Villainous Poor Student (3)
For over an hour, the car jostled and bounced its way toward the county town.
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected that He Siyu would get carsick.
In this era, rural roads were not well developed. The vehicle often transitioned from sections of concrete to stretches of dirt track, causing a rough ride. Even Song Xuyi felt a bit dizzy, and He Siyu, having recently recovered from a serious illness and being frail, plus never having ridden in a car before, had a lower tolerance. As time went by, He Siyu’s face grew paler and ultimately, she curled up in the seat, huddling into a ball.
At that point, Song Xuyi didn’t have any other solution but to continuously pat He Siyu’s back and whisper words of comfort.
Finally, when they got out of the car, He Siyu rushed to the roadside and began to dry heave.
At this time, some of the markets and shops in the small county town had already started to open up. Large advertising billboards were hung along the streets, loudspeakers in front of the shops blared discount information, and motorcycles and tricycles drove back and forth in a chaotic flurry. Occasionally, a few private cars or buses would pass by…
This was a scene completely different from the deathly quiet mountain village.
He Siyu’s pretty eyes warily surveyed the surroundings. Even though she seemed to be trying to control where she looked, Song Xuyi noticed that He Siyu’s gaze often fell upon the vehicles around her…
Remembering that He Siyu would later work in mechanical research and development, Song Xuyi began to intentionally guide He Siyu’s curiosity: “This is a car. It burns gasoline inside, and the gasoline powers the engine, which then makes the wheels roll. It’s quite magical, isn’t it…”
……
He Siyu did not speak. She listened silently to Song Xuyi’s explanations and slowly turned her head, her gaze landing on Song Xuyi’s face:
The girl from the city seemed to have changed. Her eyes no longer held the misty confusion they had in the village, and the way she looked at He Siyu no longer carried the previous disdain. Her eyes sparkled with laughter, as if they held the stars in the sky…
— It was as if she understood everything and was capable of anything. She actually managed to lead He Siyu away from He Biao’s pursuit and brought her into the city!
Could this be the wisdom of city folk that her mother had spoken of?
……
He Siyu looked at Song Xuyi with complex eyes and pursed her lips—this time, she took the initiative to hold Song Xuyi’s hand…
Seeing He Siyu’s gesture of goodwill, Song Xuyi also felt a bit of joy in her heart.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
She spent a yuan on the roadside to buy two large steamed buns, and after each finished their bun, they set off on a new journey.
Song Xuyi asked for directions along the way, and after half an hour, they reached the long-distance bus terminal. This time, Song Xuyi didn’t repeat her previous tricks. She purposely squeezed into the middle of the crowd with He Siyu when it was most packed. Before the ticket seller could finish asking “Where are your parents,” Song Xuyi loudly interjected, “My parents are behind us; my sister and I want to use our New Year’s money to buy bus tickets…”
Song Xuyi spent 20 yuan to get on the bus.
There were too many people behind them, and the ticket seller, busy collecting money, didn’t have the energy to check whether the parents of the two got on the bus or not…
Finally, the two of them arrived in the neighboring city before nightfall.
The neighboring city was a bit more bustling than the small county town, with neon lights flashing at night, not as quiet as the village nights. The city’s nightlife symbolized the beginning of evening entertainment: shops lit up along the streets, pedestrians wandering around shopping, and the enticing aroma of street-side kebabs…
Even if He Biao was brilliant, it would take him at least ten days to half a month to track them down here!
“Sister, we’ve finally escaped…”
Song Xuyi let out a sigh of relief, and it was only now that she truly put her heart at ease, spending her last two yuan on a pork bun for herself and He Siyu.
This was the best food they had eaten in years.
“Big sister, don’t be afraid, we’ll have a lot more to eat from now on…”
Song Xuyi gobbled up her bun in just a few bites, but when she turned her head, she saw that more than half of He Siyu’s bun was still left. Seeing He Siyu nibble on the bun as if worried it would soon be gone, Song Xuyi’s eyes became a bit moist. She took a deep breath and walked with He Siyu into a shop that had a landline telephone—
“Grandpa, we’ve gotten separated from our mom and dad, could you help us find a police officer…”
……
An hour later, Song Xuyi and He Siyu entered the police station.
