Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 19

The area beneath the girls’ dormitory had always been a popular spot for young couples, especially in the evenings. As Huo Yuwan stepped downstairs, she spotted several pairs of lovebirds lingering on the benches along the path, reluctant to part ways.

The gloomy sky had begun to drizzle. Frowning slightly, she hesitated for a moment. But upon noticing Qi Liang standing persistently under the building, she tightened her trench coat and reluctantly walked toward him.

“Yuwan, I…”

The moment Qi Liang caught sight of Huo Yuwan, a flicker of delight crossed his face. Eagerly, he tried to hand her the bouquet of roses he was holding.

“Stop.”

Hearing him address her so familiarly made her uncomfortable. The fine rain was dampening her hair, and she had no intention of standing there getting soaked.

Taking a deep breath, she delivered her final, resolute rejection.

“Qi Liang, I’ve told you many times, I don’t like you.”

“That was before. You must have misunderstood me. Since you don’t have feelings for anyone else right now, why not give me a chance…”

As if anticipating her refusal, Qi Liang only furrowed his brows slightly before brushing it off and continuing to persuade her.

Huo Yuwan had never encountered someone so shameless. She let out a soft, incredulous laugh.

“I like women. Do you understand now?”

For a moment, Qi Liang stood frozen in place, his words caught in his throat.

Huo Yuwan didn’t spare him another glance and turned to leave.

Just then, her phone rang from her pocket. She pulled it out and saw that Li Xuzhi was calling. Unconsciously, a smile touched her lips. She answered the call, her previously soured mood instantly lifting.

But before she could speak, a shadow fell over her from behind. Instinctively, she turned around.

“I’m confident I can change your sexual orientation.”

The arrogant, grating words hung in the air. Qi Liang had somehow crept up behind her. With one hand, he forcefully shoved the bouquet of roses into her arms, while the other hand moved as if to touch her face.

Asking for a beating and begging for trouble.

The fox spirit silently observing from the sidelines couldn’t bear to watch.

Huo Yuwan’s expression turned icy. With a sharp frown, she seized the arm he had extended toward her and, in one swift motion, flipped him over her shoulder, sending him flying.

Thud.

Qi Liang’s back slammed into a tree trunk not far behind him.

“Ah!”

Curled up on the ground in agony, his face turned deathly pale.

“You… you…”

Whether from shock or fear, he stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Dark red rose petals lay scattered across the ground. Huo Yuwan glanced down at the disheveled bouquet.

She bent over, picked it up, and, under Qi Liang’s horrified gaze, strode directly to the trash bin nearby and tossed it in.

“If you dare harass me again, you’ll be the next one in the trash.”

She shot a cold glance at the cold sweat beading on his forehead, brushed the raindrops from her shoulders, and walked away without looking back.

Trembling with lingering fear, Qi Liang watched her retreating figure disappear back into the dormitory. Pale-faced, he struggled to his feet and limped away, avoiding the curious stares of onlookers.

He had always admired Huo Yuwan’s boldness in standing up to Qi Qiuyuan, but he had never paid attention to the bruises and injuries Qi Qiuyuan had suffered.

Well, now he knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of her fists.

…

Back in her dorm room, Huo Yuwan hung up her slightly damp coat to dry, washed her hands on the balcony, and then climbed into bed to reply to Li Xuzhi’s message.

The moment she took action, she had instinctively hung up the phone. Although she believed her actions were justified self-defense, Huo Yuwan still felt inexplicably guilty.

Dr. Li seemed to dislike her resorting to violence.

Pretending nothing had happened, she lay on the bed and replied to the messages.

Sorry, Dr. Li, I had to hang up earlier because something came up.
It’s fine. Did you reapply the ointment?

Dr. Li’s reply came quickly. Feeling cared for, Huo Yuwan unconsciously curved her lips into a smile and began typing a cheerful response.

Unbeknownst to her, at the Li residence, Li Xuzhi was sitting alone on the bed, hugging her knees. Her freshly washed hair, still damp, cascaded down her slender back onto the sheets.

She sat there quietly. The gauze on her forehead had been removed, leaving only a faint pink mark on her fair, jade-like skin, with no trace of a scar. Her entire demeanor appeared soft and delicate.

With an unreadable expression, Li Xuzhi lowered her gaze, her mind repeatedly replaying the abruptly cut-off voice she had heard over the phone just before it was hung up.

Before the call ended hastily, she had heard that male voice.

It was Qi Liang.

After his confession that afternoon, he had gone to see Huo Yuwan again.

Realizing this, Li Xuzhi pressed her lips together, an uncontrollable sense of unease spreading in her heart.

Yuwan had explicitly said she liked girls, and she deeply disliked the Qi siblings…

Her thick, curled lashes fluttered slightly as Li Xuzhi stared at the message Huo Yuwan had just sent. Biting her lip, she tentatively replied:

Was it Qi Liang who came to see you just now?

Scratching her head as she stared at the message, Huo Yuwan hadn’t expected Dr. Li to have heard.

She wondered if Dr. Li would laugh at her for being harassed by such a shameless, overconfident man. How embarrassing.

Huo Yuwan regretted going downstairs earlier.

“He came to harass me again, and I couldn’t help but act…”
“Dr. Li, you have to believe me. I’m not usually an impulsive person.”
“Fox rolling around and acting cute.jpg”

She sent three messages in a row, not even realizing how nervous she was, afraid that Li Xuzhi might misunderstand her and form a bad impression.

Staring intently at the three consecutive messages popping up on her screen, Li Xuzhi couldn’t help but let a joyful smile spread across her face. She reached out and touched the rolling white fox emoji on the screen.

I believe you, Yuwan.

