Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 53

Setting the book aside, Li Xuzhi turned her gaze toward Zhou Yeruo.

“Yeruo.”

Zhou Yeruo, who had been mentally criticizing Huo Yuwan, blinked in surprise. “Sister Xuzhi?”

She appeared both excited and slightly embarrassed.

“I was in such a rush earlier that I didn’t see clearly, I thought it was some couple here… Please don’t mind me, Sister Xuzhi…”

Seated nearby, Huo Yuwan crossed her arms and let out a sudden, cold chuckle.

Li Xuzhi’s eyes lingered on Huo Yuwan’s face for a moment. Unaware of the previous conflict between the two, she paused briefly before nodding faintly.

“It’s fine.”

“I heard from Grandpa that you were back, but I didn’t believe it. I never expected to run into you at school!”

Zhou Yeruo’s attitude was clearly enthusiastic and delighted. As she spoke, she took a few steps forward, intending to sit right next to Li Xuzhi, but noticing a book placed there, she reluctantly sat one seat away instead.

“Mhm.”

Li Xuzhi’s response remained as indifferent as ever, consistent with her usual demeanor.

“Let’s have lunch together at noon! It’s been years since I last saw you, and I have so much to talk about. Sister Xuzhi, now that we’re studying at the same school, we should meet up often…”

Leaning forward unconsciously closer to Li Xuzhi, Zhou Yeruo’s face was filled with the joy of reunion.

Noticing Huo Yuwan’s increasingly resentful gaze fixed on the lake, her faint smile completely gone, Li Xuzhi refused without a second thought.

“No.”

“Ah? Why?”

Rejected, Zhou Yeruo looked somewhat dejected.

“You used to love chatting with me before! You even said I was the sister you were closest to.”

A trace of helplessness and embarrassment flickered in Li Xuzhi’s eyes. Pressing her lips together, she replied, “You were the one who said that.”

In the past, Zhou Yeruo often sought Li Xuzhi’s help with tutoring. While doing homework, she would chatter incessantly, while Li Xuzhi quietly read, letting her ramble on excitedly.

Huo Yuwan listened to the familiar banter between the two, her chest tightening with frustration. After a few agitated breaths, she coldly interrupted Zhou Yeruo, who was about to say more.

“The exams are coming up soon. Shouldn’t this classmate go back and review?”

Zhou Yeruo, cut off mid-sentence, glared at her and suddenly remembered the notebook belonging to Li Xuzhi that she had found in Huo Yuwan’s bag last time.

A flash of indignation crossed her heart. Gritting her teeth, she retorted, “Huo Yuwan! I haven’t settled the score with you about what happened last time!”

“What score? I already explained it to you.”

Huo Yuwan looked back at her with an innocent expression.

Noticing Li Xuzhi’s puzzled gaze, Huo Yuwan carefully explained, “I had a misunderstanding with this classmate Zhou before, and there was a minor conflict during our exchange… But I really didn’t mean it, she falsely accused me first…”

Putting on a convincingly helpless and aggrieved act, Huo Yuwan performed flawlessly.

Compared to Zhou Yeruo’s fierce, glaring expression, it was clear who was being bullied.

Glancing at the aggressive Zhou Yeruo, Li Xuzhi frowned slightly, her heart involuntarily leaning to one side.

“Alright, you should go back and review your lessons now. We still have matters to attend to here.”

Facing Zhou Yeruo’s shocked and displeased gaze, Huo Yuwan crossed her legs with an air of nonchalance.

“Go review your lessons, Zhou. If you don’t do well, Dean Zhou will be disappointed.”

She deliberately added fuel to Zhou Yeruo’s anger.

“Madam, you’ve changed. You’re no longer the honest and straightforward Shao Siming I once knew.”

The fox spirit watched as Zhou Yeruo’s face flushed red with anger and shook its head sympathetically.

“I was just telling the truth.”

Huo Yuwan responded casually, a hint of amusement in her voice.

No, you were just poking at her sore spot, the fox spirit silently grumbled.

Unable to bear Huo Yuwan’s smug expression, Zhou Yeruo refused to give up and tried to play the victim in front of Li Xuzhi.

“It’s not like that, Sister Xuzhi! She really did harass me on purpose, she has ill intentions!”

