Meng Wange froze, her hand pausing mid-motion as she reached to undo the buttons.
Her brain stalled for a moment in complete disbelief.
‘This… this really was Su Wanli’s nightdress.’
Not only was the material silky smooth and soft, but it still carried the faint warmth of her body.
‘But what did Su Wanli mean by this?’
Was this bullying? Was the fabric poisoned? Was she forcing Meng Wange to wear her used clothes as some kind of insult?
Or—
A reason popped into Meng Wange’s mind.
It seemed absurd, but it was the only explanation that made sense.
‘Could it be… that this girl, in a moment of panic, had ripped off her own dress just to help cover Meng Wange up?’
But Su Wanli had been wearing only a single nightdress from the start.
At most, maybe a pair of underwear underneath.
Which meant…
Now she had nothing on at all?
‘That can’t be possible…’ Meng Wange thought.
‘Besides, based on the rumors, Su Wanli was supposed to be—’
Meng Wange slowly grasped the hem of the nightdress, about to tug it down—
“Stop!”
The voice of the eldest Miss Su rang out from ahead—anxious and slightly disheveled.
“Don’t move! If you dare move even a little before I say so, I’ll make sure you never step foot in the Su family again!”
Meng Wange’s hands, which were about to restore a shred of dignity to herself, froze in midair.
Regardless of anything else, being banished from the Su family was the one outcome Meng Wange absolutely could not accept.
So she could only remain still, silently holding her position, and waiting for the young miss to give her next order.
Meanwhile, Su Wanli—
From the very beginning, she had indeed only been wearing a light, translucent nightdress.
But what Meng Wange hadn’t realized was that she hadn’t even been wearing underwear.
So, when Su Wanli tore off her nightdress in a moment of panic and threw it over, she was left completely bare.
She now held her left arm tightly across her chest, trying to hide her most vulnerable parts, while fumbling through her closet with the other hand.
She grabbed a red evening gown at random and hastily pulled it on.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she scrambled over to the bedside cabinet and rummaged through it, pulling out a pair of panties and hurriedly slipping them on.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
***
Only after covering herself properly did Su Wanli finally relax a little.
She let out a deep breath and turned to glance at the root of the problem behind her.
The brown-haired girl stood stiffly, her brows slightly furrowed, fists clenched, ears flushed red.
Even though her upper body was covered with the nightdress Su Wanli had thrown over, a large portion of her pale skin was still exposed to the air.
There was also a clean white shirt on the floor, her school skirt barely hanging onto her waist, threatening to slip off completely.
Her arms were trembling slightly.
Even if Su Wanli had been dense, she couldn’t ignore the implications.
…Meng Wange clearly thought she’d been summoned to this room to be humiliated and bullied.
Even that absentminded sentence Su Wanli had muttered—”Take it off first”—must’ve been misunderstood as an order to strip.
She probably thought Su Wanli was going to hit her with something weird, like in those old Korean dramas.
‘But… why?’
‘Do I really come across that terrifying?’ Su Wanli wondered.
She hadn’t even laid a hand on Meng Wange.
Sure, she had accidentally grabbed that keepsake from Meng Wange’s mother, but she hadn’t said anything harsh… right?
Now that she thought about it—
In order to avoid accidentally lowering her “Villainess Score,” Su Wanli had gone out of her way not to demand anything from Meng Wange.
In fact, she’d kicked the door open herself, dragged Meng Wange to her room, and said the first thing that came to mind—“Take it off.”
Of course Meng Wange would misunderstand!
‘This was bad.’
‘Very bad.’
She was the one who messed up!
But it was too late now.
Meng Wange had already undressed.
She had already thrown her nightdress at her.
There was no going back.
***
[System Reminder: Less than 30 minutes remain before the purification banquet. Please speed up your progress.]
[Additional Note: Meng Wange’s hostility level toward you has increased to 65. Current emotional breakdown: 50% Confused, 40% Resentful, 10% Annoyed.]
[Suggestion: Maintain consistency and logic in your behavior.]
‘Logic, huh…’
That made sense.
She had just made the girl take her clothes off, then randomly thrown a nightdress at her.
Of course it made no sense.
No wonder confusion was temporarily winning over resentment.
So, what should she do next?
Should she just roll with the misunderstanding now?
Maybe even threaten to take pictures of her like some school bully, and use them to force her into obedience?
‘Just listen to me, or I’ll leak your spicy little photos…’
Now that would be truly evil.
Su Wanli couldn’t get past it—whether or not the system meant well for the heroine didn’t matter.
She just couldn’t get over it psychologically!
She straightened her clothes in front of the mirror, cleared her throat twice, then said—
“Meng Wange, you can open your eyes now.”
