Of course the things written in a diary are true—after all, it’s not like anyone else is going to read it.
Still, even when she was younger, Meng Wange knew that some things simply couldn’t be written down in full detail.
For instance, writing an impossible wish on the Christmas wish paper wasn’t because she naively thought it would come true.
No, she did it to stir the teachers’ sympathy, hoping they might favor her just a little more in the days to come.
Or like that one time—sure, she really had been locked inside the room.
But she didn’t actually miss out on the opportunity.
On the contrary, she became the only one who held that chance in her hands.
That day, Meng Wange had secretly climbed out of the orphanage through a window.
She witnessed the so-called “rich man” bowing and scraping as he met with someone else, and even eavesdropped on their conversation.
That’s when she first heard the name “Su Wanli.”
So that’s how it was.
What they wanted wasn’t a child—what they wanted was a shadow.
A shadow of an arrogant and spoiled princess.
‘Then… if I’m good enough, I could be…’
***
Shaking her head to pull herself out of old memories, Meng Wange silently walked to a corner of her room and gently touched the wall in front of her.
On the other side of this wall was the room where the princess lived.
Su Wanli.
Remembering the panicked and flustered look Su Wanli had on her face when she left just now, Meng Wange showed a genuine smile for the first time.
‘Heh. So she’s not quite as awful as I imagined. She actually got flustered over such a little story?’
‘…What a cute girl.’
‘If that’s the case, maybe I can afford to be a little more aggressive?’
Turning toward her vanity mirror, Meng Wange straightened her clothes and once again painted that perfect, practiced smile on her face.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Su Wanli pushed open her bedroom door with frustration and flopped down in front of her vanity mirror.
Staring at the reflection of her face—her ears still flushed red—she couldn’t help but cover her cheeks with her hands.
“System, seriously, is this how the plot was supposed to go?”
[…]
The system’s silence only made Su Wanli’s question ring louder.
“Hey, hey, hey! Say something! Don’t ghost me!”
[…]
“If you don’t talk, I swear I’ll fu—”
Mid-rant, she suddenly paused.
After taking a moment to cool down, she narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice:
“…Disable silent mode.”
At last, the familiar electronic voice of the system echoed in Su Wanli’s ear.
[Regarding the host’s question—although certain events have been triggered prematurely due to your unauthorized actions, the main storyline has only deviated slightly. There is no major issue.]
“I’m not asking about the damn plot! I’m talking about Meng Wange’s attitude! Her attitude!”
Su Wanli slammed one hand on the table while counting off on her other fingers.
“Let’s go, System. I’ve been here all day. Tell me—have I done anything bad? Has my villainess score gone up?”
[Of course. You have successfully completed all assigned tasks, and your Villainess Value has consistently remained above 90. You are an exceptionally outstanding villainess.]
“Okay, great, you admit that. Then let me ask you this—Meng Wange’s hostility level toward me. Is it really seventy?”
[Currently, it seems so.]
Getting that reply from the system, Su Wanli slammed the table again.
“Then what the hell is her attitude supposed to be? If she hates me, can she at least do it properly? All day long it’s just, ‘Are you worried about me?’ ‘Do you want to come to my room?’ ‘Want to try this soup again?’ And then she grabs my hand and pulls it straight to her chest…”
As she spoke, Su Wanli’s tongue suddenly tangled itself, and she instinctively covered her blushing cheeks with both hands.
“Is this supposed to be hatred? Isn’t this straight-up flirting!? Do you have any idea how much psychological damage Meng Wange’s ‘accidental’ gestures are doing to me?! How am I supposed to enjoy being the evil villainess at this rate?!”
The system buzzed for a moment, then hesitantly responded—
[Host… if I’m not mistaken, I believe Meng Wange’s behavior is something I should be questioning, while you figure out how to fix it?]
“…”
Su Wanli sucked in a sharp breath and pointed furiously at her reflection in the mirror.
“Shut up! All you ever do is pass the buck! All you care about is your precious rating system! Tell me, what’s the point of all that back-and-forth? How does it help build up our evil villainess empire?!”
[…You’re right?]
“Good that you know! So stop fixating on those default tasks all the time! Can’t you analyze the heroine’s personality properly for once? Figure out how to bully her more effectively? Think about how to actually set up some obstacles for her character growth! Otherwise, I’m stuck doing all the work, and when nothing pans out, you still end up blaming me!”
[…]
Nice.
She had successfully gaslit the system into enabling its own mute mode.
Su Wanli huffed, wiping the sweat off her brow.
***
On the way back to her room, she suddenly remembered a common setup in some of the novels she’d read—if you failed to complete the system’s tasks, not only would you miss out on rewards, you might even get punished.
And if your performance was poor, you might still be penalized anyway.
Judging by Meng Wange’s attitude, something had definitely gone wrong.
If the system suddenly changed its mind and decided to punish her, that’d be a real mess.
In short, deflect the blame for now.
She’d followed the system’s directions to the letter.
If things weren’t going well, that was the task’s fault, not hers.
Let the system figure it out on its own!
Having vented her frustrations and successfully silenced the system, Su Wanli stretched with satisfaction and flopped onto her bed.
Whew, finally—some actual time to herself.
The day had been exhausting.
Now it was time to unwind.
When she’d glanced at the map earlier, she vaguely remembered seeing something like a game room nearby.
Perfect—she could play for a while and blow off steam.
She was a rich heiress now, after all.
Might as well enjoy the perks.
This evening gown was tight and awkward to move in anyway.
First things first—get into something more comfortable…
***
Knock knock. Knock knock.
Just as Su Wanli was figuring out where to go have fun, a soft knock came from the door.
‘…Hmm?’
She looked up and glanced at the ornate clock in her room.
‘Hmm, already past 6 p.m. Who would come knocking at this hour?’
Let’s see… with Su Heng’s temper, there was no way he’d come looking for her, and definitely not in such a gentle way.
‘Besides, hadn’t he given the entire staff the day off today?’
‘Wait a second…’
‘Ha. No way, right? The system had promised—no more plot events for the rest of the day.’
‘Maybe it was just the chef calling her down for dinner?’
Feigning nonchalance, Su Wanli raised her voice and called out, “Who is it?”
The knocking stopped.
A gentle and cool voice came from outside the door.
“Miss Su, it’s me. Meng Wange.”