Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: “I Thought I Saw Dad Just Now…”

Lu Ning stared at the scores on the display, completely dumbfounded. She hid guiltily in Mu Qiuyu’s palm, trying to cover her ears and pretend she hadn’t heard the request.

She hadn’t expected that despite her careful efforts to erase any trace of Wutong’s visit, she would still be exposed. To top it off, she had specifically spent one point for it!

As it turned out, things exchanged for a single point were simply unreliable. Lu Ning desperately wanted to write a complaint letter to the System Mall, demanding the Main System sanction this black-hearted merchant. She could tolerate the mall being expensive usually, but how could it pull a stunt that screwed over its own people?!

Lu Ning was on the verge of tears, her brain spinning at high speed to find a reason to bluff her way through this.

“Um… Host, the other party seems to have entered via facial recognition. I didn’t find any card-swiping records.” Lu Ning organized her words while feeding Mu Qiuyu her “search results.”

“And also, because the contestants entered today, the venue’s surveillance underwent a unified network adjustment at noon. I can’t connect to the internal data here either.”

Lu Ning was telling the truth—because she was the one who did it by spending a point. She felt that instead of trying to talk Mu Qiuyu out of catching this person, it was better to “hide a leaf in the forest.” If everyone was a suspect, then no one was a suspect.

“Heh.”

While Lu Ning was providing her seemingly useless feedback, she heard Mu Qiuyu let out a bone-chilling sneer. Mu Qiuyu stared intensely at the row of scores; there was indignation and disdain in her eyes, yet strangely, a hint of admiration.

The atmosphere was bizarre. Lu Ning couldn’t help but want to bristle her quills. “Ho-Host, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just think this person is somewhat clever,” Mu Qiuyu said calmly, looking up at the surveillance camera at the end of the corridor.

Lu Ning secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: It’s not that Wutong is clever—that girl leaves something behind every time she visits. If it weren’t for my wit, she wouldn’t even have a life to come out with.

Just as Lu Ning’s tension was about to fully dissipate, she saw Mu Qiuyu, who was about to enter the shooting range, turn around and walk away. She was heading toward the surveillance room.

“Where is the Host going?” Lu Ning asked hurriedly.

Mu Qiuyu looked puzzled, staring at the suddenly nervous Lu Ning. she reached out and poked the little hedgehog’s face, saying seriously: “I really think you should eat fewer wild fruits.”

“I forgot, and you forgot too? If I don’t get my gun, how am I supposed to practice?”

Hearing this, Lu Ning looked at the shooting range, then at the corridor leading to the armory and surveillance room, and suddenly understood the meaning of “a guilty conscience needs no accuser.”

Lu Ning admitted defeat, proactively resting her head on Mu Qiuyu’s finger. “Maybe the fruit really was too sour.”

The hedgehog’s face was soft, leaning against the finger like the world’s softest velvet. But she wasn’t dead; she was a vivid, living organism through which blood flowed. Just like the difference between a system and a human.

Mu Qiuyu thought she could distinguish between the two. Looking down at Lu Ning, who was fully immersed in her new identity and expertly acting cute, she let out a soft laugh. “Silly hedgehog.”

“That’s not right, Host.” As if to defend the dignity of hedgehogs, Lu Ning corrected her from the palm. “Scientific research shows that hedgehogs are very intelligent animals. Humans can use repetitive training to teach them interaction skills.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Mu Qiuyu gave a hollow sigh of realization, while Lu Ning nodded enthusiastically. As they spoke, they reached the armory. This area also required an ID card or facial recognition. Lu Ning learned her lesson and immediately erased the weapon check-out record.

Mu Qiuyu’s gun retrieval process was smooth, without any hitches.

“Strange.”

However, this smoothness made Mu Qiuyu suspicious. Lu Ning realized belatedly that Mu Qiuyu had come here specifically to investigate the person who used her identity to shoot.

She poked her head out from the pocket to help “dispel the doubt”: “Maybe that person has their own gun and just used the Host’s identity.”

“But how did she pass facial recognition?” Mu Qiuyu countered. “I’m just a contestant, not permanent staff. If she’s borrowing an identity, why choose me? Unless this person knows what I look like and used a dynamic photo, or… she looks just like me.”

