Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 11

” Sis, no matter what you choose, Mom, Dad and I will support you unconditionally.”

As if sensing Huo Yuqing’s inner conflict, Huo Yuwan gently reassured her.

“Of course, personally I’d prefer if you applied to the Foreign Affairs University.”

She playfully winked and quickly added.

Huo Yuqing chuckled at her sister’s antics, “Alright, I’ll consider it carefully.”

She murmured softly.

The words were meant for her sister, but even more so for herself.

…

On the way back to the dormitory, the fox spirit spoke in her mind, “My Lady, have you chosen Huo Yuqing as your mission target?”

Huo Yuwan snapped out of her thoughts but didn’t directly answer.

“Why do you say that?”

“You don’t think highly of Qi Qiuyuan, yet you’re so actively encouraging Huo Yuqing to apply to the Foreign Affairs University. If she follows your advice, we could directly reverse the plotline.”

“Given Huo Yuqing’s academic performance, becoming a diplomat would only be a matter of time after entering the Foreign Affairs University.”

The fox spirit analyzed methodically.

This way, they could easily complete their mission.

“You’re right.”

Huo Yuwan responded with a light laugh.

Yet a strange sense of unease still lingered in her heart.

…

Her conversation with Qi Qiuyuan during the day wasn’t just a passing whim. Li Xuzhi had been contemplating recently – why not try fighting once more?

She had lived her entire childhood obediently under her parents’ control.

The paintbrushes she once loved were shattered by her father when she turned eighteen. Paint and canvases were scattered across the room. Facing her furious father, a trembling Li Xuzhi was too terrified to resist, forced to watch as her carefully created paintings were torn to pieces.

That painting of the nine-tailed crimson fox was the only one she managed to save, pleading with tearful desperation.

The price was her obedient enrollment in medical school.

Against her domineering father and weak-willed mother, Li Xuzhi possessed no power to resist.

Because she knew she was equally weak herself.

But now, having finally found someone she wanted to be with, Li Xuzhi thought she should try fighting once more.

Even if it meant paying some price.

…

As the car stopped outside the Li family villa, an involuntary tension surfaced within her. Li Xuzhi gazed out the window at the crabapple flowers swaying in the evening breeze before the villa, vibrant with life.

Silently watching them, Huo Yuwan’s radiant smile inevitably surfaced in her mind.

A faint smile touched her lips, easing some of the tension in her heart.

“Xuzhi’s back!”

Entering the living room, it was Mrs. Qi sitting sideways on the sofa who first noticed Li Xuzhi’s presence, rising with a smile to alert Mrs. Li beside her.

“Why are you back so suddenly? You didn’t call ahead.”

Mrs. Li rose with a beaming smile, taking her hand, “Have you had dinner yet?”

Responding softly, Li Xuzhi offered Mrs. Qi a polite smile before asking quietly, “Is Father upstairs?”

“Yes, in his study.”

After the instinctive reply, Mrs. Li’s smile involuntarily faded somewhat.

Because Li Xuzhi rarely sought out her father voluntarily.

The last time was right after graduation, when she rejected her father’s arrangements and found work at the school hospital herself.

That night, Li Xuzhi was punished by kneeling in the study until dawn.

The next day, she couldn’t even get out of bed. Her face was deathly pale, and her entire body was drenched in cold sweat. It took a week of rest in the hospital before she slowly recovered.

Li Xuzhi had been born prematurely and had always been frail since childhood. Her mother felt sorry for her, but faced with her stubborn husband, there was nothing she could do no matter how much it pained her.

“Xiao Xu, what… what do you want to talk to your father about? Don’t be too impulsive…”

Mother Li was somewhat flustered.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

After comforting her gently, Li Xuzhi headed upstairs.

Mother Qi, who was unaware of the situation, walked over to Mother Li and said with a smile, “Qiuyuan came home today too. Do you think these two planned it? Maybe they’ve liked each other all along but were too embarrassed to tell us…”

Mother Li only forced a faint smile in response.

