Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: “Lu Ning, Your Emotions are Too Rich for a System…”

The dismissal bell had just finished ringing once. Students poured out of the teaching building in a noisy, chaotic stream, but the clamor couldn’t reach the room.

The lounge was bathed in a dusk made of sunset and clouds; a crimson heat painted the entire window. It felt like another world.

Mu Qiuyu stood before A-Yuan. Her lowered gaze caught no light, appearing completely black.

She was still wearing her high heels. The razor-thin heels pinned down the shadow of her tormentor, and the voice spilling from her thin lips seemed infinitely amplified in the ears of those present.

“Sooner or later, I will make her cry on her knees, begging for my mercy.”

“So, are you going to kneel and beg me now?”

These two strikingly similar sentences echoed simultaneously in Lu Ning’s ears. A sensation called fear exploded like a fine mist along her spine.

She never imagined that Mu Qiuyu would return those words to A-Yuan so quickly.

So that was why Mu Qiuyu had stopped her from rushing out to teach A-Yuan a lesson earlier.

This was her plan.

How did she have such a dense, calculated plan?

The sunset brushed past the clouds, burning like fire.

Fear instantly flooded A-Yuan’s tearful eyes. She was forced to look up and meet Mu Qiuyu’s gaze.

Though the spring day was warm, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar within those eyes.

A-Yuan suddenly realized: Mu Qiuyu had known about their plan.

She had walked into it willingly, waiting for this exact moment.

Her own mockery and taunting had returned like a boomerang, stabbing back into herself.

A-Yuan never thought her actions would one day be reflected back at her. Fear greedily drained her past arrogance, growing exponentially until it filled her brain.

She wouldn’t be forgiven.

She was going to be disciplined.

Thump.

Without much psychological resistance, the moment that thought hit her, A-Yuan’s legs gave way and she knelt on the floor.

The sunset burned. The dark green satin of the skirt fluttered momentarily in the wind.

It was the dress Mu Qiuyu wore, and like its owner, it stared down coldly at this fragile, boring opponent.

And then, a hand reached toward that skirt.

Struggling between her pride and the fear of her parents’ rebuke, A-Yuan grabbed the hem of Mu Qiuyu’s dress.

She still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that perhaps Mu Qiuyu’s words meant she should do exactly what she had once demanded Mu Qiuyu do.

If she did this, maybe Mu Qiuyu would forgive her and let her go.

Heat couldn’t linger on the satin fabric; the dark green hem felt icy in A-Yuan’s grip.

In this instant, she seemed to understand the feelings of the girls who, despite knowing it was hopeless, would still bang on the restroom door and beg her for mercy.

She bit her lip.

Because she had heard too many pleas from the girls she had bullied, the words came out of her mouth quickly: “Please… please.”

But as her own previous words were re-enacted before her, not a single ripple appeared on Mu Qiuyu’s face.

Her eyes were like a pool of water that would never stir—dark and calm. Meeting A-Yuan’s gaze, there was only a poorly acted flash of surprise: “Classmate, what are you doing?”

“Li Yuan, do not engage in such extreme behavior!” Seeing this, the Dean hurried to pull Mu Qiuyu away and told Li Yuan to get up.

From the teachers’ perspective, A-Yuan had simply collapsed to her knees.

Then, she seemed to realize her mistake and frantically began to do anything, regardless of dignity, to beg for Mu Qiuyu’s forgiveness.

Except for the small ball floating in the air, no one heard what Mu Qiuyu had actually said to A-Yuan.

The outcome was decided: the three girls each received a major demerit and a public criticism during next Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.

The sun hung at its lowest point near the horizon, the sunset burning out and leaving a hazy mist of light in the sky.

The campus in the evening was nearly empty. Mu Qiuyu walked alone on the path back to the classroom, the Roman columns in the hallway slicing through her shadow repeatedly.

Lu Ning floated beside Mu Qiuyu, her mind filled with question marks.

She held her tongue until Mu Qiuyu returned to the classroom to pack the things on her desk. She finally couldn’t help it: “Host, when did you find out?”

