Su Wanli blinked in surprise at Meng Wange’s natural morning greeting but didn’t respond right away.
Although waking up to the beautiful sleeping face of a stunning girl was certainly healing for both the eyes and the soul, now wasn’t the time to be immersed in that kind of mood.
She had a much more serious problem to deal with.
“……”
Lying silently on Meng Wange’s lap, Su Wanli swallowed hard, her gaze vacant and directed straight upward.
It looked like she was meeting Meng Wange’s eyes, but in truth, she was staring into empty space—at something only she could see.
That “something” was her dangerously low Villainess Value, which had unknowingly plummeted to an all-time low.
The units digit was six, the tens digit was seven.
That meant…
Su Wanli inhaled sharply.
‘Seventy-six…’
‘Why?! The last time I checked, it was still in the nineties!’
‘Didn’t the system say that in a semi-unconscious state, no penalties would be imposed? Then why has my Villainess Value dropped this much?!’
[The increase or decrease in Villainess Value is not determined solely by the system. It takes into account a variety of external factors. While the system can file a basic appeal on your behalf, that process takes time.]
The system replied in its usual cold, robotic voice—
[Therefore, to avoid the negative effects of the debuff affecting your upcoming task, it is recommended that you take immediate action to increase your Villainess Attribute.]
‘Right, I vaguely remember something about a debuff being applied once the Villainess Value drops below eighty. But I didn’t expect it to be something this nasty…’
Su Wanli clicked her tongue inwardly and stared harder at the value, which had shifted from green to yellow.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed a narrow line of text beneath it.
[Random DEBUFF applied: Host is now experiencing Distorted Taste Status]
‘Tch…’
‘Wh-what is Distorted Taste Status?’
‘Do sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty all get swapped? Or is it that I won’t be able to taste anything at all?’
‘Whichever kind of distortion it is, if I carry this debuff into Zhang Ma’s cooking class, my chances of winning against Meng Wange will drop significantly.’
‘Not that my chances were high to begin with!’
Su Wanli forced herself to calm down, taking a deep breath to suppress the panic rising in her chest.
‘Alright. First, I need to get out of this ambiguous, value-draining position. Then I need to do something villainous—fast—to raise my score!’
Meng Wange, noticing that Su Wanli had her eyes open but hadn’t said a word for a while, gently curled her lips into a soft smile and reminded her—
“It’s 10:20 now. We slept for forty-two minutes total. If we count that as a nap, it’s still within a healthy schedule.”
“……”
Su Wanli bit the tip of her tongue lightly to sharpen her gaze through the pain, then stared straight into Meng Wange’s eyes, trying her best to make her tone sound cold.
“So… what exactly is going on here? Don’t you think you owe me a proper explanation, Meng Wange?”
She emphasized each syllable of the last three words, trying to convey just how furious she was.
But her target—Meng Wange—only tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to keep it from falling onto Su Wanli’s face and replied calmly—
“You fell asleep just now, and happened to end up in my lap.”
“……”
Of course it was Meng Wange.
She always had a perfectly logical, precise answer.
In just a moment, Su Wanli fully understood what had happened.
But that wasn’t the kind of answer she wanted.
Her Villainess Value hadn’t budged—in fact, it seemed to be dropping even further.
She clenched her teeth and said in a low voice—
“That’s not the explanation I was looking for. What I want to know is—”
Meng Wange raised one slender finger and gently held it in front of Su Wanli’s forehead, smiling as she interrupted—
“Also, I checked your temperature earlier. It was around 38°C. That’s probably why you passed out.”
“…I told you, that’s not the explanation I wanted. Fine, let me rephrase the question.”
Su Wanli took a deep breath, then pointed to the delicate arm hovering just above her chest—the one that was clearly preventing her from getting up.
“How long exactly do you plan to stay in this position? Or… were you planning to switch arms?”
“Ah, I see. So what you wanted was an explanation for the position itself.”
Hearing that, Meng Wange slowly straightened her back, no longer leaning over the table, and finally gave Su Wanli enough space to sit up—
“My apologies, Miss Su. Letting you rest in my lap was just a temporary measure. I saw you collapse suddenly, and I was worried you might’ve hit the back of your head on the table and gotten a mild concussion.”
“What’s with this nonsense? Just because I bumped into the desk a couple of times, how could that possibly cause a concussion? Is something wrong with your brain or what?”
As Su Wanli struggled to sit up, she hurled whatever insults she could manage at Meng Wange.
Sure, the back of her head was still a bit swollen from when she hit it earlier, but there was no way it could be that serious!
