Under her “strict” demands, Zhang Ma and the maids prepared a significant amount of extra ingredients before fleeing the kitchen, including purple sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, and other fresh vegetables and fruits.
“Hmm… the rice in the white porridge is sweet, the yam is sweet, and rock sugar was added, which is also sweet.”
‘Following that logic, adding more sweet things to the pot shouldn’t be a mistake in terms of taste!’
Su Wanli knew that Meng Wange actually liked sweets very much. Based on her observations over the past few days, Meng Wange would let out a soft hum and reveal a sweet smile whenever she ate something sugary.
“No need to hesitate then, I’ll just add all of these together!”
After tossing the peeled purple sweet potatoes, sliced corn, and carrots into the pot all at once, Su Wanli pondered for a moment and looked at the other ingredients around the cutting board.
‘…But is making the white porridge sweet just a bit shallow? Can I add something more high-end?’
‘Right, I coughed for a long time after my last cold. Meng Wange’s cold is worse than mine; she’ll definitely be miserable later.’
‘Hehe, I’ll give her a preventative measure — adding a dozen Chuanbei seeds. When she discovers this thoughtful detail, she’ll definitely be very moved…’
Just as Su Wanli was fully concentrated on what else to add to the porridge while fantasizing about Meng Wange’s future reaction, the System’s electronic voice rang out slowly —
**[Host, you can certainly care for the health of Heroine Meng Wange, but when performing, please pay attention to the scale of your ‘concern.’]**
**[After all, your Female Villain Value seems abundant now, but after losing the ‘Female Villain Potion’ and Extra Villainess Value, your room for error is actually very low.]**
“Tsk, do you really need to remind me? I know the limits of sending porridge to Meng Wange.”
“Besides, even if something goes wrong, don’t I still have the Prompt Glasses I just bought as a trump card?”
Su Wanli rolled her eyes at the White Dumpling in her pocket and then looked back at her small pot.
“Ah! It’s your fault for interrupting me!”
“The purple sweet potatoes have boiled down… the whole pot of porridge is turning purple!?”
**[…Uh.]**
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Doesn’t purple porridge look more stylish?”
“Fortunately, the corn and carrots don’t lose their color; otherwise, with purple, yellow, and red all mixed together, I really wouldn’t know what to do…”
“Wait, why are these Chuanbei seeds all floating on top?”
A pile of small white particles drifted on the surface of the purple porridge, looking somewhat eerie.
“Let’s find something to cover it…”
Her eyes lit up as she looked at the cabbage leaves next to the cutting board.
“Mm, this is good! Many porridges use vegetable leaves as a garnish. Adding a few pieces to purple sweet potato porridge should be fine…”
After tossing the washed cabbage leaves into the pot to cover the Chuanbei seeds, Su Wanli vaguely felt that something was wrong. However, after a brief hesitation, she chose to stop and closed the pot lid.
Through the transparent lid, one could see the cabbage leaves tumbling up and down in the mushy purple sweet potato porridge, occasionally revealing segments of weirdly colored corn and carrot slices.
“…This, this…”
Su Wanli rubbed her Sun Acupoints.
“…It might not be that bad, right? Haha, although it looks a bit like dark cuisine… should I redo it?”
“But, after all, I made it with my own hands. Meng Wange should be grateful when she eats it, right?”
“Ri — right, System? Objectively speaking, this bowl of porridge should at least get a 6, right?”
The System remained silent for a moment and then held up a sign in front of her —
“10.”
“…Eh? Really? I didn’t expect that a random attempt would result in a perfect score!”
**[Apologies, Host. This is your ‘Evil Girl Score.’]**
**[You are indeed the most talented villainess so far. I wish you a successful ‘bullying.’]**
” — WHA — !?”
Su Wanli’s face flushed red as she grabbed the white fur ball and stretched it hard.
“What do you mean by that!? Explain it clearly! What is wrong with the porridge I made!?”
—
10 minutes later.
Still wearing her apron, Su Wanli carried a bowl of food that “could once be called white porridge” and stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor.
‘I know, I know… this bowl of stuff looks a bit strange…’
‘But the taste isn’t actually that scary!’
‘…Fine, compared to the dishes Zhang Ma makes, it’s indeed a bit lacking…’
‘But as long as they’re not compared together, it should be fine!’
‘Yes! As long as I bring her the porridge first, there will be no comparison, so there will be no harm!’
Moreover, Meng Wange had always had high emotional intelligence. Even if she really brought a bowl of “dark cuisine,” the girl would definitely praise it while eating it with a straight face, right?
…Wait.
This morning, her emotional intelligence seemed to have suddenly gone offline.
If she really says something hurtful… I might never dare to enter the kitchen again.
‘…Forget it, forget it, don’t think about it!’
‘Since I’ve made it, I’ll just bring it over!’
Su Wanli bit her lip, quickened her pace, and pushed the door open —
“Meng Wange! I’ve brought you the extra white porridge I made this afternoon. Be grateful and — “
“…Huh? Where is she?”
Her gaze swept across the empty room and finally landed on the bed.
The brown-haired girl was lying there, wrapped in a thick duvet, with only half of her shoulder and head exposed.
‘…Oh no, she’s asleep!?’
She shouldn’t be? Meng Wange’s Awake Value was clearly above 50; according to the system settings, she shouldn’t be this sleepy.
‘Whatever, before the system reacts, I’ll wake her up first…’
Just as Su Wanli was hesitating about how to wake her —
*cough… cough cough…*
Meng Wange coughed softly, her brows furrowing slightly as she slowly propped her body up from the bed.
With a hint of weakness, she raised her head and gave Su Wanli a faint smile.
“…Miss Su, you’re back.”