Staring at the unfamiliar woman in front of her, the system’s electronic voice faithfully provided commentary for Su Wanli—
[This is Auntie Zhang, full name Zhang Yun. She has been working at the Su residence as a housekeeper for over ten years and is considered a semi-manager of the household.]
[She has a gentle and honest personality. Her relationship with Su Wanli is neither particularly good nor bad. The host is free to interact with her as she wishes.]
Su Wanli silently nodded.
‘So that’s how it is. A kind and simple character with no real schemes. According to the usual villainess novel tropes, I should probably try to win her over—or use my status to pressure her into helping me with something shady.’
‘As for the part where she ends up feeling guilty toward Meng Wange, starts acting strange, gets noticed by Meng Wange, and leads her step by step to discover the real mastermind behind it all is me—yeah, that’s not my concern.’
‘After all, villainesses like us are born to highlight the heroine’s brilliance. All we have to do is dig the pit.’
Looking at Auntie Zhang’s plain and honest face, Su Wanli had already started imagining several ways to have her secretly frame Meng Wange.
But since she was currently about to show Meng Wange around the estate, it would be better to approach her later.
No need to rush.
“Alright. Thank you for your help.”
Hearing Auntie Zhang call for her, Meng Wange turned toward the door and gave a polite nod.
She then neatly placed her knife and fork back in their proper positions and smiled at Su Wanli—
“Miss Su, I’m finished eating. If you’re done as well, would you like to come with me?”
Su Wanli, who had been somewhat interested in the layout of the estate herself, instinctively wanted to say yes.
But just as the words were about to leave her mouth, she forcefully swallowed them back down.
“…As if! You think a mere Meng Wange deserves to have me guide you? Get out of my sight!”
Hearing this, Meng Wange simply shrugged, as if used to it, and walked over to Auntie Zhang’s side.
Auntie Zhang, being the straightforward type, leaned in close to Meng Wange after seeing her get scolded and whispered softly—
“Miss Meng, Miss Su has a bit of a temper. As long as you don’t provoke her, she’ll cool off soon enough. Just let her be.”
Although intended to be a whisper, Auntie Zhang’s voice had a certain penetrating quality, and Su Wanli ended up hearing every single word loud and clear—whether she wanted to or not.
Su Wanli quietly picked up her spoon and began drawing circles in her soup.
‘…Maybe I should put that plan on hold. Judging by her volume alone, the chances of her doing anything secret without being caught are just slightly better than me broadcasting my entire scheme through a megaphone in front of Meng Wange.’
As Auntie Zhang’s “quiet whisper” lingered in the air, Meng Wange thought for a moment before smiling politely and saying—
“It’s alright, Auntie Zhang. Miss Su has actually been very kind to me. There’s no need to worry. Please show me around.”
“O-oh, alright then.”
It was unclear whether Auntie Zhang realized how loud she’d been.
She cast a quick glance at Su Wanli’s back before turning to lead Meng Wange out of the room—
***
“Let’s start with your bedroom. I’ll make sure you remember the layout clearly!”
“Sounds good. I’ll leave it to you, then.”
Meng Wange gave a polite nod and then waved at Su Wanli’s back—
“See you later, Miss Su.”
“…Hmph.”
Su Wanli let out a cold snort through her nose and casually tossed her spoon aside in response.
Only after their footsteps had faded completely from the banquet hall—until she could no longer hear a sound—did Su Wanli finally let out a long sigh and slump back into her chair.
Sigh… ‘I’m so tired…’
‘Being aggressive all the time is exhausting, especially when I have to think before every single word I say—whether it fits the character I’m supposed to be playing.’
‘Sometimes I wonder if acting like this all the way to the end of the story is actually worth the 12 billion the system promised me. ‘
‘I mean, some celebrities make over two million a day just for filming!’
‘And I don’t even have a script. I have to improvise every scene, not knowing when the next one will start or what it’ll be about. That kind of mental pressure is way worse than what actresses deal with.’
‘Thankfully, today’s task seems to be finally over. Not even the most demanding client would arrange two missions in one day—’
Su Wanli abruptly stopped her train of thought.
‘No… I can’t think like that…’
Sure enough, the system’s robotic voice began to beep again the very next second—
[Hello, Host. Your next task is—]
“…Shut up for a second. Let me ask you something—are you reading my thoughts?”
[Apologies. In order to prevent the host from being caught talking to herself in a room, the mind-reading communication feature is permanently active.]
‘Dammit. My fists are clenching on their own.’
Without the slightest concern for Su Wanli’s emotional state, the system continued to deliver its task—
[Currently, Aunt Zhang is guiding Meng Wange on a tour of the Su residence, starting from the third floor. For Su Wanli, this is unacceptable. She refuses to accept that the home she grew up in is about to be taken over by someone else.]
[Overcome with rage, Su Wanli decides to cause trouble during Meng Wange’s little tour—just enough to remind her who the real master of the Su family is.]
[Your task is: Create obstacles during Meng Wange’s tour to embarrass her. Then, end it with a deliberately arrogant taunt.]
“What kind of taunt?”
[Please improvise something fitting for a villainess.]
“…”
‘So that’s how it is. Looks like this isn’t part of the main storyline—more like a character-enhancing side mission. That gives me some creative freedom, at least.’
“But this is coming right after a main task. Meng Wange already started her tour, didn’t she? From the third floor down to the first—that won’t take long at all! Don’t you think the time I have to prepare is kind of tight?”
[According to system calculations, the full tour will take about thirty minutes. If you set the trap on the first floor, you’ll have plenty of time.]
The system’s voice was as cold and rational as ever.
“…Fine. I underestimated how huge a rich person’s house could be…”
Even so, Su Wanli had already decided to vent her frustrations on the system.
“But seriously, as my system, don’t you think you’ve been a little useless so far?”
[To assist you with this task, a complete map of the Su residence has been uploaded. You can view it at any time.]
“…And if I were to—”
[If you have other reasonable requests, the system will process and apply them as needed.]
“…”
For a moment, Su Wanli had nothing to say—not even something to pick a fight over.
She silently picked up a slice of garlic baguette from her plate, dipped it in the corn chowder, and took a bite as she walked step by step toward the exit of the banquet hall.
[Additionally, if you are simply looking to vent your emotions, the system can be switched to Silent Mode. In this mode, the system will not respond, allowing you to let out your frustration freely.]
“System.”
[Yes, Host?]
“Why don’t you be the villainess for once? You’re way better at pissing people off than I am…”