Looking at the silent and elegant classroom, and at Su Xiaoli and Meng Huange, who sat at the very back and quietly looked at each other, Xiaohua Teacher hesitated for a moment, then cautiously reminded them from the podium
“Um, Meng Huange? If your self-introduction isn’t finished yet, maybe you could talk about those things later? For now, come up to the podium and finish your introduction.”
“Alright, Teacher, please wait a moment.”
Meng Huange turned and gave the teacher a slight smile, then turned back, looking into Su Wanli’s eyes and speaking softly—
“Miss Su, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll go back up and finish my introduction, okay?”
Su Wanli rolled her eyes at Meng Huange, then shifted her gaze past Meng Huange’s body to look at the speechless students behind her.
And she said she “didn’t reveal any relationship” to them? With that performance just now, unless these people are blind, anyone can tell what kind of relationship she and I have, right?
Great, now she’s taking my bag for me, preparing cold medicine and health tea—no matter how you look at it, Meng Huange must be someone living in my house.
Doesn’t that basically mean she’s openly hinting that Meng Huange is my Companion or Maid or something like that!?
Sure enough, a few seats away, there was another round of whispered discussion—
“…Wow, they’re actually living together? So Meng Huange and Su Wanli have a kept relationship or something?”
“No wonder…”
Wait a second, who over there is whispering so much! Being able to come up with that relationship is honestly beyond my expectations!! Did you just blatantly ignore Zhang Ma’s name!?
While giving the students behind Meng Huange a threatening glare, Su Xiaoli quickly thought things through in her mind.
—From what happened yesterday morning, when she refused to accept a card from me directly, no matter how you look at it, Meng Huange should be the type with a strong sense of pride, right?
Someone with pride that strong, how could she possibly, in front of so many people, openly do something that looks so submissive?
If it was me or the Sujia who asked her to do this, that would be one thing, but I already made it clear in the hallway that I didn’t want to expose our relationship, and yet Meng Huange still acted like this.
Su Wanli stared closely into Meng Huange’s eyes, wanting to see some genuine emotional fluctuation, but all she saw was that faint, gentle smile on the surface.
Fine, since the heroine wants to hide her motives, how could a little villainess like me possibly see through her?
…Seriously, when I want her to do something, she won’t do it, but when I don’t want her to, she insists on doing it.
She even has the nerve to say, “I’m your best strategist, your most convenient tool.” I think this girl is up to no good…
Still, as Su Wanli felt the classmates’ gazes flicking back and forth between her and Meng Huange, a subtle sense of satisfaction quietly grew in her heart.
Ahem, of course, it’s not because such a beautiful girl is actually so obedient to me, pouring tea and water for me—it’s just that feeling of being cared for by someone, or maybe the happiness of being put on a pedestal…
Cough cough, off-topic.
Su Xiaoli lightly massaged her temples, forcing herself to focus on the current situation.
…According to the Mission given to me by the System, Meng Huange should properly finish her self-introduction on the podium, then wait for me to interrupt her.
At that time, even if she didn’t act like this, it would still be revealed that she’s an Orphan adopted by the Sujia, and now transferring into the class as my Servant.
But now, she actually took the initiative to come right up to me…
Things have come to this, there’s no use trying to hide our relationship anymore, and if I suddenly blurt out, “You’re the Orphan adopted by the Sujia, and you’re only allowed to stand here as my Servant,” that would be weird, too.
Su Wanli gritted her teeth and waved her hand casually at Meng Huange, signaling her to return to the podium.
“Alright, Miss Su, thank you for understanding, I’ll be right back.”
Meng Huange gave Su Wanli a slight smile, then turned and walked toward the podium.
“So obedient.”
“…So it really is a master-servant relationship? But why did Meng Huange ride in Su Wanli’s car today?”
As always, Meng Huange ignored the murmurs around her, nimbly walked up to the podium, stood beside Xiaohua Teacher, and quickly wrote the three characters “Meng Huange” on the blackboard. Then she turned to face the students below, showing a humble and proper smile~
“Sorry, everyone, for wasting a bit of your time.”
“My name is Meng Huange, ‘Huange’ as in a song of sorrow. I grew up in an Orphanage, and it’s thanks to the Sujia’s nurture that I’ve been able to grow up to this point.”
“Now, I’m joining Class Three, Year Two as Miss Su’s Companion. I hope you all will look after me.”
So… it’s really over this time?
Wait, didn’t Meng Huange just admit she’s an Orphan and that the Sujia raised her!?
Then what about my Mission? Am I supposed to just stand up and repeat what she said?
