CH 107

Villainous Stand-in (5)

“I’ve already had dinner.”

Amidst the system’s compliments, Song Xu Yi declined Li Yuqing’s invitation. After all, their positions were not aligned, and Song Xu Yi remained cautious, feeling that she couldn’t get too close to Li Yuqing.

Unfortunately, just as Song Xu Yi refused, the elevator bell rang and a delivery person carrying a box shouted loudly, “Miss Song, are you here? Your crayfish is here!”

In that moment, Song Xu Yi just wanted to find a hole to hide in.

“Well, would Xu Yi mind adding another meal?” Li Yuqing asked.

With Li Yuqing’s ambiguous gaze, Song Xu Yi had no choice but to accept the crayfish from the delivery person and enter Li Yuqing’s home.

In fact, Song Xu Yi was a bit curious. After all, according to the original plot summary, Li Yuqing had never moved out of the Song family’s house before Song Shi went crazy.

Grandfather Song was a typical feudal patriarch, and as the potential successor to his legacy, Li Yuqing was under his strict watch. He had made up his mind to train Li Yuqing in the traditional homemaker role, with the ability to manage both the hall and the kitchen. In front of grandfather Song, Li Yuqing always appeared timid and cowardly. According to his will, he would never agree to let Li Yuqing move out.

Moreover, with so many houses around, why did Li Yuqing choose to move next door?

However, Song Xu Yi and Li Yuqing’s relationship was not close enough to discuss this topic. Song Xu Yi remained cautious and only picked safe topics to chat with Li Yuqing, such as praising her craftsmanship or reminding her to take care of her health.

Song Xu Yi’s praise of Li Yuqing’s cooking skills was genuine.

In order to cultivate Li Yuqing into a qualified daughter-in-law, grandfather Song spent a lot of money to hire a famous chef to teach Li Yuqing cooking skills. Song Xu Yi knew that Li Yuqing was good at cooking, but she didn’t expect her skills to be so good. Each dish was not only delicious, but also made Song Xu Yi want to swallow her tongue! Moreover, intentionally or not, Li Yuqing made all the dishes that Song Xu Yi loved to eat that evening.

By the time Song Xu Yi realized it, she had unconsciously eaten a lot of food, while Li Yuqing had hardly touched her chopsticks and just sat there smiling at her.

Song Xu Yi felt a little embarrassed after realizing what had happened, so she picked up a small crayfish and handed it to Li Yuqing’s bowl, saying, “You should eat too!”

Li Yuqing smiled but didn’t take the chopsticks.

Song Xu Yi looked at Li Yuqing, who still appeared elegant and graceful even though she was dressed in home clothes, and understood why she wasn’t eating. She carefully peeled the shrimp with disposable gloves and placed it in Li Yuqing’s bowl. She sincerely said, “Try it! It’s really delicious. Shrimp is low in calories, so it won’t make you gain weight.”

Li Yuqing looked down at the shrimp, then at Song Xu Yi, and finally lowered her head and silently ate the shrimp that Song Xu Yi had picked up for her.

As she ate the shrimp, a blush appeared on her fair face, and tears welled up in her eyes like autumn water. She picked up her glass and drank several sips of water.

“Sorry, I can’t eat spicy food,” Li Yuqing said softly, looking up at Song Xu Yi with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Song Xu Yi was momentarily stunned. She thought Li Yuqing didn’t eat the crayfish to maintain her figure, but she didn’t expect it was because she couldn’t handle spicy food. Li Yuqing’s expression didn’t seem fake, and no one could fake a sudden flush on their neck.

But… Song Xu Yi was just a bystander with little connection to the plot. Li Yuqing could have just refused her directly instead of agreeing to her difficult request. Even though Song Xu Yi knew that Li Yuqing might have had her own motives, looking at her expression still made her feel guilty. She quickly stood up and poured Li Yuqing a glass of water, saying apologetically, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have given you the crayfish…”

“Because it’s the first time you’ve served me food, and I wanted to please you!” Li Yuqing took the glass and took another sip of water. She leaned over the glass and looked at Song Xu Yi with half of her face, her soft voice mixed with a bit of hoarseness, giving it a seductive tone.

After this night, Song Xu Yi felt Li Yuqing’s subtle attempts to please her, but the feeling wasn’t clear. She never thought that Li Yuqing would be so straightforward and say something like that.

Li Yuqing still wore a smile, seemingly not noticing the surprise in Song Xu Yi’s eyes. She took a sip of water slowly and said, “The first time I saw you, I felt a strong sense of familiarity, like you were a friend I had known for years. So I couldn’t help but want to get close to you and be your friend…”

“You don’t have to feel burdened,” Li Yuqing took another sip of water and looked at Song Xu Yi with a smile, “All my attempts to please you are because of my friend–“

When Li Yuqing mentioned her friend, her eyes glowed with a gentle and charming light, different from the fake gentleness she usually displayed. It was as if life had suddenly been injected into her eyes, filled with longing and admiration. If all of this was just acting, then Li Yuqing was really good at it.

Besides, her family was the least favored by grandfather Song, so Li Yuqing had no reason to go out of her way to deal with Song Xu Yi.

Excluding all possibilities, there was only one possibility left: Li Yuqing was telling the truth, and she really only approached Song Xu Yi because of her friend.

Song Xu Yi didn’t know what kind of friend could make Li Yuqing, who was stunningly talented and deeply scheming, remember for so many years…

Although the system kept reminding her not to let her guard down, Song Xu Yi still felt a little relieved. After dinner, she stayed at Li Yuqing’s house for a while.

