Blame the Villain – Chapter 38
by Little PandaThe Villainous Poor Student (3)
Determined True Daughter Self-Made Entrepreneur x Black-Hearted Lotus Villain Poor Student
The car bumped and jolted along the road, taking over an hour to reach the county town.
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected He Siyu to get carsick.
The rural roads hadn’t been paved yet, so the ride was a constant alternation between stretches of concrete and bare dirt. Song Xuyi felt a little dizzy herself, and He Siyu—still weak from her recent illness, never having ridden in a vehicle before, with a low tolerance to begin with—grew paler and paler as time passed, until finally she curled up in her seat, drawing herself into a tight ball.
There was nothing Song Xuyi could do except keep stroking He Siyu’s back and murmuring reassurances.
When they finally got off, He Siyu rushed to the roadside and started dry heaving.
The small county town was already coming to life. Market stalls and shops had opened for business, large billboards hung along the streets, loudspeakers blared discount announcements, and motorcycles and three-wheeled carts weaved chaotically through the road, with the occasional private car or bus passing by…
It was a world utterly unlike the dead silence of the mountain village.
He Siyu’s beautiful eyes darted warily, taking in her surroundings. Even though she seemed to be trying to control her gaze, Song Xuyi noticed that her eyes lingered most often on the vehicles around them…
Remembering that He Siyu would one day work in mechanical R&D, Song Xuyi began to guide her deliberately. “That’s a car. It burns gasoline inside, and the gasoline turns into power through the engine, and then the wheels roll. Amazing, isn’t it?”
…
He Siyu didn’t answer. She listened silently, then slowly turned her head and fixed her eyes on Song Xuyi’s face.
This girl from the city seemed different. Her eyes were no longer as hazy as they’d been back in the village, and the look she gave her was no longer laced with disgust. There was a smile in her eyes now, as if she’d hidden the light of the stars in them…
She seemed to know everything, to be capable of anything. She had actually managed to shake off He Biao’s pursuit and bring her to the city!
Was this the wisdom of city people that Mother had told her about?
…
He Siyu gave Song Xuyi a complicated look, then pressed her lips together. This time, she reached out and took Song Xuyi’s hand of her own accord.
Seeing He Siyu’s initiative, Song Xuyi felt a surge of happiness.
She spent 1 yuan on two large steamed buns from a roadside stall. They each ate one, then set off again.
Song Xuyi asked for directions and walked for half an hour to reach the long-distance bus stop. This time, she didn’t repeat her earlier trick. She deliberately led He Siyu to squeeze into the middle of the crowd when it was most packed. Before the ticket seller could finish asking, “Where are your parents?” Song Xuyi shouted loudly, “My parents are in the back! My Jiejie and I want to use our lucky money1 to buy tickets!”
She spent 20 yuan to get them on the bus.
There were too many people behind them, and the ticket seller was busy collecting fares, with no energy left to verify whether the two girls’ parents had actually boarded…
Finally, they reached the neighboring city just before nightfall.
The neighboring city was more prosperous than the small county town. Neon lights flickered in the evening, a stark contrast to the silent nights of the village. The city’s night marked the beginning of nightlife: shops with their lights on, pedestrians strolling along the streets, the aroma of grilled skewers wafting from roadside stalls…
Even if He Biao were clever, it would take him at least ten days or half a month to track them here!
“Jiejie, we finally escaped…”
Song Xuyi let out a breath, finally allowing herself to relax completely. She spent her last 2 yuan on two meat buns, one for herself and one for He Siyu.
It was the best food either of them had eaten in years.
“Jiejie, don’t be afraid. We’ll have plenty to eat from now on…”
Song Xuyi finished her bun in a few bites, but when she turned to look, He Siyu’s bun was still more than half left. Watching He Siyu take tiny bites, as if afraid it would be gone too soon, Song Xuyi felt her eyes sting. She took a deep breath and led He Siyu into a shop that had a payphone on the counter—
“Grandpa, we got separated from our parents. Can you help us find a police officer?”
…
An hour later, Song Xuyi and He Siyu were in the police station.
Song Xuyi gave the name of the city and her parents from deep in the host body’s memory, along with the full story of how she had been trafficked.
The officers were astonished at how clear the little girl’s memory and logic were, but as they listened to what she had endured over the years, their shock gradually turned into pity…
While Song Xuyi’s account went smoothly, the officers’ work with He Siyu did not.
Because He Siyu showed a strong aversion to men, the station assigned a female officer to her. But He Siyu seemed to have no idea what a police officer was, and she couldn’t understand the officer’s accent. She just sat silently on the chair, head bowed. Finally, the female officer had to call Song Xuyi over to help…
He Siyu remained silent. At first, when Song Xuyi asked her questions, she only answered with “Mm.” It wasn’t until Song Xuyi took her hand and told her, “This auntie is the person who can lock up He Biao,” that He Siyu finally cooperated and spoke, telling the officer her name and age, and all the suffering she had endured over the years:
He Siyu’s mother hadn’t died of illness—He Biao had beaten her to death. He had shoved her mother’s head into a hoe, and even though blood had pooled on the ground, the villagers insisted she had died of illness…
And before her mother died, when He Siyu was only five or six, He Biao had already tried to trick her into going to bed with him. Fortunately, her mother, having suffered herself, had taught He Siyu about sex education early on. He Siyu didn’t let him succeed. When He Biao touched her, she bit his arm with all her might…
After that, following her mother’s instructions, He Siyu began to make herself dirty, and in return she received He Biao’s fists and kicks. When she was ten, He Biao deliberately scalded her left arm with boiling water…
He Siyu spoke in a very calm voice, but the calmer she was, the more heartbreaking it became:
Had she run out of tears, or had she become so accustomed to suffering that she could recount it without flinching?