“Someone who looks just like me…”

As she spoke, Mu Qiuyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. The silent air in the corridor shifted with her footsteps. The wind, warmed by the sun, seemed to carry the scent of an approaching truth.

This series of deductions made Lu Ning break into a cold sweat. Seeing Mu Qiuyu with half a foot on the correct answer, she felt the other girl’s reasoning skills were god-like. Why wouldn’t Mu Qiuyu let this go? Was there some mysterious magnetic link between her and Wutong?

“Lu Ling, help me… Dad.”

Mu Qiuyu’s sentence broke off strangely, ending with the word “Dad.” Lu Ning thought that no matter how proud Mu Qiuyu was, she wouldn’t refer to herself as “Dad.” “Mom” would be more appropriate, wouldn’t it?

The little hedgehog was confused until she saw Mu Qiuyu, who was about to give her an order, suddenly stare at the end of the hallway. The light flickered as a shadow moved, as if a person had actually darted past.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t hesitate; she gave chase. Her steps were fast as she tucked her gun into the tactical holster on her thigh, completely forgetting the little hedgehog in her pocket.

Lu Ning had rarely seen Mu Qiuyu in such a rush. Tossing around in the pocket, she had to grip the fabric tightly to keep from getting dizzy.

“Ding!”

The sound of an elevator. Mu Qiuyu reached the end of the hall. To the left was a dead end with a narrow window where sunlight fell into the elevator lobby. A group of students from another province was currently boarding the elevator in an orderly fashion.

Mu Qiuyu stood back from the crowd, her gaze moving rapidly and meticulously over every single unfamiliar face. Finally, the coach of those students boarded as well.

“Are you coming up?” The teacher noticed Mu Qiuyu running over and politely held the closing door.

But Mu Qiuyu only shook her head, restraining the disappointment in her eyes. “No, thank you.”

“Alright.” The teacher looked puzzled but didn’t pry since she wasn’t from their school, and the elevator doors closed.

The afternoon sun was intense, feeling as if it could melt a person. The sound of cicadas pierced through the glass, drowning out the sound of Mu Qiuyu’s breathing.

Lu Ning sensed Mu Qiuyu’s emotional leak and crawled out of the pocket carefully. “Host, what’s wrong?”

“I…”

The sentence started, then was cut off by Mu Qiuyu herself. There was a dazed, self-mocking look in her eyes. After a pause, she told Lu Ning: “I thought I saw Dad just now.”

So that was what the word “Dad” meant. Lu Ning’s heart sank. Everyone knew Mu Qiuyu’s parents had both died in a car accident at the beginning of the year. A child’s longing for their parents is like a dull knife, repeatedly torturing a raw heart.

“Host, I’m here with you.” Lu Ning reached out a tiny paw and gently hooked Mu Qiuyu’s hanging finger. “If you want to talk, I will listen to every word.”

The hedgehog’s hand was so small it could barely be felt, but Mu Qiuyu felt as if she were being held by an unbreakable rope. She had always been a lonely boat drifting on a dead sea.

Her longing for her father was far less than for her mother; she thought if she had seen her mom today, she wouldn’t have been able to restrain herself and would have burst into tears instantly. Crying in front of her own system seemed a bit foolish.

Past memories made Mu Qiuyu frown. She looked down at the hedgehog poking its head out, wondering how many tears those quills could catch. With that thought, her mood lightened. She shook her head at Lu Ning: “I don’t miss him that much. I just suddenly saw a figure that looked like him, so I wanted to chase it and see.”

Her father’s passing felt like a long time ago for the Mu Qiuyu who had lived two lives. Her impression of Su Qinghang was becoming increasingly blurred, which was why she was so desperate to get one more look.

“This feels too much like reality,” Mu Qiuyu said unconsciously, vocalizing her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if Lu Ling could understand. Sometimes humans weren’t as smart as systems. But intelligence was nothing compared to action.

While Mu Qiuyu was thinking, she heard Lu Ning say: “If the Host is worried, I can help you check.”

Somehow, hearing those words made the tightness in Mu Qiuyu’s chest ease. She analyzed her own psychology and realized calmly that she truly didn’t miss her father that much. A trace of a smile hid in her lowered eyes. “Lu Ling, didn’t you say you couldn’t access the surveillance?”

