Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Biting the Neck

In the middle of midsummer, how cold could any temperature truly get?

When Mu Qiuyu’s slightly cool lips met hers, Lu Ning felt as if her entire body had caught fire. Those highly similar lips overlapped, rubbing against each other with slow, gentle movements.

Lu Ning could feel the breath exhaled from between Mu Qiuyu’s lips; it was moist and warm, passing through her own lips and landing on her teeth and the tip of her tongue. Lu Ning felt a bolt of electricity shoot straight to the top of her head, causing her already startled and trembling nerves to quiver uncontrollably.

Could this feeling of her body no longer belonging to herself be called numbness? Lu Ning didn’t know.

She usually seemed bold enough to strike up a conversation with anyone, but in reality, she was just an empty shell that looked good but lacked substance. Now that Mu Qiuyu had leaned in, she had no idea how to react; she couldn’t even manage to flee, so she just stared blankly at the other woman.

Lu Ning thought: We are really close right now.

Shadows obscured Mu Qiuyu’s forehead, but the bridge of her nose was high and sharp, like a carved work of art. She had to admit, Mu Qiuyu’s eyelashes were truly long—so black they seemed as if they could prick her own eyes. Wait, since I’m using her body data, are my eyelashes doing the same to her?

Mu Qiuyu’s kiss was like a dragonfly skimming the water; it ended before Lu Ning could even process it. She pulled back just a fraction of an inch, her eyes fixed on the face that was identical to her own.

“What are you thinking about?” Mu Qiuyu asked in a low voice, seeing Lu Ning staring at her in silence.

Dazed, Lu Ning spoke the very last thought that had passed through her mind: “I was wondering if my eyelashes pricked you.”

Mu Qiuyu froze for a moment at the remark. Then, she laughed.

She found a sense of familiarity in this face of hers—a key that allowed her to find Lu Ning regardless of what form or creature she turned into in the future. Lu Ning, however, didn’t know that was what she was thinking. She just saw Mu Qiuyu laugh and assumed the woman was amused by her nonsensical answer.

It was true; they had just… just kissed. And yet she had blurted out something that ruined the atmosphere.

“What about you?” Lu Ning bit her lip, trying to steer the topic back. Mu Qiuyu’s cool, calm eyes were forced into a startled “little rabbit” look by Lu Ning’s directness. Lu Ning stared at her expectantly.

“Me,” Mu Qiuyu began slowly, having already prepared her excuse. “I had never kissed myself before.”

Hearing this answer, Lu Ning’s eyes clearly dimmed with disappointment. The flickering lights of the emergency passage reflected in her eyes, making it look as if stars were falling.

Lu Ning didn’t know what she had been expecting. But hearing Mu Qiuyu say that made her mood, which was on its way to “relaxing,” crash straight through the target and plummet to the bottom of the valley.

But to Mu Qiuyu, I’m just a system. How could a system feel the emotions associated with such a purely human act? Why would Mu Qiuyu have any reason to be cautious?

However, while this was a “Schrödinger’s Cat” situation for Lu Ning, Mu Qiuyu already had the answer. And there was no way Mu Qiuyu could fail to notice Lu Ning’s expression. This was the first time Mu Qiuyu realized that her calm, collected performance could actually hurt someone. Lu Ning’s sadness made it impossible for Mu Qiuyu to be satisfied with her own dishonest, evasive answer.

She didn’t have a Narcissus complex.

“I know exactly who I was kissing.”

Mu Qiuyu’s voice rang out, calm and certain, in the quiet passage. Lu Ning looked up sharply, seemingly understanding the meaning behind those words. But she didn’t dare be sure. Her lips parted slightly as if to ask for confirmation.

“You—”

Vibrate, vibrate, vibrate.

An ill-timed ringtone sounded from Lu Ning’s pocket. She didn’t really want to answer it, but she still followed Mu Qiuyu’s reaching hand and handed the phone over to its true owner.

The caller ID showed Li Xiang’s name. As soon as Mu Qiuyu answered, she heard the other girl’s excited voice: “Qiuyu! Guess where we are right now!”

There was no need to guess, but for some reason, Mu Qiuyu glanced at Lu Ning and chose to humored Li Xiang: “Where?”

