Blame the Villain – Chapter 11
by Little PandaThe Villainous Film Empress (11)
A little rich girl bent on saving the world X A paranoid, dark, and vengeful Film Empress
After the meet-and-greet ended, Zhao Qingyu, who was exceptionally skilled at winning people over, sent signed postcards to Song Xuyi’s roommates. The girls went crazy with joy. They instantly morphed into die-hard fans, and for the next half of the semester, they chattered about Zhao Qingyu next to Song Xuyi almost every single day.
It was also from this day forward that Song Xuyi noticed Zhao Qingyu had started calling her “kid” on WeChat.
Song Xuyi protested this form of address. After all, Zhao Qingyu was only three years older than her; the nickname sounded far too awkward. But her feeble protests were entirely useless. The female villain always had her own way, and Song Xuyi simply couldn’t change her decisions.
Eventually, Song Xuyi calmed down and accepted it.
During this time, she had figured out the female villain’s temper: much of the time, Zhao Qingyu was deliberately teasing her. The more Song Xuyi resisted, the happier Zhao Qingyu became. It was better to stay calm and let her do as she pleased. Once she lost interest, she wouldn’t make a fuss anymore.
As long as she didn’t have to face Zhao Qingyu’s world-turning, captivating face in person, Song Xuyi felt she could handle exchanging a few WeChat messages.
Right now, everything was still in the first half of the original plot summary: this year, Zhao Qingyu had filmed two back-to-back blockbusters. Her debut film had already been submitted for the “Best Actress” selection at a national-level award, and her future was infinitely bright. Big fans in her Super Topic leaked that countless scripts had already been sent to her, including works by famous directors.
However, perhaps because she had filmed two movies consecutively without a break, Zhao Qingyu didn’t seem to have taken on any new acting roles recently. She shot a few commercials and participated in a variety show to maintain her exposure, but fans had no idea what she was doing the rest of the time.
Song Xuyi tried to subtly fish for information, but Zhao Qingyu simply turned the tables on her.
“Why are you asking about my schedule? Do you want to see me?”
Song Xuyi was given a huge fright and hurriedly changed the subject.
But with a precedent already set, Song Xuyi spent the following days somewhat on edge, terrified that Zhao Qingyu might suddenly appear in front of her upon the slightest disagreement.
Facts proved that Song Xuyi’s worries were somewhat superfluous: until the summer holidays began, Song Xuyi didn’t see Zhao Qingyu again.
And as the summer vacation arrived, the number of messages Zhao Qingyu replied to grew fewer and fewer. She explained that the signal where she was currently located was quite poor, causing difficulties in receiving messages.
This explanation revealed one crucial piece of information: Zhao Qingyu probably wasn’t abroad.
Song Xuyi, who had been worried that Zhao Qingyu would secretly go overseas to cause trouble for the male lead, finally set her mind completely at ease. She began to focus on arranging her own summer vacation schedule.
Song Xuyi planned to follow the old master of traditional medicine to rural towns and villages for free clinics, collecting medicinal herbs along the way.
The old master came from a poor family and grew up eating ‘meals from a hundred families’1. Every year in July and August, he would go down to the countryside to hold free clinics.
The outside world claimed the old master loved money—for example, he frequently treated the rich and powerful, charged the Song family exorbitant tuition fees, and took Song Xuyi as his apprentice… But Song Xuyi knew that for decades, the old master couldn’t even bear to buy himself a single new piece of clothing. Most of his money was donated to impoverished mountain villages.
To solve the employment difficulties of the farmers, the old master taught the people in the mountains how to cultivate medicinal herbs, and then purchased the harvest at the most favorable prices. He was the benefactor of the entire village.
This time, Song Xuyi and the old master were heading to the countryside specifically to hold a free clinic at a medicinal herb base funded by the old master, and to purchase herbs while they were at it.
Father Song and Mother Song initially refused to let Song Xuyi go to a mountain village. In the end, unable to withstand Song Xuyi’s relentless coaxing and pleading, they assigned two trustworthy bodyguards to her, packed a massive pile of donated supplies, and only then allowed her to travel with the old master.
