Blame the Villain – Chapter 197

Villainous Zombie King (16)

Song Xuyi ultimately didn’t let Ye Shuiyu help her with makeup.

If she needed to rush to do her makeup, it would take at least half an hour, and Song Xuyi didn’t want to delay their journey with these things.

After hearing Zhao Miaomiao’s suggestion, Ye Shuiyu’s eyes unconsciously carried a hint of expectation. Upon hearing Song Xuyi’s refusal, Ye Shuiyu tightened her grip on the lipstick in her pocket and lowered her head. Suddenly remembering something, she pressed her lips even tighter and sat in the passenger seat.

Only then did Ye Shuiyu realize that she and Xuyi were just temporary partners. She hadn’t expected to develop feelings for Xuyi in the short ten-day journey. Now, in about two days, they would reach Jing City, and Xuyi would certainly send her back home. But… Yu Song was no longer the father who doted on her. Did she still want to return to Yu Song’s side?

…

Ye Shuiyu turned her head to look at Song Xuyi, her gaze filled with immense pain. She wanted to tell Song Xuyi everything but feared Xuyi would despise her. In her memory, her fourteen-year-old self had large patches of rotting skin all over her body. Even though she looked fine now, Ye Shuiyu didn’t know if the drugs from that time had left any after-effects. She still remembered how she broke down crying after looking in the mirror back then. Ye Shuiyu dared not imagine the expression Xuyi would have if she saw her in that state…

Xuyi was someone who valued appearances. If she saw her like that, wouldn’t she surely despise her?

Not wanting to go to Jing City but also afraid of her fears coming true, Ye Shuiyu desperately tried to prove herself to avoid being despised by the future Song Xuyi: even without a pretty face, she still had great usefulness.

The car gradually started moving. As they got closer to Jing City, more and more wandering zombies appeared around them, and the road became increasingly bumpy and potholed.

Along the way, Ye Shuiyu focused on clearing obstacles for Song Xuyi: using earth-based abilities to fill in excess potholes, using wood-based abilities to tie up zombies’ bodies and drag them away, using wind-based abilities to blow away attacking mutated flying creatures, using fire-based abilities to burn mutated plants…

Song Xuyi watched Ye Shuiyu display these skills and her tightly pressed lips, silently sighing in her heart: Ye Shuiyu had already known Yu Song’s hypocritical true face when she was fourteen. Was she venting her anger through these methods?

Song Xuyi fully understood the price Ye Shuiyu had paid for these abilities. If given the choice, Song Xuyi would rather Ye Shuiyu didn’t have so many abilities and was just an ordinary girl, doted on by her parents…

Zhao Miaomiao sat in the back, watching Song Xuyi concentrate on driving and Ye Shuiyu foolishly showing off her skills without saying a word. She felt extremely anxious and racked her brains to start another conversation.

“Auntie Shuiyu, you’re so amazing!” Zhao Miaomiao’s voice was full of admiration. “Mommy Xuyi, who’s more capable between you and Auntie Shuiyu?”

“Of course, your Auntie Shuiyu is more capable,” Song Xuyi went along with Zhao Miaomiao’s words. Even though she knew Ye Shuiyu wouldn’t go back to Yu Song, for the sake of her own plan, Song Xuyi still pretended not to know: “Now I feel relieved. Even though Shuiyu has lost part of her memory and lacks vigilance, she has these skills. After we separate, she’ll be able to protect herself well…”

Was the worst-case scenario she had anticipated about to happen?

Ye Shuiyu, who was in the middle of burning mutated plants, trembled at these words, and the fireball she created almost landed on the car—

Zhao Miaomiao was also startled, her voice tinged with tears: “Mommy Xuyi, aren’t we supposed to be together always?”

“Of course we’ll be together until we reach Jing City,” Song Xuyi stopped the car and turned around, seemingly explaining to Zhao Miaomiao but actually speaking for Ye Shuiyu to hear: “But after we get back to Jing City, I have my own friends to find and some personal matters to deal with… It’s perfect timing for your Auntie Shuiyu to go find her own relatives. Don’t worry, Miaomiao, I won’t abandon you. You’ll stay with your Auntie Shuiyu for a few days, and then I’ll come to pick you up.”

Song Xuyi was determined to kill Yu Song, and it wouldn’t be safe for Zhao Miaomiao to follow her. After all, once Ye Shuiyu returned to Jing City, she wouldn’t go looking for Yu Song. Zhao Miaomiao had never harmed Ye Shuiyu, and Ye Shuiyu seemed to like this child recently, so Zhao Miaomiao would be safer with Ye Shuiyu.

