“Heh, as expected of me! I came up with such a perfect plan in just a flash!”
Su Wanli struck a dramatic pose as she raised one finger at Meng Wange, the corner of her lips curling into a wicked smile.
On one hand, it was a simple challenge.
On the other, regardless of whether she won or lost, it would help her solve a few problems.
If she won, not only would she complete the system’s assigned task, but she’d also get a verbal promise from Meng Wange.
She wasn’t sure what she could use that promise for, but having something over the heroine was definitely a good thing.
And if she lost, Meng Wange would take away that hairpin that once belonged to her mother—a constant source of unease for Su Wanli.
Having it sit there on her vanity mirror every day gave her an inexplicable sense of guilt.
‘Ahem, even though it takes me a little over ten minutes to memorize a single problem, that’s only because I was doing it with a resistant mindset earlier! If I really put my mind to it, the speed would be completely different!’
‘And she’s giving me five whole minutes? How naive! Just a mere Meng Wange, and you dare underestimate me? You’ll regret it!’
Su Wanli smirked confidently, an evil gleam in her eyes as she moved to pick up the notebook on the desk.
But the next second, Meng Wange’s voice froze her in place.
“Mm… there’s a bet involved?”
Meng Wange picked up her pencil and tapped it gently against the bridge of her nose, pondering for a moment.
“Then… should I agree?”
“Wha—”
‘Wait a minute, there’s actually a move where you don’t accept the challenge!?’
Su Wanli swallowed nervously and pointed at the pencil near Meng Wange’s nose.
“But… didn’t you say you wanted to be my most brilliant strategist, my most convenient tool, my strongest support… or maybe my shield or something? How could you refuse me over something this minor?”
Faced with such a stern accusation, Meng Wange pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, replying in a low voice.
“But as your most brilliant strategist, I believe steering you away from anything resembling gambling is the best way to protect your future.”
“You…”
Shut down by such a righteous and reasonable explanation, Su Wanli was momentarily at a loss for words.
“But—but this has nothing to do with gambling! There’s no money involved! I just said you could take something or promise me something if I win, that’s all!”
Meng Wange slowly shook her head and spoke to her gently and patiently.
“A thousand-mile dike can collapse from a tiny ant hole. Many seemingly strong family relationships fall apart because of seemingly insignificant things. Especially with the size of the Su family’s estate, if a crack appears, it’ll only grow bigger.”
Rendered speechless, Su Wanli clenched her fists angrily, struggling to come up with a valid counterargument.
“…Hmph! If you’re willing to bet, then bet! If not, then forget it. Don’t just stand there lecturing me—I think you’re just afraid to lose…”
Before Su Wanli could even finish her sentence, Meng Wange suddenly switched stances and smiled.
“But you make a good point. Calling this a gamble is a bit excessive. After all, it’s just a little game during break time. And yes, the tedious nature of studying can make people lose interest.”
“…”
The snarky comeback Su Wanli was about to make got caught in her throat.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself back down.
“So, what are you saying? Are we betting or not?”
“As your most loyal strategist and most useful tool, of course I’m willing to support all your decisions. But—I do have one request.”
As Meng Wange spoke, she stood up and walked over to Su Wanli.
“…What is it?”
Su Wanli frowned, crossing her arms as she watched the brown-haired girl stand in front of her and stretch out her right hand.
“I hope that, from now on, I will be the only person you ever bet against.”
Though Meng Wange still wore a gentle smile, her tone was unusually serious.
‘…Huh? What a strange thing to say. Is she asking me not to make bets with anyone else?’
Well, whatever.
Meng Wange had already said that as long as she agreed here, she’d support every decision Su Wanli made.
“Fine. I promise.”
Su Wanli nodded without hesitation, then casually slapped away Meng Wange’s outstretched palm and returned to her own seat.
“This young lady isn’t always in the mood for things like this. The fact that I’m even willing to bet with you is already your good fortune.”
Meng Wange simply smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and followed Su Wanli back to the desk.
She glanced at the time.
“It’s currently 11:35. You have five minutes. I’ll check your answer at 11:40.”
She flipped open a notebook to a specific page and handed it to Su Wanli—
“Begin, Miss Su.”
Looking at the short three or four lines of the question and the seven or eight lines of explanation, Su Wanli curled her lips in confidence.
“Heh, with this little text? Piece of cake. Just wait—you’re going to be the one doing the favor.”
With a quick snap of her fingers, Su Wanli signaled for Meng Wange to pass her a blank notebook, then began copying diligently.
***
—Fifteen minutes later.
Su Wanli’s index and middle fingers trembled as she tossed the pen aside.
With shaky hands, she handed the paper with her answer over to Meng Wange.
“…Here. This time, it should finally be right.”
“Although your final answer is correct, most of your explanation doesn’t match up at all.”
Meng Wange glanced at the page, then used a red pencil to circle from the second line all the way to the second-to-last.
Smiling, she pointed it out to Su Wanli—
“Looks like you still haven’t fully grasped the problem, Miss Su.”
“How… how could that be…”
Failure… she had failed…
She’d thought it would be easy to memorize a question if she really put her mind to it.
But once she realized there was a countdown ticking away, her anxiety skyrocketed.
Especially now—after not having studied seriously for years—her focus was even worse than when she used to resist learning altogether.
Still, Su Wanli had tried her best, copying while memorizing, forcing herself to remember at least the question and answer.
At the very least, she’d believed that the moment the timer ended, she’d be able to reproduce everything perfectly.
“So, Miss Su, does this mean you lost the bet?”
“…That’s only because before checking my answer, you distracted me with a bunch of random nonsense! It totally threw me off!”
“If just a little distraction is enough to make you forget everything, then your error rate during a real exam—which lasts much longer—will only be worse. Like this, you’re nowhere near ready for testing.”
Meng Wange finished her rational analysis, then curved her lips into a small smile.
“Or… does Miss Su want to attempt a fifth replication?”
No… she couldn’t anymore. At this point, the only thing Su Wanli could still remember was the question and its final answer. As for the explanation—
Ha. She hadn’t understood any of it to begin with.
The best she could do was repeat it through brute-force memorization.
Now? It was all gone.
Fine. No point pretending anymore.
A loss was a loss, and continuing to argue would only drag down her dignity as a proper villainess.
Su Wanli let out a quiet sigh, forcing her lips into a resilient, devil-may-care smirk—
“Heh, no need. I’m not the kind of person who can’t handle losing. This time, Meng Wange, I’ll admit—you’re stronger than me.”
She shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand generously—
“Go on then. As long as it’s something in this room, you can have whatever you want.”
‘Yes, yes, go on already, take that damn hairpin and be done with it. That’ll finally take care of this annoying problem…’
As expected, the moment Su Wanli finished speaking, Meng Wange’s eyes immediately locked onto the most eye-catching object on the vanity.
But oddly enough, she didn’t speak up to claim it.
“What’s wrong? If you’ve got your eye on something, just say it. I hate people who keep drooling over something but don’t have the guts to admit it.”
Even with such a blatant prompt, Meng Wange only smiled and shook her head.
“Miss Su, like I said before, this was just a little game for break time. I never intended to gain anything from it. Otherwise, it would’ve just been gambling.”
‘Dammit, what are you holding back for now!?’
Su Wanli cleared her throat twice and subtly stretched her arms, purposely flinging them back to bump into the vanity behind her—
“Ahem… even if you don’t want anything… don’t you want to take back something that already belonged to you?”
‘The hint couldn’t be more obvious! What do I have to do, throw it at your head!?’
‘Damn you, Meng Wange! Just take your mom already!’