“At the shooting competition!” Li Xiang threw out an answer that wasn’t surprising at all. Whether on this end of the phone or the other, she was the only one excited. “Yinyue told me you made it into the finals! I’m so happy! You have no idea how long I had to camp out to get tickets for the air pistol finals!”

“I thought to myself, ‘Who is my Sister Mu? She’s definitely going to make the finals.’ And look, I was right!”

Listening from the side, Lu Ning felt a bit ashamed. Her “Sister Mu” had almost missed the finals because of her.

“Alright, even passersby can hear you now. Did you call just to chat about this?” A proud, delicate voice came from the other end of the phone.

Li Xiang pursed her lips and drawled, “I know, Princess.” She glanced at Shi Jin, who was holding a kitten, and whispered to Mu Qiuyu: “Shi Jin is here too. I don’t know where she got the ticket, but they let her bring the pet in. But no one is here to meet her, so…”

At this point, Li Xiang scratched her head sheepishly and asked for help: “We’re a bit lost regarding the specific venue locations. Yinyue is competing, so I could only contact you.”

Mu Qiuyu had already guessed this from Shi Jin’s earlier voice. She wasn’t impatient about picking them up: “I’ll come out and meet you.”

“That’s great! Sorry for the trouble, Qiuyu,” Li Xiang laughed happily.

“No trouble. I have to pick someone else up anyway,” Mu Qiuyu said flatly. After Li Xiang briefly explained their location, she hung up.

Lu Ning had been standing by listening, and she couldn’t help but be curious about that last sentence: “Who else are you picking up?”

“What do you think?” Mu Qiuyu countered.

Lu Ning thought for a moment. “Mu Jingqin? Is she coming?”

Hearing that, Mu Qiuyu couldn’t help but reach out and flick Lu Ning’s forehead. Seeing Lu Ning give such a dim-witted answer while wearing her own face, a hint of helpless exasperation appeared in her eyes.

“Lu Ling, when it comes to things involving me, can’t you think about yourself first?” Mu Qiuyu asked. “Is there anyone else around me right now who could rank first besides you?”

The words were clearly spoken without much forethought. Mu Qiuyu froze as soon as she finished. Lu Ning was also stunned.

What did “Is there anyone else who could rank first besides you” mean? It sounded as if she were emphasizing how important Lu Ning was to her. Even though, in Mu Qiuyu’s view, Lu Ning was indeed more important than Mu Jingqin. Even though what she had just said was simply the truth.

The weather forecast this morning said the temperature would hit a recent high today. Mu Qiuyu felt that was true; her ears, hidden under her long hair, were burning like never before. She didn’t understand why a sentence composed of normal words could sound so… wrong. She felt she must have been infected by Lu Ning; otherwise, how could she turn a very normal statement into something so ambiguous?

But Mu Qiuyu didn’t realize that the value she placed on Lu Ning—far exceeding her own imagination—was inherently “not normal.”

“Uh…” Lu Ning raised a hand to scratch her neck. She hadn’t expected to have so much weight in Mu Qiuyu’s heart. For a moment, she felt as if a jar of glass marbles had been spilled inside her; the crystal-clear spheres rolled back and forth across her heart, making a string of crisp, clean sounds.

Since Mu Qiuyu had told her this, Lu Ning wanted to return the sentiment. She nodded and said to Mu Qiuyu very seriously: “I won’t forget that.”

Looking into her own eyes—eyes that had never before held such a sincere expression—Mu Qiuyu actually felt a desire to look away. She really wanted to tell Lu Ning, “You should just delete this memory.”

But when the words reached her lips, she couldn’t bring herself to say “delete.” Instead, it turned into: “I’ll transmit Lu Ling’s body data to you. Change into her, and walk back in with me openly from outside.”

After saying that, Mu Qiuyu pushed open the emergency door and left without looking back. Her light footsteps in the silent corridor didn’t sound as steady and slow as they used to.

Mu Qiuyu insisted on leaving first, with Lu Ning following later, ostensibly to avoid suspicion. But it felt redundant, a classic case of “the lady doth protest too much.” No one else knew there was anything for them to be suspicious about.

After a while of squatting by the light of the emergency passage playing shadow games, Lu Ning finally received Lu Ling’s body data in her mind. To perfectly replicate Mu Qiuyu’s appearance earlier, the body she had exchanged for was high-grade; the stats could be changed at any time.

