Blame the Villain – Chapter 3
by Little PandaThe Villainous Film Empress (3)
A little rich girl bent on saving the world X A paranoid, dark, and vengeful Film Empress
“Xuyi, Dad knows you like her a lot,” Father Song said, patting Song Xuyi’s shoulder. “And she really is quite impressive—ambitious, hardworking, and she knows her place. Seeing you become more and more outstanding because of your idol has made me very gratified…”
As the head of the Song family, Father Song had judged countless people in his life. For him to say this about Zhao Qingyu was high praise indeed. He had originally disliked Song Xuyi’s celebrity-chasing, fearing she would be dazzled by the chaos of the entertainment industry and her character would suffer for it. It was only after Song Xuyi’s recent transformation into a proactive and diligent student, and after an investigation revealed that Zhao Qingyu was well-behaved and maintained her integrity on set, that Father Song decided to continue letting them interact.
Hearing her father’s assessment of Zhao Qingyu, Song Xuyi didn’t know how to respond. If even Father Song, with his lifetime of experience, had misjudged her, it just went to show how good Zhao Qingyu was at pretending.
Now that Zhao Qingyu was here, even though Song Xuyi was completely unprepared to face her, she could only brace herself and offer a greeting.
“It’s been a while, Qingyu.”
Song Xuyi simply couldn’t replicate the infatuated expression her original self always wore when seeing Zhao Qingyu. She could only do her best to feign a look of pleasant surprise as she looked up at her. “I didn’t expect Dad to invite you over…”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you’d guessed,” Zhao Qingyu said, her lips curling into a gentle, graceful smile.
Even knowing this woman was no saint, Song Xuyi couldn’t help but blush again when faced with that smile.
“This child,” Father Song said, looking at Song Xuyi, who was huddled up like a little quail1, with frustrated disappointment2. “She seemed so composed in the living room just now, but the moment she’s in front of someone, she gets shy…”
“You two chat,” Father Song said, giving Song Xuyi a little push forward before turning to head back to the living room in what he considered a thoughtful gesture. “You worked so hard to get such a good score. Aren’t you going to share the good news with your little idol?”
Song Xuyi was speechless.
Once Father Song left, the surroundings became visibly quieter.
Aside from the driver in the MPV and the security guards in the distance, only Song Xuyi and Zhao Qingyu were left outside.
The streetlights cast a soft, orange-yellow glow. The sky was filled with twinkling stars. Accompanied by the frantic pounding of her own heart, Song Xuyi watched as Zhao Qingyu approached, step by step.
Song Xuyi pressed her lips together, trying to look away, but her eyes seemed to have a will of their own. She stared blankly at Zhao Qingyu, a dazed thought occurring to her: when a person was beautiful to an extreme, they were like a natural magnet, capable of attracting everyone’s gaze.
She bit her lower lip, a little annoyed with herself for being so easily swayed by a pretty face3.
And while Song Xuyi was once again lost in Zhao Qingyu’s beauty, Zhao Qingyu was also observing her unobtrusively.
Tonight, Song Xuyi wore a pink strapless formal gown. The skin it revealed was as white and delicate as a shelled egg. A touch of light makeup accentuated the girl’s clear and lovely features. If one ignored the obvious blush on her face, Song Xuyi looked like a standard, elegant daughter of a wealthy family. But right now, with her face flushed red and her eyes glistening as she gazed over…
Zhao Qingyu’s mind drifted. For a moment, she was reminded of a little kitten she once had.
She had to admit: after washing off the heavy makeup, the Song family’s spoiled, brainless little princess was… a little cute.
In just over three months, she had undergone a complete transformation, as if she had become another person entirely. So much so that Zhao Qingyu almost hadn’t recognized her at first glance.
And the way Song Xuyi was looking at her—
Zhao Qingyu narrowed her eyes, her lips curling into a playful smile. The infatuated fanaticism in Song Xuyi’s gaze was gone, replaced by a faint hint of vigilance and wariness.
Has she discovered something?
Song Xuyi didn’t know why—perhaps it was knowing Zhao Qingyu’s true nature, so intelligent she was almost demonic, that made her feel particularly flustered. She waited until Zhao Qingyu was nearly in front of her before finally picking up where her father had left off, her voice as faint as a gnat’s buzz4. “I… I got into X University’s School of Medicine…”
The moment the words were out, she hung her head in regret, the blush spreading nearly to the tips of her ears. That tone, like a primary school student begging for praise, was just too humiliating!
