Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 42

As the year-end approached and school was on break, Huo Yuwan directly clung to Li Xuzhi to prevent her from going out and risking another asthma attack.

Considering that there was no need to work in the fields lately, with the only daily task being occasional trips up the mountain to gather firewood, Li Xuzhi agreed to stay home. Reading and cooking filled her days, offering a rare sense of leisure.

The fox spirit hadn’t returned yet, so Huo Yuwan had much more free time aside from gathering firewood. To occupy herself, she decided to dabble in some hands-on activities.

She had read plenty of physics books and memorized various principles thoroughly but had never put them into practice. So, Huo Yuwan started gathering small items from the mountain to conduct simple physics experiments.

With winter setting in, the villagers had more free time, and children often followed adults up the mountain to collect firewood and play. Soon, Huo Yuwan’s experiments, which defied the children’s expectations, captured their attention.

After losing all the fruit candies in his pocket to Huo Yuwan for guessing the wrong outcome of an experiment, one little boy ran down the mountain in tears, his nose running, loudly declaring that he would complain to Teacher Li.

Huo Yuwan scratched her head, both amused and exasperated. The candies were originally hers, which she had handed out to the kids before the experiment started. Now that she had fairly won them back, how could he throw a tantrum?

Seeing that it was still early and a few children were still watching, Huo Yuwan continued with the next experiment. By evening, almost all the candies she had given out had found their way back into her pocket.

Redistributing the candies to the children, Huo Yuwan stood up, exhaled a breath, and hummed a tune as she carried a full bamboo basket of firewood home.

As soon as she pushed the door open, she nearly collided with a small figure. Steadying herself, Huo Yuwan saw it was the same little boy from earlier, who had threatened to tattle, now scurrying away.

Did he really come to complain?

Carrying the bamboo basket into the kitchen, Huo Yuwan felt a twinge of guilt when she saw Li Xuzhi carefully stirring a pot of congee.

“Don’t just believe his side of the story. There’s more to it, really…”

After placing the lid on the pot, Li Xuzhi glanced at her and helped remove the bamboo basket from her back. Her voice was calm and somewhat indifferent.

“What happened?”

“Huh? You don’t know? Today, I did some physics experiments with the village kids. He guessed wrong and lost all his candies to me, then said he’d come complain to you.”

Pursing her lips, Huo Yuwan trailed after Li Xuzhi, her voice tinged with grievance.

“Those candies were originally mine. He just didn’t play fair…”

Setting down the spoon, Li Xuzhi turned to look at Huo Yuwan. Seeing her pitiful expression, her expression softened slightly.

“Children are most afraid of their teachers. They wouldn’t dare come to me to complain. But if you really feel wronged, I can visit his house tomorrow and assign him some extra winter break homework.”

Huo Yuwan was pleasantly surprised, her eyes sparkling like little stars as she gazed at Li Xuzhi.

Washing her hands in the basin, Li Xuzhi thought for a moment. “You’ve probably finished all the high school mechanics experiments by now, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Huo Yuwan replied honestly.

“The experiments for other materials require more precise instruments and models, which can’t be done here.” Seeing Huo Yuwan blinking her eyes and listening obediently, Li Xuzhi lowered her gaze and continued, “I know a scholar in the aerospace field. Tomorrow, when you go to the city, give her a call. You might get some help.”

At the moment, she didn’t have the ability to directly assist Huo Yuwan and could only rely on her remaining connections to seek help for her.

Huo Yuwan was deeply moved upon hearing this. Others thought her pursuit of physics was just a trivial hobby, but Li Xuzhi was always tolerant of her, unconditionally supporting every idea she had.

Her heart stirred, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you believe in me so much?”

Li Xuzhi paused for a moment while wiping her hands, her eyes lowered, her expression unreadable. “Isn’t it natural for a teacher to believe in her student?”

“Oh, I see.”

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Huo Yuwan belatedly realized that Li Xuzhi had always practiced encouraging education with every student back in school. Could it be that, in her eyes, she was no different from those little kids?

