Chapter 57: Western Painting

…Su Wanli?

Why… is she standing at my bedroom door?

Meng Wange gently rubbed her forehead and blinked at Su Wanli.

According to her expectations, after such a misunderstanding, Su Wanli definitely wouldn’t be the one to apologize first, right?

But judging from her expression and tone, she didn’t seem to be here to apologize, either.

Meng Wange thought for a moment, then decided to speak in a calm and composed tone to try to gauge Su Wanli’s intent.

“Miss Su, you—”

“Shh—”

Before Meng Wange could finish, Su Wanli raised a finger to her lips, her eyes full of growing impatience.

“What, can’t understand human language? Not one extra word—downstairs. Now.”

She gave Meng Wange a once-over, sneered, and then pointed at the school jacket hanging on the rack.

“But before you go, I suggest you tidy up. Otherwise… well, who knows how things might turn out.”

Follow her downstairs? And even wear the school uniform properly?

Meng Wange glanced at the clock on her desk—it was around 3 p.m.

Though she hadn’t yet figured out Su Wanli’s intentions, she stuck to her usual principles: Meng Wange smiled and nodded, then reached for the jacket and put it on again.

Seeing her comply, Su Wanli said nothing more. She just turned her back indifferently and waved her hand dismissively behind her.

“Let’s go. Don’t waste my time.”

“…Understood, Miss Su.”

The black-haired girl in front of her wore her hair in twin braids, cascading softly over the back of her black-and-white puffed dress. It gave her a strangely noble air.

Though she was a head shorter than Meng Wange, with that cold look in her eyes, it was hard to defy her at the moment.

Strangely, Su Wanli was walking at a brisk pace—even Meng Wange had to quicken her steps to keep up.

…What was she doing?

Could it be that she had misjudged Su Wanli? That she wasn’t quite the person Meng Wange imagined?

Because of how fast they were moving, Meng Wange didn’t have much time to think. Before she could consider further, they had already reached the main hall on the first floor of the Su residence.

Housekeeper Zhang stood by the front door with a serious expression. Upon seeing them come down, she immediately pushed the doors open for them.

—Outside the Su residence, a stretch limousine was parked.

Unlike the common black Maybachs, this one was painted in an eye-catching pinkish-purple, almost as if flaunting the owner’s unique identity, status—and flamboyant taste.

No matter how you looked at it, the only person in the Su household who would own such a car was this very Su family heiress.

So… she’s taking me somewhere?

Su Wanli kept her face cold and walked out first. Without waiting for the bodyguards to open the door, she pulled open the backseat herself, then turned and rolled her eyes at the still-stationary Meng Wange.

“What are you standing there for? Get in.”

“…”

Meng Wange took a deep breath and slowly walked toward her, buying herself some thinking time.

Just like her usual studying approach, Meng Wange was now rapidly constructing a mental grid—or cube—called “Su Wanli.”

From the intel she’d previously gathered to all their recent interactions, she was quickly filling in the model that defined Su Wanli.

Proud, self-centered, subtly insecure, blunt, serious…

No. It was still too chaotic. Analyzing from scratch would take too long. For now, the priority was to determine Su Wanli’s objective.

Behavior, purpose, motivation, emotion—those four elements should be connected.

Judging from recent events, the emotions Su Wanli currently held toward her were likely—

Well, there weren’t many options.

—Anger. And disdain.

As expected… maybe I’ve been too arrogant.

Meng Wange smiled bitterly and smoothed out her clothing before stepping down the stairs of the Su residence.

…Seems I underestimated Miss Su. She may be much smarter than I thought.

If this was all just because she tricked Su Wanli into eating a bowl of porridge at the table yesterday, that wouldn’t warrant this level of rage. So perhaps Su Wanli had seen through her deeper intent.

—To keep distance from Su Wanli. Or more precisely, to make everything around her progress according to her own design, including Su Wanli herself.

To the heiress of the Su family, that might have been the most intolerable part—and the real trigger behind her current fury.

With the emotion identified, the rest wasn’t too hard to guess.

Su Wanli was now preparing to vent her anger.

Meng Wange sighed inwardly and followed Su Wanli into the car, sitting across from her.

Ever since this began, the heiress hadn’t said a word beyond telling her to follow. Even after getting in, she simply propped her cheek against her hand and stared irritably out the window.

The bodyguard at the wheel seemed to already know their destination. Once both girls were seated, he said nothing to Su Wanli—he simply started the car and drove away from the Su residence.

…What would happen next? Was Su Wanli planning to dump her somewhere remote and make her walk back? Or drive her to a lake and suggest she jump in?

If this really was the worst-case scenario and Su Wanli intended to kick her out of the house… she’d have to find a way to contact the Su family head. Use every method possible to delay the departure—at least until the dinner party was over.

Sigh… she really shouldn’t have taken such risky measures.

In a brand-new environment, the most important thing was to establish footing. Now, the worst possible crisis had struck.

If she got kicked out of the Su family, all her efforts would go to waste.

And yet… strangely, Meng Wange felt a subtle sense of relief.

If this was how her story ended—it might even be considered a kind of closure.

A scheming gambler had finally arrived at her long-awaited casino, ready to show her hand—only to be kicked from the clouds and cast into the abyss.

But before that…

She still had a chance to save herself.

…Find out what, exactly, had made Su Wanli so furious.

One possibility: her deliberately arrogant act at the banquet, where she subtly manipulated Su Wanli into behaving as expected.

Two: her rejection of the hair clip this morning—it might’ve made Su Wanli feel insecure, like she had no control over her.

Three: her very presence—a challenge to the only daughter of the Su family.

Of course, any or all of the above might be true. Things that enrage someone to this extent are usually built up over time. Most likely, all those reasons contributed to Su Wanli’s dissatisfaction.

So to resolve this, the best approach would be to redirect the concept—and exploit Su Wanli’s…

Exploit her…

Manipulate. Frame. Mislead. Coerce…

One by one, all these despicable words surged into Meng Wange’s mind. A powerful wave of nausea rose from her stomach, almost bursting from her throat.

Stop. That’s enough.

This is disgusting, Meng Wange.

Do you remember your first reaction when you researched Su Wanli’s background?

—It was relief.

Relief that your plan wasn’t that vile. Relief that, in a sense, you were still a righteous person doing a good deed.

Meng Wange quietly covered her mouth.

“Whirr—”

With a mechanical buzz, the window beside her began to lower, and a breeze swept into the car.

Su Wanli’s finger rested on the window button, her gaze still fixed outside.

The evening wind played with her long hair, spilling it across the car seat. The sunlight cast an orange-red glow on the tips of her hair. Her delicate features and luxurious dress made her look like a soft and serene Western oil painting.

All the cruel thoughts shouting in Meng Wange’s mind suddenly vanished.

…Heh. If possible, she hoped Su Wanli’s heart could be just a little more ruthless, her actions a little more decisive.

Otherwise, only she truly understood what she was capable of.

Like some revolting insect—so long as there was even a sliver of a gap ahead, she would crawl toward it without hesitation.

Meng Wange closed her eyes and curled her lips into a faint smile.

This time, it wasn’t to pretend friendliness.

It was purely… to mock herself.

She looked at the black-haired girl across from her and opened her mouth—

“Su Wanli, I actually…”

“We’re here.”

Without giving her a chance to struggle, Su Wanli—who had been gazing out the window all this time—suddenly spoke.

She carefully smoothed her hair, pushed the door open, and waved to Meng Wange.

“Get out. Come with me.”