Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: “I Am Mu Qiuyu’s Appendage.”

Mu Jingqin’s hand firmly blocked Mu Qiuyu’s line of sight, isolating her from the perception of the world. Light leaked through the gaps—bright yet obscure—as Mu Jingqin’s words repeated in her mind.

“Don’t look.”

The implication was clear: Mu Jingqin knew her father was still alive.

Mu Qiuyu couldn’t believe it. She pulled Mu Jingqin’s hand away and turned to look at her. Through the corridor, the upbeat music of the shooting competition’s intermission drifted faintly. Mu Jingqin, dressed in a business-formal suit for negotiations, looked strikingly out of place.

Mu Qiuyu’s thoughts moved rapidly. She asked the suddenly appearing woman, “You didn’t come today to watch my match. You knew my father was here.”

“You’ve known about this for a long time, haven’t you?”

Though she didn’t want to admit it, something must have happened in the corners of her previous life that she hadn’t seen. The things she hadn’t figured out until the day she died might be related to the “eerie” scenes she witnessed today.

Watching the family of three walk away happily in the distance, Mu Jingqin’s eyes were filled with hatred. She had rushed here predicting Mu Qiuyu would discover this, but she didn’t want the girl to interfere. She spoke dismissively: “Yes, I’ve known for a long time. But this is adult business. You don’t need to know; I will handle it.”

Mu Qiuyu’s eyes widened with disbelief. She had once failed to understand why Mu Jingqin loathed her so much, assuming it stemmed from an unhealthy obsession with her mother. She had never thought to dig deeper.

But now, seeing her father “back from the dead” and hearing Mu Jingqin state so calmly that she knew Su Qinghang was alive, Mu Qiuyu realized that Mu Jingqin’s hatred went far beyond a mere shadow of her sister.

Mu Jingqin said she didn’t want her to know, and in the previous life, she had succeeded. She had handled the matter without Mu Qiuyu ever knowing, at a cost Mu Qiuyu couldn’t fathom. And now, despite not being prompted by a “cycle,” Mu Jingqin was doing it again—like Sisyphus pushing a boulder.

But she wasn’t Sisyphus. There was a second pair of hands ready to hold that boulder.

The Mu family tragedy had happened less than a year ago. Yet that girl calling Su Qinghang “Daddy” looked at least seven years old. Seven years… for at least seven years, that man had been living a lie with her and her mother.

In the silent corridor, Mu Qiuyu took a sharp breath. “It’s too late for that. I know now. So, can you tell me exactly what is going on?”

The girl’s gaze was as firm as her voice. Mu Jingqin knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. She bit her lip and leaned irritably against the wall. “Your father designed the accident. He killed your mother.”

This was a fact Mu Jingqin could hardly face. Heaven knows how she collapsed when her assistant handed her the accident report from the foreign investigators.

“That son of a bitch. Your father is a monster who would do anything,” Mu Jingqin finally cursed in front of Mu Qiuyu. “If I knew this day would come, I should have run him over on the day of my engagement and ended it all.”

After venting, Mu Jingqin calmed down slightly. She looked at the child standing before her—a child who carried half of Su Qinghang’s blood—and asked, “Are you going to go find him?”

Mu Qiuyu didn’t answer. Her brain was struggling to digest the information. Only one directive was clear: “Is there anything you need me to do? Should we make him stay ‘dead’ in that car accident?”

Mu Jingqin was startled. She knew the child in front of her was a little maniac, just like Su Qinghang. But she was also entirely different: she loved her mother. In this world, Mu Jingqin wasn’t the only one who still loved Mu Jingyi.

Seeing Mu Qiuyu’s eyes reddening, Mu Jingqin pressed down on her shoulder. She understood Mu Qiuyu’s intent but didn’t want to drag a child into the fire. “What does a kid know? Go back and study. This is for adults to handle.”

It wasn’t the first time Mu Jingqin used the “adult” card. Mu Qiuyu thought: I’m almost eighteen, and I’m not a child anymore. Even in the previous life, would I have been obedient? No.

“I’ll be eighteen soon. Can you end this in four months, Aunt?” Mu Qiuyu argued like a hedgehog with its quills out.

Indeed, Mu Jingqin couldn’t finish this in four months, but she didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. She checked a message on her phone and maintained her “adult” stance: “Finish your competition first. We’ll talk then.”

They fell back into their old pattern—one talking, the other doing her own thing. Before Mu Qiuyu could get more info, Mu Jingqin left for a phone call, warning: “Don’t alert the enemy.”

The corridor was empty. The family of three had disappeared to the left; Mu Jingqin’s back was fading to the right. Mu Qiuyu was alone again, shrouded in the shadows of the setting sun, unsure of where to go.

“Lu Ling, help me look up some files.”

Her voice echoed in her quiet mind, but Lu Ning didn’t appear. Instead, a prompt popped up: [System Not Responding].

