Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again! - Chapter 20.2

The May northwest wind carried coarse sand that stung her skin. As she stepped out of the airport, Jiang Yao wrapped her scarf tighter, her resentment toward Yu Tanning growing.

It’s all that ungrateful woman’s fault! Otherwise, I’d be relaxing on Jeju Island, enjoying the sea and grilled meat! What kind of elder needs five days off for a birthday? Yu Tanning is just being petty, deliberately avoiding me because of what happened last week!

Jiang Yao covered herself until only her eyes were visible. While waiting for her ride-hailing car, she frantically researched travel guides, determined to fill every moment with activities. She vowed to play so hard that Yu Tanning wouldn’t be able to find her!

This small town was quite niche; few travel guides about it on Xiaohongshu had more than a thousand likes. Jiang Yao refreshed the page several times, then switched the filter from “Most Popular” to “Newest.” She scrolled until she found a post with likes skyrocketing in real-time.

It was from the two girls she’d just met.

[@xiubiu: OMG, sisters! I just ran into Jiang Yao at Pear City Airport!]

Here’s what happened! We were browsing silk scarves at the airport’s souvenir shop when we spotted this super elegant lady. The shop assistant said we could get a 40% discount if we bought three scarves, but each one was seriously expensive {😭}. My friend and I were so tempted, so we mustered the courage to ask the lady if she’d like to split the deal.

Here’s the kicker! My friend suddenly recognized her as Jiang Yao, the one everyone’s been talking about online. My brain went blank for a second because I’d seen those posts accusing her of “bullying classmates” and having a “terrible temper,” so I instinctively tensed up. But she immediately agreed to split the deal and even offered to pay first so we could take our time choosing! And when she paid, she rounded down the total. We felt bad and offered to treat her to bubble tea, but she seemed a bit socially awkward and declined. {🥺}

It suddenly struck me how absurd those malicious rumors online truly were. At least this afternoon, the Jiang Yao I met was generous, gentle, and even worried about making us feel awkward by rounding down the bill. As the saying goes, “You only see the 140 characters written by marketing accounts, but you never see the 14,000 pages of someone else’s life.” Perhaps we should all be more rational about the malice of “labeling” others, truly trying to understand and discover them instead of living in the fantasies of keyboard warriors.

(Attached: A photo of the silk scarf Jiang Yao wore. It looked absolutely stunning in the sunlight! I hope she’s having a wonderful time in the Northwest!)

The comments below piled up into a towering skyscraper of replies.

Jiang Yao couldn’t be bothered to scroll through the stubborn trolls’ hateful remarks. She casually clicked on @xiubiu’s profile and noticed they had posted a group hiking trip to the Gobi Desert a few hours earlier. She followed the account and sent a private message inquiring about joining the group.

The ride-hailing car had barely arrived when @xiubiu replied with a flurry of excited emojis, expressing how thrilled she was that Jiang Yao wanted to join them.

@xiubiu told Jiang Yao to call her Xiuxiu. She explained that the Gobi Desert hiking group currently consisted of six people: three men and three women. Besides the two of them and the driver/guide, there was a straight couple and a non-binary individual. They had rented a seven-seater van, and adding Jiang Yao would make the group perfectly sized.

Considering she was still facing widespread online backlash, Jiang Yao cautioned Xiuxiu to first ask the other three travelers for their consent before inviting her to join.

Xiu Xiu patted her chest, promising to take Jiang Yao out alone if the others objected. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The group had no objections to Jiang Yao joining, so Jiang Yao split the car rental fee and joined their WeChat group.

Xiu Xiu, the group admin, immediately tagged each member to introduce Jiang Yao.

Xiu Xiu and her friend Lan Lan were freshmen at Shanghai University. Lao Han, their driver, had been a local charter guide for over a decade. Da Cheng and her boyfriend Xiao He were both government employees from Northeast China, while Lin Sheng was a travel and fitness influencer.

The sisters, Lao Han, and Da Cheng warmly greeted Jiang Yao. Overwhelmed by the barrage of friendly emojis, Jiang Yao quickly switched back to her chat with Yu Tanning and forwarded a “thank you” emoji of a little fox.

After the formalities, Jiang Yao realized how much she had changed.

She used to be like a stone encased in ice, her sharp edges repelling all who approached. When traveling alone, she meticulously planned every minute, never wasting a glance on strangers. She had always avoided crowds; even on a soft-sleeper train, she preferred to lie stiffly in the top bunk, as if only in solitude could the folds of her soul, once filled with malicious criticism and scheming, find room to breathe.

Now, not only was she joining group tours, but she was also starting to care about the feelings of her fellow travelers.

