Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

She departed around late morning and reached Donghai late at night on the same day. What ‘two-day travel’?! What ‘ four-day round trip’?! These siblings were clearly fooling the elderly!

The next morning, they wore clothes that blended in with the people of Donghai. They might be aristocrats, but they were at risk of being targeted by thieves, so they decided to dress like commoners of Da Yang.

Bai Yu was exhilarated by the atmosphere of Donghai city. Though it was an ordinary ancient marketplace, it was impressive in its size that covered the whole city. It was divided into many sections, reminding her of the Chatuchak market in Thailand. As for the Laowai people she wanted to see, they were Caucasian and spoke English, as she had expected, though they had strange accents that she had to focus all her attention to be able to understand.

Bai Yu’s English skill was normal. She was an international actress, so it was natural that she could fluently communicate in English, in terms of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Still, her familiarity was mostly limited to British, American, and other accents that were normally heard in media, with British accents being what she was used to hearing the most.

The transaction here was similar to her former life’s. The more you buy, the more discount you could get. Bai Yu and Xu Luanle bought various styles of fabrics. She imagined designs and consulted her friend while they chose fabrics.

Xu Peipei knew of her brother’s hobby. Her refusing to take over the ‘anonymous master shop’ from her family combined with Xu Luanle’s talent allowed her to get away bearing the responsibility of her family’s business. However, she often went fabric shopping together with her brother. Obviously, Xu Luanle lost his sense of time while looking at fabrics as always.

Fabrics and sewing equipment, including other small decorations for making dresses, were loaded onto a rental carriage, to be later delivered to the anonymous master shop. Bai Yu would pay a share of three out of ten part of the price, according to what they had negotiated in the morning. But when the dresses were made, Bai Yu would receive a share of seven-part out of each dress sold. This deal was in her favor, and she considered herself successful in negotiating with Xu Luanle.

But Xu Luanle had no concern of being at a disadvantage. His family was already rich, and he never cared about profits. He was only doing this business because it was what he loved, and having Bai Yu added challenge and excitement in his sewing projects.

.....

“Today has to be my day!” Xu Peipei cried.

“Of course, little sis.” Xu Luanle smiled.

“‘Little sis’ your sister!”

“And you are my little sister, aren’t you?”

“Brother!”

Bai Yu ate her meal while suppressing a smile at the sibling’s conversation. Xu Peipei was a villainess, but she was not an intimidating one since she had virtually no propensity for scheming. Especially when she was with her older brother who loved teasing others, Xu Peipei now seemed more endearing than anything else.

Few would be able to see this side of the alluring Miss Xu. The reason that Bai Yu could see her childish part must be because they had agreed on having a truce while traveling and because she was the friend that Xu Luanle allowed to know his secret. And so, Xu Peipei slowly let her guard down until the third day of their trip. The wall that had separated them seemed to be forgotten momentarily.

“I want to go see jewelry,” Xu Peipei said after they had finished their breakfast.

“Hey, why don’t we design some jewelry too?” Bai Yu turned to her friend.

“If you say so. I’ll find a craftsman after we return.”

“Brother, make some for me too. Both the beautiful jewelry and the pretty dresses.” Xu Peipei hugged her brother’s arm as she begged. It was as if she had forgotten how she was fooled by him many times.

“Sure, I can make them for you. But what about the designer?”

“You’re not allowed to refuse,” Xu Peipei said to her with a hard tone before pulling her brother to walk away happily. Bai Yu followed the sibling who was attached to each other all day after she had ‘stolen’ Xu Luanle to shop fabrics together for the past two days.

Arrays of jewelry were put on shops displays on both sides of the street. Bai Yu observed them and discovered that jewelry made from jade was popular among the majority of people of Da Yang, while Laowai people were more inclined to choose diamonds and jewels.

Clothing was much easier to differentiate since most would buy clothes according to the weather of their own nation in order to sell them there. For instance, Da Yang people would tailor their clothes according to the season, so it was not difficult to predict the trend of the market in the capital.

Three of them continued to walk until they reached the cosmetics zone. Bai Yu tried to look for eyeliners there. She knew of using one, but she did not know how it was made. She would be fortunate if they really sold eyeliners here. She remembered that it had been invented since the time of ancient Egypt. If this world had the same civilization as her old one, then there should be a foreign merchant selling eyeliners.

Cosmetics sold in the Donghai marketplace were both abundant and diverse. Still, what could actually be sold were powders and rouge. The people of this time had yet dared to use strange cosmetics that they did not know how to apply.

Bai Yu went to talk to merchants who sold cosmetics she had never seen, some of them were Laowai people. She acted like she did not know English as she gestured to ask for instructions for some of the items. Although Laowai people were largely accepted in the city, they were forbidden from speaking languages for a reason that Xu Luanle did not know. He only told her that very few people would know to speak their tongue.

Finally, Bai Yu found an eyeliner from a Laowai merchant. He called it ‘eyeliner’ like what she was used to. It was the type that looked like a pencil, used for emphasizing one’s eyes. The seller enthusiastically demonstrated its application to her, and Bai Yu bought several, to his astonishment. It was because most people here were used to using the brush more, so anything that had a hard tip like a pen or pencil was hard to use for them.

When they returned to the inn, they prepared their belongings to return on the next day. They spared two days for their return trip, like normal, in case they had an unexpected event.

That night, Bai Yu launched an intense course, teaching the Xu siblings how to apply eyeliners. Both of them were not used to pencils, so there were several failed attempts. When they saw how Bai Yu’s eyes looked with eyeliners, they refused to give up even though they were in tears from forcing their eyes to open wide while applying eyeliners. In the end, no one could successfully apply eyeliners by themselves. They eventually gave up to go to bed when Bai Yu suggested that they would do it for each other.

The trip back was uneventful, though it took them two full days. Bai Yu had bought a horse and wanted to learn how to ride it on their way home. Ultimately, she could only ride for a little while, then she went back to riding on the same horse as Xu Luanle. On their way back they rested in an inn in one of the towns they passed. Luckily, nothing happened to impede them and they reached Yue mansion according to schedule.

“Greetings to grandfather and grandmother.”

“Greetings to general Yue and elder Furen.”

The three went to greet the seniors of the household before Xu siblings hurried to return home since the goods that they had bought were going to be delivered to the anonymous master shop. Before leaving, Xu Luanle was still determined to be able to apply eyeliner. He insisted to Bai Yu that he would come back again the next morning, without caring that the rumor was spreading more and more because of someone’s doing.

Bai Yu was allowed to have a day off from her training to rest. As soon as she reached her building, her brother rushed toward her, full of worry, and tried to examine for an injury. It took Bai Yu sometime before she could convince him to leave. She also promised that she would go back to the Bai family mansion to explain the truth behind the rumor to her mother.

That night, Bai Yu gave out eyeliners to her two maids then went to bed, exhausted.