Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Mu Qiuyu’s Friend

The moment the mission success notification rang out, Lu Ning and Mu Qiuyu instinctively glanced at each other. Moonlight spilled down from behind them, hiding unreadable emotions in the dim evening.

Mu Qiuyu’s brow was furrowed; she didn’t understand how she had suddenly completed the task. She looked coldly at the two walking ahead, not considering them her friends at all. Her gaze was filled with a bewildered blankness.

The kitten in her arms, however, was beaming with excitement, her eyes bright as she looked at her: “Host! You have a friend!”

The yellow streetlights swept over the kitten, casting a glow over her fur as she merged into the night. She looked overjoyed, wagging her tail back and forth—that fluffy tail, light as a feather, brushed against Mu Qiuyu’s arm repeatedly.

A sea of crystalline blue stars filled Mu Qiuyu’s vision, exceptionally prominent in the darkness. Mu Qiuyu seemed to realize something; she indifferently withdrew her gaze and gave a soft “Mm” to Lu Ning.

“Who is your friend?”

“Do I know them?”

“Is it Li Xiang?”

“Or Pei Yinyue?”

“Or maybe you exceeded the quota and they’re both your friends now!”

Lu Ning was incredibly curious, peppering Mu Qiuyu with questions. Mu Qiuyu remained expressionless, looking down at the cat and saying simply: “Kitten.”

Her voice was flat and calm, carrying a clear warning. Lu Ning immediately shut her mouth obediently. Mu Qiuyu’s look was obvious: she found her noisy and had no intention of revealing who the friend was.

Realizing this, Lu Ning felt a bit dejected. She thought her relationship with Mu Qiuyu had become quite close. Besides, it’s just a friend; what’s the harm in telling me? The kitten’s tail, which had been raised like a feather duster, slumped down.

Lu Ning felt she should have expected this. Rather than waiting for Mu Qiuyu to tell her, she would find out on her own. She defiantly swished her tail against Mu Qiuyu’s arm one more time.

Despite being shut out of the secret, today was still worth commemorating. Lu Ning pulled up the System Camera and took a photo of the street scene against the bright moon. The girls were laughing and talking, their faces full of life; even the night sky didn’t seem so lonely.

Lu Ning thought she should be happy for Mu Qiuyu. So, in the photo, the kitten raised her tail and leaned subtly against Mu Qiuyu’s arm, as if they were incredibly close.

The sudden mission completion threw Lu Ning’s plans into disarray. Streetlights flashed past the car window one by one as the kitten sat high on the seatback, observing the whole way.

First, there was the farewell to Li Xiang. Mu Qiuyu’s goodbye wasn’t nearly as warm as the one Li Xiang gave to her new acquaintance, Pei Yinyue. The cold moon hid behind cherry trees, casting silver light over the nearly empty streets. The girls walked at a nearly identical, steady pace, their shadows drawn together by the yellow lamps.

Though Mu Qiuyu and Pei Yinyue walked side-by-side like companions, they barely spoke. Even when parting, Mu Qiuyu was even colder to Pei Yinyue than she had been to Li Xiang—icy, as if they weren’t close at all.

When the two long shadows finally split, only Mu Qiuyu was left on the quiet tiled path. Lu Ning looked around, deeply troubled. She failed to notice that accompanying Mu Qiuyu’s shadow was a little cat who had stayed by her side since school started this morning, all the way back to the red villa.

A long piano melody broke the silence of the night. It wasn’t until the sensor light in the foyer dimmed that Lu Ning realized they were home. No lights were on; the house felt as if it were draped in a black shroud.

A kitten doesn’t get lost in the dark. She tilted her head toward the living room. Mu Jingqin wasn’t on the sofa; it seemed she hadn’t been home all day. Lu Ning felt a pang of regret; she had even been wondering if Mu Jingqin was the “friend.”