This is it. She’s been assimilated by Yu Tanning. The cold, ruthless foundation of her life had been stained by Yu Tanning’s blemishes. She’s tainted! Aaaaaah!

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Jiang Yao tossed her phone aside and frantically raked her fingers through her bangs, her composure crumbling.

Arriving at the hotel, she took an excessively long shower, scrubbing herself back into her usual aloof state. Not even blinking, she declined the desert tour group’s invitation to share hand-pulled mutton that evening.

Just as she was exploring new takeout options on her phone, a video call from Yu Tanning popped up.

Jiang Yao nearly dropped her phone in panic, hastily peeling off her freshly applied face mask and scrambling to find a well-lit spot to answer.

Hmph! Two-faced woman! You won’t catch me looking anything less than perfect!

Yu Tanning seemed to be at a wetland park on the outskirts of Beijing. The sky was darker there, casting a melancholic shadow across her face.

Oh-ho!

Jiang Yao glanced at her. “What’s wrong? Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean I can enjoy myself.”

Yu Tanning stared at her quietly for a long moment before finally asking, “You didn’t go to Jeju Island?”

“Mind your own business,” Jiang Yao scoffed. “I’ll plan my solo trip however I want. Jeju Island wasn’t even that interesting anyway. I changed my mind and went to Pear City instead.”

Yu Tanning smiled. “You’re treating yourself so poorly just because I’m not around?”

Jiang Yao wanted to strangle her. “Poorly? What nonsense! I’m doing great! I’m going out for mutton with a new friend later, and we’re hiking in the Gobi Desert tomorrow!”

“A new friend?” Yu Tanning dropped the pretense, her face darkening with jealousy. “Who is it? How did you meet? How long have you known them? Male or female? Single?”

Jiang Yao secretly relished her reaction, replying smugly, “Why so many questions? If you’re so curious, why don’t you come find out yourself?”

“Every time it’s my grandfather’s birthday, he forces me into matchmaking sessions with the sons of his guests.”

In the lonely evening breeze, Yu Tanning’s voice drifted like ripples, light and ethereal.

Jiang Yao froze, catching a glimpse of the weariness in Yu Tanning’s eyes and the faint blush at the corners of her eyes through the shaky camera.

“So… are you okay?” Jiang Yao mentally slapped herself twice for asking such a clumsy question, her voice awkward.

Yu Tanning found a pavilion and sat down, leaning her head against a vermilion pillar as if all her strength had been drained. She sighed dramatically, “Not at all.”

Jiang Yao: “I’m starting to feel like badmouthing your grandfather.”

Yu Tanning chuckled. “Go ahead. Don’t feel guilty. I hate him too. He’s utterly detestable. No matter how talented a girl is, he treats her like she has no rights.”

“That old bastard,” Jiang Yao muttered, thinking of Yu Tanning’s suffocating home life. “Why don’t you run away? I’ll support you completely.”

“I can’t,” Yu Tanning said, her face twisting into a grimace. “I can’t leave my mom. If I ever leave, I’ll take her with me to escape this hell.”

She didn’t mention her ambition for the old man’s inheritance, only emphasizing her deep bond with her mother.

“Besides,” Yu Tanning continued, “you’ll need a lot of money for your competition.”

Jiang Yao shrugged it off. “Who said I’d be living off my savings? My livestream channel will be unbanned in a month. I’ll probably rent a place at Lingdi again. Why don’t you and Auntie move in with me?”

“Okay~” Yu Tanning drawled, changing the subject. “Are things strained with your family too?”

Jiang Yao didn’t mind sharing her scars for mutual comfort. “Yeah, they’re pretty bad. But it’s different for me. Your family treats you like a commodity to be traded, while mine tries to control me like a puppet, using family ties as strings.”

“You know how lesbian couples are having kids through IVF these days? But the process of hormone injections and egg retrieval takes a toll on the body. So my grandma and great-grandma only had my mom. When she grew up, she never wanted to marry, but they insisted she have a child to inherit the family business. Annoyed by their nagging, she signed an agreement with a single woman who wanted kids: they’d have two children, one for her and one for my mom. That’s how I was born.”

Yu Tanning’s face lit up with curiosity. “You sound like a KPI.”

“Exactly! I was just a KPI, a tool. Whether I was tall or short, ugly or beautiful, mentally stable or not—none of it mattered. As long as I could inherit the family business and produce heirs, I was considered ‘good.'” Jiang Yao scoffed. “My mother met a divorced woman with a child less than two years after I was born. It’s ridiculous! She only found ‘love’ after having me. So what am I? An accident? A stain? She clearly hated me. After marrying that woman abroad, she dumped me with my grandmother. We only saw each other once a year after that, and every visit ended in a fight. Eventually, I stopped going home altogether.”

