Watching the teacher up on the podium gesticulating wildly as he lectured, Su Wanli sat in silence, letting out a long breath as she slumped over her desk.
Ever since the pressure of exams had lifted, even attending class seemed so much more relaxed. Knowledge now seemed to flow naturally into her ears, drifting out again through her fingertips without any obstruction.
Su Wanli glanced absently at the notes written on the blackboard, then turned her head to look out the window at the windswept scenery.
The sky today was layered with rich grayish tones, occasionally dotted with streaks of white clouds drifting westward with the breeze, until the sunlight on the horizon dyed them a soft, warm hue.
To be honest, today was truly a stifling day.
The whole morning and most of the afternoon, nothing worth noting had happened around her. Teachers taught as usual, students idly passed the time, and no one had come to make trouble for her. Even Meng Huange was, as always, impossibly beautiful…
Ahem, no, she definitely hadn’t been sneaking glances at Meng Huange all day. As a Villainess whose score couldn’t afford to drop any further, her willpower was of course strong enough to prevent her from doing anything out of character!
It was absolutely not because of that debuff she’d picked up this morning that had left her nearly as nearsighted as a mole until just now.
Sigh, eyesight really is important. She had to take good care of her vision—otherwise, if she became truly nearsighted, she wouldn’t be able to appreciate the beauty of the world anymore.
Still, even if things got blurry, Meng Huange’s silhouette would remain beautiful. It was like those artistic trends where people would imagine the details the artist left obscure, adding a touch of imagination and a sense of wonder to the beauty.
Thinking of this, Su Wanli quietly tapped her cheek, then turned back around, glancing once more at Meng Huange’s profile.
Ah, to be able to spend time with such a beautiful girl—if the System didn’t keep assigning her Missions, she couldn’t even imagine how blessed she might feel.
Of course, even with the Tasks, she already felt plenty blessed. This morning had even brought her a bit of good fortune: the System had, in its mysterious way, added another Explosive Point to her Progress Bar. She only needed one more for the Shop System to open.
However, when the Explosive Point increased, Meng Huange had been sitting upright beside her, as if she hadn’t done anything remarkable at all.
Heh, it wasn’t hard to guess. The reason for the Explosive Point was probably the news that Meng Huange, this year’s top student, had her name spread across the entire Baiying Academy.
Full marks in language, full marks in math, a high score in English—the dazzling Halo of the Heroine made her, unsurprisingly, the top student in the school. Such results were probably unprecedented and unmatched.
But in this place where grades hardly mattered, Meng Huange’s records didn’t stir much of a wave. Most people didn’t even bother to check the results board.
Thinking of this, Su Wanli let out a soft sigh, then raised her head to glance at the clock on the classroom ceiling.
It was already half past five in the afternoon. When this class ended, it would finally be time for Baiying Academy to let out for the day.
After that would be the Evening Banquet hosted by the Bai Family.
Speaking of which, as Meng Huange had said before, if she wanted to attend the Evening Banquet—
—she’d probably need to earn Su Heng’s approval with her grades…
But, it was already this late. Was she supposed to notify him after school? If her so-called “guardian” suddenly changed his mind and discovered she’d only ranked twentieth in the whole grade, would he even allow her to go to that kind of event?
Su Wanli frowned slightly, subconsciously tapping her locker.
“…Hey, Meng Huange, Meng Huange~”
Eh?
Meng Huange turned, tilting her head as she looked at Su Wanli.
“What’s wrong, Wanli?”
“I just realized, I never told Su Heng I ranked twentieth in the grade. Did you reach out to him in advance?”
“…No, I haven’t said anything. But since you’ve already met Uncle Su’s requirements, we can naturally attend the Evening Banquet properly.”
“But if he doesn’t tell us, how will we even know where the banquet is being held…”
“The Bai Family is the second largest family in South City after the Su Family. I’m sure your driver knows the way to the Bai Family estate. As for the Evening Banquet, I’d guess it’ll most likely be held at the Bai Family’s main house. What do you think?”
…Ahem, by that logic, she really had asked a rather pointless question.
Su Wanli rubbed her temples, then relaxed and slumped back onto her desk.
Since the qualifications to attend the Academy Banquet were all settled, it was probably time for the System to give her a new Mission.
It wasn’t easy to have a quiet, uneventful day. Who knew what kind of trouble the System would rope her into next…
[Host, every Mission issued by the System has its reasons. It’s never entirely out of nowhere.]
Tsk, just when she was silently complaining in her mind, it immediately became displeased.
Su Wanli raised her head, giving a cold chuckle.
Since you’ve already spoken up, are you here to assign me a Task for the banquet?
[Correct. Now that you’ve successfully gained admission to the Bai Family’s Evening Banquet, your Main Mission has also been updated accordingly.]
[As a top-tier Villainess, our usual Mission is to create obstacles for the Heroine’s growth. But this Academy Banquet is different. Everything we’ve done up till now was for this very event—to shatter the malicious rumors the White Crane spread about us a month ago, and to make him apologize to us in front of everyone.]
[However, the Academy Banquet is an unpredictable venue. Even the System cannot guarantee a 100% prediction of everyone’s actions at the banquet. Thus, in this Mission, the System will not limit your specific approach, but only point out a major goal you must accomplish.]
[First, your most important goal is, of course, to find a way to stop the White Crane from spreading these rumors, and to make him apologize to you in public.]
[Second, as the Heroine Meng Huange steps onto South City’s social stage for the first time, she’s bound to attract the attention of various factions at the Evening Banquet. What you must do is use your status as Host to give Meng Huange as much chance as possible to display her brilliance—specifically, to challenge her to do something she normally wouldn’t do.]
…Make Meng Huange do something she normally wouldn’t do.
Are you telling me that if I see a grand piano in the middle of the banquet hall, I should tap Meng Huange on the shoulder and ask her to play “Flight of the Bumblebee” for me?
[That’s exactly right. As expected of the most outstanding Villainess, your understanding of the Mission is as precise as ever.]
Even though she’d received the System’s approval, Su Wanli still couldn’t help but smack her forehead in exasperation.
…Rather than a Villainess, this was clearly more like being an NPC tasked with throwing random challenges at the Heroine!
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