Blame the Villain – Chapter 47
by Little PandaThe Villainous Poor Student (12)
Determined True Daughter Self-Made Entrepreneur x Black-Hearted Lotus Villain Poor Student
The three years of junior high flew by.
The last year of the twentieth century passed, and time crossed into a new era: technology developed at breakneck speed, product iterations accelerated, popular idol dramas began playing on every street corner, and the number of private cars on the roads grew ever greater…
Even though He Siyu was reluctant in her heart, time would not stop flowing for anyone’s will, and soon He Siyu faced the Zhongkao1.
When the Zhongkao results came out, He Siyu had earned admission to City No. 1 High School with the top score in her school and a top-ten ranking citywide. Song Xuyi’s scores, by contrast, were nothing remarkable—her marks met the cutoff for City No. 1 High School’s ordinary class, but she clearly had no intention of attending, and instead had Father Song enroll her at Yuhua International High School.
The two schools were over 30 kilometers apart. The worries He Siyu had long harbored piled up before her eyes one by one: with Xuyi so busy, would she still have the chance to see her?
City No. 1 High School was also far from Officer He’s home, so He Siyu became a boarder. She was in the enhanced class, and the academic intensity of high school was incomparable to junior high—He Siyu had only two days off at the end of each month, and during those two days, Song Xuyi was mostly not in Flower City.
However, thanks to technological progress, Song Xuyi had bought a keypad mobile phone for her busy schedule. He Siyu memorized Song Xuyi’s phone number by heart, topped up the phone card for the school’s telephone booth, and whenever she missed Song Xuyi, she would go to the booth and call her.
He Siyu was never one skilled with words, but to keep from drifting apart from Song Xuyi, she racked her brains to tell her everything she could—about the dormitory environment, the frequency and rankings of exams, the food in the cafeteria…
Song Xuyi was busy day to day, and He Siyu couldn’t always get through, so they agreed to contact each other during lunch or dinner.
As for He Siyu calling her, Song Xuyi initially found it somewhat unexpected. He Siyu never talked long each time—it seemed like a routine briefing of her recent situation—but Song Xuyi was still rather pleased: it objectively demonstrated He Siyu’s dependence on her! Besides, chatting with He Siyu was the only diversion in Song Xuyi’s busy, tense life…
It wasn’t until He Siyu had been in high school for two months, with her seventeenth birthday approaching, that Song Xuyi finally found time to visit He Siyu at City No. 1 High School.
City No. 1 High School enforced closed-campus management; visitors had to register their names and be confirmed by a student before entering.
As soon as he heard Song Xuyi was looking for He Siyu, the old gatekeeper chuckled happily: “That would be the pretty young girl, right? You’re really her friend? Lately a lot of boys and girls have been pretending to be her friend trying to see her…”
“We really are good friends who grew up together.” Song Xuyi was also somewhat surprised. She had guessed He Siyu would be popular, but she hadn’t expected that before even one semester had passed, even the gatekeeper would know He Siyu’s name.
Song Xuyi gave the gatekeeper her name, and the old man used the desk phone to call the teachers’ office… After several rounds of relaying messages, by the time He Siyu came running from the academic building, nearly half an hour had passed.
“Grandpa, Xuyi… she really is my best friend.” He Siyu explained to the gatekeeper, panting. She had run so urgently that a thin layer of sweat had formed on her forehead, and when she saw Song Xuyi, her footsteps faltered, the warmth in her eyes spilling over unbidden.
“So you really are friends!” The gatekeeper teased He Siyu: “Rare to see you looking this happy…”
The young woman’s starry eyes shone, her smile genuine, and standing there she was a sight unto herself.
He Siyu ducked her head with a smile, pulled Song Xuyi into the school, and they sat down on a long bench beneath the trees.
“Xuyi, how do you have time to come today?” He Siyu turned to look at Song Xuyi, studying her appearance carefully, and gently pinched Song Xuyi’s cheek.
From days of relentless busyness, Song Xuyi looked much thinner. Her cheeks no longer had the soft, baby-fat roundness of before, and she had grown taller—over 160 centimeters—but she was still nearly a full head shorter than He Siyu.
Song Xuyi pursed her lips, feeling happy seeing He Siyu’s delighted expression. She had always regarded He Siyu as her cub2, so naturally she wouldn’t feel shy in front of her, and words tumbled out without a filter: “Because I missed you!”
