Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Lu Ning Was Held in Mu Qiuyu’s Palm, Allowing Her to…

A cool breeze surged through the open window, swirling the white smoke and carrying the minty scent away from the space.

The roar of a flushing toilet exploded in the adjacent stall. The cigarette disappeared down the drain with the vortex, and the three girls, having expertly destroyed the final evidence, walked out laughing and chatting.

The opportunity vanished in an instant, but Lu Ning—who had just vowed to teach the trio a lesson—didn’t give chase.

Her entire attention was now fixed on Mu Qiuyu.

The little sphere had no fixed perspective; Lu Ning rotated her field of vision toward the force restraining her body.

She saw a hand with distinct bone structure reaching through the halo of light radiating from her. Her ethereal spherical body seemed to have gained substance, held firmly within that hand.

Mu Qiuyu’s voice was calm and cold, yet her lightly closed lips never moved.

She was speaking using the mental dialogue link between host and system.

Mu Qiuyu really could see her!

“You lied to me!” Lu Ning recalled the series of tests she had performed this morning; her excitement was instantly halved by a surge of grievance.

Facing Lu Ning’s accusation, Mu Qiuyu remained unmoved.

She stared indifferently at the excessively bright ball and stated: “I never denied that I could see you or hear your voice, nor did I ever say I found you strange.”

Those were all the questions Lu Ning had asked that morning.

Taken off guard, Lu Ning felt a bit tangled in Mu Qiuyu’s explanation, but the grievance in her heart remained vast: “Then you should have at least responded to me! Do you know how scared I was thinking you couldn’t see me?”

As if she had heard something amusing, Mu Qiuyu’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

She brought the ball in her hand a bit closer and asked with interest: “Systems can feel fear?”

This question stumped Lu Ning.

She definitely felt fear, but she wasn’t actually a system, was she?

Was she a human then?

She didn’t exactly seem to be one anymore.

She had truly been screwed over by this “transmigration into a book” ordeal.

Lu Ning wanted to cry but had no tears. To preserve the fragile bit of trust she had with Mu Qiuyu, she silently chose to keep the fact that she was neither human nor system a secret. She stiffened her resolve and nodded: “O-Of course.”

Hearing Lu Ning’s confirmation, Mu Qiuyu reminded her coldly: “If you can feel fear, then don’t do certain things.”

“Cutting my aunt’s finger this morning… that was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Living beings can usually sense whether the person opposite them has good or ill intentions; Lu Ning felt this subconscious intuition particularly strongly right now.

She felt that Mu Qiuyu didn’t seem to have much of a liking for her—this seemingly harmless little light ball. Her voice was even colder than it had been when addressing Mu Jingqin at the dining table.

Consequently, Lu Ning felt a bit guilty. She gave a weak “Mm-hmm” and explained: “I just couldn’t stand her bullying you.”

“Unnecessary.” Mu Qiuyu didn’t appreciate Lu Ning’s kindness.

She lightly turned her wrist, lifting the glowing ball right in front of her face, and reminded: “You said you are at my service. Therefore, I am your master. Do you understand?”

Unlike this morning, when Lu Ning had lunged at her to scare her, there was no moving air in the small stall. The atmosphere seemed to stagnate with Mu Qiuyu’s movements. As those extremely indifferent eyes occupied Lu Ning’s entire field of vision, a dark sense of pressure followed.

Lu Ning heard Mu Qiuyu tell her that she was her master.

That word, laden with the weight of a mark, was wrapped in the girl’s breath and fell into Lu Ning’s body just as it had in the morning. The human warmth was like a warm current rolling down from the Pacific, invading, spreading, and filling the system’s form.

Lu Ning was momentarily frozen until Mu Qiuyu’s fingers pinched her body—not heavily, just two little squeezes: “Don’t understand?”

The halo around Lu Ning swayed under the pinch, like a clump of seaweed floating in water.

Lu Ning felt this sensation was incredibly strange. She was completely held in Mu Qiuyu’s palm, the girl’s cold fingers pressed against her body, with only a hint of heat on the fingertips. it was somewhat comfortable, yet also a bit…

Shameful.

Whether it was the strawberry jam from the knife this morning or something else, Lu Ning, carrying a faint pink glow, floated out of Mu Qiuyu’s palm and nodded to her host: “…I understand.”

Lu Ning didn’t know how a seventeen-year-old girl could possess such an aura of pressure. Moreover, thinking back on Mu Qiuyu deliberately ignoring her this morning, it didn’t make sense; the explanation she gave didn’t really count as one.

Could a villain be so deep-scheming even before becoming a villain?

Ring, ring, ring.

The crisp bell echoed outside the door; the signal for morning self-study had sounded.

Mu Qiuyu needed to go to the Dean’s office to process the class transfer. Lu Ning, following the reminder she had just received, obediently acted as a well-behaved system, floating beside Mu Qiuyu as they went.

When they reached the office, the Dean was sitting at her desk, having not yet gone out for inspections.

