Did I Succeed in Redeeming the Villain Today? - Chapter 91

Chapter 91: “Tongtong, I Missed You So Much.”

Silence. A gentle light fell upon Lu Ning’s eyelids. She heard the sound of pages turning beside her—light, slow, and unhurried. Just like a certain someone.

Mu Qiuyu.

As the name surfaced in her mind, Lu Ning snapped awake. Her eyes opened to a completely unfamiliar environment, a room decorated in an orderly, natural wood style. Sunlight spilled through the window opposite her, and the curtains fluttered softly. A music stand stood in the center of the scene, and a beautiful violin rested on an exquisite small table nearby.

Seeing this, Lu Ning sensed the presence of Mu Qiuyu even more strongly in the room. She looked toward the sound of the turning pages, unable to wait a second longer.

Not far from the bed where she lay sat a woman in a chair, holding a book. She was elegant and tall, her long black hair draping down the side of her face. Through the light from the window, Lu Ning saw those superior, familiar features.

It was Mu Qiuyu. She was back.

Lu Ning’s eyes lit up, and she called out excitedly to the woman: “Tongtong!”

At that call, the woman’s hand turning the page froze. She looked up at Lu Ning, a hint of surprise hidden in her cool, indifferent eyes: “What did you call me?”

Lu Ning froze, repeating: “Tongtong.”

The woman’s gaze shifted slowly. She was indeed Mu Qiuyu, and “Tongtong” was indeed her childhood nickname. But how did this person in front of her know that?

Mu Qiuyu’s brow furrowed as she looked at Lu Ning with a stranger’s eyes: “Do we know each other?”

Thump!

Lu Ning felt as if her heart had been struck by a hammer. Looking at this person who shared the same face and name as Mu Qiuyu, she realized with a jolt that this Mu Qiuyu didn’t seem to remember her at all.

Not long ago, Lu Ning had told Ji Xiao about her experiences. She thought Ji Xiao would think she was crazy, but Ji Xiao told her she believed her—because that was how she had met Wei Qingyu too. However, Ji Xiao had also given her a warning. When Ji Xiao returned from the book world, she had forgotten Wei Qingyu for a time. She told Lu Ning to be mentally prepared.

Lu Ning thought she was ready. But seeing those distant, cold eyes looking at her, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow.

“We… we…”

Lu Ning remembered Ji Xiao’s advice. According to the current situation, she should act like a stranger, build a relationship with Mu Qiuyu first, and not let her think she was weird. But to pretend they didn’t know each other… Lu Ning struggled, but the words wouldn’t come out. Her heart ached with the lingering listlessness of the past few days.

The room fell silent. Under Lu Ning’s sudden quietness, Mu Qiuyu also looked curiously at this person whose behavior and speech were so odd. In her years of performing around the world, Mu Qiuyu had met many strange people, but Lu Ning was the strangest. This person knew her name and her nickname.

What was stranger, however, was Mu Qiuyu herself. She realized that despite Lu Ning’s behavior resembling that of a “sasaeng” fan, she didn’t feel disgusted or repulsed.

While the room was trapped in silence, the door was pushed open. Ji Xiao peeked her head in and said to Mu Qiuyu, “Miss Mu, your niece has gone to school. She said she met a new friend, so she had to go for the last self-study period.”

“Okay, thank you,” Mu Qiuyu nodded to Ji Xiao, then gestured toward Lu Ning. “Your friend is awake.”

Ji Xiao looked at Lu Ning—whom she had accidentally knocked out earlier—and was relieved to see her awake: “Xiao Ning, how are you? Any discomfort?”

Hearing Ji Xiao’s voice, Lu Ning’s frozen thoughts began to move. She looked at Ji Xiao blankly, then touched her neck. “My neck hurts a bit.”

“That’s your own fault,” Ji Xiao scolded affectionately, giving her a pointed look.

Lu Ning didn’t react at first, then the events before her blackout flashed in her head. —She remembered hugging a little girl who looked like a young Mu Qiuyu. —Then she was knocked out.

Wait…

As Lu Ning was piecing it together, she heard Mu Qiuyu ask coldly, “Now, can you explain to me why you suddenly hugged my niece?”

The tone was so familiar. Lu Ning looked up and saw Mu Qiuyu’s eyes filled with hostility. It made sense; having excitedly hugged her niece, Mu Qiuyu must see her as a dangerous creep.

So. This Mu Qiuyu really didn’t remember her.

“I…” Lu Ning’s voice became strained as she tried to explain, “I mistook her for what my friend looked like when she was little.”

She spoke cryptically, her eyes struggling to remain calm as she gazed at Mu Qiuyu. “She looks very much like my friend. They both have beautiful eyes and a tall frame… you can recognize them from a distance.”

