Saving the Pitiful Villain (GL) - Chapter 1

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a bright arc along the smooth edges of the furniture.

Jiang Shangxue stood before the mirror, wiping the dampness from her palms with a handkerchief, then meticulously fastening the topmost button of her qipao. For several nights, she had been startled awake by the same nightmare.

After freshening up, Jiang Shangxue followed her routine: she went downstairs, ate breakfast, and read the business newspaper.

At exactly nine o’clock, she appeared at the company entrance. A new employee gaped in awe as Jiang Shangxue, with her hair elegantly pinned up, revealed a mature and refined face. Her light makeup was perfectly applied, exuding clean elegance. A few loose strands of hair rested on her neck, and her every gesture carried a gentle, ripple-like grace.

Yet her deep, ink-black eyes unintentionally radiated an icy chill, instantly quelling any inappropriate thoughts.

Warm yet resolute.

Truly stunning!

An employee secretly snapped a photo of Jiang Shangxue’s back in her qipao and posted it on Rong City’s anonymous business forum.

Caption: Among Rong City’s business titans, who could be more beautiful and gentle than President Jiang!

The prominent Mingchuang Group logo was visible on the right side of the photo. Within seconds, replies flooded in.

[She’s so gorgeous, both her figure and face are out of my league.]

[Beautiful, sure, but gentle? Nah. The title of ‘fake gentle, true venomous beauty’ goes to President Jiang.]

[Agree with the above. The Greenland project fully showcased President Jiang’s tactics. This stunning businesswoman’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers are no less ruthless than any man’s.]

[Greenland? The one co-developed by Hongyuan and Mingchuang?]

What started as a casual post quickly turned tense when the Greenland project was mentioned.

In Rong City’s business circle, everyone knew the Greenland project was personally led by the CEOs of Hongyuan and Mingchuang. When it came to the project’s shady dealings, only the executives had the authority to comment.

The thread was soon bumped up with new replies.

[Dare I ask, is the commenter above President Lin Yuan from Hongyuan?]

[Shock! Doge.jpg. A big shot is eating gossip in the same thread as me!]

[So sudden. Turns out even CEOs are on the frontlines of gossip.]

Lin Yuan chuckled silently at the screen, clicked the ‘X’ in the top right corner, and exited the forum.

Even now, thinking about the Greenland project with Jiang Shangxue gave Lin Yuan lingering unease. On the surface, this woman seemed beautiful and approachable, easy to manipulate. But he was thoroughly deceived by her facade. The moment he tried to pull some tricks to secure more profits for Hongyuan, she taught him a harsh lesson.

Through one deep collaboration, Lin Yuan had figured out Jiang Shangxue’s style. If you played fair, she’d reciprocate with fairness for a win-win. But if you schemed, she’d blatantly poach people, snatch resources, set traps, and wage corporate warfare with every trick in the book. In her own words: As long as it’s not illegal and doesn’t provoke public outrage, anything goes.

Kind to the kind, ruthless to the ruthless.

In short, a cunning wolf in sheep’s clothing.

By mid-morning, the post had gone viral. Meanwhile, Jiang Shangxue, the center of the buzz, was in her office flipping through the script for Only Like You.

Only Like You was a major IP project backed by Mingchuang Group this year, set to start filming by the end of the month. Coincidentally, the villainous stepmother in the script shared Jiang Shangxue’s name.

Normally, such trivial matters wouldn’t reach Jiang Shangxue, but Su Yue, angling for a vacation and a bonus, used the script as an excuse to approach her, dropping subtle hints.

Jiang Shangxue glanced at the plot, and that night, the nightmares began— the same one every night.

A girl in a red dress, tears streaming down her face, jumped from a rooftop, her body shattering, blood splattering. Jiang Shangxue stood beside her, shouting, trying to stop her, but to no avail. She could only watch helplessly as the girl leapt.

In the dream, someone called out the girl’s name—Yun Wu, the main villain in Only Like You.

Su Yue, lounging lazily on the sofa, noticed Jiang Shangxue’s increasingly grave expression. She sat up straight, though her tone remained teasing.

“No way, President Jiang, you’re not actually bothered by a minor character sharing your name, right? I’ll have them change it right away.”

Jiang Shangxue didn’t look up, continuing to flip through the script, and said, “Minister Su has so much free time to chat in my office. Looks like you’re not working hard enough.”

“No, please, don’t! I’m leaving now!”

Su Yue’s face twisted for a moment, but her body reacted faster than her brain, swiftly shutting Jiang Shangxue’s office door as she fled.

Not working hard enough? Even a capitalist would cry at that.

Jiang Shangxue continued reading the script, her brows furrowing deeper.

The drama was positioned as a sweet romance, where villains were typically either foolishly dramatic or outright evil.

But Yun Wu didn’t fit the standard villain mold. She was practically a pitiful, tragic figure.

Abandoned by her mother at five months old, she was raised by a deranged old man who survived by scavenging trash.

A cramped room with no sunlight year-round, the constant stench of garbage, and an old hallway plastered with ads and spit stains shaped her warped childhood.

By the time Yun Wu was four or five, her delicate features began to emerge. Though malnourished and overly thin, she caught the attention of some depraved individuals in the hallway.