“Did you know from the moment they locked you in?”

As Lu Ning asked, she circled around to the front of Mu Qiuyu.

The evening classroom was dim and silent. That round orb of light was like an erratic moon suddenly illuminating Mu Qiuyu’s field of vision.

“You want to know?” Mu Qiuyu paused her movements and gave Lu Ning a very faint glance.

Lu Ning nodded immediately.

Although she didn’t approve of this “tooth for a tooth” method of revenge, she was simply too curious.

But Mu Qiuyu was not one to satisfy curiosity.

She unhurriedly packed her books into her bag and reminded Lu Ning: “Lu Ning, you lost the bet.”

The quiet air drifted through the empty classroom. The girl’s voice was flat and cold, shutting Lu Ning out.

The light on Lu Ning’s body dimmed instantly. She realized Mu Qiuyu didn’t want to tell her. In fact, they weren’t close enough yet to share everything.

Despite how packed the day had been, it couldn’t hide the fact that they had known each other for less than a day.

She had only read Mu Qiuyu’s life; she hadn’t actually lived it with her.

Lu Ning’s heart suddenly felt weightless for a moment.

Looking at the indifferent Mu Qiuyu packing her things, she quickly pulled herself together and regained her optimism: “But the Host was very impressive. You punished the people who bullied you without it affecting the competition.”

“The Host can protect herself very well.”

“Do you really think so?” Mu Qiuyu paused again and looked up at Lu Ning.

Those eyes were too sharp—black and deep, like a blade hidden in the shadows.

Lu Ning didn’t understand the reason for this sudden, displeased question. She didn’t want to lie, so she weakly voiced her true concern: “It would be even better if the Host didn’t have to hurt herself.”

Lu Ning was genuinely worried. Mu Qiuyu was already willing to walk into a known trap for the sake of revenge.

That wasn’t a healthy way to solve problems. She was already living a life covered in scars; she shouldn’t have to suffer more.

But after she said this, what she heard from Mu Qiuyu was a promise that didn’t sound like a promise: “Don’t worry, I will live until your mission ends.”

The newly issued books had sharp edges, and a red mark was sliced onto the girl’s finger.

A faint scent of blood drifted in the air, much like the words Mu Qiuyu had just spoken.

Lu Ning thought Mu Qiuyu’s logic was a bit strange. Why would she think her concern stemmed from selfishness?

Was it because she had experienced too much malice lately? Did she think anyone trying to get close to her must be insincere and have an ulterior motive?

“That’s not what I meant, Host,” Lu Ning hurried to clarify. “The temperature is still too cold. If you catch a cold, I will be very worried.”

The wind blew through the school after hours. The rustling of leaves and the sound of flipping pages intertwined, dominating the classroom.

It was hard to imagine the massive building could become so empty so fast. The ball’s voice echoed clearly in the silence.

Mu Qiuyu looked up at Lu Ning, her eyes appearing to hold a thousand words for a moment.

She thought she didn’t need anyone’s worry—especially not from this ball.

Remembering something, Lu Ning saw Mu Qiuyu’s face turn cold rapidly: “Is this a new function developed by your System?”

Lu Ning was confused: “What?”

“Using scripts and behaviors that humans find ‘warm’ to capture the Host’s trust,” Mu Qiuyu unhurriedly summarized Lu Ning’s behavior since they met this morning.

The girl slammed the book in her hand onto the table. When she looked up again in the dim light, her originally cool and flat gaze had become sharp: “Lu Ning, your emotions are too rich for a System.”

At those words, Lu Ning froze.

They stood face to face. They appeared to be inches apart, yet felt as though they were worlds away.

Lu Ning realized that saving Mu Qiuyu and reforming a future villain was not going to be easy.

What she knew was only the Mu Qiuyu from the book—an image processed through the artistic lens of a reader’s mind.

Perhaps the Mu Qiuyu in the text would change according to her will, but the real Mu Qiuyu would not.

Mu Qiuyu had a powerful defensive wall. Even to just get close to her, Lu Ning had a long road ahead.

