Transmigrated as the Husband of a Vicious Villainess - Chapter 8

Ji Baiqing swept her gaze over the others and saw the unmistakable traces of envy on their faces. She instantly realized that Wen Miao staying at the Youth Education Point was no long-term solution. If people were already targeting her now, what would happen later? What if her belongings were stolen or if they found more malicious ways to isolate her?

Fortunately, the station was in a remote spot with few neighbors, so even though they had made a scene, no villagers had come to gape.

She handed the small wooden box back to Wen Miao, gesturing for her to put the watch away. In this era, it was better not to flaunt one’s wealth to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Wen Miao gave a soft “hmpf” and tucked the watch away. The farce was finally over.

Ji Baiqing thanked Auntie Wang, who waved her off with a smile and a few pleasantries before departing. Once she was gone, Wen Miao looked at the remaining youths and leisurely buffed her nails.

“Don’t forget to go to the broadcast station tomorrow to apologize to me.”

The group’s expressions shifted again. Finally, Lu Yan, feeling he had lost too much face, retreated to his room and slammed the door. The others followed suit, filing back to their respective rooms one by one.

Eventually, only Ji Baiqing and Wen Miao were left in the central room.

While Yunshui Village had electricity, very few households were willing to pay the extra fee to run wires to their homes. The Youth Education Point, naturally, had no power. They could only see each other by the cool, faint moonlight spilling through the doorway.

Ji Baiqing gazed at Wen Miao’s porcelain-white profile. Suddenly, she stepped forward and pulled the girl into a gentle embrace, burying her face in the crook of Wen Miao’s neck. Soft strands of hair brushed against her jaw.

Before Wen Miao could push her away, Ji Baiqing spoke, her voice muffled against her skin. “Wen Miao are you sad?”

Wen Miao’s breath hitched. Her instinct was to shove the other woman away, but Ji Baiqing held her firmly; she couldn’t budge her an inch.

“What… what do I have to be sad about?”

Her voice was naturally soft and airy, but it wavered toward the end of the sentence.

Ji Baiqing pulled her tighter until the gap between them vanished. Their bodies pressed together, and they could feel each other’s soft, feminine curves.

“Why wouldn’t you be? When you’re being slandered and targeted so maliciously… why aren’t you sad? You have every right to be.”

Ji Baiqing’s voice grew heavy. Thinking back to the scenes in the original book where Wen Miao was targeted, her nose felt stingy. In the book, without her there, had Wen Miao hidden away and cried when she was all alone and helpless?

Wen Miao bit her lip, trying to break free from the embrace that smelled of fresh soap, but she was still held fast. It made sense; someone who could beat Lu Yan so easily was bound to be much stronger than her.

As if infected by Ji Baiqing’s low mood, Wen Miao’s eyelashes grew damp, and tears blurred her vision. She said with a sob:

“Ji Baiqing, let me go!”

“I’m not sad! I’ve seen plenty of scenes like this… why would I be sad!”

As she spoke, she was thankful for the dim light. Just as she tried to force the tears back, her body went rigid. She could feel the fabric on her shoulder, and the bare skin nearby, becoming wet.

Is Ji Baiqing… crying?

She reached out, hesitating whether to touch her or not, when she heard Ji Baiqing speak.

“Wen Miao, I’m so sad.”

Wen Miao’s impression of Ji Baiqing had been of someone cool, gentle, and independent. She never expected her to cry like this. For a moment, she was at a loss.

“What are you sad about?” she asked, her mind in a whirl.

Ji Baiqing seemed to be releasing all her pent-up grievances through her tears. Despite being tall and slender, she insisted on hunching over Wen Miao’s shoulder, soaking it completely.

“I’m sad for you,” the woman whispered, sounding incredibly aggrieved. “Just the thought of you being bullied makes me feel terrible.”

Wen Miao froze. After a long silence, she said, “But I always fight back. In the end, they’re the ones being bullied by me.”

She intended to make Ji Baiqing stop crying, but upon hearing this, Ji Baiqing’s tears seemed to fall even faster.

“But it’s not like you started it. That’s not bullying; you did nothing wrong. It was just an eye for an eye.”

Ji Baiqing sobbed, feeling a bit embarrassed that her “cool” persona was crumbling, yet unable to stop the waterworks.

Wen Miao didn’t like people pitying her, but facing such a sincere Ji Baiqing, she didn’t know how to comfort her. Finally, she sighed and slowly placed her hand on Ji Baiqing’s back, patting it gently.

She softened her voice, her tone clearly coaxing. “Alright, don’t be sad anymore. Didn’t you help me fight back today?”

Ji Baiqing let out a whimper. “Has anyone ever helped you before?”

No, Wen Miao answered silently in her heart.

But she couldn’t tell Ji Baiqing that; otherwise, this “crybaby” would drown the station in tears. She vaguely changed the subject. “Ji Baiqing, how old are you?”

Sure enough, Ji Baiqing was successfully distracted. She nuzzled Wen Miao’s neck and answered in a muffled tone, “Nineteen. Why?”

Just as I thought. The person buried in her arms like a grieving little cub was still just a child.

Wen Miao said with a hint of a smile, “I’m three years older than you. You should call me ‘Sister’ (Jiejie).”