As Lu Ning described the person she “mistook” her for, the description slowly merged into the Mu Qiuyu sitting before her and the Mu Qiuyu she knew in the book world. She felt immensely melancholy. She wanted to say more, but Mu Qiuyu interrupted ruthlessly: “But you still mistook her.”

Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning. For some reason, she felt a sense of sadness in this person’s voice. Feeling that her empathy was a bit too active today, she hardened her expression and said distantly, “Please don’t be so impulsive next time. You’ll give the child a psychological complex.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Lu Ning didn’t make any excuses and lowered her head. Sadness spread in her eyes. Her “lost and found” wasn’t a reunion yet.

“She must have been terrified. I am truly sorry,” Lu Ning sincerely apologized. “I don’t know how the little girl is doing. I can apologize to her in person. Whatever compensation is needed, I will do it. Truly.”

Saying this, Lu Ning looked up at Mu Qiuyu. She was a person who couldn’t hide her emotions; her reddened eyes stared straight at Mu Qiuyu, looking like a pitiful puppy that had been abandoned. Mu Qiuyu felt the comparison was nonsensical, yet her heart softened inexplicably.

She had intended to warn Lu Ning that if she saw her harassing her niece again, she would call the police. But the words reached her lips and took a turn: “The child is fine. You… don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“Thank you,” Lu Ning nodded, her gaze never leaving her. Mu Qiuyu felt that the way this person looked at her always held some inexplicable emotion, making her feel self-conscious.

Maintaining her distance from strangers, Mu Qiuyu closed her book and said, “I have things to do and need to head out. If you two have nothing else, I won’t keep you.”

“I have my car here. If it’s on the way, I can give you a lift,” Ji Xiao offered.

“I have a car. It’s not on the way,” Mu Qiuyu rejected her directly, not even asking where they were going.

Faced with such a rejection, Ji Xiao felt a bit awkward. But Lu Ning spoke up: “I’m sorry, can I ask you one more question?”

Mu Qiuyu looked at Lu Ning—who didn’t seem all that “sorry”—and paused before saying, “Ask.”

“What is your profession?” Lu Ning asked tentatively.

Mu Qiuyu showed a rare expression of surprise. She truly believed Lu Ning was a sasaeng fan, so she wasn’t surprised that Lu Ning knew her name. But if she didn’t even know what her job was, how did she know her name?

Asking such a thing seemed a bit narcissistic, so Mu Qiuyu simply pointed to the violin in the room. “I am a violinist.”

Hearing this, the dimness in Lu Ning’s eyes finally sparked with light. Even if Mu Qiuyu didn’t remember her, Mu Qiuyu was still Mu Qiuyu. She played the violin beautifully; in this world without “parting by death,” she was a violinist.

“I wish you a successful performance,” Lu Ning said, no longer wanting to disturb her. She stepped off the bed barefoot and prepared to leave with Ji Xiao.

As she reached the door, she turned to Mu Qiuyu and said, “I hope we meet again, if fate allows.”

The words sounded a bit awkward in isolation, but the look in Lu Ning’s eyes was so sincere and clean that one couldn’t find fault with it. Yet, Mu Qiuyu felt a strange sense of reluctance and lingering attachment. The person left just like that, leaving only a silhouette in Mu Qiuyu’s sight.

For some reason, Mu Qiuyu felt Lu Ning’s back looked very lonely, which made her feel uneasy. As the hallway lights traced Lu Ning’s retreating figure, Mu Qiuyu’s gaze strangely didn’t want to turn away. She realized she actually wanted to look at this person a bit longer.

But what was there to see in a stranger? Mu Qiuyu frowned, finding herself strange. And that wasn’t the only strange thing. She had actually allowed herself to be persuaded by this person’s companion and didn’t call the police. She wasn’t usually so unguarded.

The sunlight glinted off something on the floor. Mu Qiuyu walked over and saw it was the ID badge the person had dropped.

“Lu Ning.”

On the photo, Lu Ning had a neat hairstyle and a formal smile. Mu Qiuyu looked at the smiling face, her brow furrowed. She didn’t understand why this photo looked so familiar.

After leaving Mu Qiuyu’s house, Lu Ning was in a daze the whole way. Her brain had taken in too much information at once. Her old home was now Mu Qiuyu’s home. Mu Qiuyu was a violinist with a free life, but she didn’t remember her at all. Would she ever remember? Was she truly her Mu Qiuyu?

While Lu Ning was lost in thought, Ji Xiao was much simpler. She only had one point: “Seriously, are all of you who come back with memories from the previous world this impulsive?”

