Today being a day off might have been true, but the punishment was definitely fake.
Her verbal insults were insincere, yet her care was real.
Furthermore, Su Wanli’s kind actions were genuine. Her shyness and irritation when facing her were real; her recent feelings of loss and anxiety were real; even her desire to do something for her was real.
Meng Wange carefully etched the events that had just occurred into her mind, trying to sort through them one by one.
…Mm, analyzing it like this, there was a high probability that Su Wanli had decided to stay at the Su Residence with her today because of her physical condition.
However, that was only one of the reasons. Su Wanli’s thoughts definitely went beyond that; she surely had another motive. For example, after taking certain actions, she might hope to receive a specific kind of feedback from Meng Wange’s behavior and performance.
But if that feedback wasn’t meant to determine whether she could stay by her side, what else could it be?
Since her actions were positive, kind, friendly, and filled with concern, if she were to think a bit more boldly, perhaps Su Wanli simply hoped to obtain her…
‘…Favor?’
Meng Wange frowned slightly, tossing the impractical thought out of her mind.
No, that would be far too much trouble, and Su Wanli had absolutely no reason to do such a thing.
What else could it be for? To satisfy her personal moral standards? To lay the foundation for some future plan? Or perhaps…
Just what would it take to make her satisfied?
Before Meng Wange could finish organizing her thoughts, two sharp knocks suddenly sounded at her door.
‘Oh? Is Su Wanli back?’
But was she the type to knock? In the past, even if it was Meng Wange’s room, Su Wanli would often push the door open directly without any hesitation. To deal with this habit, Meng Wange had to pay attention to her own appearance and grooming every so often.
Meng Wange blinked toward the door and rolled off the bed, picking up the school uniform jacket hanging nearby and draping it over her shoulders.
“Come in.”
As she spoke, she opened the door for the person outside.
However, the first thing that met her eyes was not anyone’s face, but a stack of piled-up…
…Books?
“Hi, Meng Wange. I moved all of these from your desk. You don’t mind, do you?”
The black-haired girl’s lips curled into a faint, bitter smile as she popped her head out from behind the stack of books, giving Meng Wange a casual nod.
“Of course, it doesn’t matter if you mind. Since you’re on Sujia territory, these are technically my things too.”
“Um, this… I don’t really mind. It’s just, what are you doing?”
“Hmm? Can’t you tell? Even though you’re a student, you don’t know what you should be doing?”
Su Wanli silently turned her body to steady the tipping stack of books, then squeezed past Meng Wange and into the room.
Looking at her ankles, which were only barely visible after the fabric of her trousers had been folded several times, Meng Wange hesitated for a moment before asking, “Could it be that you’re going to…”
Su Wanli walked over to the desk, leaned down, and used her elbow to push the meal tray aside. She slammed the books onto the table with a loud thud.
Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, she adjusted the collar of her suit and smirked at Meng Wange.
“Of course I’m going to watch you study.”
…Cough, that was right. If she erased all those guesses and looked at it from a completely objective perspective—
The thing Meng Wange loved doing most was definitely studying.
After they had looked at the grade list from the last examination together, Meng Wange had personally told her:
“Actually, I also like studying with you.”
Just studying with her would make her happy…
Even though she didn’t know if it was the kind of happiness found in sharing hardships or some kind of pleasure derived from mistreating the Villainous Eldest Young Lady, it didn’t matter. As long as Meng Wange was happy, she was prepared to risk her life to accompany her!
Although the idea of the Villainous Eldest Young Lady asking the female lead to study together sounded a bit out of character, Su Wanli had already left Meng Wange with the impression that she “quite liked studying” a few days ago, so the groundwork had already been laid.
…It was perfect. She hadn’t expected the excuse she had mindlessly come up with before to become a powerful tool for closing the distance between her and Meng Wange at a time like this.
Even though she didn’t know how much heart Meng Wange had for studying while she was so ill, she would surely be impressed by such a positive and hardworking version of herself!
And so—
Su Wanli smiled and turned around. Mimicking Meng Wange’s former poise, she pulled out the chair in front of the desk and made an elegant gesture toward her.
“Please, Miss Meng Wange. Although I’ve already had Zhang Ma call the school to excuse us for the day, a student still has to complete their necessary tasks, don’t you think?”
“…Necessary tasks…”
“Exactly. As I’ve said before, the happiness of watching your rank gradually rise after putting in just a little bit of time is indeed a higher level of pleasure. In consideration of your physical discomfort, I can specifically allow you to study while lying in bed.”
Su Wanli thoughtfully pulled the desk closer to the bed, then sat down on the mattress and patted the pillow beside her.
“Come, lie down here. If it’s inconvenient for you to hold the books, I can even read a couple of passages for you.”
Heh heh, she was doing something that would make Meng Wange happy while also considering her physical condition so as not to burden her too much. She was truly too thoughtful.
How could Meng Wange not be charmed by a handsome housekeeper who loved studying as much as she did and was so incredibly considerate?
Looking at the black-haired girl in the vanity mirror—who wore a slightly ill-fitting suit but still appeared sharp, refined, and elegant—Su Wanli grinned confidently.
“What is it, Meng Wange? I’ve even given up my bed to you. Don’t tell me anything about being unwell or not wanting to study. This is part of today’s punishment; you aren’t allowed to refuse.”
“…No, of course I won’t refuse your request.”
Meng Wange hesitated for a moment but finally sat down on the edge of the bed as Su Wanli had instructed.
“It’s just, are these books you brought the ones that were sitting on the surface of my desk?”
Hearing this, Su Wanli pursed her lips in confusion.
Tsk, this was supposed to be a special strategy specifically targeted at Meng Wange, so why did her tone sound like she was struggling with something difficult to say?
“…So what if they are? You don’t think my foundation is too poor and I won’t be able to keep up, do you? It doesn’t matter; today is just for me to watch you study…”
As Su Wanli spoke, she shifted her gaze toward the cover of the book at the top of the large stack.
…Huh?
*Complete Painting Techniques: Sketching Pretty Girl Body Shapes*?