The White Lotus Female Lead's Self-Redemption [Transmigration] - Chapter 3

Although Xu Zhaogu vaguely mentioned the incident to Xiao Jing, honestly, she wasn’t confident that he could be of much use. If she wanted to pursue other targets and successfully complete future missions, this matter absolutely needed to be explained clearly.

No matter how much others explained, people wouldn’t necessarily believe it. The best way was for Xia Qin to personally explain and admit that she had misunderstood; the effect would surely be much better.

Xu Zhaogu had a plan in mind, but she didn’t consult the system about it. Besides completing the mission, she had another goal: to test the system’s actual bottom line.

In the beginning, the genuine system told her not to deviate from the plot and not to let her persona collapse, but it didn’t fully explain itself, and then it left in a hurry, only leaving a relatively useless initial system.

The initial system was different from the real one. Although it could answer her questions, its program was set, and it couldn’t offer any practical solutions.

Moreover, Xu Zhaogu noticed that the initial system would only assign missions based on the plot, but it didn’t seem too concerned about how the missions were carried out. For example, the initial system detected that the plot required the female lead to target this specific person, so it issued a mission for her to do so, but there were no strict rules on execution. The system only detected that she had to do the action, but the specifics of the extent and method of implementation did not seem to be within its regulated scope.

Therefore, Xu Zhaogu wanted to test whether there would be any penalty if she followed the system’s requirements for the action, but the result deviated from the main plotline.

If there were no penalties, it would make her future missions much easier, and she wouldn’t have to worry about genuinely captivating the target characters.

Xia Qin and Xu Linyi were in a stiff relationship. Initially, she had argued with him, but later she realized that his moral compass seemed skewed. Arguing back and forth was pointless, so she simply started a cold war.

As the head of her Student Union department, she had to personally hand over her department’s materials to the President’s council.

Xiao Jing accepted the documents but didn’t let her leave. Instead, he made a gesture as if he wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.

“I feel like you haven’t been in a good mood lately. I wonder if I have the honor of hearing what’s on your mind?”

Xia Qin pursed her lips. “What happened to me has already been spread all over the place, hasn’t it? Haven’t you heard about it, President?”

Xiao Jing showed no sign of anger; his attitude grew calmer. “I’ve heard about it, but you also know that when a story is passed from one person to the next, it inevitably deviates from the truth. So, I want to hear it directly from you and understand what you think.”

“I think exactly what everyone else thinks. I was devoted to him, but he was getting entangled with another woman. Are you trying to suggest that this is my fault too?”

“I don’t mean that.” Xiao Jing slowed his speech. “But, Xia Qin, have you considered this: perhaps the person you believe is hateful is actually innocent, and the person you believe is innocent is not so innocent. Before figuring out the truth of the matter, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, should we?”

Xia Qin turned her head away, refusing to answer.

Xiao Jing continued, “Perhaps you already have an answer in your heart, but you’re unwilling to believe it because it’s unacceptable to you. However, we can never run away from problems. Xia Qin, you are a very intelligent and strong girl. You must understand what I mean, right?”

“I understand. Thank you.” Xia Qin didn’t want to talk about the matter anymore. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Go ahead. You can come to me if you need anything at all.”

Xia Qin walked out, her expression blank, lost in thought for a long time.

Even the President was speaking up for that girl. Maybe she really had overlooked something. It seemed she should properly investigate the matter.

She wouldn’t falsely accuse anyone, but she definitely wouldn’t let the guilty party go unpunished.

Xu Zhaogu specifically used an anonymous account on the school forum’s secret section to find out Xia Qin’s home address, and then waited to intercept her on that road ahead of time.

To find a plausible excuse for her appearance, she had scouted the location beforehand and successfully found a stray cat nearby.

This cat didn’t look very old. It was a common tabby cat, but it was beautiful, with large, bright eyes.

Stray cats are naturally highly alert. Xu Zhaogu went to feed it for several consecutive days before it finally lowered its guard a little and allowed her to approach.

With everything aligned—the right timing, the right place, and the right people—Xu Zhaogu successfully intercepted Xia Qin on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

She was wearing a long chiffon dress, cinched at the waist, making her look slender and graceful. She was squatting down, feeding the cat, unconcerned that the cat wasn’t clean, stroking the cat’s head with her fair, soft fingers, her face wearing a happy, gentle smile.

Xia Qin’s expression was complex. By the time she realized it, she was already standing in front of Xu Zhaogu.

“Senior Sister?” Xu Zhaogu felt a shadow above her, looked up at her, and her mouth slightly opened in a look of surprise and helplessness.

“How are you here?” Xia Qin was surprised that her tone was calm, completely unlike the expression one should have when seeing the suspected subject of her boyfriend’s cheating.

“I came to buy some things, and I didn’t expect to see this little darling.” Xu Zhaogu held a few books, her gaze fixed on the cat, radiating a gentle warmth.

But she quickly withdrew her gaze and looked cautiously at Xia Qin. “Senior Sister, are you… are you okay?”

“Why do you ask that?” Xia Qin carefully observed her expression, clearly seeing even the tremor in her eyelashes.

“I was just asking…” Xu Zhaogu bit her lip, her face slightly pale. “I know you don’t believe me, and I know the situation that day was indeed easy to misunderstand. I will only defend myself by saying this: I have never done anything to wrong Senior Sister.”

“I know my claim sounds a bit shameless.” Xu Zhaogu stared at her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and in the sunlight, they seemed to reflect the light, causing a sting in one’s eyes.

“I believe I am quite attractive, and boys often give me love letters. There are quite a few who are handsome and excellent, but I almost always turn them down.”

“I haven’t reached the point of being so shameless as to reject guys who pursue me, only to get entangled with someone who already has a girlfriend.”

Xu Zhaogu bowed deeply to Xia Qin. “But I know that this matter caused the biggest blow and harm to Senior Sister, and it was indeed my lack of consideration. So, whatever Senior Sister says about me, I can accept it all.”

Xia Qin’s expression was complicated, and she began to doubt herself. Maybe she really had misunderstood. The girl in front of her didn’t seem to be lying. In contrast, when her boyfriend spoke about the incident, his eyes seemed evasive.

“I understand. If I really misunderstood you, I will definitely apologize to you, and I hope you are not lying to me.”

After speaking, Xia Qin walked past Xu Zhaogu and left without looking back.

Xu Zhaogu let out a sigh of relief. “System, was I sincere enough just now? Even I was almost moved to tears by myself.”

“Dear, please keep up the excellent work.”

“I can already foresee how miserable my life will be.” Xu Zhaogu sighed, squatted back down, looked into the cat’s eyes, and then showed what she believed to be her kindest smile.

“Thank you, little darling. I’m sorry, I used you for a little bit. So, now, are you willing to come home with me?”