A single sound rang out, breaking the silence.
He muttered, “I’ve truly failed as a proper villain now.”
To think, she’d carelessly accepted the protagonist’s generous offer of food in the Baiying Academy cafeteria, and even sunk so deep into it that she’d closed her eyes, savoring the last drops of Soup from the spoon…
Su Wanli stared silently at Meng Huange’s eyes, her mouth slightly open, and urgently tried to restart her brain.
While she was forcing herself to maintain this awkward posture, her Female Villain Value continued to drop alarmingly. Just a moment ago, it was at 92 points, and in the blink of an eye, it had already fallen to 86…
And it was still dropping! At the terrifying rate of one point per second!
…Calm down, Su Xiaoli, the first thing you need to do is calm down. What’s happened can’t be changed, but, just like you told yourself from the start, there’s still a way to fix things.
The Extra Villainess Value should still be able to buy her some time. Before the Female Villain Value drops below 80, she needed to carefully consider the situation—
It was nothing more than Meng Huange politely offering her a spoonful of Rongcai Soup to taste, and she, out of respect for Meng Huange’s hard work all morning, simply didn’t refuse the invitation.
The only thing that could cause a misunderstanding was that her initial reaction had been a bit too eager, and she’d lingered too long, savoring the Soup.
So, the first thing she needed to do was come up with a reasonable excuse for her actions just now, something to explain herself to the System…
But what should she say? That she’d talked too much and her mouth was dry and thirsty? Or perhaps say that… the Rongcai Soup looked so delicious that she simply couldn’t wait to try it?
Ah, that’s it! She’d found her excuse! This way, whether it was Meng Huange or the System, they’d both understand her reasoning!
Su Wanli let out a long breath, quietly reached out for the spoon once more, and without realizing it, a thin strand of Soup stretched between her tongue and the spoon still in Meng Huange’s hand.
Watching this vivid scene, Su Wanli hastily wiped the corner of her mouth, then gave a soft sigh and shifted her gaze aside—
“Um, so, Meng… Meng Huange…”
“Yes, Miss Xiaoli.”
After several seconds, Meng Huange hesitated before replying, gently placing the spoon back into the Soup bowl, and then very self-consciously covered half her face with her hand.
But the faint blush on the tips of her ears completely exposed what Meng Huange was feeling at this moment.
What the—! Even you are getting shy now!? Wasn’t I just going along with your intentions by taking a taste from your spoon? Now you’re even more embarrassed than I am. What am I supposed to do!
All right, calm down, don’t panic, don’t let yourself get flustered. Her Female Villain Value hadn’t completely tanked yet. All she needed was to carry out her plan step by step, just as she’d thought before.
Su Wanli took a deep breath, straightened her back with composure, and said in a low voice—
“…You… You’ve given me enough already. Even if this Soup is really that delicious, I… I don’t want to waste food, so just a small taste is plenty!”
“I—I see…”
“That’s right! Just a single taste, that’s all! I’ve completely understood now, this so-called Rongcai Soup isn’t anything special. Compared to what you usually make, it’s thousands of times worse! Don’t—don’t try to tempt me with it again. You finish the rest yourself!”
As soon as she said this, Su Wanli’s Female Villain Value finally stopped dropping and began to slowly rise again.
However, compared to the shining peak state after a perfectly played scene, Su Wanli’s current Female Villain Value was still in critical condition, dangerously low, and even the Extra Villainess Value could only provide less than half a dose of the villainess medicine…
Forget it, as long as she was alive, it was fine. And not only was she alive, she’d truly tasted Soup made and served by Meng Huange’s own hand.
Even so, the price paid for a bowl of Soup was really a bit too much…
“Very well, Miss Xiaoli.”
It seemed Meng Huange hadn’t yet recovered from Su Wanli’s bold move just now, as she was still covering her mouth tightly, stiffly stirring the Soup in the bowl.
After that, in order to thoroughly follow Su Wanli’s instructions, Meng Huange picked up the bowl, lifted her snow-white neck, and finished the remaining Soup in one go.
“All right, Miss Xiaoli.”
