I Redeemed Him, But Who Will Redeem Me? - Chapter 12
During P.E. class, after running two laps as a group, the P.E. teacher dismissed them to free activities.
Lin Xicai was preoccupied and completely unable to calm her mind. Once dismissed, she vented by running lap after lap along the track. Sweat beaded on her fair skin, and her delicate face flushed from the intense exercise.
Too many things had happened recently—one situation after another. Yesterday’s incident was like a hidden landmine in her life, ready to explode at any moment. No, maybe there wasn’t just one…
Lin Xicai ran round and round, while the other students largely ignored her. Most boys were on the basketball court, and most girls were sitting on the lawn gossiping. Yet all eyes occasionally fell on the sprinting figure, curious—why would someone keep running after being dismissed?
“What’s going on with the student who was second in the grade last year?”
“Her stamina… wow, last year’s second in the grade has stamina like this?”
“Did she exchange all her brains for stamina or what?”
“Hahaha!”
Eventually, Lin Xicai felt almost exhausted and slowed to a walk to catch her breath. On her second lap of walking, someone ran over from the basketball court—it was the tall, slim male P.E. representative from her class.
He caught up to her and handed her a bottle of water. Lin Xicai hesitated for a moment before accepting it, drawing whispers from the surrounding students.
The male P.E. rep frowned slightly at the others and then turned to her, shyly saying, “You seem to really like running.”
Like it?
Lin Xicai paused. Maybe she did.
In her own world, she didn’t have a healthy body. She had lived like a fragile bird, carefully raised in a cage, with a life that could end at any moment.
She craved running and the healthy rhythm of her heart more than anyone, and now that she finally had a body that could do so, it was natural she would overcompensate and push it to the limit.
Lowering her eyes, she hid her emotions. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
The male P.E. rep cleared his throat. “Uh, the autumn sports meet is in a couple of weeks. Want to sign up for an event?”
Lin Xicai didn’t respond immediately, glancing at the water in her hand. “Oh, are you waiting here for me?”
He smiled shyly. “The water’s genuine, but I couldn’t convince anyone else to join. Once they heard it was running, the girls refused.”
“How far?” Lin Xicai asked.
“1,500 meters. I couldn’t think of anyone else besides you.”
1,500? That sounded long. Lin Xicai hesitated. “I’ve never run that far before.”
“You just did!” the male P.E. rep exclaimed excitedly. “I timed you—at that pace, you definitely won’t come in last!”
Lin Xicai: “…”
“I mean… you won’t embarrass yourself.”
Lin Xicai said nothing and tilted her head to drink the water.
The male P.E. rep’s eyes dimmed slightly at her silence.
After finishing, Lin Xicai handed back the empty bottle. “Throw this away. Sign me up.”
Instantly, his eyes lit up, and he tapped the empty bottle in his palm. “Heroine! Thanks for saving me!”
Lin Xicai smiled faintly. Exhausted, she slowly walked onto the lawn and sat next to the two girls she was closer to.
Around them, the girls chattered energetically, from school gossip to other schools, from real-life topics to TV shows. Lin Xicai listened absentmindedly, unable to keep up.
Until a girl walked past from a distance. The group lowered their voices: “Hey, Xu Tian… Li Ci’s new girlfriend.”
“Still her? Haven’t they broken up yet?”
“They’re good. Saw them at the movies the other day, so sweet.”
“Kind of surprising. Xu Tian’s just average-looking. How come…”
Though they didn’t finish the sentence, everyone knew what they meant.
Lin Xicai looked up as well, slightly startled. She felt a bit familiar, then remembered—this was the girl who had stood behind that person the other day.
Li Ci? Lin Xicai’s eyelids twitched. Calmly, she asked, “What kind of person is this Li Ci?”
The others seemed unaware of the fleeting emotion in her eyes. To them, it was just casual gossip. They chattered on:
“Not from our school, from nearby Qingwu. Rich, likes to play around, changes girlfriends often.”
“But honestly, compared to other rich kids, he’s actually approachable and polite.”
“That’s true. Among the playboy group, he’s the only one I don’t find annoying.”
“Yeah, good-looking, good personality… a little flirty, but not unforgivable.”
“Hahaha, exactly. With what he has, I’d be even more flirtatious.”
