Su Wanli looked suspiciously at the blank sheet of paper in front of her, then turned to glance, just as suspiciously, at Meng Wange beside her.
‘What kind of question is this?’
‘Could it be some sort of riddle?’
‘But a desert and a cube? That’s all the information? How could there be a clear answer with so little to go on?’
Meng Wange smiled as she pushed her textbook to the corner of the desk.
She crossed her hands and rested her chin on top of them, quietly waiting for Su Wanli’s answer.
“So, Miss Su, have you imagined the scene yet?”
“…”
After thinking for a long time and still coming up with nothing, Su Wanli decided not to overthink it.
After all, Meng Wange had just said it wasn’t a difficult question.
“…Isn’t it just a cube in the desert? Easy enough to picture, right? What exactly do you want me to say?”
“If you’ve got it in mind, then go ahead and draw the cube you imagined on this paper.”
Meng Wange smiled as she slid a blank sheet of paper toward her.
Simple yellow lines had already been drawn to represent the desert and the sky.
She also pushed over a few colored pencils.
‘Draw it?’
Su Wanli hesitated for a moment, then picked up a blue pencil and drew a small, delicate cube on one side of the paper.
“I see… A blue cube. What kind of material is it made from?”
Su Wanli silently rolled her eyes at Meng Wange.
“I used blue. Obviously, it’s made of water.”
“Ah, I see—a small water cube…”
Then Meng Wange immediately followed up with another question—
“Also, could you draw yourself somewhere on the page? It doesn’t have to be detailed, just a simple mark will do.”
‘Now she wants me to draw myself?’
Though still confused, Su Wanli picked up a black pencil and drew a simple black line on the other side of the paper.
Meng Wange nodded with a smile and pointed to the center of the page.
“Next, could you draw a ladder and a horse in the scene as well?”
“…”
The more she listened to Meng Wange’s instructions, the more hesitant Su Wanli’s hand became.
‘Tch… What is Meng Wange trying to do?’
‘Is she really just asking me to draw elementary school-level stuff like this? What is she trying to figure out?’
‘Something’s not right…’
If Meng Wange had really come here just to tutor her tonight for the sake of Su Heng’s request, that couldn’t be the real reason.
Because according to the system’s storyline, this part wasn’t even supposed to happen until after the semester began.
Which means… Meng Wange must have another motive for pushing this plotline forward ahead of schedule.
Thinking it through, if Meng Wange had already known she was raised to help Su Heng’s foolish daughter, then she must have long been aware of Su Wanli’s academic level.
And with her emotional intelligence, Meng Wange wouldn’t ask something like, “How good are your grades?” She should already know.
But she still asked that question anyway…
A lightbulb went off in Su Wanli’s head—
Which means all these seemingly unnecessary steps were meant to keep her from getting suspicious.
The real goal behind all this was this so-called “placement test.”
This question was a trap!
From a higher perspective: the desert, the cube, the tiny figure meant to represent her, and the horse—this whole string of questions clearly wasn’t meant to evaluate her math or language skills, and definitely not her IQ.
In other words, this was a… psychological test!
And Meng Wange’s true purpose was to figure out her personality traits in order to better respond to her attacks!
Realizing this, Su Wanli suddenly felt enlightened.
The look she gave Meng Wange gained a hint of amusement.
‘Heh… Looks like I’ve really nailed this villainess role. Originally, Meng Wange was supposed to endure a few more days of bullying before testing me after school started to figure out my personality and come up with countermeasures.’
‘But now? After just one afternoon, she’s already desperate enough to find a way to deal with me ahead of schedule!’
***
[……………………]
The system hesitated for a long time.
Considering Su Wanli’s pride as a villainess, it ultimately decided not to reveal that this entire scene wasn’t even in the original story.
“What’s wrong, Miss Su? Are the ladder and the horse harder to draw?”
Seeing that Su Wanli hadn’t moved in a while, Meng Wange gently reminded her with a smile—
“They don’t have to be complex. Just a few simple lines will do.”
“Hmph. I told you, this isn’t hard to imagine.”
Su Wanli already knew it was a psychological test, and with her extensive internet experience, she knew exactly what to do.
A cube in the desert.
