“So, Miss Su, have you made your decision yet?”
Meng Wange remained on one knee, smiling sweetly as she looked up into Su Wanli’s eyes.
From her expression alone, it was clear she had never expected Su Wanli to refuse.
‘And why would she?’
Although Meng Wange’s words and posture made it seem like she was the one asking for help, everything she said was actually for Su Wanli’s benefit.
A top-scoring beauty from the national exams was offering to tutor her personally, promising to boost her grades to the class average in just a few days.
Not only that, Su Wanli would also get to attend the high-profile banquet she’d been dreaming about.
And the cost? Just a little trust—and letting Meng Wange stay by her side.
In other words, even if Su Wanli agreed for now and kicked her out right after the exams, Meng Wange wouldn’t be able to do a thing.
It was nothing more than a verbal agreement.
Su Wanli would get a top-tier private tutor practically for free.
If it were the old Su Wanli, she would’ve rolled out a red carpet and bowed three times to welcome such a generous person.
But now, she was the aloof, elegant young miss of the Su family.
Even when picking up a bargain, she had to do it with a cold and indifferent air.
Not to mention, Meng Wange was now kneeling in front of her, refusing to rise without an answer.
That made it all the easier for her to play the part.
…Honestly, Su Wanli was starting to suspect Meng Wange might have some kind of sacrifice-based system too—one of those where the more you give, the more you gain.
Without acknowledging the hand Meng Wange offered her, Su Wanli elegantly picked up the glass of water on her desk and took a delicate sip.
Then she used her free hand to gesture toward the empty seat beside her desk—Meng Wange’s original spot.
“Fine. Since you’re being so sincere, I’ll give you a chance.”
Meng Wange chuckled softly and withdrew her hand, placing it over her chest as she gave a graceful bow.
“Thank you for your trust.”
With that, she rose effortlessly to her feet and took the seat across from Su Wanli.
With the beautiful girl no longer kneeling in front of her, Su Wanli felt a wave of relief—but also, strangely, a trace of disappointment.
But that fleeting feeling was shattered in the next second by Meng Wange’s next move.
Still smiling, she neatly spread out several core subject textbooks in front of them.
Then she pulled out a thick stack of test papers from her backpack.
“Miss Su, before we begin, I asked your father to help me get copies of the placement tests your school used at the start of the semester. If my guess is correct, this upcoming exam is just to keep students from slacking off too much during the break. The difficulty shouldn’t be too high. It mostly covers last semester’s material and the first few lessons of the new term. With just a bit of review and prep…”
“…”
Just hearing the words “placement test” and “exam” was already giving Su Wanli a headache.
And now there was talk of “last semester,” “new semester,” and even “review”…
***
As Su Wanli squinted her eyes and began massaging her temples, Meng Wange hesitated for a moment, then asked thoughtfully—
“Miss Su, may I ask… what’s your current academic standing?”
“…Uh…”
The hand holding the water glass trembled slightly.
Her academic level?
That… had been completely wiped out during four years of neglect in university!
Don’t panic—originally, Su Wanli was already known for being lazy and unmotivated, with terrible grades. So really, this situation still fits her character perfectly.
But…
She glanced at the “Cool Factor” bar beside her, which looked like it was about to plummet at any moment. Su Wanli’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
‘How on earth am I supposed to haughtily and coldly admit to Meng Wange that I’m actually an illiterate disaster?’
Was she supposed to casually toss out a line like, “Top student? I gave that up ages ago,” or “I’m the Su family heiress—why would I need to study?”
Neither of those sounded the least bit elegant, let alone cool or aloof.
Su Wanli cleared her throat twice and thought deeply for a moment.
Then, with great effort, she lifted her chin in a proud angle and locked eyes with Meng Wange.
‘You think I’m just anyone? Studying is beneath me. I was never interested before, that’s all. Even without your tutoring, I can still attend that banquet!’
Yes—this was the perfect line.
It would show off her arrogance and noble status as a villainous heiress, while also suggesting she didn’t need Meng Wange’s help at all.
Granted, there was some risk that Meng Wange would just wash her hands of it all… but Su Wanli believed that someone like Meng Wange wouldn’t say something so disappointing.
***
Unfortunately for her, Meng Wange’s emotional intelligence was even higher than Su Wanli had anticipated.
Before Su Wanli could even speak, Meng Wange was already reacting.
“My apologies. I overstepped,” she said with a gentle smile as she placed the thick stack of test papers back into her backpack, leaving only a few textbooks on the desk.
“Someone like Miss Su naturally wouldn’t waste her time on things that don’t concern her. Grades are nothing more than worldly measures.”
“Pfft—”
Su Wanli had just taken a sip of water to moisten her throat in preparation for her dramatic line, but couldn’t hold it in.
“—Cough, cough, cough, cough!”
‘Damn it! Who praises someone like that out of nowhere? Seriously, Meng Wange—maybe you’re the real female lead here!’
With that one spit-take, her hard-earned cool factor was cut in half.
Now it was sitting at around 25.
Wiping the water from the corner of her mouth, Su Wanli cleared her throat and awkwardly set her cup back down.
“…As long as you understand.”
She had originally planned to use that line to earn a major coolness boost.
But now that Meng Wange had handed her such a perfect exit, she couldn’t very well say it again.
This wouldn’t do.
She had no idea how the system calculated her cool factor, but 25 definitely wasn’t a passing score.
She needed to find a way to make a dramatically cool move and bring that number back up…
Meng Wange, seeing Su Wanli cough on her water, politely pulled out a tissue and handed it over, then returned to the previous topic.
“That said, while the opinions of others may not matter to you, this time your father specifically requested that your grades be in the middle of the class in order for you to attend the banquet. So at least for this time, your grades do matter.”
“I hope you won’t mind, Miss Su, but I’d like to ask you a few questions—just a little diagnostic test to gauge where you’re at. Would that be alright?”
She smiled as she pulled a slip of paper from between the pages of her textbook and placed it in front of Su Wanli.
‘Wait—before the school year even starts, she’s giving her a placement test?’
Su Wanli instinctively wanted to refuse.
If she couldn’t answer a single question, it wouldn’t just be the cool, elegant persona that crumbled—she might get slapped with the label of “dumb beauty,” just like that scented candle incident from before!
But Meng Wange, as if reading her mind, smiled again and gently slid the slip of paper closer.
“Don’t worry. They’re not academic questions—more like a personality quiz.”
‘…Really?’
Still suspicious, Su Wanli leaned forward for a peek.
“…Please imagine you’re standing in the middle of an endless desert. In the desert, you see a cube. What does it look like?”