“Why would I, sane and sensible, harass you? Besides, with your looks and figure, you can’t even compare to me. Why would I have ill intentions toward you?”

Huo Yuwan felt this was a blatant slander and refuted it seriously. After speaking, she didn’t forget to glance at Li Xuzhi beside her.

“Don’t you think I’m right, Sister?”

Li Xuzhi, sensing an underlying implication, sighed helplessly and rubbed her forehead before softly replying, “Mm.”

Zhou Yeruo, who had been fuming, grew completely unsettled upon hearing this. Why would her aloof and distant Sister Xuzhi, who rarely got close to anyone, know about Huo Yuwan’s figure?

Her eyes darted back and forth between the two. Recalling that Li Xuzhi had stayed at Huo Yuwan’s house during her time in the countryside, living together day in and day out…

And having long heard that rural folks were bold and unrestrained in their behavior, could it be…?

Her heart shattered, Zhou Yeruo trembled with rage, her fingertips shaking as she glared at Huo Yuwan with fiery eyes.

“Huo Yuwan, you really are a female ruffian! You’re despicable, utterly despicable!”

Overwhelmed with grief and anger, Zhou Yeruo stood up abruptly, pushed her bicycle, and stormed off without looking back.

Once again accused and scolded, Huo Yuwan scratched her head in confusion, unable to comprehend how she had earned the title of “female ruffian” yet again.

…

In the second year after returning to Nanyu, Li Xuzhi’s serialized science fiction novel was published, sparking a wave of science fiction literature in society.

During her final semester before graduation, the dean of Nanyu University’s Chinese Department contacted Li Xuzhi, hoping she would stay at the university after graduation and become a lecturer in the department.

By then, Li Xuzhi had already been invited to join the Nanyu City Literary Writers’ Association. As one of the few young female writers in the association, the talent and literary depth displayed in her works, along with the honor of being part of the association, made her more than qualified to hold the position of university lecturer.

And so, while Huo Yuwan was still diligently studying under Dean Zhou, her relationship with Li Xuzhi had shifted from being schoolmates to that of teacher and student in the truest sense.

Huo Yuwan gazed at the newly published interview with Li Xuzhi in the newspaper, reading it over and over without growing tired. The more she read, the more delighted she felt, one might have thought it was her own name in the headlines.

When Li Xuzhi finished washing up and came out of her room, Huo Yuwan had already carefully cut out the interview article from the newspaper and, as usual, tucked it into one of her used notebooks.

Over the past two years, Huo Yuwan had filled countless notebooks for her studies, all neatly arranged in the bookshelf in her room. Each notebook contained clipped newspaper articles, every single one featuring Li Xuzhi’s published writings and interviews from the past two years.

The two sat at the table for breakfast. Li Xuzhi picked up the folded newspaper beside her and began flipping through it. When she reached the page with a missing section, her expression remained calm, and she quietly continued reading other news.

She knew Huo Yuwan had a habit of clipping and collecting newspaper articles, all of them related to her. Though Li Xuzhi didn’t quite understand this hobby, she didn’t mind it.

Huo Yuwan used to wait until Li Xuzhi had finished reading the newspaper before cutting out the articles, but after Li Xuzhi found out, she told Huo Yuwan to go ahead as she pleased.

After all, Li Xuzhi had already reviewed the articles before they were published at the magazine office and had no interest in reading them again in the newspaper. If Huo Yuwan wanted to clip them, so be it.

Setting the newspaper aside, Li Xuzhi sipped her bowl of corn porridge and suddenly remembered something. She looked up at Huo Yuwan across the table.

“Is the model competition today?”

Huo Yuwan, who was biting into a fried dough stick, nodded.

The Physics Department’s model competition was held every year. Originally scheduled for the first half of the year, it had been postponed to the second half due to a conflict with Nanyu University’s anniversary celebration.

Dean Zhou mentioned that this year’s topic was even more novel and complex than last year’s and encouraged Huo Yuwan to give it a try.

Putting down her spoon, Li Xuzhi thought for a moment.

“Winter isn’t like summer. Even if the competition is held inside the office building, it won’t be much warmer.”