Lu Ning was just silently commenting on Mu Qiuyu’s good luck—not having to wait for the Dean to return—when she saw the Dean pull out the documents needed for the transfer.

“Qiuyu is here. You look like you’re in good spirits today.” The Dean smiled warmly at Mu Qiuyu and gestured for her to sit in the guest area.

“Thank you, Teacher.” There was no shy, girlish smile on Mu Qiuyu’s face; she simply nodded slightly and took the documents she needed to fill out.

Lu Ning watched from the side and realized once again that this wasn’t just “luck.”

The Dean knew Mu Qiuyu would come at this time, so she hadn’t gone on patrol. They had communicated in advance.

Mu Qiuyu worked methodically. She signed the prepared documents, and the transfer procedures were completed quickly.

The Dean stamped the final seal and placed the effective documents into Mu Qiuyu’s student file: “Alright. From now on, you are a student of the regular track.”

There was much pity in the Dean’s eyes. She brushed her hand over the file on the desk and continued: “You don’t need to rush over there today. Priority goes to the competition this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll have your new homeroom teacher take you to the new class. Rest assured, Class 13 is the best regular class in our grade. If you need anything, just come to me.”

This was the best arrangement possible under the limited circumstances.

Compared to the cold words she had heard earlier, the Dean’s words made Lu Ning, who was also a teacher, feel a warmth in her heart.

However, Mu Qiuyu’s face still showed no excess emotion, nor did her eyes redden because of the helping hand offered.

She simply expressed her gratitude politely, just as she had to Mu Jingqin: “Thank you, Teacher.”

A young person being too calm doesn’t exactly put a teacher at ease. The Dean couldn’t help but advise: “Qiuyu, you must believe that no matter what environment you are in, you can achieve a better future, okay?”

“I understand.” Mu Qiuyu nodded.

She was simply too detached.

A trace of gloom passed through the Dean’s eyes. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted Mu Qiuyu’s shoulder: “Good child. Go back and prepare well for the competition this afternoon.”

“I will. Goodbye, Teacher.” Mu Qiuyu nodded slightly and left the office with steady steps.

While she was processing the transfer, two bells had rung across the campus.

Lu Ning could easily distinguish which was for the end of class and which was for the start. Following Mu Qiuyu out of the office, they naturally merged into the quiet corridor.

Earlier, while Mu Qiuyu was doing paperwork, Lu Ning didn’t want to disturb her.

But now that she seemed free, Lu Ning tried to use curiosity to bridge the gap between them: “Host, you have a competition this afternoon?”

Hearing this, Mu Qiuyu glanced at Lu Ning.

That silent look seemed to say: Isn’t this something you, as a system, should already know?

Indeed, in the system novels Lu Ning had read, the system always knew everything about the host.

But Lu Ning’s current situation was different from any book she’d seen. Mu Qiuyu’s key information was censored. She was as useless as a mascot beside a big villain.

Thinking of this, Lu Ning sighed.

She didn’t want to be this useless; she had to settle this with the “higher-ups”!

But for now, she had to fake some professionalism to gain Mu Qiuyu’s approval.

“I just arrived in this world, and I was busy identifying myself to you this morning. A lot of data hasn’t been organized yet,” Lu Ning lied.

She turned toward Mu Qiuyu and requested with an ulterior motive: “So, can the host tell me a bit about yourself first?”

The transparent ball couldn’t carry any physical weight, and in the sunlight, it emitted a pathetic, pleading glow.

Mu Qiuyu looked at the “pitiable” little thing. She stared at her expressionlessly for a while—staring until Lu Ning became nervous, wondering if her act had been seen through—before finally saying briefly: “There is a competition this afternoon. That’s why I chose to return to school today.”

“So that’s it.” Lu Ning’s heart settled. She nodded thoughtfully, not forgetting to offer a bit of flattery: “Host, you really have a strong sense of collective honor.”

Mu Qiuyu glanced at the ball beside her and a disdainful smile flickered in the depths of her eyes.

The first period for the International Class was English. Just as Mu Qiuyu reached the door, she heard the English teacher reading from a newspaper in her proud “London accent.”

Mu Qiuyu was the student with the best oral English in the class, and the teacher loved calling on her for interaction.

Seeing her after so long, the teacher’s eyes lit up.

The woman’s reading tone rose in pitch, and she waved the newspaper in her hand, gesturing for Mu Qiuyu to return to her seat.

“Mu Qiuyu is back?”

“What was she doing just now?”

“Who knows.”

Such a move couldn’t help but attract the attention of the classmates. They began to gossip about Mu Qiuyu’s reappearance.

The worst were the two girls sitting in the row in front of her; they leaned together, whispering back and forth.

“I heard she was moving to a regular class. Why is she back?”

“Maybe she can’t bear to leave. Lingering for a bit to experience the last of the ‘good times’.”

“You’re so mean.”

“I’m just telling the truth. A plucked phoenix is worse than a chicken.”

They traded barbs as if performing a comedy routine.

The snickering mixed with the teacher’s reading, sounding particularly grating.

“Don’t chat during class. Listen to the lesson.”