“Lu Ling, come back.” [System Not Responding]

“Lu Ling.” [System Refused Connection]

Three calls, three prompts. Mu Qiuyu’s brow furrowed. Her heart sank even deeper than before. Why was the system not responding? Why did she want to see Lu Ling so badly?

“D*mn it.”

Uncontrollable emotions overflowed. She hated herself for it. Clenching her fists, she stopped trying to link with Lu Ling and headed toward the dorm.

In fact, it wasn’t that Lu Ning didn’t want to go back. She was currently overwhelmed.

The thick smell of alcohol rushed at her. Her vision was entirely occupied by Wutong. The woman was drunk; her gentle facade had been discarded for possessiveness, with a red flush around her eyes. Even though she pinned Lu Ning down, she refused to let go of her wrists, holding them so tightly Lu Ning couldn’t break free.

The smell of liquor was so strong it crowded out the air. Oxygen laced with strong spirits burned down Lu Ning’s throat, making her frown—and feel heartache.

Lu Ning lightly stroked the back of Wutong’s hand. “Wutong… please don’t be like this, okay?” Her voice was dry. She swallowed and continued gently, “Aren’t I staying with you right now?”

“But you’ll leave in a moment. It’s always like this,” Wutong said, her brows drooping. Greivance hit Lu Ning’s face like a silent rain. They were so close that Lu Ning could feel the raw emotion; it felt like her heart was being twisted.

Wutong slowly leaned down. Her flushed face rubbed against Lu Ning’s neck before stopping at her shoulder. “Don’t leave. We are good here. I can give you anything you want. This will be our home.” Her lips brushed against Lu Ning’s ear, whispering temptingly.

The warm, lingering breath made Lu Ning’s shoulder twitch. But her logic remained. She gently stroked Wutong’s back. “But I have a mission. If I don’t go out to assist Mu Qiuyu, and the Main System finds out, I’ll be sent for disposal.”

Disposal for a system meant death. Wutong knew this. Her eyes froze against Lu Ning’s neck for a moment, then became even more obsessive.

“Then just leave a thread to be her little ball. From now on, you only handle her problems, but your main body stays here with me.” Wutong rubbed her face against Lu Ning’s neck again, her wine-scented breath landing behind Lu Ning’s ear. “Okay?”

Her voice was soft and flexible, sounding more like a girl of her age than Mu Qiuyu did. It was the kind of pleading anyone would find hard to resist. Lu Ning felt herself almost wavering.

But she didn’t have the final say. If Mu Qiuyu wanted her out, she could force the wake-up program. That was the power the Main System gave the Host.

“Wutong, it’s not up to me,” Lu Ning said quietly. “In a sense, I don’t belong to myself.”

“I am Mu Qiuyu’s appendage.”

When Lu Ning spoke, her voice was right in Wutong’s ear. Instantly, the girl’s eyes grew even redder. She stayed pressed against Lu Ning’s neck, breathing heavily, her voice sounding like she was sobbing.

“You are her appendage, and I am her appendage too,” Wutong’s voice trembled. She looked up at Lu Ning’s profile—the real face that Mu Qiuyu had never seen. “Why can she accept a ‘you’ that is different from the past, but can’t accept a ‘me’ that is exactly like her?”

Under the numbness of alcohol, her true thoughts emerged. Wutong spoke sadly of being the one abandoned by Mu Qiuyu. Warm tears fell one by one onto Lu Ning’s neck, wetting her hair.

Lu Ning used to think Wutong’s hostility toward Mu Qiuyu was because Mu Qiuyu could kill her. But now she realized it was more about resentment. Wutong was born from all the positive emotions Mu Qiuyu had suppressed. Lu Ning saw in her everything Mu Qiuyu lacked: softness, joy, sunshine, and sincere love.

Wutong knew she was good. She couldn’t understand why that person wouldn’t accept her. Moreover, she saw today that the person couldn’t even accept loving someone.

“A-Ning, am I very bad?” Wutong asked, looking at Lu Ning with earnest expectation.

Lu Ning wouldn’t let her be disappointed. “You’re very good. You are the best Tongtong in the world.”

Not “Xiao Tong,” as Wutong had once told her. But “Tongtong.”

Wutong froze. The expectation turned into a surge of joy so great that her tears lost their bitterness. “You called me Tongtong?” she repeated, as if she had found a priceless treasure.

Lu Ning had a moment of inspiration. “I used to call you Tongtong, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Tongtong. Not Xiao Tong,” Wutong nodded. Her grip on Lu Ning’s wrist loosened. “I thought I had forgotten too. Turns out, she just didn’t give that memory to me.” Wutong looked down, her voice a mix of joy and lingering melancholy. “Why didn’t she completely forget you?”

From Wutong’s words, Lu Ning guessed the truth. She finally understood Wutong’s unnatural expression when she had called her “Xiao Tong” before.