“Pfft—”
As expected, a soft laugh came from above her. Zhao Qingyu seemed not to have anticipated Song Xuyi would speak like that. It took her a moment to reply, “Well then, Xuyi is very impressive…”
Zhao Qingyu still had that same lovely, gentle voice. If Song Xuyi didn’t know her true nature, she might have actually believed she was being praised. But now, hearing those words, she just felt that something was off about all of it.
“Xuyi, is she… complimenting you or mocking you?” the System asked from the sidelines, confused. “She’s still smiling at you. Do you want to look up and see?”
Having grown familiar with Song Xuyi over this period, the System’s form of address had changed from ‘Task-doer’ to ‘Xuyi’.
Song Xuyi pressed her lips together. A part of her didn’t dare to look at Zhao Qingyu’s bewitching face, but she knew she couldn’t keep avoiding it. If she didn’t even have the courage to speak with Zhao Qingyu now, how was she supposed to get closer to her and uncover her secrets later?
Taking a deep breath, Song Xuyi bit her lower lip, slowly straightened her spine, and raised her eyes as if marching to her death5.
A slender, pale hand, like a drooping Hosta flower6, gently came to rest on her head.
—Zhao Qingyu was ruffling her hair with a perfectly natural expression.
Only then did Song Xuyi realize that Zhao Qingyu was half a head taller than her. The expression and motion as she ruffled her hair were completely at ease, and her eyes even held a hint of a smile as she looked down, as if stars were mixed into their depths.
Song Xuyi froze on the spot, the heat she had just managed to suppress beginning to spread across her cheeks again.
In the original host’s memory, Zhao Qingyu had never once initiated physical contact.
“You…”
The courage she had mustered vanished in an instant. Song Xuyi wanted to pull away, but Zhao Qingyu was faster. By the time Song Xuyi looked up with wide eyes, Zhao Qingyu had already withdrawn her hand with a natural air and turned to look toward the hall. “Aren’t you going to invite me in for something to eat, Xuyi?”
Song Xuyi clenched her fists.
If the original host were here, having her head patted by her idol would have probably made her go crazy with joy.
But Song Xuyi wasn’t the original host.
She felt a profound sense of frustration and defeat. It seemed she was utterly powerless against Zhao Qingyu, whose attitude was flawless7. Her posture seemed intimate, but in reality, she maintained just the right amount of propriety, leaving no room for criticism.
“The villain is full of tricks,” the System piped up again, indignant. “Xuyi, don’t fall for her beauty trap8!”
“The first rule in the Task-doer’s code is that you cannot fall in love in a small world—”
This was the first time Song Xuyi had heard this rule. She paused for a second but didn’t take it to heart. Still, the System’s words served as a wake-up call. She deeply reflected on her weakness for pretty faces9, her fighting spirit reignited, and she followed after Zhao Qingyu.
“Qingyu-jiejie,” Song Xuyi said, catching up to her in two steps. When Zhao Qingyu raised an eyebrow and looked over, Song Xuyi found that—perhaps because she was now used to her beauty attack—she didn’t blush this time. Heartened, she decided to press her advantage, looking up at Zhao Qingyu. “I’m already eighteen, you can’t—”
But before she could finish the words “pat my head like a child again,” a warmth spread over her arm. Zhao Qingyu had linked her arm with hers, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile on her face. “Little Xuyi, can jiejie link arms with you, then?”
?!
Song Xuyi’s first instinct was to shake her off.
But in a flash, something clicked in her mind. She suddenly realized: Zhao Qingyu was very likely testing her!
Zhao Qingyu had never been this close to the original host before. The original host had wanted to invite her to her eighteenth birthday party, but Zhao Qingyu had declined, citing training. Now, not only had she come to her university acceptance banquet, but she was also being so affectionate…
“I’m so happy I could be a fool,” Song Xuyi said, her body stiff as she linked her arm through Zhao Qingyu’s, though a chill was running down her spine the more she thought about it. “This feels like a dream. Why is Qingyu-jiejie suddenly being so nice to me?”
Where did I give myself away?