Just then, a girl’s voice sounded from the other side.

Her voice was low. While it lacked the heavy pressure of Mu Qiuyu’s voice, it was still quite intimidating. The two girls who were whispering immediately buried their heads back in their textbooks.

Nicely done.

Lu Ning cheered for the righteous girl in her heart. Despite her excitement, she looked at Mu Qiuyu with concern.

At such a close distance, it was impossible for Mu Qiuyu not to hear.

Yet Mu Qiuyu remained expressionless, opening her notebook to record the key points mentioned by the teacher.

The more Lu Ning saw her like this, the more uncomfortable she felt. She wanted to say something to comfort her, but before she could speak, a dark shadow loomed over.

Cool fingers pressed against the sphere’s body, dispelling the warmth of spring.

It was Mu Qiuyu’s hand, inconspicuously scooping up Lu Ning from the desk.

How to describe Lu Ning’s current state?

To others, she was an ethereal void, but in Mu Qiuyu’s hand, she was a glowing small ball.

The girl’s slender fingers closed slightly, like a seamless net, trapping Lu Ning inside.

Mu Qiuyu took notes with one hand and squeezed Lu Ning with the other. The resilient ball rolled and pressed within her palm. Her long fingers brushed through the halo, occasionally picking at a strand of light as if braiding hair.

This action was even more excessive than in the restroom earlier.

Lu Ning was completely in Mu Qiuyu’s palm, allowing her to knead and rub her. The light on her body was like fur, and Mu Qiuyu easily passed through it to reach her core, scratching her body casually and lazily as if petting a small animal.

It felt very comfortable.

But also very weird.

It was that same inexplicable sense of shame.

Lu Ning sank into the comfort Mu Qiuyu provided, yet struggled against the shame, trying to maintain her dignity as a system: “Um, H-Host… can you take me out of your palm?”

Mu Qiuyu, acting as if she were the victim, looked down at Lu Ning: “Can you adjust your brightness?”

Lu Ning had been played with until her whole spherical form was a mess. She braced herself against the halo and emerged from Mu Qiuyu’s palm.

Her body was disheveled, and her thoughts seemed to be as well. she followed Mu Qiuyu’s lead: “Ah, am I too dazzling?”

“Extremely,” Mu Qiuyu replied.

That indifferent voice left no room for doubt. Lu Ning immediately tried to find the program on the panel to regulate her brightness.

But she had been a human until today. As a novice, the broken system hadn’t even given her a manual. After a frantic search, she found nothing.

Just as Lu Ning was about to curse the system again, a new prompt box popped up: Please open after the system enters the host’s body. Below it was a compressed file.

NoviceGuide.zip

Mu Qiuyu saw the light on Lu Ning—who had been busy doing goodness-knows-what—suddenly flare up. She asked softly, “Can’t adjust it?”

She seemed to know Lu Ning was a bit of a klutz, and reached her hand toward her again.

The halo Mu Qiuyu had ruffled suddenly exploded outward. Lu Ning dodged and signaled: “I can! But adjusting this requires a restart. I-I’ll disappear for a bit and come back to see you once it’s fixed. It’ll be quick!”

The light ball brushed past Mu Qiuyu’s fingers, leaving her grasping at air.

She stared at the ball for a second and lightly curled her empty hand: “Okay.”

“See you later, Host!” Lu Ning waved to Mu Qiuyu with a happy and excited heart, then followed the prompt’s instructions and floated toward Mu Qiuyu’s chest.

The sun fell across Mu Qiuyu’s desk from the window; the morning rain had washed the sunlight clean.

The white shirt faintly revealed the girl’s thin frame—young and not yet fully grown, like the cherry blossom buds hanging outside the window.

Lu Ning was a bit apprehensive about entering the host’s body. After all, nothing had gone smoothly since the morning began.

But this time, her entry was surprisingly effortless.

A clean scent of soap gradually filled the air. The moment she drew close to Mu Qiuyu’s chest, she sank right in.

Thus, Lu Ning didn’t see the dark look in Mu Qiuyu’s eyes flicker strangely as she watched the ball dive into her heart.

It was an indescribable feeling; perhaps anyone would pause for a moment if something from outside the world was entering their body.

The host’s “body” was not her physical flesh. After entering, Lu Ning saw no organs; the surroundings were a vast white expanse, like an endless tunnel.

She walked forward following the prompt until she saw a wooden door at the end of the light path. Its ancient craftsmanship allowed a brighter light to leak through the cracks, enticing one to open it.

Lu Ning always felt that things that actively enticed people were unsafe. Her raised hand hesitated.

The prompt box popped up again, urging her to open the door.

Whatever, I’m already here.

Sighing the one sentence humans find hardest to refuse, Lu Ning pushed the door open.

To her surprise, the moment she pushed it open, a gust of wind suddenly blew toward her face—so strong it nearly knocked her over.

The content of the prompt box changed at that moment, with a line of text written grandly, like a formal opening after the prologue:

Congratulations! The system has successfully entered Mu Qiuyu’s inner world.

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