“Thump… thump… thump…”
Su Wanli watched as Meng Wange’s slender fingers carefully climbed one by one along the edge of the drawer before slowly pulling it open.
Her own heartbeat quickened without her even realizing it.
‘What could it be? Something so carefully treasured by Meng Wange…’
She didn’t have much time to guess.
Meng Wange reached into the drawer and pulled out a brownish-gray leather notebook that exuded a faint sense of age.
Despite being well cared for, the leather cover still bore light traces of time.
‘Huh… this is…’
Under Su Wanli’s puzzled gaze, Meng Wange gently wiped the surface of the notebook, then placed it on the desk.
She blinked playfully at Su Wanli and smiled slightly—
“Sorry to disappoint you. It’s just an ordinary diary. I’ve been using it for many years now.”
“……”
So that’s all it is—just a diary.
For a moment, she really thought she’d stumbled upon some bizarre hidden event…
Su Wanli let out a small sigh of relief, and the corners of her mouth curved into a soft smile.
Whether it was that smile that led Meng Wange to misunderstand her, or simply her way of putting Su Wanli at ease, Meng Wange casually picked up the diary in front of the young lady and flipped it open to a random page, softly reading aloud—
—December 25th, overcast.
[It’s the 600th day I’ve been at the orphanage. Yesterday, it snowed a lot. The air outside the room was freezing, but people still kept coming and going through the front gates.]
[The teachers set up a green tree in the courtyard and decorated it with all kinds of ornaments. They called it Christmas and said that Santa Claus would come to bring us presents tonight.]
[I’ve always known the truth—Santa Claus is just adults in disguise. But still, many of the other kids excitedly wrote down their wishes on slips of paper the principal gave out. I did, too.[
[That night, I secretly kept my eyes open and watched as the teachers tiptoed into the room and placed presents by everyone’s bedside.]
[When it was my turn, they hesitated for a moment. In the end, they only left a single piece of candy by my pillow.]
[But I wasn’t disappointed. I knew… they could never pull my mom up from the dirt and give me one more hug.]
***
With a slightly nostalgic tone, Meng Wange finished reading and calmly left the diary open on the desk.
Then, she turned to look Su Wanli in the eyes.
Even though she didn’t say a single extra word, it felt like she had said everything.
And Su Wanli, who already didn’t know what to say, found herself even more speechless now.
‘T-too sudden!’
She hadn’t even had time to react before Meng Wange just read it all out!?
What was happening? She had only come to deliver medicine, maybe stir up a little trouble, find a bit of amusement—not to hear some deeply emotional, tragic childhood story!
No, all of that was secondary.
The real problem now was—what was she supposed to do in this situation? Was she supposed to stick to her villainess persona and say something like, You’re just some unwanted orphan, or How dare you try to steal my home?
That would be way too crass! She was still the daughter of a noble house, after all—she needed to come up with a more refined, gentler approach…
Maybe Meng Wange took Su Wanli’s silence as suspicion, because she smiled again and casually turned to the next page—
“January 1st, rain…”
‘Wait, there’s more!?’
‘Please… just tell a nicer story this time! Give me something I can work with! I beg you!’
Perhaps somehow hearing Su Wanli’s inner plea, Meng Wange smiled faintly as she began reading the next entry—
[Today, even though it was raining hard, a stranger came to the orphanage. The teachers said he looked rich and seemed like a good person.]
[A lot of the kids wanted to be adopted, so they rushed out excitedly, trying their best to make a good impression—like a flock of chirping sparrows.]
[Actually, I wanted to try too. Maybe if I worked hard, I could really leave this place and live a slightly better life.]
[But when I tried to go out, I found the door to my room had been locked.]
[I don’t know who did it. Maybe it was that mean girl again. I can’t remember her name.]
[Anyway, no matter how loudly I shouted, no one noticed me. So, it wasn’t until evening, when the room was finally opened, that I got to eat everyone’s leftovers. They were cold… but still pretty tasty.]
***
As Meng Wange finished reading yet another tragic little story in a dazed tone, Su Wanli felt as if a heavy boulder had been dropped onto her chest.
She regretted it.
She really should’ve just turned around and walked away earlier.
‘Don’t just stand there, Su Wanli. Say something! You could say it’s all nonsense or… or maybe something else…’
While she was still fumbling for words, Meng Wange was already about to turn the page.
“W-Wait! That’s enough! You don’t need to keep reading!”
Su Wanli hurriedly stopped her.
“I-I’m not interested in your past!”
“…Oh? Is that so? My apologies for wasting your time with such boring stories,” Meng Wange said with a light smile.
She closed the diary and casually set it down on the desk.
“As you can see, it’s just a journal I’ve kept since childhood, filled with some trivial memories and daily musings. Nothing strange at all.”
She stood up calmly, guiding Su Wanli’s gaze toward the wardrobe.
With a smooth motion, she pulled the door open.
“If there’s anything else you’d like to check, feel free to look through my wardrobe. Only four of the outfits in there are mine.”
“As for my schoolbag, I believe it’s empty now. Though I’m not sure if the hidden compartments might still have some old photos or other small things. It’s right by your feet. You’re welcome to check it anytime.”
After showing her the nearly empty wardrobe, Meng Wange walked back in front of Su Wanli with a faint smile and gently took her hand.
“Also, if it would help put your mind at ease, you can search me. Just to be sure I’m not hiding anything suspicious on my person.”
As she spoke, Meng Wange actually grabbed Su Wanli’s wrist and began guiding her hand toward her own body.
“You…!?”
Meng Wange moved quickly.
Before Su Wanli could pull her hand away, her palm was already pressed against the left side of Meng Wange’s collarbone—and just beneath it, a patch of bare, soft skin…
Her collarbone looked delicate and slender, and it felt just as fragile to the touch.
Su Wanli even had the illusion that it might snap with the slightest pressure.
Her palm was also pressing against a softer, more elastic part of Meng Wange’s chest…
‘Wait, could this be…?’
The moment Su Wanli realized exactly where her hand had landed, her mind completely short-circuited.
Bzzz—
A faint metallic scent—like rust—suddenly filled her nose.
‘No! This isn’t right!’
Forcing herself to snap out of it, Su Wanli clutched her nose and stumbled two steps back, pointing a trembling finger at Meng Wange’s face.
‘W-What the hell!? This is way too indecent…!’
“Hmm? Are you done with the inspection already, Miss Su?” Meng Wange asked, still smiling softly, completely unconcerned about the two undone buttons at the front of her shirt.
“…Enough! I’m no longer interested in you!” Su Wanli declared, wiping at the blood that was threatening to drip from her nose.
She finally threw away any pretense of dignity as the campus villainess.
“I only said something because I noticed a bit of blood on the floor earlier! I was worried you might get sick or something and my father would blame me! But if you’ve taken care of it, then just stay here and deal with yourself!”
But she had raised her voice too much—and now the nosebleed really wouldn’t stop.
Muttering that last excuse, Su Wanli spun around and fled the room in a panic.
And to keep Meng Wange from noticing anything strange, she even remembered to close the door behind her on her way out.
Bang!
***
Meng Wange stared silently at the now tightly closed door.
She let out a quiet breath.
Then she picked up the diary that had been tossed carelessly onto the desk, carefully smoothed out the creased cover, and gently tucked it back into the vanity drawer, locking it with a key.
“…Thank goodness.”