She input Lu Ling’s values. The shadow on the wall seemed to grow taller, while the hair length was cut in half. Lu Ning adjusted to the familiar height and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, just as she reached the corner, a hand reached out from the darkness and pulled her over. The person didn’t want to use much force; Lu Ning’s back was even shielded by a hand when she bumped against the wall. The surroundings grew quiet quickly after a burst of noisy footsteps passed by.

A familiar faint fragrance drifted on the wind, reaching Lu Ning’s nose. The familiar scent made her daze. She recognized the person standing in front of her as Mu Qiuyu.

But hadn’t Mu Qiuyu already left?

By the light of the exit sign, Lu Ning could barely make out the features of the person. This person holding her was staring straight at her, her dark pupils trembling slightly, as if with some form of indignation. In her daze, Lu Ning even thought she saw the person’s eyes were red.

She seemed to realize something and called out in disbelief: “Wu, Wutong?”

“It’s me.” Wutong stared at Lu Ning, who had changed her appearance again. Her gaze was fixed on Lu Ning’s lips. Heaven knows how resentful she felt when she saw Mu Qiuyu kiss her just now. Her heart wouldn’t listen to her; it broadcasted the other’s suppressed caution before the act and the wanton triumph after it with perfect clarity.

Why?

Why did that person get to dump all the things she didn’t want to think about onto Wutong, even when it came to kissing the girl she liked? Wasn’t it just that she had fallen for Lu Ning all over again? If she didn’t dare face it, she shouldn’t have done it—what was with all the suppression?!

Wutong was confused and angry. She looked at those lips she had tried to lure many times, only to have someone else get there first. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Jealousy and indignation—these emotions were like a two-headed snake entwined, occupying her entire being.

“I was the one who met you first.” “I was the one who still remembered you.”

Wutong muttered these words to Lu Ning’s eyes. Hearing this, Lu Ning froze. She faintly felt something in these words—an affection she hadn’t dared to hope for was pouring out of Wutong’s eyes like a tide.

And Lu Ning realized… these eyes, this look, were exactly the same as when Mu Qiuyu had looked at her just a moment ago.

“You’re thinking about her again.” Wutong looked at Lu Ning and gripped her wrist tightly in frustration. Lu Ning winced but didn’t deny it.

Still, after thinking about it, she felt she needed to explain what happened—at least she couldn’t let Wutong lose control like this. “Listen to me, it’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it like?” Wutong asked gently, her eyes hiding in the darkness seeing through everything. Yes, she saw through it, but she was as stubborn as a child, insisting on piercing the veil herself. “You always side with her, don’t you?”

If it hadn’t been for Mu Qiuyu’s kiss today, Wutong thought she might have continued to pretend Lu Ning’s bias didn’t exist. She was still willing to hide in a place Mu Qiuyu couldn’t see—a place without light—to enjoy the special treatment Lu Ning gave her. But now, even her “unique memories with Lu Ning” were no longer special.

Why could that person kiss her, but she couldn’t?

“If you want to say it’s not like that, then let me kiss you too,” Wutong said childishly, no longer able to maintain her gentle facade. Beneath that childishness was a jealousy of Mu Qiuyu that was driving her insane. The sorrow that had never been revealed in Mu Qiuyu’s eyes melted into this darkness, making Lu Ning feel as if Wutong were pleading.

Even though it was Wutong who was gripping Lu Ning, refusing to let her go, she handed the initiative to Lu Ning over and over again. Her gaze was like a poor dog realizing its owner was about to leave.

However… pity alone couldn’t make Lu Ning agree. She had felt Mu Qiuyu’s hostility toward Wutong long ago; this was the first time she clearly saw Wutong’s hostility toward Mu Qiuyu. She wasn’t a prize to be fought over between the two of them. She had already been “forced” to kiss Mu Qiuyu; until she figured out her own feelings, she wouldn’t kiss either of them again.

A system couldn’t understand the various meanings of a kiss and might have just gone along with it to complete a task. But a human could. The heartbeat couldn’t lie; the thumping in her chest was different from the feeling of pushing someone away.

“Wutong, I’m sorry. You are very important to me too, but proving that doesn’t require a kiss. Do you understand?” Lu Ning spoke calmly, wanting to talk.

But in an emergency, the only one who can remain calm is the one who doesn’t love enough.

