‘Damn it, where exactly did things go wrong? How could Meng Wange change like this overnight?’
While riding in the car to school with her, Su Wanli had already managed to observe her. What Meng Wange held in her hands was actually just an ordinary travel brochure.
The cover clearly displayed the words “South City Surrounding Tourist Attractions Recommendation” in large print, and the numbers below it were merely the phone numbers for the travel agency!
But how was that possible? No matter how much Meng Wange loved traveling, she wouldn’t spend the entire trip staring at a travel brochure unless… she wasn’t actually looking at it, but had some other purpose.
For example, avoiding communication with her in this roundabout way…
At the thought of this possibility, Su Wanli’s heart sank.
…Of course, a travel brochure alone wasn’t decisive evidence; it was just a personal deduction. However, it wasn’t the start of the school day anymore—it was now the break after the second class.
During today’s lessons, Meng Wange’s communication with her had been pitifully sparse.
Every time the class bell rang, Meng Wange would almost immediately stand up, flash her an apologetic smile, and then quickly walk out of the classroom without leaving a single word behind.
She was avoiding her so obviously, yet she was still trying to find other excuses for Meng Wange. ‘Su Wanli, are you really that unwilling to admit that yesterday’s string of plans failed?’
‘Sigh, maybe it’s better to just stop struggling and accept reality…’
Gazing at the clouds drifting across the sky, she murmured softly. As her soft, long hair fluttered in the wind, three loud shouts suddenly echoed from behind her—
“Boss Su! We missed you so much!!”
Su Wanli silently pressed a hand to her forehead and heaved her second heavy sigh of the day.
‘I must have been so exhausted that my head turned to mush. To think I actually decided to call these three to assist me, especially in tracking the movements of an Aura of Main Heroine like Meng Wange…’
However, things had already reached this point. Even a cat’s paw would be useful now, let alone three pairs of human hands.
‘Haha, using “hands” to correspond with the Japanese proverb “borrowing a cat’s paw”… it really is quite amusing…’
Su Wanli let out a cold smirk, then turned around, crossing her arms indifferently as she looked at her three subordinates. “So, do you know why I called you over?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xiao Fen immediately raised her right hand, the lollipop in her mouth bobbing up and down. “I know! I know! Boss hasn’t seen us for an entire day, so you must have missed us and wanted to chat!”
“Wrong.”
Su Wanli shook her head coldly at Xiao Fen, then pointed toward the tall figure standing beside her. “Da Zhuang, you tell me.”
“Uh, Boss must have missed class yesterday because she was feeling unwell, so she wants us to tell her what the teachers taught so she can review with Boss Meng.”
“Wrong, and horribly so. I’ve never heard so many words I’ve never used in a single sentence before. Potato Thunder, your turn.”
Su Wanli shifted her gaze to the last girl—Du Xinxin, who was wearing a school uniform two sizes too big for her.
“I think Boss feels that Meng Wange has been acting a bit strange lately and wants us to help investigate her movements.”
“…Wrong—wait, no, you’re right.”
Taken aback for a moment, Su Wanli quickly corrected herself and let out a heavy cough.
“That Meng Wange really doesn’t know what’s good for her. I’ve been taking such good care of her, yet as one of my subordinates, she’s still so disrespectful and reckless. She doesn’t even report where she’s going after class!”
“Huh? Boss, you never asked us to report what we do after class either, did you?”
“Idiot, are you the same as Meng Wange? Whatever Boss says goes, so stop talking back!”
Listening to the bickering between Xiao Fen and Da Zhuang, Su Wanli suppressed the rising anger on her brow and gave them a cold nod.
“So, for the time being, every time Meng Wange leaves the classroom, you follow her immediately—well, keep a bit of distance. Help me see where she goes, what she’s doing, or who she’s meeting. Do you understand?”
“Understood, Boss! We’re helping you look for… uh, I mean, evidence of betrayal, right?”
“Don’t add strange terms on your own. You just need to report exactly what you see to me.”
Su Wanli wagged a finger at her three subordinates and then pointed to the ground beneath her feet. “Gather here at noon.”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
Watching the three of them walk away, Su Wanli silently heaved her third sigh of the day.
[**What’s wrong, Host? Your Task is proceeding very well. First, you use this method to raise your subordinates’ suspicion toward Meng Wange. Once they report her real whereabouts, you can give them your bullying orders.**]
“Heh, them? Bully Meng Wange? It’s more likely they’d end up bullying me instead…”
Su Wanli rolled her eyes at the White Dumpling in her pocket and then strode toward the classroom.
To be honest, Meng Wange’s pace when she left wasn’t that fast. If Su Wanli wanted to follow her, she certainly could. It was just that…
‘What is it? Eldest Miss Su Wanli, do you have something else you want me to do? What’s with the silence? I’m very busy, so if there’s nothing special, I’ll be going now. Besides, there’s no need for you to keep following me. After all, I’m your maid, not the other way around, right?’
…No, Meng Wange would never say such things, but perhaps she really thought that in her heart?
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Su Wanli couldn’t bear that kind of psychological torture.
So, even without the Task from the System, she would have chosen to leave the tracking to those three while she stayed behind to wait for news.
It was just that…
Spending time alone in the classroom felt more agonizing than she had imagined.
Originally, with Meng Wange and Xiao Fen sitting near her to block the gazes of other students, she could ignore them. But now that they were gone, whenever her eyes met a classmate’s, the other person would silently look away or subconsciously avoid her.
Some even had a slight curl at the corner of their lips, though it wasn’t quite a blatant sneer.
…That was only natural. As the No. 1 Villainess of Baiying Academy who had ruined the reputation of Class 3, this was the treatment she deserved, wasn’t it?
And now, even Meng Wange was starting to avoid her…
Su Wanli turned her gaze toward the window, silently staring at the distant sky.
…Whatever. Her ultimate goal was still the Su family’s 12 billion. Stressing over trivial matters here was meaningless.
But was Meng Wange really avoiding her?
Maybe she was just busy with her own things. Just as the System had said before, once the plot reached the middle stage, events related to her would significantly decrease, the number of Tasks would slowly dwindle, and the overlap between her and Meng Wange would follow suit…
‘Sigh, my head is such a mess. I shouldn’t overthink it. I’ll just wait patiently for the results from Xiao Fen and the others.’
With that thought, Su Wanli buried her head in the crook of her arm and fell into a brief sleep.