Meng Huange gently turned the bowl over to show Su Wanli it was empty, then quietly stood up—
“I’ll go get you another drink. Please wait here for a moment…”
“Yes, go on… Don’t take too long.”
Watching Meng Huange’s figure as she slipped into the crowd of students, Su Wanli finally let out a long breath, then ruthlessly smacked her own forehead.
Enough! That’s enough! Stop staring at Meng Huange’s back! If she kept this up, how would she ever figure out what Meng Huange really liked? If she couldn’t even figure out that much, her future would definitely end up exactly as written in the script—after Meng Huange’s revenge, she’d be thrown straight into jail!
Su Xiaoli, Su Xiaoli, you must really get a grip on your scatterbrained state. Just how many times have you gotten into trouble because you were distracted by Meng Huange’s presence? Even on the first day she came, at the welcoming banquet, you lost yourself once already. Why haven’t you learned your lesson?
Even if Meng Huange’s back was really that attractive, you can’t just keep staring, right?
While giving herself a mental scolding, Su Wanli took out her lunch bag, ruthlessly wiped the awkward memory from her mind, and took a big bite of the meat cutlet in her bowl.
All right, Su Xiaoli, your only task now—
—that is, to carefully observe how Meng Huange would make her next move after this…
While Su Wanli was still in the cafeteria, pondering the mystery of Meng Huange’s preferences, the Bai Family’s young master of Class 1, Second Year Experimental, Bai Hewei, sat calmly at his desk, elegantly writing on the blank paper before him.
If one looked closer, they’d see that he’d written down Su Xiaoli and Meng Huange’s names, and the dark ink had nearly obscured the original characters with repeated strokes.
“…Disciplinary Committee Member, cheating, the victim…”
Whenever he recalled Su Xiaoli’s indifferent expression and the words she’d said, a flame of anger burned fiercely in Bai Hewei’s chest.
He couldn’t stand it. If her plan had only targeted him, he could’ve tolerated it and gotten through somehow.
But she’d pretended, in front of everyone, not to know him at all, and even looked at him with that pitiful gaze!
She’d claimed that the Zhou Country students were the real masterminds and that she was just an innocent bystander, drawing a clear line between himself and the other Zhou Country students…
Originally, after the exam results came out, everyone would have enthusiastically come to him and Bai Hewei for answers, but today they only offered Bai Hewei perfunctory smiles before leaving the classroom together.
Damn you, Su Xiaoli, I really—
Just as Bai Hewei’s grip nearly snapped the pen in his hand, the rear door of the Class 1, Second Year Experimental classroom opened with a soft creak.
“Young Master Bai, I finally found you. Why are you still here?”
Wang Zheng quickly walked up to Bai Hewei, placed several printed documents on his desk.
“Here’s what you asked me to investigate. The results are in.”
“Oh?”
Bai Hewei nodded coolly at Wang Zheng, then picked up the papers and carefully read through them.
As expected, it was just as he’d imagined.
It said Meng Huange was Su Xiaoli’s supposed ‘best friend,’ but even after searching through the Sujia genealogy, there was no connection. She was just a bumpkin born in a small northern town.
Moreover, she’d grown up in a single-parent family, raised by her mother. After her mother passed away six years ago, Meng Huange became a complete orphan and was sent to the local Welfare Institute.
Much later, Meng Huange’s grades improved, and she received funding from the Foundation established by the Sujia. Living with the Sujia and entering Baiying Academy was all thanks to Su Heng’s favor.
…So that’s it, a girl who clawed her way up from the very bottom of society.
No wonder, in just one short winter break, Su Xiaoli had learned so many devious tricks. It was all thanks to this Meng Huange giving her ideas, wasn’t it?
Heh, just a bumpkin from the north who got lucky. She should’ve just kept quiet.
Being Su Xiaoli’s lapdog is fine, but daring to provoke Young Master Bai—now that’s her mistake…
“Looks like the person Su always praises is none other than this Miss Meng Huange for her academic achievements, hm—”
Bai Hewei sneered, then crooked a finger at Wang Zheng.
“In that case, let’s make sure her grades turn out to be fake after all…”