“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…”
Watching the kettle begin to steam, Auntie Zhang patiently started counting the seconds.
“Ten… nine… eight… seven…”
Time’s up.
She lifted the kettle off the pot and poured out a bowl of black medicinal liquid, which carried a faint scent of herbal medicine mixed with sweetness.
It was a little different from what Meng Wange had expected.
Auntie Zhang hadn’t overlooked Su Wanli’s condition.
In fact, the moment she saw Su Wanli toss out her first used tissue, she had already started preparing the medicine in the kitchen.
It was just that Su Wanli had always hated people showing her any unnecessary kindness—especially when she had a cold or fever.
She’d go off like a bomb at the slightest provocation.
At times like this, instead of offering verbal concern, it was probably more effective to quietly bring her some medicine.
Su Wanli might not drink it right away, but when the discomfort became unbearable, she might just hold her nose and gulp it down herself.
Of course, by then the medicine would’ve cooled and lost some of its potency.
That’s why Auntie Zhang would prepare extra ingredients and add some yellow rock sugar and red dates to improve the taste—just enough to help it go down more easily.
It seemed the supplements she had prepared for Meng Wange were ready too.
Auntie Zhang took them off the stove, sealed both the medicine and the tonic with plastic wrap, and packed them neatly into a tray.
‘Phew. Now came the final—and most difficult—task. Bringing the medicine to Su Wanli.’
‘Hopefully, Meng Wange’s judgment was correct and Su Wanli’s mood was a little better today—at least good enough not to flip the tray over the moment she saw the medicine.’
The four floors of the Su residence were more familiar to Auntie Zhang than her own home by now.
She followed the stairs to Su Wanli’s room, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock—
‘Hiss—wait, better not yet!’
After all, the tray had two items on it.
If they both got thrown to the floor, that would be a real waste. Better to deliver Meng Wange’s tonic first.
Finding herself a convenient excuse, Auntie Zhang turned around and headed to the nearby room with Meng Wange’s nameplate.
Just as she was about to knock, she noticed the door was slightly ajar.
“Hmm? Wange, are you in your room?”
There was no reply.
Auntie Zhang peeked inside.
Sure enough, there was no sign of Meng Wange.
‘How strange…’
‘Could it be that Meng Wange was still in Su Wanli’s room?’
She did vaguely remember hearing Su Wanli say something in the banquet hall earlier—something like, “Of course I’m going to my room”—but what could they possibly be doing that was taking so long? The medicine was already ready, and she still wasn’t back?
…Well, no avoiding it now.
Auntie Zhang, tray in hand, returned to Su Wanli’s door.
She cleared her throat and knocked twice.
“Ahem… Miss Su, are you in there?”
She waited for a few moments.
Still no answer.
…
Under normal circumstances, Auntie Zhang would’ve left the tray on the small table outside the door and gone off to tend to other tasks.
But this time was different.
Even if Su Wanli didn’t want to respond to her, there should still be someone else inside—Meng Wange, for instance.
At the very least, she should’ve said something.
‘Could something have happened?’
Imagining all sorts of possibilities, Auntie Zhang clenched her teeth and grabbed the doorknob.
“Miss Su, if it’s alright, I’m coming in now.”
Even though there was still no reply, she mustered her courage and pushed the door open—
The next second, after seeing what lay inside, Auntie Zhang inhaled sharply and silently turned around.
Just as Zhang Ma had pushed the door open, she now pushed it shut the same way—so abruptly that she forgot to set down the tray she was carrying.
Then, she casually placed the medicine on the small table by the door, touched her own forehead to check her temperature, and quietly walked down the stairs.
“Haha… No way. How could a scene like that ever involve Su Wanli?”
“I must be hallucinating from overwork.”
“I should talk to President Su and ask for a few days off to go back to my hometown…”
***
“…Mmm?”
Hearing the faint sound of something rubbing nearby, Su Wanli frowned and stretched a little.
Something felt strange.
It felt like she was resting her head on something soft and springy.
It was cool—just enough to soothe her overheated body.
Su Wanli gently placed her hand on the soft, new pillow and turned over, letting out a small yawn.
She was still so sleepy.
But she remembered sleeping for quite a while yesterday—’why was she still this tired?’
She vaguely recalled that there was a lot to do today.
The system had mentioned three provocations… and then three more provocations… and then another three provocations…
‘Ugh, I really don’t want to wake up…’
But she had no choice.
For the sake of that 12 billion, she had to wake up.
‘Wait… didn’t I already wake up once today? I think I even had lunch with Meng Wange and started reviewing flashcards with her?’
‘So then, what… what is this now?’
Still confused, Su Wanli furrowed her brows, forcing herself to open her eyes against the dazzling white light.
At last, she managed to open them—
It was noon, and the sunlight was shining directly onto the small balcony outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The marble floor reflected the light into the room, casting ripples of translucent shadows.
And right in front of Su Wanli’s eyes—was the sleeping face of an exquisitely beautiful girl, impossibly close.
Silky strands of golden hair, gleaming under the sunlight, fell from the girl’s fair neck and gently rested on her chest.
The reflected ripples of light danced across her cheeks like delicate shadows.
The breeze stirred the curtain beside the window.
The patterns of light wavered softly near her slightly parted lips.
And with her gentle breathing, the lace-like patterns rose and fell along her body, creating a scene that seemed surreal—like a dream.
‘Meng Wange…?’
‘But… why am I seeing her from this angle?’
Su Wanli blinked and tried to sit up, but as she applied pressure to her hands, she finally realized the position they were in—and just what she had been resting on.
It was that same pair of lightweight school uniform pants that Meng Wange had washed, carrying a faint scent of lemon.
Which meant…
She had been using Meng Wange’s lap as a pillow!
‘Ugh… my memory’s kind of hazy. The last thing I remember was reviewing with Meng Wange… I think she sat next to me and started explaining something…’
‘So how did it end up like this?’
‘Did we make some kind of deal, like… if I managed to memorize a certain number of flashcards, I could get a lap pillow from her? And if I failed, she could take one of my hair clips or something…?’
Su Wanli silently patted her own forehead.
‘Yeah, right. That’s completely made up—I don’t remember anything like that at all. I must be feverish or something. My brain’s definitely not working right.’
As much as she didn’t want to give up the comfort of the girl’s lap, it was time to get up.
If the system saw her not only failing to bully Meng Wange, but actually lying there in such an ambiguous pose with her, she’d never be able to explain herself.
[You’ve misunderstood, host. When your consciousness is unclear, any inappropriate actions you take will be categorized as excess human emotion. You won’t be punished for them.]
‘Ugh—wah!?’
The unexpected electronic voice rang suddenly in her ears.
Su Wanli, who had just begun stretching to get up from Meng Wange’s lap, was so startled she jerked violently—and knocked into the desk beside her.
Fortunately, Meng Wange’s arm blocked the impact, so there wasn’t any pain, but the desk still let out a loud bang.
“……”
The noise was enough to stir even the soundest sleeper.
Meng Wange took a slow, deep breath and opened her eyes.
Her gaze met Su Wanli’s, who was still lying across her lap.
Meng Wange’s lips parted slightly, as if she were smiling—or sighing.
“—Hey, Su Wanli. Good morning.”