Blame the Villain – Chapter 41
by Little PandaThe Villainous Poor Student (6)
Determined True Daughter Self-Made Entrepreneur x Black-Hearted Lotus Villain Poor Student
The New Year had passed, which meant Song Xuyi and He Siyu were both a year older now.
Flower City didn’t have the custom of giving large red envelopes for the New Year—just token amounts for good luck. But Father Song and Mother Song, on the pretext of having missed years of red envelopes for Song Xuyi and wanting to make it up to her, gave her a single envelope stuffed with an enormous sum.
Song Ge and Song Han weren’t jealous either—they even secretly gave half of their lucky money1 to Song Xuyi.
By now everyone had noticed that since coming home, Song Xuyi had shed her childhood possessiveness and temper. She’d become clever, sweet, and thoughtful. The only slightly troubling thing was that she seemed to have turned into a little money-grubber, constantly talking about earning her first pot of gold from entrepreneurship.
The Song family wasn’t short on money. Figuring this might be a lingering effect of the years she’d spent terrified of poverty in the mountain village, the family felt even more tender toward her, and the allowance they gave Song Xuyi was the largest among the three siblings.
As for Song Xuyi’s constant talk about starting a business and becoming self-made rich, the family assumed it was just a joke and didn’t take it seriously. After all, what kind of waves could a girl who’d just escaped from a mountain village and knew nothing about the modern world possibly make in business?
By March, the front end of Song Xuyi’s website was starting to take shape. But after racking her brain for ages, she still couldn’t come up with a good name. She’d scribbled countless options on scratch paper, only to reject each one. Finally, she slumped dispiritedly against He Siyu’s shoulder: “Siyu-jie, I want to build a platform where, as long as you pay a little extra for shipping, you can buy things from all over the country—convenient and fast, saving time and effort… Can you think of a name for me?”
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected He Siyu to come up with anything; it was just a casual question. But she’d underestimated her own importance in He Siyu’s heart. Seeing Song Xuyi so dejected made He Siyu ache inside, and even knowing her own level was too low—she only had a fourth-grade education—she pushed herself to answer: “I learned a line of poetry recently: ‘If there is a kindred spirit across the world, then the ends of the earth feel as near as neighbors2.’ Since your platform wants everyone in the whole world to join in…”
He Siyu glanced up at Song Xuyi: “Then how about calling it Bilin Wangchao?”
…
Song Xuyi looked at He Siyu and said nothing.
He Siyu knew her own education was lacking and her grades weren’t as good as Song Xuyi’s. She wouldn’t have been surprised to be turned down. She took Song Xuyi’s hand and murmured soothingly: “I was just saying, don’t worry, Xuyi. It’s okay if you can’t think of one right now. You’re so smart—I’m sure you’ll come up with a name you love eventually…”
But before He Siyu could finish, Song Xuyi had thrown her arms around her excitedly: “Siyu, this name is great! Let’s call it Bilin Wangchao…”
Song Xuyi genuinely thought it was a good name, and she loved seeing He Siyu so earnestly devoted to helping her—that sweet, eager-to-please look gave her an enormous sense of accomplishment.
“System, did you see that? Siyu is absolutely going to grow into a model young woman—excelling in morals, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor3!” Song Xuyi gazed at He Siyu, bursting with pride.
The System gave He Siyu’s red mole a cryptic look, feeling that something was somehow off, but not wanting to dampen Song Xuyi’s spirits, it gave a vague response: “Sure…”
Song Xuyi didn’t catch the System’s vagueness and kept singing He Siyu’s praises.
Breathing in the sweet, soft scent of honey peach from the girl beside her, listening to her soft, sugary voice, He Siyu pressed her lips together and glanced at Song Xuyi. The tips of her ears slowly turned red.
Being able to help Xuyi was the happiest thing in the world to her.
Once the website was up, Song Xuyi needed to sell things on it. She had no team, and the delivery industry wasn’t as developed as it would be in later years. After some thought, she decided to start locally, within the same city.
The internet was still in its infancy, and new things didn’t inspire trust. Websites had to burn money in their early days, so Song Xuyi priced everything 20% below cost and advertised “free shipping on your first order” as a gimmick, then started handing out flyers on the street…
Song Xuyi’s website traffic was indeed climbing by the day, but so were her losses. Some people, greedy for freebies, deliberately created after-sales disputes—impossible to guard against and utterly exhausting…
At first, Song Xuyi had hired two people to handle deliveries and sort goods. But as the business expanded, to cut costs, she decided to pitch in herself with deliveries and flyer distribution from time to time.
At times like these, Song Xuyi could only beg He Siyu for help.
He Siyu would distract the tutors’ attention while Song Xuyi slipped out the side door to catch a bus for deliveries, then returned in the afternoon.
He Siyu knew this was wrong—if they were caught, Father Song and Mother Song would likely be unhappy with her. But she couldn’t refuse any request from Song Xuyi, especially when Song Xuyi wheedled in that soft, coaxing voice. He Siyu felt she’d dig out her own heart and hand it to Song Xuyi if asked—let alone help her sneak out.
Song Xuyi never expected that her website venture would eventually be discovered by Father Song and Mother Song.
Father Song had lined up a meeting with a major client at a café, only to spot his daughter outside, sweating buckets and handing out flyers.
Shouldn’t his daughter be at home studying with her tutors at this hour? What was she doing on the street?
