Villainous Poor Student (5)
The coastal Huashi was one of the earliest regions to develop, and naturally, its economy is much more prosperous than that of the inland areas. However, since leaving the village, He Siyu had become more worldly, and though she marveled at the city’s skyscrapers and wide tarred roads, she did not lose her composure.
He Siyu recalled the words Xuyi had told her: “You must study hard, for learning is the quickest force that can make a person strong. It enables you to confront your own shortcomings, to see the widest scope of the world. The things you learn will integrate into your being for a lifetime, influencing your entire existence…”
Right now, He Siyu’s understanding of knowledge was still somewhat vague, but she believed in Song Xuyi’s words. If Xuyi had said so, then learning must certainly be immensely beneficial to her!
Moreover, He Siyu did not dislike studying.
The outside world was bustling in ways she could never have imagined. She already possessed many opportunities that girls from deep in the mountains could not grasp, and what she needed to do, was to firmly seize these chances to blend into this different world.
Song Xuyi followed her parents, Father Song and Mother Song, back to their home, while He Siyu returned with Officer He to his residence.
Father Song was aware that Officer He had previously experienced financial difficulties while seeking treatment for his wife. He intended to offer money to help Officer He, but was resolutely refused, with Officer He stating, “Adopting Siyu is my own affair, and it has nothing to do with the Song family. Any child I adopt should be cared for by us…”
Feeling helpless, Father Song gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for Officer He’s integrity. He assumed that with such an upbringing, He Siyu’s character would likely develop well. He thus quietly instructed Mother Song to always send over some tasty treats or useful items for He Siyu, as after all, she and their daughter Xuyi were sworn sisters who had stood by each other through tough times; their friendship was meant to last a lifetime.
He Siyu’s demeanor did not change as she moved from the small villa with its garden back to the housing unit with Officer He.
Officer He’s wife had already received a call from her husband informing her about the misfortunate child he had found in the countryside, who bore some resemblance to their own prematurely departed daughter. She had cleaned the house inside and out early in the morning, and upon seeing He Siyu, she couldn’t help but tear up—
Such a beautiful girl, nearly destroyed by a brute, thank heavens there’s still justice in this world…
“This is your Auntie Wang,” Officer He introduced: “Good child, from now on, you should consider this place your home.”
Auntie Wang’s face was kind, and her look towards He Siyu was full of compassion. He Siyu for some reason felt suddenly shy under Auntie Wang’s gaze and bit her lower lip, looking down.
Song Xuyi had long taught He Siyu to call elders uncle and auntie, so lowering her head, He Siyu softly addressed them with respect. Auntie Wang then took He Siyu’s hand and asked her some questions. She was a retired teacher, stepping back due to health reasons, with rich experience in communicating with children, her manner gentle and warm.
He Siyu answered the questions she understood with her halting Mandarin, and shook her head to the ones she didn’t understand. After a few questions, Auntie Wang also discerned that this was a bright child who had been let down somehow, which only made her feel more pity.
Auntie Wang bustled about, setting up the room that would become He Siyu’s new space. She considerately left He Siyu alone for a time to settle in, then proceeded to the kitchen to start cooking.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
The room wasn’t large but was tidied to an extreme degree of cleanliness. The window was open, allowing streams of sunlight to pour in, and by the window hung pink floral curtains. A desk was placed in front of the window, beside which stood a bookshelf brimming with books. There was a small bed of 1.2 meters, with bedding that smelled of sunshine, obviously just having been aired out. Next to it was a wardrobe holding several sets of clothes, with a full-length mirror affixed to it.
He Siyu looked at the young girl in the mirror.
This was the first time she inspected herself so carefully, seeing both a familiar and a strange person reflected back. The girl in the mirror had a tiny face with big eyes and neatly combed hair tied back into a ponytail. For the first time, He Siyu discovered—she might actually be… somewhat pretty.
The hazy reflection in the brook of the mountain hollow could never reveal a clear face. Back then, she detested the sight of her own disheveled reflection in the water, believing she’d spend her whole life in that mountain crevice. Yet she never imagined that one day she would escape from that hellish place and have something she could call… a home.
Feeling inexplicably joyful, He Siyu’s lips curved into a smile as she began to smile at her own reflection in the mirror.
Meanwhile, Song Xuyi also returned to the Song family home.
The female lead, Song Han, upon hearing the news of Song Xuyi’s return, waited anxiously at the door early in the morning. She wondered how Song Xuyi would perceive this additional sister. Brother Song, comforting her with words, reassured her, “Xuyi wouldn’t be so insensitive,” but deep down, he too harbored some unease. His recollection of his younger sister from childhood was of someone with an intense possessiveness, particularly disliking others touching her things. He resolved that once he saw his sister, he would sincerely advise her…
If it were him, to have suffered greatly, while another was lavished with love and care at home in his stead—
Brother Song hung his head in thought.
