Blame the Villain – Chapter 132

Villainous Fake Eunuch (9)

Even though Gu Ruyu still maintained a cold expression, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts, Song Xuyi could sense that his mood was exceptionally good, based on the slight rise in his usually icy tone.

Gu Ruyu’s words were brief, yet he explained the origin and details of the note in his hand with clarity and precision.

If it weren’t for the system’s timely reminder, Song Xuyi might have believed Gu Ruyu’s words, thinking that the seemingly cold but warm-hearted Zhao San had handed the note over to Gu Ruyu to seek his help, so that Song Xuyi wouldn’t have to toil endlessly.

However, now aware that Zhao San was actually Gu Ruyu, Song Xuyi could barely suppress her shock and keep her composure while looking at Gu Ruyu’s still cold face. In her heart, she silently labeled Gu Ruyu’s behavior as nothing short of theatrical—what a dramatic spirit!

Song Xuyi did not believe that someone as scheming and deep as Gu Ruyu would approach her just for a meal. Yet, since she couldn’t fathom his true intentions at the moment, she could only follow along with his words—

“Where did Young Master Zhao go?” Song Xuyi still felt a bit uneasy meeting Gu Ruyu’s gaze. Remembering how she had badmouthed Gu Ruyu in front of ‘Zhao San’, she coughed awkwardly and lowered her head, attempting to subtly cover up her past mistakes. “Although Young Master Zhao may not be handsome, he is warm-hearted, morally upright, and exceptionally kind. I don’t know where he went, but I would like to thank him personally.”

“He left!” To Song Xuyi’s surprise, Gu Ruyu was not pleased by her words. Instead, his voice grew even colder. He glanced at Song Xuyi, his lips tightening slightly. “He left without saying a word.”

“I see—” Song Xuyi responded awkwardly, suddenly unsure of what to say next. She couldn’t read Gu Ruyu’s attitude as he continued to stare at her with those cold eyes. After thinking for a moment, Song Xuyi gave up on trying to make amends and decided to roll up her sleeves and start cooking in the small kitchen.

“Let him starve to death! Don’t cook for him,” the system still felt indignant, grumbling in Song Xuyi’s mind.

“But after all, he is a great benefactor to Wang Family Village. If he hadn’t come, who knows what would have happened to the village,” Song Xuyi explained quietly to the system while picking vegetables.

Regardless of Gu Ruyu’s intentions, the fact remains that he helped the people of Wang Family Village. With this favor in mind, cooking a few meals for him isn’t too difficult to accept. However, Song Xuyi regretted her earlier bravado, foolishly turning three meals into ten, which meant facing Gu Ruyu several more times. But now that the die was cast, there was no use in regretting it.

This body, having been pampered in the palace for years, had very delicate skin. After this period of running around outside, Song Xuyi’s hands had become somewhat rough, but the exposed skin on her forearms remained fair and smooth, almost glowing in the sunlight. This caught the attention of several young servants behind Gu Ruyu, who kept glancing at her exposed arms.

Song Xuyi paid no mind to the looks from these servants.

The ingredients Gu Ruyu brought were of the highest quality. During her busy time in Wang Family Village, Song Xuyi rarely had the chance to pay attention to food. Seeing these top-notch ingredients brought by Gu Ruyu, she felt a bit excited and began to diligently prepare them.

When Song Xuyi focused on a task, she did it with full concentration. She quickly finished chopping the vegetables and was about to start cooking when the oil in the nearby pan sizzled loudly, snapping her back to reality. She then noticed that the servants had quietly left at some point, and Gu Ruyu had also rolled up his sleeves, exposing his arms as he helped tend the fire and add oil beside her.

Gu Ruyu’s exposed arms appeared delicate and soft, with skin like creamy jade, even better than a woman’s. Song Xuyi couldn’t help but marvel internally, “A beauty is indeed beautiful in every aspect,” and she couldn’t resist sneaking a few more glances.

—Gu Ruyu, however, looked back coldly.