“And even if something was wrong with me, why would you leave me in this position instead of putting me on the bed!? Meng Wange, don’t tell me you don’t even have that much common sense. And you dare call yourself my best tool? Please, you’re just—”
Meng Wange listened with a serene smile, then gently added her explanation—
“Sorry, Miss Su. But I heard that moving someone with a concussion without proper protection could lead to secondary injuries. In serious cases, it might even result in becoming a vegetable.”
“Fearmongering! You actually believe every ridiculous rumor that gets into your head? You’re such a bookworm… Wait—wait a second, are you serious about what you just said?”
Halfway through rising, Su Wanli suddenly froze midair as she processed Meng Wange’s words.
***
…A concussion can turn someone into a vegetable?
Now that she thought about it, she had seen stories like that in the news.
What started as a minor injury, but turned tragic due to careless handling…
Su Wanli’s heart suddenly leapt to her throat.
‘But I haven’t even earned that 12 billion the system promised me! I haven’t lived even a single day as a rich person yet!’
At least let me… No. More than money, the most important thing right now is protecting my body.
Instinctively, Su Wanli placed her arm on Meng Wange’s shoulder, her eyes filled with panic as she stared into those calm, reassuring eyes.
With a trembling voice, she asked, “Th-Then what should I do now? If I lie back down, will that reduce the risk of ending up in a vegetative state?”
Meng Wange frowned slightly and pondered aloud—
“Hmm… I’m not entirely sure. But since you’ve already moved, maybe the damage has already been done and it’s… irreversible.”
‘Irreversible damage!?’
‘Did that mean she was going to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair? She hadn’t even experienced real love yet, or ridden a roller coaster at an amusement park, or—’
As Su Wanli’s eyes gradually lost focus, Meng Wange suddenly covered her mouth and let out a soft, melodic laugh.
“Hehe. Sorry, Miss Su. Everything I said just now was made up. Also, I don’t think you actually have a concussion.”
‘…What did she mean by that?’
‘Made up’… so does that mean there’s nothing wrong with my body?
Su Wanli blinked blankly, pointing at herself and then vaguely gesturing toward Meng Wange’s thigh—
“…Then why did you just leave me lying on your lap like that?”
Still looking relaxed, Meng Wange stretched lazily and glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window at the sunny view beyond, letting out a soft yawn.
“Because the weather’s nice today.”
“…Huh?”
“Because the weather’s nice, Miss Su.”
Meng Wange repeated herself and then pointed toward the shining sun outside.
“The sunlight is bright, the scenery looks beautiful, the birds are singing… and your body is very warm. So when you collapsed on me, I just ended up napping with you for a while without meaning to.”
“…”
Su Wanli’s brain froze.
Then, moving stiffly, she pushed herself off of Meng Wange and sat properly in her seat, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of her nose.
Hold on.
So you’re telling me this cold, aloof ice queen—this rumored female lead who’s said to be unapproachable whether by strangers or friends—took a nap with me, hugging me like a pillow, just because the weather was nice and the sun was shining?
‘That’s impossible. I must be hallucinating from the fever.’
But those words really did come out of her mouth…
Even though Su Wanli could no longer understand any of Meng Wange’s actions, she still forced herself to respond the way a proper villainess should in this situation.
“Do… do you even realize what you just said?”
Her finger trembled slightly as she pointed it at Meng Wange’s forehead.
“You actually hugged me—the great Miss Su—like some kind of body pillow and tricked me with nonsense about a concussion…”
Meng Wange curled her lips into a small smile, then gently placed her hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
“I’m sorry. But that’s exactly what happened. Still, I trust that the noble and generous Miss Su will forgive the little white lie I told to help lift your spirits.”
Su Wanli slammed her hand on the desk and shouted—
“There’s no way I’ll forgive you so easily! You better… you better…”
Before she could come up with a suitable punishment, Meng Wange had already wheeled her chair back across from Su Wanli and rested her chin on her arm, eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Give you…?”
The sunlight lit up the corner of Meng Wange’s smile, and that dazzling glow, combined with her serene expression, made Su Wanli’s brain start to fog again.
She couldn’t think of anything at all.
“…A-At the very least, give me a more serious apology, you shameless woman!”
Meng Wange nodded solemnly, then raised one arm over her head.
“Very well. I, Meng Wange, sincerely apologize to you—Miss Su, Su Wanli.”
‘She’s actually seriously apologizing!?’
That sudden shift into full sincerity completely scrambled Su Wanli’s thoughts again.
“…Just because you apologized seriously doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you that easily. You still have to—”
“Apologies, Miss Su. As much as I’d love to continue making it up to you, we’ve already lost quite a bit of time.”
Meng Wange picked up a familiar-looking notebook from beside her and smiled at Su Wanli.
“As for earlier… I just came up with a temporary form of compensation.”
She twirled the pencil in her hand and tapped it lightly against her temple.
“How about I share with you my exclusive memory-enhancing technique?”