CH 108

Villainous Stand-in (6)

Early the next morning, a knock echoed outside the door of Song Xu Yi’s house.

As she opened it, she found Li Yuqing dressed in sportswear, who, even without makeup, looked stunning.

Li Yuqing’s eyes quickly flickered with amusement as she took in Song Xu Yi, dressed in a bunny pajama set, looking confused and sleepy.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were still sleeping. I was wondering if you’d like to go for a run,” Li Yuqing said apologetically, then gazed at Song Xu Yi expectantly. “Are you not going for a run, Xu Yi?”

Song Xu Yi shook her head, declining the invitation.

Without any hesitation, Li Yuqing closed the door behind her, showing her thoughtfulness.

As Song Xu Yi listened to the sound of Li Yuqing’s footsteps getting distant, he couldn’t resist the urge to touch his waist…

Li Yuqing’s image played on her mind, her slender and supple waist, long and sleek arms, and straight long legs, which made her look nothing less than an alluring beauty from any angle.

As Song Xu Yi touched her stomach, she realized that her potbelly had grown significantly due to her habit of drawing manga at home without any exercise.

Shocked by this, she immediately jumped out of bed and weighed herself, only to find out that she had gained 5 pounds since she arrived in this world!

Determined to change her sedentary lifestyle, Song Xu Yi got up to freshen up and started running outside.

Though she was initially worried about bumping into Li Yuqing, she braved through and ran along the smaller paths. However, as she turned around a tree, she ended up running into Li Yuqing, who had already finished running a few laps.

Song Xu Yi had already thought of an excuse and coughed before calmly and coolly looking at Li Yuqing: “Actually, I came out to talk to you about adopting a kitten today.”

Li Yuqing had been running for some time and small beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She was momentarily stunned by Song Xu Yi’s words, but then her gaze settled on her shifting eyes.

She had a hint of a smile in her eyes, but her expression was gentle as she spoke: “I understand.”

“But since you’ve already left the house, and it’s a weekend with no classes, adopting a kitten isn’t urgent. Would you like to run a few laps with me?”

Those words hit Song Xu Yi right in the heart.

Song Xu Yi glanced at Li Yuqing, whose gaze was extremely sincere, as if she had not realized that she was making an excuse.

Song Xu Yi pursed her lips, forcing back the smile on her lips, pretended to think for two seconds, and then jogged behind Li Yuqing.

Song Xu Yi’s body was rarely exercised, and she began to pant shortly after running. She wanted to stop, but Li Yuqing’s slender waist kept swaying in front of her, and Song Xu Yi remembered her own belly fat. She gritted her teeth and followed behind once again.

After running a few laps, Li Yuqing finally stopped. Song Xu Yi was so tired that she wanted to lie down on the spot, while Li Yuqing, though slightly out of breath and sweating on her forehead, looked even more radiant.

As she was feeling extremely tired, Song Xu Yi didn’t notice anything unusual when Li Yuqing approached and put an arm around her to support her. Instead, she thought that the “villain” was surprisingly considerate and led her to her room with her arm still around her.

“Take a rest for a while,” Li Yuqing handed her a glass of water and apologized, “I didn’t know your body was so weak. I’ll take you to exercise more in the future.”

Saying that, Li Yuqing turned and walked into the kitchen. “Let’s have breakfast first and go out later.”

When Song Xu Yi came to her senses, Li Yuqing had already brought out milk and thoughtfully handed her the TV remote control. “Just wait a little longer and it’ll be ready.”

Song Xu Yi couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye and leave.

After enjoying the delicious and nutritious low-fat meal that Li Yuqing had cooked, Song Xu Yi felt a bit embarrassed about not contributing, so she offered to help wash the dishes. Li Yuqing didn’t refuse and leaned against the kitchen door, smiling at Song Xu Yi.

Meeting Li Yuqing’s gentle and alluring gaze, which seemed to hide a hook, Song Xu Yi suddenly realized that she had become too close to her.

