Villainous Stand-in (8)
This is a thunderstorm day.
The sky is overcast and it looks like it is about to rain, with huge thunderclaps roaring as if they were sounding right beside the ear.
Inside the house, there is damp and broken furniture, in front of which stands a new picture frame with Old Master Li’s portrait. The small room, filled with cold and mold, continuously echoes with the sound of ‘bang bang’ hitting the door. By the window stands a girl with despair in her eyes, trying hard to maintain her composure.
Li Yuqing’s hand is tightly gripping the window sill, while the banging on the door gets louder and louder with time.
“Little friend, open the door quickly!” A man’s voice comes from outside the door, his voice carrying a fake gentle tone that sounds extremely sticky, making Song Xuyi instinctively think of the gray wolf in fairy tales that lures innocent little girls in the dark forest.
“Little girl, believe me, uncle just wants to play a fun game with you,” the man is hitting the door while trying to coax Li Yuqing: “You are so small and so beautiful, how could I bear to bully you…”
“Don’t believe his lies!” Song Xuyi looks at Li Yuqing gripping the window sill tightly, with her head down and biting her lower lip, thinking that Li Yuqing has been swayed by this obviously ill-intentioned man, and can’t help but remind: “This man clearly looks like he has bad intentions! Yuqing, don’t believe him…”
Li Yuqing suddenly lifts her head, staring blankly in the direction of Song Xuyi.
Song Xuyi has never seen Li Yuqing looking at her with such eyes: as if she were the only hope in her world.
Seeing Li Yuqing’s appearance clearly, Song Xuyi can’t help but feel a pang in her nose:
Li Yuqing obviously has lost a lot of weight, her long hair covering her delicate eyebrows and eyes, looking somewhat dazed, as if all vitality and sunshine have faded away, the whole person looking like a puppet that has lost its soul.
“You came.”
The little girl’s voice sounds somewhat hoarse, as if she hasn’t spoken in a long time. She stiffly smiled at Song Xuyi, and the hand tightly gripping the window sill finally relaxed.
Song Xuyi glanced out the window: below was a stretch of windows, at least ten stories high, and Song Xuyi dispelled the thought of escaping by jumping out the window with Li Yuqing.
And the sound of the wooden door being hit became more intense at that moment, the man outside seemed ready to break in at any time.
The plan for now…
Song Xuyi’s gaze fell on the “bang bang” sounding door.
“Yuqing, do you trust me?”
Song Xuyi grasped Li Yuqing’s hand, half-bending at the waist to look directly into Li Yuqing’s eyes.
Li Yuqing, however, did not meet Song Xuyi’s gaze. She pressed her lips tightly together, her eyes somewhat drifting, meeting Song Xuyi’s gaze then quickly avoiding it, lowering her head. Finally, she bit her lower lip and lightly nodded.
“Later, follow my orders, I will definitely get you out!”
Song Xuyi quickly hugged Li Yuqing, the girl’s body was frighteningly cold, not knowing what kind of torment she had gone through during this time…
Song Xuyi felt a pang of pity in her heart, but in the current situation, it was not the time to ask for reasons. She could only forcibly gather her spirits and continue, “When you see my hand raised, you run out, do not look back…”
Li Yuqing glanced at Song Xuyi and nodded.
Even though she was still worried about Li Yuqing, seeing that the door was about to be broken open, there was no time to think of other ideas…
Song Xuyi took a deep breath, carefully walked to the door, and pulled open the door latch—
The people outside the door were using their bodies to hit the door, not expecting the door to open from the inside, and for a moment, they fell into a heap—
Song Xuyi also did not expect that there were two men outside the door.
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These two men had obviously been drinking, as soon as the door opened, there was a sky-high smell of alcohol, seeing Li Yuqing inside the room, their eyes lit up, drunkenly climbing up from the ground and surrounding Li Yuqing—
“Little girl, uncle comes to take good care of you…”
Li Yuqing lowered her head and pursed her lips, following Song Xuyi’s indication, stayed in place without moving.
The two people little by little got closer and closer, Li Yuqing’s whole body tensed up…
Song Xuyi seized the opportunity, using all her strength, fiercely kicked one man on the calf!
This kick was extremely strong, and the angle was very tricky, that man screamed miserably and fell down. When he fell down, he just happened to knock over the other man, the two drunkenly cursed into a mess, and at this moment, Song Xuyi raised her hand—
“Run outside, don’t look back!”
……
Li Yuqing’s figure was agile like a young deer, quickly bypassing the two men on the ground, running out the door.
