“Wait… Wait. Okay.”
Su Wanli stood at her bedroom door, silently psyching herself up.
‘Alright, I’ll prepare myself mentally, then kick the door open. I’ll follow the prompts from the glasses to keep my Villainess Value around 90. I’ll use some wicked words to lock Meng Huange in my room for the whole day and smoothly finish today’s Villainess Task.’
Strictly speaking, it might have been more logical to take Meng Huange back to her own room, but that room was empty—nothing but books everywhere. There wasn’t even a shred of space for someone to rest or relax. In her own room, at least, there were plenty of things for entertainment.
‘Uh, what I mean is, locking Meng Huange in a space that is relatively more unfamiliar to her is more wicked from an objective perspective, right?’
After making her explanation to the system in advance, Su Wanli took a deep breath and pushed open her bedroom door.
“Oh, Miss Su, you’re back.”
She saw the delicate, black-haired girl smiling as she tied her hair back. She was neatly dressed and standing elegantly before Su Wanli’s desk, tidying up the clutter on the surface with perfect order.
Su Wanli, who had originally thought the heroine would be lying weakly on the bed waiting for her, froze for a moment.
“Meng Huange… You, what are you doing?”
“After resting for a while, I feel much better. So, I took the liberty of tidying up your room a bit.”
Meng Huange casually wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead and smiled sweetly at Su Wanli.
“I’m sorry. My situation delayed your schedule today. If you’re late, I’ll explain everything to the Director so you won’t lose face in front of your classmates.”
“Face? What face? Losing face because I didn’t go to school on time?”
Hearing this, Su Wanli shrugged helplessly.
“Don’t make me laugh. To me, going to class more than four days a week is what I’d call losing face. If it weren’t for that evening banquet, I wouldn’t even want to go to the School Maple. But you, how…”
Before Su Wanli could finish her sentence, a bright light suddenly flashed across the lenses of her glasses.
**[A. “Actually, why are you still working in this state? Be careful not to strain yourself. You need to recover properly.” — Villainess Value decreases by ten points.]**
**[B. “Have you burned your brain out? Is your head still clear? Who said you could touch the things in my room? If you love working so much, go back to your own room. Don’t get in my way!” — Villainess Value increases by three points.]**
**[C. “A sick person should act like one. Get your target back to bed and stay there. If you move again without my permission, believe me, I’ll break your legs!” — Villainess Value increases by five points.]**
Looking at the three lines of dialogue that were almost too cliché to bear, the corners of Su Wanli’s mouth twitched. She selected a few elements from B and C and spoke to Meng Huange.
“Hmph, who said you could touch the things in my room? A sick person should act like one. Get back to bed and stay there!”
**[Villainess Value has dropped to 83 points.]**
‘Why!?’
‘Weren’t options B and C supposed to increase the Villainess Value!? Why did combining them make it drop so much!?’
**[It is possible the Villainess System determined that your words were actually showing concern for the heroine. After all, you cut out most of the aggressive parts.]**
Hearing the few lines Su Wanli had plucked from the prompter, Meng Huange shook her head with a faint smile.
“Miss Su, you don’t need to worry about my health. Although I feel a little listless right now, I can still handle small things like this for you.”
“Didn’t I say I didn’t ask for your help with these small things? You stup—”
The word “stupid” hadn’t even left her mouth when Su Wanli instinctively bit her tongue.
‘…No, my Villainess Value is already down to 83. If this kind of weak-aggression tactic is misinterpreted by the system again, it’ll really fall below eighty.’
Thus, Su Wanli could only let out a simple sigh. She walked to the desk in the room with her hands behind her back and gestured toward the food cart at the door.
“Fine. Since you say you can handle small things, push that food cart over there into the room. Today, we’re eating in here…”
**[Villainess Value is dropping to…]**
“…Of, of course, it’s not for the sake of your health! I just haven’t eaten in my room for a long time. Compared to the dull atmosphere of the dining hall, appreciating fine food while looking at the scenery outside the window is a much higher form of enjoyment!”
Looking at the Villainess Value that managed to stay at 83, Su Wanli breathed a sigh of relief and gave Meng Huange a wicked smile.
“Considering you’re sick today, I’ll let you share it with me. You should be grateful.”
**[Villainess Value has dropped to 81.]**
‘…So, I’m asking, why!? Which part of those words didn’t sound malicious!?’
**[In reality, changes in the Villainess Value are often judged based on the heroine’s psychological state. Therefore, it is possible that after hearing your explanation, the heroine still misunderstood your motives.]**
Su Wanli gritted her teeth, looking at Meng Huange’s eyes, which were weary but contained a hint of a smile.
‘That’s true! Just as Meng Huange is sick with a fever, I lock her in the room and don’t let her go to school, then conveniently bring the food cart inside to eat with her… No matter how you look at it, it seems like I’m looking out for her health!’
‘But what else can I do? The Main Mission is to lock Meng Huange in the room. I can’t just not give her food all day, can I?’
‘So that’s it. This must be the “contradiction” the system mentioned. No wonder it insisted I buy glasses that could predict the fluctuations of the Villainess Value…’
Now it was a problem. The Villainess Value had reached 81 points; there was absolutely no room for error. Next, no matter what lines the glasses spat out, she would have to say them exactly as they were!
As if responding to Su Wanli’s thoughts, before Meng Huange could push the cart into the room with her somewhat unsteady steps, several lines of text quietly appeared on the prompt glasses.
**[A. (Step forward to help with the cart) “Meng Huange, let me help you. After we finish eating, rest well. I’ll take good care of you.” — Villainess Value decreases by ten points.]**
**[B. (Step forward and knock over the food cart, then give her a hard slap) “Meng Huange, I was only talking. You didn’t really think I wanted to eat with a low-life like you, did you? How hilarious.” — Villainess Value increases by five points.]**
**[C. (Step forward, snatch the food cart away, push Meng Huange onto the bed, and stare down at her without saying a word for ten seconds) — Villainess Value increases by ten points.]**
‘These… What kind of options are these?’