However, Li Yuqing had used a direct approach and frankly stated her intention to get closer to her. Song Xu Yi could only blame her own lack of willpower and couldn’t bring herself to direct her anger towards Li Yuqing.

The system discovered in Song Xu Yi’s mind let out a “hehe” sound.

After going through these worlds, the system realized that Song Xu Yi was good at everything except resisting the villain’s charm. However, in the system’s protective view, this could only be blamed on the villain being too cunning, and not on Song Xu Yi. The system firmly believed that Xu Yi wouldn’t always fall into the hands of the villain, and that someday she would see through the villain’s hypocrisy and stop associating with them…

However, while the system imagined a scenario of “Song Xu Yi being aloof and ignoring the villain,” in reality, Song Xu Yi blushed and followed Li Yuqing to the stray cat rescue center.

The rescue center had many adorable kittens, and Song Xu Yi felt her heart melt at the sight of them all huddled together. She couldn’t decide which one to adopt, no matter how much she looked at them from left to right.

Li Yuqing’s gaze, however, turned towards the corner of the room.

In the corner was a small cat bed, with a little white ball lying inside.

The volunteer introduced, “This little guy was brought in a few days ago. It was abandoned by its previous owner in a rental house and was left starving for many days until the landlord found it during an inspection. It was on the brink of death.”

“This little guy has a good breed and appearance, but probably due to its past abandonment, its not very affectionate and even shows aggression. In fact, in the past few days, he has scratched several kind-hearted people who wanted to adopt it…”

As the volunteer was speaking, Li Yuqing had already walked over to the little kitten in the corner of the room.

At first, the kitten ignored Li Yuqing’s attempts to get its attention, no matter how she played with it. It just stared at her warily with its blue eyes. Li Yuqing cautiously reached out to touch the kitten, but in a flash, the kitten swiped at her arm, leaving a bloody scratch.

Li Yuqing’s snow-white skin had an obvious wound, while the kitten just turned its head and retreated to its bed, acting as if nothing had happened.

“You should go get a rabies vaccine first!” The volunteer sighed as they saw the wound on Li Yuqing’s hand. “This little guy probably won’t recover from the trauma for a while.”

The system observed the little cat retreat back into its nest and sighed in Song Xu Yi’s mind, “This little one is hurting inside and doesn’t want to get close to any humans anymore. It’s really pitiful…”

“Well, since we’re going to vaccinate it anyway,” to everyone’s surprise, Li Yuqing shook her head and smiled, cautiously reaching out to touch the little cat once again. “I’ll try a few more times.”

On the second try, Li Yuqing was met with another claw.

On the third try… the fourth try…

Li Yuqing’s snow-white and smooth skin now had several new blood marks on it.

Seeing this, Song Xu Yi couldn’t bear to watch and was about to persuade Li Yuqing to give up. However, to everyone’s surprise, when Li Yuqing reached out again, the little cat’s blue eyes blinked and it suddenly turned around and rubbed against Li Yuqing’s palm, meowing softly as if it were both aggrieved and seeking approval…

“The little one trusts you now!” The volunteer beside them exclaimed with delight.

Li Yuqing’s lips curled up slightly as she carefully picked up the kitten, drove to get it vaccinated and checked its health, and then went to the hospital to get her own rabies vaccine.

“The villain… still looks so much like a person.” The system was amazed by Li Yuqing’s performance but couldn’t come up with words to praise the villain in its impression. It took a long time before it awkwardly spoke up.

Song Xu Yi didn’t respond, her gaze silently turned to Li Yuqing in front of her. Li Yuqing looked at the kitten in her arms, her eyes full of tenderness. Song Xu Yi suddenly remembered Li Yuqing playing with a cat happily in her dreams when she was a child.