“Wei Qingyu came up and said she wrote that book for her first love, making me misunderstand. You’re even better—you go and hug a little girl, making them think you’re a child abductor!”

Lu Ning shriveled like a quail at Ji Xiao’s teasing. She did feel she had been too impulsive, whispering a defense: “I didn’t mean it.” Now she felt she had gotten off on a terrible foot with Mu Qiuyu. “What should I do now?”

“Work hard to salvage your terrible image in Mu Qiuyu’s heart,” Ji Xiao said, also looking concerned.

“Should I plan a trip too?” Lu Ning took a page from the experiences of others and started searching for Mu Qiuyu’s concert locations. “She’s a violinist now; I think I can ‘accidentally’ run into her.”

Ji Xiao pressed down on Lu Ning’s phone with one hand, telling her ruthlessly: “Xiao Ning, please show some professional ethics as a teacher. Don’t forget you have students in four classes to teach.”

Lu Ning wilted. “Oh.”

But then she bounced back, her eyes lighting up: “Wait, I am a teacher! I remember the kid living at her house was wearing our school uniform. Is she a student at our school?”

“Wow, your brain is actually useful. You can remember things even after being knocked out,” Ji Xiao couldn’t help but admire her.

“My brain is excellent,” Lu Ning bragged, beginning to plan. “I’ll go back and check what grade that girl is in and which class…”

Before she could finish, Ji Xiao sent a memo to Lu Ning’s phone. “Here, I already asked the girl for you. The girl’s name is Chen Nian. She’s a transfer student in Class 13, Grade 10. Mu Qiuyu is her distant aunt. There are still some procedures to finish, and since Mu Qiuyu has to go out of town for a performance, she’ll come to the school to finish the paperwork when she gets back.”

Lu Ning treated the information like a treasure. “Xiao Xiao! You are truly my angel!”

Ji Xiao pushed Lu Ning away with one hand to stop her from hugging her. “Did you go to an alternate world just to learn how to suck up?”

“Did I?” Lu Ning didn’t mind, her gaze falling slightly. This was the evidence that she and Mu Qiuyu had once lived together day and night. If only she could use this to prove their past to Mu Qiuyu.

She studied the information carefully. “Grade 10, Class 13… isn’t that Teacher Li’s class?”

Ji Xiao also recalled: “Isn’t Teacher Li the one from your English department who just found out she was pregnant?”

“Yeah. She has a history of habitual miscarriage. She was very listless in the office yesterday. She said the Dean is looking for a teacher to take over her class so she can take leave to stay home and protect the pregnancy.” Lu Ning noted how hard it was to bring life into the world. “But you know, who wants to be a homeroom teacher these days?”

“You,” Ji Xiao patted Lu Ning’s shoulder. “Teacher Lu, go and sacrifice yourself for love! Save Teacher Li and her baby! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Heaven will surely look upon you kindly.”

Lu Ning had exactly that intention. However, she looked at the grinning Ji Xiao and teased: “Xiao Xiao, your suck-up skills have improved too. Having a girlfriend really makes a difference, huh?”

“Then hurry and get Mu Qiuyu back so we can learn from each other,” Ji Xiao encouraged. “She will definitely remember you, just like I eventually remembered Wei Qingyu.”

Lu Ning gained some confidence from this. She smiled and said, “When Mu Qiuyu remembers me, I’ll treat you and Wei Qingyu to a grand feast.”

Ji Xiao: “You better keep your word.”

“Of course,” Lu Ning said firmly, her eyes looking at the endless road ahead. “I can’t wait for that day to come.”

The night was still, and the melodious sound of a violin came from a certain window. Lu Ning lay back on her long-lost big bed, her phone playing a violin piece. In the dimly lit video, a woman in a silver-white dress stood quietly. She held the violin to her shoulder, the light falling on her skirt following the ethereal music like a brilliant galaxy.

Lu Ning didn’t understand music, but she felt Mu Qiuyu’s playing was exceptionally relaxing. Her movements were graceful, and the galaxy flowing down her skirt changed with her. After the piece ended, the audience erupted in applause.

Lu Ning suddenly remembered the first time she saw Mu Qiuyu, the way she stunned everyone in the competition. The current her was more mature than the her of the past; her face had completely lost its youthfulness, making her seem even harder to approach.

Yet Lu Ning raised her hand, carefully stroking Mu Qiuyu’s face on the screen, every touch filled with longing: “Tongtong, I missed you so much.”

The handover for Lu Ning taking over Class 13, Grade 10 went very smoothly. Teacher Li went on leave happily, and the Dean was full of praise for Lu Ning’s initiative.