Not just Brother Song; Father Song and Mother Song also felt a certain unease, managing strained smiles as they introduced her, “Xu… Xuyi, this is your sister Song Han—”
Despite their expectations, Song Xuyi did not show any of the anticipated aversion to Song Han’s presence.
Beaming at Song Han, Song Xuyi smiled and, meeting her somewhat flustered gaze, took the initiative to extend her hand—
“Hello, sister!”
Song Xuyi, now 11 years old, was at the age to be in the fifth grade of elementary school. However, her prior elementary education had been lacking. Therefore, Father Song decided to delay her entry into school for a year. He arranged for a home tutor to help her catch up on her lessons so that, after a year with some foundational learning, she could formally attend school.
Thinking that teaching one child was like teaching two, and considering that Song Xuyi needed companionship right now, Father Song also arranged for He Siyu to come over every day and study together with her.
Song Xuyi was thankful for having He Siyu as her study partner. After all, as an adult at heart and previously an excellent student, relearning elementary school knowledge was somewhat challenging. Having already decided her direction in this world, Song Xuyi was reluctant to waste time. Initially, she diligently studied, but once Father Song and Mother Song started their jobs and weren’t supervising, she would pretend to study for half an hour before sneaking upstairs to her brother’s computer to surf the internet, and even slipped out to buy stacks of programming books…
At that time, computers were still a novelty in the country, and it wasn’t long before Brother Song had barely managed to persuade Mother Song and Father Song to buy one. Previously it was mostly for typing practice and basic games like Minesweeper and Solitaire. Recently, he started chatting with friends and “farming” on an app named “Ostrich.”
Song Xuyi recognized that this was a time of rapid development, especially in the field of computing which would skyrocket in the following decade. Many sensed the business potential in social networking and began to develop various platforms. However, current shopping websites were not yet fully developed. Thus, Song Xuyi conceived a plan to create an easy and fast shopping platform.
But with such a vast population in the country, helping so many children would require a colossal sum of money…
Song Xuyi understood more than anyone how wildly transformative the wave of network digitization would be! Standing at the forefront of this era, Song Xuyi was ready to take a gamble!
……
Brother Song cherished his computer immensely; he wouldn’t even allow his parents to touch it. Among everyone else, only his siblings, Song Han and Song Xuyi, had his permission to use his treasured device.
True to the advisement of teachers not to indulge in computer games, Song Han, the well-behaved girl, rarely played on the computer. Song Xuyi, however, was different. Brother Song often returned from school to find Song Xuyi on the computer, sometimes typing symbols he didn’t understand on some pages.
Brother Song didn’t know what his sister was up to, and the idea of her playing on the computer during tutoring hours seemed problematic. He subtly hinted at this to his sister, only to receive a cheeky response: “Why doesn’t big brother test me with elementary school questions?”
After testing Song Xuyi with three sets of papers and still reeling from his adolescent ego, Brother Song became convinced his sister was a genius. This not only triggered an overprotective brotherly instinct—he began covering for her with their parents at her plea.
The female lead, Song Han, also noticed something odd. Yet, wanting her sister to like her and not wanting to cause family strife, she chose to side with Song Xuyi. Perhaps out of unease, Song Han handed all her old study materials to Song Xuyi. Aware of Song Han’s internal conflict, Song Xuyi occasionally invited her to join in doing homework. Once Song Han saw that Song Xuyi really could tackle most of the problems, her worries finally subsided…
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At the beginning, Song Xuyi’s tutors subtly reminded her: “No matter how smart you are, you still need to study hard…” But as Song Xuyi quickly mastered knowledge points and consistently scored full marks on tests, the tutors found themselves at a loss for words. Moreover, the tutors had their own ulterior motives; if they revealed how fast Song Xuyi was learning, Father Song and Mother Song might dismiss the tutors early. With the Song family offering a high salary, they did not want to lose the job prematurely. So they turned a blind eye, allowing Song Xuyi to play as long as she grasped the concepts.
As Song Xuyi was not very attentive in supplementary lessons, the tutors shifted their focus to He Siyu, a girl from the deep mountains who was very diligent. Although slightly overshadowed by Song Xuyi’s exceptional learning speed, He Siyu was also a rare gem of a girl. She managed to learn Mandarin in just over a month, remembered characters almost at a glance, and grasped concepts extremely quickly… It’s just that next to Song Xuyi, she didn’t seem as brilliant.