Seeing Li Yuqing’s figure disappear by the door, Song Xuyi finally let out a sigh of relief. Seeing the two men on the ground getting up as if they wanted to chase outside, Song Xuyi sneered, curling her lips…
—For the two men, this was an experience akin to a nightmare.
At first, the two men still tried to chase the running-out-the-door Li Yuqing, but it seemed as if there was an invisible ghost in the void, the ghost continuously attacking the weak spots of their bodies. The two tried to fight back, but besides each other, there was no one else in the room. Before long, the two were panting heavily, lying on the ground, their whole bodies in immense pain, completely sobered up…
The two looked at each other, seeing the fear in each other’s eyes, simultaneously looking toward the memorial portrait of Old Master Li placed in the center of the room—
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky!
In the photo, Old Master Li was still smiling: however, Old Master Li, after many years immersed in the business world, holding a high position and great power, had a face that carried a few traces of majesty amidst his kind appearance. The light from the lightning amplified those traces of majesty, Old Master Li’s face was stern and cold, it seemed as if at the next moment he would drill out from the photo frame to judge the two lustful scumbags!
Recalling the experiences of tonight, the two were completely scared out of their wits, kneeling in front of Old Master Li, kowtowing like pounding garlic…
Seeing the two men so scared they almost wet their pants, no longer daring to chase Li Yuqing, Song Xuyi let out a sigh of relief and then went out the door.
Originally still thinking about where to look for Li Yuqing, unexpectedly, after turning the corner, Song Xuyi saw Li Yuqing standing at the end of the corridor.
She was… waiting for herself?
If it were someone else escaping from the jaws of death, they would surely run as far as possible, but Song Xuyi did not expect Li Yuqing to still be waiting here.
At the moment she saw Song Xuyi, Li Yuqing’s tightly bitten lower lip relaxed, and a faint trace of a smile emerged in her eyes, as if a withered tree had finally come back to life—
Compared to the unfathomable Li Yuqing in reality, the little Li Yuqing in the dream was like a piece of white paper that could be seen through at a glance, always making Song Xuyi involuntarily want to cherish her, to give her the best of everything.
Li Yuqing waiting here already proved that she cared about her.
Song Xuyi knew that Li Yuqing couldn’t see her face clearly, tried to gather the smile in her eyes, jogged to Li Yuqing, half-squatted down, and once again held Li Yuqing’s hand.
Meeting Song Xuyi’s gaze, Li Yuqing was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered her head, quietly moved her fingers to tightly clasp Song Xuyi’s hand, interlocking their fingers.
Knowing that Li Yuqing was extremely lacking in a sense of security at this moment, Song Xuyi sighed in her heart and also held Li Yuqing’s hand in return.
Li Yuqing lowered her head.
A few drops of water spread out on the ground…
Song Xuyi did not speak—no matter what, Li Yuqing was still a child at this moment, having endured too much grievance during this time. It was time to vent the fear and panic in her heart.
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The two did not encounter any further obstacles on their way down, taking the elevator directly downstairs.
Perhaps because they were out of danger, Li Yuqing seemed a bit more talkative. Even though she still kept her answers brief, Song Xuyi was able to clarify Li Yuqing’s current situation.
At this time, the Li family had already gone completely bankrupt. The male lead, Song Shi, had just recently fallen ill. Old Master Song was uncertain whether to send Li Yuqing to Song Shi, so he first released the news of adopting Li Yuqing. In reality, he rented a shabby house and had two people watch over Li Yuqing.
The two men tasked with watching over Li Yuqing claimed they were there to protect her, but the actual order was to “tame” her, to rid her of the arrogance of the Li family, and at the same time, to find out the whereabouts of the Li family’s overseas wealth.
Song Xuyi knew that Old Master Song adopted Li Yuqing to treat Song Shi’s illness, but she didn’t expect that Old Master Song also had designs on the Li family’s assets. Old Master Li had always been cautious, fearing that his descendants would squander the wealth. Early on, he bought a fixed-term fund overseas, stipulating that the money could only be withdrawn when it matured. Over the years, this had accumulated into a considerable fortune. When the Li family was in decline, Old Master Li had thought of using this money for emergency relief. However, by then, Old Master Li was already terminally ill, and Li Yuqing was too young to take charge… Ultimately, Old Master Li didn’t use this money.
Li Yuqing insisted that she didn’t know where the money was, enduring the threats and interrogation of those two men. Perhaps because Li Yuqing had been too submissive in the face of these two men’s harsh treatment, and Old Master Song had been ignoring Li Yuqing during this time, these two men became overwhelmed with lustful thoughts and developed vile intentions.
This indeed was Old Master Song’s selfish and dictatorial style.
