“Okay, let’s try to think about what Meng Wange would do!”
After putting on the suit jacket that didn’t quite fit, Su Wanli stood silently in front of her bedroom door, pondering her next move.
As a shrewd, capable, and considerate steward, what would Meng Wange do when faced with her own master having a fever?
If she remembered correctly, on the second day after Meng Wange arrived at the Su family home, Su Wanli had caught a severe cold because she hadn’t dried her hair the night before.
At that time, Meng Wange… she… she…
She had simply acted as if nothing were wrong, ate breakfast with her, and then took out several previously prepared notebooks, demanding that Su Wanli go upstairs for tutoring. That study session had lasted the entire morning…
‘Wait, was it like that? As a qualified steward, should one lock their master in a room and force them to do things they don’t want to do at all?’
… No, that wasn’t right. Meng Wange only forced her to study because it was Su Wanli’s own wish. As a steward, what she should actually do is perfectly execute all the tasks assigned by the master!
Exactly. In the end, what she should be learning wasn’t Meng Wange’s specific actions, but her perfect steward spirit —
— In order to establish a foothold in the Su family as much as possible, no matter how unreasonable the request she made, Meng Wange would accept it without complaint. She would go through fire and water for it without hesitation.
‘If I can show this kind of determination in front of Meng Wange, then even if her heart is made of iron, it will be melted by me sooner or later!’
However, the prerequisite for showing determination was having a task to complete. But Meng Wange hadn’t made any requests of her at all?
Thinking of this, Su Wanli furrowed her brows tightly and stood before the door, lost in thought for a moment.
Exactly. No matter how much she changed her clothes or the persona she played, Meng Wange herself wouldn’t change. Since she said there was nothing she needed Su Wanli to do, then she really didn’t have anything in mind.
However, that didn’t mean she could do nothing. A so-called steward was someone who could find a way to contribute even when the master said everything was fine.
‘Su Wanli, think carefully about how to make a meager contribution to the Aura of Main Heroine who is currently sick with a fever.’
After interacting with Meng Wange for so many days, she had more or less learned some of Meng Wange’s preferences and knew what would make her happy. Even if she didn’t lack anything material, she could still satisfy Meng Wange’s spiritual needs to a certain extent…
Right?
‘… Wait, when is Meng Wange actually happy?’
Su Wanli bit her fingertip in frustration, falling into a long period of self-doubt.
Although she hadn’t seen any emotion other than a smile on Meng Wange’s face since the first day, had she ever truly felt happy by Su Wanli’s side?
‘There must have been a time, right?’
Even though she was indeed doing various bad things to her according to the System’s instructions, there must be one or two things that could make her feel happy, fortunate, or at least satisfied!?
‘Don’t worry, try to remember calmly. Meng Wange is a person with normal human emotions and desires. She has experienced so many things with me; there must be moments that made her happy…’
For example…
For example, the time when she and Meng Wange caught Bai Younong cheating on an examination together, just as they were walking out of Experimental Class 1!!
‘That’s right!’ That was the first time she had seen Meng Wange laugh so hard. She must have really liked it! She liked that feeling of sarcastically mocking others!
… However, even if she really liked that, there was no one else in the Su Residence. She couldn’t very well run into the room wearing this steward outfit just to mock Meng Wange, could she?
Aside from “harming others,” there must be other moments that made her happy. Think harder…
Well, when she and Meng Wange ate desserts together, she seemed to show a genuine, soft smile.
But that was because a certain item in the dessert shop suited her taste, and they saw a small fireworks display at the end. These weren’t things she could prepare in a short time; they required further planning…
Was there anything else? Was there anything convenient that she could achieve at home that would make Meng Wange sincerely happy?
A flash of inspiration struck Su Wanli’s mind —
‘Ah, I think there is!’
***
Meanwhile, inside Su Wanli’s room —
The brown-haired girl lowered her head slightly, squinting her eyes as she quietly regulated her breathing.
Of course, Meng Wange wasn’t asleep. She was just silently recalling everything that had just happened in her mind.
After calming down a bit, the points available for analysis had increased.
— Su Wanli hadn’t just fed her breakfast with her own hands; she had unbuttoned her shirt in front of her. On top of that, she had specifically put on a maid outfit to serve her tea and water, asking what she wanted her to do…
She felt as if Su Wanli’s true purpose was already laid out before her eyes, yet she had been slow to grasp the real point.
Testing her was a reason that barely made sense. However, there must be another more direct and easy-to-understand explanation that she hadn’t discovered yet…
‘If it were my usual self, I should have been able to guess Su Wanli’s purpose faster. But now, I can only follow the clumsiest line of thought and feel out her true intentions bit by bit…’
‘Take it slow, Meng Wange. Being impatient won’t help. At the very least, you must do the best you can right now.’
— From the first day they met, she had discovered that Su Wanli had a rather awkward personality. It was difficult for her to open her heart directly to others.
So, what she had to do next was to distinguish which of those seemingly incomprehensible behaviors were fake and superficial, and which were from Su Wanli’s heart — what she truly wanted to express.
Starting from when she woke up in Su Wanli’s bed, Su Wanli had first tested the temperature of her forehead with her own, and then she had been so startled by her unthinking words that she fled the room.
After that, she pushed a breakfast cart back into the room, announced that she would punish her, and then engaged in a series of behaviors such as feeding her and unbuttoning her clothes…
Although it was a bit chaotic, if she wanted to stay by Su Wanli’s side forever, this was a task she had to face — one that would be very common in the future.
‘Get moving, Meng Wange. You can definitely do it.’
After all, if you couldn’t understand all of your master’s thoughts at all times, how could you be worthy of standing by her side?