Those creeps tried to lure her with cheap candy for vile acts. Perhaps due to the hardships that made her unusually perceptive, Yun Wu escaped through crying and vague accusations.

But from then on, the gossiping women in the hallway began speculating about her origins with maximum malice.

They hurled vicious insults in her face, saying her mother must have been a prostitute who abandoned her, and that Yun Wu was a cheap vixen destined to inherit her mother’s “filthy disease.”

Malicious rumors and an impoverished environment made Yun Wu excessively sensitive and insecure.

She lived cautiously, tiptoeing through the world.

Yet even this didn’t extinguish her innate kindness. She’d clean or wash the trash she collected to reduce the hallway’s stench. When the community office tried to take her away, she refused, insisting on staying to care for the old man.

Fortunately, the community office decided to sponsor her education, giving her a modest monthly stipend.

Though only 200 yuan, for Yun Wu at the time, going to school and eating her fill was an unimaginable luxury.

The first turning point in Yun Wu’s life came at this moment.

Jiang Shangxue’s slender fingers paused at the bottom of the page. She took a sip of water from the cup beside her, then another, before continuing.

Yun Wu was brilliant. Once she started school, her intelligence shone through. She consistently ranked at the top, though she had no friends. Classmates pointed at her, saying, “Look, that’s her. Her grandpa’s a crazy trash picker.”

“No wonder she smells.”

She was always alone, rarely speaking a word all semester. To teachers and peers, she was an eccentric loner, but her name was always among the top three in exams.

Yun Wu seemed close to grasping the light, but a villain’s life never truly improves. At seventeen, her biological father found her and brought her back.

In a luxurious villa with meticulous details, she felt utterly out of place.

Her stepmother frequently ordered servants to slap her or force her to kneel—those were the lighter punishments. When the stepmother was in a bad mood, she’d make Yun Wu eat like a dog on her knees.

Her so-called father turned a blind eye.

The girl’s fragile sense of dignity and shame was shattered day by day.

When Jiang Shangxue read the scene where Yun Wu was forced to eat like a dog, her elegant fingers creased the paper. She tugged at her collar, a hint of irritation in her expression.

She pressed on, despite her discomfort.

Taken back by her father, Yun Wu was enrolled in an elite high school—a new nightmare. There, she met the protagonists.

The book described Yun Wu as strikingly beautiful, with pure black eyes that curled slightly at the edges, exuding a cold, defiant charm that was naturally captivating.

Upon enrolling, she caught the male lead’s attention. The jealous female lead would make seemingly innocent remarks, prompting her followers to bully Yun Wu relentlessly.

The intensified bullying and discrimination made Yun Wu even more fragile and insecure. Even when forced to kneel and drink toilet water, the school’s teachers brushed it off lightly.

The male lead, who witnessed it all, always appeared after the bullying to offer fake comfort.

Having never experienced kindness from peers, Yun Wu fell for it. She willingly let the male lead manipulate her. With his help, she grew, becoming the sole controlling shareholder of the Yun Group within two years of graduating college.

At this point, the male lead revealed his true intentions. Using her trust, he effortlessly acquired the Yun Group.

Throughout the story, Yun Wu was labeled a villain because she loved the male lead and served as a tool to spice up the protagonists’ arguments.

In the end, unwilling to accept her fate, she sought revenge by trying to burn the protagonists alive but accidentally killed others. Cornered and desperate, she jumped to her death in a red dress.

Jiang Shangxue: …???

This was the scene haunting her dreams. Her face darkened.

With a rip, she tore a page from the script, crumpled it, and tossed it into the trash. Moments later, she threw the entire script in.

This script was utterly problematic. The protagonists’ morals were skewed—how could it be filmed?

Just then, Su Yue sent a message.

[Su Yue: President Jiang, the name’s been changed. Claiming credit! Doge/Doge/Doge]

[Jiang Shangxue: Starting tomorrow, the entire planning department gets a week off and double year-end bonuses—except Minister Su.]

Seeing the group chat message, Su Yue barely had time to rejoice before noticing the second half. She immediately sent a private message to Jiang Shangxue.

[Su Yue: President Jiang, pitiful.jpg. I know you treat all subordinates equally and wouldn’t single me out.]

Jiang Shangxue raised an eyebrow lightly, ignoring Su Yue, and posted in the group chat.

[Jiang Shangxue: Minister Su will stay to discuss script revisions with the Only Like You writers.]

[Su Yue: Life’s hopeless. The joke’s on me. Blackguyquestionmark.jpg]

[Su Yue: I’m not tired, just cursed with bad luck.]

Su Yue wailed to the heavens, her mood clashing with the festive joy in the planning department.

That night, before going to bed, Jiang Shangxue couldn’t help but think of the recurring nightmare. She thought the episode was over.

To her shock, on the twentieth day, Jiang Shangxue woke up to find herself transmigrated into the book as the vicious stepmother who shared her name.

Author’s Note:

Content Warning: I rarely write modern stories, so this is a new attempt. The style is chaotic and illogical, purely fictional. If anything makes you unhappy, I apologize in advance. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Note: Some silly comments are bits I’ve seen while surfing online, not my original creation.