“But living with my grandmother wasn’t comfortable either. They cared about my well-being, but they never cared about what I truly wanted.”

In the quiet room, the two women stared at each other through the screen, speechless.

The desert wind and sand battered the glass, rattling loudly.

Someone finally broke the silence with a laugh. “What is this? A misery contest?”

Yu Tanning’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “I’ll concede the championship to you.”

“No way! You take the crown. If my family kept pressuring me into blind dates, I’d go insane.” Jiang Yao flopped back on the bed, finally letting out a genuine laugh. “Wait for me to go to the Gobi Desert tomorrow. I’ll find a big agate for you. We can sell it and run away from home together.”

“Oh, I’m going to the Gobi Desert with a new friend.”

“Stop being so sarcastic! We’re just on the same tour group, not exactly friends yet.” Jiang Yao rolled her eyes at Yu Tanning. “You’re my only real friend, and you’re such a pain—hogging the spot and not even helping out.”

Yu Tanning smiled smugly. “Well, during the National Day holiday, I’ll take you to Jeju Island.”

“What for? Are you going on blind dates during summer vacation too?” Jiang Yao frowned.

“Summer vacation is for summer camps and new employee training.”

Jiang Yao was speechless. “How are you not completely swamped?”

“Oh, Boss, you’re such a hypocrite. Who was filling out the application for the North China Fashion Design Competition’s summer round the other day? When’s the competition? Oh, right, it’s also during summer vacation.”

Jiang Yao froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the competition. She’d been completely caught out, but she stubbornly insisted, “I never said I wanted to hang out with you during summer vacation! Narcissist!”

“Fine, fine.” Yu Tanning stood up, as if about to walk away. “It’s me who wants to hang out with you, who wants to be with you every second.”

In the shaky video frame, starlight flickered faintly through the night sky. Yu Tanning’s voice was tender and lingering, like a gentle serenade.

Jiang Yao’s ears burned. She bit her lip and turned away, muttering softly, “So cheesy.”

Yu Tanning: “Huh? What did you say?”

“Hang up already! You’ll fall into a ditch if you keep video-calling while walking!”

“Alright, I’ll call you again at this time tomorrow. Don’t miss me too much~”

What’s with this? Acting like we’re in a long-distance relationship!

Jiang Yao’s face flushed. Without another word, she pressed the red hang-up button and rolled around on her bed several times, feeling utterly embarrassed yet strangely refreshed.

Yu Tanning wasn’t deliberately avoiding her; they were still as close as before.

In high spirits, Jiang Yao’s appetite soared. Noticing that the members of the Gobi Desert hiking group who had planned to eat hand-pulled mutton hadn’t left yet, she changed her mind and signed up to join them.

The gathering was at a yurt-themed restaurant. When Jiang Yao arrived, Xiuxiu and Lanlan had already ordered the main course. The mutton simmered in a cast-iron pot, bubbling gently in a milky-white broth. Green scallions and red goji berries floated on the surface, mingling with the fragrant aroma of wild chive blossoms—a scent that made her mouth water.

“Sister, I’m so glad you could make it! Lanlan did her research—the mutton here is freshly slaughtered daily, so it’s incredibly fresh,” the more outgoing Xiuxiu said, pulling Jiang Yao into a seat and enthusiastically helping her rinse her utensils. “Only Lao Han couldn’t come today because he’s driving. Sister Dacheng and Brother Xiaohe just stepped out to buy drinks, but they’re really nice people too. I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful trip together!”

Jiang Yao smiled in agreement, feeling a little awkward as she helped rinse the utensils. Soon, the curtain parted, and Dacheng and Xiaohe from the team returned to their seats, carrying two six-packs of cola and a small flask of mare’s milk wine.

The moment Dacheng spotted Jiang Yao, she rushed over, beaming, and plopped down beside her. “Wow! It really is you! I didn’t quite believe the two little sisters when they said you’d be joining us. I thought, ‘Someone as famous as you wouldn’t hang out with us, would they?'”

Jiang Yao forced a stiff smile and greeted her politely.

“I saw that dress you designed, the ‘Cunning Rabbit’ one—wow! It’s absolutely stunning!” Dacheng exclaimed, her sincerity radiating. “I used to think you were a bad person because of all the online hate, but then I saw your designs and thought, ‘Someone who can create such beautiful clothes can’t be that bad.’ And now that I’ve met you, you’re even kinder than I imagined! Come on! Meeting is fate! Let’s toast to our friendship, sis!”

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