This empty music classroom fell into an unsettling silence.
The lazy afternoon sunlight filtered through the dusty curtains, casting mottled patches of light on the floor. In the air, only a few faint bird calls could be heard, along with Su Wanli’s traitorous heartbeat.
Su Wanli lowered her head in disappointment, unconsciously grabbing the hem of her shirt with her fingertips.
‘Damn it, I was just reading lines from the script, so why am I so nervous I can’t even speak clearly? And I messed up the lines too…’
‘My disaster of a performance just now was enough to make anyone cringe. Meng Wange must be disappointed in me too…’
‘Meng Wange said she wanted to discuss some inspiration with me, but Su Wanli knew deep down that she was just giving her an out.’
‘She probably doesn’t know what to say to me anymore. Inside, she must be wondering whether we can even pull off the performance.’
‘And now, even Meng Wange, with all her emotional intelligence, doesn’t know how to comfort me.’
‘At this point, maybe I should just quit. After all, the system only said to get Meng Wange involved—it never said I had to participate in the play myself…’
But what Meng Wange did next completely caught Su Wanli off guard.
She didn’t offer any criticism or suggestions for improvement. Instead, she pulled a wet wipe from her pocket and gently pressed it against Su Wanli’s knee.
Then Meng Wange looked up and gave Su Wanli a light smile.
“Miss Su, I didn’t realize you were this dedicated. Doesn’t this wound hurt?”
“W-wound?”
Only then did Su Wanli notice a shallow cut on her knee. A few strands of bright red blood were slowly trickling down her pale calf, looking rather alarming in the dim light of the classroom.
Meng Wange didn’t say anything more. She gently wiped away the blood around Su Wanli’s wound and pressed a handkerchief against it.
“With all this bleeding, your wound must hurt a lot. Is this pressure okay?”
Watching Meng Wange’s long, slightly lowered eyelashes, Su Wanli’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
“Alright, let’s leave it like this for now. We’ll go to the infirmary later to disinfect it properly.”
Meng Wange used a small bandage to secure the handkerchief over Su Wanli’s wound, then gave her a faint smile.
As she gently wiped away the last trace of blood on Su Wanli’s calf with her fingertip, she teased in a soft voice.
“It looks like you’re more suited to playing Cinderella than I am.”
“See? Without even needing to pretend, the stepsister would naturally notice your knee and think about how to discreetly get you medicine.”
“Y-you…!”
Su Wanli’s cheeks flushed. She was about to scold Meng Wange for being out of line, but Meng Wange added another sentence.
“Actually… why not do it like this? Miss Su, since there’s no one else in the classroom, how about we try swapping roles?”
“S-swap roles? Me play Cinderella and Meng Wange play the stepsister?”
Meng Wange said this while looking up expectantly, her gentle eyes meeting Su Wanli’s.
“…Hah? How is that possible? I’m not some lowly…”
Anticipating what Su Wanli was about to say, Meng Wange smiled and winked at her.
“There are only the two of us in the classroom right now. You don’t have to worry about tainting your status.”
“Like I just said, I suddenly had an idea and want to try it out. But to verify whether it works, I need to put myself in the stepsister’s shoes.”
Meng Wange stood up gracefully, then naturally extended her hand toward Su Wanli, striking the same pose she had used to invite Su Wanli to dance yesterday.
“…So, please, Miss Su, give me the chance to become your ‘stepsister.’”
“…Alright. Since it’s a legitimate reason proposed by the playwright Meng Wange, what right does a terrible actor like me have to refuse?”
Despite feeling disappointed about her poor performance, Su Wanli let out a soft sigh and placed her hand in Meng Wange’s palm.
“Thank you for understanding. Then…”
Meng Wange took Su Wanli’s hand, pulled her up from the chair, and shoved the broom into Su Wanli’s arms. She then sat down firmly in the chair.
The next second, Meng Wange snapped her fingers lightly at Su Wanli, crossed her legs with an air of arrogance, looked Su Wanli up and down with a critical eye, and finally let out a bored yawn.
“Hey, you useless glutton over there. Can’t even clean the floor? What, are you hungry? Want me to personally stuff a rice ball into your mouth?”
…
‘As expected of the legendary Aura of Main Heroine with her superb acting skills. Just one line made Su Wanli tighten her grip on the broom.’
‘Calm down, calm down. Right now I’m Cinderella, not some ill-tempered villainous eldest young lady who can throw a fit anytime…’
Su Wanli took a deep breath, imitating how Meng Wange had just held the broom, and cradled it in her arms.
“…Sorry, s-sister. I’ll do my best.”
“Oh? Do your best? Your idea of ‘doing your best’ is poking around with that broom? What a useless thing.”
Meng Wange let out a heavy sigh, then naturally folded her arms and spoke in a sharp tone Su Wanli had never heard before.
“I’ll give you ten minutes to clean. If I see even a speck of dust after that, you’d better get ready to lick it clean with your tongue!”
“You!”
‘This Meng Wange… she’s not even following the script, is she!’
‘She’s lying about having an inspiration. She’s just using this chance to vent all her pent-up anger!’
“Hm? What’s wrong? The clock is already ticking. Aren’t you going to move? I’ve never seen such a lazy thing.”
“Heh, still standing there?”
She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, her tone becoming frivolous.
“What, do you have a problem with me?”
Hearing that, a defiant flame began to burn fiercely in Su Wanli’s heart.
‘Fine, Meng Wange. If you’re going to throw the script out the window, then I won’t hold back either!’
“Heh, heh. I wouldn’t say I have a problem. I just suddenly had an idea.”
Su Wanli coldly gritted her teeth, picked up the broom at her side, and pointed its wooden handle straight at Meng Wange’s nose.
“I think compared to my tongue, your face seems smoother and more suitable for cleaning the floor.”