If that were really the case, she wouldn’t be so worried.

…

During the morning break, Huo Yuwan received a message from her second sister.

It was a money transfer and a picture.

The transfer was the usual living expenses Huo Yuqing sent to her younger sister, while the picture showed various awards and certificates of honor she had received during her university years.

Yuwan, I’ve decided to take your advice and try applying to the Foreign Affairs College. I’m currently preparing the application materials.

You should work hard too. Pay attention in class.

Receiving this message, Huo Yuwan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as Huo Yuqing was willing to apply, it should help avoid the events that would unfold later.

But aside from this, there was another matter troubling Huo Yuwan.

For three days in a row, she hadn’t run into Li Xuzhi at the school clinic even once.

Every time she asked the doctor on duty, the response was the same: Dr. Li had taken time off.

At first, Huo Yuwan assumed Li Xuzhi had some family matters to attend to and didn’t want to bother her with a message.

By the third day, she couldn’t hold back anymore.

She tentatively sent a message on WeChat, and during class, her mind wandered as she waited for a reply.

But the message she sent sank like a stone, with no response whatsoever.

“Could something have happened?”

An inexplicable worry rose in her heart, making Huo Yuwan restless. Finally, when the lunch break arrived, she grabbed her backpack and rushed off campus.

She quickly hailed a taxi and arrived at the neighborhood where Li Xuzhi lived. Huo Yuwan went upstairs, familiar with the way.

She called Li Xuzhi’s phone while ringing the doorbell but still received no response.

Just as she was feeling disheartened, a sound suddenly came from behind the door, a series of thumping noises. Huo Yuwan’s heart stirred.

“Kitty, kitty, is that you?”

The noise was clearly the sound of the little fox scratching at the door.

With a click, the door opened from the inside, and a white shadow rushed into Huo Yuwan’s arms.

It whimpered and whined. Huo Yuwan gently soothed it, murmuring, “Where’s your owner? Is Dr. Li not home?”

Huo Yuwan carried the little white fox inside, opening each door one by one, but there was no sign of anyone.

The little fox grew restless in her arms, jumped to the floor, and tugged at Huo Yuwan’s pant leg, pulling her back outside.

Once outside, the little fox leaped up, trying to press the elevator button. Guessing its intention, Huo Yuwan quickly picked it up and, at the same time, summoned the fox spirit in her mind.

“Hurry, read the little cat’s mind. It knows where Dr. Li is.”

If only her magic hadn’t disappeared, she wouldn’t have to ask for help like this.

Huo Yuwan sighed inwardly, frustrated.

The route was imprinted in Huo Yuwan’s mind. She went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for her destination.

The route ended at the villa where the Li family lived, but Huo Yuwan knew something must have happened to Dr. Li—otherwise, she wouldn’t have ignored her messages.

After getting out of the car outside the residential area, Huo Yuwan faced another problem.

She didn’t have resident access and couldn’t get in.

Annoyed, she hugged the little white fox and circled to the other side of the community, staring at the high wall in front of her.

After sizing it up for a long time, she eventually crouched down dejectedly in front of a patch of grass.

“Fox Spirit, lend me some of your magic. I need to transform into my original form.”

“…My Lady, that won’t do… It’s against the rules…”

Rules, my foot…

Huo Yuwan cursed inwardly.

“Qi Qiuyuan’s family lives here too. I bet my sister’s application to the Foreign Affairs College will be told to Qi Qiuyuan soon. Do you think she’ll agree?”

“She definitely won’t agree.”

The Fox Spirit rummaged through the plotline and replied.

In the original plot, Qi Qiuyuan used the excuse of not wanting a long-distance relationship to dissuade Huo Yuqing from applying to the Foreign Affairs College.

This caused her to miss the chance for direct admission.

“So, I’m entering the community to complete my mission. I plan to secretly take a photo of Qi Qiuyuan’s application email for overseas training and send it to my sister, to strike first and make them break up as soon as possible.”

