Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Afraid They Might Be Bound Together for a Lifetime…

A layer of oily fog coated the old glass, turning the incoming light into a hazy blur. But in the kitten’s eyes, this light was washed and reshaped, shining brightly and brilliantly before Mu Qiuyu.

The desire to confide came out of nowhere. Despite having remained calm for over twenty years, Mu Qiuyu suddenly found herself unable to restrain it today.

“A long time ago, there was a hedgehog living in the city. She was very well cared for, living a life of wealth and plenty of food.”

The girl’s gentle voice drifted slowly, sounding like the opening of a long-sealed door. The old story was covered in dust, every word seemingly carefully chosen, carrying the traces of time.

However, the moment Lu Ning heard the word “hedgehog,” her eyes flickered uncontrollably. The movement wasn’t obvious, but Mu Qiuyu caught it. She stopped her narration warily and looked down at Lu Ning. “Have you heard this before?”

Lu Ning shook her head quickly and spoke the truth: “No, I’m just surprised that Host also likes hedgehogs?”

“You like them?” Mu Qiuyu asked back.

“They’re alright.” Lu Ning scratched her face. Hedgehogs didn’t look like rats, so her level of acceptance was decent. If Mu Qiuyu liked them, she could find a day to transform into a little hedgehog.

But Mu Qiuyu clearly wasn’t asking about Lu Ning’s preferences; she had sniffed out a logical loophole in Lu Ning’s words. “Then why did you use the word ‘also’?”

Lu Ning froze. She hadn’t expected Mu Qiuyu to be so sharp, nor had she expected herself to be so careless. The kitten secretly resolved that once they returned to the Inner World, she must make the Inner World’s Mu Qiuyu choose a name. Otherwise, given how her brain couldn’t control her mouth, she might accidentally let slip the existence of the “other” Mu Qiuyu.

“I have a friend who also likes them,” Lu Ning explained hurriedly. She finally understood why Ji Xiao always said “I have a friend” was the most useful phrase in the world—this excuse was fantastic!

Just as Lu Ning was secretly congratulating herself, Mu Qiuyu’s voice singled out the very person she was thinking of: “Is your friend’s last name Ji?”

The sunlight was bright, clearly outlining Mu Qiuyu’s slightly raised eyebrow. Her eyes were openly filled with interest as she looked at Lu Ning with a smile.

“?” The cat tilted its head, its whole being feeling uneasy. She didn’t know why Mu Qiuyu would say that, nor did she know if she was overreacting out of a guilty conscience. Had she really let something slip when she was drunk that day?

But the person who liked hedgehogs wasn’t Ji Xiao; was Mu Qiuyu just guessing blindly? Realizing this, Lu Ning drew a bit of courage from her initial fear of being seen through. That’s right, the person who liked hedgehogs was the Inner World Mu Qiuyu; she hadn’t exposed that.

Because of this, Lu Ning became more confident. “Of course not!”

She answered firmly, her round little face tilted up to look at Mu Qiuyu. The kitten’s physiologically dilated pupils constricted instantly as she tilted her head, looking completely innocent. “Why does Host think that?”

Mu Qiuyu had no intention of reminding Lu Ning that feline pupils change with emotion. She spoke calmly and casually, “Just nonsense. I just thought the surname sounded catchy.”

Saying this, Mu Qiuyu reached out to stroke Lu Ning’s back. Her fingers ran through the kitten’s fluffy fur, easily catching her tail and playing with it, successfully shifting the focus. “Lu Ling, if you try to change the subject again, I won’t finish the story.”

Lu Ning was eager for that topic to pass and immediately tucked her paws into her chest obediently on Mu Qiuyu’s lap. “And then? And then? Did the little hedgehog meet a kitten?”

Looking at this exceptionally cooperative cat, Mu Qiuyu couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, the little hedgehog met a small white cat.”

However, just as she said it, Mu Qiuyu seemed to fall into a certain contemplation, adding: “Thinking about it now, she must have been abandoned by her mother shortly after her first month. I say white, but she wasn’t actually white—the whole cat was filthy, and her eyes were full of secretions.”

“When the little hedgehog met her, she had fallen into a trash can while looking for food, crying miserably without stopping. The little hedgehog went to a lot of trouble to save her.”