The young woman was sweet and lovely, and when those beautiful eyes gazed at someone, glistening, she seemed especially sincere and warm.
He Siyu froze. Even though she had grown accustomed to Song Xuyi’s sweet flattery, her heartbeat still inexplicably quickened in that instant. She pressed her lips together, trying desperately to hide it, but her face flushed red all the same.
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected this reaction from He Siyu.
Seeing He Siyu shy, Song Xuyi’s mischievous streak surged. She stood up and blinked, leaning close to He Siyu’s face: “My Siyu is beautiful, adorable, clever, and sensible. I must have saved up luck for several lifetimes to have a friend like you, so of course I have to come see you when I have the time…”
Saying this, Song Xuyi reached out and pinched He Siyu’s cheek, imitating what He Siyu had done to her—the skin beneath her fingers was tender, fair, and translucent, the feel exquisite, and Song Xuyi was struck by a realization: no wonder He Siyu liked pinching cheeks!
The fresh scent of peach body wash on Xuyi was right before her. From He Siyu’s angle, she could see a glimpse of white curves beneath Song Xuyi’s uniform collar…
As if stung by something, He Siyu’s eyelashes fluttered, her face burning even hotter, and she bit her lip and turned her head away.
Song Xuyi didn’t notice the shift in He Siyu’s eyes. He Siyu had changed into a new uniform, and her clothes were somewhat rumpled from running over. Because of He Siyu’s evasive movement, Song Xuyi caught sight of the old scald scar at the junction of He Siyu’s left sleeve—the burn mark once caused by boiling water.
Song Xuyi had given He Siyu scar-removal medicine in years past, and the other scars had long since faded. This one was not large—a shallow patch about the size of a ping-pong ball—but against He Siyu’s snow-white skin, it looked startlingly vivid.
“Why not get surgery for it?” Song Xuyi said softly.
Seeing Song Xuyi’s gaze on her scar, He Siyu, still flushed, pulled down her sleeve to cover it and shook her head: “Forget it. It’s covered normally, so you can’t see it anyway…”
Song Xuyi studied He Siyu’s expression. He Siyu didn’t look like she was putting on a front—she genuinely didn’t care whether the scar remained.
Since He Siyu didn’t mind, Song Xuyi didn’t press the issue.
“Xuyi, how much time off do you have this time?”
With that interruption, He Siyu set aside her shyness and embarrassment, and asked the question she cared about most.
Meeting He Siyu’s expectant gaze, Song Xuyi blinked and looked away, feeling somewhat guilty.
“I’m leaving for another province on a business trip this afternoon, and I probably won’t be back for about half a month,” Song Xuyi said, pressing the gift she had brought into He Siyu’s hands: “So I… I came early to celebrate your birthday.”
Half a month away?
He Siyu’s smile faltered.
Subconsciously, countless ways to make Xuyi stay flashed through He Siyu’s mind…
But a moment later, she recovered her usual gentle demeanor in front of Song Xuyi, and asked with concern about her upcoming plans: “Are you going alone? Is the journey safe…”
“You’re that worried about me?” Song Xuyi felt an inexplicable relief as well, glancing with a smile at the gift in He Siyu’s hands: “Why don’t you ask me yourself?”
He Siyu hadn’t particularly cared about the gift Song Xuyi was giving her, but hearing her say that, He Siyu’s eyelids twitched, and she instinctively looked down at the wrapped gift box in her hands.
He Siyu opened the gift with slightly hurried movements, and the result was exactly as she had suspected—a brand-new keypad mobile phone sat in the box.
Song Xuyi waved her own phone at He Siyu and proudly called her: “Now you can reach me whenever you want to contact me!”
“Oh, right,” Song Xuyi took the phone and demonstrated, teaching He Siyu how to send a text message: “If I don’t pick up in time, you can send me a text…”
Seeing He Siyu looking down at the phone, earnestly sending “Xuyi” to her own device, Song Xuyi thought of how much He Siyu had changed over the past four years. A wave of emotion rose in her heart, and she couldn’t help but hug He Siyu: “My Siyu learns things so fast!”
“With a phone, you’ll be able to reach me whenever you want from now on—”
“I told you,” two small dimples appeared by Song Xuyi’s cheeks: “We’ll be good sisters who support each other for a lifetime.”
