Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: “Did I Hurt You?”

A draft of air brushed past the kitten’s ears, causing the sensitive fuzz to float slightly, casting a golden halo under the light.

Before Mu Qiuyu could react to what was happening, the hand that had touched Lu Ning’s ear was pinned back onto the bed. A long, thin shadow loomed over her vision. Mu Qiuyu looked up to see Lu Ning—who usually looked so peaceful—now wearing a fierce expression.

Lu Ning’s actions were entirely subconscious, as was her expression. Her low, looming posture blocked out the light source from above. Her deep-blue eyes had darkened, showing faint traces of vertical slits, like a cat on the hunt.

Lu Ning’s wary expression, combined with her pricked ears, was pulled tight. “Don’t touch my ears suddenly.”

“If you want to touch them, tell me first, or let me watch your movements.”

Predators seemed to possess an innate sense of oppression. Lu Ning’s thick eyelashes spread like crow feathers in Mu Qiuyu’s sight, as if ready to swallow her whole.

With that face, this expression suited her perfectly. It gave Mu Qiuyu quite a start, but it also allowed her to truly feel this person’s attraction. She was indeed the type that young girls would find alluring.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t know where this thought came from, but she suddenly felt a surge of private satisfaction. With a sense of inexplicable pride and appreciation, she felt that the body she had modeled for Lu Ning was finally being fully expressed at this moment.

Shortly after Lu Ning finished speaking, Mu Qiuyu slowly raised her left hand. The girl’s fingers were long and slender with distinct joints; a fine shadow clung to the side of Lu Ning’s face as Mu Qiuyu reached out within her line of sight, stroking her ear right in front of her face.

Mu Qiuyu was never the type to back down just because she was startled. She was the most death-defying person in the world.

Those cold fingers felt exactly as they had moments ago. They pressed against the tips of Lu Ning’s ears, letting the soft fuzz swallow them up.

Lu Ning froze. In her vision were Mu Qiuyu’s calm, candid pupils. It was as if she were saying: I did as you asked.

Yes, she had indeed stroked her with Lu Ning’s full knowledge, just as requested. But seeing such a deliberate movement right before her eyes made Lu Ning’s heart beat uncontrollably. Mu Qiuyu’s touch was slow and gentle, like a breeze brushing over her ears.

The kitten’s fierce gaze gradually cleared, the aggression vanishing. Since Mu Qiuyu followed the “rules,” Lu Ning couldn’t say anything. She stayed propped up on her arms, allowing Mu Qiuyu to pet her, as if permitting her to conduct a novel exploration on her body.

“Is this the Henry’s pocket?”

Following the lines of light, Mu Qiuyu’s fingers brushed over the fold of Lu Ning’s ear. She carefully distinguished the small layers behind the ear; her voice wasn’t asking a question, but expressing the novelty of a confirmed observation.

The cat’s “pocket” was covered in a layer of fine down, with tiny blood vessels visible under the fair skin. The girl’s cool fingertips pressed against it; even a light rub made the sensation exceptionally clear. Sensitive nerve endings trembled, spreading densely along the rim of Lu Ning’s ear.

Lu Ning, propped up on her arms beside Mu Qiuyu, found that the posture she had used to restrain the other person was now restraining her. Her left hand was still gripping Mu Qiuyu’s wrist; sweat began to cling to her palm, leaving her unsure whether to let go and dodge or stay silent and endure.

Lu Ning couldn’t see the fingers touching her ear, but her downcast eyes could see the look in Mu Qiuyu’s eyes as she gazed at them. It was a look of curiosity and focus, a single-minded attention that intersected with Lu Ning’s own gaze.

The feeling was far too strange. Lu Ning watched Mu Qiuyu study her. It felt as if those neatly trimmed nails were scraping not her ear, but her heart—itchy and difficult to control.

“Is this how you perceive danger?” Mu Qiuyu asked softly.