Ji Baiqing shook her head decisively. “No.”

Back in her previous life, she had been twenty-eight. It wasn’t yet clear who should be calling whom “Sister”!

After chatting for a bit, the tears finally stopped. Recalling her actions just now, Ji Baiqing felt a rare wave of bashfulness. It seemed that as her body had become younger, she had become more childish as well.

Finally, she’s stopped crying, Wen Miao thought with relief.

She led Ji Baiqing to the door and turned on the flashlight. Only then did Ji Baiqing realize that the small box didn’t just hold one watch; there were seven or eight of them, all different styles.

Wen Miao focused on picking through the box before finally selecting a delicate chain watch. She showed it to Ji Baiqing and asked, “Is it pretty?”

Ji Baiqing nodded. She had to admit, Wen Miao had been raised with great care; her aesthetic was excellent. Her clothes were always beautiful and refined, and her accessories were no different.

Seeing her nod, Wen Miao lowered her eyes, grabbed Ji Baiqing’s slender wrist, and removed the old, worn-out watch she was wearing.

Realizing what she was doing, Ji Baiqing immediately tried to pull back. “No, this is yours. You can’t give it to me.”

Wen Miao frowned and glared at her. Ji Baiqing instinctively fell quiet and watched as the woman worked. The mechanical watch with the fine chain looked exceptionally elegant on her pale wrist.

The woman nodded with satisfaction. “Aren’t we friends? It’s normal to receive gifts from friends, right?”

Ji Baiqing’s prepared refusal was instantly choked back by that sentence. She looked at the small watch on her wrist, liking it more the more she looked at it. This was the first gift Wen Miao had given her—no, wait, the flashlight was the first. This was the second.

As the night grew darker, Wen Miao worried that He Xiangyue would be anxious, so she urged: “Alright, take good care of my gift. Go home now.”

Ji Baiqing gripped the flashlight, hesitating for a long time without moving. Wen Miao looked at her with confusion, her eyes asking what was wrong.

“Wen Miao… Jiejie… why don’t you come live at my house?”

To get Wen Miao to agree, she intentionally used a coquettish tone, even using the “Sister” title she had just been so ashamed of.

Wen Miao knit her brows. “Why?”

Ji Baiqing replied, “I don’t want you to keep suffering these grievances. If you come live with me, I promise I won’t let anyone treat you like that.”

Hearing this, Wen Miao was clearly moved, but her mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions. Her first instinct was to decline because she didn’t want to trouble others, but seeing the expectation in those dark eyes, the refusal died in her throat.

“Let me think about it, okay?”

Ji Baiqing nodded vigorously. Not hearing a “no” was good enough.

Ji Baiqing was in a good mood on the walk home. When she arrived, Ji Wei and He Xiangyue were still awake.

“Baiqing, why are you back so late?” He Xiangyue was draped in a jacket; she and Ji Wei had just been discussing going out to look for her.

Ji Baiqing briefly explained what had happened at the station. After hearing it, both parents felt a pang of sympathy for Wen Miao.

He Xiangyue sighed. “I can see that Miaomiao is a good girl. Why can’t that group at the station tolerate her?”

Ji Wei said in a deep voice, “The youths assigned to our village this year aren’t a great bunch. Besides being lazy, they love causing trouble.”

He and the Village Chief never expected much labor from the city youths anyway. They had heard plenty of complaints from other villages about them slacking off, so they only hoped they wouldn’t cause trouble. To have drama break out just a few days after their arrival was disappointing.

He made an immediate decision: “Tomorrow, I’ll assign them more work! Once they’re tired, they won’t have the energy to argue.”

Ji Baiqing added, “Let Wen Miao go cut hogweed with the children. She’s physically weak; she shouldn’t be under the sun in the fields all the time.”

“Alright.”

Most villagers avoided cutting hogweed because the work points were too low—it was a job usually done by small children. Adding Wen Miao to the group was easy; they would just record her points as earned.

Before the couple retired to their room, Ji Baiqing remembered one more thing. “Mom, Dad… I want Wen Miao to come live with us. Is that okay? I’m afraid she’ll be bullied at the station.”

He Xiangyue and Ji Wei shared a look, finding it a bit difficult to answer immediately.

“This… has Youth Wen agreed?” Ji Wei felt a bit uneasy about having an outsider in the house.

Ji Baiqing shook her head.

He Xiangyue secretly pinched Ji Wei’s waist and decided on the spot: “As long as Miaomiao doesn’t mind, she’s welcome anytime she wants to come.”

Hearing her mother’s words, Ji Baiqing finally smiled.

Usually, Ji Baiqing fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, but tonight she found herself restless. After tossing and turning, she sat up and felt the bedding in the dark. Her bed was big enough for Wen Miao to share.

However, she should probably change to new sheets and covers so Wen Miao wouldn’t find it distasteful but the family didn’t have much spare fabric.

At that thought, Ji Baiqing lay back down and rolled over, feeling a bit dejected. Her previous plan of living a lazy “salted fish” life was shattered. If she didn’t have enough money, how was she going to provide for a pampered “villainess”?

No, I have to find a way to make more money!

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