Song Xuyi looked at Li Yuqing’s silent and taciturn appearance, remembering the bright and cheerful girl she had first met, unable to help but sigh again: It’s too difficult! Every time she interacted with little Li Yuqing, she couldn’t help but feel more heartache for her.
Even though there was lightning and thunder outside the window, after going downstairs, Song Xuyi found that the rain around them had lessened. Song Xuyi originally wanted to see if there were any raincoats around, but Li Yuqing had already walked into the rain. Song Xuyi could only follow her…
There weren’t many pedestrians on the road on a rainy day, and the shops on both sides of the road were already closed. Li Yuqing, a thin little girl walking in the rain, looked extremely desolate and lonely.
Song Xuyi couldn’t help but block in front of Li Yuqing: “Those two won’t catch up for a while, you need to rest.”
Li Yuqing looked up at Song Xuyi, her lips moved, then she pressed her lips tightly and didn’t say anything.
In a moment of clarity, Song Xuyi understood: Li Yuqing was penniless at this time, and didn’t even know if she had eaten properly these past few days…
Feeling a pang in her nose, Song Xuyi held Li Yuqing’s hand and took her to the long-distance bus station.
There are usually fast food restaurants outside these long-distance bus stations, even if you don’t make a purchase, you can still rest here.
Fortunately, the layout of the city in the dream was similar to reality, and the location of the long-distance bus station hadn’t changed either. The flow of people around the bus station was also much less than usual. Song Xuyi found a fast-food restaurant called “Zhang’s Restaurant” next to the bus station, pulled Li Yuqing into the restaurant, and shrank into a bench in the corner.
Song Xuyi had seen city news reports in reality, saying that this Zhang’s Restaurant often did good deeds and was a well-known kind-hearted restaurant.
A pretty little girl, coming alone into the restaurant on a rainy night, looking disheveled, no matter how you look at it, it seemed strange.
Li Yuqing shrank nervously into the corner, and just as Song Xuyi expected, although the owner of Zhang’s Restaurant privately glanced at Li Yuqing several times, he did not speak to drive her out.
Even when Song Xuyi persuaded Li Yuqing to relax and close her eyes to rest for a while, the owner brought over a bowl of noodle soup and cautiously said, “Little girl, eat slowly!”
Facing Li Yuqing’s cautious gaze, the chubby owner sighed and touched his head: “I don’t know why you ran away from home, but filling your stomach is the most important thing. I have a precious son, about your age, and I can’t bear to see kids like you go hungry…”
Li Yuqing looked at the honest-faced owner again, and finally took the bowl and started eating the noodles slowly.
The owner chuckled, put down the bowl, and walked into the kitchen.
And Song Xuyi, hearing the faint sounds from the kitchen of “girl missing, trouble police officer…” making a phone call, sighed in her heart: Everything will probably develop in the original direction again.
The owner’s voice was not low, and Song Xuyi believed Li Yuqing should have heard it too, but after being stunned, Li Yuqing continued drinking the soup as if nothing had happened.
Sure enough, not long after, the police came.
Li Yuqing still remained silent, and even dozed off in the police station. Seeing the dark circles under the girl’s eyes, the police gave up the idea of immediately getting answers and, after draping a coat over Li Yuqing, left the room.
Even in her sleep, Li Yuqing’s fingers tightly grasped Song Xuyi’s hand, as if afraid Song Xuyi would run away…
Song Xuyi sat beside her, observing Li Yuqing’s sleeping face, and gently hummed a song.
At this moment, Song Xuyi truly wished she were a fairy, able to dissolve all of Li Yuqing’s worries and take her far away from this environment, rather than just watching her with a heart full of pity.
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In her dream, Li Yuqing’s body stiffened, and little by little, the furrows in her brow relaxed.
Song Xuyi couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile.
The table was very large. Half-lying on the table, Song Xuyi sat beside Li Yuqing. Sleepiness surged over her, and without realizing it, she also fell asleep…
When Song Xuyi woke up again, there was a commotion outside.
Song Xuyi originally thought that after waking up, she would return to reality, but she didn’t expect that upon waking again, she would be face-to-face with little Li Yuqing’s eyes, which were very close. In little Li Yuqing’s gaze, there was a clear light of joy, and the corners of her lips were slightly curved—
What could make her so happy?
Before she had time to think, the noise outside grew closer and closer. Someone pushed open the door—
Walking in the center, it was clearly a younger Old Master Song…
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For the next four days, there should be daily updates~
LP: Re-translated on July 06, 2024
Please moreeeeeee! Thank you for translating of course also~
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Please moreeeeeee! Thank you for translating of course also~
(⸧” ⎺⎺3⎺⎺)⸧”