Maintaining what little calm she had left, Lu Ning nodded. “Mm.”

“Cute.” Something about it struck Mu Qiuyu, and she lightly scraped the kitten’s ear with her finger, a hint of a smile in her voice.

The light from the sides reached into the dim corners. Soft long hair framed Mu Qiuyu’s cheeks. From Lu Ning’s angle, Mu Qiuyu’s eyes looked exceptionally gentle because of the smile on her face. She became gentle because she was looking at something that interested her.

Thump, thump.

Following Mu Qiuyu’s gaze, Lu Ning knew the “cute” referred to her non-human cat ears. Yet, she couldn’t help but project the word “cute” onto herself as well. After all, she had to find a reasonable excuse for her current irregular heartbeat.

After holding the pose for who knows how long, Mu Qiuyu took her hand off Lu Ning’s ear. She looked calmly at the dazed Lu Ning and reminded her, “So, do you want me to keep this posture to apply your medicine?”

Lu Ning snapped out of it, sheepishly released Mu Qiuyu’s wrist, and sat back on the bed. “How do we do it? Do I need to go back?”

Lu Ning had no idea what the process of “repairing her body” entailed. Her thoughts were a mess, and she was even a bit incoherent.

“Wait a moment.” Mu Qiuyu sat up unhurriedly and opened the System Store in front of both of them. After a bit of navigation, the data-repairing item turned into a jar of ointment and appeared on the bed.

Lu Ning had noticed earlier that Mu Qiuyu’s points were several times higher than hers. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Mu Qiuyu, how do you have so many points?”

“Because someone has no self-restraint.” Mu Qiuyu glanced at Lu Ning and opened the ointment. “Where is the body data exposed?”

This was the serious business of the night. Lu Ning obediently rolled up her trouser leg. “Just the calf.”

“Okay.”

Mu Qiuyu dipped a finger into the ointment and applied it evenly over the exposed data area on Lu Ning’s calf. Visibly, the area was effectively sealed. The cool ointment wove a thin film over Lu Ning’s leg, and new skin began to grow along this mesh.

The rapid growth didn’t bring pain, but rather a dense, tingling itch that spread from Mu Qiuyu’s fingers. Knowing her body was being fixed, Lu Ning distracted herself by looking at Mu Qiuyu. The same focused gaze she used on the ears was present here; Mu Qiuyu’s downcast eyes were full of seriousness.

She repaired the body layer by layer. The sensation under her fingers went from non-existent to present, making Lu Ning feel better than she ever had before. No one had ever treated her so carefully. Growing up, she handled all her wounds herself. She was forced to face bloody injuries and watch needles enter her arm. Numbness was actually just countless emotions piled up over time; she had no outlet, so she could only compress them tighter and tighter like a machine.

“Hiss.”

A sudden flash of pain made Lu Ning reflexively pull her leg back. Mu Qiuyu stopped immediately and looked up. “Did I hurt you?”

Lu Ning shook her head, looking down at the spot where Mu Qiuyu had just applied the ointment. The crystal-blue light was exceptionally bright there; there was likely a data core at that spot.

“Sorry,” Mu Qiuyu apologized, realizing the issue.

“It’s fine, you’re doing great.” Lu Ning smiled at Mu Qiuyu, showing off her repaired leg. “See? Good as new. No one will notice.”

But Mu Qiuyu’s expression didn’t brighten. Her gaze remained on Lu Ning’s other leg, unusually worried. “This core is hard for me to handle. Be careful not to bump it.”

“Don’t worry, this leg was already acting up. I’ll just say I scraped it; no one will suspect anything,” Lu Ning promised, sounding very reliable.

But that wasn’t what Mu Qiuyu meant. She opened her mouth to explain, but changed her mind. “Open your store and let me see.”

“Are you interested in this? Our system’s store isn’t much to look at—it’s quite pitiful.” Lu Ning thought it was a rare request and opened it while playing up the “misery.”