Only Lu Ning suffered. In addition to her four classes, she now carried the burden of two more, and for one of them, she was the worrying homeroom teacher. Having rarely been a homeroom teacher, she wanted to do a good job regardless of her motives. Lu Ning stayed up late for several nights just to catch up on the homeroom teacher’s manual, and her coffee supply at home was running low.

However, hard work pays off. Lu Ning felt her efforts wouldn’t be in vain. The most visible reward was that Lu Jianbang’s attitude toward her had improved. He thought she had finally come to her senses after he forced her to submit her title evaluation application and was now working hard to advance.

But whatever. As long as Lu Jianbang wasn’t nagging her, Lu Ning was much more at peace. It also helped that these tasks filled her time, so she didn’t have as much time to dwell on Mu Qiuyu while waiting for their reunion.

Time flew by, and finally, the day Mu Qiuyu was supposed to come to school arrived. After her meeting, Ji Xiao pushed open the door to the English teaching and research group. She saw a “smug puppy” sparkling in the sunlight within the seemingly empty room.

Ji Xiao leaned against the door and teased, “Teacher Lu, you look truly beautiful today.”

Lu Ning immediately stood up and showed off: “Not bad, right?”

“Not enough,” Ji Xiao shook her head. Lu Ning became nervous instantly. But before she could ask for help, Ji Xiao added: “It’s exceptionally good!”

Lu Ning, having been teased, gave her a punch. “Get out of here.”

There was still half a class period before meeting Mu Qiuyu. Lu Ning grabbed Ji Xiao’s arm. “Come with me to get some water; I’m a bit nervous. Also, help me think about how I should act to salvage my image later.”

“Just relax, Teacher Lu. As long as you act normal, Mu Qiuyu definitely won’t think you’re a child abductor,” Ji Xiao joked.

Lu Ning didn’t hold back either: “You’re never going to let that go, are you? You world-class jealous queen!”

“Child abductor.” “World-class jealous queen.”

The two of them joked childishly all the way to the water room. By the time they arrived, Lu Ning’s nervousness had relaxed significantly. Usually, one wouldn’t have to wait for hot water during class time, but someone had apparently just taken it all, and the boiler was reheating.

Lu Ning and Ji Xiao decided to wait with their cups. While they were waiting, gossip drifted from the nearby restroom.

“Teaching six classes… won’t she work herself to death?”

“Who knows? She won’t be an ordinary teacher for much longer.”

“Tch, she’s just relying on her father. She’s only worked for two years and she can get a title evaluation? I’ve worked here for seven years.”

“What’s the use of seven years? In your next life, be born into a better family. Forget two years, they could get you promoted in one.”

The gossip was clearly malicious, and Lu Ning and Ji Xiao knew they were talking about Lu Ning. Since it was class time and no students were around, they were speaking quite brazenly.

Ji Xiao knew exactly who those two were and rolled up her sleeves, ready to step in. But before she could play the hero, someone else intervened.

“If you want to seek death, it’s best not to do it at school; it will give the students a psychological complex.” A woman’s cool voice came from a stall, followed by the sound of footsteps walking toward the sink.

The voice was unfamiliar to Ji Xiao, but Lu Ning knew it instantly. She listened in disbelief, wanting to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

“Who are you?” the seven-year veteran teacher asked.

“A student’s guardian,” Mu Qiuyu replied calmly, unhurriedly turning on the faucet. “I didn’t intend to listen to your conversation, but your voices were far too loud. In a public place, it’s better not to act like this.”

“Since you are teachers, you should have some professional ethics, don’t you think?” Mu Qiuyu’s gentle features hid a cold edge as she questioned them.

The other female teacher didn’t want a direct conflict. Relying on the fact that Mu Qiuyu didn’t know who they were talking about, she sarcastically retorted: “You’re right. Those without professional ethics should die.”

Mu Qiuyu’s brow knit. “Why must you be so harsh?”

“It’s enough to say that those without professional ethics aren’t qualified for a title evaluation regardless of how many years they’ve worked, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean by that!” The veteran teacher clearly felt the sarcasm, and her voice rose an octave.

“I’m just speaking the truth.” Mu Qiuyu had finished washing her hands and prepared to leave.

“You haven’t made yourself clear, where do you think you’re going—” The veteran teacher wasn’t going to let Mu Qiuyu leave like that and reached out to grab her.

However, before she could even touch Mu Qiuyu, she was blocked.

“Miss Mu has made herself very clear. Those who lack professional ethics are the ones who haven’t earned a single promotion even after seven years.”

A tall shadow fell over Mu Qiuyu’s shoulder, a shadow she found familiar. She looked up toward the voice that had countered the teacher, and surprise slowly surfaced in her eyes.

The person blocking for her was none other than the very Lu Ning she had just defended.

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