“Because little Xuyi is cute!” Zhao Qingyu said, looking at Song Xuyi’s forced smile. The amusement in her eyes deepened, but her voice sounded utterly sincere and gentle. “A cute and hardworking little girl… who wouldn’t like someone like that?”
The little girl’s clumsy, flustered attempts to hide her true thoughts are just so delightful…
Song Xuyi felt a headache coming on.
Zhao Qingyu was as slippery as a loach. Song Xuyi had tried every trick in the book but couldn’t get a single piece of useful information out of her. Worse, she had to constantly be on guard against Zhao Qingyu turning the tables and extracting information from her. To any outsider, however, their exchange looked like proof of an excellent relationship.
Because of this, when Mother Song called Song Xuyi over to meet some elders and Zhao Qingyu was left alone, sipping red wine by a counter, no one approached her, though she drew plenty of appraising glances.
After all, most of the people qualified to attend this banquet knew what was what. The Song family’s little princess, Song Xuyi, was notoriously temperamental, and the Songs doted on their youngest daughter to an extreme. This Zhao Qingyu was her guest. If anyone were to strike up a conversation and inadvertently annoy Song Xuyi, their future prospects with the Song family would be over.
Zhao Qingyu, however, seemed oblivious to the various gazes around her. She showed no discomfort at being in a crowd of strangers, instead appearing to survey the people in the hall with some curiosity. No one knew that her eyes had paused for a moment on a middle-aged woman in a qipao10, before shifting away as if nothing had happened.
The hall was spacious enough for a hundred people, its four walls adorned with intricate and magnificent murals. All sorts of delicacies and fine wines were laid out. It was a scene of fragrant clothes and clinking glasses11, under the splendid light refracted by the glass lanterns overhead. A banquet like this was just a glimpse of the heritage of the century-old Song family—the tip of the iceberg.
No wonder some people would kill to squeeze their way into the Song family’s circle.
And Song Jun was not at the banquet.
Zhao Qingyu slowly narrowed her eyes.
It seemed the rumors were true—Song Jun had indeed gone abroad.
But so what if he was abroad?
The sliver of amusement Song Xuyi had brought her vanished completely upon seeing the woman in the qipao. A familiar hatred began to creep through her heart, filling it completely. A cold smile formed on Zhao Qingyu’s lips as she lowered her head and took a slow, deliberate sip of her wine.
There’s plenty of time, she thought. A day will come when they pay their debts.
Footnotes
- A 'little quail' (xiǎo āncún) is a common metaphor in Chinese for someone who is timid, shy, or easily frightened, like the bird itself.
- The original idiom is 'hèn tiě bù chéng gāng' (恨铁不成钢), which literally means 'to hate iron for not becoming steel.' It describes the feeling of being disappointed or frustrated with someone for not living up to their potential.
- The original idiom is 'jiàn sè qǐ yì' (见色起意), which means to be moved by someone's beautiful appearance, often with romantic or lustful intent.
- The original idiom is 'shēng rú wén ruì' (声如蚊蚋), which means 'a voice like a mosquito or gnat.' It's used to describe someone speaking in an extremely soft, barely audible whisper.
- The original idiom is 'shì sǐ rú guī' (视死如归), which means 'to view death as a return home.' It describes facing a difficult or dangerous situation with immense, fearless resolve.
- The 'yùzānhuā' (玉簪花), or Hosta, is a flower with white, fragrant blossoms. Its name literally means 'jade hairpin flower.'
- The original idiom is 'dī shuǐ bù lòu' (滴水不漏), which literally means 'not a single drop of water leaks.' It describes something that is perfectly executed, with no flaws or openings.
- The 'beauty trap' (měirén jì) is one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, a classic Chinese text on military and political strategy. It refers to using a beautiful person's charms to ensnare an opponent.
- The original is 'yán kòng' (颜控), a modern slang term derived from 'face control.' It refers to a person who has a weakness for or is primarily attracted to good-looking people.
- A qipao (qípáo) is a traditional, form-fitting Chinese dress for women, also known as a cheongsam.
- The original text uses two four-character idioms here: 'yī xiāng bìn yǐng' (衣香鬓影), literally 'fragrance of clothes and shadows of hairpins,' and 'gōng chóu jiāo cuò' (觥筹交错), 'goblets and drinking tallies passing back and forth.' Together, they paint a vivid picture of a glamorous, bustling high-society banquet.
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