Herself. A ladder. A horse.
The cube, naturally, symbolized her goal or her dreams.
The ladder and the horse represented tools to reach those dreams.
Since she was a noble princess—graceful and capable of obtaining whatever she wanted—then the ladder and horse just needed to be as extravagant as possible.
She could choose either one and stroll casually over to the cube to take what she desired.
With confidence, Su Wanli picked up a paintbrush and drew a long, narrow ladder between herself and the cube.
Then she drew a brown steed at her side, decorating its back with colorful stars and sparkles to indicate luxurious accessories.
“So that’s how it is…”
Seeing Su Wanli set the brush down, Meng Wange pressed her lips together as she looked at the canvas.
“Then, Miss Su, if a storm suddenly appears in the scene—what would it look like? And how long would it last?”
‘A storm?’
‘What… what would that mean?’
‘Theoretically, it probably symbolized some kind of life obstacle or hardship…’
While thinking this over, Su Wanli silently added a small yellow whirlwind to the center of the canvas.
‘Heh. The setbacks in this young lady’s life only deserve this much space.’
Once she finished, Su Wanli acted innocent, casually tossing the paintbrush aside and whistling.
“Hmph. Meng Wange, what is this—some elementary school drawing assignment? Is this really your idea of a personality assessment?”
Meng Wange let out a soft laugh, picked up the brush, and placed it gently back beside Su Wanli.
“My apologies. Let’s just call it one of my unique methods. Thank you for cooperating up to this point. There’s only one question left.”
“What question?”
Meng Wange pointed at the storm on the canvas and smiled.
“After the storm ends, flowers begin to bloom on the scene. What do they look like?”
‘Heh. Flowers growing after the storm?’
‘They must be the cheering spectators celebrating her victory after she overcame those obstacles, right?’
Grinning wickedly, Su Wanli grabbed a bunch of colorful pens and began to fill the desert with strokes.
Since she was the one and only young lady of the Su family, of course there had to be a huge crowd of people cheering for her!
Once the entire canvas was covered, Su Wanli tossed the paper and brush over to Meng Wange with an air of nonchalance.
“Thanks for your time, Miss Su.”
Meng Wange gathered the paper and pens, then glanced at the flip clock on the desk.
“The initial evaluation is now complete. It’s getting late. I assume this is when your usual personal time begins?”
‘Usual personal time…?’
Su Wanli didn’t know what she meant, but she shrugged coolly.
“Hmph.”
“Then I’ll take my leave for today. I won’t disturb your rest any further.”
With a crisp farewell, Meng Wange packed up her bag, gave Su Wanli a polite nod, and smiled.
“With the results from today, I’ll be able to make a personalized study plan for you by tomorrow. Please look forward to it.”
“Hmph. If it’s disappointing, you’re in for it.”
Su Wanli frowned slightly and waved her hand dismissively toward the door, as if swatting a fly.
***
Only after hearing the crisp sound of the door closing did Su Wanli finally lose control of her expression, slapping her thigh a few times to stop herself from bursting into laughter.
Haha! As expected—once Meng Wange got the test results, she left right away!
Just as Su Wanli had imagined, Meng Wange must’ve been completely intimidated by her natural-born villainess aura! That’s why she tried to probe her personality using this psychological test.
Satisfied with her deductive reasoning, Su Wanli nodded proudly to herself.
Stretching lazily, she pulled up the Su family’s estate map in her mind.
She wasn’t sure whether what she had drawn on paper truly matched the mindset of a natural villainess, but having done her fair share of psychological quizzes in the past, it should be close enough.
Now, she could finally head to the entertainment room and relax with some games!
Just one wall away, Meng Wange had laid out Su Wanli’s drawing on her own desk, studying the contents intently.
Su Wanli wasn’t wrong—it was a classic psychological test, and Meng Wange had intended to explore her personality.
However, the symbolic meaning behind the image was worlds apart from what Su Wanli imagined.
Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, Meng Wange stared at the canvas filled with blooming, colorful flowers and furrowed her brow.
“So that’s it. Truly, you can’t judge a person by appearances…”
Su Wanli, it turned out—
‘Wanted to have a lot of children?’
???
What kind of BS personality test is this?