No, I won’t get depressed.
Even when she ordered her Egg Change in Xuefeng and it was discontinued, during that entire chaotic mess,
She never once showed even the slightest hint of unhappiness!
A female protagonist who could endure so much, yet now, just because she was asked to come out and play, she’s sulking? What a terrifying queen of diligence.
Su Wanli quietly lowered her head and brushed away the fine strands of hair in front of her face.
There was nothing to be done; things had come to this point. The only solution was to use delicious desserts to calm her hidden anger.
She had specially spent ten personal points in the System to pick out this Spring Sweet Shop, surely the treats here would be delicious enough to slightly make up for her forcing the queen of diligence away from Xuefeng. Or at least, let Meng Huange’s annoyance with herself be a little less than her annoyance with Bai Hewei.
If, at tomorrow’s banquet, she really needed to go all out and make a ruthless scene, she hoped to at least be ranked after that Bai family scion…
To be honest, as a reader, she was not suited to actively raise Meng Huange’s favorability toward Bai Family.
But if she switched her thinking, and tried to decrease Meng Huange’s disgust toward Bai Hewei—wasn’t that an easy task?
Su Wanli gently rubbed her chin, thinking about how to reveal the truth of that event to Meng Huange.
Should she just tell her directly? Or try to guide her subtly? Or maybe strike with a bit of righteous indignation?
Forget it. That didn’t seem to fit her own persona very well. She might as well just stand up and shout, “The Bai Family is truly shameless, even things like slandering people, they’ll stoop that low…”
Although this awkward atmosphere made it hard to open her mouth, Meng Huange didn’t have anyone by her side who could stand in the God’s perspective and tell her the real story, nor did she have a System to help her. Even if it was embarrassing, she had to be the one to explain things clearly like the consort telling Empress Xiao who the real mastermind was!
“Tang’er, that… about your own…”
Just as Su Wanli was working herself up to express her indignation and had yet to slap the table and stand,
A clear and crisp sound came from the Spring Sweet Shop’s kitchen, followed by a sweet, baked aroma wafting through the room.
A staff member smiled and brought over a platter with three pale pink peach blossom milk tarts, then politely bowed.
“Ladies, these are our shop’s specialty desserts—tree-peony milk pudding and lotus white osmanthus cakes. The osmanthus cakes are also ready. Would you like us to cut them into portions for you?”
…Ugh, talk about timing. She had just managed to gather her pent-up resentment, and now it was instantly dispelled.
Fine, things were already like this, so it was better to focus on the desserts. When your taste buds are overtaken by sweetness, your brain will naturally feel a sense of happiness. Hopefully, after eating, Meng Huange would feel a little happier and wouldn’t show that hollow, lifeless look in her eyes again…
What I mean is, after eating these desserts, the female protagonist’s mood should improve a bit, and then she’ll let down her guard around me, making it easier for us to carry out that grand girl’s plan afterward!
Quickly rationalizing her own behavior, Su Wanli tapped her knuckles on the table and glanced at the staff member.
“No need to cut, just bring them over as they are and place them in the center of the table.”
Perhaps because it was a weekday, there weren’t many customers in the shop. As soon as the first dessert was served, the rest soon followed, one by one, onto their table.
Looking around, every dessert was bright and colorful, fragrant and inviting, and adorned with delicate seasonal decorations—perfect for snapping a few photos and posting online to rack up likes.
“Why are you just staring? If I don’t move my chopsticks, does that mean you can’t either? Honestly, you’re so young but already stuck in these bad dinner table habits…”
Seeing that Meng Huange still hadn’t touched her utensils, Su Wanli sighed, picked up her own knife and fork, and neatly sliced a portion that had both the chocolate and the fruit, and even included a little cartoon animal decoration.
If only the System allowed her a limited ability to adjust Meng Huange’s favorability; then she could immediately push the most perfect piece right to Meng Huange’s side.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. The System and her “heart points” were always watching her like a hawk…
Su Wanli shook her head, cut her portion of dessert into even smaller pieces, and began to eat quietly.
It was really quite good. The lotus was fresh, the milk rich but not overpowering, and the fruit jelly added a new texture. The cake was sandy and soft, almost like eating ice cream.
Seeing that Meng Huange still hadn’t moved, Su Wanli couldn’t keep up her persona any longer. She stood up and cut another fairly complete portion, plated it, and placed it at Meng Huange’s side.
“Here, this one’s for you. I cut this just for you, so don’t tell me you want me to feed it to your mouth before you’ll eat.”
After a moment of silence, Meng Huange looked up at Su Wanli and opened her mouth slightly.
“Miss Su, you… why did you back then…”
“…No, it’s nothing. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
Meng Huange placed the plate Su Wanli passed over in front of her and quietly let out a breath.
…What’s wrong with you, Meng Huange? What did you want to ask Miss Su?
Did you want to ask if she stood up back then to help clear your doubts? Or was it simply because she wanted to satisfy her own urge to perform, that she willingly got herself dragged into this mess?
Either way, whatever Su Wanli was thinking—whether it was the former, the latter, or both—it didn’t really make a difference to her in the end.
Enough. Don’t keep showing such a conflicted expression, or else Miss Su will start to suspect you.
Meng Huange looked at Su Wanli’s clearly worried face, and as usual, she put on a gentle and beautiful smile.
As Su Wanli’s loyal adviser, and a handy tool, when facing her gratitude, what else should she do? Was there anything to consider?
Taking a deep breath, she picked up her knife and fork and cut off a small piece of the exquisite, gorgeous osmanthus cake in front of her, and put it in her mouth.
“…Mmm, the processed sea breeze cheese mousse and the osmanthus oil are combined perfectly. The layers are rich, and both the texture and flavor are impeccable.”
After racking her brain to come up with some pleasant comments, Meng Huange smiled and nodded slightly to Su Wanli.
“Thank you for bringing me here, Miss Su.”
“…What, is it really that hard to enjoy?”
Su Wanli gently tilted her head, looking at Meng Huange with a wry smile, and said coldly,
“But your expression doesn’t look like you’re enjoying the dessert at all—instead, it looks like I’m forcing you to eat it.”
Meng Huange paused for a moment, then kept up her gentle expression, smiling lightly at Su Wanli.
“…That’s not it, Miss Su, I just—”
“Alright, alright, you don’t have to explain. If you don’t like it, just say so. Don’t force yourself all the time; I wonder who you’re putting on this act for.”
Su Wanli casually cut off Meng Huange’s unfinished sentence, then used the tip of her fork to scoop up a bit of sweet cream from the osmanthus cake, leaned forward, and poked it at Meng Huange’s chest.
“Go on, take a look at yourself in the window. When humans feel blessed, their faces don’t look as stiff as yours.”