Wutong didn’t want to admit it. But she felt she had been incredibly stupid today. After hearing Lu Ning’s story, she had actually decided to pull on the chain that person gave her to go and rescue that person. In the end, she didn’t just fail to help; she saw that scene.

“I don’t want it to end like this.”

As Wutong spoke, she suddenly exerted force on Lu Ning’s wrist. Lu Ning had no defense. In her memory, the always-gentle Wutong would never do something so reckless.

But Wutong did it.

The suddenly closed distance caused Wutong’s fluctuating breath to blow against Lu Ning’s ear. Midsummer temperatures are always hot and impulsive; it landed on Lu Ning’s skin and sent a shiver through her.

Lu Ning’s eyes, hidden in the darkness, widened. She was still thinking about how to dodge when she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Wutong used her last shred of reason to restrain herself, changing her target a split second before she hit Lu Ning’s lips.

She bit into Lu Ning’s neck with teeth identical to Mu Qiuyu’s. It wasn’t particularly heavy, but she could clearly feel the pulse of this person vibrating against her teeth and lips. That kind of action, rooted in primitive animal instinct, was perhaps more suited to Lu Ning, who often pretended to be a small animal.

As it turned out, Wutong’s intuition was correct. The moment Wutong bit her neck, Lu Ning froze. Her boiling blood instantly sent her heart into an irregular rhythm, rushing to her brain.

This is bad.

Amidst complex emotions, Wutong slowly returned to Lu Ning’s line of sight. Her grip on Lu Ning’s hand remained frustrated, but she had her pride. She said in a low, raspy voice: “I’m not like her. If you don’t want it, I won’t do it.”

With that, Wutong let go of Lu Ning’s hand. She didn’t give Lu Ning a chance to explain; she just gave her one more look and turned back the way she came.

In that instant, Lu Ning’s shocked, dazed expression changed. She looked at Wutong’s departing back, her mind filled with the look in those eyes. At that moment, Wutong was no longer just “pitiful.” She had the same pride and arrogance as Mu Qiuyu.

And precisely because of that extra bit of emotion, Lu Ning belatedly covered the spot on her neck where Wutong had bitten her. She felt as if her intact skin had actually been bitten through. The girl’s disappointed eyes as she left were like a sharp knife, stabbing Lu Ning in the heart. She realized there were simply too many things she couldn’t give Wutong.

“Lu Ling, where are you?”

Before Lu Ning could sort out her thoughts, Mu Qiuyu’s calm voice rang in her head. Mu Qiuyu had already arrived outside the shooting range and was reminding Lu Ning to make her appearance. Lu Ning could only hurriedly hide what had just happened. As she walked out, she said to Mu Qiuyu: “I’m almost there, wait a moment.”

Passing through the long, quiet corridor, the bright light ahead stung Lu Ning’s eyes. When she stepped out of the venue, the world was filled with the intense sunlight of summer, making it even harder to open her eyes. After adjusting for a while, Lu Ning saw Mu Qiuyu chatting with Li Xiang at the main entrance.

She walked over quickly and greeted everyone politely: “Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long?”

“No, no! We just arrived a few minutes ago. You’re too polite, big sister!” Li Xiang called out sweetly, allowing Lu Ning, who had been anxious the whole way, to finally relax.

“Hello, sister.” Shi Jin was being somewhat polite as well, greeting Lu Ning. Then, a small kitten’s head popped out from her arms.

“Meow~ (Great Cat Immortal! How did you turn into a human?!)” The kitten was excited and shocked.

Lu Ning was equally excited and shocked. She looked at the kitten, which had recovered its health and even looked like it was aiming to become a “fat ginger” cat. She asked in surprise: “How did you recognize me?”

“Because I can easily smell scents that you humans can’t,” the kitten told her proudly. As she spoke, the kitten twitched her nose again. She caught a scent in the wind, looked at Mu Qiuyu thoughtfully, then turned back to Lu Ning: “Great Cat Immortal, why do you have that human’s scent on you?”

Lu Ning felt guilty and raised her arm to sniff her clothes. “Do I? Why can’t I smell it?”

The kitten nodded with certainty: “I couldn’t be wrong.” Then, as if she had figured something out, she tilted her head and asked: “Great Cat Immortal, do you like that human next to you?”

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