For a moment, Huo Yuwan felt both amused and exasperated, thinking that her journey to win Li Xuzhi’s heart was truly a long and arduous one…

Just then, a sound came from outside. She turned to look and saw Wu Xiao, who frequently dropped by, along with her daughter, Wang Xiaomi.

Both were holding roasted sweet potatoes. Wang Xiaomi, munching on her sweet potato, called out in a soft, sticky voice, “Teacher Li!” Her short legs hurried straight toward Li Xuzhi, nearly tripping over the doorstep. Luckily, Huo Yuwan reacted quickly and caught her.

Wu Xiao handed over the roasted sweet potatoes in her bowl. “We roasted too many, so we brought some for you.”

Huo Yuwan took them but couldn’t help glancing at Li Xuzhi, who was squatting on the ground playing with Wang Xiaomi.

Li Xuzhi unwrapped a piece of fruit candy from her pocket and fed it to Wang Xiaomi.

“It’s so sweet, Teacher Li!”

Huo Yuwan, unsure whose jealousy she was feeling, pouted and said, “Hey, I’m the one who bought that candy, you know.”

Li Xuzhi smiled faintly and gently patted Wang Xiaomi’s cheek. “Say thank you to Aunt Yuwan.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaomi licked the candy in her mouth and glanced at Huo Yuwan, smacking her lips as if savoring every bit of the treat.

Huo Yuwan waited expectantly for her to say thank you, only to see the little girl squint her eyes, stick out her tongue at her, and then turn around, sticking out her bottom as if pretending to let out a fart.

“Teacher Li’s candy is sweet, but Auntie’s candy isn’t.”

Huo Yuwan, feeling unfairly compared, inwardly exclaimed in disbelief, this little girl’s flattery skills were even more masterful than her own.

Beside her, Wu Xiao was doubled over with laughter at her daughter’s antics. Huo Yuwan noticed Li Xuzhi also turning away, chuckling softly. Seeing this, she fell into deep thought.

Wang Xiaomi was Li Xuzhi’s student, and so was she. If things continued like this, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t fall out of favor.

She felt a bit disheartened.

During their usual evening tutoring session, Li Xuzhi, who had been reading, suddenly looked up and asked, “Are you really interested in aerospace research and engineering?”

Huo Yuwan nodded, putting down her pen. “Yes. If I get the chance, I’d like to join the national research institute.”

As she spoke, she scratched her head, feeling slightly embarrassed. “But it seems unlikely right now.”

Without even the opportunity to take the college entrance exam, talking about this now felt a bit premature.

Rising from her seat, she pulled out a dark green soft-leather notebook from the very bottom of her luggage bag and handed it to Huo Yuwan. “I was fortunate enough to attend a popular science lecture by Mr. Qian and other scholars from the research institute on the development of aerospace abroad. These are the notes I took at the time. You can take a look at them in your free time.”

Huo Yuwan was taken aback for a moment and was about to express her gratitude when she saw Li Xuzhi had already sat back down to continue reading her book. “No need to thank me,” Li Xuzhi said in a serious, cool tone. “I feel like we say ‘thank you’ to each other more often than we eat or drink.”

Huo Yuwan’s lips inexplicably curled upward, completely beyond her control.

…

About half a month later, the scholar Huo Yuwan had contacted through Li Xuzhi indeed arranged for various physics models and instrument materials to be delivered to the county town. With the help of Wu Xiao and Li Xuzhi’s persuasion, Huo Yuwan also successfully obtained permission from the village party secretary to use the village elementary school classrooms during the winter break.

Unexpectedly, however, one of the classrooms was not empty as she had assumed.

Yang Nanjun and a group of young men and women from the village were crowded into one room, discussing something. Huo Yuwan moved closer to listen, good heavens, they were solving math problems here.

So, it turned out everyone was diligent and eager to learn.

