Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: “Open Your Mouth.”

In the coffee shop, a jazz piece reached its crescendo, almost as if it were perfectly timed. The server’s gentle smile was reflected in the street-side window, forming a sharp contrast with Lu Ning’s startled expression.

That single red heart-shaped mousse cake sat on the wood-colored table, looking exceptionally conspicuous. Lu Ning was utterly stunned, and in her peripheral vision—drawn by the red cake—she saw her own hand still held in Mu Qiuyu’s. Those two pairs of slender hands overlapping, with their finely carved bone structure, elevated the aesthetic of the scene by more than a few degrees.

In a public place with people coming and going, they showed no fear. How could this not be seen as a picture of an affectionate young couple?

…If only she and Mu Qiuyu were actually a couple.

Facing such a misunderstanding, Lu Ning opened her mouth to clarify: “No—”

To her surprise, Mu Qiuyu squeezed her hand, accepting the server’s blessing: “Thank you, and I wish you a prosperous business as well.”

“You’re too kind.” The server’s previously nervous expression instantly relaxed. Looking at Mu Qiuyu’s eyes now, she felt they were much better than when the girl had come to question her earlier. That gaze, faintly carrying a hint of a smile, finally had some warmth, no longer cold and pushing people a thousand miles away.

The server thought that such a beautiful girl should smile more. Look at how pretty she was when she smiled! It seemed she had done the right thing.

“Enjoy, you two,” the server thought as she placed two forks on napkins onto the table and left with a smile.

The server’s delivery was fast, and her exit was even faster. Lu Ning watched her receding back, her mouth hanging open, realizing she never had a chance to interject. Such a blunder left her deeply confused. She turned to Mu Qiuyu: “Since when are we a couple?”

We aren’t, of course, Mu Qiuyu thought silently.

But just now, she had realized something. That voice that had suddenly echoed in her head was intentional. Every time it appeared, it was related to Lu Ning. The system followed strict programming; the punishment given to her must have a traceable pattern. That voice likely originated from the person who looked exactly like her—she was provoking her because she, too, wanted to possess Lu Ling.

At first, Mu Qiuyu couldn’t be sure. But the moment she accepted this “misunderstanding,” the voice that had been nagging her ear disappeared. She could faintly sense a feeling of resentment, but it wasn’t coming from her own heart.

Thinking of this, Mu Qiuyu’s mood suddenly brightened. She unhurriedly picked up a fork and, with casual yet unhesitating ease, sliced a piece out of the perfect heart: “But I wanted to eat the cake.”

Lu Ning found this answer incredibly strange. Having spent so much time together, she knew Mu Qiuyu wasn’t the type to lean into such a blunder just for a freebie. The value of a cake clearly didn’t equate to the value of being seen as a couple. So, what on earth would make Mu Qiuyu willing to let the misunderstanding stand?

“It tastes good. Do you want to try?”

As Lu Ning was wondering, a small shadow suddenly fell before her. The cake, dusted with red velvet powder, appeared in her line of sight, with Mu Qiuyu’s slender wrist beneath it. She was holding the fork with the bite-sized piece, extending it toward Lu Ning without hesitation, clearly intending to feed her.

“I… I’ll do it myself…” Lu Ning stammered, reaching out for the fork.

But Mu Qiuyu wouldn’t let her. She dodged Lu Ning’s hand and reminded her: “Do you want the server to find out we’re just here to scam a free cake?”

Hearing this, Lu Ning instinctively turned to look at the server who had returned to the counter. She really did seem to be paying attention to them; when she saw Lu Ning look over, she even gave her a smile.

The direct sunlight cast a blinding glint off the silver fork. Mu Qiuyu lightly tilted the fork, the silver light silently flashing across Lu Ning’s eyes. Summer really seemed to be coming; Lu Ning felt her face getting hot for no reason.

She knew she had to “play the part” to the end. With her ears turning bright red, she leaned toward the fork in Mu Qiuyu’s hand.

This was going to be the death of her. In all her years of going to bars and parties, Lu Ning had never been like this with anyone.

The piece Mu Qiuyu fed her was neither too big nor too small, just right for Lu Ning to take in one bite. The sweet mousse melted instantly, and the fragrance of roses filled her mouth. Like a perfume with top and base notes, after eating the cake, she sensed something else. The scent was lighter than roses, like an unknown flower washed by the morning dew.

As the “dew” touched the tip of Lu Ning’s tongue, she suddenly realized: she seemed to be tasting the fragrance of Mu Qiuyu’s fingers.

“Is it good?”

Mu Qiuyu watched Lu Ning eat the cake she offered, then withdrew the fork. The person seemed very interested in the cake before her, as she immediately forked another piece for herself.

In that instant, Lu Ning felt time around her stretch. She watched Mu Qiuyu’s lack of boundaries, her heart thumping against her chest as if it were trying to leap out. What the mousse cake actually tasted like, Lu Ning had no idea.

Her vision was filled only with the cream left on Mu Qiuyu’s lips, which was then slowly licked away by the tip of her tongue. The girl’s thin lips, moistened by her tongue and stained by the red velvet like smudged lipstick, became translucent and ruby-red, like berries growing in a thicket.

The person’s actions were so natural, or rather, so direct. Staring straight at you, making it impossible to look away, difficult to avoid.

—“I wish you both a long life together and an everlasting love.”

The server’s words rang in Lu Ning’s ears again like a clap of thunder. But this time, she was no longer in a state of fear or worry. A thought suddenly popped into her head:

How wonderful would it be if this person belonged to me?