Earlier that morning, Lu Ning had checked the logs of her body and saw it was Mu Jingqin who had driven that red Mercedes to pick up the fleeing Mu Qiuyu. The world at dawn was silent and dark, but that red shadow speeding through the night stayed in Lu Ning’s mind for a long time. She was shocked; she had assumed this aunt didn’t care about Mu Qiuyu at all. These two people, who couldn’t stand each other, were both so unpredictable. No wonder they’re family.

Lu Ning munched on the rice cake and starch sausage Mu Qiuyu had shared with her, thinking as she ate.

“Is it okay for your body to eat those things?” Mu Qiuyu asked, watching Lu Ning feast.

“It’s fine,” Lu Ning answered firmly. “My current constitution is terrifyingly strong.” Satiated, the kitten licked her paws. Then, thinking of something, she looked up at Mu Qiuyu with a smile. “Besides, who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually die for real?”

This was clearly not a pleasant thing to say; it was a dark joke. Lu Ning didn’t care and said it casually, but Mu Qiuyu’s gaze darkened. She didn’t like that sentence.

“Unlucky talk.”

The girl’s cold voice rang out alongside the sharp sound of a chair dragging. It was rare for Mu Qiuyu to use such a phrase.

“Then I won’t say it again,” Lu Ning said submissively. Mu Qiuyu’s face remained expressionless. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either.

“Let’s go.”

The snacks Li Xiang recommended were nearly finished. After tidying the table, Mu Qiuyu familiarly scooped up Lu Ning and headed back to the room.

A small building stood in the silent night, looking lonely amidst the surrounding houses with their warm lights. The girl’s silhouette was traced in the window as the staircase lights came on. A few seconds later, a warm yellow lamp lit up in the second-floor window.

Workbooks and papers were laid out on the desk, and the sound of writing filled the room. Because of Shi Jin’s harassment at the end of school, Mu Qiuyu’s schedule had been disrupted. It wasn’t severe; if she sped up, she could still finish on time.

As the most devoted pet, Lu Ning stayed by her side. Her round eyes followed the pen: left, return, left, return…

Outside the window, the moon watched Mu Qiuyu’s profile. The room was silent, the sound of the pen on paper mixed with breathing. The breath falling from above made the papers rise and fall—it was quite distracting.

Writing the last word, Mu Qiuyu stopped her pen. She had noticed the papers to the side and looked at Lu Ning. Under the light, a fluffy tail lay limp on the books. The one who had vowed to stay with her was already half-asleep.

A trace of helplessness touched Mu Qiuyu’s eyes. She reached out and stroked the base of the kitten’s tail. Sensing this, the kitten wagged her tail and hooked onto the girl’s finger. That pure black fur brushed against her fingertip, stroking it rhythmically. Even without conscious intent, it was incredibly alluring.

Mu Qiuyu took a light breath and calmly withdrew her hand. Seeing no sign of Lu Ning waking up, she opened the System Store. The points had arrived. She scrolled through the pages, thinking of what to exchange.

Bzzz…

Unstable current hummed in Lu Ning’s ears, as if reminding her of something. Dazed, she opened her eyes to see Mu Qiuyu still doing homework. What’s there to remind me about… Lu Ning grumbled internally.

Before she could curse the System’s instability, her gaze froze. Wait. Why did the paper Mu Qiuyu was writing on look like it was glowing blue?

The kitten sat up from the pile of books and stretched her neck to look. The thing emitting blue light was none other than the Plot Modification Card—worth 1,000 points in the store. Mu Qiuyu was currently writing the plot on it!

“Host, you decided to modify the plot so soon? Why didn’t you discuss it with me…” Lu Ning was both nervous and disappointed. She didn’t know what Mu Qiuyu was changing and felt like she had missed out on something important.

“The rules just now said it wouldn’t violate your regulations,” Mu Qiuyu responded calmly, finishing the last bit of the plot she wanted to change.

“What are you changing?” Lu Ning was curious, jumping down to see. But Mu Qiuyu tossed the card into the air, and it instantly dissolved into countless blue specks of light. Lu Ning raised a paw, trying to catch the content she hadn’t read, but the lights passed through her pink paw pads and disappeared out the window.