Huo Yuwan, who had thought she was the only one with such a studious spirit, felt genuinely ashamed.

Not wanting to disturb them, she glanced at Yang Nanjun, who was standing at the front writing formulas on the blackboard. Just then, he happened to turn around, his sharp gaze locking directly onto hers.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she averted her eyes and slipped into the adjacent empty classroom. Only after closing the door did, she finally shake off the chilling, persistent stare.

A young, unmarried woman sitting at a desk noticed that Yang Nanjun had paused his lecture and followed his gaze curiously, but saw nothing. Biting her lip, she asked shyly, “Brother Yang, aren’t you going to continue?”

Yang Nanjun’s eyes shifted to her, and the young woman’s face flushed even redder. “I…” she began, but before she could finish, Yang Nanjun slapped his book face-down on the desk and strode out of the room without so much as a glance in her direction.

Realizing she had misread the situation, the young woman’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.

The classroom door slammed shut with a loud clatter, further destabilizing its already shaky frame.

Huo Yuwan, who had been bent over tinkering with the instruments, assumed it was just the wind outside. Wondering why it had suddenly grown so windy, she was about to look up when a strong hand grabbed the collar of her shirt from behind and forcefully spun her around.

Pinned against the blackboard, unable to move, Huo Yuwan felt nothing but exasperation at the sight of Yang Nanjun’s scowling face.

She reached up, trying to pry his hands off her shoulders. “Can’t you just talk properly? Do you really think I can’t take you in a fight?”

Outside the window, a crowd of young men and women had gathered to watch the spectacle. Catching sight of them, Huo Yuwan just wanted to cover her face, feeling utterly exhausted.

Yang Nanjun noticed the onlookers too. His expression dark, he wordlessly dragged Huo Yuwan out by the collar, his strides urgent and forceful.

Flailing and kicking like a captured chick, Huo Yuwan yelled, “If you don’t let go, I’m going to get serious!”

Did he really think he could do whatever he wanted just because he was her uncle?

Arriving at a patch of overgrown open ground, Huo Yuwan was thrown to the ground, nearly landing hard on her backside.

She pushed herself up with one hand, her expression even darker than Yang Nanjun’s.

“Are you insane?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Huo Yuwan, who had never suffered such humiliation before, caught him off guard with a sweeping leg kick, putting all her strength into it.

Yang Nanjun, caught squarely by the move, was momentarily stunned, he hadn’t expected Huo Yuwan to actually have some fighting skills.

Brushing the mud off his black suit pants, he assumed a stance and immediately threw a punch at Huo Yuwan.

The two exchanged blows back and forth as snowflakes drifted slowly from the sky. If not for their expressions of pure hatred, the scene might have held a touch of poetic beauty.

In the end, Yang Nanjun narrowly won, thanks to his few centimeters of height advantage. He pinned Huo Yuwan to the ground, his gaze blazing with fury.

“How dare you lay a hand on me? You have no respect for your elders!”

Ignoring the wet snow and mud staining her clothes, Huo Yuwan scooped up handfuls of damp soil and flung them at his face.

“What elders? You’re nothing! So, what if I hit you?!”

Watching Yang Nanjun, unable to dodge while restraining her, get covered in mud from head to toe, Huo Yuwan lay on the ground and laughed triumphantly.

“You lunatic! What did I ever do to you? I must have crossed paths with some terrible luck!”

Yang Nanjun could hardly bear the sight of her cursing and laughing so arrogantly, but he clung to the last shred of rationality as her elder.

He gripped her neck fiercely. “Where did you get those models and instruments? Did Li Xuzhi give them to you?”

“Are you only satisfied when you’ve destroyed the family?”

Furious and realizing he could no longer dissuade Huo Yuwan from associating with Li Xuzhi, he gritted his teeth and spat out a harsh warning.

“Don’t come crying to me when you get into trouble later!”

With that, he snorted coldly, his face dark with anger, and stormed off.

Left alone, Huo Yuwan clutched her throat, coughing and choking violently.