe to talk business. Little did he know he’d catch sight of his daughter outside the cafe, sweaty and busy distributing flyers…

Shouldn’t his daughter be at home getting tutored during this time? How come she appeared on the street?

……

Father Song went pale with shock. Memories of his daughter being kidnapped flooded back to him, and without a second thought for the important client he was meeting, he hurried out of the café.

Hearing that Song Xuyi was distributing flyers for her ‘startup’ venture yet again, Father Song rubbed his temples, something he rarely did, and showed some irritation: “Xuyi, no matter what, I won’t lose you again. Your mom and I can support you; you don’t need to earn money. For a girl like you, all we want is for you to study happily, grow up, get a stable job, fall in love, get married, and have a safe and smooth life…”

Song Xuyi knew this was genuinely how Father Song felt, the same simple wish most parents have for their children.

She didn’t want to argue with her father. At her age, even if she expressed her thoughts, most adults wouldn’t agree with a child forging a new path—especially not a traditional businessman like Father Song, who was always cautious.

Holding her tongue, Song Xuyi adopted the sweet and obedient demeanor she had learned from He Siyu. That move seemed effective on Father Song. Seeing his daughter’s contrite appearance, he believed she had recognized her mistake. Suddenly, he realized he might have been a bit too harsh. “What if she tattles to mom? I’ll get an earful…” he thought, clearing his throat awkwardly and softening his voice, “I’ll have Uncle Driver take you home later…”

Song Xuyi mulled over the fact that Father Song was probably scared witless this time around and decided it wasn’t the moment to come off as too rebellious. All she could do was nod in agreement.

However, no one expected that the client Father Song was entertaining would suddenly reach out and stop him. This client had been looking on with interest at the flyers in Song Xuyi’s hands and now, with a grin, turned to her: “Kid, did you design this website? What exactly is NeighborNet Supermarket intended for? Do you plan to keep running your business at a loss just to shout louder…?”

“Certainly not…”

Song Xuyi shook her head and broadly outlined her plans: In the future, they’d sell a variety of things, charging merchants different commission rates based on product categories…

Father Song hadn’t envisioned that, in the end, he and his client would return to the café, and yet this time, the conversation would be between the client and Song Xuyi.

Mr. Zhao was considered a local business mogul, someone everyone just referred to respectfully by his title. Father Song had been introduced to him through a connection, and it had taken quite the effort to get on Mr. Zhao’s radar. But now, all of Mr. Zhao’s attention seemed to have shifted to Song Xuyi.

While Song Xuyi was in the restroom, Father Song roughly explained her past ordeal of being kidnapped when she was young. He tactfully expressed to Mr. Zhao his wish for Xuyi to focus on her studies rather than enter the business world. Peering over, Mr. Zhao glanced at Father Song, nodding after a moment: “I’m a parent too; I get where you’re coming from. But kids nowadays are a different breed to our generation—they’ll do exactly what you tell them not to. I reckon it’s better to let them be. They tend to lose interest quickly. As it happens, I have a startup incubator project under my wing. Why don’t we let her give it a shot…”

Father Song’s eyes widened, not expecting Mr. Zhao to take such an interest in Song Xuyi. After all, with his considerable wealth, Mr. Zhao’s assets dwarfed his own; the man would have no reason to wade into these waters unless he saw something in Song Xuyi.

Catching Father Song’s gaze, Mr. Zhao squinted with a smile, “I’m not just after your daughter’s potential; I’d heard about how Mr. Song values integrity and has an excellent reputation over the years. Always wanted to make a friend of you…”

Beneath the downpour of flattering hats, even the usually somber Father Song couldn’t help but feel a bit thrilled, no longer questioning the shift in Mr. Zhao’s attitude. He simply took it as genuine interest in partnering up.

After Song Xuyi returned, her father had already settled everything with Mr. Zhao who, surprisingly, was quite agreeable. The project that Father Song wasn’t too confident about was readily accepted by Mr. Zhao.

Thus, when Father Song got home, he interrogated Song Xuyi about her recent conduct. When he learned that she’d frequently skipped classes, he was horrified and sternly instructed the tutors to never let Song Xuyi out, except for Fridays when she could intern for a day at Mr. Zhao’s project.

As for He Siyu, under Song Xuyi’s protection, she became an innocent victim in the eyes of others and did not arouse any suspicion from Father Song or Mother Song.

However, when Friday came and Song Xuyi arrived at Mr. Zhao’s company, the man waiting for her was none other than Mr. Zhao himself.

Mr. Zhao had read the proposal Song Xuyi had written up on sleepless nights and got straight to the point, expressing his willingness to invest in her project. But they reached an impasse over the distribution of profits. Finally, Mr. Zhao leisurely sipped his tea and said, “You get what you work for. If you can find a way to spare more time each week to oversee the project, I’ll give you an extra 10%…”

Song Xuyi paused for a moment.

She knew Mr. Zhao was driving a hard bargain. With her father now extremely wary of her, it would be incredibly difficult to get out in the open… But what if someone were there to cover for her?

Blinking, Song Xuyi’s eyes twinkled as she flashed a smile, “Deal!”

The author has something to say:

I get it, you all are collectively disgusted with me T_T. I’m going to read 《The Self-Improvement of a Sweet Romance Author》 tonight.

LP: Re-translated on February 26, 2024