Caught stealing glances, Song Xuyi felt a bit embarrassed. But to her surprise, Gu Ruyu stepped forward, took hold of her hand, and with a stern expression, pulled Song Xuyi’s sleeve down a bit—

How unreasonable! Could he be the only one allowed to roll up his sleeves?

Song Xuyi’s eyes widened in astonishment, but Gu Ruyu seemed oblivious to her shock. He continued to pull down Song Xuyi’s sleeve, folding it neatly over her wrist.

Gu Ruyu’s fingers were chillingly cold, like an icy jade sculpture. Song Xuyi didn’t dare to resist. Although having her sleeves pulled down made her work less convenient, she thought that ultimately it was Gu Ruyu’s mealtime being delayed, so she went along with it.

Dressed in silk with wide sleeves, Gu Ruyu seemed completely out of place in the kitchen. Song Xuyi initially thought that Gu Ruyu’s presence in the kitchen would only cause trouble. However, to her surprise, Gu Ruyu’s actions were extremely skilled. The dishes he cooked appeared both visually appealing and aromatic.

Even though the two did not speak, their cooperation was remarkably seamless. With just a glance, they could understand each other’s intentions. This kind of tacit understanding, akin to that of an old married couple, made the system internally anxious, constantly reassuring itself, “It’s okay, Gu Ruyu’s gender doesn’t match, Xuyi won’t be interested in him…”

The two of them quickly finished cooking.

Perhaps due to the heat from the stove, Gu Ruyu’s pale face had turned a bit rosy, and his lips seemed to have gained a touch more color, making him look even more attractive. Song Xuyi glanced at him but quickly looked away, unable to help herself from shoveling food into her mouth and inadvertently eating a lot more.

The more Song Xuyi ate, the more puzzled she became: Gu Ruyu’s culinary skills were actually much better than hers. Someone like him wouldn’t be coveting her cooking, so why had he gone to such lengths to make her commit to cooking for him?

However, Gu Ruyu maintained his usual calm and indifferent demeanor, eating slowly and elegantly, revealing nothing of his true thoughts.

After finishing the meal, Song Xuyi took the initiative to wash the dishes in the kitchen. When she came back out, Gu Ruyu had already closed his eyes and was reclining under a tree, taking a nap.

Asleep, Gu Ruyu lost the aloofness and reserve he had while awake. His face looked peaceful and serene, and the light filtering through the tree leaves softened the angles of his features, making his androgynous beauty even more striking…

The scene created by this atmosphere was simply too beautiful. Song Xuyi stopped in her tracks, unwilling to break the moment, and couldn’t help but stare at Gu Ruyu for a while longer.

“He’s really good-looking,” Song Xuyi sighed, remarking to the system, “He’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen!”

The system, however, still harbored resentment toward Gu Ruyu for his deception. Upon hearing this, it immediately spoke up with vigilance, “No matter how good-looking he is, he’s still a man!”

The system emphasized the word “man” and earnestly continued, “Xuyi, we’ve already been deceived once. From now on, we must be more vigilant against this trickster and not be fooled by his appearance…”

As it spoke, the system started playing a snippet of audio in Song Xuyi’s mind. Hearing the familiar melody of the 《Heart Sutra》, Song Xuyi’s mouth twitched. Just as she was about to explain that she wasn’t beguiled by his looks, Gu Ruyu under the tree had already opened his eyes—

Perhaps because he had just woken up, Gu Ruyu’s expression wasn’t as cold as usual. He slowly yawned, his eyes slightly reddened, and his demeanor was lazy, resembling a cat that had just woken up—

Meeting Gu Ruyu’s gaze, Song Xuyi pressed her lips together and realized that she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to refute the system’s words: a face too beautiful could indeed bewilder one’s mind.

The system seemed to sense Song Xuyi’s wavering thoughts and once again amplified the chanting of the 《Heart Sutra》 in her mind, even joining in with its own chanting—

The system’s chanting was unbearably awful. Song Xuyi hadn’t expected the system to be so off-key even when reciting sutras. Unable to bear it any longer, she finally blocked out the system’s voice. To prevent the system from bursting into spontaneous chanting again, and despite feeling a bit guilty, Song Xuyi resolved to prove her resistance to beauty to the system—

With this resolve, Song Xuyi took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself and bravely looked up at Gu Ruyu.

