Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Host, Hug Me—

The sunlight traced the kitten’s shadow on the wall, forming a mural of falling cherry blossoms alongside her savior.

Lu Ning allowed herself to be carried obediently in Mu Qiuyu’s arms, her sensitive ears picking up the metallic clinking of cat food cans. Perhaps influenced by her feline form, her emotional state shifted rapidly. The tight sense of fear she felt moments ago vanished the second she caught the scent of something delicious.

Except, her heart was beating incredibly fast. It was sudden and off-balance. Falling petals shouldn’t have weight, yet as they landed on the kitten’s head, they made her eyes blink incessantly.

She looked up at the girl who had scooped her up. The hazy sunlight outlined Mu Qiuyu’s features; though her expression was visibly cold and sharp, Lu Ning found it unforgettable. For the first time, Mu Qiuyu’s coldness wasn’t directed at her.

Mu Qiuyu looked down at Shi Jin. From her superior height, her slender frame cast a shadow that left Shi Jin with nowhere to hide. Shi Jin’s previous arrogance vanished instantly; she remained slumped on the floor, frozen, looking utterly terrified.

And she was right to be terrified. Because, as Mu Qiuyu had implied, she was indeed an illegitimate daughter who lived in the shadows. But how did Mu Qiuyu know?

“What? Did I say something wrong?” Mu Qiuyu stood over her, her voice as biting as ice. Shi Jin was forced to look up at her, feeling her world crumble.

“Shi Jin, why are you sitting on the floor?”

Just as Mu Qiuyu was about to take a step further, a girl with glasses walked in through the back door, looking at them with confusion. Seeing a witness, Shi Jin forced a facade of pride and scrambled up. “Can’t you tell? Mu Qiuyu pushed me!”

“Huh?” The girl didn’t quite believe it, but seeing the tension—and the fact that Mu Qiuyu was indeed standing right over her—she wavered. “Why would she push you?”

“Who knows? She’s simply uneducated!” Shi Jin used anger to mask her vagueness, desperately wanting to pin the blame entirely on Mu Qiuyu.

But things wouldn’t go her way. Before Mu Qiuyu could speak, Li Xiang snapped, “Hey! Why don’t you mention that you pushed the cat off the windowsill first and then tried to kick it? If you hadn’t done that, would Qiuyu have pulled you to the ground?”

“Am I not worth as much as a cat? She threw me down—what if I had hit the corner of a desk?” Shi Jin was indignant, not feeling a shred of remorse for her actions.

“You would have deserved it,” Mu Qiuyu said coldly. In her mind, pulling the girl to the floor wasn’t nearly enough. If she dared touch her cat, she would make her pay a thousand times over.

It was peak lunch hour, and the classroom was beginning to fill with returning students. They stopped in their tracks upon hearing Mu Qiuyu’s “unrepentant” remark.

“How can she be like that?”

“I heard she made a girl from Class 5 kneel in front of a teacher yesterday.”

“But didn’t that girl lock her in a bathroom and pour cold water on her first?”

“Wait, really?”

The whispers rose like a tide. People often define a newcomer by their first impression, and clearly, Mu Qiuyu’s start was rocky.

“A filthy stray cat with no parents is hardly fit to be compared to a human.”

A cold, snide comment drifted from the crowd, making a veiled jab at Mu Qiuyu. Lu Ning’s tail flicked with displeasure as she instantly locked onto the tall male student in the group. Having been a teacher for years, she loathed hearing such malicious words from students. And she wondered: how many times had Mu Qiuyu heard things like this throughout the story?

The wind circled through the front door, and the fresh floral scent in the air was suddenly slammed into the dirt—cold, damp, and sticky. Just like someone’s mood.

Lu Ning suddenly realized that animals truly can sense their owner’s emotions. Nestled in Mu Qiuyu’s arms, she felt the atmospheric pressure around the girl drop. This was a pressure Lu Ning knew all too well—it was the same as in the bathroom stall yesterday.

But Lu Ning felt that yesterday’s solution was too extreme. There are many ways to solve a problem, and the least advisable is to burn the bridge while standing on it.

“Host, don’t,” Lu Ning pleaded, her small paws kneading Mu Qiuyu’s palm rhythmically, trying to soothe her with her fluffy body.

Mu Qiuyu found the sensation incredibly tickling. She closed her fingers, capturing the paw. “Lu Ning, what are you trying to do?”

“I want to help you,” Lu Ning whispered, rubbing her small head against Mu Qiuyu. Mu Qiuyu had protected her; she wanted to protect Mu Qiuyu in return.

Mu Qiuyu found this interesting. Her gaze, which had been fixed coldly on the tall boy, dropped slightly. Her thick lashes hid a flash of playfulness. “How do you plan on helping me?”

Lu Ning knew preaching wouldn’t work, so she took a detour. “I think using the same trick twice will make people suspicious. Let’s try a different way today, okay?”

Mu Qiuyu had seen many versions of this System—impulsive, clumsy—but this was the first time she saw it so certain. She looked down at the tiny kitten dependent on her and gave a short, cynical laugh. “You have an idea?”

“The System shall satisfy all the Host’s requirements,” Lu Ning recited the line from the Main System, wanting Mu Qiuyu to trust her. “I can do it. Please trust me.”

“Fine,” Mu Qiuyu agreed, finding the first sentence novel.

With permission granted, Lu Ning leaped from her arms. The light black ball of fur landed in the center of everyone’s vision and gave a soft cry: “Meow~”

The sound was tiny and delicate. That single cry instantly silenced the classroom. Everyone realized the conflict had started over a cat and shifted their gaze to the fluffy little thing. Her large tail, looking like a black feather duster, swept the floor as she sat regally in the center.