But then a wave of reality surged into Lu Ning’s mind, a tsunami crashing against the thought, dragging it down into the deep sea. How could she take a person for her own? She didn’t even know if she liked boys or girls; what right did she have to trouble such a good girl?

Lu Ning’s thoughts ebbed and flowed like a roller coaster. Then, the voice of the girl who had just sparked her greed reached her ears: “What are you thinking about?”

Mu Qiuyu saw that Lu Ning remained silent, her mind seemingly drifted off again, and reminded her to snap out of it.

Lu Ning looked up sharply and scrambled for an excuse: “I was thinking… this world is quite accepting of these things.”

“Is there any world that isn’t?” Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning and asked softly.

Which world? Naturally, the world she originally came from. Or rather, the world of her father. The words almost spilled out of Lu Ning’s mouth, but her brain caught them just in time. Her heart skipped a beat; she felt like she had almost fallen into Mu Qiuyu’s trap again.

But then Lu Ning wondered if she was just being paranoid, judging a noble person by her own petty thoughts. After all, she was a “system.” She had bragged to Mu Qiuyu before about how many hosts she had guided. In that case, she must have been to many worlds.

Thinking this, Lu Ning continued the nod she had stopped, but what she told Mu Qiuyu was different: “Of course there are. In some worlds, homosexuality isn’t allowed to exist, and some even view it as heresy, punishable by death.”

“Have you been to a world like that?” Mu Qiuyu followed up.

“I’ve been to many like that. It’s very oppressive, no freedom at all.” To flesh out her reliable background, Lu Ning started bluffing, not forgetting to try and influence Mu Qiuyu: “So this world is better. We should cherish the social atmosphere that didn’t come easily.”

Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning’s serious expression, a trace of a smile appearing in her eyes: “Interesting.”

She didn’t express agreement, nor did she seem to feel any lingering fear; she simply evaluated the rules of different worlds as “interesting.” Lu Ning thought only Mu Qiuyu would say such a thing.

But… why? Why would Mu Qiuyu find such things “interesting”? Lu Ning’s professional curiosity flared, and she lowered her gaze. She realized that although she had been with Mu Qiuyu this whole time, her understanding of Mu Qiuyu was actually very superficial. She hadn’t even noticed what Mu Qiuyu’s orientation was.

Perhaps because of Mu Qiuyu’s status as the ultimate villain, the original story never touched on these things. Maybe the author thought that someone as powerful as Mu Qiuyu didn’t need romance.

So, what did Mu Qiuyu need? Lu Ning’s thoughts drifted back to the moment before the server arrived. She realized in hindsight what Mu Qiuyu had meant by that word: “You.”

Maybe that wasn’t a sentence cut short. Maybe it was just “You.”

Thump. Thump.

A lingering heat stayed on the palm that had been held, making Lu Ning feel scorched. She looked up at Mu Qiuyu and asked tentatively: “By the way. Earlier when I asked what compensation you wanted, you hadn’t finished speaking, right?”

To her surprise, Mu Qiuyu gave her a simple: “Mm.”

It was like two birds about to cross paths in flight. Missing by just a second was still a miss.

Having confirmed that the voice was intentionally provoking her, Mu Qiuyu had regained control of her emotions. She calmed down and said to Lu Ning: “I was going to say, you can handle the application for my reward yourself. I can’t think of anything specific I want; you’re more familiar with system items anyway.”

Hearing this, Lu Ning let out a seemingly relaxed breath. She nodded, thinking that indeed, what Mu Qiuyu wanted wasn’t “You,” and there was a follow-up after all.

“Then I’ll just improvise.”

But as Lu Ning said this with a smile, there was a touch of disappointment in the depths of her eyes. Even if it was just a whim, she actually quite wanted Mu Qiuyu to say that what she wanted was her.

Forget it. Don’t be self-indulgent. Lu Ning gently reminded herself in her heart, her hands returning to the keyboard. She was just Mu Qiuyu’s system; she already belonged to this person. Whether she wanted her or not, she was hers.

With that thought, Lu Ning’s disappointed heart steadied again.

“Open your mouth.”

Amidst the clattering of the keyboard, the girl’s cool voice reached Lu Ning’s ears. Lu Ning seemed to know what Mu Qiuyu was going to do, or perhaps her attention was focused on getting the compensation right. Naturally, at this signal, she opened her mouth toward the direction of the voice.

The familiar rose fragrance flooded Lu Ning’s nose again. Under the sunlight, Mu Qiuyu’s scent followed her fingers as they brushed past Lu Ning’s lips. This unspoken understanding made Mu Qiuyu inexplicably happy.

She didn’t quite understand why her mood would brighten just from seeing Lu Ning eat her offerings. If it was just to spite that voice, it seemed slightly off-target.

The direct sun fell onto the coffee shop counter, and the outline of the Wutong leaf drawn on the glass faintly shimmered.

In the inner world, the moon gradually became less menacing. Several butterflies quietly flew out from among the flowers shrouded in moonlight. The newborn butterflies knew nothing of the world’s rules, flapping their wings and flying everywhere. They flew into the white light, becoming assimilated into white, appearing to participate in the quiet escapism of this place.

But in the next second, their wings burst into flames. The shimmering scales fell like winter snow as their bodies gradually turned to ash.

Wutong stared fixedly at the falling corpses of the butterflies, the teacup she had been holding already shattered into pieces.

Support