Letting out a soft exclamation, Huo Yuwan rolled over on her bed, grinning with relief.

The two chatted back and forth until the dormitory suddenly plunged into darkness and Li Xuzhi bid her goodnight. Only then did Huo Yuwan, lying quietly in bed, snap out of her reverie.

They had chatted from nine to eleven, and she had completely forgotten to tell Dr. Li about joining the school team.

Maybe she’d tell her during their date the day after tomorrow.

Feeling incredibly content, Huo Yuwan closed her eyes with that thought.

…

The next morning, with no classes scheduled, Huo Yuwan went to the Sports College office as scheduled to report to Coach Chen.

Several other coaches were in the office, especially Coach Ding, who frowned the moment he saw Huo Yuwan.

“With such excellent academic results, why did you go back on your word and decide to join the school team?”

He flipped through the documents in his hand, deliberately speaking provocatively.

Although the other coaches remained silent, they clearly shared similar thoughts.

Initially, it was Huo Yuwan who had voluntarily declined to join the school team. Now, she was having second thoughts and wanted to come back, it all seemed far too capricious.

“I advised Xiao Huo to reconsider carefully. Such remarkable talent shouldn’t be wasted so easily.”

Chen Rong stepped in to help her out, explaining that deciding to become a professional athlete was no small matter, and it was perfectly normal to think it over multiple times.

Lowering her gaze to appear humble, Huo Yuwan deliberately asked in front of the coaches present, “Will you be the one guiding my training from now on, Coach Chen?”

Ding Sheng felt a surge of irritation when she ignored his remarks. She had barely joined the school team and was already cozying up to Chen Rong, truly adept at currying favor.

“Coach Chen is already responsible for Qi Qiuyuan. Why not let me take charge of Huo Yuwan’s training?” Ding Sheng spoke up first, aware of the underlying dynamics. Li Yu’s presence was already hard enough for Qi Qiuyuan to tolerate, let alone adding Huo Yuwan into the mix.

“I’ll take responsibility for her,” Chen Rong insisted. “Xiao Huo’s abilities are on par with Qi Qiuyuan’s. Training together could motivate each other.”

Pulling out a chair for Huo Yuwan to sit beside him, Chen Rong showed her the training schedule he had just drafted. “This is a rough plan based on your class timetable. Take a look, and if anything doesn’t suit you, we can adjust it.”

Since Chen Rong had already spoken, Ding Sheng couldn’t object further. He silently withdrew his gaze, watching their backs, then sent a message to Qi Qiuyuan.

They discussed the training plan until nearly noon. Huo Yuwan knew Coach Chen genuinely wanted to help her improve, but unfortunately, she wasn’t truly passionate about competitive sports. In the end, she feared she might only let down his goodwill.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching.

“Huo Yuwan, you actually came?”

Turning around in confusion, Huo Yuwan saw a middle-aged woman in a black suit standing at the door. She froze for a moment before awkwardly rising to her feet with an embarrassed smile.

“Professor Wen…”

Wen Jinyuan was still holding her handbag. She stepped closer, her gaze filled with disapproval and disappointment.

She had previously helped Coach Chen’s family win a lawsuit, so Chen Rong had treated her to dinner the night before. She had been present when he took a call during the meal.

Even so, Wen Jinyuan found it hard to believe that Huo Yuwan intended to join the school team as an athlete.

After all, just a few days ago, this young woman had agreed to participate in the law school debate team, which Wen herself was leading.

Huo Yuwan paid close attention in class, actively answered questions, had a broad knowledge of legal studies, and had even ranked first in the midterm exams…

Wen Jinyuan couldn’t understand why such an outstanding student would suddenly make such a move.

Under Wen Jinyuan’s intense stare, Huo Yuwan’s back grew tense, and she began to sweat nervously.

Although she hadn’t interacted much with Professor Wen, she knew the woman was strict and meticulous, especially in academic matters, where she tolerated no carelessness.

More importantly, Professor Wen was a relative of Dr. Li, and Huo Yuwan didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Does that mean I need to find a replacement for next month’s debate competition?”

Sure enough, Wen Jinyuan approached, her expression stern.

Shaking her head vigorously like a rattle-drum, Huo Yuwan pressed her lips together and pleaded, “I’ll prepare well, Professor Wen. Please don’t make me drop out.”

Chen Rong, who had been observing from the side, chimed in at the right moment, “Attorney Wen, don’t be upset just yet. Look, this is the new training schedule Xiao Huo has arranged. As you can see, she hasn’t missed a single one of your classes.”

Wen Jinyuan glanced at the computer screen, but her expression remained stern.

“If you think attending classes alone is enough, then I suggest you give up your pipe dream of becoming a lawyer right now.”

“You’d be better off focusing on your track and field training.”

Her words were harsh, and Wen Jinyuan was clearly disappointed in her.

She had initially held high hopes for Huo Yuwan, not only was she strong in her field of study, but she had also been recommended by Li Xuzhi. Wen Jinyuan had even considered taking her on as an intern at her own firm during the summer.

But now, it seemed…

Trying to juggle two things at once would only lead to failure in both.

Hearing this, Huo Yuwan felt utterly helpless, finally understanding what it meant to be unable to voice her grievances.

Chen Rong hadn’t expected Wen Jinyuan to be so angry. Truthfully, he had sensed Huo Yuwan’s reluctance to give up her academic courses early on, but he hadn’t paid it much mind.

After all, Huo Yuwan wasn’t originally a sports student, and no one could say for sure whether she would stick with it till the end. As long as she could manage her energy, there was nothing wrong with keeping her options open.

But clearly, Wen Jinyuan didn’t see it that way.