Lu Ning watched the light fade dejectedly. Then she heard Mu Qiuyu say: “Keep an eye on the social news lately.”

Hearing those words, Lu Ning couldn’t help but shiver. She turned to Mu Qiuyu and asked nervously: “Host, what are you doing? Why do you need to be on the social news?”

Although Plot Cards can’t be set to violate the laws of the world or lack logic, Lu Ning felt that with the power of the future Great Villainess, she could easily find a loophole to change the plot in her favor.

“You’ll know when the time comes,” Mu Qiuyu said nonchalantly, watching the last glimmer fade.

This card was a tool Mu Qiuyu hadn’t seen in her previous life, so she didn’t know its limits. When she exchanged it, she noticed it had a one-week expiration date. She scoffed. Classic System.

Even though the card didn’t give her much time to think, she wouldn’t choose to rewrite the plot to get her inheritance back. As the saying goes, “An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a jade makes him a target.” She didn’t yet have the power to protect herself. Besides, she never intended to; she had succeeded in her previous life without this card. This card was to be used on something she currently wanted to do but couldn’t.

Her thoughts returned as she saw the kitten squatting by the windowsill. The creature was still sulking because she hadn’t been told the contents, staring blankly at the glass where the light had disappeared. Mu Qiuyu didn’t offer comfort; she just packed her things, lay down, and lifted a corner of the blanket.

“Lu Zero.”

Seeing the “little tent” Mu Qiuyu had held up, with the soft bed beckoning, Lu Ning immediately stopped her star-gazing and leaped onto the bed. “I’m coming, Host!”

Night fell, and the world was cloaked in silence. Tonight, Lu Ning still didn’t intend to return to Mu Qiuyu’s inner world. She had very few points and couldn’t exchange for a human body yet. Plus, she had something more important to do.

After Mu Qiuyu fell asleep, Lu Ning’s point commission arrived. Looking at the fifty “bucks” she’d earned, she was overjoyed. Milk tea, ribs, sweet and sour pork… here I come!

But just as she was about to enter the Store, a notification box popped up. The text flashed blue, as if reading her mind: “To help the System better assist the Host, a one-time opportunity to verify mission answers is now provided. Would you like to use it?”

“This System is quite humane,” Lu Ning’s eyes lit up. She selected “Yes” without hesitation.

“Please enter the name of the person to be verified.”

“If the System is unsure of the answer, you may use three ‘Yes/No’ questions to determine it.”

“It’s not just ‘humane,’ it’s ‘overly humane’!” Lu Ning immediately defected, taking back all her disdain for the System. It was exactly what she needed. She had been debating between Pei Yinyue and Li Xiang.

The kitten’s tail wagged under the blanket as she entered the “Yes/No” phase. Although she had a target in mind, she played it safe: “Is Mu Qiuyu’s friend a girl?”

The box displayed: “Yes.”

Lu Ning’s heart steadied. She thought for a moment and entered: “Is Mu Qiuyu’s friend someone she just met?”

The box displayed: “Yes.”

Then it probably wasn’t Pei Yinyue; they were in the same class before and must have known each other. That only left Li Xiang, right? Lu Ning felt certain, but she cautiously verified her thought: “Is Mu Qiuyu’s friend a member of her current class?”

The box displayed: “Yes.”

Confirmed. It’s Li Xiang! It made sense. Li Xiang had a great personality, was Mu Qiuyu’s deskmate, and proactively walked her home. Such a “flower guardian” would definitely touch Mu Qiuyu’s heart.

With full confidence, Lu Ning typed “Li Xiang” into the box.

But it wasn’t what she thought. The box didn’t lag; it slashed a piercing red “X” across her vision—a massive, bold failure.

It wasn’t Li Xiang. It wasn’t Pei Yinyue.

Lu Ning couldn’t believe it. Does Mu Qiuyu have another woman in the class that I don’t know about?!

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