Unbeknownst to her, Gu Ruyu had already walked up to her.

Up close, Gu Ruyu’s beautiful face appeared even more ethereal and stunning. His eyes seemed to hide deep, swirling whirlpools. Even though Song Xuyi told herself not to panic, being stared at so intently by Gu Ruyu made certain emotions uncontrollable, and she couldn’t help but blush—

“Do you need something?” Song Xuyi tried to straighten her neck, not daring to meet Gu Ruyu’s eyes. She slightly lowered her head, staring at Gu Ruyu’s slender neck instead.

—Gu Ruyu seemed to lack an Adam’s apple, his slender neck smooth and graceful like a swan’s.

Song Xuyi couldn’t help but be momentarily dazed: she had heard that only certain eunuchs who entered the palace at a young age wouldn’t develop an Adam’s apple. Song Xuyi wasn’t a man and couldn’t fathom the pain of such mutilation, but considering how young Gu Ruyu was when he endured such torture, it was no wonder he grew up with such a capricious temperament…

“The Emperor’s directive is that the three-month deadline remains unchanged. We are now about seven days behind schedule, so we’ll have to travel day and night to reach Jiangnan on time.” Seeing Song Xuyi obediently lowering her head, Gu Ruyu’s voice softened a bit: “Princess, you might as well rest for a while. We will depart at the hour of Shen.”¹

So that’s what it was about!

Gu Ruyu’s words provided Song Xuyi with the perfect excuse to escape from his side.

“In that case, I’ll go rest in the room first. Chief Eunuch Gu, please make yourself at home.”

To show the system her determination, Song Xuyi tried hard to keep a straight face as she nodded. She moved a step to the side, just wanting to slip away from this troublesome place as quickly as possible. However, just as she turned around, Gu Ruyu grabbed her arm—

“Wait—”

Caught off guard, Song Xuyi was pulled back and stumbled once again into Gu Ruyu’s embrace—

Gu Ruyu’s embrace was surprisingly hard! Song Xuyi winced in pain and instinctively looked up at him.

Gu Ruyu’s gaze seemed extremely peculiar. Song Xuyi could see her own clear reflection in his eyes, but deep within those eyes, it was as if a wild fire was spreading…

For a moment, Song Xuyi felt like a small animal being stared down by a predator.

Feeling uncomfortable all over, Song Xuyi couldn’t help but struggle to get up—

“Chief Eunuch Gu, you…”

Gu Ruyu’s arm around Song Xuyi’s waist didn’t relax. He seemed a bit dazed, his gaze lingering on Song Xuyi’s flushed cheeks for a moment. Feeling the body under his hand becoming incredibly stiff and seeing the fear in Song Xuyi’s eyes, Gu Ruyu’s eyes dimmed. Eventually, his hand changed direction and moved towards the top of Song Xuyi’s head—

“Princess, there’s a leaf on your hair.”

Gu Ruyu calmly removed two fallen leaves from Song Xuyi’s hair and let go of her waist. Almost the moment he lifted the leaves, Song Xuyi escaped from his embrace like a bird fleeing its cage, darting into the room without looking back…

Staring at the now tightly closed door, Gu Ruyu pressed his lips together and slowly narrowed his eyes—

The little kitten is very clever; it seems to have sensed something…

But so what?

Gu Ruyu lowered his eyes, and the image of Song Xuyi’s bright and warm eyes, seemingly capable of dispelling all shadows, floated into his mind. His fingers involuntarily twitched—

The little kitten is really naive!

This world is cold and dull. Having finally found a bit of amusement, how could he let her slip away so easily?

The author has something to say:

The last chapter will probably be very late, so don’t wait up. Read it tomorrow morning…

LP: Re-translated on August 17, 2024

1. Hour of Shen (申時): The time period between 3 PM and 5 PM in traditional Chinese timekeeping.