Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: “Why Did You Abandon Me?”

In an instant, the flow of time seemed to accelerate. Gale-force winds swept across the dim sky, pushing the clouds into rapid, chaotic transformations. The Corn Poppies looked as if they had caught fire; the entire world was a searing red.

Lu Ning knelt on the ground, watching Wutong walk toward her step by step. Those flowers, fed by blood, bloomed with a seductive yet dangerous glow—like warning lights—forcing Lu Ning to use every ounce of her strength to raise her hand. “Don’t… don’t…”

Don’t come over. I can make it to you.

The pained voice caught in Lu Ning’s throat. Mu Qiuyu’s psychological defenses and the hatred within the story numbered in the tens of thousands; Lu Ning was engulfed by a colossal shadow. This place was too dangerous; Wutong, dragging those blood-stained chains, shouldn’t come any closer.

Lu Ning motioned for Wutong to wait in the distance. She could do it. She could walk out of here on her own.

But Wutong acted as if she couldn’t hear the refusal or see the waving hand. She remained stubborn, pulling the blood-soaked chains as she walked toward Lu Ning with unwavering determination.

“Lu Ning!”

The moment Lu Ning pushed herself up from the ground, Wutong caught her swaying body in an embrace. Lu Ning’s eyes were filled with a dazed blankness as she stared at the girl supporting her. The scent of blood grew even thicker. Her lips were pale, as if she wanted to say something to Wutong.

But then, Lu Ning’s furrowed brow twisted into a tight knot. She felt as if she had been slammed into something. Her head throbbed.

BONG—! “D*mn it, you still dare to look for death!”

A man’s muffled curse rang in Lu Ning’s ear. She couldn’t tell if it was the man in the suit or the driver. Waves of pain radiated from her concussed brain; the entire world spun uncontrollably.

“Lu Ning… Lu Ning!”

In her daze, she heard someone calling her. Anxious, at a loss. She thought she should give them a reaction, but she was trapped in Mu Qiuyu’s memory.

Mu Qiuyu had been slammed against a wall and lost consciousness. Just as Lu Ning tried to look toward the source of the voice, the world went black.

Drip. Drap.

The sound of dripping water echoed from nowhere, sounding both far and near. Lu Ning instinctively reached up to wipe her face, but her palm touched a dry, smooth cheek.

“…”

In her confusion, she opened her eyes, only to find nothing but darkness.

“What’s going on?” Lu Ning realized she couldn’t even see her own raised hand. Panic set in. She looked around frantically, trying to find any information in the void to prove her eyes weren’t broken. But no matter where she looked, it was pure black.

“The system’s punishment isn’t physical. It’s an endless darkness where your sight is stripped away, and all you can hear is the sound of dripping water.”

Suddenly, Mu Qiuyu’s voice echoed in her ear. This was the description Mu Qiuyu had given her after being punished by the system. The girl’s voice was still cool, but the calm tone helped steady Lu Ning’s mind.

With the voice echoing, Lu Ning’s panic subsided. Hearing Mu Qiuyu made her feel like someone was with her. Lu Ning felt the ground and slowly stood up, realizing she was experiencing a nightmare identical to Mu Qiuyu’s punishment. Even though Mu Qiuyu’s inner world was rejecting her—going so far as to trigger the system’s rejection response used to punish others—the owner of that world had still come to protect her.

In the darkness, Lu Ning took a large step forward. There was no light, so the darkness couldn’t see the smile flashing in her eyes as she realized this.

“Sister, walk boldly forward! Go forward!”

“Don’t look—cough cough—back!”

The best way to overcome darkness is to ignore it. Lu Ning let herself go, singing loudly to drown out the dripping water, following exactly what Mu Qiuyu had told her: keep walking forward.

Honestly, though, darkness is unsettling. After walking for a while, her legs felt sore, yet no images appeared ahead. The rhythmic dripping was so uniform it became aggravating. Lu Ning felt a surge of frustration, but she decided that since she chose to trust Mu Qiuyu, she would trust her to the end. Mu Qiuyu wouldn’t be wrong.

With that thought, she sang even louder. In the darkness, a “broken-gong” voice sang at the top of its lungs, nearly silencing the drips.

“Walk forward! Don’t look back!”