“You have to believe in yourself,” the tutors would encourage He Siyu, afraid she might feel disheartened by Song Xuyi’s excellence: “Diligence can make up for deficiencies, and besides, you are naturally intelligent. Don’t compare yourself with Xuyi; her learning speed is one in ten thousand. Compare with yourself…”
Each time, He Siyu would bow her head and smile. The tutors thought she was forcing a smile to cover her hurt feelings, but they didn’t realize that she was genuinely happy—praising Song Xuyi made He Siyu happier than praise for herself.
Why would she compare herself to Xuyi?
Everything she had was a gift from Xuyi, her god: Xuyi was smart, strong, omnipotent, performing countless miracles, and deserving of all the best things in this world…
At the end of February, the Spring Festival arrived.
Back in the old village, they celebrated the New Year too, but since He Siyu could remember, her family never really celebrated it. Worse, during the New Year, she and her mother would even face disdain for bringing bad luck, resulting in a vicious beating…
This was He Siyu’s first time truly celebrating the New Year.
He Siyu loved the home that Officer He gave her, showing herself to be very diligent and sensible. In the space of a month, Auntie Wang had truly come to treat He Siyu as if she were her own daughter.
Locals don’t eat dumplings on New Year’s Eve, but Auntie Wang is from the north, and she began teaching He Siyu how to make dumplings on New Year’s Eve.
Officer He was on duty at the station, so He Siyu and Auntie Wang made a large pile of dumplings together. He Siyu’s first dumpling didn’t look very good, but the ones that followed were wrapped so neatly they seemed almost like works of art.
In fact, He Siyu really wanted Song Xuyi to try the dumplings she made. Song Xuyi had shared so much with her; He Siyu was willing to share everything she had with Song Xuyi.
But on New Year’s Eve, the buses stopped running, and He Siyu simply couldn’t deliver the dumplings to Song Xuyi.
……
He Siyu couldn’t understand why she felt the way she did. She should have been content, but perhaps it was because Xuyi wasn’t there that she felt an inexplicable restlessness in her heart.
He Siyu accompanied Auntie Wang to the police station to deliver dumplings to the officers on duty.
Firecrackers weren’t banned at that time, and on their way back, some families had already started setting them off.
In February, the coastal weather had already warmed up, the streets were filled with flowers, and there were crowds of tourists. Amidst the crackling sounds of firecrackers, children played in the streets, and neighbors greeted each other with beaming smiles, wishing each other “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (Congratulations and Prosperity). The red remnants of firecrackers fluttered above He Siyu’s hair. She covered her ears, blinked, and, infected by the bustling atmosphere, couldn’t help but reveal a smile…
With a “click”, a light sound.
He Siyu seemed struck by a sudden emotion, looking ahead she saw Song Xuyi in front of her, wielding a camera.
Father Song and Mother Song were businessfolk, deeply believing in luck, hence they went out to stroll through Huashi on New Year’s Eve…
Seeing that there was still time, Auntie Wang joined the Song family for a walk through the markets.
Song Xuyi, with He Siyu by her side, assured with hand on heart, “The photo I took of you will definitely turn out gorgeous…”
He Siyu glanced at Song Xuyi, her face showing a rare hint of dejection: “We finished the dumplings. I didn’t expect to run into you, and I didn’t save any for you…”
“It’s okay, you can make them for me next time!”
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Song Xuyi truly adored the demure appearance of He Siyu. If it were not for the fact that she was younger than her, she would have loved to give her a generous red envelope. But since she couldn’t give a red envelope, Song Xuyi, in the end, presented He Siyu with a big bunch of fresh flowers and a potted kumquat plant: “May the blooming flowers bring prosperity, and good fortune follow your wishes!”
After meeting Song Xuyi, the restlessness within He Siyu was greatly soothed.
She carefully carried the flowers and kumquat plant home, and with reverence, lit three oil lamps in the living room, by the door, and next to the stove, watchfully keeping vigil over the lamps until dawn.
This year, she had received so much.
She is now living a particularly good life, devoid of any other desires. Her only wish, accompanied by the all-night sound of firecrackers, is to ignite the New Year’s fire for Xuyi with devotion, praying earnestly:
“May Xuyi be safe and prosperous, year after year.”
The author has something to say:
Tears welling up, my family, I reflected on myself – just how excessive must my past actions have been for you all to disbelieve my hints?
Copy:
System: I said no to romance, no romance!!!
Xu Yi: “It’s just that the villain is too beautiful; I can’t bear to see her tears…”
Oh, tears were already shed in yesterday’s update; can romance be far behind?!!
However…
However…
However…
That year, under the light drizzle of apricot blossoms, after all, I made the wrong endowment… (shrugs/jpg)
(Smoking with weary elegance/jpg)
LP: Re-translated on February 24, 2024
What’s the author smoking
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