Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 23

After sending Huo Yuwan back to school, Li Xuzhi drove home for a while.

Since she had promised her father that she would start working at the hospital after the semester ended, she intended to keep her word, and she also hoped her father would do the same.

However, the fact that Qi’s mother and even Qi Qiuyuan had repeatedly sought her out these past few days clearly indicated that her father had yet to inform the Qi family of the decision to call off the arranged marriage.

Knowing she was coming back, Li’s mother had specially prepared many of Li Xuzhi’s favorite pastries and was busy instructing the household staff to start preparing lunch early.

“You didn’t come back for your birthday yesterday, so you should stay for lunch today. Your aunt will be joining us at noon.”

Li’s mother had been waiting for her in the courtyard. As soon as Li Xuzhi stepped out of the car, she approached with a warm smile and led her into the living room.

Hesitating for a moment, Li Xuzhi nodded in agreement.

In the living room, Li’s father was sitting on the sofa reading a book. When she entered, he merely glanced up.

When her mother offered her a piece of walnut cake, Li Xuzhi felt no interest in it at all.

Walnut cake wasn’t something she liked, it was her brother’s favorite.

At some point, her mother had mixed up their preferences.

Li Xuzhi was allergic to nuts, though not severely. Eating them would only cause small red spots to appear on her arms, which would gradually fade after a day or two with medication.

In the past, to spare her mother’s feelings, Li Xuzhi would accept the cake even if she didn’t want to eat it. She knew how deeply her brother’s death in a car accident had affected her mother, who had transferred her love for him onto her.

So, even though she knew it would make her uncomfortable, she never refused under her mother’s expectant and affectionate gaze.

But now, thinking back, wasn’t that just another form of weakness?

Just as her father had imposed his expectations of her becoming a doctor onto her, her mother’s muddled affection also caused her pain.

Shaking her head, Li Xuzhi withdrew her hand.

“I don’t like walnut cake.”

Without meeting her mother’s disappointed and shocked gaze, she walked over to her father. “About the matter with the Qi family…”

Before she could finish, her father interrupted, “I’ll find time to speak with Old Qi today.”

Though domineering by nature, her father never went back on his promises.

The last time he had brought it up with Qi’s father, the latter hadn’t taken it seriously. Not wanting to be too forceful, he had held back. Now that he had heard about the recent troubles caused by the Qi family’s son, he had a legitimate reason to bring it up again without causing too much friction.

Besides, since Li Xuzhi had willingly agreed to work at the hospital and would soon adapt to its demanding schedule, there was no need to rush into marriage.

As for Li Xuzhi now, he didn’t dare push her too hard.

Setting his book aside, he looked up at his daughter. Her expression was calm, but there was a faint trace of resolve in her brow that hadn’t been there before.

His daughter seemed to have changed somewhat, he mused inwardly.

Back when he had smashed her easel, she had only cried weakly and given in.

But now…

Glancing at his wife, who was still upset over their daughter’s earlier remark, Li’s father chuckled indifferently.

“I don’t care whether it’s because of someone or something that you’ve started to change, but let me warn you in advance, if it’s a person, she’d better be someone capable enough to catch my eye. Otherwise, you’ll never escape the family’s control in this lifetime.”

He had raised Li Xuzhi all these years not for her to casually marry some nobody.

She felt the same way.

A doctoral graduate from a top medical school, yet she chose to become an unambitious school doctor at a university, this was something her father still found deeply embarrassing.

Pressing her lips together without a word, Li Xuzhi turned and went upstairs.

…

After first returning to her dorm to get her laptop and backpack, Huo Yuwan arrived at the law school’s office building half an hour before the scheduled meeting. Wen Jinyuan and the other seniors hadn’t arrived yet, so she wandered slowly near the entrance with her backpack.

Li Yu had just messaged her, the Qi family had discovered she was the one who leaked the video, and a lawyer immediately contacted her. But after she sent Qi Qiuyuan the surveillance footage from the storage locker, the person contacting her changed from the lawyer to Qi Qiuyuan herself.

Knowing she had been framed back then simply because she casually praised Huo Yuwan a couple of times, Li Yu calmly admitted to planting the camera when Qi Qiuyuan questioned the storage locker footage. She explained that, aware of Qi Qiuyuan’s jealousy toward Huo Yuwan and anticipating she would eventually take action, she had secretly placed a hidden camera in Huo Yuwan’s locker.

Her goal was to blackmail Qi Qiuyuan into clearing her name regarding the stimulant abuse allegation.

But Qi Qiuyuan remained skeptical, still convinced this was a trap set by Huo Yuwan and Li Yu together.

Who knew if Huo Yuwan would suddenly release a backup copy of the video after she fell for it?

Fortunately, with Huo Yuwan having prepped her responses, Li Yu didn’t let resentment and revenge cloud her judgment this time. She threatened to post the video online immediately if Qi Qiuyuan didn’t agree.

Then she firmly insisted she had personally witnessed Qi Qiuyuan and Ding Sheng being intimate during team training, refusing to admit she was spreading rumors.

The two of them, colluding together, first framed her for using stimulants, and now were trying to hide needles in a teammate’s shoes.

Mixing lies with the truth, the narrative of true and false indistinguishable would surely confuse onlookers.

The parts without evidence would be automatically filled in by the other verified aspects, a home-wrecking affair with a teacher, combined with framing a teammate. By then, it would be nearly impossible for Qi Qiuyuan to clear her name.