“Don’t look back—!!”

Finally, a sliver of light broke through her vision. The pitch-black curtain was pried open. In the dim environment, there was a hazy glow, just like the door she had to push open every time she entered the Inner World.

Was she just being kicked out of the Inner World by Mu Qiuyu? Lu Ning felt a surge of joy and her steps lightened. She ran toward the light, feeling like she would see the person she wanted to see in the next second…

“Uuu…”

“Uuuu…”

A humming sound reached her ears—the sound of someone crying. It was the soft, immature weeping of a young girl.

Is this a horror movie set? Lu Ning slowed down. Behind her was pitch-black; ahead was the light accompanied by a child’s crying. It was a classic “stuck between a rock and a hard place” scenario.

But adhering to the philosophy of “since I’m already here,” and the fact that there was no way back, Lu Ning swallowed hard. Despite her fear, she bolstered her courage and walked forward. She even stopped singing, afraid of startling the child.

When she reached the source of the light, she saw a world of pure, innocent white. The white light didn’t bleed into the black region, creating a stark, infinite line right before her. Lu Ning was stunned. She hadn’t expected this.

She couldn’t help but think of Mu Qiuyu. Was she standing right here back then, watching someone walk out from the other side holding me-as-a-kitten?

“Uuu…”

Just as Lu Ning reached out to touch the white world, the child’s crying started again, scaring her into pulling her hand back. She watched tensely for what would appear. In the pure white world, as if a curtain had been pulled back, a little girl walked in. She was tall and thin, wearing a pretty white puff-sleeved nightgown.

Lu Ning froze. She recognized her instantly: it was Mu Qiuyu as a child.

Little Mu Qiuyu looked as though she had just woken from a terrifying nightmare, crying with lingering fear. Lu Ning had never seen Mu Qiuyu cry; those normally indifferent eyes were filled with tears, her eyelids rimmed with red. It made one desperately want to reach out and wipe them away.

As Little Mu Qiuyu walked closer, the background behind her became clear. It was her childhood bedroom. Dolls were scattered on the bed, a soft carpet covered the floor, and a neatly ironed school uniform was hanging on a rack. It said: 6th Grade, Class 1.

Crying even in the 6th grade? Lu Ning felt a wave of emotion, seeing a side of Mu Qiuyu she never knew existed.

She realized Little Mu Qiuyu was walking toward her. Tears blurred the child’s vision. She wiped her eyes with one hand and held a doll in the other. The doll was clean but showed signs of age, as if it had been owned for a very long time. As the girl drew closer, Lu Ning recognized it: it was a little hedgehog doll.

Hedgehog…

Lu Ning recalled the stories of the little hedgehog that both Wutong and Mu Qiuyu had told her. What story was Little Mu Qiuyu about to tell her now?

Lu Ning watched the child walk right up to where she stood. A breeze blew from the girl’s direction, and the curtains swayed in the night. Lu Ning realized she was standing on the bay window.

The little girl looked out the window lonelily. Her nose was red from crying. Despite being surrounded by dolls, she looked incredibly isolated. Lu Ning wondered if the moon was full in that timeline.

She heard the child’s breath drift into her ear. The little girl opened her mouth and whispered to the moon—to the Lu Ning she couldn’t see:

“Why did you abandon me?”

The moment she said it, tears fell again. Her voice was full of sadness and a stubborn kind of pride. Even though she was looking at the moon, it felt like she was questioning Lu Ning through the glass.

Lu Ning’s heart felt hollow. Something shattered inside. Without thinking, she blurted out, “It wasn’t like that.”

She felt like the person who had actually abandoned the girl. But the moment the words left her mouth, she clamped her lips shut. She realized that she might confuse the child or mess up her memory…

Fortunately, the child couldn’t hear her. Unfortunately, the child’s question received no response.

“You promised you’d take me to the amusement park.”

“Liar.”

“You are the biggest liar in the world!”

The night was so silent it felt like the world was empty. Little Mu Qiuyu’s questions grew more frequent, her cold voice trembling. She couldn’t stop herself from crying again.

Lu Ning stood opposite her, watching. Seeing her expression and her eyes, she felt a struggle in her heart. She didn’t have the answers, she didn’t even know the context, yet she wanted to rush over and tell her it wasn’t true.

