The Downtrodden Villain In A Redemption Romance Novel Chapter 17

Once again, Xu Wen was rudely awakened by the noisy chatter and car horns outside the window.

He frowned, groggily opening his eyes. It was a habit etched into his bones; his hand instinctively reached for the spot beside him—

Empty?!

His heart plummeted, and the remnants of sleep instantly scattered. Xu Wen shot up, his voice hoarse and panicked from being startled awake:

“Lu Qingrang?!”

He frantically looked up, his gaze sweeping urgently across the cramped room. Only when his eyes locked onto the slender figure in the kitchen partition did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Qingrang was standing there, slightly tilted his head, looking at him, seemingly drawn by his sudden exclamation. The morning light outlined the excellent lines of his shoulders and neck. Compared to the external noise, he seemed enveloped in tranquility.

“…Good morning?” Xu Wen was still shaken, his voice slightly dazed.

“Mhm,” Lu Qingrang responded, his voice still very soft but exceptionally clear. “Breakfast is ready.”

“…Ah, okay.” Xu Wen nodded blankly, mechanically throwing off the covers and getting out of bed.

Woc woc woc!!! System!! System, did you see that?! What happened?! Oh my goodness! That smell! Did he make breakfast for me?! Am I actually worthy of eating this?! Am I still dreaming?!

Xu Wen struggled to maintain his composure on the surface, but internally, he had turned into a screaming chicken, frantically bombarding the silent System.

“Hurry, hurry! Check for me! What’s the Redemption Value now?! Did it skyrocket?!”

The Target’s current Redemption Value is: 10%.

“Ten percent?!” Xu Wen exclaimed internally. “It jumped up this much overnight?”

This realization gave him a huge sense of accomplishment. Ten percent! Just 10% was enough to make this ancestor, who was on the verge of death just a few days ago, willingly cook! A beautiful life was truly not far away for him!

A feeling of profound satisfaction welled up. Looking at Lu Qingrang’s slightly clumsy but exceptionally serious back in the kitchen, a ridiculous yet apt analogy suddenly popped into his mind—

Was this… the feeling of watching your son grow up?

He quickly gave himself a mental slap, forcefully cutting off this dangerous and disrespectful association, but the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably curving upwards. If 10% had this effect, what would 100% be like?!

He hurried out of bed and habitually reached for his phone. The screen lit up, and a text message notification about a part-time payment arriving jumped into view.

The exhaustion from staying up all night working was instantly washed away by the balance number. Xu Wen’s smile widened, and even the noisy clamor outside the window sounded a little more pleasant.

In high spirits, he casually opened this world’s equivalent of TikTok. Just like in his previous life, he maintained the habit of listening to some lively background noise while waking up in the morning. He swiped his finger, looking for some electronic ‘side dish’ to consume.

He placed the phone on the table and turned to duck into the small bathroom. The faucet roared. He bent down, scooping up cold water to splash on his face, trying to dispel the last bit of sleepiness—

The phone, playing audio aloud, suddenly jumped to the next video. A female announcer’s voice, clear and standard, accompanied by the grand background music of a commercial promotional video, echoed distinctly in the small rented room:

“Mr. Nan Gongchen, Executive President of Nan Gong Group, and Ms. Su Xia, daughter of the Su Group, completed their wedding of the century two weeks ago, formally uniting the two major business families.”

Xu Wen’s motion of scooping water froze instantly. Water droplets dripped from his chin into the sink.

“Concurrently, Nan Gong Group announced recently that it has completed the full acquisition of ‘Wei Wen Technology.’ Effective immediately, ‘Wei Wen Technology’ is officially renamed ‘Chen Xia Technology’ and will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary under the Nan Gong Group. A group spokesperson stated that this move will further complete Nan Gong Group’s strategic layout in the field of artificial intelligence…”

A loud ringing sound went off in Xu Wen’s head, and his heart stopped for a moment. He fumbled for a towel, haphazardly wiped his face, and practically stumbled out of the bathroom, grabbing the phone from the table and jamming his finger onto the pause button.

The grating voice abruptly ceased.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Xu Wen stood rigidly, clutching the warm phone. He looked nervously at Lu Qingrang: “That… President Lu, I…”

His words trailed off.

Lu Qingrang’s movement, holding a water cup, was frozen mid-air. His knuckles were white from gripping it tightly.

The slight hint of vitality that had been on his face instantly drained away, leaving only an indifferent emptiness.

His gaze was unfocused, resting on the window outside. The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch very slightly—it wasn’t a smile, but a self-mocking twist.

Then, within that emptiness, his eyelashes fluttered, and his gaze slowly shifted to Xu Wen’s face.

He simply looked at Xu Wen, watching the panic and remorse on his face, a deep darkness in the depths of his eyes.

He didn’t speak, but finally lowered his eyes in silence, drinking the remaining water in the cup in one gulp, as if swallowing all the unspeakable past.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. When he looked up again, he had forcibly suppressed all turmoil, leaving only a heart-stopping calmness.

In that suffocating silence, the System’s notification sound abruptly rang out in Xu Wen’s mind, carrying an ominous urgency:

Warning! Detecting severe emotional fluctuation in the Target! Redemption Value change: -90%!

Xu Wen listened to the System’s broadcast, his knuckles white as he gripped the phone. It was over, completely over. He had finally managed to grind up to 10%, and now he was back to square one…

…Redemption Value recalibrating… Current Redemption Value: 10%.

Finally, the cold, mechanical voice reported a number that was exactly the same as before.

Xu Wen was utterly bewildered.

What was with this rollercoaster of values? A sharp drop followed by a sharp rise, only to settle back precisely at the starting point? What on earth was Lu Qingrang thinking? Did he instantly feel dead inside upon hearing the news, and then talk himself out of it? Or was he being pulled by some other emotion?

He completely failed to understand the brief but intense storm that Lu Qingrang’s inner world must have endured behind this bizarre numerical change.

He stood rigidly in place, even softening his breathing. His mind was a mess, but he dared not ask a single word. He didn’t dare to confirm Lu Qingrang’s current expression, terrified that any subtle movement might become the final straw that crushed the fragile 10% he had just recovered.

In the kitchen, the pot of porridge continued to quietly emit faint steam.