Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

“And why are you?”

“You should be at Xu Mansion.”

“And you should be at Bai Mansion.”

“Xu Peipei!”

“Bai Yu!”

“Ugh! Sis!” Xu Luanle snapped his fan shut and used it to knock on both women’s foreheads. “What are you bickering for? Come help me sew!”

“You too!” Bai Yu changed her target from the younger Xu to the older one. “I’ve moved back to Bai Mansion and you never showed up there. Who would’ve known you’ve been cooped up here?!”

Xu Luanle shrugged. “Can’t help it. The atmosphere’s good. The security’s great. Especially when you’re not here, everything is very peaceful.”

.....

“Then why don’t you stay at your own house?!”

“I’m the one who asked Le-er and Pei-er to stay here.” It was her mother’s voice that came in with various snacks. Yue Mei had no need to act arrogant while being here. She even made those snacks and brought them here herself. The image was the polar opposite of her while at Bai Mansion.

“Pei-er has been taking good care of your brother, and Le-er has sewn many beautiful dresses for me. So I asked them to come here more often.”

“Le-er?” Bai Yu threw her glance toward Xu Luanle, who was happily fanning himself, then poked her finger at Xu Peipei’s extended chest. “Pei-er?”

“Is something the matter?” Yue Mei poured tea for her daughter.

“How could mother act so close to the Xu people?!”

“But aren’t you all very close?”

“But...”

“Come, dear. The more the merrier.”

“Tch!”

In the end, the Xu siblings became frequent guests at the Meihua residence. Even though she was no longer here, they still used her mother as an excuse to come. Because of Bai He, this building rarely had visitors who would come and go freely. Apart from the loyal soldiers at the gate, not many servants knew about Xu Luanle and Xu Peipei.

The older one used this opportunity to come to sew his clothes. He even told her mother that he was the anonymous master, though the one who had sewn her wedding dress was the master of the previous generation.

And the younger Xu was content with taking care of the sleeping person. Having her as a company, Yue Mei was even more willing to welcome them. Bai Yu walked away from the three outside and went into the bedroom that was once hers. The curtains had all been changed. It must be from Yue Mei’s order because Bai Yu never dared change anything in this building, seeing that it was her mother’s possession.

Bai He was still on the bed, sleeping peacefully, his breath constant. The beard that would start growing every three days was carefully shaven. True, Xu Peipei had taken good care of her brother.

“Big brother...” She sat down on the floor next to the bed. “I’ve come to visit.” Bai Yu smiled at the man who was still held tight under slumber.

“Please come back...” Her arms were wrapped around the unconscious person. She put her ears on his chest, listening to his calm heartbeat. “I miss brother so much.” Her eyes closed as the memory from last night resurfaced; the conversation between her and Bai Hua, the reason why she came here earlier than she had planned.

——————-

When it came to the series [This Life, the villainess will win against all odds], what made it notable was not only the actors or their acting but also the role of the heroine, ‘Bai Hua,’ who was as memorable. The heroine was the weak third miss, but after Padma had transmigrated into Bai Hua’s body, she suddenly showed the surprising ability and growth of the genius doctor from the twenty-first century.

Bai Yu, who had bullied Bai Hua for many years, was paid back in full by Bai Hua, the same as other villains and villainesses. Then, she advanced until she brought herself to the highest seat a woman could achieve and could finally stand proudly next to her lover, for whom she had to go through hell.

The old Bai Hua was weak, but Padma was smart and strong, so she could exact her revenge on everyone. The series was named [This Life, the villainess will win against all odds] because this was the story of the woman who did not yield to faith and fought against evil with even more evil.

Bai Yu had never asked Bai Hua if she knew the series or not. She remembered asking her about Song Lianhua, Li Wenrou, and Yoknapha that night. The confusion in her eyes had told Bai Yu that no, she knew none of them. She was certain she had never mentioned that series once. Bai Hua’s saying its name out loud was what had made Bai Yu agree to meet her.

“What business do you have with me?”

No tea. No snack. No gesture inviting her to sit. Bai Yu stood and talked to her half-sister while still internally processing her encounter with Chu Zhaoran a while ago.

“Before coming back, I met Master Yue at the palace’s front gate.”

Yue Nan? Her biaoge?

“He made me recall something.”

“What is it?”

“That night I went to see you...” Bai Hua’s tone was not respectful, like when they were in front of others. But that did not irritate Bai Yu at all. They had never been real sisters anyway. “You asked me if I knew Song Lianhua, Li Wenrou, and Yoknapha. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t recall anything that night, so I didn’t answer.”