She wasn’t abandoned. That person wasn’t a liar.

Lu Ning was frantic, trying desperately to step into that vision. Urgently, desperately…

“It’s not true!”

The voice rang clearly in her ear, and she snapped her eyes open. In an instant, the darkness vanished, replaced by a sudden light. The familiar white light was gentle, guiding her to look at the lush, real surroundings.

Lu Ning was dazed, realizing she was back in Wutong’s territory. For some reason, as she looked at the distant bushes, she felt the circle of white light surrounding the area had receded a bit further. She squinted, deep in thought.

Before she could process it, a gentle voice spoke: “You’re awake?”

Warmth approached. Through the steam of a hot drink, she saw Wutong gazing at her tenderly. The immature face from the dream had returned to the visage of the young woman. Lu Ning regained her senses and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Don’t touch the things in that area again. Her memories are inside,” Wutong said, handing Lu Ning a cup and advising her softly.

“But if it’s a memory, why is that story different from what actually happened in reality?” Lu Ning frowned, utterly confused.

Wutong didn’t seem inclined to explain. She simply said, “But it is reality.”

This answer didn’t solve the problem; it only deepened the mystery. How could it be? That was a shared experience between her and Mu Qiuyu, yet she had no memory of those things happening.

Perhaps from overthinking, Lu Ning’s head began to throb. “Ugh…”

Wutong quickly pressed Lu Ning’s hand, distracting her. “Don’t think about her things anymore. If you keep thinking, even I won’t be able to protect you.”

There was a hint of irritation in Wutong’s voice. It was the first time Lu Ning had seen her like this. She looked up and saw Wutong was pale and looked exhausted. The image from before she fainted flashed back—Wutong’s ankle.

“How are you?” Lu Ning asked, pushing aside the confusing memories.

“Not great. I need to rest for a while,” Wutong admitted. She smiled gently, as if being injured was a minor inconvenience. What mattered to her was the next thing she said: “Try this first. Is it good?”

Lu Ning noticed the deliberate subject change but decided to take the cup. She realized it wasn’t milk tea this time.

Seeing Lu Ning’s surprise, a satisfied smile touched Wutong’s eyes. “I figured you might be tired of milk tea. This is coffee. I saw you drinking it at a shop last time, so I tried making it.”

“Then I’ll try it.” Lu Ning took a sip. The coffee was rich, made from high-quality beans. She savored the bittersweet taste on her tongue and nodded. “You have a talent for this.”

“In this place, I can give you whatever you want,” Wutong smiled.

Lu Ning took another sip, but she hadn’t forgotten the previous topic. She said firmly, “Let me see your ankle.”

Her gaze was serious and her voice determined. Wutong felt her resolve. Her expression softened with a hint of embarrassment as she placed her leg across Lu Ning’s lap.

Wutong hadn’t even tidied her skirt; the pure white fabric was soaked in blood. Just looking at it, Lu Ning knew the injury was severe. She carefully lifted the fabric and saw bone exposed beneath the chains.

Lu Ning realized with horror that the chains weren’t something Mu Qiuyu had imposed from the outside; they grew with her body, embedded deep within her flesh and bone. That was how Wutong had been able to endure the pain of slicing through her own flesh to extend them infinitely earlier.

Lu Ning’s brow locked tight. Feeling heartache and guilt, she told Wutong, “My ointment might not work on this.”

“It’s okay. it will heal on its own,” Wutong said dismissively, pulling her skirt back over the wound. The movement was so natural, like turning a page in a book.

But Lu Ning’s guilt only grew. If it weren’t for her, Wutong wouldn’t have to suffer like this. And not for the first time.

“Don’t be like that.”

In the silence, a cool finger gently brushed Lu Ning’s brow. Wutong sat beside her, trying to smooth away her frown. “It makes me sad too.”

The white light lay peacefully in Lu Ning’s vision, reflecting Wutong’s features in her eyes. This person was far gentler than Mu Qiuyu and had been kind to her from the start. But no one is unconditionally friendly to someone they’ve just met without a reason.

In a trance, Lu Ning remembered her dream. She suddenly grabbed Wutong’s wrist as it rested against her face and asked:

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Did we know each other before?”

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