She turned and went back to her room, returning with a bag. The transparent packaging wrapped around a pair of dark leather gloves, through which a hint of white fleece lining could be seen.

“Wear these during the competition. They might keep you a bit warmer.”

Huo Yuwan already had gloves, the common kind that fully covered the fingers,which were fine for daily warmth but inconvenient for writing. The pair Li Xuzhi gave her, however, had separated fingers and were made of leather with a fleece lining, allowing her to write without taking them off, both practical and warm.

After handing over the gloves, Li Xuzhi sat back down to eat, her cool and detached demeanor giving no hint of the unspoken care in her heart.

Clutching the thick, soft gloves, Huo Yuwan looked at Li Xuzhi’s face and nodded earnestly.

“I’ll do my best. First place will definitely be mine again.”

“Just do what you can.”

Seeing Huo Yuwan’s confident and serious expression, Li Xuzhi smiled faintly, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek. After a moment’s thought, she added,

“If you win first place, I’ll give you a gift.”

Already delighted by the gloves, Huo Yuwan’s eyes widened slightly at this. She pressed her lips together, secretly resolving to secure first place in the competition no matter what.

Li Xuzhi had to go to the magazine office today, so their paths diverged. Huo Yuwan took the bus to school alone.

Along the way, the fox spirit noticed her unusually heightened emotions and tightly wound focus.

“Sir, you’re not nervous, are you? Over a mere gift…”

Last time, Huo Yuwan had taken the fox spirit to the dog market in search of a new physical form, but the fox spirit had been picky and unsatisfied after much deliberation. It always felt that none could compare to the previous compatibility with the little white dog at home. Thus, adhering to a “no compromises” attitude, the fox spirit had obediently settled back into Huo Yuwan’s mind.

Hearing this, Huo Yuwan let out a light snort. “You, a single fox, wouldn’t understand my feelings.”

What mattered wasn’t the gift itself, but Li Xuzhi’s care and concern.

The competition proceeded as usual, though this year’s format had changed. It wasn’t until all participating students had gathered that Dean Zhou announced the new rules.

Although it was a team competition, a preliminary round would be held before the main event. Each contestant had to complete a task individually, and those who failed to construct the required model within the allotted time would be eliminated and barred from the subsequent main competition.

Standing quietly to the side, Huo Yuwan blinked as she listened to the new rules, speculating that Dean Zhou had implemented them to prevent a recurrence of last year’s incident involving Sun Chuanlu.

The preliminary task was straightforward, primarily testing the students’ grasp of fundamental principles. The required models were all common structures and didn’t take much time to complete.

Even so, over ten contestants were eliminated.

What surprised Huo Yuwan the most, however, was spotting Sun Chuanlu among the remaining contestants. But it was the person standing beside him that truly set off alarm bells in her mind.

Noticing Huo Yuwan’s gaze, Sun Chuanlu, who had been chatting and laughing with those around him, slid one hand into his pocket and gave her a cold, sinister smile.

The man next to him followed Sun Chuanlu’s line of sight. The once vacant, foolish look in his eyes had been replaced by clarity, and Sun Xuedong offered Huo Yuwan a friendly, curved-lipped smile.

Her fingers, hanging at her sides, suddenly clenched, and Huo Yuwan pressed her lips into a tight line.

“Go investigate when Sun Xuedong recovered his normal state, and what he has been doing since then,” she instructed the fox spirit in her mind, calmly shifting her gaze away.

The fact that the male lead had regained his memories earlier than in the original timeline wasn’t particularly surprising. What put Huo Yuwan on high alert was the abnormal spiritual fluctuations she sensed emanating from Sun Xuedong.

That was something an ordinary male lead shouldn’t possess.

The fox spirit also sensed that something was off about Sun Xuedong. It stopped its usual mischief, acknowledged the command, and immediately departed to investigate.

Lost in her thoughts, Huo Yuwan failed to notice that someone was quietly watching her from the office corridor not far away.

“Xuzhi?”

Professor Jiang, who had been standing at his office door observing the competition, noticed Li Xuzhi’s arrival. His initial confusion quickly turned to understanding.

“Here to watch Yuwan compete, I presume?”

“Yes.”

Holding a bag in her hand, Li Xuzhi withdrew her gaze from the competition arena and responded with a polite nod.