…
Either way, He Siyu’s story was deeply pitiful.
To verify her account, the female officer took He Siyu to a side room for a rough physical examination. Most thirteen-year-old girls had started to develop, but both He Siyu and Song Xuyi were skin and bones, looking no older than eight or nine…
When the female officer saw the crisscrossing old scars on He Siyu’s body and the large scar on her left shoulder from the scalding, she turned away and walked to the window, struggling to hold back her tears.
“You’re both very brave!”
The female officer turned back, bent down, and looked He Siyu in the eye. “We will definitely bring your stepfather to justice!”
This girl had been extremely resistant to strangers until another girl told her, “This auntie is the person who can lock up He Biao.” Only then had she lowered her defenses and begun to cooperate…
The female officer knew what this girl wanted, and it was her own duty—
In places where the sun could shine, whether deep in the mountains or on an island, at home or abroad, no crime could be allowed to go unpunished!
Justice and fairness, based on the law, punishing evil and protecting the weak…
It was a long process, but it was one that would inevitably come.
“She’s been through so much! I’m going to be twice as good to her from now on…”
Song Xuyi had been wiping her tears ever since she heard He Siyu’s story, and when she saw the scars on He Siyu’s body, she couldn’t help sobbing out loud. Even the System sighed repeatedly in her mind.
That night, the two girls spent the night at the police station.
The officers called the police station in Song Xuyi’s father’s city, began searching for the trafficker based on the physical description Song Xuyi provided, and contacted the police in the neighboring city to investigate the circumstances of He Siyu’s mother’s death…
These two girls had torn open a hole in that sinful, ignorant village, letting the light of modern law and justice shine in…
By the time everything was handled, it was already late at night.
In the small hours, the female officer put together a makeshift bed out of chairs and let the two girls sleep on it.
After the day’s ordeal, both mentally and physically, Song Xuyi was exhausted. Sleepiness washed over her in waves. She thanked the female officer and lay down on the chairs, but after a moment, He Siyu, who had been standing, still hadn’t lain down…
Song Xuyi looked at her. The girl was nothing but skin and bones, her face no bigger than a palm, with eyes that seemed unnaturally large. She was staring wide-eyed at her surroundings, showing no sign of sleepiness at all.
But how could she not be tired?
Especially since He Siyu had gotten carsick—she must have reached her limit by now…
Song Xuyi sighed inwardly, forced herself to sit up, and pulled He Siyu down to sit on a chair.
“Jiejie, this is the most trustworthy place in the whole country…”
Song Xuyi knew He Siyu lacked basic knowledge, so she started by explaining what a country was, then moved on to the functions of government and the division of labor between different departments… He Siyu listened very attentively.
“I know you might be wondering, Jiejie, why no one came to protect you when you were in the mountains—”
…
He Siyu had been silent until now, but at these words, her brows twitched. She turned to look at Song Xuyi.
“I wondered the same thing once,” Song Xuyi said, channeling the host body’s feelings. The host body’s mother had told her to find a police officer if anything happened, but in that desolate village, there were no police to be seen—
“Our country is so big that there will always be corners the sun can’t reach. But we have to believe that everything will get better. In the near future, knowledge will spread to every deep mountain and forest, the sun will overcome all darkness, and we girls will grow stronger and more powerful…”
Song Xuyi had a lot more she wanted to say—like how, once they had strength, they could become the sun themselves and help more girls; like how, once He Siyu learned knowledge, she could protect the weak…
But after a moment’s thought, she swallowed the words. They were too far off for He Siyu right now.
What she had already said, however, was enough for He Siyu at this moment.
Many years later, He Siyu would still remember what Song Xuyi told her that night at the police station: “Siyu-jiejie, get some sleep. I’ll protect you! You have to believe: you’ve escaped the den of demons and come to the human world.”
The girl from the city hadn’t lied.
He Siyu hadn’t wanted to sleep, but sitting on the chair, listening to the little girl’s soft, sweet voice, she drifted off despite herself…
That night, after closing her eyes, He Siyu had no nightmares.
She had come to the human world—a world brought by Song Xuyi, full of sunlight, with no more darkness or gloom.
Because the investigation and the wait for the host body’s family to arrive would take time, the officers discussed it and temporarily placed Song Xuyi and He Siyu in the local Welfare Home.
The Welfare Home’s environment might not have seemed great to many people, but it was the best life these two girls had ever had!
They were assigned a temporary room. The female officer bought them a change of clothes and a large pile of food on the way. They each had their own single bed, running water, toothbrushes, and fragrant soap for bathing…
And whenever they had free time, Song Xuyi would drag He Siyu to sit in on classes at the Welfare Home, learning Mandarin and basic arithmetic alongside the five- and six-year-olds…
Both girls learned quickly. The teachers were especially amazed by Song Xuyi’s learning ability—after all, she had an adult soul—but Song Xuyi herself was deeply astonished by He Siyu’s speed: He Siyu picked up most characters after just one lesson, and within a few days she had mastered arithmetic up to one hundred…
After seven days, when He Siyu began to learn to write her own name, Song Xuyi’s parents in this body finally arrived!
The author has something to say:
Life is really too bitter~
I seem to have some pity for my poor child…
Author seems to like cutting onions, just saying 🥲