Originally, upon hearing Song Xuyi draw a clear line, Ye Shuiyu almost instinctively wanted to ask Song Xuyi about her plans for her. But when she heard that Song Xuyi would leave Zhao Miaomiao in her care, the words on the tip of Ye Shuiyu’s tongue were swallowed back once again—she knew Song Xuyi was a person with a strong sense of morality. Since Song Xuyi had adopted Zhao Miaomiao, she wouldn’t abandon her halfway. Xuyi would definitely come back to find her.

So Ye Shuiyu thought for a moment and changed her words accordingly: “Xuyi, I don’t know if I can find my dad in Jing City.” Ye Shuiyu spoke softly, looking expectantly at Song Xuyi: “We’ll split up and then meet at a designated location. If I can’t find my dad in the end, can I follow you in the future?”

Ye Shuiyu, with her fourteen-year-old mindset, instinctively wanted to avoid fear. She subconsciously believed that her abilities were caused by Yu Song and feared that Yu Song might now be even stronger and more difficult to deal with. She didn’t want to appear before Yu Song and become his test subject again. She had already made up her mind: Ye Shuiyu didn’t want to enter the city at all. She planned to stay outside the city for a few days and then use the excuse of not finding her relatives to continue following Song Xuyi.

Listening to Ye Shuiyu’s words, Song Xuyi understood that Ye Shuiyu had decided not to look for Yu Song, just as she had anticipated. But on the surface, she showed a smile: “Of course you can.”

While agreeing verbally, Song Xuyi didn’t take it to heart. Ye Shuiyu had already regained her eighteen-year-old memories at that time. If she miraculously survived and met her, Ye Shuiyu would probably want to kill her.

Hearing Song Xuyi’s words, Ye Shuiyu felt relieved.

Countless expectations arose in her heart. Ye Shuiyu automatically ignored the little “light bulb” Zhao Miaomiao and started planning her future world with Xuyi after they set off together, taking stock of the things they needed to buy…

Without checking, she didn’t realize, but once she started counting, Ye Shuiyu found that she had missed many things they needed to prepare. However, the area around Jing City was rich in resources. If she worked hard enough, she should be able to gather all the necessary supplies.

Seeing that both Ye Shuiyu and Song Xuyi had quieted down, Zhao Miaomiao in the back seat looked at Ye Shuiyu’s dazed expression. Feeling that she, at such a young age, was bearing too much, she still diligently began to search for another topic of conversation.

“Mommy Xuyi, what kind of friend are you going to see? Is it a boyfriend?”

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Miaomiao finished speaking, Ye Shuiyu, who had been looking absent-minded, turned her head and looked at Song Xuyi with a serious expression.

Ye Shuiyu had only known that Song Xuyi was going to Jing City to find someone, but she hadn’t had the chance to ask who exactly Song Xuyi was looking for—

If Xuyi was really going to meet a boyfriend, then if she rushed over in the middle of the night to kill that man, it should… be in time, right?

“Of course not,” Song Xuyi hurriedly denied, only then realizing that Zhao Miaomiao and the female lead Zhao Ningning’s naming patterns sounded extremely similar. But with so many people in the world, even having the same name wasn’t surprising, so Song Xuyi didn’t think about the possibility of them being relatives.

“Then is the person you’re looking for male or female?” Perhaps out of boredom, Zhao Miaomiao’s questions came one after another.

“I’m looking for two people, they’re a couple.”

It wasn’t until she heard Song Xuyi say this that Ye Shuiyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief…

Meanwhile, Zhao Miaomiao’s questions continued: “Then hasn’t Mommy Xuyi ever thought about finding a daddy for me?”

Song Xuyi casually evaded: “Never thought about it.” Song Xuyi couldn’t remember if she had ever been in a relationship, but she felt that there was a high possibility she wouldn’t find a man, especially with the rule of ‘no romance in the small world’ in place. It was likely she would never be able to find a ‘father’ for Zhao Miaomiao in this lifetime.

“That won’t do,” Zhao Miaomiao shook her head like a little adult: “Mommy Xuyi is so good, she should find a suitable partner. What kind of partner does Mommy Xuyi like?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” Facing Ye Shuiyu’s attentive gaze from the side, Song Xuyi inexplicably felt her cheeks heating up. She pretended to be angry and scolded, but Zhao Miaomiao had already figured out Song Xuyi’s temperament. Not only was she not afraid, but she also dragged out her voice and started to act coquettishly: “Mommy Xuyi, the best Mommy Xuyi in the world, just tell me! Auntie Shuiyu and I will keep it a secret, we won’t tell anyone else, right, Auntie Shuiyu?”