The destination for this trip was the Northwest mountain village.
This village was located deep in the mountains at a relatively high altitude. The locals cultivated cold-resistant medicinal herbs like ginseng, codonopsis, and gastrodia. A road connecting them to the outside world had only been built a few years ago.
Song Xuyi entered the village sitting on a tractor returning from the market. The road was terribly bumpy, making Song Xuyi dizzy and nauseous. Not wanting to cause trouble for the others, she could only desperately endure it, her small face growing paler and paler.
“It’s tough on you. Most people who come here for the first time aren’t used to it. It gets better after a few trips…”
The people beside her were all paying close attention to her movements and naturally recognized her discomfort.
Just in case, the old master checked Song Xuyi’s pulse and assured the two bodyguards that she was fine. Then, perhaps to distract her, he started telling a story.
“Don’t look down on this remote place. In ancient times, it produced an extremely famous person. Guess who it is?” The old master whetted everyone’s appetite before slowly stroking his beard and continuing. “This is Emperor Su Qing’s hometown, a famous nest of beauties. Historically, many beauties have come from here, but alas, it’s just too remote…”
Emperor Su Qing was almost a household name in this world. Even the ignorant and incompetent original host had heard of her reputation—she was the only female emperor in history.
Emperor Su Qing’s life was incredibly legendary: born into poverty, she disguised herself as a man to take her sickly older brother’s place in the army. Relying on her outstanding military talents, she was granted a marquisate and appointed as chancellor. Finally, she overthrew the corrupt and incompetent old dynasty, saved the common people from an abyss of misery, and pioneered a golden age.
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected this place to actually be Emperor Su Qing’s hometown.
The old master went on to tell quite a few more historical anecdotes. About two hours later, just as night was about to fall, the group finally arrived in the village. The climate in the mountains changed extremely quickly; by evening, the temperature dropped noticeably.
The old master urged everyone to put on the down jackets they had brought in their luggage, repeatedly instructing them, “The altitude here is quite high, and the climate changes drastically. Absolutely do not run out of the village casually…”
The old master had already arranged their accommodation long in advance. For this month or so, they would all be staying at the village chief’s house.
Most of the houses here were still old-fashioned stone houses. There were only a few red brick buildings in the entire village. Even so, the village chief’s family’s living conditions looked somewhat tough: the tables and chairs appeared to have been used for many years, a color TV that had been nearly phased out over a decade ago sat on the cabinet, and the clothes worn by the children were patched…
However, the village chief’s family was extremely diligent. The house was swept immaculately clean, and the bedding carried the crisp scent of sunlight, evidently having just been washed and aired out.
Rooms were limited. The village chief only set aside a single private room upstairs for Song Xuyi; everyone else squeezed in together.
“We originally planned to arrange for some people to stay at Shuanzi’s house,” the village chief said, rubbing his hands together and looking somewhat embarrassed as he glanced next door. “But Shuanzi’s family recently had some guests arrive. They seem to be working on some major project. The town takes it very seriously; even the town mayor accompanied them here…”
After setting down their luggage, everyone had dinner at the village chief’s house: boneless fish caught from a deep pool, local wild vegetables, and delicious bone broth…
It tasted fragrant and left a lingering flavor; the food was unexpectedly good.
After finishing dinner and washing up, Song Xuyi went upstairs.
Perhaps fearing that Song Xuyi wouldn’t be used to the accommodations, the village chief’s family had specifically burned some sweetgrass in her room. After burning for a day, the scent in the room was a bit strong. Song Xuyi pushed open the window to let in some air, only to see a figure wrapped in a down jacket standing in the courtyard of Shuanzi’s house next door.
This must be the guest the village chief had mentioned, right?
Beneath the swaying porch light, Song Xuyi couldn’t make out the person’s appearance. She only saw them holding a phone, shifting between several different spots in the courtyard, seemingly searching for a cell signal…
Song Xuyi cast another glance at the figure. Even though she couldn’t clearly see their face in the dark of night, an inexplicable feeling rose in her chest: she felt like she had seen this person somewhere before.
