Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Letting Mu Qiuyu Hand-feed the Medicine…

Beyond the thicket lay a distorted, twisted dark forest. The damp, gloomy wind could not penetrate the circle; the space bathed in white light felt like an entirely different world.

Lu Ning lay on the bed, Mu Qiuyu’s warm palm resting against her thigh. The scissors were ice-cold, their silver sheen sharpening the light in Lu Ning’s vision.

Mu Qiuyu’s gaze was intensely focused. No desire was visible in those clean pupils, yet they seemed filled with it nonetheless. As the scissors cut through the fabric, they traced a jagged, winding line along Lu Ning’s leg. Mu Qiuyu’s eyes followed that line, her thumb brushing against the skin with an almost imperceptible touch.

Watching Mu Qiuyu’s expression, Lu Ning felt as though the girl wasn’t just cutting her dress open, but stripping her bare. The scissors pressed tightly against her skin, the metallic chill clashing with the warmth of the room—it was dangerous, yet suffused with an unspeakable intimacy.

For one reason or another, Lu Ning’s heart began to race. Just as Mu Qiuyu moved the scissors further up her thigh, Lu Ning reached out and pressed down on her wrist. “Um, if it’s just for changing clothes, I can do it myself.”

To be honest, fear was one part of it. But more so, Lu Ning felt a bit of shame at the thought of being completely exposed to Mu Qiuyu.

The hand of the girl, whose temperature hadn’t yet returned to normal, gripped Mu Qiuyu’s wrist tightly. In that instant, Mu Qiuyu stopped. She looked at the scissors in her hand, a faint, hidden trace of regret flickering in her eyes.

However, the moment she looked up at Lu Ning, a gentle smile returned to her crystal-clear eyes. “I actually wanted to check if you had any other wounds on your body.”

Hearing this, the hand Lu Ning had wrapped around Mu Qiuyu’s wrist faltered. Was that it? She had thought… Lu Ning felt she had been a bit too cynical.

Mu Qiuyu watched Lu Ning’s changing expression in silence before patting a neatly folded set of clothes on the edge of the bed. “But since you’re awake, you should do it yourself. I’ve prepared new clothes for you. Your injuries were severe, and your System clothes are ruined.”

Lu Ning looked down at her dress. Her “original skin” white dress was covered in dried blood; even if it hadn’t been cut, it was unusable.

“Thank you.” Lu Ning, still a bit dazed from waking up, nodded at the thoughtful gesture.

“No need for formalities between us,” Mu Qiuyu smiled, turning around politely as the “dummy” who thought she had misunderstood her host began to change.

The injuries sustained in the cat’s body had mostly manifested on Lu Ning’s human form. She struggled to push herself up with her arms. Although she was in human form, she was still a System. A System’s recovery rate was far beyond a human’s; in the time it took to struggle out of the dress, her arms had visibly regained their flexibility.

She looked down at the area where her ribs had been kicked by the driver and was shocked to see the large bruise fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the silence, she could actually hear the sound of her bones knitting back together. The blood had formed scabs, and the pain was no longer so violent.

Lu Ning used to think being human was great because you could eat and use everything. Now, she felt being a System was pretty good too—at least, if she were hit by a car as a System, she definitely wouldn’t die.

With these thoughts, she picked up the clothes Mu Qiuyu had prepared. It was a utility-style jumpsuit, perfect for work. It had numerous pockets—ideal for seeds and tools—a gardener’s dream. New skin had already replaced the scabs, showing a tender pink color at her cream-white cuffs.

By the time she finished changing, Lu Ning was able to stand and walk over to Mu Qiuyu, tapping her on the shoulder. “I’m done. These clothes are great.”

The girl’s light voice came from behind. Mu Qiuyu turned around quickly, an eager anticipation in her movement. The white light in the sky formed a faint halo behind Lu Ning, bathing her in a silhouette of light. The jumpsuit suited her well—the sharp, clean cut matched her sunny smile, which persisted even though she was covered in wounds.

A sudden breeze blew through the thicket, scattering petals from a flowering tree that had bloomed behind Mu Qiuyu at some unknown moment. She looked Lu Ning up and down and suddenly laughed. “Did you get taller?”

“Eh?” Lu Ning blinked in surprise. She followed Mu Qiuyu’s gaze downward and realized her pant legs were a bit short. She was wearing fluffy white slippers, making her lower half look a bit comical.

“Haha, to tell the truth, I grew another three centimeters in college—all in my legs,” Lu Ning laughed, scratching her cheek. The half-fallen scabs on her face made her look a bit goofy, as if she took Mu Qiuyu’s words as mere teasing.

Mu Qiuyu smiled thoughtfully, murmuring softly: “So that’s it. You’re 171 cm now.”

“Yep!” Lu Ning nodded proudly, very satisfied with her height.

However, someone recovering shouldn’t use too much energy. Lu Ning realized that although her wounds had healed, her bones weren’t quite set; standing for too long made them ache. She sat down in a chair and rubbed her knees miserably. “They say it takes a hundred days to heal a bone.”

“It won’t take that long. Time flows faster in the Inner World,” Mu Qiuyu said, standing beside her and rubbing her shoulders to comfort her. Then, Mu Qiuyu manifested a glass of water and opened her palm to reveal several white tablets. “Take these. You’ll feel better soon.”

Lu Ning looked suspiciously at the identical white pills. Mu Qiuyu explained: “Have you forgotten? If it exists in her memory, I can manifest it.”