She looked curious about her surroundings, her crystal-blue eyes darting left and right. She wasn’t timid, but she wasn’t overly bold either; she simply sat there, accepting everyone’s scrutiny.

A little ball like this was simply too cute. Seeing the varied expressions turn into a unified front of curiosity and affection, Lu Ning gave another proud meow.

She had spent an extra System Point to max out her “Cuteness” attribute! Accept my feline offensive, you foolish two-legged beasts!

Unlike Mu Qiuyu’s “eye for an eye” strategy which often involved self-sacrifice, Lu Ning wanted to get back at Shi Jin and the tall boy while also rehabilitating her Host’s reputation. She couldn’t let Mu Qiuyu be misunderstood.

Lu Ning began wagging her proud, large tail, her silky fur shimmering in the sunlight. This palm-sized black ball was like a walking plushie.

“So cute…” “I suddenly understand why Mu Qiuyu lost her temper.” “Shi Jin went a bit too far.” “The worst one is Gao Qiang. Don’t think we couldn’t tell he was insulting Mu Qiuyu.” “What a disgusting guy.”

Under Lu Ning’s efforts, the narrative began to shift. Not just Shi Jin, but the tall boy—Gao Qiang—was now the target of criticism.

Suddenly, a specific suggestion reached Lu Ning’s ears. “Hey, should we keep it as our class pet?” “But would it want to stay?”

Lu Ning caught the keyword, her eyes lighting up. She had been worrying about how to stay by Mu Qiuyu’s side legitimately, and now someone had offered an olive branch.

The kitten ended her “statue” exhibition and trotted over to the girl who suggested the class pet idea. The girl felt “chosen,” her eyes going wide with delight. “Do you want to stay?”

“Meow~” Lu Ning placed a paw in the girl’s palm and gave a tiny cry. Whether it was a coincidence or not, everyone took it as a “Yes.” The atmosphere in the class became harmonious, instantly dispelling the resentment toward Mu Qiuyu.

Li Xiang was enjoying the moment but hadn’t forgotten the culprit. She turned to find Gao Qiang had slipped away, leaving Shi Jin alone. “Shi Jin, I think you owe the cat and Mu Qiuyu an apology.”

Lu Ning trotted over to support her. “Meow! (That’s right!)”

Shi Jin, now under the scrutiny of the entire class, found herself in the position Mu Qiuyu had been in. But she lacked Mu Qiuyu’s indifference.

“I… why should I apologize? I did nothing wrong! Just because you like cats doesn’t mean I have to! I hate cats!” Shi Jin snapped, trying to push through the crowd to leave.

But as she stepped away, Lu Ning blocked her path. The kitten didn’t seem to hold a grudge; she sat before her and tilted her head. “Meow~”

The move froze everyone. Shi Jin looked at the cat she had just shoved, her heart filled with a mess of emotions. Only Mu Qiuyu watched from a distance, a trace of a smile crossing her dark eyes, as if she already knew what Lu Ning was up to.

The kitten circled Shi Jin, her fluffy tail swaying. She looked as soft as freshly baked bread. Shi Jin had to admit the kitten was undeniably cute. She felt a surge of genuine guilt and reached down, wanting to pet Lu Ning and whisper a quiet “sorry.”

But the moment Shi Jin reached out, Lu Ning turned and walked away without a second glance. Even her swaying tail precisely avoided Shi Jin’s hand.

In an instant, everyone understood. The kitten wasn’t sucking up to Shi Jin; it was observing the human who had bullied it to see if they were truly “unworthy.”

“Pfft,” Li Xiang couldn’t help but laugh at Shi Jin being played by a cat. “Maybe the kitty doesn’t like liars.”

Shi Jin’s face flushed a deep red. She shoved past her classmates and ran out of the room.

“So, should we pick someone to take care of her? I want to do it!”

“Honestly, I do too.”

“Me too…”

Having pranked Shi Jin, Lu Ning heard the class debating who her owner should be. She didn’t want them to care for her; she wanted to choose her own. And she already had one.

Lu Ning looked toward Mu Qiuyu. But somehow, Mu Qiuyu, who had been the center of the conflict, had been pushed to the outside of the circle as the students crowded in. Lu Ning tilted her head toward her.

To Mu Qiuyu, this “revenge” was incredibly childish. It didn’t quench any real hatred; it just made people laugh. She shouldn’t have expected much from this kitten. As more students crowded around the cat, Mu Qiuyu was pushed further away. Hearing the cheers of “so cute,” a sense of displeasure doubled in her chest.

If every System gets the chance to interact with people other than their Host, will they all abandon the Host?

Mu Qiuyu’s expression grew colder as she calculated how to settle scores with Gao Qiang and Shi Jin.

But at that moment, she felt something hook onto her calf. She looked down to see the black ball of fur standing before her. The kitten looked up with round, proud eyes, giving a delicate cry as if boasting about its triumphant return.

The sunlight hit the little black thing, weaving a shimmering golden layer over its fur. Though it was a color that absorbed all others, Mu Qiuyu felt as if she were seeing light. Like a balloon that had been sitting at a supermarket entrance for too long and finally deflated, the knot of displeasure in her heart loosened.

“Meow~ (Host, hug me—)” The kitten’s paws brushed against Mu Qiuyu’s skin through her socks. Lu Ning looked up expectantly. Being a kitten had its downsides, like not being able to talk, but it wasn’t all bad.

Mu Qiuyu leaned down and picked her up, more gently than before. She spoke contrary to her feelings, asking: “Lu Ning, aren’t you being a bit childish?”

The cans in her bag clinked together with a crisp sound, so neither of them heard it.

Hidden within that question was a long-lost trace of a smile.

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