Unknowingly, the day had already turned to dusk.
The orange-gold sunlight filtered through a thin layer of clouds, passing through the windows of the Su residence and casting a radiant golden glow on Meng Wange’s light brown hair.
Su Wanli stood frozen in place.
Meng Wange smiled and continued the action she hadn’t yet finished.
She gently tugged on the end of the bandage and tightened it with a light pull.
Perhaps it was because of the lighting, or maybe the wound was still faintly bleeding, but the red mark on the bandage seemed even more vivid now.
“No need to worry, Miss Su. It’s just a minor injury. I’ve already taken care of the glass shards.”
Meng Wange gave Su Wanli a quick wink with her pale-colored eyes, the corners of her mouth curving into a reassuring smile—like a boxer who had just won a match, waving at her long-lost lover beneath the glow of the setting sun…
‘…Wait! What kind of nonsense is that!?’
Su Wanli shook her head, tossing the strange thought out of her mind.
At the same time, she quickly hid the iodine and band-aids she had brought behind her back.
Meng Wange had already finished wrapping her own wound, rendering the supplies Su Wanli had prepared completely useless.
If she got caught now, not only would she be no help at all, but all the effort she put into playing the role of the “villainess” would come crashing down in an instant!
Watching Su Wanli’s strange movements, Meng Wange raised an eyebrow.
Covering her lips with her fingers, she let out a soft chuckle.
“Could it be that I guessed right? You really came here just to check on me?”
“You…!”
Su Wanli’s cheeks flushed bright red.
‘No, this won’t do.’
‘I can’t get flustered. A true villainess wouldn’t blush like this just because of a couple of teasing words!’
She rubbed her forehead hard and tried to raise her voice, pretending her red face was due to anger.
“Wh-What nonsense!? Meng Wange, don’t get ahead of yourself! I only came to make sure you weren’t up to anything suspicious in the Su household!”
“Oh? I see.”
Meng Wange nodded with an understanding expression, then stepped to the side and gestured toward the hallway.
“Would you like to come inspect my room, then?”
“…!”
‘Damn that Meng Wange! Can’t she see I’m just trying to find an excuse to back off!? Why does she keep pushing like this…’
But don’t think you can control me that easily with a move like this.
I’m the villainess aiming for a hundred and twenty billion—I won’t back down so quickly!
Su Wanli gritted her teeth and shot Meng Wange a sharp glare.
“Heh, don’t forget this is my house. But fine, I’ll check it out. Let’s see just how many spies you’ve planted here under the guise of ‘cleaning up.'”
“Be my guest,” Meng Wange replied in her usual gentle tone.
“Though I must warn you, I didn’t get much time to tidy up, so the room might be a little messy. Please bear with me.”
“I figured as much,” Su Wanli replied coolly.
“Then I’ll just—”
‘…Wait a second. Su Wanli, are you serious right now?’
‘If I take away all the titles—the villainess and heroine, landlord and tenant, woman and woman… strip away all those labels… then isn’t this…’
‘The first time a girl has ever invited me to her room!?’
“…Well, this is actually kind of exciting…”
“…I suggest some things should stay silent. Don’t pop out with a string of ellipses just to remind me you exist.”
With a mix of complicated emotions, Su Wanli took a deep breath and strode confidently into Meng Wange’s room—
She had come in earlier, but that was rushed, and her main goal had been to ask Meng Wange for help with makeup.
She hadn’t had a chance to really look around.
‘Hehe, let’s just call this a reconnaissance mission. If the system complains later, at least I’ll have an excuse.’
After all, what if she got a task like cutting a hole in Meng Wange’s backpack, gluing her chair, or planting a cockroach in her pencil case? She had to know what the girl’s stuff looked like first!
Even though Meng Wange’s room had the exact same layout as Su Wanli’s, the absence of her own messy hoard of collectibles made the space feel much more open.
Since Meng Wange had just cleaned, the walls only had two minimalist black-and-white floral prints.
Her desk held a few scattered textbooks and study supplies.
Even the same fancy coat rack that Su Wanli had in her room looked modest with just a single school uniform hanging from it.
Su Wanli glanced around with a fake air of scrutiny and sighed inwardly.
‘She lives off just this? As expected of a novel’s heroine. If it were me, I wouldn’t last two days in such a boring lifestyle…’
‘If the room had even one weird little item, it could be used as dirt later. But right now, it looked like she was coming up empty.’
“So? Has Miss Su finished her inspection?”
Meng Wange stood at the doorway, smiling sweetly.
“Hmph. What’s the rush? The surface looks clean, sure, but who knows what you’re hiding behind the scenes?”
Su Wanli threw out a meaningless threat, lacking real energy behind it.
Still, she knew full well she probably wouldn’t find anything useful to use against Meng Wange.
She’d just mess around for a bit to maintain her “evil girl” persona.
She casually plopped down in front of Meng Wange’s desk and tugged at the drawer.
‘Hmm? It wouldn’t budge?’
And the moment her fingers brushed the handle, she thought she saw Meng Wange’s body stiffen—just for a second.
‘…Huh? Wait a second.’
Su Wanli’s eyes lit up.
She pointed at the only lockable drawer in the room.
“Meng Wange, what’s in here? Why bother locking it?”
It was probably just because the room hadn’t been fully prepared, and Meng Wange didn’t even have the key.
Still, giving the heroine a hard time like this was part of the joy of being the villainess.
But unexpectedly, Meng Wange didn’t respond right away.
She simply went quiet for a moment, staring directly at Su Wanli.
Su Wanli started to feel a little creeped out under her gaze.
“What are you looking at me like that for? You really do have something shady in there, don’t you—”
Meng Wange slowly shook her head.
“Miss Su, do you really want to see?”
‘Eh? Why so serious? Is it actually something important?’
‘System, what should I do here? Am I allowed to look at this?’
‘…Ah. Great. It’s gone into silent mode again.’
‘Whatever, I’ll just stick to the role.’
Su Wanli swallowed nervously, then stubbornly replied, “Cut the nonsense. Open it. I want to see what you’re hiding.”
Once Su Wanli gave a clear answer, Meng Wange actually seemed relieved.
“…Alright.”
She nodded gently, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a key.
She slid it into the drawer’s lock and turned it with a soft click.