Li Yuqing had just moved in, and the room was somewhat empty. Song Xu Yi noticed a cat’s bed in the corner and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have a cat?”

“I’ve wanted to raise one since I was little, but the conditions were not right before,” Li Yuqing said, laughing and looking a little uneasy as she looked at Song Xu Yi. “Xu Yi, I plan to adopt a cat tomorrow, but I don’t have any experience. Can you come with me?”

Song Xu Yi originally wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t resist her sweet talk. Besides, Li Yuqing took out a set of rare manga that Song Xu Yi had wanted to read for a long time: “I heard you like reading manga. I have a collection of famous manga from a few years ago that is said to be very valuable. I have already passed the age of reading manga, so I can give it to you.”

This is the final work of a famous manga artist.

After arriving in this world, Song Xu Yi became a huge fan of this manga artist’s work. However, the artist passed away due to illness five years ago.

To thank his readers who had supported him all these years, the artist drew a booklet and signed it before his farewell ceremony. The booklet only printed 500 copies, and on the day of the ceremony, there was a heavy rainstorm. Many readers who were going to attend the ceremony were trapped by the rain, and they later heard the news that the artist’s condition had worsened and the ceremony was canceled. Shortly after, the artist passed away. According to statistics, the last manga he signed was not received by more than fifty readers. Song Xu Yi didn’t expect that Li Yuqing could get her hands on this manga.

This was an irresistible condition for Song Xu Yi, especially after Li Yuqing had just treated her to a meal. Although the system repeatedly reminded her not to let her guard down, Song Xu Yi still accepted the manga.

After taking her meal and taking her manga, Song Xu Yi went home and secretly made up her mind to help Li Yuqing pick out a cat the next day. Using the reasoning that the same species understands each other better, she convinced the system to help her pick a kitten for Li Yuqing.

At first, the system was reluctant to agree, but seeing Song Xu Yi getting closer to Li Yuqing, it eventually gave in. However, the system warned Song Xu Yi not to fall into Li Yuqing’s trap, stating that Li Yuqing is not a good person and likely has ulterior motives. The system almost uttered the words “trying to use you,” but remembering Song Xu Yi’s past vulnerability to villains, it changed its words.

Although Song Xu Yi didn’t know what Li Yuqing could plot against her, she understood the system’s position towards Li Yuqing, and she accepted the system’s advice.

Because she had eaten too much, Song Xu Yi slept very late that night to digest her food. Perhaps because of her recent interactions with Li Yuqing, she had another dream about her. In the dream, Li Yuqing looked a little older, about eight or nine years old, sitting alone at the door with a look of despair and worry in her beautiful eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

After several times, Song Xu Yi finally realized that every time she saw Li Yuqing, she would dream of her at night, and in those dreams, she always appeared when she needed someone the most.

Could it be that she subconsciously wanted Li Yuqing to depend on her?

“You’re here?” Li Yuqing didn’t turn around, but she seemed to recognize Song Xu Yi’s voice. She explained, choking back tears, “That old man from the Song family deliberately provoked my grandfather, and he had a stroke and was secretly sent to the hospital. My parents and sister have all gone to see him, but they’re afraid I’ll cause trouble, so they won’t let me go…”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a fairy?” Little Li Yuqing sniffled and turned to look at Song Xu Yi with red eyes. “Can you tell me if grandfather will be okay this time?”

The young girl forced herself to be strong, her lips tightly pressed together, a touch of red staining her nose. Crystal tears shimmered in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment, and her pitiful appearance made people feel incredibly heartbroken.

Song Xu Yi didn’t know what direction the dream was going in, but if it mirrored reality, then Grandfather Li should have made it through this time. After all, in the original plot summary, Grandfather Li only completely collapsed after Li Yuqing’s parents had an accident.

However… something even sadder was yet to come: Song Xu Yi calculated that there wasn’t much time left before the car accident occurred.

Li Yuqing was the antagonist, but even antagonists have emotions. How did Li Yuqing, in real life, get through those days and nights after losing her loved ones?

Although she knew it was a dream, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help feeling a bit heartbroken towards Li Yuqing.

“Your grandfather will definitely get better this time.” Facing Li Yuqing’s pleading gaze, Song Xu Yi sat beside her and spoke softly.

Li Yuqing didn’t say anything more, but Song Xu Yi could feel her mood lift slightly. The little girl’s tense back also relaxed, half-leaning against the wall.

“It’s great to have you here.” Song Xu Yi heard Li Yuqing whisper after what seemed like a long time. The little girl didn’t seem used to saying such things, and after speaking, a hint of shyness appeared on her fair cheeks. She stood up and ran to the corner of the wall.

Only then did Song Xu Yi notice a small white cat poking its head out of the corner.

“My mom told me that she promised to let me have a cat after I graduate from elementary school,” the little girl carefully picked up the cat, not hiding her love for the feline in her words. She then turned to look at Song Xu Yi and said, “If you’re still here at that time, I’ll take you to see my cat.”

As if afraid that Song Xu Yi would refuse, the little girl added, “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t hesitate to let you play with my cat…”

Facing the little girl’s sparkling eyes, Song Xu Yi curved her lips, but there was no smile in her eyes. In that moment, she really wished that the development of this dream would be different from reality, because in real life, Li Yuqing – who was around – did not have a cat.

The warm sunlight shone down from the sky, illuminating the small flowers blooming in the corner of the courtyard wall, and the little girl holding the cat, creating an incredibly harmonious scene.

As Song Xu Yi looked at this scene, her eyelids gradually became heavy–

“Tomorrow, I must pick the cutest kitten for Li Yuqing!” This was Song Xu Yi’s last thought before falling asleep.