…
Father Song was stricken. Remembering the trauma of his daughter’s kidnapping, he abandoned his important client on the spot and rushed out of the café.
When he heard that Song Xuyi was doing this for her “business venture,” Father Song rubbed his temples and, for once, put on a stern face: “Xuyi, no matter what, Dad will never let you get lost again. Mom and Dad can provide for you—you don’t need to earn money. You’re a girl; Mom and Dad just want you to study happily, grow up, find a stable job, fall in love, get married, and live a safe and smooth life…”
Song Xuyi knew this was Father Song’s genuine wish—the simplest, most heartfelt desire of most parents.
She didn’t want to argue with him. At her current age, even if she explained her ideas, most adults wouldn’t support their child taking an unconventional path. And Father Song, a traditional businessman, was especially cautious.
Song Xuyi lowered her head and said nothing, putting on the same sweet, well-behaved look she’d learned from He Siyu. It worked—Father Song, seeing her like that, assumed she’d recognized her mistake. Then it struck him that his tone had been a bit harsh. If Xuyi went home and told on him, his wife would certainly nag him. He cleared his throat a couple of times and softened his voice: “I’ll have the driver take you home in a bit…”
Song Xuyi figured Father Song had gotten quite a scare this time. Not wanting to push back too hard for now, she simply nodded.
But no one expected Father Song’s client to suddenly grab his arm. The man had been watching Song Xuyi’s flyers with keen interest. Now he turned to her with a broad smile: “Little one, is this a website you designed? What’s Bilin Wangchao mainly for? Do you plan to keep selling at a loss just to drum up business forever…?”
“Of course not…” Song Xuyi shook her head and gave a rough overview of her plan: she’d sell all kinds of things and charge merchants different commission rates by product category…
Father Song never imagined that he and his client would end up back in the café—except this time, the conversation was between the client and Song Xuyi.
This client was a local business tycoon everyone called Mr. Zhao. Father Song had only managed to get an introduction through great effort, and now Mr. Zhao’s attention was entirely focused on Song Xuyi—
While Song Xuyi was in the restroom, Father Song briefly explained her early kidnapping experience and tactfully told Mr. Zhao that he only wanted Song Xuyi to focus on her studies and had no desire for her to get involved in business. Mr. Zhao raised his eyes to Father Song, and after a long moment, nodded: “I’m a parent too—I understand how you feel. But kids today are much more spirited than our generation was. The more you forbid them from doing something, the more they’re determined to do it. I think channeling is better than blocking4. Kids only have a short-lived enthusiasm for these things—she’ll move on once the novelty wears off. I happen to have a Startup Incubation Project under my company. Why not let her come try it out…”
Father Song’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected Mr. Zhao to take such an interest in Song Xuyi. After all, Mr. Zhao’s empire was vast—Father Song’s assets were nothing in comparison. If he wasn’t interested in Song Xuyi, Mr. Zhao had no reason to wade into this mess—
Mr. Zhao glanced at Father Song, then narrowed his eyes with a smile: “I’m not interested in your daughter, actually. I’ve just heard for a long time that Mr. Song values integrity and has an excellent reputation. I’ve always wanted to make a friend…”
After receiving a few flattering compliments from the business tycoon, even the steady Father Song felt himself floating a little. He no longer questioned the reason for Mr. Zhao’s shift in attitude, simply assuming Mr. Zhao genuinely wanted to collaborate.
By the time Song Xuyi returned, Father Song and Mr. Zhao had settled everything. Mr. Zhao was surprisingly easy to deal with—he even agreed to Father Song’s less-than-certain project in a single breath.
And so, after returning home, Father Song interrogated Song Xuyi about her recent activities. Learning that she’d been skipping tutoring sessions regularly, he was horrified and sternly ordered the tutors never to let Song Xuyi out again—except on Fridays, when she could go to Mr. Zhao’s project for a one-day internship.
As for He Siyu, with Song Xuyi vouching for her, she was cast as an unknowing victim as well, and didn’t raise Father Song’s or Mother Song’s suspicions.
But when Friday came and Song Xuyi arrived at Mr. Zhao’s company, the person waiting for her was Mr. Zhao himself.
Mr. Zhao read through the business plan Song Xuyi had secretly stayed up late writing, then got straight to the point: he was willing to invest in her project. But when it came to profit-sharing, the two reached an impasse. Finally, Mr. Zhao sipped his tea leisurely: “More work, more reward. If you can find a way to come out and keep an eye on the project more often each week, I’ll give you an extra 10%…”
Song Xuyi froze for a moment.
She knew Mr. Zhao was bargaining hard. Right now, Father Song was keeping an extremely tight rein on her—getting out openly would be very difficult. But what if someone helped her slip away?
Song Xuyi blinked, then broke into a smile: “Deal!”
Footnotes
- Monetary gifts given to children and younger relatives by elders during Chinese New Year, traditionally in red envelopes, symbolizing good fortune and the warding off of evil spirits.
- A famous line by the Tang dynasty poet Wang Bo (650-676 CE), from his poem 'Farewell to Vice-Prefect Du,' expressing that true friendship transcends physical distance.
- A Chinese educational ideal promoting well-rounded development in five areas: moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education.
- A Chinese saying derived from the legendary Emperor Yu the Great, who controlled floods by channeling water rather than building dams. It means it is better to guide than to suppress.
This Zhao seems sus
Thanks for the chapters Translator-sama~<3