Lin Xicai listened quietly, frowning slightly. They didn’t dislike him; in fact, he had a good reputation among classmates.
Could it be that the person she saw yesterday was… a ghost?
Her thoughts were abruptly pulled back to the narrow alley, to that damp phone booth…
The unease simmering inside her stirred again. Lin Xicai forced herself to calm down—maybe she was just scaring herself. That powerful person might not even notice her. It was only because of an unverified police call that things got so messy. That was truly ridiculous.
…
It was Lin Xicai’s turn to tidy up equipment. It wasn’t much—just a basketball and a few badminton rackets.
She finished organizing, about to sign out and leave, when she glanced back and noticed someone standing at the door of the equipment room, who hadn’t been there before.
Just like yesterday, it was Li Ci, leaning against the doorway with his head tilted, watching her.
Lin Xicai immediately straightened up, her heart tightening uncontrollably. For a moment, it was like being back in that damp phone booth.
A light laugh rang in her ears. “Why so nervous?”
“Are you here for something?” Lin Xicai asked. “If it’s still about yesterday, that was a misunderstanding.”
Li Ci looked at her. “Which thing from yesterday are you talking about?”
Lin Xicai was confused. What did he mean? She had thought he’d ask about the police report last night, but instead… this?
This person gave her a terrible feeling, even worse than Xie Shi. Lin Xicai had no desire to share the same space with him. After a brief standoff, she lost patience and tried to walk past him. But before her foot even moved halfway, his hand grabbed her arm and effortlessly pushed her back. She stumbled, placing her palm on the table to steady herself.
“Aren’t we chatting?” Li Ci said. “Are you always this rude?”
“What do you want?”
“Yesterday morning was our first meeting, right?” His tone darkened slightly, strange and hard to read. “Why did you look at me that way?”
Lin Xicai was a little surprised. She had expected questions about last night’s police report, not this strange question.
Yesterday morning… she realized he meant their encounter at the street corner.
But she was even more confused. What look? What kind of look could make him fixate on it, more than the police report incident?
Lin Xicai carefully recalled, and still couldn’t think of any offense. If anything, she had shown him kindness and goodwill due to his previous fake gestures.
Frowning, she said, “I don’t really understand what you mean.”
“Think again,” Li Ci said.
At that moment, a tall, slender figure ran over, her face showing lingering panic.
Seeing the girl, Li Ci clicked his tongue and waved her over.
He held the girl in his arms, fingers playing with her hair, pinching her cheek affectionately. “How did you get here?”
Lin Xicai watched his actions, goosebumps rising. For a moment, she had the illusion that he wasn’t holding a real person, but a doll.
Or rather, he was treating a living person as if playing with a doll.
She hadn’t eaten much that morning, yet her stomach suddenly felt heavy and nauseous.
The girl’s gaze lingered on Lin Xicai briefly before moving away. She tugged at Li Ci’s clothes. “Weren’t we going to eat?”
Li Ci smiled, turning to Lin Xicai with a spoiled tone. “My girlfriend’s jealous. Think about it; we’ll chat another day.”
Lin Xicai stood there, watching them leave, her stomach turning increasingly sick.
The equipment room returned to silence, empty except for her.
Suddenly, the familiar feeling of being watched returned. It was suffocating, not relieved by having temporarily avoided trouble.
She was once again forced to feel the difference between this world and her original one.
On the surface, this world looked similar to hers, but every detail was unreliable, twisted, and strange.
Like a cheap imitation of satin—appearing similar from afar, but close up, the “beautiful” patterns were a dense mess of chaotic symbols.
And she was trapped here.
She hated this place, hated every setting, every person—Xie Shi, Li Ci, even Fu Yanxiu.
She didn’t understand why the guidance missions changed, or why such inexplicable things kept happening.
…
Xie Shi sat on the top row of the bleachers, a trace of gloom in his eyes, a still ripple over stagnant water.
As he hesitated whether to drag this high-and-mighty soul down, a hand had already gripped her firmly.
A foolish, hypocritical woman. A malicious, debauched man. They deserved to be entangled.
What would follow was probably a show worth watching. That’s what he thought.
Yet when that delicate, slender figure stepped out of the gym, her unease and fear exposed under the sunlight, he felt—unexpectedly—a bit irritated.