Song Xuyi relayed the name of the city embedded deep in the original owner’s memory, her parents’ names, and the entire ordeal of being trafficked.
The police were surprised at how clear this young girl’s memory and logic were. Their initial astonishment turned into compassion upon hearing about the hardships she had experienced over the years…
However, unlike the smooth progress with Song Xuyi, the police faced difficulties with He Siyu.
Due to He Siyu’s apparent aversion to men, the police station specially assigned a female officer to her. However, He Siyu seemed completely unaware of what the police were, nor could she understand their accent. She sat silently, head bowed, forcing the policewoman to eventually call over Song Xuyi for assistance…
He Suyi had always been silent. When Song Xuyi started asking her questions, she only responded with a simple “Mmm.” It was not until Song Xuyi held He Suyi’s hand and told her, “This auntie is the person who can lock up He Biao,” that He Suyi cooperatively opened her mouth and told the police her name, age, and everything she had endured over the years.
He Suyi’s mother didn’t die of illness; she was beaten to death by He Biao. He Biao pushed He Suyi’s mother’s head onto a hoe, and despite the blood staining the ground, the people in the village insisted that her mother died of illness.
Even before He Suyi’s mother died, when He Suyi was only five or six years old, He Biao had already attempted to deceive her into going into the room and sleeping with him. Fortunately, He Suyi’s mother had taught her about sex education early on because of her own bitter experiences. He Suyi didn’t let He Biao succeed and bit his arm hard when he touched her.
Since then, under her mother’s guidance, He Suyi deliberately made herself appear dirty, which only invited more beatings from He Biao. When she was ten years old, He Biao intentionally scalded He Suyi’s left arm with boiling water.
He Suyi seemed calm while speaking, but the more composed her narrative, the more heart-wrenching it felt:
Was it because she had no more tears, or had she become completely accustomed to suffering, that she could recount her hardships with an unchanged expression?
……
Regardless of the reason, He Siyu’s experiences were heartbreaking.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
To verify He Siyu’s words, the policewoman took her to the next room for a cursory examination of her body. Most girls begin to develop around the age of thirteen; however, both He Siyu and Song Xuyi next to her were so thin that they appeared no older than eight or nine…
Upon seeing the crisscrossing scars and the large burn scar from boiling water on He Siyu’s left arm and shoulder, the policewoman shifted her gaze away and walked to the window, struggling to hold back tears at the corners of her eyes.
“You both are very brave!”
The policewoman turned around, looked down into He Siyu’s eyes, and said, “We will definitely bring your stepfather to justice!”
Previously, the girl exhibited extreme aversion to strangers, only relenting and starting to cooperate with the investigation after the other girl reassured her: “This auntie is someone who can lock up He Biao.”
The female officer knew the girl’s deepest wish, and it aligned with her own mission—
In any place kissed by sunlight, be it deep mountains or islands, at home or abroad, no evil deed should be overlooked!
Justice and fairness, based in law, to punish the wicked and eradicate evil, to protect the vulnerable…
It’s a lengthy process, yet it’s one that is sure to come.
……
“She has truly suffered too much! I must treat her doubly well in the future…”
Ever since Song Xuyi heard about He Siyu’s experiences, she couldn’t help but start wiping away tears, and when she saw the scars on He Siyu’s body, she cried out even more. Even the system in Song Xuyi’s mind kept sighing incessantly.
That night, the two of them spent the duration in the police station.
The police called the station where Song Xuyi’s father was located while also starting to search for the kidnapper based on the physical descriptions provided by Song Xuyi. They contacted the police in the neighboring city as well to investigate the death of He Siyu’s mother in the village…
These two girls had poked a hole through the sky in a village shrouded in wicked ignorance, bringing in the light of modern law and justice…
By the time they finished dealing with both of their issues, it was already the middle of the night.
In the latter part of the night, the female officer arranged some stools together to make a ‘small bed’ for the two girls to sleep on.