“…Okay, Miss Su.”
Meng Wange gently pulled the nightgown away from her face and held it in her hands, blinking at Su Wanli.
She was truly someone skilled at concealing negative emotions.
In those clear, cold eyes, there was only a trace of confusion.
It made her seem more human than earlier, when she had been pure ice.
‘Logic, logic…’
Meng Wange wasn’t deaf.
Even with her eyes closed, she could still tell what had just happened just by listening.
First, Su Wanli had hastily ripped off the clothes she was wearing and tossed them at her.
Then, in a panic, she’d opened the wardrobe and grabbed the first thing she saw to put on herself.
Now, she had to come up with a reasonable excuse.
One that made sense and still followed the standards of a proper villainess.
‘Stay calm. Think carefully.’
She had to be cold, elegant, and carry herself like a dignified lady of high status.
Su Wanli licked her lips and decided to rely on her identity as a wealthy heiress to dominate the situation from the start.
She pinched the soft flesh at her waist hard to furrow her brows, raised her index finger, and pointed it at Meng Wange’s confused face—
“Meng Wange, why are you undressing in front of me? If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I might’ve been forced to lay eyes on something filthy!”
“…Then, I’m sorry?”
Meng Wange tilted her head, her long lashes fluttering as soft brown hair fell over her shoulder in a beautiful arc.
‘Damn, she’s… she’s so pretty.’
‘No! Su Wanli, you’re a villainess. You’re supposed to be angry after hearing something like that!’
She pressed harder into her waist, raising her voice.
“…Sorry!? Sorry for what? Don’t think I’m stupid. You did that on purpose—trying to lure me into hitting you so my father could catch me in the act and be disappointed in me!”
She almost said that Meng Wange was seducing her father to climb the social ladder, but even Su Wanli couldn’t bring herself to say something that slanderous to her face.
Fortunately, the system still seemed to approve.
Her Villainess Rating was holding steady around 95.
[Villainess Value: 95. Keep it up!]
“…I wouldn’t do that, Miss Su. If I really wanted to trick you, I’d make sure you hit me somewhere clothes can’t cover.”
Meng Wange sighed softly, as if she’d made up her mind.
She raised her head and looked Su Wanli straight in the eyes.
“I’m poor. Without the Su family’s sponsorship, I wouldn’t even be able to survive, let alone go to school. I’m very grateful to the Su family. But I know the only reason Mr. Su is helping me.”
“…The reason?”
“That reason is you, Miss Su—Su Wanli.”
***
As she spoke, Meng Wange calmly picked up the shirt from the floor and slipped it back on.
“Mr. Su hopes you can become better. That you’ll eventually become worthy of being the heir to the Su Group. But you’ve disappointed him.”
“That’s why he began choosing underprivileged girls to cultivate—hoping that one of them would someday support you.”
“I just happen to be the one who stood out from the rest.”
Su Wanli froze in place for two full seconds.
If Meng Wange wasn’t lying, then her “cheap dad” had really gone to great lengths for his biological daughter.
No, not “cheap dad”—he was a proper CEO dad.
Seeing that Su Wanli was willing to listen, Meng Wange stepped forward until they were nearly face to face.
Her light-colored eyes were unreadable, void of any visible emotion—
“You know… I’m very capable. More than you think.”
“I was handpicked by the Su family. Academically, I’ve always been top of my class. Anyone who couldn’t maintain first place at a city-level school would never even make it into the Su family’s field of view.”
“Besides that, I’m a fast learner in everything. I can master the basics of any foreign language in thirty days. I can train in any sport to a highly skilled level.”
“The Su family forbade us from studying courses deemed too advanced for our age, so I haven’t touched any specialized subjects yet. But if you need, I can start studying finance right now and complete most of the coursework. I’ll do everything I can to support you.”
“…So, Miss Su,” as she spoke, Meng Wange’s lips somehow ended up brushing close to Su Wanli’s ear—
“As long as you accept my existence, I’ll be your best strategist, your most convenient tool, your strongest support. If you want, I can even be your stand-in, your disposable pawn, or…”
“…A toy you can play with however you like.”
“…”
Su Wanli opened her mouth but found herself too stunned by Meng Wange’s overwhelming presence to speak.
“You don’t believe me? That’s fair. No one would believe someone they just met.”
Meng Wange smiled faintly, then stepped back and walked over to Su Wanli’s vanity.
She pulled out the chair.
“By the way, Miss Su, earlier before you left the room, you happened to say something to me.”
“I believe you were planning to attend Mr. Su’s welcome banquet dressed to impress, but you didn’t have a suitable makeup artist, correct?”
“Please sit. I’ll prove my value to you.”