After pondering for a moment, scenes of the future naturally began to unfold in her mind.
Faced with Meng Wange’s slightly strange question, Su Wanli fell into deep thought.
“In the future… the kind of family life you want to have?”
‘A forest… no, I just experienced the beach over the weekend.’
“Hmm, if I had to say, I’d probably choose a location at the edge of a forest.”
“At the seaside, the sound of the waves would be too noisy, and the air would be too humid. The foot of a mountain sounds a bit odd, and I feel like transportation wouldn’t be very good. If I’m living there long-term, maybe I’d prefer to stay at the edge of a forest? It’s good for health too.”
“I see. The air near a forest is indeed fresher.”
Meng Wange nodded in agreement, then pulled a small booklet from her pocket and silently began to take notes.
“Ah, but being too far from the city won’t do either. I still want to live conveniently. If it takes a long time just to go out shopping, that would be too painful.”
“In that case, you should choose a city with good surrounding greenery.”
After briefly summarizing Su Wanli’s words, Meng Wange tilted her head lightly and placed the end of the pen against her lips.
“Then… what about the furniture in the rooms? Which style do you prefer?”
“The style doesn’t matter, but the smarter the furniture, the better.”
As she thought, Su Wanli’s ideas suddenly broadened, and some grievances she had accumulated at the Su Residence began to spill out—
“Although the Su family home looks luxurious now, and a single decoration costs a lot of money, that’s it! Su Heng never thought about installing any convenient furniture in the house! We’re already in this era!”
“If I were to decorate it myself, I’d definitely install a full set of smart home systems, the kind that start up with a single command. For example, the lights can be turned off with one word, extinguished with a snap; the wardrobe opens by itself, and the curtains open by themselves. Also, I’d add an elevator. Going up and down three floors every day just to eat? No wonder I used to ask Zhang Ma to bring meals to my room!”
“Mhm, modern style, or rather, futuristic style?”
“Exactly, but I don’t like that kind of cold decoration style either. Keep the tech vibe subtle. I still want the home to be as warm as possible, preferably with warm lights everywhere. The bed and bedding… about the same as what we have now at home. I’m quite satisfied with that.”
Unconsciously, Su Wanli began to seriously imagine where she might want to live and what kind of life she would lead many years later.
By then, the tasks assigned by the System should have long been completed.
She would have received a huge sum of money, able to freely choose any place in the world to live, buy anything she wanted, take Meng Wange to taste cuisines from all over the world, and show her more unseen sights…
‘…’
‘Huh, wait, doesn’t something seem off?’
‘…Bringing Meng Wange along?’
‘Why did I naturally start imagining a future where Meng Wange is always by my side?’
‘Actually, once I get that twelve billion, it means the story has reached its end. After that, I won’t have any more interactions with Meng Wange, right?’
But then, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her skin, her previous agitation vanished, leaving only a wet, muddy feeling.
Like a journey with a predetermined end, no matter the process, she could not cross that final line…
Thinking of this, the small flame of excitement in Su Wanli’s heart was immediately extinguished like a fire doused by cold water.
‘Meng Wange’s future…’
Yes, no matter how she completed the System’s tasks or played her role, only this ending would not change.
From now on, she would be the radiant heroine of this world, while she herself was just the supporting actress who should fade away at her brightest moment.
That is, the villainous eldest young lady who would eventually be defeated.
This was a fake role-playing game with an already determined outcome.
“…What’s wrong, Miss Su?”
Sensing a sudden shift in Su Wanli’s mood, Meng Wange blinked in confusion and gently waved her hand in front of Su Wanli’s eyes.
“Actually, do you have more styles you want to try? I was being narrow-minded. With your financial power, you could easily own more houses. Whatever decoration style you want, you can try it all. I can help you…”
“…Enough, stop it. How many times do you have to ask? Annoying.”
Su Wanli took a deep breath, then turned around coldly, forcibly suppressing the sudden sense of loss in her heart. Pretending to yawn, she lightly wiped the corner of her eye and spoke to Meng Wange in a deliberately magnanimous tone.
“What about you, Meng Wange? You can’t possibly stay at the Su Residence forever, can you? If your work as a maid these past two years… these past few months has been decent, it’s not impossible for me to reward you with a house.”
After casually promising away a portion of her future wealth, Su Wanli looked up and met Meng Wange’s clear eyes.
“So don’t worry about money. Think of it as small talk. Where would you like to live in the future?”
“Me?”
Hearing this, Meng Wange gently rubbed her chin, a soft smile appearing on her face.
“My hope for the future… is the same as yours. The environment you just described—that’s where I’d want to be.”
“Huh? What kind of answer is that? Copying my answer directly is too cheap. Be serious.”
“Is that so? Then…”
Meng Wange pondered for a moment and tilted her head slightly toward Su Wanli.
“I hope that in my future home, there could be a very, very big kitchen with seven or eight stoves.”
“Hmm? Why would you need so many stoves?”
“Because that way, the time I spend preparing meals for you can be shortened as much as possible.”
Meng Wange answered without a moment’s hesitation, as if it were a matter of course.
“Also, just like you said, I want smart home systems that can help me complete most of the work once I set a plan.”
“That way, I can have more time to be by your side. Whether you want to go hiking in the forest, shopping at the mall, or stay home and play games…”
“Ah, speaking of which, it seems we also need a gaming room like the one at the Su Residence. But I’m not very familiar with that area, so I might have to rely on you…”
As she spoke, Meng Wange gradually fell silent.
She bent down in surprise and gently brushed Su Wanli’s eye corner with her fingertip.
“…Miss Su, are you… crying?”
It was only when Meng Wange’s fingertip touched her eye corner that Su Wanli seemed to wake up with a start, her eyes widening. As if scalded, she flusteredly slapped Meng Wange’s hand away.
“…Huh?”
“You, what nonsense are you talking about? It’s just that your wish was so boring it made me yawn!”
“…Is that so?”
“Of course!”
As if refuting something, Su Wanli gritted her teeth fiercely at Meng Wange, then turned around and walked toward the center of the furniture city without looking back.
“…Alright, I don’t want to shop anymore. That’s enough for today. I’m tired of looking. Let’s talk about everything later.”
Watching Su Wanli’s slightly flustered retreating figure, the faint smile in Meng Wange’s eyes gradually solidified, eventually turning into a soft sigh.
“…Yes, Miss Su.”
Only after Su Wanli’s figure completely disappeared did Meng Wange gently raise her hand, rubbing the spot that had just touched Su Wanli’s eye corner with her thumb.
There still seemed to linger a trace of warmth, a faintly moist touch.