“Ah…” Lu Ning’s eyes went wide. I forgot about that.

“Then I’ll just allocate a few more threads to watch the surveillance over the next few days.” Since studying the manual from the Main System, Lu Ning had become increasingly proficient with her operating system.

“Thanks for the hard work.” Mu Qiuyu reached out and gently rubbed the hedgehog’s forehead. In the midsummer heat, Lu Ning loved Mu Qiuyu’s cool fingers. Under the reward, she lifted her head happily. “No trouble at all!”

Because of the interlude, Mu Qiuyu was late returning to the shooting range. Both the rifle and pistol teams were gathered, listening to the coach.

When the coach saw Mu Qiuyu, he waved her over. “Qiuyu, come here. I have something to tell you.”

“Sorry I’m late.” Even though the coach didn’t seem bothered, Mu Qiuyu apologized sincerely.

“It wasn’t long, don’t worry.” The coach was always lenient. He signaled for her not to be so formal. “I have to be in meetings during the matches, so I’ll be spread thin. Yinyue is in charge of the rifle team. For the air pistol team, everyone voted for you.”

Mu Qiuyu was surprised. She followed the coach’s gaze to her teammates; they all gave her friendly smiles. It seemed that having her lead them was what they all wanted. Except for one boy who used to be close to Gao Yuan, who kept his head down.

Mu Qiuyu thought that the coach’s pause after mentioning Pei Yinyue was likely because Gao Yuan used to be the one in charge. Taking over a mess…

“Yay! Host is a team leader now!”

Before the thought of refusing could fully form in her mind, Lu Ning’s cheerful voice broke in. The little hedgehog was celebrating in her pocket, acting as if Mu Qiuyu had won a grand prize.

Mu Qiuyu frowned slightly. “Lu Ling, are you a power-seeker?”

“How is this being a power-seeker? Being a team leader is a good thing for the Host. Our task is still there!” Lu Ning pulled up the main task, which was now over 20 days past the deadline. “Besides, you were chosen by everyone. You already have the people’s hearts. If everyone likes you, it’s good for the team and will definitely lead to better results.”

“Lu Ling, do you always have such a childlike heart?” Mu Qiuyu asked coldly.

Lu Ning heard the subtext—you’re too naive. True, sometimes a team that ignores personal feelings gets results faster, but that wasn’t what Lu Ning wanted for Mu Qiuyu. A team with a good atmosphere could pull everyone’s emotions in a positive direction. The flower sea in the Inner World proved Mu Qiuyu was changing; Lu Ning wanted to push her further.

Thinking this way, Lu Ning felt as if she were guiding Mu Qiuyu through “socialization training” for a small animal. If Mu Qiuyu were an animal, what would she be? A cheetah? A cat? A hedgehog?

While Lu Ning was daydreaming in the pocket, the coach dismissed the team early for his meeting. Mu Qiuyu ultimately didn’t refuse the leadership role. It wasn’t just because Lu Ning wanted her to; having control over personnel and scheduling would allow her to plan her training more effectively. She had lived in this management mode in her past life, so it came naturally.

“Qiuyu, any thoughts?” Pei Yinyue walked over.

Mu Qiuyu surveyed the range. “Which school are we sharing this range with?”

“No. 1 Middle School,” Pei Yinyue said with a troubled expression. “We were paired with them last year, and the coach complained. I don’t know why they put us together again this year.”

“Then perfect, we’ll take that side.” Mu Qiuyu pointed to the row that wouldn’t be hit by direct sunlight. “They’re late. We don’t need to wait.”

Pei Yinyue bit her lip. In the past, she would have hesitated. But for some reason, with Mu Qiuyu as her partner, she had no such qualms. She nodded to the group: “Friends, this way. Same rule as before: air pistols from the left toward the middle, rifles from the right toward the middle.”

“Nice! We don’t have to give way this year!”

“It’s because we have someone new in charge.”

“Haha, I get it. If it were a certain ‘big brother,’ he’d say: ‘Students, let’s show our magnanimity, we can shoot anywhere, it makes no difference.'”

“Difference my ass. Standing on the far edge, the glare is blinding.”

“Well, he was guaranteed a gold medal, of course he’d use us to play the nice guy.”

“Senior Yinyue finally stood up for us.”