Indeed, the internal system store was much more meager than the host’s store. Mu Qiuyu looked at the selection—mostly milk tea, fried chicken legs, and burgers—and snorted. “A bunch of useless things…”

Lu Ning pouted. “Right? Our internal benefits are terrible.”

But despite the complaints, Lu Ning’s gaze instinctively lingered on the milk tea. She decided to put in a good word for it: “But the milk tea really tastes good. Besides, the system doesn’t need ‘useful’ things; as long as it makes you happy.”

Mu Qiuyu looked puzzled. “You’ll be happy just by drinking milk tea?”

“Of course.” Lu Ning nodded seriously.

“Have some ambition,” Mu Qiuyu teased. But she then opened another page and asked, “Which flavor do you like?”

“Original pearl milk tea, obviously,” Lu Ning blurted out.

To her surprise, she heard Mu Qiuyu say, “Done.”

Lu Ning was still processing when, in the blink of an eye, two cups of steaming milk tea appeared before her. She knew that with her current points, she couldn’t afford even one cup. Through the white steam, Lu Ning looked at Mu Qiuyu. “You’re treating me?”

The girl’s eyes sparkled as she smiled, and even her ears twitched with joy.

Mu Qiuyu watched this reaction and gave a very faint “Mm.” She took her own cup and poked in the straw. The sweet milk tea flowed into the girl’s mouth, and for a moment, a rich wave of heat flooded that untouched land.

Mu Qiuyu took a sip, her calm gaze faltering for a second. This flavor she had never tried felt novel to her. But if she had never tried it, why did it feel mysteriously familiar?

—“Little one, why are you here?”

—“Want a taste? It’s delicious.”

Memories of the “blank space” pointed out by the other “her” in the nightmare began to surface. This familiar yet empty feeling was identical to the “she” mentioned by the woman in the system punishment.

Lu Ning noticed the long pause. Seeing Mu Qiuyu stop drinking, she thought she was overwhelmed by the deliciousness and excitedly sought consensus: “Is it good? You probably didn’t know something this delicious existed in the world, right?”

Mu Qiuyu pulled her thoughts back subtly and looked at the plastic cup in her hand. “Its value wouldn’t make it the best-tasting thing in the world.”

As she spoke, her tongue inevitably brushed her teeth. The cheap flavor was intertwined with that “she,” making her murmur: “It’s just… a bit familiar.”

Lu Ning looked at her, puzzled. What did “familiar” mean? Had she drank it as a child and been strictly criticized by her family? According to common novel tropes, would a family like Mu Qiuyu’s forbid such “cheap and unhealthy” things?

Mu Qiuyu snapped out of her murmur and saw Lu Ning making up stories in her head again, her ears twitching. She took another sip of the milk tea, pulling Lu Ning out of her fantasies. “Do you drink milk tea every day?”

“Not really. I order a cup every time I return to your Inner World. I can’t order too many, or I won’t have enough points for other food.” Lu Ning took a big gulp, demonstrating her love for milk tea through action.

Mu Qiuyu nodded, her gaze returning to Lu Ning’s system store. “Are these the flower seeds you mentioned?”

Lu Ning chewed on a pearl and nodded at the screen. “Yeah, I bought these random seeds. You get a whole bunch for three packs, very cost-effective.”

“Indeed.” For once, Lu Ning showed some sense. Mu Qiuyu nodded in approval.

The straw shifted with the intake of pearls, and the scent of milk tea wafted through the room. Lu Ning had only finished a third when Mu Qiuyu had already scanned the entire internal store.

“Actually, you don’t have many places to spend points. A cup of milk tea is only two points, a dose of truth serum is ten, garden tools are five, and flower seeds are only twenty-five…”

Mu Qiuyu withdrew her gaze and turned to Lu Ning. Her calm pupils narrowed, revealing a sharp edge. “There’s still a ten-point deficit. Where did you spend it?”

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