Ye Shuiyu immediately responded with an “Mm,” still looking intently at Song Xuyi, waiting for her answer.

Being watched so expectantly by both the adult and the child, Song Xuyi really had no choice but to answer: “I’m a ‘face-con’ (someone who values appearances), I like beautiful people, the more beautiful the better…”

Zhao Miaomiao glanced at Ye Shuiyu. When it came to looks, if Ye Shuiyu dared to claim second place, no one would dare to claim first. She felt relieved in her heart, thinking Ye Shuiyu had a very good chance, and asked again: “Are there no other conditions?”

Song Xuyi thought for a moment. Zhao Miaomiao was still young, and she was afraid that instilling this appearance-focused mindset might affect her values. So she subconsciously added some more common mate selection criteria: “Of course, there must be other conditions—”

“They should be kind, ambitious, have healthy thoughts, and no bad habits…”

Song Xuyi listed a whole bunch of qualities, and Ye Shuiyu’s expression became noticeably worse. By the time Song Xuyi finished speaking, she had expected Zhao Miaomiao might ask more questions, but she didn’t expect to hear Zhao Miaomiao clearly sigh…

Song Xuyi: …?!

For the rest of the day, Song Xuyi noticed that both Ye Shuiyu and Zhao Miaomiao seemed somewhat depressed.

Song Xuyi could understand Ye Shuiyu’s depression, after all, Ye Shuiyu knew Yu Song’s true face in her memories and needed to process this information. But why was Zhao Miaomiao sighing? And she kept giving Ye Shuiyu strange looks from time to time, leaving Song Xuyi feeling confused.

When Song Xuyi asked, Zhao Miaomiao, who believed that Ye Shuiyu could no longer catch up to Song Xuyi, spoke with conviction: “Because I realized that although Auntie Shuiyu looks especially beautiful, she doesn’t seem kind at all, isn’t ambitious, and likes to threaten people at the drop of a hat… If she continues like this, I guess she won’t be able to find a partner.”

With each sentence Zhao Miaomiao said, Ye Shuiyu’s expression darkened. Song Xuyi hadn’t expected Zhao Miaomiao to speak like this. She stopped the car, turned around, and looked seriously at Zhao Miaomiao: “But your Auntie Shuiyu has the strongest abilities. As long as she’s willing, she can be kinder and more ambitious than anyone else…”

In fact, these were the words Song Xuyi wanted to say to Ye Shuiyu in her heart. Hatred was like a cage, more often trapping Ye Shuiyu herself. Ye Shuiyu could clearly live a happier life, but Song Xuyi, embodying the perpetrator, didn’t have the face to say these words.

However, Song Xuyi didn’t notice Ye Shuiyu’s suddenly brightened eyes.

When it came time to rest in the evening, Ye Shuiyu went out for two hours. When she returned, her smile was full of nervousness and joy, her eyes as brilliant as stars—

“Xuyi, I… I saved more than ten people who were almost starving to death in the ruins and sent them to the nearest base; I killed a second-level zombie that was ambushing ability users…”

Song Xuyi smiled as she listened to Ye Shuiyu’s words. Although she didn’t know why Ye Shuiyu suddenly did these things, her heart was filled with joy and emotion: If only Ye Shuiyu could be like this day after day in the future, how wonderful that would be!

But Song Xuyi didn’t know that Ye Shuiyu’s transformation was all because of her: because Song Xuyi liked it, Ye Shuiyu was willing to shed her claws and fangs, pretend to be kind, and become the person Song Xuyi liked the most…

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The author has something to say:

Who knows what I’ve been through…

Today, I accompanied a friend to get a haircut. Unable to resist the hairstylist’s persuasion, I got a hair treatment:

I said: “I want to perm a natural-looking wool curl. I’ve been staying up late and losing hair, so I hope to finish the hair treatment around 7 PM…”

Returning home after 11 PM, I looked in the mirror to see my windswept, messy hair resembling a black-maned lion king. I was heartbroken for over an hour, desperately wanting to seal my heart and lock away love…

Tearfully: Tomorrow’s Saturday, right? With such an outstanding black-maned lion king hairstyle, I don’t have the face to go out and play T-T.

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LP: Re-translated on November 17, 2024

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