In truth, this wasn’t such a complicated problem.
Meng Huange sat at the white desk, smiling as she raised her hands to support her chin.
Thinking back carefully, on the very first day she met Su Wanli, it was at that Feast of Ashes held for her by Uncle Su. At that time, Su Xiaoli had already made a similar exclamation to her.
“—I was just thinking, even the way you eat looks so elegant. How do you do it?”
Back then, she had naturally regarded Su Xiaoli’s words as a kind of mockery. But what if, at that time, she wasn’t teasing her at all, but was sincerely expressing her amazement?
Gazing at the reflection in the tall window before her, Meng Huange quietly let out a small laugh.
—This face, this naturally beautiful appearance, this exquisite visage passed down from her mother—
Yes, Meng Huange knew very well that she was a beautiful person.
Long ago, before her mother died, many around Meng Huange would unconsciously praise her looks. But later, those sincere compliments became less and less frequent, replaced by jealous expressions, cold glances, malicious slander, and baseless ridicule.
The last time someone had looked at her with such simple and stunned admiration—perhaps it was just four days ago, the moment she first encountered Su Wanli.
At that time, Su Wanli had been wearing a thin, sheer silk robe, eyes still hazy from sleep, her hair a tousled mess. She clearly wanted to dress up in front of her, but only half her face poked out of the room, calling loudly for help.
But there was no one else outside her room—just herself, having just entered the Su Residence less than a minute before, standing in the corridor under Uncle Su’s instructions, and locking eyes with Su Wanli.
In that instant, Su Wanli froze where she was, staring dumbly at her face, even unconsciously echoing her own words in a dazed greeting.
—Completely forgetting the dignity she was supposed to maintain as the Sujia’s eldest daughter.
After that, in her subsequent interactions with Su Wanli, she had often noticed Su Wanli quietly sizing her up.
It was a clean, unoffending gaze. Maybe it was because she herself had an outstanding appearance, and was never lacking in anything.
Meng Huange had never found Su Wanli’s gaze unpleasant. On the contrary, whenever Su Wanli looked at her, she would subconsciously adjust her own state, striving to present her most perfect side at every moment.
At first, it was merely to win Su Xiaoli’s trust, to have her accept her existence, and to secure her place within the Sujia. But, at some unknown point, her intentions had quietly changed.
—Maybe it was like those elementary schoolboys who would unconsciously straighten their backs when the people they liked looked their way. She, too, had grown used to deliberately showing her most perfect side in front of Su Wanli.
Her mother had once warned her that using her looks for gain was a low and despicable method. But now, things were a little different from what her mother had said.
Recalling the moment, an hour ago, when she and Su Wanli’s faces were pressed cheek to cheek, that flush of crimson on her neck, and the pounding of her heart—Meng Huange’s lips began to curl upward.
Thanks to that sudden hallucination, she had managed to work through a few things.
—Do not desire to be blessed by others.
Of course, that was never something her mother would have told her. Even in her memories, her mother was cold and severe, but would never say such words.
This was a signal from the deepest part of her heart.
Perhaps, out of some lingering resentment, after leaving that wretched environment, she had begun to feel a certain unease inside.
It was as if something within her was trying to rebuild a wall, to resist any kindness and warmth from outside, and… to turn her back into the person who would stop at nothing.
She worried that, if she were to lose herself in the gentle warmth of the Capital, she might forget where she came from, and lose sight of her goal.
Meng Huange gave a light tug at her hair, fished the Steel Spoon from her pocket, and tossed it into the drawer under the desk, pulling her Diary toward her.
She could do it. Of course she could. If she hadn’t always believed that, she’d have perished long ago in that Northern Town.
Everything was unfolding just as she’d planned. If not for that brief moment of wavering, it was only because she suddenly had an additional goal in her mind.
—And that was, after completing the task entrusted to her by her mother, her true destination.
Meng Huange sighed and did not open the Diary, only stood up from the desk and walked to the Wall between herself and Su Wanli’s room.
If she had to say, after fulfilling her promise to her mother, the only place she wanted to linger was here.
How ironic. Before coming to Su Wanli’s side, she’d thought this was only the starting point, the beginning of her plan, a simple relay.
Yet in just four days, she had become like this. If her mother in the afterlife had a spirit, she would probably begin to worry whether she could complete her plan.
Meng Huange gently touched her hair. The Mother’s Hairpin had always rested there, giving off a chill each night.
Don’t worry, nothing will change. I will still press forward on my chosen path, making use of everything I can use. Only, now, I’m starting to consider what will happen afterward.
Meng Huange pressed her palm lightly against the Wall, closing her eyes.
If using Su Wanli, using Su Qing’s fatherly love for her, even using the whole Sujia—if that was her inevitable path, then what she must do was not self-pity, but to do everything possible to make up for them.
Moreover, what she intended to do would absolutely make Su Wanli feel angry, even hatred, resisting any further contact with her.
What then? She was already well aware that she could no longer easily leave Su Wanli’s side.
In that case, there was only one thing left to do.
—Do her utmost, display her value and charm before Su Xiaoli, so that Su Wanli would feel an overwhelming attraction toward her, yet would have no way to leave, and that would be enough.
Meng Huange gently brushed her hair behind her ear, and the Wall on this side seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
“Sorry, Miss Xiaoli.”
“I am just such a shameless woman. As long as I can stay by your side, I will do anything.”
“…So, please be prepared.”