Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 22.2

Thinking of the family environment she grew up in, a domineering father, a weak mother, an older brother who died young, and herself forced into hardship, Huo Yuwan sighed inwardly. Her heart softened, allowing Li Xuzhi to hold her.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Tentatively loosening Li Xuzhi’s grip on her wrist, Huo Yuwan straightened up, gazed at her sleeping face, tucked the blanket around her, and quietly left the bedroom.

Returning to the living room sofa, Huo Yuwan took out her phone to check.

It was a message from Li Yu, a link to an online video.

As soon as she clicked on it, Huo Yuwan was stunned by the bolded headline on the page.

“Female Athlete and Coach Arrange Secret Meeting in School Locker Room.”

Frowning the entire time she watched the video, Huo Yuwan sent a question mark in reply.

The video had already garnered over ten thousand likes, and some commenters had identified Qi Qiuyuan and Ding Sheng. Huo Yuwan couldn’t understand what Li Yu was trying to achieve with this move.

A misleading headline paired with an irrelevant video, if this were taken to court, Li Yu would be held accountable.

I’m just retaliating with the same methods.

Reading Li Yu’s reply, Huo Yuwan felt somewhat helpless.

The sting of being framed was unpleasant, but this approach was no different from inflicting a thousand losses on the enemy while suffering eight hundred herself.

Huo Yuwan had already paved the way: if Li Yu used the surveillance footage and the long needle hidden in Huo Yuwan’s sneakers as leverage, Qi Qiuyuan, to keep her quiet, would surely offer to help clear Li Yu’s name regarding the doping scandal in exchange.

Qi Qiuyuan understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils. Compared to Li Yu, she couldn’t tolerate Huo Yuwan’s presence even more.

Besides, the doping incident was entirely orchestrated by Ding Sheng, Qi Qiuyuan had washed her hands of any responsibility.

All Li Yu needed to do next was pretend to be persuaded and equally jealous of Huo Yuwan, shifting all the blame onto Ding Sheng. With Qi Qiuyuan’s backing, she could quickly return to the school team.

They had no evidence regarding the doping issue. To clear her name, the only way was to let Qi Qiuyuan and Ding Sheng turn on each other.

After Li Yu’s matter was resolved, Huo Yuwan would post the locker footage online. Deliberately harming a classmate, even with Qi Qianyuan’s father backing her, meant Qi Qianyuan wouldn’t escape unscathed.

But now, staring at the blatant IP address beneath the video link, Huo Yuwan knew anyone with ill intent could trace it back to Li Yu.

This was rather troublesome.

Don’t you want to be an athlete anymore?

Huo Yuwan sent her a message, but this time, Li Yu was slow to reply.

Gazing at their chat interface, Huo Yuwan sighed.

She could roughly guess Li Yu’s mindset: because Qi Qianyuan had shattered her dream with a single careless remark, she had become somewhat extreme in her desire for revenge.

“Master, actually… you didn’t have to get involved in this matter from the start.”

The fox spirit, seeming to sense her restlessness, hesitantly voiced its thoughts.

Li Yu’s situation had nothing to do with their main mission; Huo Yuwan had no need to wade into these muddy waters.

She could have simply focused on her campus life and waited for Huo Yuqing to graduate and become a translator.

Lowering her gaze to her palm, Huo Yuwan muttered gloomily, “But you told me Qi Qianyuan is this world’s protagonist. Should we really let someone like that, undeserving of such fortune, run amok and cause harm?”

As the young priestess, raised with the mission to protect her entire clan, she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

The fox spirit was momentarily left speechless by her question.

Sending the locker video to Li Yu, Huo Yuwan followed up with another message.

Delete the video online, then use this footage to pressure Qi Qianyuan into testifying for you.

An exchange of one thing for another. With this video as leverage, even if Qi Qianyuan discovered Li Yu was behind the slanderous video, she wouldn’t sue her.

So, you’re not going to hold her accountable for trying to harm you?

After a long pause, Li Yu replied.

A faint smile touched Huo Yuwan’s lips as she tapped lightly on the screen.

I will hold her accountable, but not now.

To truly bring down Qi Qianyuan, they needed to start with her father.

With her father’s support behind her, no matter how grave her mistakes, they could be covered up.

…

Carrying the drowsy kitten back to its bed, Huo Yuwan stretched and habitually headed toward the guest room.

As the light flicked on in the dark room, her gaze froze at the sight of the completely bare bed.

Only a bare mattress remained on the stripped bed, the sheets, pillows, everything had vanished.

How was she supposed to sleep?

“I took all the guest room bedding off to wash yesterday, and it hasn’t dried yet.”

Behind her, Li Xuzhi leaned lazily against the master bedroom doorframe, his gaze still hazy with a tipsy weariness, his voice soft as he explained.

Turning at the sound, Huo Yuwan’s face flushed again at the sight of Li Xuzhi, whose entire demeanor seemed especially tender and alluring after drinking.

“Then I’ll go to the living room…”

She didn’t mind at all, her face red as she suggested she could sleep on the sofa for the night.

But as she passed by, her hand was suddenly caught in his.