What Huo Yuwan found most absurd in the original plot was this part.

Qi Qi Qiuyuan first used the excuse of not accepting a long-distance relationship to stop Huo Yuqing from applying to the Foreign Affairs College in another city.

But then, she herself applied for a six-month track and field training program in Australia.

When confronted by Huo Yuqing, she simply said it was for her future and comforted her by saying it was only half a year, much shorter than the three years for graduate school.

By then, Huo Yuqing had already missed the application deadline for direct admission. Even if she was unhappy, she had no choice but to endure it.

This blatant hypocrisy left Huo Yuwan utterly speechless.

So today, her sister must see clearly what a scumbag Qi Qiuyuan really is.

Judging by the timeline, Qi Qiuyuan should be receiving a reply to her application email around now.

Huo Yuwan decided to first check on Dr. Li’s situation, then sneak next door to photograph the email.

Of course, there was no need to share this order of priorities with the Fox Spirit.

With a legitimate reason, the Fox Spirit considered it and lent Huo Yuwan some spiritual power.

Soon, a white fox, noticeably larger than the little white fox, landed on the ground. Ignoring the little fox’s curious gaze, Huo Yuwan nudged it and carried it on her back.

With such a high wall, there was no way the little fox could get in on its own.

It was up to her.

Crouching slightly outside the wall, in the next moment, a white blur shot through the air.

Effortlessly clearing the wall, Huo Yuwan was about to transform back when she caught sight of multiple surveillance cameras around.

“……”

If she dared to transform now, she’d be all over the news tomorrow.

Helpless, she continued in her fox form and followed the little white fox, running toward the Li family’s villa.

Using the same trick, she leaped into the yard. But with four floors and countless rooms, Huo Yuwan had no idea which one Li Xuzhi lived in.

She couldn’t just barge in through the living room like that.

She scratched her head in thought.

Fortunately, the little white fox seemed to know this place well. Following behind it, Huo Yuwan was led to the backyard.

Looking up, she saw a suspended balcony directly above, facing a room. The little white fox crouched in front of Huo Yuwan, wagging its tail at her with a grin.

It seemed this was the place.

Huo Yuwan nodded.

Repeating the same trick, the two foxes smoothly landed on the balcony.

Perhaps catching the scent of its owner, the little white fox excitedly tried to dash inside, but Huo Yuwan, sharp-eyed, noticed there was someone else in the room.

She quickly pulled the little white fox back.

Sneaking a peek from behind the wall, Huo Yuwan looked into the room.

The room was decorated in a minimalist black-and-white style. Li Xuzhi lay on the bed with her eyes closed. Huo Yuwan couldn’t clearly see her face but could vaguely recognize her as Dr. Li from the outline of her profile.

Dr. Li’s own apartment was decorated so warmly, why was her childhood home, in contrast, so cold and stark in its style?

It clearly didn’t seem like the kind of decor Dr. Li would prefer.

Huo Yuwan observed the room thoughtfully.

Her gaze returned to Li Xuzhi, and she watched her sleeping face from afar.

It was lunchtime, had Dr. Li not gotten up yet?

Before she could even form the question in her mind, Huo Yuwan noticed a flash of white hidden in her hair.

Frowning slowly, she stood on tiptoe, straining to get a better look.

It was a bandage.

Wrapped around Li Xuzhi’s forehead, one corner faintly stained with blood.

Her heart clenched involuntarily. Only then did Huo Yuwan notice Dr. Li’s haggard face and her pale, bloodless lips.

Her fox claws scratched uncontrollably at the corner of the wall. After sweeping her gaze over the middle-aged woman sitting on the other side of the bed, Huo Yuwan anxiously paced in place.

“If anything else happens to you, how am I supposed to go on living?” the woman murmured, sobbing quietly as she looked at her frail, thin daughter lying in bed.

“Listen to me, don’t resist your father anymore…”