Amidst the joyful discussion, the members chose their preferred spots. Just as they set up their guns, the people from No. 1 Middle School arrived. As soon as the door opened, the air grew thick with tension.

“As expected.”

“Early birds get the worm, I guess.”

“Wait, since when was the territory decided? So arrogant?”

“Wealthy and overbearing.”

“Nouveaux riches.”

Hearing the insults from No. 1 Middle School, the Guanghua students weren’t about to stay silent. They put down their guns to argue.

“Yeah, we are wealthy and overbearing. What, are you jealous of our money?”

“Since when was ‘the early bird’ something to mock?”

“Maybe No. 1 Middle School has a different culture. If Guanghua had someone like Cen Qin, they would have been expelled ages ago.”

“Poor things, you threw away your dignity to protect a creep, and you still ended up with nothing.”

Compared to the deliberate provocation from the other side, the Guanghua team inherited Mu Qiuyu’s decisiveness and struck where it hurt. The No. 1 Middle School students turned pale, unable to find a comeback.

Seeing his team losing the verbal war, the No. 1 Middle School team captain, who had let his teammates run their mouths, stepped forward. He shouted at Pei Yinyue: “Pei Yinyue, the rules weren’t like this when Gao Yuan was here. You’ve certainly turned your backs on him quickly now that he’s gone.”

“Different people have different styles. It has nothing to do with turning our backs. We arrived early; we weren’t going to wait forever for you,” Pei Yinyue countered calmly with a smile.

“And you call us names? When it comes to morality, you aren’t as noble as you claim,” the boy who started the trouble sneered.

This was a blatant attempt at moral kidnapping. Just as Pei Yinyue was about to respond, Mu Qiuyu’s voice rang out: “The logic is simple: you were late, so you get the scraps we didn’t pick.”

Mu Qiuyu looked at the boy expressionlessly, dismissively wiping her gun. She accepted his sarcastic remark: “We’re the ‘early birds.’ This is what we earned.”

“Just because you’re weak doesn’t mean you’re right! Why should we listen to you!”

“BANG!”

The boy’s shout was cut off by the sound of Mu Qiuyu pulling the trigger. No one expected that while she was arguing, she’d have the focus to aim and fire. Furthermore, at a distance approaching 25m, she actually hit a 10.8.

The electronic screen refreshed, and the bright 10.8 hung there for all to see. The person who mocked “early birds” had just fired a shot that most contestants present could rarely reach.

Why should they listen to her? Because she hit a 10.8.

The people who were just in a heated argument went silent. And she calls herself an ‘early bird’ with that skill?

“Lucky bastard.”

Amidst the silence, the boy’s voice piped up again. Lu Ning, watching through the pocket, saw his face was written all over with “stubbornness.”

“You talk about luck? Your 10.8 was from last year; you haven’t even touched a 10.8 once this year,” Lu Ning muttered disdainfully after checking his stats. Of course, no one could hear her.

Whether Mu Qiuyu was “lucky” was up for debate among the crowd. But because of her sharp style, many recognized her as the girl who sent Cen Qin to juvenile detention. In the shooting range, skill was king. The aftereffects of the Cen Qin incident hadn’t faded at No. 1 Middle School; in fact, she had become a legend among many students there. Several girls from the No. 1 Middle School team exchanged looks, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

In reality, there were only a few “bad apples” in the team. No one backed the boy; instead, they pulled him back. “Let’s go, this woman is crazy. Cen Qin was taken down by her.”

“Fine, fine. We’ll just slap her face with the final scores,” the captain said, patting the boy’s shoulder. It sounded like a concession, but the “putting her in her place” implication was obvious—a classic case of acting superior after losing.

The Guanghua students couldn’t stand seeing Mu Qiuyu disrespected. Just as they were about to speak, shots rang out in the quiet hall.

“BANG!” 10.9

“BANG!” 10.9

“BANG!” 10.9

Mu Qiuyu held her arm steady and fired three consecutive shots at her target without a hint of hesitation. Those identical numbers were like slaps to the face of the No. 1 Middle School captain. No one doubted her luck anymore. If this was luck, she could probably win the lottery every day.

“Hmph! Who else could pull that off!” The little hedgehog stood proudly in the pocket, paws on her hips, acting as if she had made the shots herself.