“Oh, right.” Lu Ning recalled the explanation from her last visit and felt relieved. She sniffed the air and caught a familiar scent. These were likely anti-inflammatory and pain-relief medications.

Lu Ning reached out to take the medicine, but Mu Qiuyu pulled her hand back. “These only work if I administer them. Stop moving. I’ll feed you.”

Lu Ning remembered the milk tea from last time hadn’t required hand-feeding and found it odd. She was about to speak when Mu Qiuyu’s palm approached. The palm was dry and warm, emitting a faint floral scent. Lu Ning didn’t know what the flower was, but a sudden desire sprouted in her heart.

Why shouldn’t I let her feed me? I almost died for her.

A tiny seed of desire took root and grew wildly. Acting on impulse, she leaned toward Mu Qiuyu’s palm. The pills rolled into her mouth as her lips brushed against the warm skin. The floral scent filled her nose. Her heart rate skyrocketed.

Lu Ning had drunk strong liquor, hit on the prettiest girls in bars, and given speeches as a top graduate, but none of those thrills compared to this. It was maddening. It felt more intoxicating than being drunk. She figured she was just giddy from having survived a near-death experience.

After Lu Ning had swallowed the medicine in her dazed state, Mu Qiuyu pulled her hand back with perfect composure. She subtly clenched her palm and handed the water to Lu Ning. “Here.”

The water glass reflected both their faces. Lu Ning snapped out of it, suddenly remembering there was a second person in this world. With the mindset of a child who had committed a small crime, she clumsily took the glass, her tongue tied as she mumbled: “Hiehie (Thanks).”

The pills were already dissolving, their bitter taste pulling her back to reality. She gulped the water down to wash away the bitterness. It was miraculous; as the warm water went down, she felt her internal recovery accelerate. However, her forehead felt a bit hot. She couldn’t tell if it was a fever or just heat.

Before she could think further, Mu Qiuyu’s stern voice broke the silence. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Lu Ning blinked, finding the statement strange. Having no natural sense of distance with this person, she blurted out: “Shouldn’t you think I did the right thing?”

“Why?” Mu Qiuyu countered. She took the cup back, her hair falling to hide an expression that had lost its softness. Her voice no longer sounded as gentle as it had a moment ago. “She didn’t trust you, and then she was kidnapped. You, for her sake, were beaten to death by a man.”

“It wasn’t worth it.”

The girl’s thin lips uttered four cold, sharp words.

Lu Ning sat there, a dark shadow falling over her shoulders. She looked up at Mu Qiuyu in confusion. The logic seemed twisted—as if Mu Qiuyu being kidnapped was a divine punishment for not trusting her. But that wasn’t right.

Aren’t they the same person? Why would this Mu Qiuyu have such a grievance against the “outside” Mu Qiuyu? And…

“I’m still alive,” Lu Ning scratched her nose, correcting her.

Upon hearing this, a gentle smile returned to Mu Qiuyu’s cold eyes. “Yes. You are still alive.” Living and breathing, standing before me once again.

As she spoke, Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning silently. Her gaze seemed glued to her, tracing every inch of the girl’s well-defined profile…

“Hey!” Lu Ning suddenly sighed in thought, and Mu Qiuyu instantly withdrew her gaze from the bridge of Lu Ning’s nose. She showed no panic, maintaining her gentle expression as she waited for Lu Ning to continue.

“Don’t you think that factory we went to today looks like that place over—wait, eh?”

Lu Ning remembered the factory and wanted to point toward the ruins in the distance to ask if Mu Qiuyu knew anything. But as she looked over, she saw that the ruins were gone. Instead, the area was covered in…

“What kind of grass is that?” Lu Ning squinted. It didn’t look like foxtail grass.

Mu Qiuyu followed her gaze and paused before saying calmly: “That’s Timothy grass. Rabbits eat it.”

“Oh?” Lu Ning nodded but found it strange. Why were the ruins in Mu Qiuyu’s Inner World replaced by Timothy grass? Could it change like that? Did Mu Qiuyu stop liking cats and start liking rabbits?

As Lu Ning pondered, Mu Qiuyu manifested a tea set between them. She poured brownish milk tea from an exquisite pot, the rich aroma forming a mist that swirled around them.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t tell Lu Ning that Timothy grass is also called “Cat’s Tail grass” in some regions because people thought the spikes looked like a kitten’s tail.

“Actually, that area used to be ruins. I thought it looked a lot like the place we went to today,” Lu Ning said, resting her chin on her hand.

“Is that so?” Mu Qiuyu replied nonchalantly, pushing the tea toward her.

“Thanks.” Lu Ning took a sip, the sweetness failing to hide her troubled expression. “I thought that place had some special meaning to Mu Qiuyu, since it existed in her Inner World. But why is it gone now?”

“Isn’t that a good thing? A terrible place has disappeared,” Mu Qiuyu said cryptically.

“Terrible?” Lu Ning looked at the “Cat’s Tail grass” in the distance, murmuring: “Had she been there before?”

“I actually arrived here much earlier than you think, so I know a bit of her story. Perhaps I have some clues about those ruins.” Mu Qiuyu held her cup, looking intently at Lu Ning. She had caught Lu Ning’s tiny whisper.

“Do you want to hear it?” Mu Qiuyu tilted her head slightly. “If you want to know, I can tell you.”

She smiled at Lu Ning, a hidden cunning lurking in her deep pupils. What does it matter if the person outside has to wait a little longer? I have been waiting in this place for many years.

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