“Oh, and hide the phone so the teachers don’t see it. I’m afraid they might confiscate it…”
He Siyu gave a soft “mm” and lowered her head, looking happy yet shy.
Her long eyelashes concealed the look in her eyes, so Song Xuyi didn’t know that the warmth in He Siyu’s gaze never reached the depths.
He Siyu didn’t know what was wrong with herself either. These were words she had longed to hear for a long time, yet hearing them from Xuyi’s lips now, her heart wasn’t as happy as she had imagined. Instead, it was as if a whirlpool had suddenly opened inside her, impossible to fill…
But He Siyu couldn’t for the life of her understand what she truly wanted.
That noon, He Siyu didn’t return to the dormitory for her nap. She suppressed the confusion that had suddenly arisen in her heart and happily showed Song Xuyi around the campus. But after Song Xuyi left that afternoon, because she had skipped the dormitory nap without asking the dorm matron for leave, He Siyu was punished by her teacher with a self-criticism assignment.
The news that the school beauty3 had been punished with a self-criticism quickly spread across the entire grade.
When He Siyu returned to the dormitory that evening, she ran into Li Qing in the corridor.
Li Qing had tested into City No. 1 High School’s ordinary class, and just like in junior high, would wander outside He Siyu’s classroom from time to time. He Siyu walked past, ignoring her as usual, but to her surprise, Li Qing suddenly reached out and blocked her path.
“It was Song Xuyi who came to see you, wasn’t it?” Li Qing looked at He Siyu with obsessed, sorrowful eyes: “She’s the only one who makes you break the rules.”
“What’s so great about her? She wouldn’t even attend City No. 1 High School for you—”
“I like you so much. I could treat you better than she does. Why won’t you accept me as your friend…”
He Siyu gave Li Qing a cold look—the same look from years ago when she had helped Song Xuyi stand up to Li Qing’s older sister—
Li Qing flinched violently and pulled her hand back.
He Siyu walked past Li Qing with an expressionless face, as if the hysterical girl beside her were merely an unrelated object.
But He Siyu’s inner world was far from as calm as she appeared.
She suddenly recalled what another classmate had once told her: “That Li Qing sneaks around outside our classroom all day looking at you, blushing and giggling foolishly whenever she sees you—she might have a crush on you! Oh, and I heard it’s not just boys who like you. A lot of girls like you too. Siyu, do you like boys or girls…”
At the time, He Siyu had replied, “I don’t want to date early,” and let it pass after hearing it. But now, for some reason, she found herself recalling that conversation…
He Siyu returned to the dormitory and lay awake for a long time, unable to sleep. Song Xuyi’s face kept floating before her eyes. Under the covers, the phone screen lit up countless times, but in the end, He Siyu still didn’t send the text.
He Siyu didn’t know when she had fallen asleep.
In a hazy daze, she seemed to dream. In the dream, it was still the scene from that day—she sat on the long bench under the shade of the trees, saw the sight beneath Song Xuyi’s collar, but this time she didn’t look away. She even leaned in and, as if bewitched, pressed her lips to Song Xuyi’s…
Later, the dream grew chaotic and kaleidoscopic. Sometimes Xuyi wore a princess dress, calling her “stepmother” in a coy voice; sometimes Xuyi became a mermaid, singing in the most beguiling voice in the world, whispering in her ear: “Siyu, I like you…”
He Siyu’s body jolted, and her eyes snapped open—
The author has something to say:
Future update times will be set before 23:30. If there’s no update before 23:30, then most likely there won’t be one that day.
T_T~~~ Please don’t stockpile my chapters, I’ll try my best to update daily~
Footnotes
- 中考 | zhongkao | China's standardized senior high school entrance examination, typically taken at the end of ninth grade.
- 崽崽 | zaizai | Affectionate term of endearment for a beloved younger person, literally 'cub' or 'little one.'
- 校花 | xiao hua | Campus culture term for the most attractive and celebrated female student in a school, literally 'school flower.'
Thanks for the chapter Translator-sama~<3
P.S. had a thought while reading. what if the reason of the attack is cause someone forcefully enter the world to spend time with the MC.
P.S.S. hope the future arc would be less rush.
Thanks for the chapter Translator-sama~<3
P.S. had a thought while reading. what if the reason of the attack is cause someone forcefully enter the world to spend time with the MC.
P.S.S. hope the future arc would be less rush.