Having been through so much that day, both psychologically and physically exhausted, a heavy sleepiness surged over Song Xuyi. After thanking the female officer, she lay down on the stools. However, after waiting for a moment, He Siyu, who was still standing, had yet to lie down…
Song Xuyi looked toward He Siyu. The girl was thin and frail, with a palm-sized face that made her eyes appear exceptionally large. She stared wide-eyed around the room, seemingly without the slightest hint of sleepiness…
But how could she not feel tired?
Especially since He Siyu gets carsick, she must have reached her limit after this whole day…
Song Xuyi sighed inwardly, mustered her strength to sit up, and pulled He Siyu down to sit on the chair.
“Sister, this place is the most trustworthy place in the entire country…”
Knowing that He Siyu lacked general knowledge, Song Xuyi started by explaining the concept of a nation, moved on to the functions of the government, and talked about the division of work among its different departments… He Siyu indeed listened very attentively.
“I know Sister may feel strange right now, wondering why no one came to protect you when you were in the mountains before—”
……
He Siyu had been silent all along, but her eyebrows moved when she heard these words, and she turned to look at Song Xuyi.
(Support me at littlepandatranslations.com)
“I’ve been confused about this in the past too,” Song Xuyi said, suddenly relating back to the original owner; her mother had told her to find a police officer when in trouble, yet in that desolate village, there were no police to be seen—
“Our country is so vast, there are always going to be corners that the sun’s light can’t reach, but we need to believe: everything will gradually get better. Soon, knowledge will spread to all the deep forests and mountains, the sun will defeat all the darkness, and us girls will become stronger and more powerful…”
Song Xuyi actually had a lot more she wanted to say, like how once they grow stronger, they could themselves become the sun that helps more girls; or how once He Siyu learns enough, she could also protect the vulnerable…
But after some thought, Song Xuyi swallowed these words back down—such thoughts were far too remote for He Siyu right now.
However, what she said was already enough for He Siyu at the time.
Years later, He Siyu still remembered what Song Xuyi told her that night at the police station, “Sister Siyu, you take a nap, I will protect you! You must believe: you have escaped from the den of evil, and have arrived among people…”
The young girl from the city had not lied.
He Siyu had not wanted to sleep, yet as she sat on the chair, listening to the young girl’s soft and sticky voice, He Siyu unwittingly fell asleep…
That night, He Siyu did not have any nightmares after closing her eyes.
She had arrived among people—a world brought to her by Song Xuyi, filled with sunlight, devoid of any darkness or obscurity.
Due to the time required to investigate the case and wait for their biological relatives to arrive, the police, after some discussion, decided to temporarily send Song Xuyi and He Siyu to a local welfare institution.
The environment of the welfare institution might not have seemed good in the eyes of many, but for the two girls, these were the best days they had lived in years!
They were placed in a temporary room, and the policewoman even bought them new clothes to change into and a bunch of food on the way there. They slept in single beds, had running water and toothbrushes, and even fragrant soap for bathing…
And in their free time, every day, Song Xuyi would drag He Siyu to attend classes at the welfare institution, joining kids of five or six years old to learn Mandarin and basic arithmetic…
Both girls learned quickly, with the teachers being particularly astonished by Song Xuyi’s learning ability. After all, Song Xuyi possessed the soul of an adult. Yet, it was He Siyu’s learning speed that deeply amazed Song Xuyi: He Siyu could remember many characters after being taught just once, and in a few days, she mastered arithmetic within a hundred…
Then, seven days later, when He Siyu began to write her own name, the parents of the body Song Xuyi occupied finally hurried over!
The author has something to say:
Life is just too tough~
I think I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for my poor cubs…
LP: Re-translated on February 22, 2024
[…] <TOC> Categories Blame the Villain For Being Too Beautiful Tags Blame the Villain, Blame the Villain For Being Too Beautiful, chinese, gl, yuriBlame the Villain Ch. 38Blame the Villain Ch. 40 […]
Author seems to like cutting onions, just saying 🥲