The hedgehog story flowed smoothly from Mu Qiuyu’s contemplation as she continued her unfinished past.

“The kitten was very grateful to the little hedgehog and they became friends. The little hedgehog even made a promise to her: as long as she could convince her caregiver, the kitten could come live at her house.”

“That day, the kitten was overjoyed. She felt it was the luckiest day of her miserable life. Perhaps from that day on, things would get better.”

“That night, when the little hedgehog’s caregiver came home, the kitten was hidden by the little hedgehog in a flowerbed in the garden. Carrying her longing for a new life, she slept a sweet sleep pillowed on petals.”

The surroundings were quiet; the wind flowing through the broken window was as steady as water. Mu Qiuyu’s voice was calm and magnetic, and Lu Ning could almost imagine the scene of the kitten sleeping soundly in the pile of petals.

However, in such a quiet and peaceful scene, Lu Ning felt a faint sense of unease. Why would a beautiful memory make someone’s expression turn so dark? It should be painful memories that one is unwilling to recall.

Lu Ning suddenly remembered what the Inner World Mu Qiuyu had once said to her. The little hedgehog’s experiences were just a story, not a fairy tale. Fairy tales were only snippets interspersed within the hedgehog’s life. No one’s life is a fairy tale; only selected fragments end happily at their climax.

Sure enough, on the second day of the story, disaster struck.

“But on the day after the little hedgehog convinced her mother, the kitten disappeared.”

Lu Ning’s heart sank. Connecting this to Mu Qiuyu’s reaction toward Cen Qin earlier, a guess uncontrollably popped into her head. Mu Qiuyu gave her no time to process, continuing: “The little hedgehog searched for her for three days and three nights, eventually finding her in a trash bin.”

“But this time, the kitten had no strength left to cry. She opened her mouth weakly and clawed at the little hedgehog’s hand with her paw, telling the little hedgehog that she didn’t want to die, she really didn’t want to die.”

“But she died anyway.”

“She died in the little hedgehog’s arms, covered in blood, her skin and flesh torn open.”

Mu Qiuyu’s words were clear and blunt, striking Lu Ning’s ears one by one. The surrounding air suddenly turned cold. Lu Ning’s heart felt twisted; she exhaled a trembling breath, feeling as though it were the last bit of warmth in her body.

Nothing in the world is more cruel than this. Happiness was almost within reach; someone had promised her the best home she could ever have. And it had to happen then. Why did it have to happen at that moment?

Lu Ning couldn’t tell if she felt more indignation or resentment. Fate had never favored Mu Qiuyu; she never truly got what she wanted. By what right?

Just as Lu Ning was feeling the injustice for Mu Qiuyu, Mu Qiuyu’s question reached her ears: “Have you ever touched intestines?”

Lu Ning froze. Mu Qiuyu then reached out her arm toward her, looking at her own fingers as she described it: “Intestines that have just spilled out still have warmth. They stick to your arm, wet and slimy, smearing intestinal fluid and blood everywhere. When the wind blows, the air is full of the stench of rotting blood.”

“Truly, it’s particularly unforgettable.”

The girl’s pale lips moved gently, emphasizing that last sentence. Her calm eyes gazed down at the dark stairs, as if staring into an abyss.

Heaven knows how terrified a six-year-old child must have been seeing that scene. From then on, the image of the kitten struggling and unwilling to die became a lingering nightmare for Mu Qiuyu, even though her mother and father later helped her bury the kitten in the backyard.

The earth trapped the kitten’s body; no one knew if her soul had found peace. Only Miss Hedgehog would visit her every year, placing a bouquet of flowers on her small grave, leaving a dumpling for her, breaking off half a mooncake…

Lu Ning lay in Mu Qiuyu’s arms, quietly listening to the girl’s less-than-calm breathing. That warm breath brushed the fur on her ears again and again, and she suddenly realized she had been wrong.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t “like” hedgehogs. The Inner World Mu Qiuyu didn’t “like” hedgehogs either.

They were the hedgehogs.

Wrapping their fragile bodies in a coat of spines. That was why Mu Qiuyu had questioned her so sharply earlier. She was afraid Lu Ning would end up like that. She was afraid her nightmare would become reality once more.