Mu Qiuyu felt a bit of that pride too. The corners of her mouth curled slightly as she wiped her gun with a chamois cloth, taking the chance to nudge Lu Ning’s little head. “Little hedgehog, can you even lift a gun?”

Mu Qiuyu had been in a good mood since they entered. After the three shots, she kept her eyes down, not giving a single glance to the other team. She had never cared about them to begin with. She simply found the scores left on her ID profile by the “other person” to be an eyesore and wanted to overwrite the scores the system recognized as her “best.”

The afternoon interlude ended with Mu Qiuyu’s stunning performance. The high scores she posted on the leaderboard made it clear that only those with skill were worthy of negotiating with her. The No. 1 Middle School team tried their best, but not a single person could surpass her. There was no negotiation about the territory.

Gao Yuan became the most mentioned name among the No. 1 Middle School boys—not in nostalgia, but in insults. “So, traitors never come to a good end,” Lu Ning repeated to Mu Qiuyu the phrase she kept hearing, her disgust obvious.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t react much. Instead, she looked at the cafeteria menu and asked Lu Ning: “Do you want Sweet and Sour Pork?”

“Yes!” Lu Ning nodded immediately. The little hedgehog had been eating sour fruit all afternoon and was starving, her stomach churning with acid.

“Stir-fried pork?”

“Yes!”

“Spicy shredded potatoes?”

“Yes!”

“Beef Chow Fun?”

“Yes!”

Hearing the crisp “Yeses” popping up in her mind, Mu Qiuyu asked: “Lu Ling, is there anything you don’t want?”

Lu Ning actually thought about it seriously. “I don’t want the Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs. I’ve had too much sour stuff today.”

Mu Qiuyu laughed at the answer and gave Lu Ning the same seriousness: “Okay, I’ll remember that.”

The cafeteria wasn’t too crowded. Mu Qiuyu handed over her meal voucher and prepared to get utensils. But at that moment, a tall figure walked quickly toward her. She recognized him as the most talkative boy from the No. 1 Middle School shooting team. He intentionally bumped into her.

Mu Qiuyu instinctively raised her hand to protect the pocket where Lu Ning was. The boy used full force, acting as if he were enthusiastically talking to his friends while secretly aiming for Mu Qiuyu. Pain shot through Mu Qiuyu’s shoulder.

Before she could rub her shoulder, she heard a muffled groan from her pocket: “Ouch… that hurts.”

Urgency appeared on Mu Qiuyu’s face as she quickly opened the pocket. Lu Ning’s reflexively raised quills had poked Mu Qiuyu’s waist through the thin fabric, but the little hedgehog was curled in a tight ball, clutching her reddened nose in pain.

Mu Qiuyu’s frown deepened. As light fell into the pocket from above, Lu Ning saw Mu Qiuyu’s expression and realized she had pricked her. She shrank smaller. “Host, I didn’t mean to. I’ll be fine soon.”

Those words hurt more than the quills. Lu Ning didn’t understand why Mu Qiuyu seemed even angrier after hearing her.

The pocket was closed again. Lu Ning was still confused when Mu Qiuyu looked toward the boy who bumped her. He was planning to do it again, aiming for a small girl from the Guanghua club. Using his friends as cover, he sped up.

The girl had no idea what was coming until she heard Mu Qiuyu’s voice: “Zhou Wan.”

It happened in a flash. The girl turned to see Mu Qiuyu coming over to put an arm around her shoulder. At the same time, the boy from No. 1 Middle School slammed into them. He was smug, and seeing Mu Qiuyu step in, he increased his force.

Unexpectedly, a sharp scream rang out in the cafeteria: “AARGH!”

After colliding with Mu Qiuyu, the boy grabbed his own shoulder. He had looked tall and strong a moment ago, but now he was huddled on the floor. Everyone was stunned, staring at the boy in curiosity.

Lu Ning seemed to realize something. She looked from the boy to Mu Qiuyu. “Host, did you do that?”

Mu Qiuyu didn’t say anything. She simply adjusted the mechanical exoskeleton she had just exchanged from the System Mall. Then she turned to look at the boy in pain.

“Classmate, your arm seems to have been dislocated by the impact.” She looked down at him, her eyes smiling gently like an angel’s. “I can help you.”

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