So, despite her suspicions, Qi Qiuyuan had no choice but to compromise.

She shifted all the blame onto Ding Sheng, promising to report to Chen Rong on Monday morning. With her father’s influence behind the scenes, Ding Sheng would be dismissed even without physical evidence.

In exchange, Li Yu deleted the storage locker surveillance and agreed not to tell anyone about the incident.

However, Li Yu informed Huo Yuwan that Qi Qiuyuan likely still believed the whole situation was a trap set by the two of them, since Qi Qiuyuan had removed and discarded the needles hidden in the shoes, as if convinced Huo Yuwan wouldn’t fall for it.

Huo Yuwan responded with a noncommittal smile. Even if Qi Qiuyuan had truly figured it out, it was she who would be living in constant anxiety from now on, not herself.

…

The days that followed were calm and uneventful. Qi Qiuyuan, likely worried about leaving any more evidence, remained well-behaved. The video about the teacher-student affair was promptly deleted and dismissed as a rumor, with no further developments.

Li Yu, who avoided prosecution, smoothly rejoined the team. The only person truly affected by the incident was Ding Sheng, who was not only fired by the school but also sentenced to three years in prison for secretly administering stimulants to an athlete. Given his guilt, he had only gotten what he deserved.

Another person who clearly deserved punishment, however, continued to evade justice under the protection of powerful connections.

This was something Huo Yuwan would not forget.

The last two months of the freshman year were both fulfilling and busy. Huo Yuqing, as usual, advanced to the finals of the English competition and won the gold medal. As a three-time consecutive gold medalist, she caught the attention of many judges after the competition. One of them, a professor teaching at the Foreign Affairs University, was a graduate advisor Huo Yuqing had long admired.

During their post-competition conversation, the professor was delighted to learn that Huo Yuqing intended to pursue a master’s degree at the Foreign Affairs University. They exchanged contact information, and the professor expressed willingness to serve as her graduate advisor if her application materials met the requirements later in the year.

Meanwhile, Huo Yuwan approached Chen Rong to discuss withdrawing from the school team. Faced with his confusion and attempts to persuade her to stay, she simply claimed that her physical stamina was insufficient to endure the daily training. Chen Rong clearly didn’t buy this explanation, how could someone capable of achieving such impressive results struggle with basic training?

The recent incident involving Ding Sheng had unsettled the team, and Chen Rong couldn’t help but wonder if Huo Yuwan had been frightened by it. Sensing his doubts, Huo Yuwan vaguely admitted that she had initially believed sports to be straightforward but was shocked to discover such troubling events happening behind the scenes.

Hearing this, Chen Rong felt it was inappropriate to press further. After all, it was the student’s personal choice. All he could do was exercise greater caution in the future to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

Huo Yuwan’s brief stint with the school team, though leaving a negative impression on some who had followed her progress, was soon overshadowed by her performance in the debate competition. Under Wen Jinyuan’s guidance, her team won the internal debate contest at Kaicheng University’s School of Law, earning the right to represent the university in the “Law Debate Cup.”

At the “Law Debate Cup” in mid-June, they unexpectedly advanced to the final round, with Huo Yuwan earning the title of Best Debater for her logically rigorous and compelling rebuttals. Although they ultimately lost to another prestigious law school in the finals, the team was satisfied with the outcome. The final debate topic had been particularly challenging for their side, and holding their ground with substantive arguments was no small feat.

Shortly after the competition, the summer break began. Following Wen Jinyuan’s arrangement, Huo Yuwan planned to intern at her law firm during the vacation, though she could first return home for a week’s rest before officially starting the internship in Kaicheng.

On the day of their departure, Li Xuzhi accompanied the sisters to the high-speed rail station. Seated in the back of the car, Huo Yuqing’s gaze lingered thoughtfully between her sister and Li Xuzhi. Since their visit to Qi Qiuyuan’s home, she had noticed the two of them interacting with increasing frequency.

The same thing happened when I participated in the English competition, Huo Yuwan and this school doctor sat together in the audience cheering me on.

When my younger sister took part in the debate competition, Li Xuzhi even specially bought flowers to give to Huo Yuwan, who won the Best Debater award.

That evening, while we were having dinner to celebrate, Huo Yuqing noticed that her sister’s suit jacket was from a rather expensive brand. Just as she was worrying whether her sister had splurged all her living expenses, she heard Huo Yuwan deny it, saying it was a gift from Dr. Li, not just the jacket, but a full set of clothes from head to toe, inside and out.

Sometimes in the school cafeteria, she would also see the two of them sitting face to face while eating. On weekends, when she tried to invite her sister to go shopping together, she’d find out after sending the message that Huo Yuwan already had plans.

When she asked who with, the answer was always Dr. Li.

Even now, during the holiday break when they were heading home, Li Xuzhi took on the role of driver, dropping them off at the high-speed rail station.

Having been in relationships before, Huo Yuqing keenly sensed that something was off.

“Let me know when you’ve booked your return ticket. I’ll come pick you up at the station,” Li Xuzhi said, seeing them into the station hall. She patted Huo Yuwan’s head and only left after receiving a bright, cheerful smile in return.

Huo Yuwan watched her figure disappear into the station hall before turning around.

But as soon as she turned, she met Huo Yuqing’s narrowed, scrutinizing gaze.