Lu Ning thought quickly and forced an explanation for her “human-like” behavior: “I only did it to better get along with the Host. If the Host doesn’t like it, I can adjust the system settings.”

“Do you need me to?” Lu Ning looked up at Mu Qiuyu as she spoke.

The dusk swallowed the halo around the ball, making it look weakly pathetic.

Even though she realized what choice Mu Qiuyu might make, Lu Ning still held a sliver of hope that she would say “no.”

But Mu Qiuyu’s gaze remained cold.

She watched Lu Ning staring at her piteously and made an utterly heartless choice: “Yes.”

“Understood, Host.” Lu Ning’s entire ball-self slumped in disappointment.

But more importantly now, she had to cover her previous lie.

Lu Ning felt the saying was true: to cover one lie, a hundred more are waiting.

She thought for a moment, then pulled up the light-curtain adjustment on the control panel. She flashed a series of lights at Mu Qiuyu and spoke in a monotone: “February 28th, 5:36 PM. Temperature: 3 degrees Celsius. Health System reminds you: wear appropriate clothing to prevent a cold.”

The robotic voice wasn’t pleasant to the ear. Looking at the current Lu Ning, a strange smile appeared in Mu Qiuyu’s eyes.

She raised her hand to hook at the halo around Lu Ning and asked: “What are your thoughts on my actions today?”

Lu Ning thought Mu Qiuyu was incredibly moody. One second she refused to bond, and the next she was teasing her.

And the act of hooking the halo was just too much.

Those cool fingertips were tracing the light and brushing against the core. It wasn’t “absent-minded”; it was clearly “intentional”!

Lu Ning felt itchy all over—comfortable yet difficult to express. She had to endure the sensation and answer: “The Host did nothing wrong. One should seek help from teachers when necessary.”

“The Host shouldn’t fear being isolated or having no friends because they ‘told on someone’ and thus permit school bullying to exist. In fact, victims should not be isolated. True friends…”

Just as Lu Ning was about to launch into a lecture on her views as a teacher regarding school bullying, Mu Qiuyu interrupted her: “I don’t need friends.”

In the silent classroom, the girl’s voice was cool and casual, like the first gust of evening wind.

It had no physical form and little strength; it was just a light touch to let you know it was there.

Lu Ning paused at those words.

Mu Qiuyu didn’t wait for her. She grabbed her packed bag and walked out of the classroom.

The last rays of the sunset lingered at the back door. As Mu Qiuyu walked through, they washed over her.

The girl’s silhouette was tall and thin. The golden light hit her face, defining every thick eyelash, while her lips appeared pale and thin.

Like a person who was cold and detached.

Lu Ning suddenly remembered that in the original novel, Mu Qiuyu indeed had no friends.

She was alone all the way until her death.

Lu Ning remembered a similar line Mu Qiuyu said to the female lead in the original text when being questioned.

She said she didn’t need friends.

But did she really not need friends?

As she was thinking this, a “Ding” sounded in both Lu Ning and Mu Qiuyu’s ears.

The system control panel began to load. This time, instead of a prompt box, a mission completion settlement page popped up.

Congratulations, Host! You have completed the mission: ‘Win the Gold Medal at the Arts Festival.’ Reward: 100 points. Permission to open the System Mall granted.

Lu Ning stared at the screen with curiosity, thinking that the mission to reform Mu Qiuyu mentioned by the Main System had finally begun.

However, her joy didn’t last long. Immediately after, another mission box jumped into their vision.

Main Mission 1: Make a friend. Reward: 1000 points. Time limit: One month.

System Friendly Reminder: Facing missions passively will result in random penalties. We wish the Host a successful completion.

At the end of the text, the mission system even set off a display of colorful fireworks for Mu Qiuyu.

Those electronic fireworks crackled and popped in the system space.

The air in the real world was unprecedentedly silent.

Mu Qiuyu stopped in her tracks at the classroom door. She turned slowly to look at Lu Ning.

Her dark eyes were hidden in the dusk. Beneath her calm expression was a hint of barely suppressed anger: “Lu Ning, did you do this on purpose?”

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