“They just finished the preliminary round. The task was quite simple. Yuwan was the first to complete it. Now we just wait for the main competition to start,” Professor Jiang provided a commentary on the recently concluded round.

Hearing this, Li Xuzhi nodded. The two of them stood at the office doorway, their attention returning to the competition arena.

The main competition began shortly after.

Huo Yuwan furrowed her brows slightly as she looked at the five questions of varying difficulty laid out on the table. Taking a deep breath behind the soft scarf covering her nose and mouth, she reached for the one at the edge, marked with an exclamation point.

If she was going to do it, she would take on the most challenging one. Opportunity and challenge went hand in hand.

Now she understood Yang Nanjun’s choice back then.

Just as she picked up the most difficult question, a hand clad in military-green gloves reached over and selected the same one right after her.

“Yuwan, what a coincidence.”

Sun Xuedong greeted her with a bright smile, as if the two of them were the best of friends.

“Hmm.”

She glanced at him dismissively before turning away with the task sheet in hand and returning to her spot.

Sun Xuedong stood still for a moment, watching her retreating figure, then turned and left with the same amiable smile.

The story of Huo Yuwan, the prodigy girl specially admitted by Dean Zhou of the Physics Department, had long been circulating around Nanyu University. So, no one was surprised when she chose the most difficult question. But when another student, a boy, dared to pick the same one, the onlookers immediately broke into murmurs.

“Who is he? Another hidden physics genius?”

“How many geniuses can there be? More like overestimating himself…”

“Maybe he can actually solve it…”

Huo Yuwan paid no attention to the students’ discussions. Quietly analyzing the task sheet in her hands, her only focus was on performing well in the competition while silently waiting for Huo Ling to return from his investigation.

Qian Wanwan, who had volunteered to be her assistant, stood beside her, also examining the task sheet. Upon seeing the question, she took a sharp breath, patted Huo Yuwan’s shoulder, and shook her head helplessly.

“Good thing I set clear expectations for myself before coming. The early tasks are all on you, I really can’t help. I’ll only be able to assist with the later model-building part.”

She used to think that, just over a year ago, the gap between her and Huo Yuwan wasn’t that wide. But now, merely looking at the task sheet made her head spin, completely lost about where to even begin. Meanwhile, Huo Yuwan was already sketching a draft while reading through the material with clarity.

Huo Yuwan gave a faint smile, sat down at the desk, and focused intently on writing out the calculation steps on the draft paper.

This year’s question was indeed more difficult than the last. But under Dean Zhou’s personal guidance, Huo Yuwan had studied numerous research papers by faculty members, delved into the progress of domestic and international aerospace engineering, and been encouraged to independently explore innovative ideas. In just a year and a half, she had already submitted dozens of related papers.

So, as soon as she saw the question, a corresponding creative model began forming in her mind.

Dean Zhou’s training had been remarkably effective. In the past, Huo Yuwan’s designs had often felt constrained. But now, with systematic and in-depth learning, her creativity had been fully unleashed, and her forward-thinking ideas sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain.

Despite the increased complexity of the question, Huo Yuwan completed the preliminary model sketch even faster than last time, and with no less precision.

Qian Wanwan had been standing by, observing her design process. Only when Huo Yuwan put down the final stroke did she suddenly feel as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes.

Staring at the final sketch with a mix of shock and admiration, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“I feel like I’ve just witnessed the birth of the next generation of aerospace weapons.”

Hearing this, Huo Yuwan pursed her lips into a faint smile and shook her head as she retrieved the model materials from the side. “It’s not that exaggerated. There’s still plenty of room for improvement.”

This was merely her initial concept; putting it into practical use would require much more rigorous and meticulous testing.

Meanwhile, not far away, Sun Xuedong’s team had also made progress.

“Are you sure this design will work? Why does it feel so awkward to me?” Sun Chuanlu frowned as he looked at the messy sketch on the draft paper.

“Don’t worry, it’s definitely better than what Huo Yuwan’s team came up with.”

So much better that it would ensure she kept the life she should have lost long ago.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sun Xuedong glanced at Huo Yuwan standing a few rows ahead of them. He subtly touched his pants pocket and lowered his gaze with a slight smirk.