“And?”

“When I think more about it, these names might be related to someone I know.”

“Who?”

“Li Mingxian.”

Mingxian? Song Lianhua and Li Wenrou’s son?

“Back then, I had just started working at the hospital, and I didn’t know much about celebrities. But one day, Li Mingxian came to stay at the hospital. I heard nurses talk about a series, so I talked with them and knew a little bit about it.”

“You mean [This Life, the villainess will win against all odds]?”

“Correct.” Bai Hua nodded. “Around that time, the series was going to get a remake as a memorial for the actress who played the villainess, who had committed suicide around forty years ago. They said the reason was the series’ male lead, Li Wenrou, Li Mingxian’s father.”

Bai Yu thought along with what Bai Hua said. The series forty years ago...so Li Mingxian must have been around thirty, and Padma was slightly younger than him. Bai Hua in front of her had the soul of Padma, who was born after Yoknapha had died. Now it made sense. She did not know Yoknapha because they came from different times in the same world. Or perhaps a different life since Padma had no memory of Song Lianhua at all.

“After Li Wenrou died, his son, Li Mingxian, started a business until it prospered and he had enough funds to sponsor a television series. He chose to remake this series, partly because of his father’s wish and partly because of his own personal liking. Eventually, it was made as a tribute to that actress...”

“Yoknapha.” Bai Yu’s hands balled into fists. “That’s the name of that actress.”

“Do you know her?”

“I know her very well.”

“You’ve asked me about her before...”

“Continue.” Bai Yu cut her off. Bai Hua looked at her stiff expression and continued without questioning anymore.

“He insisted that he wanted to play a character, but he didn’t ask to play the male lead. Instead, he wanted to play the villainess and the heroine’s older brother, Bai He...”

“Big brother?”

“That’s right.” Bai Hua lowered her head. Her voice became noticeably softer. “I just realized that this world is a TV series.”

Bai Hua looked up. Perplexity obscured the light in her eyes until Bai Yu could no longer read anything from it.

“Have you realized this for a while already?”

“That’s right.” Bai Yu thought back to the first moment she realized that she was in the series, while still not knowing that it was actually one of her past lives. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. Bai Hua right now must be the same.

Bai Yu tightly gripped her hands. She did not know how to deal with what the other person was going through. She could only speak softly. “Whether it’s in the series or not, both you and I are actually here. Everything that’s happening right now is reality.”

Bai Hua pressed her tips together tightly. She took in a deep breath once and tried to cover up the emotions in her eyes before continuing, “Li Mingxian had asked to play Bai He, and he was injured in a fighting scene.”

“What do you want to say?”

“The scene that he was injured was the scene where he went to rescue Wangye, who had disappeared during the war with Da Chu. This war!”

“Bai Yu...” Her voice became serious. “I don’t know if everything in this world will go according to the story in the series or not, but Wangye will disappear, and Big Brother will be the one to save him. But now he is still unconscious. If he doesn’t wake up by the time that happens, then...”

“Damn it.” Her nails dug into her palm.

“I know that Wangye is important to you, so I came to tell you in case that...”

“Thank you.”

“Huh?” Bai Hua was confused.

“Thank you for telling me this, because I haven’t found a way to fix it yet.” This was the first time she had a peaceful conversation with Bai Hua.

“So it’s really going to happen.”

“It’d be better if it didn’t.”

Slowly, silence crept in and enveloped the two of them. Both were deep in their own thoughts, not realizing that they were being watched by their maids, who were surprised by the quietness of their conversation. It felt as if their misses had something in common that was so similar.

“Bai Hua.”

“Yes, sister?” Lost in thoughts, she unconsciously shifted to speaking the way they did in public. Bai Hua sighed to herself. The woman in front of her was this body’s sister. It should be fine for her too to see Bai Yu as a sister. She had put on the mask for so long it might have melded into her personality.

“Do you know why Li Mingxian didn’t play the male lead?” He was Li Wenrou’s son. Shouldn’t he play Ouyang Mingxian like his father?

“I heard nurses talk about what he had said in an interview. The interviewer had asked him why he did not play the male lead, even though he was the sponsor and had the most power to choose.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He said… this series was made again as a tribute to that villainess, so he wanted to play the only man who loved her the most, and that man was Bai He, Bai Yu’s older brother.”

————

“Brother… please come back to me.”