Lu Ning’s fading regret surged back up. The kitten had no other habit but to proactively help her companion clean up negative emotions when she felt them. So, Lu Ning rubbed her head against Mu Qiuyu’s arm, and beneath the soft fur was a small pink tongue.

The tip of that tongue, covered in tiny barbs, licked carefully, as if trying to wipe away Mu Qiuyu’s “particularly unforgettable” memory.

“Host, if you want to find that person, I’ll accompany you. We have clues now; we don’t have to worry about not finding them,” Lu Ning said in her mind.

The kitten’s tongue dampened Mu Qiuyu’s fingers; the wet sensation wasn’t great. But it didn’t make her feel disgusted. Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning, her eyes layered with complexity. She had thought Lu Ning would hear this story and say, “It’s all in the past,” “It’s okay now,” “Now you have me”…

But is it really in the past? It was just shelved by time. Recalling it, Mu Qiuyu still felt pain and sadness. Mu Qiuyu didn’t know if she should be glad Lu Ning hadn’t said those things. Lu Ning proactively stood with her, wanting to solve the problem together. Perhaps one day, when they truly found that man, this matter could truly be “over.”

The leisurely spring breeze drifted through Mu Qiuyu’s long hair. She suddenly felt a sense of melancholy, yet also a sense of openness. It was as if on a road she had walked alone for a long time, a black thing had mysteriously stuck to her—unable to be shaken off, unable to be escaped.

Afraid they might be bound together for a lifetime.

Thinking this, Mu Qiuyu gave a very light smile. Her hand, which was hooked around Lu Ning’s tail, deliberately stroked upward against the grain of the cat’s fur, and she called out softly: “Lu Ling.”

“Hmm?” Lu Ning looked up.

“You aren’t a dummy kitten.”

Without beginning or end, Mu Qiuyu said this. Lu Ning didn’t think about why she suddenly said it; after all, she had done so much for her Host just now, so she deserved the praise: “Of course! I am a super smart artificial intelligence!”

The kitten happily wagged her big tail. The soft fur brushed against Mu Qiuyu’s arm over and over, acting as cocky as could be.

At that moment, footsteps came from outside the stairs. Lu Ning sharply caught the sound and turned her gaze toward the door. Two seconds later, a strong beam of light shone in. The old door made a broken creaking sound, and two police officers entered with flashlights.

Except for the glass high up on the wall, the stairwell had no light source. The light flickered due to unstable current. The two officers saw Mu Qiuyu sitting there; she looked dark and even a bit terrifying.

“Little girl, why are you sitting here?” one officer asked boldly.

“Because no one would find me here,” Mu Qiuyu stood up calmly and answered.

But just as Mu Qiuyu was about to leave with the police, the officer who had just questioned her took out handcuffs to restrain her: “Well, we’ve found you now. Come with us.”

Mu Qiuyu’s brows furrowed as she looked at the handcuffs crossing her wrists. Lu Ning was also stunned, instinctively wondering if she could help Mu Qiuyu escape. These two were always used to imagining the worst-case scenario, never thinking they had companions or that justice existed in the world.

From afar, Li Xiang ran over. Seeing the situation, she immediately shouted, shattering everyone’s assumptions: “No! Officer, this is my friend who called the police!”

The officer looked shocked. Looking at Mu Qiuyu’s expression and hearing her words earlier, he had instinctively categorized her as a problem child. Realizing he had made a blunder, the officer hurriedly unlocked the handcuffs and apologized repeatedly: “Oh, little girl, why didn’t you explain yourself? I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Mu Qiuyu withdrew her hand calmly, though she felt a secret regret. She had actually wanted to feel what it was like to wear those cuffs just now.

“Meow! (No you don’t!)”

The kitten’s cry interrupted Mu Qiuyu’s thoughts. Lu Ning sternly scratched Mu Qiuyu’s sock, nipping her burgeoning illegal thoughts in the bud: “If you really want to be punished, there are plenty of chances with mission failures! At least I can still be by your side to protect you!”

Unpredictably, the mission system seemed to go haywire. Right after Lu Ning finished speaking, a “ding” sounded in Mu Qiuyu’s mind.

[Mathematics exam ended. Due to the participant skipping the exam and showing severe contempt for the system, the mission is judged: FAILURE. Punishment is about to begin.]

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