She had the answer to Wutong’s question: “Because you are her, and she is you.”

A flash of understanding crossed Wutong’s eyes, but like Mu Qiuyu, she suppressed it. “She is not me.”

“Then you can only be her,” Lu Ning smiled gently, taking Wutong’s hand.

Wutong opened her mouth to argue but found no words. Her eyes regained their usual gentleness. “A-Ning, you are always biased toward her.”

“I’m sorry,” Lu Ning said. An apology was better than a thousand explanations. “I am often biased toward her. That is my failing.”

“Yes. Every time you come to the Inner World, you talk about her. You never ask if I’m okay,” Wutong said, her eyes showing a trace of loss.

“Then… are you okay today?” Lu Ning asked.

“No,” Wutong answered honestly. Her voice was once again gentle enough to hold falling snow. Since the alcohol hadn’t faded, she still had the nerve to lean into Lu Ning’s neck and demand: “Coax me.”

Lu Ning felt the situation was becoming even more ambiguous. Was “coax” a word used between regular friends?

She thought for a moment and brought up the song Mu Qiuyu had once sung. “How about I sing Everything’s Alright for you?”

At the mention of the title, Wutong called out, “A-Ning.”

Lu Ning immediately thought Wutong might not want anything associated with Mu Qiuyu. “Or if there’s something else you want to hear, I’ll sing it.”

Wutong chuckled. “Why so nervous?” She sat up and moved to Lu Ning’s side. “I just wanted to ask if you remember when you sang that song to me.”

“Me?” Lu Ning was surprised. When Mu Qiuyu had sung it, she had found it familiar. She hadn’t realized it was an “Easter egg” she had planted in Mu Qiuyu’s memory.

“Yes,” Wutong hummed softly. “Short steps, deep breath, Everything is alright…“

Her voice was as ethereal and cool as Mu Qiuyu’s. A wind blew through the white world, carrying her voice to every corner. Lu Ning leaned against Wutong, not wanting to get up. She listened and thought: I will definitely make Mu Qiuyu accept her. Wutong is not an abandoned child.

“Everything is—“

“WHOOSH—!!”

Before Wutong could finish, a massive gale tore into the area. It arrived like an unannounced storm, swirling dead branches and flowers. Before Lu Ning could react, her vision went black.

Instead of the familiar feeling of being pulled back to reality, she felt the faint scent of Mu Qiuyu and Wutong floating in the alcohol-scented air. Lu Ning opened her eyes in the storm to find Wutong shielding her in her arms.

The Inner World was shaking violently. They locked eyes, finding a strange stability amidst the chaos. “Don’t be afraid,” Wutong whispered, her arm around Lu Ning’s neck, stroking her hair.

It was the most terrifying thing Lu Ning had experienced since arriving. The howling wind sounded like a roar, uprooting poppies and gathering crimson petals in the sky. The world looked like it was falling into a red tide of death.

“Go back quickly! She found out Su Qinghang isn’t dead!” Wutong shouted against the wind.

Lu Ning couldn’t hear clearly. “What?”

Wutong yelled into her ear: “Su Qinghang is not a good man! He killed the kitten! He killed Mother!”

“What?” Lu Ning was stunned. She knew who Su Qinghang was. How could this be? So, the blurred figure she had investigated belonged to Mu Qiuyu’s father? No wonder Mu Qiuyu reacted that way… how could he be so cruel!

Wutong felt a stabbing pain in her heart at Lu Ning’s shock. Despite her reluctance, she released Lu Ning and moved the entrance door right in front of her. “Go back! She needs you!”

Unlike her previous alcohol-fueled weakness, her voice was now firm and powerful. Lu Ning stood up immediately. But this time, before opening the door, she looked back at Wutong. “Keep this door. I’ll come straight to find you from now on.”

The wind swirled her voice. Wutong watched Lu Ning’s lips and smiled, nodding once. “Okay.”

The Inner World was a manifestation of the Host’s emotions. The storm meant Mu Qiuyu’s current mood was catastrophic. Lu Ning fought against the wind in the long corridor and finally reached the exit.

But she didn’t return to the shooting range. She returned to Mu Qiuyu’s room. The sunset was like the poppy field, burning crimson through the window. Mu Qiuyu sat silently at her desk, a thin, lonely silhouette.

“Host.”

Lu Ning knew she was late. She walked carefully behind her. She didn’t know how to bring up the heavy topic. Perhaps Mu Qiuyu just needed a hug. Lu Ning wrapped her arms around her from behind. “I’m here.”

The voice was sudden and warm. Mu Qiuyu, trapped in the sickening truth, finally had an emotional reaction. She froze, then turned to look at Lu Ning.

With a sorrowful look that seemed to say, Why did you only come now?, she reached up and tightly gripped Lu Ning’s arms. A single tear finally fell.

“Lu Ling… why did you… why did you only just get here?”

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