“You’ve spent the whole day with me, Yuwan, even helped me celebrate my birthday. How could I let you sleep on the sofa?” His smile was captivating as he held her hand firmly.

“It’s fine…” Her palm burning, Huo Yuwan nearly stammered, her heartbeat spiralling out of control. “I don’t mind…”

But Li Xuzhi was not about to let it go. Her smile remained as she gently led Huo Yuwan into the main bedroom with her soft fingertips and closed the door behind them.

“It’s my fault for not preparing in advance. I invited you over as a guest, but I didn’t even have the bed properly made.”

Huo Yuwan stood by the bedside, feeling increasingly awkward. At these words, she didn’t even know where to put her hands and feet.

“It’s not Dr. Li’s fault,” she said, her face flushing.

“Then come to bed quickly. It’s already very late.” Kneeling on one side of the bed, Li Xuzhi turned her head and gave Huo Yuwan a soft, gentle smile.

Perhaps because her arm was slightly bent, one of her spaghetti straps slipped off her shoulder, revealing more of her delicate, fair skin.

Huo Yuwan stared blankly for a moment before snapping back to reality and averting her gaze, her eyes darting around uncertainly.

The corner of the quilt on the other side had already been lifted. Li Xuzhi lay on her side, her cheek resting on her arm, her eyes, soft and affectionate from the alcohol, gazing tenderly at Huo Yuwan.

“Aren’t you sleepy, Yuwan?”

As if noticing Huo Yuwan’s drowsy, slightly intoxicated gaze, Huo Yuwan hesitated no longer. She lifted the quilt and lay down beside Li Xuzhi.

Turning her head slightly, she curved her lips and whispered softly, “Goodnight, Dr. Li.”

At such close proximity, Li Xuzhi’s eyes lingered on Huo Yuwan’s flushed ears, and she smiled faintly. “Goodnight.”

…

The lights in the room had clearly been turned off, yet even with her eyes closed, Huo Yuwan felt no trace of sleepiness.

The faint fragrance beside her, mingled with the slightly astringent yet mellow scent of alcohol, continuously invaded her senses. Her mind grew increasingly hazy, making Huo Yuwan feel as though she were the one who had drunk too much.

Unconsciously, she drifted into sleep. In her dream, Huo Yuwan saw the little red fox she hadn’t encountered in a long time.

In the cultivation grounds where cherry blossoms bloomed everywhere, she leaped and played among the trees, while the little red fox lay quietly beneath the largest cherry blossom tree, silently keeping her company.

The scene shifted.

It was the first time she and Li Xuzhi had met.

Under a willow tree with drooping leaves, Dr. Li, holding a white fox, had stumbled and fallen into her arms.

As their lips brushed against each other, she saw Dr. Li’s lightly trembling eyelashes.

“Yuwan, you fool.”

Dr. Li, lying in front of her, slowly lowered her head and kissed the corner of her lips again.

The bright morning light of a clear day streamed in. When Huo Yuwan woke up, she hazily remembered the dream she’d had, then buried her head under the quilt in embarrassment, her face burning.

After a while, her mind cleared as she remembered she had to attend a meeting with the debate team at school today. She lifted the quilt and prepared to get out of bed.

Just then, there was a slight movement beside her. Pausing her attempt to rise, Huo Yuwan glanced down and realized Li Xuzhi was still asleep.

They were lying extremely close, Dr. Li was almost leaning against her shoulder, her sleeping face serene and gentle, one hand still clutching the hem of Huo Yuwan’s clothes.

As if sensing the chill, her fair calf beneath the nightgown curled slightly, and she shifted closer to the warmth beside her.

Instinctively, Huo Yuwan pulled the quilt back over her. Pressing her lips together, she thought for a moment, then lay back down quietly, moving as gently as possible.

Her gaze involuntarily lingered on Li Xuzhi’s face, and Huo Yuwan felt her heart soften.

“Ring, ring, ring…”

Suddenly, the telephone in the living room rang. Watching Li Xuzhi’s eyelids flutter slightly, Huo Yuwan guiltily averted her eyes.

With a slight furrow of her brow, Li Xuzhi sat up, rubbing her temples, which ached from the hangover. Her smooth, black hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, and as she moved, her fair neck was faintly revealed.

“I’ll go get the phone.”

Huo Yuwan also pretended to have just woken up, threw off the covers, and trotted all the way to the living room.

Taking the still-vibrating phone, Li Xuzhi looked up and met Huo Yuwan’s sparkling yet inexplicably shy eyes, his gaze involuntarily softening.

“Go wash up first, we’ll head downstairs for breakfast together later.”

Mumbling a vague acknowledgment, Huo Yuwan blushed and hurried to the bathroom outside to freshen up.

Bending over, she scooped a handful of cold water and splashed it on her face, finally feeling a bit more composed.

As usual, the call was from Li Xuzhi’s mother. She told him about the rumors being spread about Qi Qiuyuan, sighing as she speculated about who might hold a grudge against him and resort to such underhanded tactics, insisting they must file a lawsuit and so on.

Hearing this, Li Xuzhi fell silent for a moment. He got out of bed without offering any comment, feeling increasingly annoyed that every call from his mother seemed to revolve around the Qi family.