‘Grandma’s legs—what the hell does that even mean!?’
Hearing the system’s task, the fire in Su Wanli’s belly flared up.
Did it think putting on the image of a villainess was easy?! She had to muster up a ton of courage just to act so picky and confrontational! And now it was telling her her image was wrong?
As if anticipating Su Wanli’s inevitable frustration, the system quickly followed up right after issuing the task—
[Since this is an experimental trial for the system, maintaining an air of arrogance and aloofness will be considered an additional condition. If you can pull it off, you’ll receive an extra reward.]
Su Wanli was just about to explode, but the mention of a reward made her calm down quite a bit.
“…What kind of reward?”
[You will receive a bonus that allows for margin of error in future tasks. You will learn the exact nature of the reward once your current mission is completed. For now, please respond to Meng Wange as soon as possible. If you delay, the reward will be nullified.]
After saying that, the system fell silent, leaving only Su Wanli and Meng Wange, who was still standing outside her door.
‘Damn it. I can only stall the system for so long. In the end, I still have to go through with this, huh?’
Talking to a beautiful girl should have been a blissful experience, but the pressure from the task and roleplay turned it into something she wanted to avoid.
‘Fine. So I just have to act cold and aloof, right? That’s actually easier—I won’t have to think about what to say. No matter what Meng Wange does, I can just let out a cold “hmph” and that’ll be enough!’
She didn’t expect the system to actually give her anything decent anyway.
Might as well treat the extra reward like a bone tossed to a dog.
It was just a side condition—no need to overthink it.
She’d handle it with her usual mindset.
After swallowing that little mental reassurance, Su Wanli got out of bed, walked over to the door, and turned the handle.
***
Outside the room, Meng Wange, with her long light brown hair, tucked a strand behind her ear as she smiled and waved the heavy black school bag in her hand.
“Hi, Miss Su. Long time no see.”
This scene—Su Wanli could’ve sworn she’d seen it in a dream before.
A beautiful girl shows up at her door after school, smiling as she says she’s here for tutoring…
It was way too dreamy.
But reality had a way of shaping people.
After spending so much time playing the role of a villainess, Su Wanli instinctively wanted to say something nasty.
‘We literally just saw each other earlier, didn’t we? Are you mocking me for being slow to open the door? You’re just Meng Wange. I’ll make you wait as long as I want—’
The words were already on the tip of her tongue.
But the thought of the system’s requirement—and the newly added “coolness score” on her Villainess Meter—made her forcefully swallow them back.
Arrogant, graceful, and detached…
‘If that’s what they want, then I’ll just imagine myself as a proud and elegant noble princess.’
So Su Wanli lifted her chin high, placed one hand gracefully on her waist, and responded in a distant tone.
“…Hmph.”
‘Nice. It worked.’
Her coolness score immediately jumped to 50%.
Even without a proper reply, Meng Wange kept smiling.
She blinked slowly, tilted her head slightly, and peered into Su Wanli’s room.
“Since you opened the door for me, does that mean I’m allowed to come in?”
“Hmph.”
Su Wanli let out a haughty breath through her nose and flicked her bangs back over the top of her head with a graceful wave of her hand.
Whether Meng Wange understood the meaning behind that scoff or simply didn’t care about Su Wanli’s response, she lightly turned her body and slipped through the narrow space between Su Wanli and the doorframe while carrying her schoolbag.
“Then, I’ll be intruding.”
She stepped lightly into Su Wanli’s room, her gaze naturally landing on the white hairpin on the vanity.
But as if she hadn’t noticed it at all, her eyes smoothly moved on and shifted toward the desk by the window.
It was supposed to be a desk, but there wasn’t a single item related to studying on it.
Instead, it was covered in all sorts of delicate figurines, a uniquely designed flip clock, luxurious jewelry that clearly belonged on a vanity, and countless fragrant bottles and jars.
In short, things completely unrelated to school had completely taken over the desk, and not a single textbook could be seen in the entire room.
Most likely expecting this kind of scene, Meng Wange shrugged and temporarily placed her bag under the desk.
Then she turned back to look at Su Wanli, who was still standing at the door.
“Miss Su, would you mind if I tidy up your desk for you?”
Seeing Meng Wange looking eager and ready to go, Su Wanli suddenly found herself at a loss.
‘What would a proud, elegant, and cold princess do in this situation?’
The system had definitely assigned her this task—she had to get the desk cleaned up eventually.
But if Meng Wange just asked so casually, could she really just casually agree and let someone she barely knew reorganize her things?
That didn’t seem very fitting for a cold, proud villainess.
But if she refused, would that mean she’d have to clean it herself? That would look even stranger…
***
After thinking it over for a moment, Su Wanli silently turned her head and looked down at the floor, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Meng Wange.
“…Hmph.”
‘Not bad, right? This move should work, shouldn’t it? As long as even I don’t know what I’m trying to express, she’ll have no idea either!’
‘It’s neither a refusal nor approval. Am I a natural-born villainess or what?’
“Then I’ll take that as a yes?”
Meng Wange didn’t seem fazed at all by Su Wanli’s ambiguous response.
She simply got to work, gathering the various trinkets and placing them neatly to one side, returning the cosmetics to the vanity.
In less than thirty seconds, she cleared a large section of the desk.
She pulled out a few textbooks from her bag and laid them flat on the newly cleared surface.
Then she dragged over a pink-and-white chair from elsewhere in the room and also pushed over the seat that had been next to the vanity.
After that, she turned to face Su Wanli and gestured politely toward the seat.
“Please, Miss Su.”
Seeing her act so naturally, Su Wanli no longer held back.
Like a swan spreading its wings, she lifted her chin proudly and sat down on the chair with elegance.
Resting her chin in one hand, she stared at Meng Wange with a cold gaze.
“…”
‘A-And now what?’
If she remembered correctly, the system had told her to find a way to embarrass Meng Wange during their study session.
But if she just kept acting like this—a cold, aloof noblewoman—how could she possibly bully Meng Wange?
‘Let me think… What could an arrogant princess even do to someone else? There has to be more than just emotional distance, right?’
While Su Wanli stared at Meng Wange with a frosty gaze and wracked her brain for ideas, Meng Wange simply smiled and sat down across from her, posture perfect.
“Miss Su, I understand you may be confused about why I came to ask you for tutoring right now.”
Sure enough, a hint of confusion did appear in Su Wanli’s otherwise cold expression.
‘Right… Even the system didn’t pick up on it. Why did she suddenly come over?’
Without dragging things out, Meng Wange got straight to the point.
“—Miss Su, do you still remember that dinner party you told Uncle Su you wanted to attend with him?”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.