Faced with a brain gone slightly blank, Su Wanli was quietly reminded by the System at her side—
[Since the heroine took the initiative to reveal certain information during her self-introduction, the Host just needs to fill in any information she left out, right?]
…That casual?
【It’s just adapting to the situation. All sorts of unexpected things can happen during a Mission.】
After making up what sounded like a reasonable excuse, the System continued—
[Now, let me summarize the specifics of your current Mission. During Meng Huange’s self-introduction, the information you need to actively provide is: Meng Huange is an Orphan lodging at the Sujia, her family has no background, and no money, and now she only has the qualifications to attend this elite school as your Servant.]
In other words, I have to fill in whatever info Meng Huange left out, like “no background,” “no money,” “as my Servant,” and so on…
[And I have to mention she’s lodging at the Sujia too?]
Smiling on the podium, having just finished her carefully composed self-introduction in one breath, Meng Huange gave a small bow to the students in front of her.
If, this morning, she could have entered the school more inconspicuously, maybe just a normal self-introduction would have been enough. But what’s done is done, there’s nothing to be done about it.
—Since she got out of Su Wanli’s car, there’s no way to avoid being tied to Su Wanli.
Even if she and Su Wanli both deliberately ignore this point and don’t respond, in a high school environment like this, all sorts of wild rumors will only get worse.
Just like what she heard at the door earlier—even the “real and fake heiress” trope from novels was being enthusiastically discussed.
…Now that things have come to this, it’s better to openly display her background and her position in the Sujia. Even if someone is still curious about her and wants to dig around, all they’ll find is exactly what she said.
If you want to hide something, then cover it with some true but boring facts on the surface. That’s always been Meng Huange’s go-to method.
It’s just that, once she does this…
“…Oh, I thought Meng Huange might be some sort of heiress too…”
“So she’s just Su Wanli’s Servant?”
“…Tch, almost got fooled by her looks.”
“…No wonder even the bag she’s carrying is all tattered. The Sujia doesn’t even provide their Servants with decent things.”
Below the podium, the students started another round of scattered discussions, with one or two sharp barbs mixed in.
After listening in for a moment, the corners of Meng Huange’s lips lifted ever so slightly.
That’s right, this is the environment she’s used to.
In the Sujia, or rather, even after spending just two days by Su Wanli’s side, she was already starting to lose her basic wariness.
In this little circle made up of heiresses and the children of officials and businessmen, an Orphan with no background, dependent on others, is naturally the lowest of the low.
No one will pay any attention to her, but because of Su Wanli’s presence, they also won’t dare to insult her or act out.
In a sense, this is what they call: “Even a dog must be judged by who its master is.”
Of course, that phrase carries a certain insult, but it’s fine. Everything she’s doing is just to secure her footing in the Sujia, and besides, if the ‘master’ in question is Su Wanli…
Meng Huange smiled and shook her head, straightening her back and letting her gaze sweep around the classroom.
People are always more interested in things that are bright and glamorous. If, after riding in Su Wanli’s car, she still wanted to keep her presence as low as possible, the best way would be to hide under Su Xiaoli’s brilliance.
Sure enough, after she told the truth, the looks directed at her were no longer curious or probing, but the kind of bland indifference of “so that’s how it is.”
Just an Orphan rescued by the Sujia, a toy at Su Wanli’s side—there’s nothing about her worth digging into.
This is exactly the outcome Meng Huange wanted. After all, her purpose in coming to school was simply to help Su Xiaoli get through the opening test smoothly.
“…Ahaha, it seems Meng Huange has been through a lot.”
Xiaohua Teacher, standing beside Meng Huange, smiled awkwardly and scratched her head.
So that’s how it is, a child adopted by the Sujia… I wonder if she’s bullied by Su Wanli… No, maybe I should say, is she bullied badly by Su Xiaoli…
But, since they’re able to come to school together, maybe their relationship isn’t as stiff as I imagined?
“Since Meng Huange’s self-introduction is over, everyone, let’s give her a round of applause, shall we? Meng Huange, please pick a seat you like. Right now, the only open seats are in the back row, on the left and right…”
With a few scattered claps, Meng Huange lightly lifted her bag and nodded at the kind teacher beside her.
“Teacher Liu, I’ll just sit next to Miss Su.”
“Ah, alright, that’s fine.”
Amidst the indifferent and cold stares, Meng Huange was about to step down from the podium and head to the back of the classroom.
At that moment, an unexpected voice rang out from the very back of the classroom.
“Wait!”
Since the start of the self-introduction, the black-haired girl who had been silent all this time slowly stood up from her seat.
“Meng Huange, you stop right there.”