Yet after thinking for a long time, Song Xuyi still couldn’t figure out who among her acquaintances would travel to this remote, impoverished backwater…
After a short while, the fragrance in the room dissipated. The night wind was freezing cold, and Song Xuyi couldn’t help but shiver. In the moment she closed the window, the person in the neighboring courtyard seemed to still be searching for a signal…
Truly persistent.
Song Xuyi stifled a yawn and pulled out her phone. Sure enough, there was only one bar of signal left. She also hadn’t received a reply to the message she sent that morning: “I’m heading into the mountains with my master for a free clinic. The signal in the mountains isn’t very good, so I might not be able to send messages.”
Fighting back her sleepiness, Song Xuyi sent another:
“Entered the mountains. Everything is fine. The villagers are very welcoming.”
A little loading circle spun next to the sent message. Song Xuyi wasn’t sure if it would go through either, but after rushing about all day, she was simply too exhausted. She just left her phone by her pillow and fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Song Xuyi woke up to find a glaring red exclamation mark next to her message; sure enough, it hadn’t gone through.
And shortly after she fell asleep, she had received a WeChat message from Zhao Qingyu: “Where did you go?”
How bizarre!
Song Xuyi felt troubled. For nearly a year, the two of them had grown used to chatting on WeChat and had never bothered to memorize each other’s phone numbers. Now that she had entered the mountains and was in an area with poor signal, their communication had actually become a problem.
Song Xuyi initially considered taking this opportunity to cut off contact between them. After all, to maintain her identity as a ‘fan’, it was usually Song Xuyi who had to scramble to find topics to chat about. However, the moment she recalled the reaction Zhao Qingyu would have if she unilaterally cut contact, Song Xuyi only felt her scalp go numb. In the end, she reluctantly called the old butler and asked him to forward Zhao Qingyu’s phone number.
The old butler was extremely efficient. Within half an hour, he sent a text message with Zhao Qingyu’s number.
Song Xuyi stared at the number but couldn’t make up her mind to dial it.
She dawdled, slowly brushing her teeth and washing her face, then walked two laps around the courtyard. Finally, taking a deep breath and pressing her lips together, she marched over to the courtyard gate, planning to just stretch her neck out for the executioner’s blade and get it over with—she’d make the call to ‘clock in’2.
The door of Shuanzi’s house next door opened, and it seemed someone walked out.
Song Xuyi didn’t pay any mind. Frowning, she squatted beside the courtyard gate and tapped the call button with a look of bitter resentment on her face.
“Beep… beep…” The dialing tone rang from the phone, and Song Xuyi’s frown grew tighter and tighter.
“—Pfft!”
Suddenly, a light chuckle came from right beside her, and at that exact second, the call connected.
A familiar female voice laced with amusement drifted down from above her head and simultaneously out of the earpiece: “Are you looking for me, Xuyi?”
Song Xuyi looked up in shock—Zhao Qingyu’s world-turning, captivatingly beautiful face was right above her. She was holding a phone, bent over, and looking down at her with a beaming smile!
How… how could she be here?
Song Xuyi froze. Seeing the other woman’s bright and radiant smile, she only felt a chill run down her spine. Subconsciously, she shrank back to avoid her, but forgetting her own posture, her legs gave out…
—BANG!
The author has something to say:
A certain Q&A forum3: What does it feel like to have a nightmare appear right before your eyes?
Song Xuyi: Thanks for the invite, it’s probably exactly how I’m feeling right now~ T_T
Footnotes
- 'Meals from a hundred families' (chī bǎijiā fàn) refers to growing up relying on the charity and shared food of neighbors and the local community, highlighting extreme poverty in childhood.
- In Chinese fan culture, 'clocking in' (dǎkǎ) refers to the daily tasks fans perform on social media platforms to maintain their idol's engagement metrics and prove their loyalty.
- 'A certain Q&A forum' (mǒuhū) is webnovel slang for Zhihu, China's major question-and-answer website (similar to Quora). 'Thanks for the invite' is the platform's stereotypical opening line for user replies.
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