In fact, Li Yuqing and the kitten were similar in some ways. They both had experienced trauma, both seemed beautiful but hidden with danger. The difference was that the kitten finally let go of its guard and trauma and chose to trust humans again. But what about Li Yuqing? Could she overcome her inner trauma and hatred?

Song Xu Yi accompanied Li Yuqing to buy a cat bed, cat food, and toys. They went to Li Yuqing’s house and continued to play with the kitten for a while. Because the system was there to communicate for them, the kitten didn’t reject Song Xu Yi’s approach. When Song Xu Yi gestured to hold the kitten, Li Yuqing held onto the kitten’s leg tightly, seeming very afraid that the kitten would scratch Song Xu Yi. But when she saw the kitten affectionately meow at Song Xu Yi, Li Yuqing let out a sigh of relief and smiled softly, “I almost forgot how likable Xu Yi is. How could it be afraid of you?”

Although she knew that Li Yuqing was trying to please her, the enemy’s combat power was just too strong. After half a day, Song Xu Yi couldn’t muster any more resistance towards Li Yuqing. Looking at Li Yuqing’s appearance, Song Xu Yi still couldn’t help but blush.

Perhaps it was because she had too much contact with Li Yuqing, Song Xu Yi dreamt of her again that night.

However, this dream was extremely oppressive: the contrast between the fireworks outside and the quiet hospital corridor was stark. A young girl sat quietly on the hospital corridor, her back straight, her gaze empty…

Through the half-open door, Song Xu Yi saw an old man on the hospital bed, furrowing his brows even in his sleep.

Has the dream progressed to after the Li family’s bankruptcy?

Song Xu Yi paused for a moment, looking at the young girl’s suddenly resolute and gloomy eyes. She sighed lightly and sat down next to the girl.

“I don’t need you anymore!” The young girl turned her head, looking at Song Xu Yi coldly. Her words were sharp. “All those fairies and fairy tales are lies! My mom, dad, and sister are all dead, and my grandpa is dying… My world has already been shattered!”

“Yes, you don’t need me,” Song Xu Yi spoke softly, standing up and embracing the girl’s stiff body, sympathizing with her words. “It’s me who needs you, that’s why I’m here.”

The little girl stiffened in Song Xu Yi’s embrace and made a feeble attempt to struggle, but she didn’t break free. Instead, she burst into tears in Song Xu Yi’s arms.

“You’re so annoying!” the little girl sobbed, her body trembling uncontrollably. “I told you I don’t need you. You’re a fake fairy. You can’t help me with anything.”

“Why didn’t you help me stop my parents from leaving? Why didn’t you help me cure my grandpa? Why didn’t you help me punish the bad guy from the Song family who framed us?”

“I’m sorry,” Song Xu Yi’s eyes were a little red. Faced with this child who had fallen from heaven to hell and was so heartbroken, Song Xu Yi couldn’t find the right words to comfort her. She could only tightly hold Li Yuqing’s hand and follow her lead.

In the early hours of the morning, Li Yuqing’s grandfather had awoken and in his final moments, he confessed everything, including the fact that he and grandfather Song were once sworn brothers. It was grandfather Song who committed the crime that ruined the reputation of the Li family. Grandfather Li couldn’t bear grandfather Song’s greed, and this incident became the catalyst for the rupture between the two families. After committing the crime, grandfather Song left the Li family and founded the Song family, leaving the Li family to bear all the blame. Even after several years, grandfather Song shamelessly used this incident to continue attacking the Li family…

Grandfather Li had laid out a clear plan for Li Yuqing’s future, but he had also planted the seeds of hatred in her heart.

As the new year’s bell rang, Li Yuqing had lost her last living relative.

Song Xu Yi looked at Li Yuqing, who had returned to the corridor and was crying her heart out. She felt a strong desire to spend more time with the Li Yuqing in her dream. However, the familiar feeling of clarity came upon her, and Song Xu Yi’s body gradually drifted away. She watched as Li Yuqing was gradually engulfed by the boundless darkness…